BHAGAVAD-GITA 3.14

annād bhavanti bhūtāni
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

SYNONYMS

annāt—from grains; bhavanti—grow; bhūtāni—the material bodies; parjanyāt—from rains; anna—of food grains; sambhavaḥ—production; yajñāt—from the performance of sacrifice; bhavati—becomes possible; parjanyaḥ—rain; yajñaḥ—performance of yajña; karma—prescribed duties; samudbhavaḥ—born of.

TRANSLATION

All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties.

PURPORT

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, a great commentator on the Bhagavad-gītā, writes as follows: ye indrādy-aṅgatayāvasthitaṁ yajñaṁ sarveśvaraṁ viṣṇum abhyarcya tac-cheṣam aśnanti tena tad deha-yātrāṁ sampādayanti, te santaḥ sarveśvarasya yajña-puruṣasya bhaktāḥ sarva-kilbiṣair anādi-kāla-vivṛddhair ātmānubhava-prati bandhakair nikhilaiḥ pāpair vimucyante. The Supreme Lord, who is known as the yajña-puruṣa, or the personal beneficiary of all sacrifices, is the master of all the demigods, who serve Him as the different limbs of the body serve the whole. Demigods like Indra, Candra and Varuṇa are appointed officers who manage material affairs, and the Vedas direct sacrifices to satisfy these demigods so that they may be pleased to supply air, light and water sufficiently to produce food grains. When Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped, the demigods, who are different limbs of the Lord, are also automatically worshiped; therefore there is no separate need to worship the demigods. For this reason, the devotees of the Lord, who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, offer food to Kṛṣṇa and then eat—a process which nourishes the body spiritually. By such action not only are past sinful reactions in the body vanquished, but the body becomes immunized to all contamination of material nature. When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Similarly, food offered to Lord Viṣṇu and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice is called a devotee of the Lord. Therefore, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who eats only food offered to Kṛṣṇa, can counteract all reactions of past material infections, which are impediments to the progress of self-realization. On the other hand, one who does not do so continues to increase the volume of sinful action, and this prepares the next body to resemble hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions of all sins. The material world is full of contaminations, and one who is immunized by accepting prasādam of the Lord (food offered to Viṣṇu) is saved from the attack, whereas one who does not do so becomes subjected to contamination.
Food grains or vegetables are factually eatables. The human being eats different kinds of food grains, vegetables, fruits, etc., and the animals eat the refuse of the food grains and vegetables, grass, plants, etc. Human beings who are accustomed to eating meat and flesh must also depend on the production of vegetation in order to eat the animals. Therefore, ultimately, we have to depend on the production of the field and not on the production of big factories. The field production is due to sufficient rain from the sky, and such rains are controlled by demigods like Indra, sun, moon, etc., and they are all servants of the Lord. The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who cannot perform them will find himself in scarcity—that is the law of nature. Yajña, specifically the saṅkīrtana-yajña prescribed for this age, must therefore be performed to save us at least from scarcity of food supply.

BRAHMA SAMHITA SLOKA 5.1

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

SYNONYMS

īśvaraḥ—the controller; paramaḥ—supreme; kṛṣṇaḥ—Lord Kṛṣṇa; sat—comprising eternal existence; cit—absolute knowledge; ānanda—and absolute bliss; vigrahaḥ—whose form; anādiḥ—without beginning; ādiḥ—the origin; govindaḥ—Lord Govinda; sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam—the cause of all causes.

TRANSLATION  OF  SLOKA

Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa is the exalted Supreme entity having His eternal name, eternal form, eternal attribution and eternal pastimes. The very name "Kṛṣṇa" implies His love-attracting designation, expressing by His eternal nomenclature the acme of entity. His eternal beautiful heavenly blue-tinged body glowing with the intensity of ever-existing knowledge has a flute in both His hands. As His inconceivable spiritual energy is all-extending, still He maintains His all-charming medium size by His qualifying spiritual instrumentals. His all-accommodating supreme subjectivity is nicely manifested in His eternal form. The concentrated all-time presence, uncovered knowledge and inebriating felicity have their beauty in Him. The mundane manifestive portion of His own Self is known as all-pervading Paramātmā, Īśvara (Superior Lord) or Viṣṇu (All-fostering). Hence it is evident that Kṛṣṇa is sole Supreme Godhead. His unrivaled or unique spiritual body of superexcellent charm is eternally unveiled with innumerable spiritual instrumentals (senses) and unreckonable attributes keeping their signifying location properly, adjusting at the same time by His inconceivable conciliative powers. This beautiful spiritual figure is identical with Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual entity of Kṛṣṇa is identical with His own figure.
The very intensely blended entity of eternal presence of felicitous cognition is the charming targeted holding or transcendental icon. It follows that the conception of the indistinguishable formless magnitude (Brahman) which is an indolent, lax, presentment of cognitive bliss, is merely a penumbra of intensely blended glow of the three concomitants, viz., the blissful, the substantive and the cognitive. This transcendental manifestive icon Kṛṣṇa in His original face is primordial background of magnitudinal infinite Brahman and of the all-pervasive oversoul. Kṛṣṇa as truly visioned in His variegated pastimes, such as owner of transcendental cows, chief of cowherds, consort of milk-maids, ruler of the terrestrial abode Gokula and object of worship by transcendental residents of Goloka beauties, is Govinda. He is the root cause of all causes who are the predominating and predominated agents of the universe. The glance of His projected fractional portion in the sacred originating water viz., the personal oversoul or Paramātmā, gives rise to a secondary potency-nature who creates this mundane universe. This oversoul's intermediate energy brings forth the individual souls analogously to the emanated rays of the sun.

BHAGAVAD GITA 2.46

yāvān artha udapāne
sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu
brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

SYNONYMS

yāvān—all that; arthaḥ—is meant; uda—pāne—in a well of water; sarvataḥ—in all respects; sampluta-udake—in a great reservoir of water; tāvān—similarly; sarveṣu—in all; vedeṣu—Vedic literatures; brāhmaṇasya—of the man who knows the Supreme Brahman; vijānataḥ—who is in complete knowledge.

PURPORT

All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.

PURPORT
The rituals and sacrifices mentioned in the karma-kāṇḍa division of the Vedic literature are meant to encourage gradual development of self-realization. And the purpose of self-realization is clearly stated in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): the purpose of studying the Vedas is to know Lord Kṛṣṇa, the primeval cause of everything. So, self-realization means understanding Kṛṣṇa and one's eternal relationship with Him. The relationship of the living entities with Kṛṣṇa is also mentioned in the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (15.7). The living entities are parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa; therefore, revival of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by the individual living entity is the highest perfectional stage of Vedic knowledge. This is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.7) as follows:
aho bata śva-paco 'to garīyān
yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā
brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te
"O my Lord, a person who is chanting Your holy name, although born of a low family like that of a caṇḍāla [dog-eater], is situated on the highest platform of self-realization. Such a person must have performed all kinds of penances and sacrifices according to Vedic rituals and studied the Vedic literatures many, many times after taking his bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage. Such a person is considered to be the best of the Āryan family.
So one must be intelligent enough to understand the purpose of the Vedas, without being attached to the rituals only, and must not desire to be elevated to the heavenly kingdoms for a better quality of sense gratification. It is not possible for the common man in this age to follow all the rules and regulations of the Vedic rituals, nor is it possible to study all of the Vedānta and the Upaniṣads thoroughly. It requires much time, energy, knowledge and resources to execute the purposes of the Vedas. This is hardly possible in this age. The best purpose of Vedic culture is served, however, by chanting the holy name of the Lord, as recommended by Lord Caitanya, the deliverer of all fallen souls. When Lord Caitanya was asked by a great Vedic scholar, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, why He, the Lord, was chanting the holy name of the Lord like a sentimentalist instead of studying Vedānta philosophy, the Lord replied that His spiritual master had found Him to be a great fool and thus asked Him to chant the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He did so, and became ecstatic like a madman. In this Age of Kali, most of the population is foolish and not adequately educated to understand Vedānta philosophy; the best purpose of Vedānta philosophy is served by inoffensively chanting the holy name of the Lord. Vedānta is the last word in Vedic wisdom, and the author and knower of the Vedānta philosophy is Lord Kṛṣṇa; and the highest Vedāntist is the great soul who takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord. That is the ultimate purpose of all Vedic mysticism.

BHAGAVAD PURANA 11.5.32

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

SYNONYMS

kṛṣṇa-varṇam—repeating the syllables kṛṣ-ṇa; tviṣā-with a luster; akṛṣṇam—not black (golden); sa-aṅga—along with associates; upa-aṅga—servitors; astra—weapons; pārṣadam—confidential companions; yajñaiḥ—by sacrifice; saṅkīrtana-prāyaiḥ—consisting chiefly of congregational chanting; yajanti—they worship; hi—certainly; su-medhasaḥ—intelligent persons.

TRANSLATION OF  VERSE

In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.

