Pradyumna: (leads chanting) Translation: "Even the intelligent are bewildered in determining what is action and what is inaction. Now I shall explain to you what action is, knowing which you shall be liberated from all sins."

Prabhupäda:

kià karma kim akarmeti
kavayo 'py atra mohitäù
tat te karma pravakñyämi
yaj jïätvä mokñyase 'çubhät

So.... so again the same beginning. Cätur-varëyaà mayä såñöaà guëa-karma-vibhägaçaù [Bg. 4.13]. Everything is being spoken on that basis. Now, everyone has to work. Kåñëa never says to Arjuna that "You haven't got to work. I am your friend. I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You simply sleep, and I shall do everything for you." He never said like that. He could say that. Just like modern, rascal incarnation of Gods, they say to their devotees that "You simply think of me. I shall do everything for you." But Kåñëa never said that. Kåñëa said that man-manä bhava mad-bhakto mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru [Bg. 18.65], but never said that "You sit down idly." Never said that. Kåñëa, rather, said that "You better do akarma than sit down idly. Even you do something mischievous, that is also good than to sit down idly." He never said. Karmaëy evädhikäras te mä phaleñu kadä... Simply He said that "You work. You have got the right to work according to your capacity, according to your position." That position is brähmaëa position, kñatriya position, vaiçya position, çüdra position. In any position, you work, but the result should be given to Kåñëa. That is wanted.

That is tyäga. Tyäga means to give up the result to Kåñëa. That is sannyäsa. Sat-nyäsa. Sat means the Supreme. And anyone who renounces everything for Kåñëa, the Supreme, he is sannyäsé. That will be explained in the Fifth Chapter. Käryaà karma karoti yaù. Anäçritaù karma-phalaà käryaà karma karoti yaù, sa sannyäsé. Käryam, "It is my duty."

Just like we have got in our institution specified duties for each and every member, and they are doing, and if... They take it seriously, every one of them, that it is the order and duty. "My Guru Mahäräja has specified this duty upon me. So it is my duty." Käryam. Käryam means "It is my duty. I must do it." So anäçritaù karma-phalaà käryaà karma karoti... That he is trained up. According to varëäçrama-dharma, that is trained up.

A brahmacäré, from the very beginning of his life, he is trained to act only for guru. That is brahmacäré. It is enjoined that a brahmacäré live at the shelter, at the care of guru just like a menial servant. Kåñëa also, although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, when He was living as brahmacäré at His guru's house, Sändépani Muni, He was collecting wood, fuel, from the jungle. He was going daily. It is not that because He was Personality of Godhead, therefore He should not go. No. You will find in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Kåñëa Book, that when Sudämä Vipra met him, he was talking with Him about His childhood stories. Kåñëa reminded him, "Sudämä, do you remember that one day we went to collect fuel for our Guru Mahäräja, and there was storm and rain, and we could not get out of the forest. We had to live overnight there. Then on the morning Guru Mahäräja came with other disciples and they recovered us from the jungle. Do you remember?" So Kåñëa had to do this. This is training.

A brahmacäré is trained up from the very beginning how to become a sannyäsé at the end of life. How he is trained up? He is trained up to collect for guru alms. Everywhere the brahmacäré would go to householder, and they ask, "Mother, give us some alms for my Guru Mahäräja." And the ladies would give him. Because everyone's son goes to the gurukula. So there was no hesitation. And the brahmacäré would collect and bring it in the äçrama, and then he should live just like a menial servant. He may be a king's son or a very learned brähmaëa's son, but when he lives at gurukula, he has to work.

It is said in the çästra... In Bhagavad-gétä, in Çrémad-Bhägavatam you will find the duty of brahmacäré, the duty of gåhastha, the duty of vänaprastha, the duty of sannyäsa. Everything is there. So a brahmacäré is trained in such a way that although he has collected everything, but he does not claim anything. He does not keep anything with him. Even though he has to eat in the äçrama, but that he will eat upon the calling by the guru, "My dear such and such, please come and take your prasädam." It is said, if the guru forgets to call him one day, he will not take his food. This is called brahmacäré, means strictly following.

