Table of Contents

Chapter One

The Perfection of Yoga

Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, speaks about the topmost system of yoga in the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. There He has explained the hatha-yoga system. Please remember that we are preaching this Krsna consciousness movement on the authority of Bhagavad-gita. It is nothing manufactured. The bhakti-yoga system is authorized, and if you want to know about God, then you have to adopt this bhakti-yoga system because in the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita it is concluded that the topmost yogi is he who is always thinking of Krsna within himself.

Krsna, the supreme authority, recommended the eightfold yoga system. The first step of this yoga system is to select a very secluded and sacred place. Eightfold meditation cannot be performed in a fashionable city. It is not possible. In India, therefore, those who are very serious about practicing yoga go to Hardwar, a very secluded place in the Himalayas, where they remain alone and follow a very restrictive process for eating and sleeping. There is no question of mating. Those rules and regulations must be followed very strictly. Simply to make a show of gymnastics is not perfection of yoga. Yoga means control of the senses. If you indulge your senses unrestrictedly but make a show of yoga practice, you will never be successful. You have to select a sacred place; then you have to sit with half-closed eyes and concentrate on the tip of your nose. You cannot change your posture. There are many rules and regulations which cannot possibly be followed at the present.

Even 5,000 years ago, when circumstances in the world were different, this yoga system was not practicable. Even such a great personality as Arjuna, who belonged to the royal family and was a great warrior and an intimate friend of Krsna's, constantly living with Him, after hearing this process of yoga from Krsna in a face-to-face discussion, said, "My dear Krsna, it is not possible to follow." He flatly admitted, "For me these rules and regulations and practice for controlling the mind are not possible." We have to think, then: 5,000 years ago a personality like Arjuna expressed his inability to practice this eightfold yoga system, so how can we follow it now?

In this age people are very short-lived. In India the average duration of life is thirty-five years. In your country it may be more than that. But actually, whereas your grandfather lived for 100 years, you cannot. These things are changing. The duration of life will be reduced. There are predictions in the scriptures that in this age, man's duration of life, his mercy and his intelligence are being reduced. Men are not very powerful; their duration of life is very short. We are always disturbed, and we have practically no knowledge about spiritual science.

For example, in the hundreds and thousands of universities all over the world there is no department of knowledge where the science of the soul is taught. Actually, we are all spirit soul. From Bhagavad-gita we understand that we are transmigrating from one body to another, even in our present lives. All of us had at one time the body of a small baby. Where is that body? That body is gone. Presently I am an old man, but I remember that I was once a small baby. I still remember when I was about six months old; I was lying down on the lap of my elder sister, who was knitting, and I was playing. I can remember that, so it is possible for everyone to remember that he had a small body. After the baby's body I had a boy's body; then I had a youthful body, and now I am in this body. Where are those bodies? They are gone now. This is a different body. It is explained in Bhagavad-gita that when I give up this body, I will have to accept another body. It is very simple to understand. I have changed so many bodies, not only from childhood to boyhood to youth, but according to medical science we are changing bodies every second, imperceptibly. This Process indicates that the soul is permanent. Although I have changed many bodies, I remember my baby body and my childhood body--I am the same person, soul. Similarly, when ultimately I change this body, I shall have to accept another. This simple formula is stated in Bhagavad-gita. Everyone can reflect on it, and there must be scientific research done in this area.

Recently I received a letter from a doctor in Toronto. He suggested that there is body and there is soul. I corresponded with him. Actually, it is a fact. The soul is there. There is so much evidence, not only in the Vedic literature but even by ordinary experience. The soul is there, and it is transmigrating from one body to another, but unfortunately there is no serious study on this subject in the universities. This is not very good. The Vedanta-sutra says, "This human form of life is meant for searching out the spirit, the Absolute Truth." The yoga system is used to search out the spiritual principles within this material world. That process for searching is recommended in Bhagavad-gita by Krsna Himself. When Arjuna said, "The system You are recommending, the hatha-yoga system, is not possible for me," Krsna assured him that he was the greatest of all yogis. He pacified him by saying not to bother about being unable to practice hatha-yoga. He told him, "Of all different types of yogis--hatha-yogis, jnana-yogis, dhyana-yogis, bhakta-yogis, karma-yogis--you are the best yogi." Krsna says, "Of all yogis, the one who is constantly thinking of Me within himself, meditating upon Me within the heart, is the first-class yogi."

Who can think of Krsna always within himself? This is very easy to understand. If you love someone, you can think of him always within you; otherwise it is not possible. If you love someone, then naturally you think of him always. That is described in the Brahma-samhita. One who has developed love of God, Krsna, can think of Him constantly. When I speak of Krsna you should understand that He is God. Another name for Krsna is Syamasundara, which means that He is blackish like a cloud but very beautiful. In one verse of Brahma-samhita it is said that a santa, a saintly person, who has developed love for Syamasundara, Krsna, thinks of the Lord constantly within his heart. Actually, when one comes to the point of samadhi in the yoga system, he thinks, without cessation, of the Visnu form of the Lord within the heart. He is absorbed in that thought.

Krsna, Syamasundara, is the original Visnu. That is stated in Bhagavad-gita. Krsna includes Brahma, Visnu, Siva and everyone else. According to Vedic scripture, He expands first as Baladeva, Baladeva expands as Sankarsana, Sankarsana expands as Narayana, and Narayana expands as Visnu (Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu). These are Vedic statements. We can understand that Krsna is the original Visnu, Syamasundara.

This is the perfect system. Anyone who is thinking of Krsna always within himself is a first-class yogi. If you want perfection in yoga, don't be satisfied only by practicing codes. You have to go further. Actually, the perfection of yoga is reached when you are in samadhi, always thinking of the Visnu form of the Lord within your heart, without being disturbed. Therefore yogis go to a secluded place, and by controlling all the senses and the mind and concentrating everything on the form of Visnu, they reach samadhi. That is called perfection of yoga. Actually this yoga system is very, very difficult. It may be possible for some solitary man, but for the general mass of people it is not recommended in the scriptures: harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam. kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha. "In this age of Kali one must chant the holy names of the Lord for deliverance. There is no other alternative. There is no other alternative. There is no other alternative." (Brhan-Naradiya Purana)

The yoga system, as it was recommended in the Satya-yuga, the Golden Age, was to always meditate on Visnu. In the Treta-yuga one could practice yoga by performing great sacrifices, and in the next age, Dvapara-yuga, one could achieve perfection by temple worship. The present age is called Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga means the age of quarrel and disagreement. No one agrees with anyone else. Everyone has his own theory; everyone has his own philosophy. If I don't agree with you, you fight me. This is the symptom of Kali-yuga. The only method recommended in this age is chanting the holy name. Simply by chanting the holy name of God, one can attain that perfect self-realization which was attained by the yoga system in the Satya-yuga, by performance of great sacrifices in the Treta-yuga, and by large-scale temple worship in the Dvapara-yuga. That perfection can be attained by the simple method of Hari kirtana. Hari means the Supreme personality of Godhead; kirtana means to glorify.

This method is recommended in the scriptures, and it was given to us by Caitanya Mahaprabhu 500 years ago. He appeared in a town which is known as Navadvipa. It is about sixty miles north of Calcutta. People still go there. We have a temple center there. It is also a sacred place of pilgrimage. Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared there, and He started this mass sankirtana movement, which is conducted without discrimination. He predicted that this sankirtana movement would be spread all over the world and that the Hare Krsna mantra would be chanted in every village and town on the surface of the globe. In pursuance of the order of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, following in His footsteps, we are trying to introduce this sankirtana movement, chanting Hare Krsna, and it is proving very successful everywhere. I am preaching especially in foreign countries, all over Europe, America, Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, etc. I have introduced this sankirtana movement, and now we have centers around the world. All eighty centers are being received with great enthusiasm. I have not imported these boys and girls from India, but they are taking this movement very seriously because it appeals to the soul directly.