PURPORT

This same verse is quoted by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Chapter Three, verse 52. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has given the following commentary on this verse. "This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32). Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this verse in his commentary on the Bhāgavatam known as the Krama-sandarbha, wherein he says that Lord Kṛṣṇa also appears with a golden complexion. That golden Lord Kṛṣṇa is Lord Caitanya, who is worshiped by intelligent men in this age. That is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Garga Muni, who said that although the child Kṛṣṇa was blackish, He also appears in three other colors—red, white and yellow. He exhibited His white and red complexions in the Satya and Tretā ages respectively. He did not exhibit the remaining color, yellow—gold, until He appeared as Lord Caitanya, who is known as Gaurahari.
"Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that kṛṣṇa-varṇam means Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Kṛṣṇa-varṇam and Kṛṣṇa Caitanya are equivalent. The name Kṛṣṇa appears with both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya Kṛṣṇa. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He always engages in describing Kṛṣṇa and thus enjoying transcendental bliss by chanting and remembering His name and form. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appears as Lord Caitanya to preach the highest gospel. Varṇayati means 'utters' or 'describes.' Lord Caitanya always chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and describes it also, and because He is Kṛṣṇa Himself, whoever meets Him will automatically chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and later describe it to others. He injects one with transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which merges the chanter in transcendental bliss. In all respects, therefore, He appears before everyone as Kṛṣṇa, either by personality or by sound. Simply by seeing Lord Caitanya one at once remembers Lord Kṛṣṇa. One may therefore accept Him as viṣṇu-tattva. In other words, Lord Caitanya is Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.
"Sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam further indicates that Lord Caitanya is Lord Kṛṣṇa. His body is always decorated with ornaments of sandalwood and with sandalwood paste. By His superexcellent beauty He subdues all the people of the age. In other descents the Lord sometimes used weapons to defeat the demoniac, but in this age the Lord subdues them with His all-attractive figure as Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that His beauty is His astra, or weapon, to subdue the demons. Because He is all-attractive, it is to be understood that all the demigods lived with Him as His companions. His acts were uncommon and His associates wonderful. When He propagated the saṅkīrtana movement, He attracted many great scholars and ācāryas, especially in Bengal and Orissa. Lord Caitanya is always accompanied by His best associates like Lord Nityānanda, Advaita, Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa.
"Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī cites a verse from the Vedic literature that says that there is no necessity of performing sacrificial demonstrations or ceremonial functions. He comments that instead of engaging in such external, pompous exhibitions, all people, regardless of caste, color or creed, can assemble together and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa to worship Lord Caitanya. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam [SB 11.5.32] indicates that prominence should be given to the name Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya taught Kṛṣṇa consciousness and chanted the name of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, to worship Lord Caitanya, everyone should together chant the mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. To propagate worship in churches, temples or mosques is not possible because people have lost interest in that. But anywhere and everywhere, people can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Thus worshiping Lord Caitanya, they can perform the highest activity and fulfill the highest religious purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord.
"Śrīla Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, a famous disciple of Lord Caitanya, said: 'The principle of transcendental devotional service having been lost, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya has appeared to deliver again the process of devotion. He is so kind that He is distributing love of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone should be attracted more and more to His lotus feet, as humming bees are attracted to a lotus flower.' "
The incarnation of Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also described in the Śrī Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma, which appears in Chapter 189 of the bhof Mahābhārata. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has quoted this reference as follows: suvarṇa-varṇo hemāṅgo varāṅgaś candanāṅgadī. "In His early pastimes He appears as a householder with a golden complexion. His limbs are beautiful, and His body, smeared with the pulp of sandalwood, seems like molten gold." He has also quoted, sannyāsa-kṛc chamaḥ śānto niṣṭhā-śānti-parāyaṇaḥ: "In His later pastimes He accepts the sannyāsa order, and He is equipoised and peaceful. He is the highest abode of peace and devotion, for He silences the impersonalist nondevotees."

BHAGVAD GITA 9.15 AND 9.16

VERSE 9.15
jñāna-yajñena cāpy anye
yajanto mām upāsate
ekatvena pṛthaktvena
bahudhā viśvato-mukham

SYNONYMS

jñāna-yajñena—by cultivation of knowledge; ca—also; api—certainly; anye—others; yajantaḥ—sacrificing; mām—Me; upāsate—worship; ekatvena—in oneness; pṛthaktvena—in duality; bahudhā—in diversity; viśvataḥ-mukham—and in the universal form.

PURPORT
Others, who engage in sacrifice by the cultivation of knowledge, worship the Supreme Lord as the one without a second, as diverse in many, and in the universal form.

This verse is the summary of the previous verses. The Lord tells Arjuna that those who are purely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and do not know anything other than Kṛṣṇa are called mahātmā; yet there are other persons who are not exactly in the position of mahātmā but who worship Kṛṣṇa also, in different ways. Some of them have already been described as the distressed, the financially destitute, the inquisitive, and those who are engaged in the cultivation of knowledge. But there are others who are still lower, and these are divided into three: (1) he who worships himself as one with the Supreme Lord, (2) he who concocts some form of the Supreme Lord and worships that, and (3) he who accepts the universal form, the viśvarūpa of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and worships that. Out of the above three, the lowest, those who worship themselves as the Supreme Lord, thinking themselves to be monists, are most predominant. Such people think themselves to be the Supreme Lord, and in this mentality they worship themselves. This is also a type of God worship, for they can understand that they are not the material body but are actually spiritual soul; at least, such a sense is prominent. Generally the impersonalists worship the Supreme Lord in this way. The second class includes the worshipers of the demigods, those who by imagination consider any form to be the form of the Supreme Lord. And the third class includes those who cannot conceive of anything beyond the manifestation of this material universe. They consider the universe to be the supreme organism or entity and worship that. The universe is also a form of the Lord.

VERSE 9.16
ahaṁ kratur ahaṁ yajñaḥ
svadhāham aham auṣadham
mantro 'ham aham evājyam
aham agnir ahaṁ hutam

SYNONYMS

aham—I; kratuḥ—Vedic ritual; aham—I; yajñaḥ-smṛti sacrifice; svadhā—oblation; aham—I; aham—I; auṣadham—healing herb; mantraḥ—transcendental chant; aham—I; aham—I; eva—certainly; ājyam—melted butter; aham—I; agniḥ—fire; aham—I; hutam—offering.

PURPORT

The Vedic sacrifice known as Jyotiṣṭoma is also Kṛṣṇa, and He is also the Mahā-yajña mentioned in the smṛti. The oblations offered to the Pitṛloka or the sacrifice performed to please the Pitṛloka, considered as a kind of drug in the form of clarified butter, is also Kṛṣṇa. The mantras chanted in this connection are also Kṛṣṇa. And many other commodities made with milk products for offering in the sacrifices are also Kṛṣṇa. The fire is also Kṛṣṇa because fire is one of the five material elements and is therefore claimed as the separated energy of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, the Vedic sacrifices recommended in the karma-kāṇḍa division of the Vedas are in total also Kṛṣṇa. Or, in other words, those who are engaged in rendering devotional service unto Kṛṣṇa are to be understood to have performed all the sacrifices recommended in the Vedas.

BHAGAVAD GITA 4.12

kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ
yajanta iha devatāḥ
kṣipraṁ hi mānuṣe loke
siddhir bhavati karma-jā

SYNONYMS

kāṅkṣantaḥ—desiring; karmaṇām—of fruitive activities; siddhim—perfection; yajante—they worship by sacrifices; iha—in the material world; devatāḥ—the demigods; kṣipram—very quickly; hi—certainly; mānuṣe—in human society; loke—within this world; siddhiḥ—success; bhavati—comes; karma-jā—from fruitive work.

PURPORT

Men in this world desire success in fruitive activities, and therefore they worship the demigods. Quickly, of course, men get results from fruitive work in this world.
There is a great misconception about the gods or demigods of this material world, and men of less intelligence, although passing as great scholars, take these demigods to be various forms of the Supreme Lord. Actually, the demigods are not different forms of God, but they are God's different parts and parcels. God is one, and the parts and parcels are many. The Vedas say, nityo nityānām: God is one. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. The Supreme God is one—Kṛṣṇa—and the demigods are delegated with powers to manage this material world. These demigods are all living entities (nityānām) with different grades of material power. They cannot be equal to the Supreme God—Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. Anyone who thinks that God and the demigods are on the same level is called an atheist, or pāṣaṇḍī. Even the great demigods like Brahmā and Śiva cannot be compared to the Supreme Lord. In fact, the Lord is worshiped by demigods such as Brahmā and Śiva (śiva-viriñci-nutam [SB 11.5.33]). Yet curiously enough there are many human leaders who are worshiped by foolish men under the misunderstanding of anthropomorphism or zoomorphism. Iha devatāḥ denotes a powerful man or demigod of this material world. But Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, does not belong to this world. He is above, or transcendental to, material creation. Even Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, the leader of the impersonalists, maintains that Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa, is beyond this material creation. However, foolish people (hṛta-jñāna [Bg. 7.20]) worship the demigods because they want immediate results. They get the results, but do not know that results so obtained are temporary and are meant for less intelligent persons. The intelligent person is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he has no need to worship the paltry demigods for some immediate, temporary benefit. The demigods of this material world, as well as their worshipers, will vanish with the annihilation of this material world. The boons of the demigods are material and temporary. Both the material worlds and their inhabitants, including the demigods and their worshipers, are bubbles in the cosmic ocean. In this world, however, human society is mad after temporary things such as the material opulence of possessing land, family and enjoyable paraphernalia. To achieve such temporary things, people worship the demigods or powerful men in human society. If a man gets some ministership in the government by worshiping a political leader, he considers that he has achieved a great boon. All of them are therefore kowtowing to the so-called leaders or "big guns" in order to achieve temporary boons, and they indeed achieve such things. Such foolish men are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the permanent solution to the hardships of material existence. They are all after sense enjoyment, and to get a little facility for sense enjoyment they are attracted to worship empowered living entities known as demigods. This verse indicates that people are rarely interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are mostly interested in material enjoyment, and therefore they worship some powerful living entity.

SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 11.2.42

bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir
anyatra caiṣa trika eka-kālaḥ
prapadyamānasya yathāśnataḥ syus
tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭiḥ kṣud-apāyo 'nu-ghāsam

SYNONYMS

bhaktiḥ—devotion; para-īśa—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anubhavaḥ—direct perception; viraktiḥ—detachment; anyatra—from everything else; ca—and; eṣaḥ—this; trikaḥ—group of three; eka-kālaḥ—simultaneously; prapadyamānasya—for one in the process of taking shelter of the Supreme Lord; yathā—in the same way as; aśnataḥ—for one engaged in eating; syuḥ—they occur; tuṣṭiḥ—satisfaction; puṣṭiḥ—nourishment; kṣut-apāyaḥ—eradication of hunger; anu-ghāsam—increasingly with each morsel.

PURPORT

Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this analogy as follows: Bhakti, or devotion, may be compared to tuṣṭi (satisfaction) because they both take the form of pleasure. Pareśānubhava (experience of the Supreme Lord) and puṣṭi (nourishment) are analogous because both sustain one's life. Finally, virakti (detachment) and kṣud-apāya (cessation of hunger) may be compared because both free one from further hankering so that one may experience śānti, or peace.
A person who is eating not only becomes uninterested in other activities but increasingly becomes uninterested in the food itself, according to his satisfaction. On the other hand, according to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, although one who is experiencing the blissful Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, becomes uninterested in anything other than Kṛṣṇa, his attachment to Kṛṣṇa increases at every moment. Therefore it is to be understood that the transcendental beauty and qualities of the Supreme Lord are not material, since one never becomes satiated by relishing the bliss of the Supreme Lord.
The word viraktiḥ is very significant in this verse. Virakti means "detachment," whereas tyāga means "renunciation." According to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the word renunciation can be used in a situation in which one considers giving up an enjoyable object. But by considering everything to be potential paraphernalia in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, as described in the previous verse, one need not give thought to renunciation, for one uses everything in the proper way in the service of the Lord. Yukta-vairāgyam ucyate.
The very pleasant analogy of a good meal is given in this verse. A hungry man busily consuming a sumptuous plate of food is not interested in anything else happening around him. In fact, he considers any other topic or activity a disturbance to his concentration on the delicious meal. Similarly, as one advances in Kṛṣṇa consciousness one considers anything unrelated to the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa an obnoxious disturbance. Such concentrated love of Godhead has been described in the Second Canto of the Bhāgavatam by the words tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param (SB 2.3.10). One should not make an artificial show of renouncing the material world; rather, one should systematically train the mind to see everything as an expansion of the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as a hungry materialistic man, upon seeing sumptuous food, immediately desires to put it in his mouth, an advanced devotee of Kṛṣṇa, upon seeing a material object, immediately becomes eager to use it for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. Without the spontaneous hunger to engage everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa and to dive deeper and deeper into the ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa, so-called realization of God or loose talk about so-called religious life is irrelevant to the actual experience of entering the kingdom of God.
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the path of bhakti-yoga is so joyful and practical that even in the stage of sādhana-bhakti, in which one follows rules and regulations without an advanced understanding, one can perceive the ultimate result. As stated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.187),
īhā yasya harer dāsye
karmaṇā manasā girā
nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu
jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate
As soon as one surrenders to the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa (prapadyamānasya), giving up all other activities (viraktir anyatra ca), one is immediately to be considered a liberated soul (jīvan-muktaḥ). The Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, is so merciful that when a living entity understands that the personality Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything and surrenders to the Lord, Kṛṣṇa personally takes charge of him and reveals to him within his heart that he is under the Lord's full protection. Thus devotion, direct experience of the Personality of Godhead, and detachment from other objects become manifest even in the beginning stage of bhakti-yoga, since bhakti-yoga begins at the point of liberation. Other processes have as their final goal salvation or liberation, but according to Bhagavad-gītā (18.66),
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
If one surrenders to Kṛṣṇa one is immediately liberated and thus begins his career as a transcendental devotee with complete confidence in the Lord's protection.

SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 1.5.17

tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer
bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ
ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ


SYNONYMS

tyaktvā—having forsaken; sva-dharmam—one's own occupational engagement; caraṇa-ambujam—the lotus feet; hareḥ—of Hari (the Lord); bhajan—in the course of devotional service; apakvaḥ—immature; atha—for the matter of; patet—falls down; tataḥ—from that place; yadi—if; yatra—whereupon; kva—what sort of; vā—or (used sarcastically); abhadram—unfavorable; abhūt—shall happen; amuṣya—of him; kim—nothing; kaḥ vā arthaḥ—what interest; āptaḥ—obtained; abhajatām—of the nondevotee; sva-dharmataḥ—being engaged in occupational service.

PURPORT


One who has forsaken his material occupations to engage in the devotional service of the Lord may sometimes fall down while in an immature stage, yet there is no danger of his being unsuccessful. On the other hand, a nondevotee, though fully engaged in occupational duties, does not gain anything.

As far as the duties of mankind are concerned, there are innumerable duties. Every man is duty-bound not only to his parents, family members, society, country, humanity, other living beings, the demigods, etc., but also to the great philosophers, poets, scientists, etc. It is enjoined in the scriptures that one can relinquish all such duties and surrender unto the service of the Lord. So if one does so and becomes successful in the discharge of his devotional service unto the Lord, it is well and good. But it so happens sometimes that one surrenders himself unto the service of the Lord by some temporary sentiment, and in the long run, due to so many other reasons, he falls down from the path of service by undesirable association. There are so many instances of this in the histories. Bharata Mahārāja was obliged to take his birth as a stag due to his intimate attachment to a stag. He thought of this stag when he died. As such, in the next birth he became a stag, although he did not forget the incident of his previous birth. Similarly, Citraketu also fell down due to his offenses at the feet of Śiva. But in spite of all this, the stress is given here to surrendering unto the lotus feet of the Lord, even if there is a chance of falling down, because even though one falls down from the prescribed duties of devotional service, he will never forget the lotus feet of the Lord. Once engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, one will continue the service in all circumstances. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that even a small quantity of devotional service can save one from the most dangerous position. There are many instances of such examples in history. Ajāmila is one of them. Ajāmila in his early life was a devotee, but in his youth he fell down. Still he was saved by the Lord at the end.

VEDAS _

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BHAGAVAD GITA 9.6

yathākāśa-sthito nityaṁ
vāyuḥ sarvatra-go mahān
tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni
mat-sthānīty upadhāraya

SYNONYMS

yathā—just as; ākāśa-sthitaḥ—situated in the sky; nityam—always; vāyuḥ—the wind; sarvatra-gaḥ—blowing everywhere; mahān—great; tathā—similarly; sarvāṇi bhūtāni—all created beings; mat-sthāni—situated in Me; iti—thus; upadhāraya—try to understand.

PURPORT

Understand that as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, rests always in the sky, all created beings rest in Me.

For the ordinary person it is almost inconceivable how the huge material creation is resting in Him. But the Lord is giving an example which may help us to understand. The sky may be the biggest manifestation we can conceive. And in that sky the wind or air is the biggest manifestation in the cosmic world. The movement of the air influences the movements of everything. But although the wind is great, it is still situated within the sky; the wind is not beyond the sky. Similarly, all the wonderful cosmic manifestations are existing by the supreme will of God, and all of them are subordinate to that supreme will. As we generally say, not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus everything is moving under His will: by His will everything is being created, everything is being maintained, and everything is being annihilated. Still He is aloof from everything, as the sky is always aloof from the activities of the wind.
In the Upaniṣads it is stated, yad-bhīṣā vātaḥ pavate: "It is out of the fear of the Supreme Lord that the wind is blowing." (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.8.1) In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (3.8.9) it is stated, etasya vā akṣarasya praśāsane gārgi sūrya-candramasau vidhṛtau tiṣṭhata etasya vā akṣarasya praśāsane gārgi dyāv-āpṛthivyau vidhṛtau tiṣṭhataḥ. "By the supreme order, under the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the moon, the sun, and the other great planets are moving." In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.52) also it is stated,
yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ
rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ
yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
This is a description of the movement of the sun. It is said that the sun is considered to be one of the eyes of the Supreme Lord and that it has immense potency to diffuse heat and light. Still it is moving in its prescribed orbit by the order and the supreme will of Govinda. So, from the Vedic literature we can find evidence that this material manifestation, which appears to us to be very wonderful and great, is under the complete control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This will be further explained in the later verses of this chapter. 

