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260 THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION
dog.’ And the cat thinks, ‘‘I am a big cat.”’ In the same way, if we think,
“‘T am an Irishman”’ or ‘“‘I am an Englishman,” then we are no better |
than the cats and dogs. As long as people remain in a bodily conception of
life, there will be fighting.
Mr. O’Grady: What was Mahatma Gandhi fighting in the House of
Commons?
Srila Prabhupada: That was another dog-ism. There is no difference. A
dog thinks, ‘‘I am a dog,”’ because he has the body of a dog. If I am think- {
ing that I am Indian because this body was born on Indian soil, then how
am I different from the dog? The bodily conception of life is simply
animalism. When we understand that we are not these bodies but are
spirit souls, there will be peace. There cannot be any peace otherwise. Sa
eva go-kharah. The Vedic literatures state that a person in the bodily con-
cept of life is exactly like a cow or an ass. People have to transcend this in- ]
__ ferior conception of the self. How is that done? |
mam ca yo ‘vyabhicarena |
. bhakti-yogena sevate |
Sa gundan samatityaitan ]
brahma-bhiyaya kalpate |
““One who engages in the spiritual activities of unalloyed devotional ser- ]
vice at once transcends the modes of material nature and is elevated to
the spiritual platform.’ [Bhagavad-gitd 14.25] |
In our society, there are many Mexicans, Canadians, Indians, Jews, |
and Muslims, but they no longer consider themselves Muslims, Chris-
tians, Jews, or whatever. They are all servants of Krsna. That is Brahman |
realization. |
Mr. O’Grady: That’s giving it a name also.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, a name must be there. But although, for exam-
ple, your name is different from that of another Irishman, you nonethe-
less all feel that you are Irish. One’s name may be different, but that |
doesn’t matter. The quality should be one. That is required. When we ac-
quire Krsna’s quality, then, despite different names, there will be peace.
That is called so ’ham. The names of different people in a nation may be
different, but all the people feel the same nationality. Varieties may exist,
but if the quality is the same, that is oneness, brahma-bhiita.
brahma-bhiitah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
