No action escapes God's witnessing; all activities are recorded by cosmic observers and cannot violate divine law.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.42–43 — December 24, 1970, Surat 701224SB-SURAT [62:56 Minutes] SB-06.01.42–43_701224SB-SURAT Haṁsadūta: The following lecture was recorded on the morning of December 24th, 1970, in Surat, India. [break] Prabhupāda: sūryo 'gniḥ khaṁ marud devaḥ somaḥ sandhyāhanī diśaḥ kaṁ kuḥ svayaṁ dharma iti hy ete daihyasya sākṣiṇaḥ [SB 6.1.42] There are many Vedic evidences how the Vedas are directly received from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Here are some of the evidences quoted from the Vedas: svayambhu miticha nisyam matrena svayam eva bhavati sed asya mahato bhūtasya naśvasitam etad yad ṛg-vedo iti In the Vedas it is stated that by the breathing of the Mahā-Viṣṇu, all these Vedas, especially Rg-Veda, is manifested. Then the question is that dharma or adharma.
Dharma and the opposite, adharma; religion or non-religion; pious and non-pious; how they can be distinguished? How one is detected that he is non-religious and non-pious? This question was raised by our Christian professor when I was student in the Scottish Churches College, Calcutta. Dr.
Urquhart, he was a great scholar, but he did not believe in the karma-vāda, that one has to suffer or enjoy the fruits of his own karma. Because according to Christian philosophy, after death there is no more birth. Is it not? Heh? Who is there?
[a few devotees talk at once, indistinct] So his argument was that "Who is the witness?" According karma-vāda, his analogy was that suppose a man has done something criminal. In the court there are witnesses to prove that this man has committed this theft or this criminal activity. So who is the witness? Suppose I have done something criminal or impious in my past life, so who is giving evidences that I did it; therefore I am suffering? So at that time, of course, we were boys only.
There was not much study; we simply heard. Later on, of course, we could understand from Bhagavad-gītā that the supreme witness is Kṛṣṇa Himself: īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61], and He is the prime witness. He is seeing everyone, what he is doing. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo [Bg. 15.15]: "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: "Through Me anyone, every living entity, gets his remembrance or forgetfulness." So this is also essential, that if anyone questions that why God, Kṛṣṇa, makes one forgetful and why God makes one remembering—that is also His mercy.
This is mercy. Now suppose if one was a king in his previous birth, and now he has become a hog. So if the hog does not forget that he was a king… There was…, in the Purāṇas there are stories like that. Sometimes Indra, the king of heaven, he was cursed to become a hog.
So he was enjoying the hog's life—the she-hog and many kiddies and eating stool and living in a very nice, filthy place. [laughter] So he was enjoying that life. Now when Brahmā saw that in his absence the management of the heavenly kingdom was not properly being done, so he came down and asked the hog that "All right, whatever you have done, now I have come to deliver you to come with me." The hog said, "No, no. I cannot go.