“So every living entity is a child of God. God is the Supreme Father. Krishna says: aham bija-pradah pita. “I am the seed-giving father of all living entities.” Sarva-yonisu kaunteya [Bg. 14.4]. “In whichever form they may live, they’re all living entities, they’re My sons.”
Actually that is the fact. We all living entities, we are sons of God. But we have forgotten. Therefore we are fighting. Just like in a nice family, if anyone knows: “Father is supplying us food. So we brothers, why should we fight?”
Similarly if we become God conscious, if we become Krishna conscious, this fighting will be over. “I am American, I am Indian, I am Russian, I am Chinese.”
These all nonsense things will be over. Krishna consciousness movement is so nice. As soon as people become Krishna conscious, this fighting, this political fighting, national fighting, will be over immediately. Because they’ll come to real consciousness that everything belongs to God.
And as the children, a child of the family has got right to take advantages from the father, similarly if everyone is part and parcel of God, if everyone is child of God, then everyone has got the right to use the property of the father.
So that right is not that right, the right belongs to the human being. According to Bhagavad-gita, this right belongs to all living entities. Never mind whether he’s living being or animal or trees, or birds or beast or insect.
That is Krishna consciousness. We do not think in terms of that simply my brother is good, I am good. And all bad. This kind of narrow, crippled consciousness we hate, we kick out. We think: panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18]. In the Bhagavad-gita you’ll find.
vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini suni caiva sva-pake ca panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18]
One who is pandita, One who is learned, he sees every living entity on the equal footing. Therefore a Vaisnava is so compassionate. Lokanam hita-karinau. They can actually do the beneficial work to the human being.
They are seeing, actually feeling that all these living entities, they are part and parcel of God. Someway or other, they have fallen in the contact of this material world, and, according to different karma, they have assumed different types of bodies.
So pandita, those who are learned, they have no discrimination that: “This is animal, they should be sent to the slaughterhouse, and this is man, he’ll eat it.” No. A actually Krishna conscious person, he’s kind to everyone. Why the animals should be slaughtered.
Therefore our philosophy is no meat-eating. No meat-eating. You cannot. So they’ll not hear us. “Oh, what this nonsense? This is our food. Why shall I not eat?” Because edhamana-madah. He’s intoxicated rascal. He’ll not hear the real fact.
Just like in the state, because a man is lying street, poor man, has no help, can I kill him? Will the state excuse me? “No I have killed one poor man. He had no necessity. There was no need for him in the society. So why should he live?” Will the state excuse me that: “You have done very nice work.”? No. That poor man is also the subject of the citizen of the state. You cannot kill.
Why not expand this philosophy, that the poor animal—the trees, the birds, beasts — they’re also sons of God. You cannot kill. You’ll be responsible. You’ll be hanged. Just like by killing one poor man on the street you’ll be hanged. Never mind it is poor.
Similarly in God’s eyes, there is no such discrimination. What to speak of God, even a learned man’s vision, there is no such discrimination, “This is poor, this is rich, this is black, this is white, this is…” No. Everyone is living entity, part and parcel of God.
Therefore Vaisnava is the only benefactor for all the living entities. They try to elevate. A Vaisnava tries to elevate all living entities to the platform of Krishna consciousness. Lokanam hita-karinau.
Just like Rupa Gosvami, Gosvamis. Lokanam hita-karinau tri-bhuvane manyau saranyakarau. A Vaishnava has no such view that this is Indian, this is American, this is…Somebody questioned me somewhere that: “Why you have come to America?” Why not I shall come? I am servant of God, and this is kingdom of God. Why shall I not come?
It is artificial to check me. If you check me, then you’ll commit sinful activities. Just like government servant, police, has got right to enter any house, anyone’s house. There is no trespass. Similarly a God’s servant has got the right to go anywhere. Nobody can check. If he checks, then he’ll be punished. Because everything belongs to God.
So in this way we have to see things as they are. That is Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness is not a crippled idea.”
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.26
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Los Angeles, April 18, 1973
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