Prabhupada 0737 - First Spiritual Knowledge Is This - "I Am Not This Body"



Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Bombay, March 21, 1974

Prabhupāda: The body is differently made. The spirit soul is the same. Your spirit soul, my spirit soul, is the same. But your body is called American body, my body is called Indian body. That is the difference. Just like you have got a different dress. I have got a different dress. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vi...(BG 2.22) The body is just like dress.

So first spiritual knowledge is this, that "I am not this body." Then the spiritual knowledge begins. Otherwise there is no possibility of spiritual knowledge. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). One who is thinking, "This body I am. This, I am, myself," he's a rascal, animal. That's all. This rascal animalism (is) going on all over the world. "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya." This is rascaldom. You have to go above this. Then there is spiritual knowledge. That is bhakti-yoga.

māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
(BG 14.26)

Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is required. So in order to understand this yoga system, bhakti-yoga... Because only by bhakti-yoga you can come to the spiritual platform. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Nāhaṁ vipro... Just Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, nāhaṁ vipro na kṣatriya... What is that śloka?

Devotee: Kibā vipra kibā nyāsī...

Prabhupāda: "I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a śūdra. I am not a brahmacārī, I am not a gṛhastha, I am not a vānaprastha..." Because our Vedic civilization is based on varṇa and āśrama. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu denied all these things: "I do not belong to any one of these." Then what is Your position? Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ: (CC Madhya 13.80) "I am eternally servant of the maintainer of the gopīs." That means Kṛṣṇa. And He preached: jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (CC Madhya 20.108-109). That is our identification. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the servants who have rebelled against Kṛṣṇa, they have come to this material world. Therefore, to reclaim these servants, Kṛṣṇa comes. And Kṛṣṇa says,

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge
(BG 4.8)

Kṛṣṇa comes. He's so kind.

So let us take advantage of Kṛṣṇa's coming here, leaving behind Him this Bhagavad-gītā, and read it perfectly, and make your life perfect. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is not a bogus movement. It is a most scientific movement. So outside India, these European, Americans, they are taking advantage of it. Why not these Indian youths? What is the wrong there? This is not good. Let us join together, start this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very seriously, and deliver this suffering humanity. That is our purpose. They are suffering for want of knowledge. Everything is there, complete. Simply by mismanagement... Simply by the... It is being managed by the rogues and thieves. Take. You become perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and take the management and make your life successful.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.