Maya is like a mirror. It reflects all our desires. We can look into the world, which is a wonderful mirror, and see everything we want. We see the world as we want it, not as it is. The spiritual master forces us to open our eyes while we are standing in the darkest ignorance. When we see the world with the help of the spiritual master, we will become free from all material desires, and then we'll see the world as it is.
I was present back in 1967, ’68 and ’69. Prabhupada was very disturbed when Rayarama das, head of the BTG publication, put a cartoon-like depiction of Krishna on the chariot on the cover of BTG. Prabhupada was emphatic, saying, “We cannot show Krishna in such a whimsical way.” Prabhupada was insistent, against all arguments; Krishna must be depicted in the western traditional style of art, like Rembrandt, Rubens, Vemeer, etc. more →
University of California at Berkeley,
Professor Sherri Roush’s class on Epistemology
Sep 24, 2010 (Part 2 of 9)
In the dictionary, the Sanskrit word dharma is translated as “religion”, and in the West, religion means a kind of belief or faith – “I believe in Jesus, I believe in Buddha, I believe in Mohammed, I believe I’m going to heaven or to hell or to purgatory.” I believe something, but it’s not factual, or that is to say, it’s not supported very well by modern-day logic, reason and argument and authority, or science. … Dharma actually means the characteristic of a thing which cannot be removed, and it specifically applies to human beings. But we can give some analogy. Sugar, the dharma of sugar is sweet. If it’s not sweet, it’s not sugar. …The dharma of human beings is service.
University of California at Berkeley,
Professor Sherri Roush’s class on Epistemology
Sep 24, 2010 (Part 3 of 9)
From the Vedic perspective, knowledge must be received from higher authority, even the most ordinary knowledge. Like if I ask, “How many people in this room know who is their mother and father?”, everyone will say, “Yes, I know,” but if I then ask, “How do you know?” You were not present when conception took place. You have accepted it on the authority of someone, either your mother, your father, your brother, your sister. But to know anything, even the most ordinary affairs, we accept some authority.
Hansadutta at Santa Rosa Junior College (Part 10/10)
Guest speaker to Professor Carla Grady’s Asian Philosophy Class
September 27, 2010
In essence, when we examine the different presentations by the different avatars or incarnations, we see the same direction. Spiritual life is progressive. People tend to think it’s like one dogmatic thing, but it’s not. It’s like education. We begin by making mud pies in kindergarten, and the teacher commends us, “Oh, that’s very good, you’re doing very nicely.” But if your students were to start making mud pies, you’d think, “What is this?” Because they have advanced.
Hansadutta at Santa Rosa Junior College (Part 9/10)
Guest speaker to Professor Carla Grady’s Asian Philosophy Class
September 27, 2010
Krishna is a historical person, but at the same time, in the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna says, “Fools think that I have assumed this historical personality. They do not know My higher nature and my transcendental dominion over all that be.” People say, “Oh, I don’t believe that.” But if we read and study the words of Krishna, they are so compelling and so profound, there has never been a book of philosophy that can be compared to Bhagavad-gita.
Hansadutta at Santa Rosa Junior College (Part 8/10)
Guest speaker to Professor Carla Grady’s Asian Philosophy Class
September 27, 2010
The Mahabharata was composed by Vyasadeva, who is the author of all Vedic literature, and it contains 100,000 verses. Maha means great, and Bharata means the planet Earth. Earth was known as Bharata-varsha. Varsha means island. It is the history, the great history of the planet Earth in relation to Krishna’s appearance and Krishna’s devotees. He formulated this book especially for the people of this age, which is known as Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga is the age of darkness, quarrel, irreligion, deception and so forth. And in this age people are very short-lived, they are less intelligent, and they are inclined to quarrel on a slight misunderstanding. People in Kali-yuga will not be interested in spiritual matters. So in order to tactfully – sort of like putting candy coating on a medicine for a child – attract them to the essence of the whole Vedic wisdom, Vyasadeva recorded the entire history of this Mahabharata era, or Kurukshetra era, and in it he put the Bhagavad-gita, the discourse or discussion between Krishna and Arjuna, so that people who are more interested in politics, economics, morality, and romance – which is all there in the Mahabharata – would inadvertently or imperceptibly come upon this one chapter, the Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is actually only one chapter in the entire Mahabharata. It is 700 verses, whereas Mahabharata is 100,000 verses. We can hardly deal with the 700 verses, yet they were spoken by Krishna in half an hour or 45 minutes time, in the midst of two warring armies who were about to do battle.
