Indian man (4):
Prabhupada? Buddha was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
incarnation of Krishna, right? Then why he has preached the impersonal
form of God?
Prabhupada: That is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
You have got Srimad-Bhagavatam here? Find out that, when
Lord Buddha appeared, that verse. Sammohaya sura-dvisham [Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.3.24]. His propaganda was to cheat the atheist class of men. Atheist
class of men, they did not recognize existence of God, so He became one
of them.
[Sometimes a law enforcement officer goes undercover
and plays the part of a criminal, but his purpose is to capture the
criminals and bring them to the right path.]
Sadaya-hridaya
darshita-pashu-ghatam. This atheist class, they were killing
animals in the name of yajna like anything. So yada yada
hi dharmasya glanir bhavati... [Bhagavad-gita 4.7],
so He came as Buddha to stop this animal killing. His real business was
stop the animal killing, that these rascals are going to hell in the
name of religion, so at least stop their activities of animal killing.
So therefore he started the mission, ahimsa paramo dharma:
"Don't kill animals." But in the Vedas there is
recommendation, in the yajna, as you were saying, that there
is... animal killing is recommended. So people presented that "Here is
animal killing recommended in the yajna." Therefore he denied
the authority of Vedas. Nindasi yajna-vidher ahaha
shruti-jatam sadaya-hridaya darshita-pashu-ghatam. So this
Buddha incarnation is cheating the atheist class of men. He said that
"Don't kill animals. If you are killed you feel pain. Why you should
kill animals?" That was his mission, to stop animal killing, sinful
activities. So what was your question?
Indian man (4): I just asked why he has preached
impersonal form of God.
Prabhupada: Yes, because they were all godless, so he
said, "There is no God, but you stop this animal killing." That was his
mission. And he said, "There is no God, but whatever I say, you
accept." So they agreed. But he is God. That is cheating. Superficially
he said there is no God, but he is God. Somehow or other, if people
stop animal killing and accept Lord Buddha, then he becomes at least
one step forward to God realization. So in a cheating process he made
good to others.
Dhristadyumna:
tatah
kalau sampravritte
sammohaya sura-dvisham
buddho namnanjana-sutah
kikateshu bhavishyati [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.24]
Prabhupada:
Translation.
Dhristadyumna: "Then in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the
Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of
Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the
faithful theists."
Prabhupada: To delude them. Read the purport.
Dhristadyumna: "Lord Buddha, a powerful incarnation of the
Personality of Godhead, appeared in the province of Gaya (Bihar) as the
son of Anjana, and he preached his own conception of nonviolence and
deprecated even the animal sacrifices sanctioned in the Vedas.
At the time when Lord Buddha appeared, the people in general were
atheistic and preferred animal flesh to anything else. On the plea of
Vedic sacrifice, every place was practically turned into a
slaughterhouse, and animal killing was indulged in unrestrictedly. Lord
Buddha preached nonviolence, taking pity on the poor animals. He
preached that he did not believe in the tenets of the Vedas
and stressed the adverse psychological effects incurred by animal
killing. Less intelligent men of the age of Kali, who had no faith in
God, followed his principle, and for the time being they were trained
in moral discipline and nonviolence, the preliminary steps for
proceeding further on the path of God realization. He deluded the
atheists because such atheists who followed his principles did not
believe in God, but they kept their absolute faith in Lord Buddha, who
himself was the incarnation of God. Thus the faithless people were made
to believe in God in the form of Lord Buddha. That was the mercy of
Lord Buddha: he made the faithless faithful to him. Killing of animals
before the advent of Lord Buddha was the most prominent feature of the
society. They claimed that these were Vedic sacrifices. When the Vedas
were not accepted through the authoritative disciplic succession, the
casual readers of the Vedas are misled by the flowery
language of that system of knowledge. In the Bhagavad-gita
a comment has been made on such foolish scholars. The foolish scholars
of Vedic literature who do not care to receive the transcendental
message through the transcendental realized sources of disciplic
succession are sure to be bewildered. To them, the ritualistic
ceremonies are considered to be all in all. They have no depth of
knowledge. According to the Bhagavad-gita, the whole
system of the Vedas is to lead one gradually to the path
of the Supreme Lord. The whole theme of Vedic literature is to know the
Supreme Lord, the individual soul, the cosmic situation and the
relations between all these items. When the relation is known, the
relative function begins, and as a result of such a function the
ultimate goal of life of going back to Godhead takes place in the
easiest manner. Unfortunately, unauthorized scholars of the Vedas
become captivated by the purificatory ceremonies only, and natural
progress is checked thereby. To such bewildered persons of atheistic
propensity, Lord Buddha is the emblem of theism. He therefore first of
all wanted to check the habit of animal killing. The animal killers are
dangerous elements on the path of going back to Godhead. There are two
types of animal killers. The soul is also sometimes called the animal,
or the living being. Therefore both the slaughterers of animals as well
as those who have lost their identity as the soul are animal killers.
Maharaja Parikshit said that only the animal killer cannot relish the
transcendental message of the Supreme Lord. Therefore if people are to
be educated on the path of Godhead, they must be taught first and
foremost to stop the process of animal killing as above mentioned. It
is nonsensical to say that animal killing has nothing to do with
spiritual realization. By this dangerous theory many so-called sannyasis
have sprung up by the grace of Kali-yuga to preach animal killing under
the garb of the
Vedas."
Prabhupada: Now there are so many rascals in this dress of
sannyasi, they are eating meat. That is going on. They
say, "What is the wrong of eating meat? Can eat." They eat meat. Then?
Dhristadyumna: "The subject matter has already been
discussed in the conversation between Lord Chaitanya and Maulana Chand
Kazi Shaheb. The animal sacrifice as stated in the Vedas
is different from the unrestricted animal killing in the
slaughterhouse."
Prabhupada: There, your question.
Dhristadyumna: "Because the asuras [demons], or the so-called scholars of Vedic..."
Prabhupada: Now you were referring to the Vedic principle,
but that does not mean you have to open slaughterhouse. But these
rascals are opening slaughterhouse. You think it is Vedic principle?
Suppose it is recommended that animals should be sacrificed in the
Vedic ritualistic ceremony. Does it mean that you shall open regular
slaughterhouse? Just as the Christians say that Jesus Christ ate fish,
therefore they are right in opening big, big slaughterhouse? Maybe Lord
Jesus Christ ate fish in some awkward circumstance, but that does not
mean that he is recommending to open slaughterhouse. In the Ten
Commandments he says, "Thou shalt not kill." When there is absolute
necessity, there is no other food, that is another thing, but if there
is sufficient other foodstuff, why should you kill? They are not even
human being, those who are animal killers. Vina pashughnat
[Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.4]. Those who are animal killers,
they are not even human being, what to speak of religious system. Nivritta-tarshair
upagiyamanad bhavaushadhach chrotra-mano-'bhiramat ka uttamashloka-guna
[Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.4]. If you are animal killer, your
God consciousness is finished. You'll never be able to understand what
is God. Then your life is finished. This life is meant for
understanding God, and if you are animal killer, then your God
understanding is finished.