BRAHMA SAMHITA 5.38

premāṣjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

SYNONYMS

prema—of love; aṣjana—with the salve; churita—tinged; bhakti—of devotion; vilocanena—with the eye; santaḥ—the pure devotees; sadā—always; eva—indeed; hṛdayeṣu—in their hearts; vilokayanti—see; yam—whom; śyāma—dark blue; sundaram—beautiful; acintya—inconceivable; guṇa—with attributes; svarūpam—whose nature is endowed; govindam—Govinda; ādi-puruṣam—the original person; tam—Him; aham—I; bhajāmi—worship.

PURPORT

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.

The Śyāmasundara form of Kṛṣṇa is His inconceivable simultaneous personal and impersonal self-contradictory form. True devotees see that form in their purified hearts under the influence of devotional trance. The form Śyāma is not the blue color visible in the mundane world but is the transcendental variegated color affording eternal bliss, and is not visible to the mortal eye. On a consideration of the trance of Vyāsadeva as in the śloka, bhakti-yogena manasi etc. [SB 1.7.4], it will be clear that the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the full Personality of Godhead and can only be visible in the heart of a true devotee, which is the only true seat in the state of trance under the influence of devotion. When Kṛṣṇa manifested Himself in Vraja, both the devotees and nondevotees saw Him with this very eye; but only the devotees cherished Him, eternally present in Vraja, as the priceless jewel of their heart. Nowadays also the devotees see Him in Vraja in their hearts, saturated with devotion although they do not see Him with their eyes. The eye of devotion is nothing but the eye of the pure unalloyed spiritual self of the jīva. The form of Kṛṣṇa is visible to that eye in proportion to its purification by the practice of devotion. When the devotion of the neophyte reaches the stage of bhāva-bhakti the pure eye of that devotee is tinged with the salve of love by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, which enables him to see Kṛṣṇa face to face. The phrase "in their hearts" means Kṛṣṇa is visible in proportion as their hearts are purified by the practice of devotion. The sum and substance of this śloka is that the form of Kṛṣṇa, who is Śyāmasundara, Naṭavara (Best Dancer), Muralīdhara (Holder of the Flute) and Tribhaṅga (Triple-bending), is not a mental concoction but is transcendental, and is visible with the eye of the soul of the devotee under trance.

MADHYA 17.138

brahmānanda haite pūrṇānanda līlā-rasa
brahma-jṣānī ākarṣiyā kare ātma-vaśa

SYNONYMS

brahma-ānanda—the pleasure of self-realization; haite—from; pūrṇa-ānanda—complete pleasure; līlā-rasa—the mellows of the pastimes of the Lord; brahma-jṣānī—those who are on the platform of Brahman understanding; ākarṣiyā—attracting; kare—make; ātma-vaśa—subordinate to Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT

“The mellows of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, which are full of bliss, attract the jṣānī from the pleasure of Brahman realization and conquer him.

When one understands that he belongs not to the material world but to the spiritual world, one is called liberated. Being situated in the spiritual world is certainly pleasurable, but those who realize the transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoy transcendental bliss many times more than one who has simply realized the self. When one is situated on the platform of self-realization, he can certainly be easily attracted by Kṛṣṇa and become a servant of the Lord. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54):
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
“One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.”
When one becomes spiritually realized (brahma-bhūta [SB 4.30.20]), he becomes happy (prasannātmā), for he is relieved from material conceptions. One who has attained this platform is not agitated by material action and reaction. He sees everyone on the platform of spirit soul (paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ [Bg. 5.18]). When one is completely realized, he can rise to the platform of pure devotional service (mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām [Bg. 18.54]). When one comes to the platform of bhakti, devotional service, he automatically realizes who Kṛṣṇa is. As the Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.55):
bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jṣātvā viśate tad-anantaram
“One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.”
It is only on the bhakti platform that one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes and entourage. Being thus qualified spiritually, one is allowed to enter the spiritual kingdom of God and return home, back to Godhead (viśate tad-anantaram).

SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 4.31.14

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yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

SYNONYMS

yathā—as; taroḥ—of a tree; mūla—the root; niṣecanena—by watering; tṛpyanti—are satisfied; tat—its; skandha—trunk; bhuja—branches; upaśākhāḥ—and twigs; prāṇa—the life air; upahārāt—by feeding; ca—and; yathā—as; indriyāṇām—of the senses; tathā eva—similarly; sarva—of all demigods; arhaṇam—worship; acyuta—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ijyā—worship.

PURPORT

As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.

Sometimes people ask why this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement simply advocates worship of Kṛṣṇa to the exclusion of the demigods. The answer is given in this verse. The example of pouring water on the root of a tree is very appropriate. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.1) it is said, ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham: this cosmic manifestation has expanded downward, and the root is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: "I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds." Kṛṣṇa is the root of everything; therefore rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-sevā), means automatically serving all the demigods. Sometimes it is argued that karma and jñāna require a mixture of bhakti in order to be successfully executed, and sometimes it is argued that bhakti also requires karma and jñāna for its successful termination. The fact is, however, that although karma and jñāna cannot be successful without bhakti, bhakti does not require the help of karma and jñāna. Actually, as described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: [Cc. Madhya 19.167] pure devotional service should not be contaminated by the touch of karma and jñāna. Modern society is involved in various types of philanthropic works, humanitarian works and so on, but people do not know that these activities will never be successful unless Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is brought into the center. One may ask what harm there is in worshiping Kṛṣṇa and the different parts of His body, the demigods, and the answer is also given in this verse. The point is that by supplying food to the stomach, the indriyas, the senses, are automatically satisfied. If one tries to feed his eyes or ears independently, the result is only havoc. Simply by supplying food to the stomach, we satisfy all of the senses. It is neither necessary nor feasible to render separate service to the individual senses. The conclusion is that by serving Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-sevā), everything is complete. As confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.62), kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya: if one is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is automatically accomplished.

SRIMAD BHAGVATAM 1.5.25 NARAD SAID

ucchiṣṭa-lepān anumodito dvijaiḥ
sakṛt sma bhuñje tad-apāsta-kilbiṣaḥ
evaṁ pravṛttasya viśuddha-cetasas
tad-dharma evātma-ruciḥ prajāyate
synonyms

ucchiṣṭa-lepān—the remnants of foodstuff; anumoditaḥ—being permitted; dvijaiḥ—by the Vedāntist brāhmaṇas; sakṛt—once upon a time; sma—in the past; bhuñje—took; tat—by that action; apāsta—eliminated; kilbiṣaḥ—all sins; evam—thus; pravṛttasya—being engaged; viśuddha-cetasaḥ—of one whose mind is purified; tat—that particular; dharmaḥ—nature; eva—certainly; ātma-ruciḥ—transcendental attraction; prajāyate—was manifested.

Once only, by their permission, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus being engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very nature of the transcendentalist became attractive to me.

   Pure devotion is as much infectious, in a good sense, as infectious diseases. A pure devotee is cleared from all kinds of sins. The Personality of Godhead is the purest entity, and unless one is equally pure from the infection of material qualities, one cannot become a pure devotee of the Lord. The bhakti-vedāntas as above mentioned were pure devotees, and the boy became infected with their qualities of purity by their association and by eating once the remnants of the foodstuff taken by them. Such remnants may be taken even without permission of the pure devotees. There are sometimes pseudodevotees, and one should be very much cautious about them. There are many things which hinder one from entering devotional service. But by the association of pure devotees all these obstacles are removed. The neophyte devotee becomes practically enriched with the transcendental qualities of the pure devotee, which means attraction for the Personality of Godhead's name, fame, quality, pastimes, etc. Infection of the qualities of the pure devotee means to imbibe the taste of pure devotion always in the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead. This transcendental taste at once makes all material things distasteful. Therefore a pure devotee is not at all attracted by material activities. After the elimination of all sins or obstacles on the path of devotional service, one can become attracted, one can have steadiness, one can have perfect taste, one can have transcendental emotions, and at last one can be situated on the plane of loving service of the Lord. All these stages develop by the association of pure devotees, and that is the purport of this stanza.

THE KING OF ALL KNOWLEDGE , THE BHAGVAD GITA

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.