Hansadutta at Santa Rosa Junior College (Part 7/10)
Guest speaker to Professor Carla Grady’s Asian Philosophy Class
September 27, 2010
Knowlege begins when a person admits his shortcoming, and he goes to an authority. Just like when we have a legal problem, we go to a lawyer. … In Bhagavad-gita there’s a verse, tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya: Krishna says, “Just try to approach a spiritual master, a guru, inquire from him submissively, render him all kinds of service, [and] the self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you, because he has seen the truth.” So three things are required for spiritual progress: (1) inquisitive, inquiry, (2) submission – you must be submissive; you can’t come and say, “No, no, I don’t believe that”, challenging, and (3) ultimately service. This is everywhere. Not simply for spiritual matters. Any matter. You want to be a computer technician, you have to submit. You want to be a baker, you have to submit to someone. You go to the military, you have to submit to someone. In fact that’s the first thing they do, they make you understand that “Now we have you in our grip, and you do what we say, otherwise….”
Hansadutta at Santa Rosa Junior College (Part 6/10)
Guest speaker to Professor Carla Grady’s Asian Philosophy Class
September 27, 2010
Vedic culture was concerned… and I wanted to address this at the beginning… we say “East and West”. We think in terms of Eastern philosophy, Western philosophy, but actually there’s no East and West. This is not East and West. This is everywhere. People in the East are also old, diseased and dying. They may have less material amenities in terms of eating, sleeping, defending, mating, but they will all come to the same, undergo the same tribulations. It’s not that because one man is very wealthy therefore his disease is not painful. No, it’s painful. Or that he doesn’t mind dying, because “Oh, I have so much money.” No. Everyone at all times, all places and under all circumstances wants to live. Even an ant. If I try to kill it, it will scramble away. Why? Because spiritually, we are not subject to death. What is subject to death is this body, which we have accepted and which we identify with thoroughly. If someone just pulls one of your hairs, you’ll respond, “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Right? Because we are so thoroughly absorbed in the identity of our material body that we can’t tolerate an insult or a pinch or any kind of affront. But when the body is dead, you can kick on it, and it won’t bother him. Why is that? Because the person, the resident who was present, has gone. Like when they tow your car to the wrecking yard. You don’t care. They take the headlights off, the door panels off. You don’t care. Why? Because you are no longer in possession of the car.
Hansadutta at Santa Rosa Junior College (Part 5/10)
Guest speaker to Professor Carla Grady’s Asian Philosophy Class
September 27, 2010
From the moment we come out of the womb we are wrestling against birth, old age, disease and death. Sometimes we celebrate birthdays – “Oh, I’m 18 years old now!” But actually, you are 18 years dead. You have died 18 years. Every day the sun comes up and goes down, that’s gone.
Hansadutta at Santa Rosa Junior College (Part 4/10)
Guest speaker to Professor Carla Grady’s Asian Philosophy Class
September 27, 2010
It is actually a very rare thing that a person is interested in something which is not his immediate need, like eating, sleeping, defending and sex, sexual intercourse for begetting children. Eating, sleeping, defending and mating. These are the four material demands. Someone will say, “I like to eat.” No, you have to eat. “I like to sleep” – no you have to sleep. And you have to defend yourself, and you are always – all of us, especially in the West, we are compelled by sex attraction, sex drive. Man is attracted to woman, woman is attracted to man. The Vedic philosophy explains that the entire force of material activity is centered on this attraction. Not only in human society, but amongst the animals, birds and fishes, and even trees have sex.