We have different stages of our life--the bodily concept of life, the mental concept of life, the intellectual concept of life, and the spiritual concept of life. Actually we are concerned with the spiritual concept. Those who are allured by the bodily concept are no better than cats and dogs. If we accept that "I am this body," then we are not better than the cats and dogs because their concept of life is like that. We must understand that "I am not this body," as Krsna wanted to impress upon Arjuna in the beginning of His teaching of Bhagavad-gita: "First of all, try to understand what you are. Why are you lamenting in the bodily concept of life? You have to fight. Certainly you have to fight with your brothers, brothers-in-law and nephews, and you are lamenting. But first of all understand whether you are body or not." That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. Krsna tried to make Arjuna understand that he was not his body. This instruction was not for Arjuna exclusively, but for everyone. First of all we have to learn that "I am not this body," that "I am spirit soul." That is Vedic instruction.

As soon as you come to this point of being firmly convinced that you are not this body, that is called the brahma-bhuta stage of Brahman realization. That is knowledge, real knowledge. Advancement of knowledge for eating, sleeping and mating is animal knowledge. A dog also knows how to eat, how to sleep, how to mate and how to defend. If our education extends only to these points (the dog is eating according to his nature, and we are also eating, but in a nice place, with nicely cooked food on a nice table), that is not advancement. The principle is still eating. Similarly, you may sleep in a very nice apartment in a six-story building or in a 122-story building, and the dog may lie in a street, but when he sleeps and when you sleep, there is no difference. You cannot know whether you are sleeping in a skyscraper or on the ground because you are dreaming something which has taken you from your bed. You have forgotten that your body is lying there on the bed, and you are flying in the air, dreaming. Therefore, to improve the sleeping method is not advancement of civilization. Similarly, the dog has no social custom for mating. Whenever there is a she-dog, he mates on the street. You may mate very silently, in a secret place (although now people are learning how to mate like dogs), but the mating is there. The same principle applies to defending. A dog has teeth and nails with which he can defend himself, and you have atom bombs. But the purpose is defending, that's all. Therefore, scripture says that human life is not meant only for these four principles of life, bodily demands. There is another thing--a human being should be inquisitive to learn what is Absolute Truth. That education is lacking.

According to Vedic civilization a brahmana is a learned man, or one who knows the spirit. In India, brahmanas are addressed as learned men, but in fact they cannot be brahmanas by birth. They are expected to know what is spirit.

By birth everyone is a sudra, a fourth-class man, but he may be reformed by the purificatory process. There are ten kinds of purificatory processes. One undergoes all these processes and at last comes to the spiritual master who gives him the sacred thread as recognition of his second birth. One birth is by your father and mother, and the other birth is by the spiritual master and Vedic knowledge. That is called second birth. At that time the candidate is given a chance to study and understand what is Veda. By studying all the Vedas very nicely, he actually realizes what is spirit and what is his relationship with God, and then he becomes a brahmana. Above that situation of impersonal Brahman understanding, he comes to the platform of understanding Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; then he becomes a Vaisnava. This is the perfectional process.

 

Chapter Two

Yoga and the Master of Yoga

 

Yoga means the connecting link between the soul and the Supersoul, or the Supreme and the minute living creatures. Lord Sri Krsna is that Supreme, the Personality of Godhead. Being, therefore, the ultimate object of yoga, Krsna's name is yogesvara, the master of yoga.

At the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita, it is said: "Where there is Krsna, and where there is Arjuna, the greatest of bowmen, there, undoubtedly, is victory."

The Bhagavad-gita is a narrative spoken by Sanjaya, the secretary of Maharaja Dhrtarastra. This is just like airwaves from the radio: the play is going on in the auditorium, but you can hear from your room. So, just as we now have such a mechanical arrangement, at that time there were also certain arrangements, although there was no machine. Anyway, the secretary of Dhrtarastra could see what was going on in the battlefield, and he was in the palace, telling this to Maharaja Dhrtarastra, who was blind. Now, the conclusion made by Sanjaya was that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

When the yoga performance is described, it is said that Krsna's name is yogesvara. No one can be a better yogi than the master of yoga, and Krsna is the master. There are many different types of yoga. Yoga means the system, and yogi means the person who practices that system. The object of yoga, the ultimate goal, is to understand Krsna. Therefore, Krsna consciousness means to practice the topmost type of yoga.

This topmost yoga system was described by Krsna in the Gita to His most intimate friend, Arjuna. In the beginning, the Lord said that this system can be practiced only by a person who has developed attachment for it. This Krsna conscious yoga system cannot be practiced by an ordinary man who has no attachment for Krsna, for it is a different system, and the topmost--bhakti-yoga.

There are five types of direct attachment, and there are seven types of indirect attachment. Indirect attachment is not bhakti. Direct attachment is called bhakti. If you are attached to Krsna by the direct method, it is called devotional service, and if you are attached to Krsna by an indirect method, it is not devotional service. But that is also attachment. King Kamsa, for example, was the maternal uncle of Krsna; and there was a warning that Kamsa would be killed by one of his sister's sons. So he became very anxious about the sons of his sister, and he decided to kill his sister. Devaki, Krsna's mother, was saved by her husband, Vasudeva, who made a compromise and proposed to his brother-in-law as follows: "You are afraid of the son of your sister. So your sister herself is not going to kill you." He requested, "Don't kill your sister. Save her, and I promise that all the sons born of her will be brought to you, and if you like you can kill them."

Vasudeva did this in order that his poor wife might be saved. And Vasudeva thought, "When Devaki's son is born, Kamsa may have a change of heart." But Kamsa was such a great demon that he killed all the sons of Devaki. It was told that the eighth son of the sister would kill him. So, when Krsna was in the womb of His mother, Kamsa was always thinking of Krsna. You may say that he was not Krsna conscious, but actually he was. Not directly, not for love's sake, but as an enemy. He was Krsna conscious as an enemy. So, that is not devotional service. One in devotional service is Krsna conscious as Krsna's friend, Krsna's servant, His parent, or His lover.

You may want Krsna as your lover, or as your son; you may want Krsna as your friend, you may want Krsna as your master, you may want Krsna as the Supreme Sublime. These five different kinds of direct relationships with Krsna are called devotion, or bhakti. They entail no material profit.

The concept of accepting God as a son is superior to the concept of accepting God as a father. There is a distinction. The relationship between father and son is that the son wants to take something from the father. The father's relationship with the son is that the father always wants to give something to the son. Therefore, the relationship with God or Krsna as son is better than the relationship with Krsna by one who thinks, "If I accept God as my father, then my business will be to ask for my necessities from the father." But, if I become the father of Krsna, then from the very beginning of His childhood, my business will be to serve Him. The father is the parent of the child from the very beginning of his birth; therefore the concept of this relationship of Vasudeva and Devaki is sublime.

Krsna's foster mother, Yasoda, is thinking, "If I do not feed Krsna sumptuously, He will die." She for. gets that Krsna is the Supreme Lord, that He is sustaining the three worlds. She forgets that only one Lord is supplying the necessities of all the living entities. This same Personality of Godhead has become the son of Yasoda, and she is thinking, "If I do not feed Him nicely, He will die." This is love. She has forgotten that it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead who has appeared before her as a little child.