This chapter of Bhagavad-gītā is called the king of education because it is the essence of all doctrines and philosophies explained before. Among the principal philosophers in India are Gautama, Kaṇāda, Kapila, Yājñavalkya, Śāṇḍilya and Vaiśvānara. And finally there is Vyāsadeva, the author of the Vedānta-sūtra. So there is no dearth of knowledge in the field of philosophy or transcendental knowledge. Now the Lord says that this Ninth Chapter is the king of all such knowledge, the essence of all knowledge that can be derived from the study of the Vedas and different kinds of philosophy. It is the most confidential because confidential or transcendental knowledge involves understanding the difference between the soul and the body. And the king of all confidential knowledge culminates in devotional service.
Generally, people are not educated in this confidential knowledge; they are educated in external knowledge. As far as ordinary education is concerned, people are involved with so many departments: politics, sociology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, etc. There are so many departments of knowledge all over the world and many huge universities, but there is, unfortunately, no university or educational institution where the science of the spirit soul is instructed. Yet the soul is the most important part of the body; without the presence of the soul, the body has no value. Still people are placing great stress on the bodily necessities of life, not caring for the vital soul.
The Bhagavad-gītā, especially from the Second Chapter on, stresses the importance of the soul. In the very beginning, the Lord says that this body is perishable and that the soul is not perishable (antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ). That is a confidential part of knowledge: simply knowing that the spirit soul is different from this body and that its nature is immutable, indestructible and eternal. But that gives no positive information about the soul. Sometimes people are under the impression that the soul is different from the body and that when the body is finished, or one is liberated from the body, the soul remains in a void and becomes impersonal. But actually that is not the fact. How can the soul, which is so active within this body, be inactive after being liberated from the body? It is always active. If it is eternal, then it is eternally active, and its activities in the spiritual kingdom are the most confidential part of spiritual knowledge. These activities of the spirit soul are therefore indicated here as constituting the king of all knowledge, the most confidential part of all knowledge.
This knowledge is the purest form of all activities, as explained in Vedic literature. In the Padma Purāṇa, man's sinful activities have been analyzed and are shown to be the results of sin after sin. Those who are engaged in fruitive activities are entangled in different stages and forms of sinful reactions. For instance, when the seed of a particular tree is sown, the tree does not appear immediately to grow; it takes some time. It is first a small, sprouting plant, then it assumes the form of a tree, then it flowers and bears fruit, and, when it is complete, the flowers and fruits are enjoyed by persons who have sown the seed of the tree. Similarly, a man performs a sinful act, and like a seed it takes time to fructify. There are different stages. The sinful action may have already stopped within the individual, but the results or the fruit of that sinful action are still to be enjoyed. There are sins which are still in the form of a seed, and there are others which are already fructified and are giving us fruit, which we are enjoying as distress and pain.
As explained in the twenty-eighth verse of the Seventh Chapter, a person who has completely ended the reactions of all sinful activities and who is fully engaged in pious activities, being freed from the duality of this material world, becomes engaged in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. In other words, those who are actually engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord are already freed from all reactions. This statement is confirmed in the Padma Purāṇa:
aprārabdha-phalaṁ pāpaṁ
kūṭaṁ bījaṁ phalonmukham
krameṇaiva pralīyeta
viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām
For those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all sinful reactions, whether fructified, in the stock, or in the form of a seed, gradually vanish. Therefore the purifying potency of devotional service is very strong, and it is called pavitram uttamam, the purest. Uttama means transcendental. Tamas means this material world or darkness, and uttama means that which is transcendental to material activities. Devotional activities are never to be considered material, although sometimes it appears that devotees are engaged just like ordinary men. One who can see and is familiar with devotional service will know that they are not material activities. They are all spiritual and devotional, uncontaminated by the material modes of nature.
It is said that the execution of devotional service is so perfect that one can perceive the results directly. This direct result is actually perceived, and we have practical experience that any person who is chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) in course of chanting without offenses feels some transcendental pleasure and very quickly becomes purified of all material contamination. This is actually seen. Furthermore, if one engages not only in hearing but in trying to broadcast the message of devotional activities as well, or if he engages himself in helping the missionary activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gradually feels spiritual progress. This advancement in spiritual life does not depend on any kind of previous education or qualification. The method itself is so pure that by simply engaging in it one becomes pure.
In the Vedānta-sūtra (3.2.26) this is also described in the following words: prakāśaś ca karmaṇy abhyāsāt. "Devotional service is so potent that simply by engaging in the activities of devotional service one becomes enlightened without a doubt." A practical example of this can be seen in the previous life of Nārada, who in that life happened to be the son of a maidservant. He had no education, nor was he born into a high family. But when his mother was engaged in serving great devotees, Nārada also became engaged, and sometimes, in the absence of his mother, he would serve the great devotees himself. Nārada personally says,
ucchiṣṭa-lepān anumodito dvijaiḥ
sakṛt sma bhuñje tad-apāsta-kilbiṣaḥ
evaṁ pravṛttasya viśuddha-cetasas
tad-dharma evātma-ruciḥ prajāyate
In this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.25) Nārada describes his previous life to his disciple Vyāsadeva. He says that while engaged as a boy servant for those purified devotees during the four months of their stay, he was intimately associating with them. Sometimes those sages left remnants of food on their dishes, and the boy, who would wash their dishes, wanted to taste the remnants. So he asked the great devotees for their permission, and when they gave it Nārada ate those remnants and consequently became freed from all sinful reactions. As he went on eating, he gradually became as pure-hearted as the sages. The great devotees relished the taste of unceasing devotional service to the Lord by hearing and chanting, and Nārada gradually developed the same taste. Nārada says further,
tatrānvahaṁ kṛṣṇa-kathāḥ pragāyatām
anugraheṇāśṛṇavaṁ manoharāḥ
tāḥ śraddhayā me 'nupadaṁ viśṛṇvataḥ
priyaśravasy aṅga mamābhavad ruciḥ
By associating with the sages, Nārada got the taste for hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, and he developed a great desire for devotional service. Therefore, as described in the Vedānta-sūtra, prakāśaś ca karmaṇy abhyāsāt: if one is engaged simply in the acts of devotional service, everything is revealed to him automatically, and he can understand. This is called pratyakṣa, directly perceived.
The word dharmyam means "the path of religion." Nārada was actually a son of a maidservant. He had no opportunity to go to school. He was simply assisting his mother, and fortunately his mother rendered some service to the devotees. The child Nārada also got the opportunity and simply by association achieved the highest goal of all religion. The highest goal of all religion is devotional service, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje). Religious people generally do not know that the highest perfection of religion is the attainment of devotional service. As we have already discussed in regard to the last verse of Chapter Eight (vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva), generally Vedic knowledge is required for self-realization. But here, although Nārada never went to the school of the spiritual master and was not educated in the Vedic principles, he acquired the highest results of Vedic study. This process is so potent that even without performing the religious process regularly, one can be raised to the highest perfection. How is this possible? This is also confirmed in Vedic literature: ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who is in association with great ācāryas, even if he is not educated or has never studied the Vedas, can become familiar with all the knowledge necessary for realization.
The process of devotional service is a very happy one (susukham). Why? Devotional service consists of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23], so one can simply hear the chanting of the glories of the Lord or can attend philosophical lectures on transcendental knowledge given by authorized ācāryas. Simply by sitting, one can learn; then one can eat the remnants of the food offered to God, nice palatable dishes. In every state devotional service is joyful. One can execute devotional service even in the most poverty-stricken condition. The Lord says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam: He is ready to accept from the devotee any kind of offering, never mind what. Even a leaf, a flower, a bit of fruit, or a little water, which are all available in every part of the world, can be offered by any person, regardless of social position, and will be accepted if offered with love. There are many instances in history. Simply by tasting the tulasī leaves offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages like Sanat-kumāra became great devotees. Therefore the devotional process is very nice, and it can be executed in a happy mood. God accepts only the love with which things are offered to Him.
It is said here that this devotional service is eternally existing. It is not as the Māyāvādī philosophers claim. Although they sometimes take to so-called devotional service, their idea is that as long as they are not liberated they will continue their devotional service, but at the end, when they become liberated, they will "become one with God." Such temporary time-serving devotional service is not accepted as pure devotional service. Actual devotional service continues even after liberation. When the devotee goes to the spiritual planet in the kingdom of God, he is also engaged there in serving the Supreme Lord. He does not try to become one with the Supreme Lord.
As will be seen in Bhagavad-gītā, actual devotional service begins after liberation. After one is liberated, when one is situated in the Brahman position (brahma-bhūta [SB 4.30.20]), one's devotional service begins (samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām). No one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by executing karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, aṣṭāṅga-yoga or any other yoga independently. By these yogic methods one may make a little progress toward bhakti-yoga, but without coming to the stage of devotional service one cannot understand what is the Personality of Godhead. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is also confirmed that when one becomes purified by executing the process of devotional service, especially by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā from realized souls, then he can understand the science of Kṛṣṇa, or the science of God. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti yogataḥ. When one's heart is cleared of all nonsense, then one can understand what God is. Thus the process of devotional service, of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the king of all education and the king of all confidential knowledge. It is the purest form of religion, and it can be executed joyfully without difficulty. Therefore one should adopt it.

THESE ARE THE WAYS BY WHICH A WIFE CAN CONQUER HER HUSBAND'S HEART

Wife has to follow the vows that husband takes. These are the duties of chaste women. Following the vow means to support his decisions, his desires, in all endeavors. Never to disagree or argue.

If there is some dispute, some disagreement, it is the wife who must take the submissive role, even if she is convinced she is right, even if in the end she seems to be right, she must always support her husband's position with a favorable attitude. In other words SHE MUST ASSURE THAT NO UNPLEASANT FIGHT ENSUES. THIS IS HER *DUTY*. To back down when a disagreement arises so that the peace of family life is not disturbed. What is the use of fighting and arguing like anything to win over some small insignificant point at the cost of loosing the marriage all together?

