That is real God consciousness
Caru das : My job was to do the speaking engagements for Prabhupada, the bookings, and one such booking was at a monastery, a monastery-seminary combination called Saint Pascal's. Prabhupada gave a wonderful lecture. I listen to that lecture once a year just to remind myself of how wonderful it was. He was speaking to seminarians, people that were committed to another religion, and he created a broad basis of commonality. It was a wonderful nonsectarian lecture about God consciousness. And it wasn't overly long, but there was a very nice question period which was prolonged because he had definitely piqued their interest. I remember one of them stood up and he said, "What do you think of Saint Francis?" and Prabhupada didn't know who Saint Francis was. So as he often did, he said, "What is his philosophy?" And the seminarian said, "He saw God everywhere. He called the tree his brother or the bird his sister." And Prabhupada's eyes got wide. He just looked at this seminarian and his head went back and he looked around at everybody and he said, "That is real God consciousness." And that brought tears to some of these guys' eyes, that here was a man from India, had never heard the name of Saint Francis five minutes before, and on the basis of this very much to-the-point description probably had more respect for him than anyone in the room, than the people coming from his very own tradition; and that impressed them. Then there were some other questions which were deftly handled, and then we came to the point where Prabhupada invited them all to join us in kirtan. He said, "I have heard that the Greek word for Krishna is Kristo." And he said, "What happens when you say it repeatedly? Kristo Kristo Kristo Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna. So you have your word for Christ and we have our word for God, and it's the same word. So let's join." And, by gosh, they did. During the course of that kirtan they all stood up, they all were clapping, they all were chanting, and for the second time I saw tears coming from their eyes. Srila Prabhupada: Facility of this life or this form of life is given to us just to understand God. Other forms of life ? cats and dogs, trees and so many other things, there are eight million four hundred thousand forms of life ? so in other forms of life, it is not possible to understand what is God. If we call all the dogs of your country, "Come here, we shall talk about God," there is no possibility of understanding. But in the human form of life, there is possibility. Doesn't matter whether it is in India or America or Australia. Any human being, if he tries and if he reads the scriptures-never mind Bible, Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavat-then he will understand God. At the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, janmadyasya yatah: Absolute Truth is that from Whom everything has come into existence. Now, what is the nature of the Absolute Truth? Everything means there are two things, matter and spirit. Two things. Just like this table is matter and we living entities, we are spirit, the spirit soul. This material body is my covering, just like dress. Every one of us is dressed, covered by some kind of dress. Similarly, all living beings, they are dressed by the material covering.
So we, the spirit soul, part and parcel of God, at the present moment we are covered by two kinds of dresses: the subtle dress mind, intelligence and ego and the gross covering. Subtle means we know there is this thing but we cannot see. Just like you know I have got mind, I know you have got mind; but I don't see your mind, you don't see my mind. I know you have got intelligence, you know I have got intelligence, but we don't see what is that intelligence. Similarly, identification, I am this consciousness. That also, you have got consciousness, I have got consciousness, but we don't see it. So things which are not visible to these material eyes, that is called subtle. And spirit soul is still subtler. So human life is meant for understanding that spirit soul and the Supreme Soul.
Guest : Your devotees say that you aim to get beyond the disease of material existence. I didn't quite pick up what your process was for doing this, and could you tell me what the end result is once you do get beyond this?
Srila Prabhupada : What is that?
Madhudvisa das : In Krishna consciousness, the process is to get beyond the disease of material existence.
Srila Prabhupada : Yes.
Madhudvisa das : The first part of his question, how to do this. The second part of his question, what is the end result after taking to the process.
Srila Prabhupada : The process is to transfer yourself from material energy to spiritual energy. We are under energy. The God has got two energies, material energy and spiritual energy. We are also energy, we are marginal energy. So marginal energy means we can remain under the material energy or on the spiritual energy, as we make our choice, marginal. Just like on the beach you find sometimes on the border of the water the water is covering the land, and sometimes the land is open. This is called marginal position. Similarly, we are marginal energy of God, living entities. So we can remain under the water, means the material energy, or we can remain open also.
Madhudvisa das : What is our view of Lord Jesus Christ?
Srila Prabhupada : Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, he is son of God, the best son of God. We have all respect for him. Yes. Anyone who is teaching people about God consciousness, he is respectful to us. It does not matter in which country, in which atmosphere he was preaching. It doesn't matter.
Guest: Saint Francis of Assisi found God in the material rather than utilize the material for God. And Saint Francis used to talk about "brother dog" and "sister cat" and "sister water" and "brother wind." What does His Grace think of Saint Francis' approach to the material?
Madhudvisa das : Saint Francis, the found of this particular order which we have been invited to speak to, found God in the material world. And he used to address the aspects of the material world as brother and sister-"brother tree," "sister water," like that. What is your view upon this?
Srila Prabhupada : This is real God consciousness. This is real God consciousness. Yes. Not that "I am God conscious and I kill the animals." That is not God consciousness. To accept the trees, plants, lower animals, insignificant ants even as brother, samah sarvesu bhutesu, this is explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma, na socati na kanksati, samah sarvesu bhutesu. Samah, samah means equal to all living entities. To see the spirit soul, anyone, it doesn't matter, either he is man or cat or dog or tree or ant or insect or big man, they are all parts and parcel of God. They are simply dressed differently. Panditah sama-darsinah. One who is pandit, learned, his vision is equal. So if Saint Francis was thinking like that, that is higher standard of spiritual understanding. Yes.
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Caru Dasa
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