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| Karma. |
In the Christian religion they do not believe karma, that I did something in my past life. "Where is the evidence that I did something; therefore I am suffering?" They take the analogy: just like a criminal in the court is convinced when there is sufficient witness, not that I have complained against you, and you go to the court, you are punished. No. My charges against you should be corroborated by sufficient witness. So the Christian religionists, they do not believe in the next birth, transmigration of the soul, something like that. So they do not believe also in the fruitive activities' resultant action of our past life. This very word "witness"... It is my personal experience. I was student in the Scottish Churches College, and we had to attend half an hour Bible class. So Dr. W.S. Urquhart, he was teaching, Reverend W.S. Urquhart. He said, I remember, that "Where is the evidence? The Hindus believe in the karma, but where is the evidence that I did it?"
The answer is here, that... We may not compare our inefficiency with the arrangement of the Supreme Lord. Now, God has kept so many witnesses. How you can escape? Here is a name, list of witness. Surya first of all -- the sun. So how you can escape Surya's light? You cannot escape. So here is one witness. Then Agni, fire. Then Kham, the sky. Where there is no sky? Here we are sitting; there is sky. And there is light also. Then Marut, air. Deva. Who is deva? Demigods, yes. Then Soma. At night there is moon. Sandhya, evening or noon. Noon is also sandhya. Sandhya means junction. When the night is going away -- the day is coming early in the morning -- that is also sandhya. When midday, the forenoon is passing -- the afternoon is beginning -- that is also sandhya. Tri-sandhya. Tri-sandhya. We have to chant Gayatri mantra tri-sandhya, early in the morning, in the midday and in the evening. That is tri-sandhya. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah yasyaprasadad na gatih kuto 'pi **. What is next line? Devotee: Dhyayan stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam. Prabhupada: Tri-sandhya. This tri-sandhya, early in the morning, midday and in the evening. So every sandhya is witness. Sandhya, ahani, day and night together, whole day, twenty-four hours, ahani. Ahany ahani loka gacchanti yama-mandiram. This ahani. Every day hundreds and thousands of living entities are dying. Sesah sthitam icchanti kim ascaryam atah param. Still, one who is not dead, he is thinking, "I'll not die. I'll remain." This is the wonderful thing, most wonderful thing. Everyone should be prepared for death. Death is inevitable. So disah, and ten directions: north, south, east, west, the four corners, eight, and up and down. They are ten directions. Where you'll go? Everywhere there is witness. You cannot escape. Kam kuh svayam. What is kam kuh? Devotee: Water and earth. Prabhupada: Water and earth, yes. So how you can escape God's eyes? Sarvatah pani-padam tat sarvato caksuh. Everywhere God's eyes are there. So you cannot escape. You are wanting witness? Here are so many witnesses. How you can hide your sinful activities? That is not possible. You can hide yourself from the material laws, that "The police has not seen me. Then I may escape." No. God's law you cannot do that. That is not possible. So we should remember it, that when we act sinfully, then there are so many witnesses, and we have to be punished. You cannot escape. Kam kuh svayam. Svayam. These are so many gods, witnesses, and over and above them svayam, the Personality of Godhead in His Supersoul feature Supersoul means God is present in everyone's heart. Not only heart, He is everywhere present, even within the atom. ___________ That is the Vedic injunction, sabda-pramanam. Just like you are sleeping, and somebody is coming to kill you with knife. So how you can take precaution? You are sleeping. But some of your friend or relative: "Get up! Get up! Get up! There is enemy! There is enemy!" Immediately you wake up. That means you see with the ear, not with the eyes. The real seeing is through the eyes, er, through the ears. Suppose one does not know who is your..., who is his father. So how he can see the father? Through the ear, not with the eyes. That is not possible. The mother says, "My dear child, here is your father," and you see through the eyes: "Here is my father." So therefore real eyes -- the ear, not these eyes. Real eyes. That is real seeing. Therefore sastra says, Vedic knowledge, that sastra-caksusat, pasyati jnana-caksusat: "One can see by the eyes of knowledge," not by these blunt eyes. This is useless. They cannot see. And how you can see through the sabda? Sastra means sabda. Through the ear... My Guru Maharaja used to say, "Don't try to see a saintly person by your eyes. You see a saintly person by the ear." Because if you hear from the saintly person and if he is speaking from the experience which he has heard from the, another saintly person -- this is called guru-parampara -- then the knowledge is perfect. Yesterday we ... The Yamadutas said that iti susruma. Never said, "I have seen it." Vedo narayanah saksat svayambhur iti susruma: "We have heard it." Vedo narayanah saksa... He never says, "I have seen it." No. Iti susruma. So this is experience, real experience, real knowledge. Vedo narayanah saksat. Veda is directly Narayana. So Narayana... You can see Narayana. You can hear about Narayana. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]. Visnu is Narayana. This is the beginning of understanding Narayana, sravanam kirtanam. Never says, "By seeing, by touching, by licking up." No. You cannot see. That is not experience. Real experience is iti susruma. So if we take our knowledge that there is no witness what we did in our previous life, that is nonsense. Here are the so many witnesses. Iti susruma. Hear. You cannot say there is no witness. You hear from the Vedic literature how many witnesses are present there for all your activities and how they are becoming recorded minutely, and everything will be judged. Therefore the Yamaraja is there. Lecture by Srila Prabhupada |
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare |