Now these two ślokas, verses, we were discussing last day, that we have to raise ourself to the spiritual standard by ourself. I have to raise myself to the spiritual standard by myself. So I am my friend and I am my enemy. This is the opportunity. There is a very nice verse in Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. na kaścit kasyacin mitraṁ na kaścit kasyacid ripuḥ vyavahāreṇa jāyante mitrāṇi ripavas tathā “Nobody is nobody’s friend, nobody is nobody’s enemy. But it is only the behavior by which one can understand who is his friend and who is his enemy.” Nobody is born enemy, nobody is born friend. But by our mutual behavior, somebody is my friend and somebody is my enemy. Similarly, as we have this dealing in the ordinary daily affairs, similarly, I have my dealing with my self. My self. If I deal with me, myself, as friend, then I am my friend. And if I deal with myself inimically… Then what is that friendship and inimical? The friendship is that I am soul. Somehow or other, I have been in contact with this material nature. So I have to get myself out of the entanglement of this material nature. If I act in that way, then I am my friend. But even after getting this opportunity, if I do not act in that way, then I am my enemy. So ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ātmano ripuḥ. So I am myself friend, my friend, and I am my enemy.

Everyone is seeking satisfaction, atyantikṣu. Everyone is struggling for existence for the ultimate happiness. But in this material world, although they are thinking by possessing material wealth they will be satisfied, but that is not the fact. For example, in your country you have got sufficient material opulence than other countries, but still there is no satisfaction. So in spite of all good arrangement for material enjoyment—enough food, enough…, nice apartment, motorcars, roads, and very good arrangement for freedom in sex, and good arrangement for defense also—everything is complete—but still, people are dissatisfied, confused, and younger generation, they are turning to hippies, protest, or dissatisfaction because they are not happy. I have several times cited the example that in Los Angeles, when I was taking my morning walk in Beverly Hills, many hippies were coming out from a very respectable house. It appeared that his father, he has got a very nice car also, but the dress was hippie. So there is a protest against the so-called material arrangement. They do not like.

Prabhupāda: So Arjuna’s position is very precarious. There is a Bengali proverb, naste bose guṇṭhata. A girl, he…, she is very famous dancing girl. So it is the system, as we have introduced, the girls and ladies, they have their veil, guṇṭha. It is called guṇṭha in Indian language. So a dancing girl, when she was on the stage, she saw that so many of her relatives are there as visitors, so she began to draw the veil. So this is not required. You are a dancing girl. Now you have to dance. You cannot be shy. You must freely dance. That is your duty. So Arjuna… Some rascal has killed some man giving the reason that killing is not sinful, because in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated there. Yes. Apparently, to the rascals it appears like that, that Kṛṣṇa is encouraging Arjuna to fight. And He says there is no sin. But the rascal does not see under what condition He is advising. Sva-dharmam api cāvekṣya. The sva-dharma, the principle is a kṣatriya’s duty to fight, is to kill in fight. If you are in fight, you become sympathetic, then the same example: the dancing girl, when on the stage if she is shy, it is like that. Why she should be shy? She must dance freely. That will be credit. So in the warfield, you cannot be compassionate. That is not required. In so many ways. Ahiṁsā ārjava, these are good qualities. In the Thirteenth Chapter, Kṛṣṇa has described ahiṁsā, nonviolence. Nonviolence is generally accepted. And actually Arjuna was nonviolent. ...

Prabhupāda: …get money, they will spend it for spoiling himself. Nayanābhirāma: So I was just wondering if it wouldn’t be better if we gave them food and clothing instead of paying them. Prabhupāda: But they will not work. [break] …gradually. [aside:] Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. [break] Who does not deviate from the instruction of the Lord, he is Āryan. All others, non-Āryan. The Āryans will take the words of God as it is, without any deviation. That is Āryan. An Āryan means advanced, advanced in knowledge, and one who is advanced in knowledge, he is advanced civilized. Rascal fools, how they can be civilized? Everyone is claiming “Āryan,” but he does not know what is the business of Āryans. Simply by some bodily feature… The same ignorance—“I am this body.” So by the bodily features they settle up: “This is from Āryan family; this is from non-Āryan family.” That is good. That is external. Real Āryan means one who is advanced in knowledge and goes by the order of Kṛṣṇa, or God. [aside:] Jaya.

This is the responsibility of human life. This human life is not meant for working day and night like the dogs and hogs for sense gratification. At the present moment it is going on all over the world: simply for sense gratification they are working so hard. From hundred miles they are going to the working place, hanging on the Delhi passenger train. Sometimes there is accident. These things are going on, very hard labor like the asses. So this is also another punishment. The more punishment is awaiting, yama-daṇḍa, at the court of Yamarāja. Not only they are suffering here, but they will be taken to the Yamarāja. And there, according to his work, abominable work, he will be punished. Therefore the Yamadūtas said, tata enaṁ daṇḍa-pāṇeḥ sakāśaṁ kṛta-kilbiṣaṁ neṣyāmaḥ. “Now it is our duty.” Just like police force, they are engaged to arrest the criminals and take him to the court or to the police officer for necessary action, so these Yamadūtas, they have given sufficient reason that “This man has committed sinful life; therefore he is punishable.”

This is the responsibility of human life. This human life is not meant for working day and night like the dogs and hogs for sense gratification. At the present moment it is going on all over the world: simply for sense gratification they are working so hard. From hundred miles they are going to the working place, hanging on the Delhi passenger train. Sometimes there is accident. These things are going on, very hard labor like the asses. So this is also another punishment. The more punishment is awaiting, yama-daṇḍa, at the court of Yamarāja. Not only they are suffering here, but they will be taken to the Yamarāja. And there, according to his work, abominable work, he will be punished. Therefore the Yamadūtas said, tata enaṁ daṇḍa-pāṇeḥ sakāśaṁ kṛta-kilbiṣaṁ neṣyāmaḥ. “Now it is our duty.” Just like police force, they are engaged to arrest the criminals and take him to the court or to the police officer for necessary action, so these Yamadūtas, they have given sufficient reason that “This man has committed sinful life; therefore he is punishable.”

Vyāsadeva saw three things: the jīvātmā, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead and māyā. Māyā means what is not. Mā-yā. So that māyā begins from what is not. I am not this body, but I am thinking I am this body. This is māyā. I am not this body, that’s a fact. But I am thinking, “I am this body.” This is māyā. This is the beginning of māyā. This is the conception of the animals, less than human beings. Nowadays even a human being, he’s also thinking like that. This is anartha. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā lesson, to impress, “Arjuna, you are not this body.” Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. So many ways. So this is anartha. To accept this body and in bodily relationship everything, ahaṁ mameti, this is māyā. So this is anartha. Anartha means meaningless, no artha. Artha means meaning.