IF THE GIRLS CAN BE TRAINED NICELY IN THIS WAY, THEIR FUTURE HOMES WIL BE PEACEFUL. When there is no fight, automatically the Goddess of Fortune, Laksmi Devi, will come and live in that home. Lakshmi Devi always serves Narayana in submissive mood, so whoever serves their husband following footsteps of Lakshmi Devi, She will be pleased.Then household life will be peaceful.

These instructions by Narada Muni are the keys to creating a home-life situation that no man will ever want to leave. The idea presented here is that...,
1. it is the duty of the wife to make the home and her self as attractive to her husband as she can
2.she should touch her husband’s feet and greet him with folded hands.
If a man’s dealings with his wife is that he always sees
3.her smiling face and
4.always hears sweet soothing words,
5.she is always nicely dressed,
6.and the home is always clean, his mind will become peaceful and he will feel happy with his wife.
7.She should always be supportive of his decisions,
8.always attentive to him when he speaks. And
9.with a pleasing attitude she waits on him hands and foot, eager to carry out his desire.

What man would ever reject such a wonderful and loving wife and such a pleasing home life? What man would ever treat such a SURRENDERED WIFE unkindly? That is why this * BEHAVIOR* OF WIFE is the KEY to a truly happy and peaceful family life. This is the way in which she can conquer the man's heart. A wife wants her husband to feel affection for her, and this is how she can do so. WIFE SHOULD NEVER GIVE THE HUSBAND ANY REASON TO BE ANGRY WITH HER. That is an ideal wife. One whose home will always be peaceful.

<<lines selected from Srimad Bhagavatam
Canto 7:Chapter 11::Verses 25, 26,27.

KRSNA BHAJAN

Lochan Das Thakur has written this song “Bhaja Bhaja Hari Mana Drdha Kari”. In this song, Lochan Das Thakur explains to his mind to perform Hari Bhajana with staunch faith, without which it cannot be delivered.

(1)
bhaja bhaja hari, mana drdha kari’, mukhe bolo ta’ra nama
vrajendra-nandana gopi-prana-dhana, bhuvana mohana syama

(2)
kakhana maribe, kemane taribe, visama samana dake
jahara pratape, bhuvana kapaye, na jani mara vipake

(3)
kula-dhana paiya, unmatta haiya, apanake jana bada
samanera dute, dhari’, paye hate, badhiya karibe jada

(4)
kiva yati sati, kiva nica jati, jei hari nahi bhaje
tabe janamiya, bhramiya bhramiya, raurava-narake maje

(5)
e dasa locana, bhave anuksana, michai janama gela
hari na bhajinu, visaye majinu, hrdaye rahala sela


1) O my dear mind, with staunch faith perform hari-bhajana, without which you cannot be delivered. And with your mouth chant the names of Vrajendra-nandana, Gopi-prana-dhana (the life and wealth of the gopis) and Syamasundara, whose beauty en-chants the whole material manifestation.

2) There is no certainty when your life will finish, and you also never think about your deliverance from the material world. But very fearsome Yamadutas are standing near you. Bhagavan, whose power causes the three worlds to tremble in fear, You have forgotten. This is your misfortune. Thus, you are suffering in this material world from different kinds of miseries, and now you are about to die.

3) You have become intoxicated by your high birth and wealth, thinking yourself very high class. But you have forgotten that one day the Yamadutas will take you, tying up your hands and feet.

4) So whether one is a sannyasi or a very low-caste person, without performing hari-bhajana, one will continue to rotate in the samsara and go to the hell named Raurava.

5) Locana dasa says, “I have never done any hari-bhajana, having been absorbed in sense enjoyment. In this way my human form of life has been wasted. And this causes excruciating pain like a thorn piercing my heart.

BHAGAVAD GITA 2.23

nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo
na śoṣayati mārutaḥ


The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

ll kinds of weapons—swords, flame weapons, rain weapons, tornado weapons, etc.—are unable to kill the spirit soul. It appears that there were many kinds of weapons made of earth, water, air, ether, etc., in addition to the modern weapons of fire. Even the nuclear weapons of the modern age are classified as fire weapons, but formerly there were other weapons made of all different types of material elements. Firearms were counteracted by water weapons, which are now unknown to modern science. Nor do modern scientists have knowledge of tornado weapons. Nonetheless, the soul can never be cut into pieces, nor annihilated by any number of weapons, regardless of scientific devices.
The Māyāvādī cannot explain how the individual soul came into existence simply by ignorance and consequently became covered by the illusory energy. Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from the original Supreme Soul; rather, the individual souls are eternally separated parts of the Supreme Soul. Because they are atomic individual souls eternally (sanātana), they are prone to be covered by the illusory energy, and thus they become separated from the association of the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire, although one in quality with the fire, are prone to be extinguished when out of the fire. In the Varāha Purāṇa, the living entities are described as separated parts and parcels of the Supreme. They are eternally so, according to the Bhagavad-gītā also. So, even after being liberated from illusion, the living entity remains a separate identity, as is evident from the teachings of the Lord to Arjuna. Arjuna became liberated by the knowledge received from Kṛṣṇa, but he never became one with Kṛṣṇa. 

BHAGVAD GITA 3.18 AND 3.19

BG 3.18

naiva tasya kṛtenārtho

nākṛteneha kaścana

na cāsya sarva-bhūteṣu

kaścid artha-vyapāśrayaḥ

na—never; eva—certainly; tasya—his; kṛtena—by discharge of duty; arthaḥ—purpose; na—nor; akṛtena—without discharge of duty; iha—in this world; kaścana—whatever; na—never; ca—and; asya—of him; sarva-bhūteṣu —in all living beings; kaścit—any; artha—purpose; vyapa-āśrayaḥ—taking shelter of.

TRANSLATION

A self-realized man has no purpose to fulfill in the discharge of his prescribed duties, nor has he any reason not to perform such work. Nor has he any need to depend on any other living being.

PURPORT

A self-realized man is no longer obliged to perform any prescribed duty, save and except activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not inactivity either, as will be explained in the following verses. A Kṛṣṇa conscious man does not take shelter of any person—man or demigod. Whatever he does in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sufficient in the discharge of his obligation. 

Bg3.19

tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ

kāryaṁ karma samācara

asakto hy ācaran karma

param āpnoti pūruṣaḥ

tasmāt—therefore; asaktaḥ—without attachment; satatam—constantly; kāryam—as duty; karma—work; samācara—perform; asaktaḥ—nonattachment; hi—certainly; ācaran—performing; karma—work; param—the Supreme; āpnoti—achieves; pūruṣaḥ—a man.

TRANSLATION

Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty; for by working without attachment, one attains the Supreme.

PURPORT

The Supreme is the Personality of Godhead for the devotees, and liberation for the impersonalist. A person, therefore, acting for Kṛṣṇa, or in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, under proper guidance and without attachment to the result of the work, is certainly making progress toward the supreme goal of life. Arjuna is told that he should fight in the Battle of Kurukṣetra for the interest of Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa wanted him to fight. To be a good man or a nonviolent man is a personal attachment, but to act on behalf of the Supreme is to act without attachment for the result. That is perfect action of the highest degree, recommended by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Vedic rituals, like prescribed sacrifices, are performed for purification of impious activities that were performed in the field of sense gratification. But action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is transcendental to the reactions of good or evil work. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no attachment for the result but acts on behalf of Kṛṣṇa alone. He engages in all kinds of activities, but is completely nonattached.

SRIMAD BHAGVATAM 8.11.35

.yasya yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁ
puṁso varṇābhivyañjakam
yad anyatrāpi dṛśyeta
tat tenaiva vinirdiśet

If one shows the symptoms of being a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, as described above, even if he has appeared in a different class, he should be accepted according to those symptoms of classification.

Herein it is clearly stated by Nārada Muni that one should not be accepted as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra according to birth, for although this is going on now, it is not accepted by the śāstras. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13), cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. Thus the four divisions of society—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra—are to be ascertained according to qualities and activities. If one was born in a brāhmaṇa family and has acquired the brahminical qualifications, he is to be accepted as a brāhmaṇa; otherwise, he should be considered a brahma-bandhu. Similarly, if a śūdra acquires the qualities of a brāhmaṇa, although he was born in a śūdra family, he is not a śūdra; because he has developed the qualities of a brāhmaṇa, he should be accepted as a brāhmaṇa. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to develop these brahminical qualities. Regardless of the community in which one was born, if one develops the qualities of a brāhmaṇa he should be accepted as a brāhmaṇa, and he then may be offered the order of sannyāsa. Unless one is qualified in terms of the brahminical symptoms, one cannot take sannyāsa. In designating a person a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, birth is not the essential symptom. This understanding is very important. Herein Nārada Muni distinctly says that one may be accepted according to the caste of his birth if he has the corresponding qualifications, but otherwise he should not. One who has attained the qualifications of a brāhmaṇa, regardless of where he was born, should be accepted as a brāhmaṇa. Similarly, if one has developed the qualities of a śūdra or a caṇḍāla, regardless of where he was born, he should be accepted in terms of those symptoms.

SRIMAD BHAGVATAM 1.3.28

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

SYNONYMS
ete—all these; ca—and; aṁśa—plenary portions; kalāḥ—portions of the plenary portions; puṁsaḥ—of the Supreme; kṛṣṇaḥ—Lord Kṛṣṇa; tu—but; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; svayam—in person; indra-ari—the enemies of Indra; vyākulam—disturbed; lokam—all the planets; mṛḍayanti—gives protection; yuge yuge—in different ages.