And they used to call every woman from the beginning of life, "Mother." This is training. Mätåvat para-däreñu. From the very beginning of life, all women they are treated as mother. That is the system, Vedic system. Everyone will call a woman as "Mother." Never mind whether she is younger or older. It doesn't matter. Woman has to be addressed as "Mother." That is Cäëakya Paëòita's instruction. Who is learned scholar? Who has got three qualification, he is learned scholar. What is that? Mätåvat para-däreñu: "To treat all woman as mother." Nowadays it has been introduced in India, "Bahinji." No. This is not the etiquette. The etiquette is to address every woman, never mind whether she is young or old, as "Mother." This is brahmacäré. This is brahmacäré.

The brahmacarya is very strictly enjoined in the Vedic çästra. Brahma, to maintain brahmacarya, it is advised mäträ svasrä duhiträ vä näviviktä... Mäträ svasrä duhiträ vä. So one should not sit down with woman in a secluded place, even though the woman is mother, sister of daughter. So much restriction. And why? Balavän indriya-grämaù: "The senses are very powerful." Vidväàsam api karñati. "Oh, senses may be powerful for the fools and rascals." No. Vidväàsam api karñati: "Even one is very learned, advanced, still, senses are so powerful that it can be agitated even before the mother, sister and daughter." This is Vedic injunction, brahmacarya. Tapasä brahmacaryeëa damena çamena [SB 6.1.13]. These are the human life. To accept brahmacarya life, tapasya, controlling the senses, controlling the mind, tyägena, by giving in charity whatever you possess. These are the different processes.

But if you take to bhakti-yoga, then all these processes become automatically accustomed. That is the profit of bhakti-yoga. So brahmacäré-karma, gåhastha-karma, vänaprastha-karma, sannyäsa-karma, then brähmaëa's karma, then kñatriya's karma, vaiçya's karma, çüdra's karma. The society which knows perfectly well all these different karmas, that is perfect society, that is human society.

Therefore Kåñëa says that kià karma akarmeti kavayo 'py atra mohitäù. Kavayaù, very learned scholars, they are also become bewildered how to specify duty to a particular person. That is not being done at the same time. Everyone is going to the school and colleges, passing their examination, but because he is not trained up according to his tendency or according to his quality, after education he is unemployed. Because he has not been trained up according to the tendency, according to the qualification. That is the basic principle of karma. Kåñëa has begun in this chapter, cätur-varëyaà mayä såñöaà guëa-karma-vibhägaçaù [Bg. 4.13].

That is very essential, the varëäçrama-dharma. Because we must have the aim of life. At the present moment there is no aim of life. The aim of life is sense gratification. That's all. Indriya-tåpti. That is forbidden in the çästras. Nünaà pramattaù kurute vikarma [SB 5.5.4]. Kià karmeti kià vikarmeti will be described. So karma and vikarma, prescribed duties according to qualification, position, occupation, that is called karma. And just opposite, it is called vikarma. Karma akarma vikarma. That Kåñëa will explain.

So at the present moment... Not at the present moment. It is the tendency of materialistic life to act vikarma, forbidden karma. That is explained by Åñabhadeva in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, nünaà pramattaù kurute vikarma yad indriya-prétaya äpåëoti [SB 5.5.4]. That is visible in the present moment in the Kali-yuga all over the world. Vikarmeti. All kinds of sinful activities, they are performing. That is called vikarma. The vikarma we have specified especially: illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication up to drinking tea, coffee and smoking. These are all vikarma. So they do not know. But they are going on. Therefore Åñabhadeva, many, many years ago he warned his sons, "My dear boys, nünaà pramattaù kurute vikarma." Pramattaù. Pra means sufficiently or extraordinarily. Prakåñöa-rüpeëa. Mattaù. Mattaù means mad. Nünaà pramattaù kurute vikarma: [SB 5.5.4] "All people, being mad, they are committing all sinful activities." They do not know what is sinful activity. They think everything is all right. No. Nature will take account of everything and he will give you a next body.

The same example. If you infect some disease and the after result, you must suffer from that disease. This is nature's law. Similarly, käraëaà guëa-saìgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniñu. That is explained in Bhagavad-gétä. Why one gets low grade life and why one gets high grade life? What is the reason? That is explained by Kåñëa, that käraëaà guëa-saìgo 'sya. The reason is as he is being infected by the different qualities of material nature. Therefore we have to be very careful. There are three qualities and mixed qualities. Originally three qualities: sattva-guëa, rajo-guëa, tamo-guëa. Then three multiplied by three, mixture, then it becomes nine. Then nine multiplied by nine it becomes eighty-one. Different, just like color mixture. So therefore there are 8,400,000 species of life, this mixture of qualities. Karmaëä daiva-netreëa. We are infecting different types of qualities of material nature, and we are becoming fit for the next life.

