View source for Mahatma Gandhi sacrificed everything - his family, his profession. And many other leaders. But what for they were working? They were working for some material benefit, that's all, not for any spiritual benefit. So that is not transcendental activities

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[[Category:Gandhi]]
[[Category:Sacrifice]]
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[[Category:Not Transcendental]]
[[Category:Transcendental Activities]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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Even in our country, a big man like Mahatma Gandhi, he sacrificed everything—his family, his profession. And many other leaders. But what for they were working? They were working for some material benefit, that's all, not for any spiritual benefit. So that is not transcendental activities. That is material activities, expanded material thoughts.
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[[Vanisource:741202 - Lecture SB 03.25.32 - Bombay|741202 - Lecture SB 03.25.32 - Bombay]]
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So some people, they do not know that there is another platform of service or another platform of activities, which is called Brahman activities. Because those who are grossly in the bodily concept of life, they have no information there is Brahman, or soul, within this body. So mukti means to deliver that Brahman from this material encagement. But actually, if you don't give him engagement . . . because actually the soul is working. That everyone can appreciate. We are very active. "Oh, I am prime minister," "I am president," "I am Birla," "I am Śrīla . . ." and so many things. That's all right. But is . . . is that prime minister is this body or the soul? Because as soon as the soul is out of the body, what is the value of this prime minister's body? It is no more useful—finished. That we do not understand. Actually, the soul is working in different capacities. Either as prime minister or Lord Brahmā, King Indra or the cat or dog or the insect; the soul is working in different atmosphere, in different body.

So the perfection of these activities, of the soul, that he has got already indriyas . . . we are acting with our hands, legs, ears, eyes, nose, everything, karmendriya. Ten kinds of activities are being performed by the senses, and there are five kinds of sense objects, tanmātra, fifteen, and the eight elements material—earth, water, fire . . . so fifteen and eight, twenty-three, and the soul, this is twenty-four. That is the subject matter of Sāṅkhya philosophy, how these twenty-four different items are combined together and work. This is the study of Sāṅkhya philosophy. Yesterday we talked about sāṅkhyam. Tattvāmnāyaṁ yat pravadanti sāṅkhyam. So there is material Sāṅkhya philosophers. They simply satisfied, simply studying these twenty-four types of elements. But the real Sāṅkhya philosophy, as propounded by Kapiladeva, that is bhakti. That is . . . he has said, bhakti-vitāna-yogam. The activities of the spiritual field, that is Sāṅkhya philosophy, not of the material fields. In the material field you will find these twenty-four kinds of elements analyzed, but beyond these twenty-four there is soul, and the soul is acting. That is called spiritual activities, or bhakti-yoga.

So because it is transcendental to material activities, then therefore in the bhakti-yoga there is no such desire for material benefit, animittā. Therefore it is said, animittā. Here all activities are done for some material profit. Nobody is . . . even the so-called political leaders sacrifice everything. That's all right. But everything is for material benefit. Even in our country, a big man like Mahatma Gandhi, he sacrificed everything—his family, his profession. And many other leaders. But what for they were working? They were working for some material benefit, that's all, not for any spiritual benefit. So that is not transcendental activities. That is material activities, expanded material thoughts. Somebody is working for his family or somebody is working for himself, like animals, the cats and dogs, they work for himself. And human being, they're little advanced: they work for family, for wife, children, or, further extended, for society, for community, for nation. You can expand, even international. They are all material activities, nimittā, simply expanded, expanded. Suppose if you steal for yourself and if you steal for your family or if you steal for your community, that stealing is there. Because you are stealing for greater family, that does not mean that you are not a thief.

There was a story, Alexander and the thief. The Alexander arrested one thief, big dacoit, plunderer. So when he explained, "My dear sir, Alexander, so what is the difference between you and me? I am also plunderer, you are also plunderer. I am a small plunderer, you are a big plunderer. So where is the difference in quality?" So Alexander the Great, he was very sensible. He released him, "Yes, there is no difference." So to become a big thief, big plunderer, does not mean that he is advanced. Similarly, our sense, for personal sense gratification or my family's sense gratification or for my nation's sense gratification—that is sense gratification; that is not spiritual activity. That is material activity.
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