This relationship of attachment is very sublime. It requires time to understand, but there is a position where, instead of asking, "O God, please give us our daily bread," you can instead think that God will die if you do not supply bread to Him. This is the ecstasy of extreme love. There is such a relationship between Krsna and His devotee Radharani, the greatest devotee, the greatest lover of Krsna. Mother Yasoda is His lover as a parent; Sudama is His lover as a friend; Arjuna also as a friend--there are millions and billions of different kinds of direct devotees of Krsna.

So the yoga systems as described here lead to bhakti-yoga, and bhakti-yoga can be practiced by persons who have developed attachment to Krsna. Others cannot practice it. And, if anyone is able to develop that attachment, the relationship will be that he will understand God, Krsna, perfectly. However we may try to understand God by our different theories or speculations, it is still a difficult job. We may say that we have understood God, but it is not possible to understand Him as He is, because we have limited senses, and He is unlimited.

It is said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that our senses are imperfect, all of them. We cannot understand even the material world perfectly. You have seen so many planets and stars in the sky at night, but you do not know what they are. You do not even know what the moon planet is, though men have been trying for so many years to go there in sputniks. Even this one planet, Earth! We do not know what varieties there are even on this planet! If you go to the sea, to the sky, your perception is limited. Our knowledge is, therefore, always imperfect. On that we must agree. If we foolishly think that we have acquired all forms of knowledge and we have advanced in science, this is another foolishness. It is not possible.

And, when it is not possible to understand even the material things which we daily see with our eyes, what can we say of the spiritual world and Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead? He is the supreme spiritual form, and it is not possible to understand Him by our limited senses. Then why are we bothering so much for Krsna consciousness, if it is not possible? If these imperfect senses cannot realize Krsna as He is? The answer is that if you become submissive, if you develop the spiritual attitude of following Krsna, and you are as a servant or a friend, as a parent or as a lover--if you begin to give service to the Supreme Lord then you can begin to know Him.

Your service begins with the tongue. How? By the tongue you can chant Hare Krsna, and by the tongue you can taste Krsna prasadam, spiritual food. So, the beginning of the process is very nice. You can chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare--and whenever prasadam is offered to you by Krsna, by His kindness, you accept it. The result will be that if you become submissive, and if you begin this service--chanting and eating prasadam--Krsna will reveal Himself before you.

You can't understand Krsna by speculation; that is not Possible, because your senses are imperfect. But if you begin this process of service, then it will be possible--one day Krsna will reveal Himself to you: "I am like this." just as Krsna is revealing to Arjuna. Arjuna is a devotee, and he is submissive, and he is in contact with Krsna as a friend. Therefore Krsna is revealing to him.

The Bhagavad-gita was spoken to Arjuna, not to any Vedantist philosophical speculator. In the beginning of the Fourth Chapter, you will note that Krsna says, "I am speaking to you that ancient system of yoga." It is stated, "unto you." Arjuna was a ksatriya, a fighter. He was a householder, not even a sannyasi, not a renouncer--but these are not qualifications to understand Krsna. Suppose I say I have become a sannyasi mendicant--this is not a qualification, that I can now understand Krsna. Then what is the qualification? This: One who has developed the service spirit, with love and devotion, can understand Me." No other. Not the big scholars and mental speculators; but a child can understand Krsna, if he has full faith in Him. So faith and devotion qualify one.

Simply by such faith and service you will understand that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as we are preaching Krsna consciousness; we are not wasting your time or our time, because we are in full faith that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Theoretically or practically, you should accept Krsna as the Supreme Person. Theoretically, there is the revealed scripture. You will understand from the Vedic literature, from the great devotees in the past and in the present.

For the present, there is Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya is the great authority. None is greater. He was mad after Krsna. And then, after Him, His six disciples, the gosvamis, have left us an immensely valuable literature--especially Jiva Gosvami. They have written volumes on Krsna. So, under disciplic succession, we have come to this point; and if you like past history, then go back a long, long time to Vyasadeva. He is known to have written the Srimad-Bhagavatam and other literature on Krsna. Srimad-Bhagavatam is nothing but a description of Krsna. Vyasa is also the writer of the Bhagavad-gita. The Gita was spoken by Krsna and noted down by Vyasa, who put this Gita into the Mahabharata.

So Vyasadeva accepts Krsna as the Supreme Person. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam he has given the description of the different incarnations; there are twenty-five of Them. And, in the conclusion, he says that the descriptions that are given of different incarnations are all parts of the representations of God. But Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. He is not part, but one hundred percent--one hundred percent God. So there is the evidence of authority.

And, practically, if we believe the sastras, the scriptures, then we can see: Who can be more powerful than Krsna? Who can be more beautiful than Krsna? Who can be more famous than Krsna? Krsna appeared five thousand years ago, but His knowledge, which He gave in the form of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, is still worshiped. It is worshiped not only by the Hindus or the Indians, but is read all over the world. In your country there are at least fifty different editions of the Bhagavad-gita, written by different men. Similarly, in England, in Germany, in France and in all other countries, you will find hundreds of editions of the Gita. So, who can be more famous? There are many other evidences, if you believe in sastra: Krsna married 16,108 wives, and He provided each one of them with a big palace, and each one of them had 10 children, and from the 10 children there were many other children born. So we have the evidence of revealed Scriptures; and in the Brahma-samhita also, Krsna is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is a very old book, supposed to have been written by Brahma, the first living being in the universe.

In that Brahma-samhita, it is said, isvarah paramah krsnah. Isvara means God. There are many gods. It is said that there are so many demigods, and there is the Supreme God. So Brahma-samhita says, isvarah paramah krsnah--He is the God of gods. Isvarah paramah krsnah, and then: sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah--and His body is eternal, and full of bliss and knowledge. And next: anadih--He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everyone. Anadir adir govindah. Go means senses, go means cow, and go means land. He is the proprietor of all land, He is the proprietor of all cows, and He is the creator of all senses.

We are after sense pleasure, but our perfection of sense pleasure can be achieved only when we reciprocate our pleasure with Krsna. Therefore, His name is Govinda, the Supreme Original Personality of Godhead.

The same Personality of Godhead personally spoke about Himself to Arjuna in the Gita. How can you say that somebody, by his thinking, by speculation, can say something about God that is more important than what is being said by Krsna Himself? It is not possible. No one can speak better than Krsna about God, because God Himself is speaking. If you speak about yourself personally, who can say more than you? So, if you have faith, if you believe theoretically or practically in Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then, by the speeches that are delivered by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita, you can understand God. There is no difficulty.

And, if you believe Krsna, then the result will be that you can understand God--how He is working, how His energies are acting, how He is manifesting, what is this material world, what is the spiritual world, what are the living creatures, what is their relationship--so many things are to be found in God's literature.

The whole Vedic literature deals with three things: the first is your relationship with God; then, next, after you understand your relationship with God, you can act in that way. just as a man or woman may not be related, but as soon as the relationship is established that one is husband and the other is wife, then the dealings begin.