All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists. 

In this particular stanza Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, is distinguished from other incarnations. He is counted amongst the avatāras (incarnations) because out of His causeless mercy the Lord descends from His transcendental abode. Avatāra means "one who descends." All the incarnations of the Lord, including the Lord Himself, descend on the different planets of the material world as also in different species of life to fulfill particular missions. Sometimes He comes Himself, and sometimes His different plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions, or His differentiated portions directly or indirectly empowered by Him, descend on this material world to execute certain specific functions. Originally the Lord is full of all opulences, all prowess, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. When they are partly manifested through the plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions, it should be noted that certain manifestations of His different powers are required for those particular functions. When in the room small electric bulbs are displayed, it does not mean that the electric powerhouse is limited by the small bulbs. The same powerhouse can supply power to operate large-scale industrial dynamos with greater volts. Similarly, the incarnations of the Lord display limited powers because so much power is needed at that particular time.
For example, Lord Paraśurāma and Lord Nṛsiṁha displayed unusual opulence by killing the disobedient kṣatriyas twenty-one times and killing the greatly powerful atheist Hiraṇyakaśipu. Hiraṇyakaśipu was so powerful that even the demigods in other planets would tremble simply by the unfavorable raising of his eyebrow. The demigods in the higher level of material existence many, many times excel the most well-to-do human beings, in duration of life, beauty, wealth, paraphernalia, and in all other respects. Still they were afraid of Hiraṇyakaśipu. Thus we can simply imagine how powerful Hiraṇyakaśipu was in this material world. But even Hiraṇyakaśipu was cut into small pieces by the nails of Lord Nṛsiṁha. This means that anyone materially powerful cannot stand the strength of the Lord's nails. Similarly, Jāmadagnya displayed the Lord's power to kill all the disobedient kings powerfully situated in their respective states. The Lord's empowered incarnation Nārada and plenary incarnation Varāha, as well as indirectly empowered Lord Buddha, created faith in the mass of people. The incarnations of Rāma and Dhanvantari displayed His fame, and Balarāma, Mohinī and Vāmana exhibited His beauty. Dattātreya, Matsya, Kumāra and Kapila exhibited His transcendental knowledge. Nara and Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣis exhibited His renunciation. So all the different incarnations of the Lord indirectly or directly manifested different features, but Lord Kṛṣṇa, the primeval Lord, exhibited the complete features of Godhead, and thus it is confirmed that He is the source of all other incarnations. And the most extraordinary feature exhibited by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was His internal energetic manifestation of His pastimes with the cowherd girls. His pastimes with the gopīs are all displays of transcendental existence, bliss and knowledge, although these are manifested apparently as sex love. The specific attraction of His pastimes with the gopīs should never be misunderstood. The Bhāgavatam relates these transcendental pastimes in the Tenth Canto. And in order to reach the position to understand the transcendental nature of Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes with the gopīs, the Bhāgavatam promotes the student gradually in nine other cantos.
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī's statement, in accordance with authoritative sources, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of all other incarnations. It is not that Lord Kṛṣṇa has any source of incarnation. All the symptoms of the Supreme Truth in full are present in the person of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and in the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord emphatically declares that there is no truth greater than or equal to Himself. In this stanza the word svayam is particularly mentioned to confirm that Lord Kṛṣṇa has no other source than Himself. Although in other places the incarnations are described as bhagavān because of their specific functions, nowhere are they declared to be the Supreme Personality. In this stanza the word svayam signifies the supremacy as the summum bonum.
The summum bonum Kṛṣṇa is one without a second. He Himself has expanded Himself in various parts, portions and particles as svayaṁ-rūpa, svayam-prakāśa, tad-ekātmā, prābhava, vaibhava, vilāsa, avatāra, āveśa, and jīvas, all provided with innumerable energies just suitable to the respective persons and personalities. Learned scholars in transcendental subjects have carefully analyzed the summum bonum Kṛṣṇa to have sixty-four principal attributes. All the expansions or categories of the Lord possess only some percentages of these attributes. But Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of the attributes cent percent. And His personal expansions such as svayam-prakāśa, tad-ekātmā up to the categories of the avatāras who are all viṣṇu-tattva, possess up to ninety-three percent of these transcendental attributes. Lord Śiva, who is neither avatāra nor āveśa nor in between them, possesses almost eighty-four percent of the attributes. But the jīvas, or the individual living beings in different statuses of life, possess up to the limit of seventy-eight percent of the attributes. In the conditioned state of material existence, the living being possesses these attributes in very minute quantity, varying in terms of the pious life of the living being. The most perfect of living beings is Brahmā, the supreme administrator of one universe. He possesses seventy-eight percent of the attributes in full. All other demigods have the same attributes in less quantity, whereas human beings possess the attributes in very minute quantity. The standard of perfection for a human being is to develop the attributes up to seventy-eight percent in full. The living being can never possess attributes like Śiva, Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa. A living being can become godly by developing the seventy-eight-percent transcendental attributes in fullness, but he can never become a God like Śiva, Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa. He can become a Brahmā in due course. The godly living beings who are all residents of the planets in the spiritual sky are eternal associates of God in different spiritual planets called Hari-dhāma and Maheśa-dhāma. The abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa above all spiritual planets is called Kṛṣṇaloka or Goloka Vṛndāvana, and the perfected living being, by developing seventy-eight percent of the above attributes in fullness, can enter the planet of Kṛṣṇaloka after leaving the present material body.

