Prabhupada 0175 - Dharma Means to Gradually Turn the Crows into Swans
Lecture on SB 1.8.33 -- Los Angeles, April 25, 1972
Any literature which has no connection with the knowledge of God, tad, tad vayasam tirtham, that is just like the place where the crows take enjoyment. Where the crows take enjoyment? In the filthy place. And the swans, the white swans, they take pleasure in a nice, clear water where there is garden. where is birds.
So there are, even in the animals, there are divisions. Swan class and crow class. Natural division. The crow will not go to the swan. The swan will not go to the crow. Similarly in the human society, there are crow class men and swan class men. The swan class men will come here because here everything is clear, nice, good philosophy, good food, good education, good dress, good mind, everything good. And crow class men will go to such and such club, such and such party, naked dance, so many things. You see.
So this Krsna consciousness movement is meant for the swan class of men. Not for the crow class of men. No. But we can convert the crows into swans. That is our philosophy. One who was crow is now swimming like swan. That we can do. That is the benefit of Krsna consciousness. So when the swans become crows, that is material world. That is Krsna says: yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati (BG 4.7). The living entity is encaged in this material body and he's trying to gratify the senses, one body after another, one body after another, one body, after another. This is the position. And dharma means to gradually turn the crows into swans. That is dharma.
Just like one man may be, may remain, may be very illiterate, uncultured, but he can be converted into educated, cultured man. By education, by training. So that possibility is there in the human form of life. I cannot train a dog to become a devotee. That is difficult. It can be done also. But I may not be so powerful. Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. When He was passing through the jungle, Jharikhanda, the tigers, the snakes, the deers, all the animals, they became devotee. They became devotee. So what was possible for me, uh, Caitanya Mahaprabhu... Because He's God Himself. He can do anything. We cannot do that. But we can work in the human society. It doesn't matter, however fallen a man is. If he follows our instruction then he can be turned.
That is called dharma. Dharma means to bring one to his original position. That is dharma. So there may be degrees. But the original position is that we are part and parcel of God, and, when we understand that we are part and parcel of God, that is our real position of life. That is called brahma-bhuta (SB 4.30.20) stage, understanding his Brahman realization, identification.