Material science boasts of advancement while remaining blind to the infinite spiritual reality beyond creation's material coverings.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Bhagavad-gītā 1.24–25 — July 20, 1973, London 730720BG-LONDON [40:11 Minutes] Bg-01.24–25_730720BG-LONDON Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse]. sañjaya uvāca evam ukto hṛṣīkeśo guḍākeśena bhārata senayor ubhayor madhye sthāpayitvā rathottamam [Bg. 1.24] [break] bhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥ sarveśāṁ ca mahīkṣitām uvāca pārtha paśyaitān samavetān kurūn iti [Bg. 1.25] [break] [leads chanting of synonyms] sañjayaḥ—Sañjaya; uvāca—said; evam—thus; uktaḥ—addressed; hṛṣīkeśaḥ—Lord Kṛṣṇa; guḍākeśena—by Arjuna; bhārata—O descendant of Bharata; senayoḥ—of armies; ubhayoḥ—of both; madhye—in the midst of; sthāpayitvā—by placing; rathottamam—the finest chariot.
[04:57] Translation: "Sañjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, being thus addressed by Arjuna, Lord Kṛṣṇa drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties." [leads chanting of synonyms] bhīṣma—Grandfather Bhīṣma; droṇa—the teacher Droṇa; pramukhataḥ—in the front of; sarveṣām—all; ca—also; mahīkṣitām—chiefs of the world; uvāca—said; pārtha—O Pārtha (son of Pṛthā); paśya—just behold; etān—all of them; samavetān—assembled; kurūn—all the members of the Kuru dynasty; iti—thus. [06:02] Translation: "In the presence of Bhīṣma, Droṇa and all other chieftains of the world, Hṛṣīkeśa, the Lord, said, 'Just behold, Pārtha, all the Kurus who are assembled here.' " Prabhupāda: So, sañjaya uvāca. Actually Sañjaya, the secretary of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, he is relating the activities in the battlefield. Dhṛtarāṣṭra is blind. How in the battlefield the fighting was going on, Sañjaya was observing, either by television or a similar method.
Otherwise, how he could explain things are going on in the battlefield in the room? This Bhagavad-gītā, Sañjaya explained all activities in the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, within the room. So there must have been something like television, or higher than the television, he was seeing within himself everything. So scientific improvement is coming, but still on the material platform. Material means gross material and subtle material.
That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me prakṛti bhinnā aṣṭadhā [Bg. 7.4] Earth, water, fire, air, sky, these five elements are gross material. Everyone can see, gross. We can see earth, we can see water, we can see fire, air, or we can perceive the sky also. But there are subtle matter also: mind, intelligence, ego.
We cannot see the mind. We cannot see intelligence. I understand that you have got intelligence, or everyone knows we have got mind, but we cannot see. This is subtle.
They are also matter, subtle matter. So the television is a machine made of gross matter, but there is possibility of making another machine of subtle matter. There is possibility. Because matter; they are also matter. That subtle matter machine is not yet discovered.
But here we can see the subtle matter discovery was there. Otherwise, how Sañjaya could see the activities in the battlefield? This is to be understood. They are very much proud of material advancement of science, but still, they have to make advancement, subtle matter.