Once they understand their relationship with God, people generally believe that God is the father, and the son's business is to ask Father for whatever he needs. But that is really a lesser relationship. If you understand God perfectly, then there are intimate relationships also. Your intimate relationship will be revealed when you are perfectly liberated. Each and every living creature has a particular relationship with God, but we have, for now, forgotten. When that relationship is revealed in the process of devotional activities, or Krsna consciousness, you will know that that is the perfection of your life. Krsna consciousness is a great science; it is not a sentimental speculation regarding love. It is based on scientific propositions described in the Bhagavad-gita, in the Vedas, and in the Brahma-samhita; and it is accepted by authorities like Lord Caitanya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Narada, Asita, Vyasa--there are so many authorities. Krsna consciousness is not an ordinary lovemaking or moneymaking business; it is reality, and if you stick to it seriously, your life will be perfect.

Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita, "After giving up this body, one who knows Me in truth does not come back again to this material world to accept a material body." Then what happens to him? He goes to Krsna, back home, back to Godhead. This Krsna consciousness movement is directly giving people understanding of Krsna. We are giving knowledge of Krsna based on these authorized scriptures: Bhagavad-gita and the Vedas. Veda means knowledge, and Vedanta means the ultimate end of knowledge. What is that end of knowledge? That is Krsna. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah. By knowing all the Vedas, the ultimate conclusion should be Krsna. This conclusion comes after many, many births. After culturing knowledge for many, many births, when one actually becomes wise, then he surrenders unto Krsna. How can he surrender? He knows that Vasudeva, Krsna, is everything. Whatever we see is simply a manifestation of the energy of Vasudeva. One must be convinced on this point, and then he becomes a devotee. Krsna therefore advises that whether you understand or not, simply surrender unto Him. What Krsna taught in Bhagavad-gita, we are also teaching, without different manufactured ideas. That is our Krsna consciousness movement. It is open to everyone, and the process is very simple. We have our centers. If you want to take advantage of this movement, you are welcome. You will be happy.

 

Chapter Three

Beyond the Laws of Nature

 

In materialistic life we cannot control our senses and mind. The mind is dictating, "Enjoy your senses in this way," and we are enjoying our senses. Materialistic life means sense gratification. This sense gratification process is going on life after life. In the many varieties of life there are different standards of sense gratification. Krsna is so kind that He has given us full liberty to gratify our senses.

We are part and parcel of Krsna; we have small particles of all the desires of Krsna. Our existence is a small particle of God's, just like a small particle of gold which has all the qualities of the original gold. Krsna has the propensity for sense gratification. He is the original sense gratifier. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that Krsna is the supreme enjoyer. Our enjoying spirit exists because it exists originally in Krsna.

The Vedanta-sutra says that everything originates from Krsna. Param Brahman, or the Absolute Truth, means that from which everything is generated. Therefore, our desire for sense gratification is coming from Krsna. Here is the perfect sense gratification--Krsna and Radharani. Young boys and girls are similarly trying to enjoy their senses, but where is this propensity coming from? It is coming from Krsna. Because we are part and parcel of Krsna, the quality of desire for sense gratification exists within us. But the difference is that we are trying to gratify our senses in the material world; therefore we are perverted. In Krsna consciousness one gratifies his senses in association with Krsna. Then it is perfect.

For example, if there is a nice sweetball or some nice foodstuff and the finger picks it up, it cannot enjoy. The foodstuff has to be given to the stomach, and then the finger can also enjoy. Similarly, we cannot gratify our senses directly. But when we join with Krsna, when Krsna enjoys, then we can enjoy. That is our position. The finger cannot eat anything independently; it cannot enjoy the nice sweetball. The finger can pick it up and put it in the stomach, and when the stomach enjoys, then the finger enjoys.

We have to purify the propensity of material sense gratification. That is Krsna consciousness. For Krsna consciousness we have to be purified. What is that purification? We cannot enjoy anything directly, so we have to enjoy through Krsna. For example, we take prasadam. The nice prasadam, the foodstuff that is prepared, is not taken directly--we take it through Krsna. First of all, we offer to Krsna, and then we take it.

What is the difficulty? There is no difficulty, but you become purified. The eating process is the same, but if you eat directly then you become materialistically encumbered. If you offer to Krsna, however, and then take it, then you become freed from all contamination of material life. That is stated in Bhagavad-gita. Devotees take prasadam after offering it to Krsna. That is called sacrifice. Whatever you offer to Krsna or Visnu is called sacrifice. Whatever we do here, within this material world, is some sort of sinful activity, even if we do not know it. Killing is sinful activity, even if we do not kill willingly. When you walk down the street you are killing many animals. Whenever you drink water, you are also killing. Below a water pot there are many ants and microbes that are being killed. Whenever you light a fire, there are many small microbes that also burn in the fire. When you grind spices with a mortar and pestle, many small microbes are killed.

We are responsible for this. Willingly or unwillingly, we are becoming entangled in many sinful activities. Therefore, Bhagavad-gita says that if you take the remnants of foodstuff after offering sacrifice, you become freed from all contamination. Otherwise, one who cooks to eat personally without offering to Krsna is simply eating sinful reactions. This is our position. Therefore, it is stated that because people generally cannot control their senses, they engage in the materialistic way of life in which repeated birth and death in different species takes place.

I do not know what is my next life, but the next life will come. Before us there are many species of life; I can take birth in any one of them. I can become a demigod, I can become a cat, I can become a dog, I can become Brahma--there are so many forms of life. In the next life I shall have to accept one of these forms, even if I do not want to. Suppose someone asks, "In your next life would you like to take the form of a dog or a hog?" I would not like it. But the law of nature says that after giving up this body, when I am not existing in this body any more, I will have to accept another body according to my karma. That is in the hands of nature. It is arranged by superior supervision. You cannot order, "Give me the body of Brahma, give me the body of Indra or a king or something exalted." That is not in your hands or in my hands; that will be judged by the superior agency of God, Krsna, and you will be given a body. Therefore, it is our duty to prepare a body which will help us go back to Krsna. That is Krsna consciousness.

Prahlada Maharaja, a great authority, says that one must take instruction from others. One must take instruction from a guru, a spiritual master. One should not take instruction from anyone unless one accepts him as a guru. But even one who has a nice guru cannot remain Krsna conscious if he is determined to remain in this material world. If my determination is to remain in this material world to enjoy material life, then for me Krsna consciousness is impossible.

Everyone in the material world is engaged in all kinds of political, philanthropic and humanitarian activities to make material life happy and prosperous, but this is not possible. One should understand that in the material world, however one may try to make adjustments, he cannot be happy. To cite an example I have given many times, if you take a fish out of water, you can give it a very comfortable velvet bedstead, but still the fish cannot be happy; it will die. Because the fish is an animal of the water, it cannot be happy without water. Similarly, we are all spirit soul; unless we are in spiritual life or in the spiritual world, we cannot be happy. That is our position.

Everyone is trying for that spiritual realization. But we do not know. Therefore, we are trying to be happy here, in material conditions. We are becoming frustrated and confused. Therefore, we have to withdraw this understanding that we shall be very happy by making adjustments to this material world. Then Krsna consciousness will be effective.

The boys and girls who are our students have been very scornful of the materialistic way of life. Their fathers and guardians are not poor. There is no scarcity of food or material enjoyments. Why are they being frustrated? You may say that because India is poverty-stricken the people are frustrated, but why have American boys and girls been frustrated? That is the proof that the materialistic way of life cannot make you happy. You may go on for some time trying to become happy, but happiness will never come from materialistic life. That is a fact. Those who are trying to be happy by making material adjustments cannot take to Krsna consciousness. Frustration and confusion with materialistic life is the qualification to come to Krsna consciousness. These boys and girls have a good qualification; they are coming to Krsna consciousness. There is a verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam which states that sometimes to show special favor to His devotees Krsna takes away all one's material opulence. For example, the Pandavas were bereft of their kingdom, although Krsna was present there. Krsna was present as their friend, and still they were bereft of their kingdom. They lost their property, their wife was insulted, and they were driven away to the forest.

