Lecture

Prabhupāda: So, everyone has got a particular type of duty. That is called dharma. So why execute... [break] ...our occupational duty? One can become perfect. It doesn’t matter whether he is a businessman, or whether he is a lawyer, whether he is an engineer, whether he is a priest, or anything else. By executing his occupational duty he can become the perfect. How?

How it is possible? One has to see, whether by his professional duty, he is satisfying Kṛṣṅa, that's all. Saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṅam [SB 1.2.13].

[O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one's own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.]

That is the test. It doesn't matter whether you are businessman or lawyer, but if you test your occupation by satisfying the Supreme Lord, that is your perfection.

So our Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is based on this principle. We do not request anyone to become a sannyāsī or give up home and go to Himalaya and practice haṭha-yoga. No. Our principle is that in whatever condition you are, you remain there. That is the instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam while talking with Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya. That verse is: jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva [SB 10.14.3].

[Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.]

One should not try to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by speculative mental exercise. This process should be given up. One should be humble and meek. That is also the demand of Bhagavad-gītā.

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66]

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]

So, in absolute humbleness one should try to hear from the realized soul, san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām namanta eva [SB 10.14.3]. In that position, although the Lord is unconquerable, He becomes conquered by the devotee.

So we are recommending, we are preaching all over the world, this philosophy that you do not require to change your position. Even if you require to remain as a Christian or as a Muhammadan or a Hindu or a Jewish or Buddhist, it doesn't matter. Please try to see whether by your activities God is satisfied.

That is the injunction in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also,

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje [SB 1.2.6]

[The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.]

That is first-class religion, by which one is elevated to the platform of loving transcendental service to the Transcendence, Adhokṣaja: without any cause, ahaitukī apratihatā, and without being hampered. In that way one can be peaceful. Otherwise there is no possibility of peace.

So how this is possible? That is also described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

śṛṅvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṅaḥ puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṅi vidhunoti suhṛt satām [SB 1.2.17]

[Śrī Kṛṣṅa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.]

Kṛṣṅa is situated in everyone’s heart as Paramātmā.

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati. [Bg 18.61]

[The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.]

Kṛṣṅa is everywhere. Kṛṣṅa is in Goloka Vṛndāvana, He is within your heart, He is within even the atom. Aṅḍāntara-stha-paramāṅu-cayāntara-sthaṁ [Bs 5.35].

[He is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore.]

So Kṛṣṅa is everywhere. Simply Kṛṣṅa wants to see whether you are trying to become Kṛṣṅa conscious. That's all.

So how you can become Kṛṣṅa conscious? Simply by hearing about Him. For hearing Him there is Bhagavad-gītā, which is Kṛṣṅa personally speaking, and there is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is spoken about Kṛṣṅa. So even if you cannot read, you can hear from realized person. Even if you are not educated, you do not know Sanskrit, you can hear from a person who has realized Kṛṣṅa. In this way, if you try to hear about Kṛṣṅa, simply this hearing process is pious activities, puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ. If you simply hear and chant about Kṛṣṅa, you acquire piety.

In this way, as soon as you acquire piety, you become interested in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Unless one is free from contamination of all sinful activities, one cannot be interested in kṛṣṅa-kathā. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṅya-karmaṅām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ [Bg 7.28]

[Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.]

There are many verses in Vedic literature that kṛṣṅa-kathā, hearing about Kṛṣṅa, makes us free. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also says, ceto-darpaṅa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahādāvāgni-nirvāpanaṁ [Cc Antya 20.12].

[Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṅa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṅa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.]

So there are hundreds and thousands of evidences that simply by hearing about Kṛṣṅa you become free from all contamination of this material world, because Kṛṣṅa Himself will help you to cleanse your heart, abhadrāṅi.

We are being conducted in this material world by three modes of nature: the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Out of these three qualities, the modes of passion and ignorance, rajas, tamaḥ, they are calculated as abhadra, mischievous. If you have addicted to the passion and ignorance, then we cannot make any progress.

You have [to] come to the platform of goodness, the brahminical qualification, then we can understand what is spiritual life. And that will be possible simply by hearing and chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, or if you want to be still progressing, you can read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā. And Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has especially recommended that, "By My order," He says the..., exactly the Bengali words,

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa yāre dekha, tāre kaha ’kṛṣṅa’-upadeśa [Cc Madhya 7.128]

[Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṅa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.]

"You simply carry My order, and whomever you meet, you simply speak the philosophy of the topics about Kṛṣṅa."

