Prabhupada 0270 - Everyone has Got his Natural Propensities
Lecture on BG 2.7 -- London, August 7, 1973
Pradyumna: Translation, "Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition, I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me."
Prabhupāda: This is very important verse in Bhagavad-gītā. It is a turning point of life. Kārpaṇya-doṣa. Miserly, doṣa means fault When one does not act according to his position, that is fault. And that is called miserly. So everyone has got his natural propensities, svabhāva. Yasya hi svabhāvasya tasyāso duratikramaḥ. Svabhāva, natural propensities. It is a common example, it is given, that yasya hi yaḥ svabhāvasya tasyāso duratikramaḥ. One, habit is the second nature. One who has, who is habituated or one whose nature, characteristic in some way, it is very difficult to change. The example is given: śvā yadi kriyate rājā saḥ kiṁ na so uparhanam. If you make a dog a king, does it mean that he'll not lick up shoes? Yes, dog's nature is to lick up shoes. So even if you dress him like a king and let him sit down on a throne, still, as soon as he'll see one shoe, he'll jump over and lick it. This is called svabhāva. Kārpaṇya-doṣa.
So in the animal life, it is not possible to change one's nature, which is given by the material energy, prakṛti. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27). Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-sangaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Why? All living entities are part and parcel of God. Therefore originally the characteristic of the living entity is as good as God. Simply it is a question of quantity. Quality is the same. Quality is the same. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). The same example. If you take a drop of sea water, the quality, the chemical composition is the same. But the quantity is different. It is a drop, and the sea is vast ocean. Similarly, we are exactly of the same quality as Kṛṣṇa. We can study. Why people say God is impersonal? If I am of the same quality, so God is also person, how He can be imperson? If, qualitatively, we are one, then as I feel individually, so why God should be refused individuality? This is another nonsense. The impersonalist rascals, they cannot understand what is the nature of God. In the Bible also it is said: "Man is made after God." You can study God's quality by studying your quality, or anyone's quality. Simply the difference is quantity's different. I have got some quality, some productive capacity. We also produce, every individual soul is producing something. But his production cannot be compared with production of God. That is the difference. We are producing one flying machine. We are taking very much pride that: "Now we have discovered the sputnik. It is going to the moon planet." But that is not perfect. It is coming back. But God has produced so many flying planets, millions and trillions of planets, very, very heavy planets. Just like this planet is carrying so many big, big mountains, sea, but still it is flying. It is floating in the air just like a cotton swab. This is God's power. Gām āviśya (BG 15.13). In the Bhagavad-gītā, you'll find: ahaṁ dhārayāmy ojasā. Who is sustaining all these big, big planets? We are explaining gravity. And in the śāstra we find that it is being carried by Saṅkarṣaṇa.