View source for How you can say God is dead? God is not dead, but we are dead to appreciate the function of God. We are dead

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{{terms|"How you can say God is dead? God is not dead, but we are dead to appreciate the function of God. We are dead"}}
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{{compiler|Bhaktavasagovinda}}
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[[Category:How Can]]
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[[Category:God Is Dead]]
[[Category:We Are]]
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[[Category:Appreciate]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="General_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Lectures" text="General Lectures"><h3>General Lectures</h3>
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<div id="SundayFeastLectureLosAngelesJanuary191969_0" class="quote" parent="General_Lectures" book="Lec" index="36" link="Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, January 19, 1969" link_text="Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, January 19, 1969">
<div class="heading">Similarly, we have become so much materially dead that we have lost our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, but we are declaring, "God is dead." God is not dead. How God can be dead if functions are going on? According to His order, the sun is rising every day. Yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇām. The moon is rising, the air is changing, the season is changing. Everything is going on nicely. How you can say God is dead? God is not dead, but we are dead to appreciate the function of God. We are dead.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, January 19, 1969|Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, January 19, 1969]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Try to understand what is the position of God. God created means before the creation, God was there. Just like if you say that "Mr. such and such has constructed this building," that means before the construction of the building, Mr. such and such was living, was existing. So "God created" means God is not one of the beings who were created. He is beyond creation. Therefore one great stalwart ācārya of India, Śaṅkarācārya, whose name you might have heard, he says, nārāyaṇaḥ para avyaktāt, avyaktāt anya-sambhavaḥ: "Nārāyaṇa, God, the Supreme Lord, He is beyond this creation. He's not one of the created beings." You try to understand. God said, "Let there be creation," and there was creation: "Yes." His word is sufficient. His word is sufficient. You can take practical example. In your country you can understand this nice example. During the fall, all of a sudden, all the leaves of the tree, they fall down. There is no more leaf. And again, during the beginning of spring, the, immediately everything becomes green. Now, how this is happening? If you decorate one tree, if you want to take out all the leaves of a tree, it will take months together. And if you want to decorate one tree without leaves, it will take months together. But you can see that within a few days all leaves are fallen down, and within a few days all leaves are coming out. So why don't you believe that simply by word of God there may be creation, there may be destruction? That is sufficient. He doesn't require any engineering. Simply that vibration is sufficient. Śabdāt pravṛttiḥ.</p>
<p>So these things are very nicely, clearly explained in the Vedic literature. If you take advantage of this Vedic literature, especially of the... Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study, ABCD. Bhagavad-gītā is not very high standard spiritual knowledge. It is simply elementary, ABCD knowledge of spiritual life, rudimentary knowledge. And if you want to study more and more, there is Vedānta-sūtra, there is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Upaniṣad, so many things. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to give people chance to take advantage of this Vedic literature. There is a very nice verse in Caitanya-caritāmṛta:</p>
:anādi bahir-mukha jīva kṛṣṇa bhuli gelā
:ataeva kṛṣṇa veda purāṇa karilā
<p>We do not know when we have forgotten God, when we have missed our relationship with God. We are eternally related with God. We are still related. Our relationship is not lost. Just like the father and the son, the relationship cannot be lost, but when the son becomes crazy or mad, he thinks that he has no father. That is a conditional... But actually the relationship is not lost. When he comes to the consciousness, "Oh, I am the son of such and such gentleman," the relationship is immediately there. Similarly, our consciousness, this material consciousness, is a condition of craziness. We have forgotten God. We are declaring God is dead. Actually I am dead. I am thinking, "God is dead." Just like I am deaf, I am asking somebody, "Oh, Mr. such and such." He's replying, but I am deaf. I cannot hear. I say, "Mr. such and such, he cannot hear me." You see? He himself is deaf. The answer is there, but because he cannot appreciate, he says, "Mr. such and such is deaf." He is deaf. Similarly, we have become so much materially dead that we have lost our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, but we are declaring, "God is dead." God is not dead. How God can be dead if functions are going on? According to His order, the sun is rising every day. Yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇām. The moon is rising, the air is changing, the season is changing. Everything is going on nicely. How you can say God is dead? God is not dead, but we are dead to appreciate the function of God. We are dead.</p>
<p>So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to give life to the dead society of human being. They are now dead, crazy dead. So our request is that you take full advantage of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Your life will be happy. You'll find a new phase of existence, happiness, fullness. That is sure. And the method is very simple. We don't ask you... Just like as soon as I enter, all of you join in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. It is very easy thing. Even a child can join. And simply by chanting, you'll be purified, simply by chanting. You haven't got to make any exercise, keeping your head down or this or that. No. Simple method: chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So this is our propaganda. We don't charge anything. We don't say that "I sell one mantra. You take it and give me some dollars." No. It is freely distributed. Freely. In the street they are being distributed. But don't neglect it. Because we are distributing this, the most valuable asset of the world so cheaply, don't neglect it. Take it. Don't minimize the value because we are distributing free. It is the most valuable thing of your life, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And you'll practically find the result. It is not bluff. So many American boys and girls, they are chanting. They are not imported from India, but they have taken it very seriously, not only here. We have got seventeen branches all over your country, and they are very happy. And there is no loss. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, what is your loss? But the gain is very great. You can chant. Simply while walking in the street you can chant. While working, you can chant. While at home, you chant. When at office, you chant. There is no license, no expenditure, no loss, but the gain is very great. That is our request.</p>
<p>So we thank you very much that you are sympathetic with this movement and coming every weekly to participate in our love feast. So if you simply come by taking part in this feasting festival, you'll be infected with Kṛṣṇa consciousness.</p>
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