This question was posed by Yudhisthira Maharaja to Krsna. "How is it," he inquired indirectly, "that You are our friend and that we are put into such difficulty?" Krsna replied to Yudhisthira Maharaja, "This is My special favor." Sometimes we cannot understand the special favor of Krsna.

So this frustration of the American and English boys with the materialistic way of life is a good sign for accepting Krsna consciousness. Of course, one does not need to become poor to take to Krsna consciousness. But if anyone has the desire to become spiritually advanced while at the same time enjoying material life, that is not possible. These are two contradictory aspirations. One must become determined to be happy in spiritual life. That is real happiness.

This human form is especially meant for coming to that standard of spiritual life by tapasya, by voluntarily rejecting the materialistic way of life. In the history of India there were many great kings like Bharata Maharaja who even at a very young age practiced tapasya. Bharata Maharaja at the age of only twenty-four years left his young wife, young children and the whole empire Bharatavarsa and went to the forest for meditation. There are many such instances. Prahlada Maharaja was questioned by his father, Hiranyakasipu, "Who has taught you this Krsna consciousness?" A king's son does not mix with anyone else; he simply takes lessons from the appointed teachers. How is it then that this boy, who was only five years old, was so Krsna conscious? His father was surprised, so he asked him, "How have you taken to Krsna consciousness?" The answer was, "My dear father, Krsna consciousness cannot be achieved by a person like you, whose job is always simply to enjoy this material world." Hiranya means gold, and kasipu means softly cushioned bed.

Materialistic life is spent chewing the chewed. Take, for instance, a father. A father knows that he has responsibilities, so he works hard to maintain his family. It is very difficult to keep the high standard of living in this age, so one must work very hard and engage one's son in the same way. In spite of very bad experience with materialistic life, still one engages his son in the same way. This happens again and again, so it is like chewing chewed things. Once I have chewed sugar cane and taken its juice, it is thrown out in the street, and if someone wants to taste it to see how sweet it is, he is chewing the chewed. Similarly, we don't have very good experience with this materialistic life, this hard struggle for life, but human beings, as it is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, are born of the quality of passion. There are three qualities in the material world: goodness, passion and ignorance. Because people are in the mode of passion, they love to work very hard. That hard work is considered happiness. In London you will see everyone engaged in hard work. In the morning, all the buses and trucks travel with great speed, and people go to the office or factory from morning until late at night. They work hard, and it is called advancement of civilization. Some of them are frustrated; they don't want it. There will be frustration--after all, it is hard work. Hogs, too, are working hard day and night, thinking, "Where is stool? Where is stool?"That is their business. Therefore, in one sense this kind of civilization is a hog and dog civilization. It is not human civilization. Human civilization means sobriety. One should be inquisitive. A human being should be inquisitive to know these things: Who am I? Why am I put into this condition of working very hard to get only a few grains? Why am I in this uncomfortable situation? Where did I come from? Where do I have to go? The Vedanta-sutra begins by stating that a human being should be inquisitive to know who he is, where he comes from, and where he has to go. Krsna consciousness is for those who have come to detest this material world. They are good candidates for developing Krsna consciousness. They will inquire why these men are working so hard and what their goal in life is.

That is answered in Srimad-Bhagavatam. people are working so hard because they do not actually know what the goal of life is. Everyone says that he is looking after his self-interest, but he does not know what his self-interest is. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnu. He should know that his real self-interest is to make progress toward Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They do not know this. Why don't they know it? Because they have hopes which are very difficult to fulfill. I may hope for something which is possible; that is good. But if I hope for something which is never possible, that is hope which will never be fulfilled.

We are a composition of the external and internal energies of God. The gross external energy is this gross material body, and the subtle external energy is the mind, ego and intelligence. Behind both energies--the gross external energy and the subtle external energy--is the soul, the internal energy. This body is made of earth, water, fire, air and ether. This is called gross external energy, and there is also a subtle external energy of mind, intelligence and false ego. And behind that, the soul is there.

I am the proprietor of this body. Just as one is covered by a shirt and coat which are external to his real body, similarly we are covered by this gross body made up of earth, water, fire, air and ether, which is the gross external energy of God, or Krsna, and the mind, ego and intelligence, which are subtle. Thus we are covered.

I may think that simply by having a nice shirt and coat I can be happy, but is it possible? Unless you eat nicely, unless you sleep nicely, unless you have your sense gratification, will you be happy simply by putting on a costly shirt and coat? No. That is not possible. We want to be happy by adjustment of this external energy. That cannot be. You are spirit soul--you must have spiritual food, you must have a spiritual life, and then you can be happy. As you cannot be happy simply by having a nice shirt and coat, similarly simply by the materialistic way of life you cannot be happy. There is gross matter and subtle matter. Gross matter includes high skyscraper buildings, machines, factories, nice roads, good cars, etc. Subtle matter includes nice songs, poetry, philosophy, etc. People are trying to be happy with this gross and subtle material existence. That cannot be.

Why have people accepted this sort of civilization? Because they are led by blind leaders. We are conducting this Krsna consciousness movement, and very few are interested. But suppose we advertise some falsehood--"If you follow this path, within six months you will become God, and you will be all-powerful." Many people would come. This is actually one blind man leading other blind men. Suppose one blind man says, "All right, come, follow me. I shall help you crossing this busy Mulberry Street." He is blind, and the followers are also blind. The result will be that they will be hit by some car or truck and they will all die.

We do not know that we are bound by the stringent laws of material nature. How can we become free from this material bondage? We have to take instruction from those who are not blind, whose eyes are opened and who are liberated from this material bondage. One must take instruction from such persons, and then he will understand his self-interest. Otherwise, if one who is blind takes instruction from a blind man, it will not be possible for him to be liberated from material bondage.

What is self-interest? What is the interest of a child when it is crying? It is searching after the mother's breast. Anyone who knows this immediately brings the child to its mother--"Take care of your child; he is crying." The mother takes him to her breast, and the child is immediately happy. The child cannot express what he wants, so he simply cries. But one who knows what he is crying for helps him, and the child becomes happy. Similarly, because we are part and parcel of Krsna, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are actually crying for Krsna. But these false leaders, these blind leaders who do not know, are giving stone instead of bread.

How can one be happy? I have already explained the gross external energy and the subtle external energy. Those who are interested in this gross and subtle external energy will never have their ambition of life fulfilled. One who is interested in Visnu and in showing the path of Visnu is the real friend. One who is giving Krsna consciousness is the real friend of the world. No others can give happiness to human society. That is the explanation given by Prahlada Maharaja.

You cannot manufacture a process of happiness by tackling this material energy. That is not possible because the material energy is not under your control. It is controlled by the Supreme. How can you overpower the material energy? It is not possible. That is explained in Bhagavad-gita. It is not possible to overcome the stringent laws of material nature. Krsna says, "It is My energy; I am the controller. But one can surrender unto Me."

All the material activities of the cosmic manifestation are going on just to bring the rebellious souls back to Godhead. That is the situation. Maya's stringent laws are there. Why? What is the purpose of the police force or the military force? The purpose is to keep the citizens obedient to the state. If a citizen is disobedient to the state law, he is immediately put into police custody. Similarly, anyone who has rebelled against the superiority of God is put under the stringent laws of material nature, and he must suffer. That is the position. Therefore, his self-interest is to seek out the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him. That will make him happy. Otherwise, if he simply tries to accept material things and become happy, that is not possible.