But next life there is, tathä dehäntara-präptiù. People do not know it. Therefore we should be very careful to take instruction from Bhagavad-gétä, and make our life successful, following the rules and regulation as it is prescribed there. Otherwise we are animals.

The animals, they cannot follow any rules and regulation. Animal, you ask animal, dog, that "You become a brahmacäré." That is not possible. That is not possible (laughs). It is for human being. These äçramas, the four äçramas and four varëas, they are all meant for human society, not that it is restricted in a certain area or certain country or certain community. No. It is meant for the whole human society. Bhagavad-gétä is meant for the whole human society. When Kåñëa says, cätur-varëyaà mayä såñöaà guëa-karma-vibhägaçaù [Bg. 4.13], he never says that "It is meant for India." Where is that? Why they came that the cätur-varëyam should be in India only? Kåñëa never said that. Kåñëa said, sarva-yoniñu kaunteya sambhavanti mürtayaù yäù: "In every species of life, as many forms are there, all of them are My sons." Ahaà béja-pradaù pitä. Kåñëa never says that "I am Indian" or "I am kñatriya" or "I am brähmaëa." Kåñëa says, "I am the father of everyone." Therefore this cätur-varëya or this karma-käëòa, everything is meant for the whole human society, if not for the animal society. Of course, animal society they cannot follow. That is their degraded position. Labdhvä su-durlabhaà bahu-sambhavänte. Therefore çästra says that "This human form of life is gotten after many, many births," labdhvä su-durlabham. Su-durlabham. Durlabham means very rare to be obtained, and again addition, su, "very, very."

So we should not waste our this human form of life whimsically. It is a great loss. It is a great loss. But people are not educated how much important this human form of life. (aside:) Don't move like that.

Labdhvä su-durlabham idaà bahu-sambhavänte mänuñyam. And Prahläda Mahäräja says also, the same thing. That is the basic principle of Vedic civilization. Prahläda Mahäräja says,

kaumära äcaret präjïo
dharmän bhägavatän iha
durlabhaà mänuñaà janma
tad apy adhruvam arthadam
[SB 7.6.1]

Kaumära, from the very beginning of life, kaumära. Kaumära means from fifth year to tenth year, five years. Within these five years, education must begin. And especially dharmän bhägavatän. Bhägavata-dharma means to understand Kåñëa, to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

I know, amongst the Mohammedans, it is a system that small children, they are taught Puräëa. That is very good system, but we have forgotten. Although India is the land of spiritual culture, our small children, they go to school, colleges, but he has no connection with Bhagavad-gétä. He has no connection with Bhagavad-gétä. They are simply trained up for sense gratification. In Western countries also-for sense gratification. Which is to be suppressed, sense gratification, that education is given. They do not know what is karma and what is vikarma. Now, when the students become disobedient and they create riots and set fire in the buses, then they lament. But why you have educated the students like that? Who is responsible for this? The rascals, they do not know. Here is Kåñëa prescribing. Kià karma kim akarmeti kavayo 'py atra mohitäù. Even learned men, they become bewildered. Tat te karma pravakñyämi.

So in this bewildered condition, baffled condition of the society, we should consult Kåñëa. Kåñëa is ready to give you advice, as He was ready five thousand years ago to give advice to Arjuna. That instruction is still current. It is not that it is finished with the Arjuna and Kåñëa, no. You can take also the same advice from Kåñëa and mold your life. That is wanted.

So kurute vikarma, we are trained up simply to act, opposite direction. Instead of doing good work, we are educated to do bad work, just the opposite. And that is not good. That is the advice of Åñabhadeva. Nünaà pramattaù. What is that bad work? Bad work means sense gratification. That's all. Anything you do for the satisfaction of your sense, that is bad work. And anything you do for satisfaction of Kåñëa, that is good work. This is the division of bad work and good work. The same thing, if you do for your personal satisfaction, it is bad work. And the same thing, if you do for the satisfaction of Kåñëa, that is good work. We must first of all learn this.