So, our Kṛṣṅa consciousness Movement has taken up this injunction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu very seriously, and we are talking to the people simply about Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and it is acting very nicely. It is acting very nicely. We have got now forty branches all over the world, and everywhere, boys and girls like these, our all disciples, are all young men and young women. They are from twenty to thirty years of age, but they are doing very excellently. They have no time otherwise; each of them would have talked with you how they are feeling, how they have come to the Kṛṣṅa consciousness, and how they have become purified by this movement.

So we have brought these boys and girls in India just to show you example. If persons who had no knowledge of Kṛṣṅa five years ago, they can take to this life of Kṛṣṅa consciousness so seriously, you cannot do this? You also can do, but you are neglecting. Don’t neglect. Don’t spoil your life simply by imitating the animals. Take to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. It is very simple. Kṛṣṅa consciousness is not very hard task. Anyone can chant anywhere. There is no hard-and-fast rules and regulation for chanting. You can chant on the street, you can chant on your bus, you can chant in your office—anywhere. Nobody will object.

Please try these transcendental activities and see how you are happy. That is our Movement. We don’t impose any artificial gymnastic process, that place your nose in this way and to keep your head like this way. No. In whatever position you are, simply utilize your tongue by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa, and tasting bhagavat-prasād. That is the way of realizing Kṛṣṅa.

It is stated in the Bhāgavata,

ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṅa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc Madhya 17.136]

[Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṅa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṅa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṅa really is.]

You cannot understand Kṛṣṅa by your present blunt material senses. You have to purify. That is bhakti process. Bhakti process means purifying the senses. Suppose you have got some disease in the eyes. It is not that you pluck out your eyes from the socket. You cure it.

We don’t follow the Māyāvādī process or the Buddhist process to commit spiritual suicide. No. We are after cure, curing the material diseases, and that is bhakti process.

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc Madhya 19.170]

[Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.]

You have to free..., you have to become free from the designated condition. You have to forget yourself, that you are Indian, you are American, you are German, you are brāhmaṅa, you are kṣatriya, you are śūdra. No. Your real identity is, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṅa dāsa [Cc Madhya 20.108].

[It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṅa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṅa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṅa has three varieties of energy.]

Our real identity is eternal servant of Kṛṣṅa. You stick to that, that "I am servant of Kṛṣṅa," and act accordingly. Then you will be happy. That is bhakti.

hṛṣīkeṅa hṛṣīkeśa- sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate [Cc Madhya 19.170]

Bhakti means to serve the master of the senses, Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is the master of the senses. His name is therefore Hṛṣīkeśa. You have heard this name Hṛṣīkeśa in the Bhagavad-gītā. Arjuna requests Kṛṣṅa, senayor ubhayor madhye hṛṣīkeśa sthāpaya [Bg 1.21],

[Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see who is present here, who is desirous of fighting, and with whom I must contend in this great battle attempt.]

"Just place my chariot between the two armies my dear Hṛṣīkeśa." So Hṛṣīkeśa means the master of the senses.

So our senses we claim..., we are claiming that this hand is mine, this leg is mine. Actually they belong to Kṛṣṅa. Therefore with your, with your hands, with your legs, with your eyes, with your ears, with all your senses you try to satisfy Kṛṣṅa. And if you try to do that, that will make your life successful.

So the process is very simple. Simply try to hear kṛṣṅa-kathā.

srnvatam sva-kathāh kṛṣṅah puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ hrdy antah stho hy abhadrāṅi vidhunoti suhrt satam [SB 1.2.17]

[Śrī Kṛṣṅa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.]

He is very friendly to everyone, every living entity. He is trying to rectify, and especially He is friendly to His devotees.

So in this way,

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā [SB 1.2.18]

[By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.]

If you daily, as a routine work, you serve this bhāgavata process, chanting of Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra and reading a portion of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or serving His..., a pure devotee of Kṛṣṅa, he is also bhāgavata.

nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī [SB 1.2.18]

By this process you will become a firm devotee of the Supreme Lord. This means situation on the platform of goodness. In this way gradually you have to develop your devotional service. Then you will be jolly.

evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate [SB 1.2.20]

As soon as you become free from the contamination of the ignoble qualities of this material world—ignorance and passion—you immediately become joyful. That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā:

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati [Bg 18.54]

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

So I don’t wish to take much of your valuable time. Please try to follow this simple process. Wherever you remain, whatever you may do, try to chant this mahā-mantra, [joined by devotees] Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

This is confirmed also by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, that in this Age of Kali there is a great opportunity. What is that?

kīrtanād eva kṛṣṅasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet [SB 12.3.51]

[My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.]

Simply by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra one can become free from all the contamination of this material world, and he is promoted to the spiritual world.

So this simple process I think every one of you can accept it, and you do not require to change anything of your activities. Simply begin from this day chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa. [applause] [end]