Prahlada Maharaja gives a hint as to how one can seek out the path of Visnu, or Krsna consciousness. He says that we have created so many unnecessary things and become entangled by them. In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that we should desire to get out of this unnecessary trouble and to be free from the problems which are created. This morning I saw a picture of Berlin which was sent by one of my disciples. I have been to Berlin and to Moscow, and both are very nice cities. Berlin is a very nice city and London is also a very nice city, but why do the people engage in fighting and bombing every other city? Why has this happened? Because they have lost their interest in Visnu, God. Therefore, they are thinking, "You are my enemy; I am your enemy," and they fight like cats and dogs. But as soon as we come to the Visnu understanding, the Krsna understanding, these advanced cities, these advanced civilizations, can be maintained very nicely. You'll be happy, you'll eat nicely, dance nicely, live nicely and go back home, back to Godhead. Enjoy this life and the next life. That is our request.

Everyone should take the Krsna consciousness movement seriously and try to understand it seriously. It is authorized on the Vedic principle; it is not something manufactured or unauthorized. We are opening centers in different parts of the world to give an opportunity for people to understand their real interest: Visnu, Krsna. That is our mission. Kindly help us and join us.

 

Chapter Four

The Goal of Yoga

 

In the Bhagavad-gita, the Sanskrit word mam is frequently used. This word means "unto me." Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, says, "unto Me"--Krsna. We cannot interpret this in a different way. When I say, "Bring me a glass of water," it means that I am the person in want of the glass of water, and if you supply to me and not to others, then it is right. When Krsna says, "unto Me," that means Krsna. But philosophers are still interpreting--they say "unto something else." Even grammatically this is wrong.

One who has developed attachment to Krsna is Krsna conscious. They say if you have attachment for your lover you always think of her. That is lover consciousness. It is natural. It is stated that a woman who has another lover besides her husband shows herself very attentive to her household duties, but is always thinking, "When shall my lover and I meet in the night?" This is an example. It is possible, in spite of our false engagement, if we love somebody, to think of him always. If materially it is possible, why not spiritually? That is the whole teaching of the Bhagavad-gita.

In the Gita, Krsna says to Arjuna, "As a fighter, you have to fight. You cannot step away from the fighting. It is your duty." Nowadays I have practical experience that the draft board of your country is calling for boys to join the army, but they are not willing. They are not willing because they are not trained as ksatriyas, warriors. They are trained as sudras, laborers. Therefore the caste system is very scientific. A section of people should be trained as brahmanas, men of knowledge. Those who are intelligent enough in the society should be picked and trained in higher philosophical science. And those who are less intelligent than the brahmanas should be given military training. We require everything in society--not only military men. How can everyone be a military man? Because they are sending sudras, ordinary workers, to Vietnam, these are unnecessarily being killed. Any country which is very proud of scientific advancement, and yet does not know how to organize its society, is a fool's society.

In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says that there are four divisions of society, brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra. That is natural. Some are inclined toward spiritual advancement, and these are the brahmanas. Now we are training boys who are spiritually inclined and they are unnecessarily being forced into military service. The foolish have no knowledge that some boy is being trained up in higher science. Why should he be destroyed when he is being perfected? The intellectual persons, those boys who have brahminical qualifications, are being restrained in brahmacarya student life: they don't take to meat-eating, they don't take part in illicit sex. They are being trained as complete brahmanas, the highest intellectuals, the most purified persons in society. If there is one brahmana in a whole family, then the whole family--the whole society--becomes sanctified. But today they have no knowledge of how to train a brahmana, or how to train a ksatriya. In the other fields of action, in the work of sudras and vaisyas there is nice training. If anyone wants to be a businessman, there are colleges or technological schools. That's very nice. But why should everyone be dragged into technology? Just as in your body: for proper maintenance we require the head, the arms, the belly and the legs. All these parts of the body are required. You cannot say, "We do not require the head." That is nonsense--we require everything. Suppose there is a body without a head--it is a dead body. If the body is now intact, but there is no head, it is called a dead body. The head is considered to be the intellectual part of the body. Similarly, if there is no brahmana in the society, it is a dead body. If there is no spiritual man in the society, it is a dead society.

Therefore, Krsna says, "I have created the four divisions of society, according to quality and work." If someone is working as a brahmacari-brahmana and has acquired the quality of understanding Krsna, the Supreme Lord, then why should he be called for army action? The arm of the body is the ksatriya. Of course that is required; to protect the society, to protect the country, a military arrangement should be there. No one will disapprove. But not the brahmanas. It is putting a race horse before the work cart. A race horse is required for different purposes. The other beasts of burden--asses, mules and oxen--are required for pulling carts.

I say this frankly--everyone may read it--that any society where there are no spiritual persons or Krsna consciousness is a rascal society, because it has no head. Where there is a headless man, there is a dead body. And if there is no brain, there is no head; if the brain is not working properly then he is a madman; if he has no head at all, then he is a dead man.

Do you think that in a dead society or a mad society there can be any peace? No. If the society is full of madmen, then where is the question of peace? Therefore, Krsna consciousness is the most important study in present-day society. The men who are leading the society, the President and the Secretary of Defense, should have the intelligence to understand this science of the soul.

The other day when coming to your country I met a secretary of the Japanese government in Tokyo. I wanted to explain to him that he should cooperate with this movement, but he said, "Oh, we cannot cooperate with any religious movement." He is one of the chief secretaries of the government, and he is such a fool. He is taking this movement as a religious movement, just as we have so many sentimental religions. But this is not sentimental. This is the necessity of society: a class of men should be Krsna conscious. Otherwise the society is doomed; it is going to hell. And, when such rascals are at the head of the government, how can there be peace? How can you expect peace in a dog's society? The dogs are by nature howling--"Woof! Woof! Woof!"--as soon as they see other dogs. So do you mean to say there will be peace if you turn human society into dog society, into cat society, into tiger society? The tiger is very powerful; he can kill many other animals. But does that mean he is a very important animal? No, he has no use in society. And now we are very powerful, and we have good weapons to fight with, and we can kill many people. But these are no qualifications for good men or a good society.

We are not meant to manufacture a society of monkeys or tigers or asses--or rascals who work very hard. Do you mean to say a society of asses will derive any benefit from life? No.

For those who have developed an attraction to Krsna, attachment can be developed. Before my coming to the West, there was no movement like this Krsna consciousness, but now it is developing. Krsna was not born in your country; you do not accept Krsna as your religious God. But Krsna is so attractive that although you are a foreigner, you are not foreign. To Krsna you are not a foreigner. He claims everybody. We make Him foreign, but this is our foolishness.

In the Gita Krsna says, "My dear Arjuna, there are many different forms and different species of life undoubtedly. But I am their father." Just see how Krsna is universal. He is claiming not only human society, but animal society, bird society, beast society--everyone. He says, "I am the father." So how can Krsna be foreign? It is a mental concoction. They say Krsna is Indian or Krsna is worshiped by the Hindus and therefore He is one of the Hindu Gods; and they think that Krsna is saying, "Yes, I am the Hindu God. Yes, I am Indian." But He is like the sun. Why American sun or Indian? Nothing is American or Indian; that is all artificial.