Just like Arjuna was thinking in the beginning that "Fighting and killing is not good, especially fighting with the family members and killing them. No, no, I cannot do that." Bad work. He was thinking it was bad. But same thing he did. When he understood Bhagavad-gétä, he did not do anything else, because he was a fighter, he was a warrior. In the beginning he was refusing because he was trying to satisfy his senses. "Oh, it is very good. I think it is... I think..." What you are? You are always misguided if you think like that. But the same Arjuna, when understood Bhagavad-gétä... Kåñëa inquired from him, "Now what is your decision?" Now, kariñye vacanaà tava [Bg. 18.73]. "Yes, now I have decided." So what is that vacanaà tava? Kåñëa asked him to fight. So same fighting, how he became good now? Because Kåñëa wanted it. A good work.

So this should be our motto of life, that you should act if Kåñëa is pleased. This is good work. That is confirmed in many places in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Ataù pumbhir dvija-çreñöhäù. Süta Gosvämé said in the meeting of great learned scholars and brähmaëas in Naimiñäraëya. He said, dvija-çreñöhäù: "O best of the brähmaëas who have assembled here to hear me..." Dvija-çreñöhäù. Ataù pumbhir dvija-çreñöhä varëäçrama-vibhägaçaù. Again that varëäçrama. Without varëäçrama, it is a rascal society. That's all. It is not even human society. It is animal society. But that we have lost now. Again it is said, varëäçrama-vibhägaçaù. Ataù pumbhir dvija-çreñöhäù. He was speaking amongst the very learned scholars and brähmaëas. Therefore he addressed, "My dear all great brähmaëas, dvija-çreñöhä..."

Dvija means brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya. And the brähmaëa is the çreñöha, the best of the dvija. Dvija means twice-born. One birth by the father and mother, and the next birth through the guru and Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge is the mother and guru is the father. The next birth. That is called dvija, twice-born. Once born by father and mother, that is çüdra. Janmanä jäyate çüdraù. First birth is çüdra. The next birth, when he is trained up by the guru in Vedic knowledge, that is real birth. Therefore all of them were first-class brähmaëas, dvija, with saàskära. Therefore they are addressed dvija-çreñöhäù. Ataù pumbhir dvija-çreñöhä varëäçrama-vibhägaçaù.

Again this varëäçrama. Svanuñöhitasya dharmasya. Svanuñöhitasya dharmasya. Now, mark this word, dharma. A brähmaëa's action as a brähmaëa, that is dharma. And brähmaëa is not fighting; that is his dharma. So dharma may be different according to position. But here it is said, ataù pumbhir dvija-çreñöhä varëäçrama-vibhägaçaù. When there is sacrifice in the yajïa, the brähmaëa offers the sacrifice. It does not mean that he is killing some animal.

Similarly, a kñatriya is fighting and killing in the battle, but he is still not killing. This has to be... Not general, generalization, "Oh, killing is bad." Killing is bad for one who is not destined, who is not meant for killing. And places. Everything should be in terms of çästra, not whimsically manufacture something. No.

yaù çästra-vidhim utsåjya
vartate käma-kärataù
na sa siddhim aväpnoti
na sukhaà na paräà gatim

This is the injunction. So ataù pumbhir dvija-çreñöhä varëäçrama-vibhägaçaù. Everyone has got particular type of occupational duty according to varëa and äçrama. So whether it is perfect or not, that test is svanuñöhitasya dharmasya saàsiddhir hari-toñaëam [SB 1.2.13].

You are kñatriya... Just like Arjuna was a kñatriya. His perfection as kñatriya was because he pleased Kåñëa. Saàsiddhir hari-toñaëam [SB 1.2.13]. This is wanted. So this Kåñëa consciousness movement is presenting the most scientific way of life. It is not a whimsical concoction of a human brain. The basic principle is Bhagavad-gétä and çästra, Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Everything is clearly explained. If we take advantage of this Kåñëa consciousness movement then our life will be perfect.

That is the special prerogative of the Indians. Therefore Caitanya Mahäprabhu said,

bhärata-bhümite haila manuñya-janma yära
janma särthaka kari' kara para-upakära
[Cc. Ädi 9.41]