SRILA PRABHUPADA AT STOW LAKE IN SAN FRANCISCO

Devotee (1) (girl): March 23rd, Stow Lake, walk with Swamiji.
Prabhupäda: First thing is that calculation of Candra, moon planet, there are different views. Different scientists, they have different views. It is not a standard. They have not agreed to the... Somebody says something, somebody says another thing. Speculation. That's all. But that idea, that it is very low in temperature, that is mentioned in Bhägavata. You cannot live in the water. You have to qualify yourself. (Sound of ducks). Just see. Their body is made just suitable for the water. So you have to qualify yourself. That is... Just like, in the spiritual sky they can live only spiritual body, and material body cannot live there. Material body is not allowed there. Hare Kåñëa. Ürdhvaà gacchanti sattva-sthä madhye tiñöhanti räjasäù [Bg. 14.18]. Those who are too much passionate, they are meant to live in this planet. This planetary system, status. There are many other planets like this world. So they are allowed to live here. Here all living entities, they are very much passionate. And adho gacchanti tämasäù. And there are other planets, they are dark, dark planets, below this earthly planet. And the animals, they are in darkness. Although they're on this park, but they do not know where they are, darkness. Their knowledge is not developed. This is the result of the modes of ignorance. And those who are Kåñëa conscious, they are neither in darkness, nor in passion, nor in goodness. They are transcendental. So if one cultivates Kåñëa consciousness nicely, he is at once promoted to the Kåñëaloka. That is wanted. You are all chanting sixteen rounds? No? (laughs)
Çarädéyä: I did at first but then I slipped back.
Prabhupäda: Is it very difficult?
Mälaté: No, we do not know how yet to regulate our time too well. Some days we chant sixteen rounds and then the next day, I don't know what happens. I think we sleep too much, I mean I think I sleep too much.
Prabhupäda: How many hours you are sleeping?
Mälaté: About six to eight.
Prabhupäda: That is not much. Sixteen... It takes only two hours, sixteen rounds. Huh? Two hours, or more than that?
Mälaté: Two hours is all it takes to do the rounds.
Prabhupäda: So you have to spend two hours for Kåñëa out of twenty-four. (walks for awhile and chants japa) Yes?
Devotee (1): Is there something wrong with sleeping eight hours?
Prabhupäda: Sleeping and eating, this is the material disease. Sleeping, eating, mating... So they should be reduced as much as possible.
Devotee (1): If you're still tired...
Prabhupäda: No, you can sleep till you are refreshed. Somebody's refreshed by sleeping four hours. Somebody is refreshed by sleeping ten hours.
Mälaté: But we should not sleep when we have, in place of our devotional service.
Prabhupäda: No, of course not. Devotional service is first.
Mälaté: So if we miss some sleep we should do it.
Prabhupäda: We should forego sleeping even. The real regulated life is that if sixteen rounds is not completed, then we have to forego sleeping. You should take out hours from sleeping. We should be... The main thing is that we should always be careful that... We are going, we have taken up a very responsible task, Kåñëa consciousness. So we should be very much careful in discharging the duty. The devotee should be so much careful that he'll always see "Whether this moment is spoiled or utilized?" Avyartha-kälatvam [Cc. Madhya 23.18-19]. Avyartha-kälatvam, that "My time may not be wasted." He should be so careful, "Whether my time is being wasted?" and time wasted, the time we engage for our bodily necessities, that is wasted. Generally, conditioned souls, they are simply wasting their time. Only the period which we have engaged in Kåñëa consciousness, that is utilized. So we should be very much careful whether time is being wasted or being utilized.
Devotee (1): Sometimes, well, if you (we) slept less, we could do more for Kåñëa, but at the same time you (we) would be very tired. I mean, you could be... Well, you could regulate that.
Prabhupäda: Yes. Practically everything depends on practice. Abhyäsa-yoga-yuktena cetasä nänya-gäminä [Bg. 8.8]. Abhyäsa-yoga. Abhyäsa-yoga means yoga practice... Practice it. So this whole Kåñëa consciousness movement is to practice transferring from one kind of consciousness to another. So we require practice. Just like one man can run few miles. I cannot run even one mile. He has practiced. We see some boys, they run, run on. They practice. Practice it. Strength of the heart increasing by practice. And if I run, my heart will be palpitating. Because I have no practice. So by practice, everything can be attained. Hare Räma Hare Räma Räma Räma Hare Hare. [break] ...determination. And this determination is increased by celibacy. Brahmacärya is recommended to keep oneself determined. A brahmacäré, if he determines something, he executes. He has got that strength of mind. Those who are too much addicted to sex life, they cannot be determined. They cannot be fixed-up. They are fluctuating, changing. People are, in modern day, they cannot sit down in a place for a long time. Therefore so much traveling. The traveling business is very prosperous. Everyone wants to travel. They cannot fix, fix up. So the processes recommended, they're very valuable, but it is not possible to follow them all in the present age because everything is reducing. So our method is to pray to Kåñëa to give us the necessary strength. That's all. Otherwise, by regular practice, this age is very difficult. Unfavorable. First thing is memory is very short. We cannot remember. Life is very short. Life is short, at the same time, so much disturbed by anxiety, by disease, by natural disturbances. Roga-çokädibhiù. Short life; that is also disturbed by disease and lamentation. Every moment there is something for which you have to lament. "Oh!" Roga-çokädibhiù. And disease. This body is a breeding ground of all kinds of disease. Life is short and it is so much disturbed. So how it is possible to practice? Therefore, this one practice—chanting Hare Kåñëa, and hearing—that is very nice. And praying to Kåñëa, "Please give me strength." Hare, "O Energy of Kåñëa, O Kåñëa, I am fallen, I have no strength. Please accept me." That's all. "I have no qualification. I am frail. I am trying, but I am failing." All these appeals should be made. And Kåñëa is all-powerful, He can do anything. Even we, we do not perform, trying our best, if we fail, Kåñëa will help us. Just like a child tries his best, but he falls down. The mother takes up and, "All right. Come on. Walk." Like that. Yes?
Devotee (1): Swamiji? Is doing something other than chanting, like going to school and paying attention to what's there, if you're doing that so you can spread Kåñëa consciousness, is that just as good as chanting?
Prabhupäda: Chanting is good everywhere.
Devotee (1): Yes, but, I mean, if you can't chant all day.
Prabhupäda: If there is some inconvenience in chanting loudly, you can chant slowly. Loudly, slowly... Within mind you can chant. This simple practice, you'll give up all kinds of (microphone rattling)...
Devotee (1): Sometimes in school you have your, your mind is focused on their problems that they are, I mean... (plane going overhead)
Prabhupäda: Not sometimes. Practically, we are always disturbed. (Walks for awhile)
Devotee (1): Swamiji, would it be all right for Cathy to become a devotee?
Prabhupäda: I don't follow.
Devotee (1): To be initiated. Cathy. To be initiated. She's the girl with the baby.
Prabhupäda: Oh. If she can perform the..., there is no objection.
Devotee (1): She would like to.
Prabhupäda: You are very kind upon her. (laughs) Yes. Vaiñëava is very kind. (pause) It is very heavy?
Devotee (2) (boy): No, not too heavy. If I had a memory I wouldn't need this. (Prabhupäda laughs)
Mälaté: So you're carrying your memory in your hand?
Devotee (2): Yes.
Prabhupäda: Because memory is reducing, therefore nature is helping to manufacture so many machines.
Mälaté: Is that why people are making these machines, because they can't remember? Is that a sign of Kali that there's more machines to help people?
Prabhupäda: Yes, yes. And nowadays in the courts, they use machines. The judges also cannot remember what has been argued between the parties. So they take this tape recorder and give judgement. Because the argument is going on for two days, three days, how much he can remember? And when he gives judgement he has to take consideration of all the arguments, then give his judgement. So this machine helps.
Mälaté: If somebody had a big dollar bill the judge would remember.
Prabhupäda: Huh?
Mälaté: If somebody gave the judge a big dollar bill he would remember.
Prabhupäda: Yes. That means truthfulness is not there, diminished. The same thing. Because truthfulness has diminished, therefore you can bribe anybody and he can tell lie for you. We are in a very precarious condition. Very unfavorable condition. The best thing is to pray Kåñëa, "Please pick me up very soon and let me go back to Your place." If you have to come back again, oh, you do not know how much misery we have to undergo. Because with the advancement of Kali-yuga, everything is becoming more and more miserable. There is no happiness in family life, there is no happiness in social life, there is no happiness in political life, there is no happiness in earning livelihood. Everything is encumbered. All impediment, full of impediments.
Devotee (1): One of my friends said, "(inaudible), you want to tell us everything, so why don't you build a machine to chant Hare Kåñëa for you?"
Prabhupäda: Huh? Yes. Machine was not made for chanting Hare Kåñëa, but we are utilizing it so that the machine-maker may be benefited. Because we employ everyone's energy to Kåñëa. So by his energy he has manufactured this machine, so we are employing in Kåñëa's service so that he may be benefited, purified. We are showing him the mercy. Just like one flower picked up from a plant offered to Kåñëa is offering benefit to that plant. Because his energy is in the service of Kåñëa. Similarly, the person who has manufactured this machine, when it is employed in Kåñëa consciousness business, he's benefited. Indirectly, we are giving him opportunity, although he does not know it. But his energy is being utilized for Kåñëa. We offer prasädam, the same principle. A man does not know about Kåñëa. But he wants to eat. By eating, he'll be gradually Kåñëa conscious. So you have... Our business is to give opportunity to all forgotten souls to be engaged in Kåñëa consciousness, today or tomorrow. The boys and girls who have come to this society, they have accumulated in that way, knowingly or unknowingly, some Kåñëa conscious qualification, and therefore they have taken this opportunity. (Pause) We have no dog friend. (Laughs)
Mälaté: It's a dog taking a man for a walk.
Prabhupäda: We are all devotee friend. Where is your dog?
Mälaté: Oh, he's gone.
Prabhupäda: Gone? (laughs)
Mälaté: Yes. Some very nice people who worship dogs took him.
Prabhupäda: The dog saw that "My master has become devotee, so it is useless to keep here."
Mälaté: These people who took him, they think he is a person.
Prabhupäda: Hm?
Mälaté: They treat him like person.
Prabhupäda: He's a person. Dog is a person. Why imperson?
Mälaté: Pardon?
Prabhupäda: Dog is person also.
Mälaté: Yes, but they treat him like I would... They... Human person. They treat him like... They worship him.
Prabhupäda: Yes, but what is the difference between human person and dog person? No difference. So far eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, they are equal. Human personality is there when he's Kåñëa conscious. Otherwise he's an animal, as good as dog.
Mälaté: So these... If you do not take to Kåñëa conscious, you are a dog.
Prabhupäda: Yes, equal to dog. Because he has no other conception except those four principles, eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is there in the animals. Don't you see the swans? They are enjoying sex life. So what is the difference between man... A man also does like that. So long one is not above these four principles of animal demands, he's as good as animal. To meet animal demands in a polished way is not civilization. One must be above the animal demands. That is civilization. You have read that poetry, "Alexander and the Robber"? Have you read?
Mälaté: I don't think so. Say again?
Devotee (2): "Alexander and the Rabbit"?
Mälaté: No.
Prabhupäda: Alexander the Great, you have heard the name?
Mälaté: Yes.
Prabhupäda: He conquered all over the world almost. He went to India also. So he met one robber. So he arrested, Alexander. He was king. The robber said, "Why you have arrested me?" "Because you are robber." "Oh, you are also great robber." When Alexander was charging him that, "You have done this," oh, he charges, "You have done this. I have entered a private house; you have entered a private state. So you are a big robber." Then he released him, "Yes, what is the difference between robber and me?" And Alexander, from that day, he stopped his conquering propaganda. "Alexander and the Robber." The robber proved that "You are a big robber only. But because you are big robber, therefore you are called 'Alexander the Great.' But my business is the same as yours-encroaching upon others' property. Why do you think that I am culprit and you are innocent? You are also culprit. If I had power, I could have punished you. And you have now power, you are trying to punish me." So Alexander the Great was convinced by robber.
Devotee (1): (Inaudible)
Prabhupäda: Huh?
Devotee (1): Did he kill himself?
Prabhupäda: Who?
Devotee (1): Alexander the Great?
Prabhupäda: He killed himself?
Devotee (1): I don't know.
Prabhupäda: Oh, I do not know.
Devotee (2): He died from a... He died. (end of walk recording)
Gargamuni: This was recorded at Stow Lake in San Francisco on March 23rd, 1968, about 7:30 in the morning. Stow Lake is Swamiji's favorite walking place. (end)
Room Conversation -- March 25, 1968, San Francisco