"This planet belongs to the humans, that's all." This is your communism. This present communism is defective because the Russians say that Russia is for the Russians or China is for the Chinese. Why not for others? Just think in terms of human communism! Why human communism? Living being communism! If you take this world as belonging to human society, that is defective. It belongs to everyone! It belongs to the tree community; it belongs to the beast community. They also have a right to live. Why should you cut the trees? Why should you send the bulls to the slaughterhouse? This is injustice. How can you gain justice by yourself doing injustice? We have no Krsna consciousness. We do not know that Krsna is our original father and that we are all His sons. The tree is my brother, the ant is my brother, the bull is my brother. The American is my brother, the Indian is my brother, the Chinese is my brother. Therefore, we have to develop Krsna consciousness. We talk all this nonsense of universal brotherhood and United Nations--all nonsense. Either you acknowledge the Father, or else you have no idea of how to realize brotherhood or humanity. Therefore, they are talking for years and years. They are the same fools. Can't you see the U.N.? They have headquarters in New York. They are simply talking nonsense, that's all. That is their business. So unless there is full Krsna consciousness, there cannot be any improvement of the world condition.

Krsna says that you have to develop your attachment for Him. Begin at the beginning, but you can do it; it is not artificial. I have a few sincere students here, just developing; they are not complete, but they are developing Krsna-attachment. Otherwise, why should they waste their time chanting Hare Krsna? They are doing it, and it can be done. You can develop love for anything if you try for it. But Krsna development is very natural. Because Krsna is not a thing belonging to a particular type of religion or sect. Krsna claims, "I belong to everyone." Therefore originally, we are all connected with Krsna; but we have simply forgotten. This process of chanting is to evoke your remembrance of Krsna. It is not that we are inducting something artificially into you. No, Krsna is already connected with you, but you have forgotten. And we are trying to give you the process for reviving your original consciousness. So you can come to our temple; that is the beginning. You can see Krsna or Krsna's devotees, and you can chant Hare Krsna.

Krsna is not different from His name because He is absolute. He is nondifferent from His words. The name Krsna and the person Krsna are not different. Because everything is Krsna.

Oneness, the philosophy of monism or pantheism, is imperfect. When that oneness comes in understanding Krsna, that is perfection. If Krsna is the Supreme Absolute Truth from whom everything is emanating, then everything is Krsna. Just as you have a gold mine and are preparing so many golden utensils and ornaments and many other things. But they are all gold because the original is gold. So you may name it "earring," but you have to add "gold"--golden earring. You may name it "necklace," but it is gold, because originally it came from the gold mine. Similarly, originally, everything is coming from Krsna.

If He is Supreme, the Absolute Truth, then nothing is different from Him. Just as, whether you say earring or necklace or bangle or wristwatch, these are all made of gold, and so they are gold. But, at the same time, you cannot say that this is all gold--you must say, "This is a gold necklace. This is a gold earring." The mayavadi, or impersonalist, will say that everything is Brahman. But "everything is Brahman" is not right.

This is very nicely explained in the Gita, in the Thirteenth Chapter: "I am expanded all over. That is My impersonal feature." Krsna is everywhere in His impersonal feature, but still He is a person. The Mayavadi philosopher thinks that if Krsna has become everything, then where is the possibility of Krsna here, apart? This is complete rascaldom because it is thinking in a material way. There is no spiritual knowledge.

In the material way, suppose you take a piece of paper and tear it into particles and throw it all over. The original paper has no existence. This is material. But we get information from the Vedas that the Absolute Truth is so perfect that if you take away the whole, still the whole remains. One minus one equals one. The material way of thinking is one minus one equals zero; but spiritually it is not like that. Spiritually, one minus one equals one, and one plus one equals one also.

Krsna is everything. The Mayavadis, the impersonalists, see our Deities here and say, "Oh, they have installed some wooden forms, and they are worshiping them as God." But one who knows Krsna science understands that Krsna is everything and therefore can appear in everything. With electricity, the current is everywhere along the line, so wherever you touch you will feel it. Similarly, the Krsna current in His impersonal form is everywhere, and it is the technician who knows how to use the force. Before we have a phone installed, we have a telephone conversation, and we simply inform the person, before we even talk money, that he should come immediately to find out where the connection can be made. And he comes out and does his work; and we do not notice, because he knows the technique. So, one must know how to connect with Krsna. Krsna is everywhere--this is Krsna consciousness. But one must know how he can derive Krsna from the features of Krsna's form in wood or iron or metal.

You have to learn how to contact Krsna everywhere in everything. That is explained in the system of yoga. Krsna consciousness is also yoga, the perfect yoga, the highest of all yogic systems. A yogi may come, and we can challenge him, saying that this is the topmost yoga system, though at the same time it is very simple. You don't have to exercise your body over a period of weeks before you feel some power. But in Krsna consciousness you won't feel tired. All of our students are simply anxious to be overloaded with work in Krsna consciousness. "Prabhupada, what can I do?" And they are actually doing it. In the material world, if you work for some time you'll feel weak.

Of course, I am not exercising myself. I am an old man of seventy-two years. I was ill, I went back to India; but I want to work. Actually, I could retire from all these activities, but as far as I can, I want to work; I want to learn day and night. At night I will work with the dictaphone, and I am sorry if I cannot work. This is Krsna consciousness. One must be very anxious to work. It is not an idle society. No, we have sufficient engagements: editing papers, selling papers.

Simply find out how Krsna conscious you can be. If you want to be really at peace, if you want to be happy, then develop Krsna consciousness. And the beginning is to develop attachment for Krsna. The process which we have prescribed is chanting and dancing before the Deities, and offering prasadam, spiritual food. This will make you more Krsna conscious.

The yoga system as it is described in the Bhagavad-gita is different from the bogus yoga system which is going on in the West these days. The yoga systems which have been introduced into the West by so-called yogis are not bona fide. Yoga is difficult: the first thing is to control the senses. That is the position of the yogi: he is not allowed to indulge in sex life. If you indulge in intoxication, if you indulge in meat-eating, and if you indulge in gambling and sporting--all nonsense--you cannot at the same time become a yogi. I was astonished when a yogi came here, having advertised in India that you can be a yogi even though you may be addicted to drinking. This is not the yoga system. This is not standard. You can call it yoga, but it is not the standard yoga system.

The yoga system is especially difficult for this age. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam we understand that yoga means to concentrate one's attention on the Superself, Visnu. He is situated in your heart. And, in order to concentrate your attention, you have to control the senses. The senses are working just like infuriated horses. If you cannot control the horses of your carriage, it will be dangerous. Just imagine that you are seated in a carriage and your horses are so furious that they are dragging you to hell. Then what is your position? The yoga system means to control these senses. The senses are also compared to serpents: The serpent does not know who is its friend and who is its enemy. It bites anyone. And, as soon as the serpent bites, the result is death. Similarly, if the uncontrolled senses work in their own way, then you should know that you are in a dangerous position.

It has been said that when one becomes too sensual, he loses his temper, he loses his identity, he forgets himself. Infuriated by the senses, a man will attack even his children, even his daughter. Therefore, for those who are advancing in spiritual life--not only for them but for everyone--the sastras, scriptures, say that you should not sit in a secluded place even with your mother, even with your daughter or your sister. Why? Because the senses are so strong that if they become infuriated, you will forget whether she's mother, sister, or daughter.

You may say that this may be true only for some foolish persons, but sastra says no--you should not sit in a secluded place even with your mother, sister or daughter, because the senses are so strong that even though you may be very moral, you may still be attracted by sex.

Our position in this world, our suffering in this world, is due to the body. This body is the cause of all miseries, and the ultimate goal of life should be to get out of this material body and be situated in the spiritual body. This is a foreign atmosphere. The soul is free spiritually, but it has been conditioned by this material atmosphere. And the body is of this matter.

A human being is fit to inquire as to whether he is this body or something else. This can be understood very easily. I am not this body, because at the time of death the body remains--although everyone cries, "Oh, the poor man is gone!" The man is lying there. Why do you say he is gone? He is lying there! At that time, we can come to our senses: the body is not the man. The real man is gone. The childhood body is changed to the youthful body, and the childhood body is gone. Similarly, when the boyhood body is gone, you'll have to accept a body like mine, an old man's body. The body is changing. Not only year after year, but at every second the body is changing. Still, you are situated there. This is very simple to understand. And because the body is there, we are suffering. Everyone is trying to get out of suffering, in any field of action; in the economic field, in the political field, or any field of activity, social or national, everyone is trying to get out of misery. There is no other activity. Either nationally or socially, individually or collectively, we are all suffering; and this suffering is due to the body.

Yoga means to inquire. What am I? If I am not this body, then what am I? I am pure soul. Now, if my bodily activities or sensual activities are incorrect, I will not be able to understand myself--what I am--and the Bhagavad-gita says that we are all grand fools. Why fools? Since we have this body, we are fools. If somebody invites you to come to his apartment but you know it is full of danger, do you think you would like to go there? "Oh no," you will say, "I am not going there. If it is full of danger, why shall I go?" Similarly, don't you think that the body is full of danger? Then, why are you going there, taking repeated birth? When you are flying in a plane, you are always fearful that there may be a crash. And what is this crashing? It is due to the body. The soul cannot be affected by crashes. But you are always afraid.

The soul is ever-existing, and the body will not exist. And because you are existing and the soul has accepted the nonexisting body, therefore you suffer.

The problem, then, is how to get out, just as you try to get out of a fever. The fevered condition is not your permanent life. Permanent life is enjoyment, but due to the fever you cannot enjoy life. When you are sick you cannot go out; you have to rest and take so many medicines and formulas. But we don't want that--"Why should I be a sick person?" But you are diseased. Similarly, we should always know that this bodily conditional stage of the pure soul is a diseased condition. And anyone who does not know that he is suffering from disease is a fool. He is Fool Number One.

The sastra says, everyone is born a fool: because he has this body, therefore he was born a fool. No being, either American or Indian, cat or dog, is free from this. You have come to disease, that's all. If you feel, "I am an American," that is a kind of disease; if you feel, "I am an Indian," that is also a disease; if you feel, "I am a cat," that is a disease. You are not a cat, you are not a dog, you are not Indian, you are not fair, you are not black. You are your soul--that is your identity! And one who does not understand this truth, that "I am pure soul," is defeated in all his activities.

Lord Jesus Christ taught like that: If you lose your soul and gain the whole world, what do you gain? People do not know what they are, and yet they work just like madmen. Just see, all these people are working, and they are madmen. They are not Americans or Indians, Germans or Japanese. They are nothing of the kind. They have been given a chance to come to this naughty place, this Earth; and so, being born in a particular place, they have a particular kind of body--and they are mad after it.

The Bhagavad-gita says that just as our outer garments are changed, so this body is changed. Yoga means the process of getting out of this material embodiment. Just as you are repeating changes of dress, so you are repeating birth and death, and this is the cause of your miseries. If you do not understand this, then all your activities end in defeat.

Yoga means to get out of this embodiment, and it means to know oneself. This body is born of the parents. Similarly, as pure soul, you are also the source of its birth. We do not mean birth beginning historically from a certain day and ending on a certain day. No; the soul is not like that--it has no beginning, and it has no end. But in the Bhagavad-gita it is said that the soul is part and parcel of God. God is eternal, God is full of joy and bliss. The position of the Absolute Person, the Godhead, is that He is full of bliss, eternal, and full of knowledge. And, because we are also part and parcel of the Supreme, we have partial blissfulness and eternality, and we are full of knowledge, according to our infinitesimal size.

The human beings are understood to be the most intelligent of all living creatures, but they are misusing their intelligence. How? They are misusing their intelligence by devoting it to the animal propensities. These animal propensities are eating, sleeping, mating and fearing. You can analyze the trend of modern civilization: everyone is busy with these four principles of animal life. They are sleeping and creating some cushions for comfortable sleep. They are creating palatable dishes for the eating propensity. They are exciting sex very nicely, for the mating necessity. And they are defending their country with so many atom bombs--that is the fear propensity.

But these symptoms you will find among the animals. They are also sleeping according to their own ways, and they are defending. They may not have the atom bomb, but they have some way of defending. You can kill your enemy, or he can kill you, but there is actually no defense. You cannot defend yourself; wherever you drop the bomb, it will hurt you, due to nuclear radiation. So this is not the solution of your problems. The solution of your problems is to get out of the conditioned state of life. That is called yoga--to link yourself to the Supreme.

There is a Supreme. This material creation is so nice--don't you think there is a friend behind it? The sky is so beautiful, the foodstuff is being produced, the moon is rising in due course, the sun is rising in due course, supplying heat for your health, supplying heat to the planetary systems. Everything is arranged very nicely; and yet the fools say there is no brain behind it, but it is all happening automatically.

The fact is that there is God, Krsna, and we are all parts and parcels of Krsna. We have been conditioned in some way or other in this material atmosphere. But now we have this human form of life, and so we have to get out of the entanglement. But getting out is not possible. You cannot get out of the entanglement of the material body unless you develop your Krsna consciousness. Krsna consciousness is not artificial--don't think that. This is the greatest necessity of the human being. Krsna consciousness, God consciousness, is there within you. Don't you find, when there is a kirtana performance, that the more innocent a person is, the sooner he begins? Immediately, the child begins to clap, begins to dance. This is within him; and it is very simple, this Krsna consciousness.

So, unless you develop Krsna consciousness, there is no rescue from the entanglement of conditioned life. This you have to understand. This is not some sentiment. No, it is a great science. You have to understand it nicely. Then the human form of life will be successful, and otherwise it is defeated. You may become a very great nation, but that is not the solution of the problem of life.

By the grace of Krsna, I am able to serve you with my life's energy. I left the United States in 1967 in poor health; but life and death--everything--depends on Krsna. I thought, "Let me go back to Vrndavana, because Vrndavana is a sanctified place where Krsna consciousness is very strong." I thought that I might go there and die in Krsna consciousness. Of course, if you are always in the atmosphere of Krsna consciousness, then here also you can have Vrndavana. Vrndavana is not a particular place that is called Vrndavana. Krsna says, "It is not that I live in the Kingdom of God, Vaikuntha; nor is it that I live in the heart of the yogi." The yogi wants to find out where Krsna is within the heart. But Krsna says, "I am not in the abode in the spiritual sky, nor am I in the heart of the yogi." Then where are You? Krsna says, "I stay where My pure devotees are chanting My glories." That is Vrndavana.

So, if that is Vrndavana, then I am there. There is no difference. Wherever there is electric light, there is electricity. It is naturally understood. Similarly, wherever there is Krsna consciousness, it is Vrndavana. We can create Vrndavana by the mercy of Krsna, if we chant Hare Krsna. Perfect this Krsna consciousness; try to understand the philosophy behind it. It is a science, not a bluff. We can speak from any angle of vision.

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