3 Main Duties of the Devotee of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa SB 4.31.19 |Rus Split | 9.12.92 | Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

So since this is the month of the Prabhupada marathon, we have taken a verse that emphasizes the importance of preaching. This is a verse from the 4th Canto of the Bhagavatam. It's, uh, these are instructions given by Narada Muni to the prachetas. Hare Rūpam Sagrajatam Sahagana Rāguna Tanvitam Tamsajivam. Satveitam Savadhūtam Parijana Saitam Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Devam. Hare Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Pradānta Sahagana Lalitā Hare Viśākhāna Tamsa. Jai Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhu Nityānanda Śrī Advaita Gṛhādaśvara. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare. Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. Dayāya sarva-bhūteṣu santuṣṭayeṇa keṇavaḥ sarvair indya-pāśanti-ācaḥ tu śādiaṣu janārdanaḥ. So as we said earlier, this is a very significant verse of the Bhāgavatam because it emphasizes the mentality of a devotee of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa has many names. One of his names is Janardana. Janardana means the Lord of all living entities. So even though there is a Lord of all living entities, civilization today has become so degraded, they do not acknowledge the position of God. So basically, as Prabhupada often said, the two categories of people in society, the asuras and the suras, the devotees and the demons. So over here, Narada Muni is explaining what the duties of a devotee, of of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa should be. Devotee means who's always anxious to please the Lord. He's always meditating on the desires of the Lord and the spiritual master, and he wants to live by these instructions. Prabhupāda dedicated the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to his spiritual master, and in the dedication Prabhupāda said, "He lives forever by his teachings and that the follower lives with him." So the desire of the Lord which is being manifested through Mananādhāmuni in this verse is that the Vaiṣṇava devotees must be very compassionate. They must distribute real mercy. When we talk about the word mercy in society, different people will present different understanding of this. There are some who may think being merciful means give somebody some facility by which sense enjoyment can be realized. So different types of mercy. Like in some countries, rich people build educational institutions and hospitals for those who may be economically poor. But according to the scriptures, one is rich if he acknowledges the position of Krishna and lives by those teachings, and one is considered poor or an orphan, anāt, if he doesn't accept the position of the Lord and the teachings of the Lord. So from this angle Almost everybody today is poor, anāt, orphan. So the conclusion is that we show our mercy, how? As Prabhupāda says in the purport, by giving people knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Prabhupāda clearly says in the purport, the best way to show mercy is to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And Prabhupāda goes on to say in the purport that the whole world is suffering because of lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So those who are on the spiritual path, those who are trying to become Vaishnavas, they must understand the importance of preaching the message of the Lord. Why is preaching emphasized again and again? Krishna talks about it in the Bhagavad-gītā, 18th chapter, yādam parmaṁ guyaṁ, the dearest devotee is one who preaches My glories. Lord Caitanya, when He appeared, He emphasized the importance of preaching. He said, jāre dakataḥ ekāḥ kṛṣṇa-upadeśa. You see, please tell him about Krishna. When Lord Caitanya was personally on this planet, he encouraged all his associates to go and preach from house to house, village to village, city to city, town to town. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, there's a very nice story of a devotee. He was suffering from leprosy, whose name was Vasudeva. When Lord Caitanya was touring southern India, uh, when devotees from other villages People from distant places would come to see him performing Hare Kṛṣṇa kīrtan. And just by seeing him, they would get surcharged to also start chanting and dancing. And when these people would return to their respective villages, other people, by seeing them chant and dance, would also get inspired to take to the chanting. But this was Lord Caitanya. He was God. He could perform spiritual miracles. So there was a devotee suffering from leprosy called Vasudeva. Vāsudeva came to the house of a brahmin called Kurma, and when he discovered that Chaitanya Mahāprabhu has already left, he became unconscious in anxiety because he missed the opportunity to see Lord Chaitanya. Lord Chaitanya, however, knew that Vāsudeva was lamenting that he could not see him. So Vāsudeva returned, and so Lord Chaitanya returned, and then he embraced Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva was very compassionate. He was suffering from leprosy. When the worms from his body would fall on the ground, he would lift the worms and put them back in his body. So when Lord Caitanya embraced him, his leprosy totally disappeared and he became again very— he became a very handsome, beautiful person. So when Vasudeva saw that his leprosy was gone and he became so handsome, he also became happy, but he was also concerned at the same time. His concern was that he may not become proud. Previously he was suffering from leprosy, everybody was avoiding him, but now all of a sudden he's become so handsome that he may not become falsely proud. So he asked Caitanya Mahāprabhu how can he avoid becoming proud. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Chant and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you always chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you will never become proud." So in the purport of this verse, Prabhupada gives us the following instruction. He says, just like Lord Caitanya saved Vasudeva from his leprosy, this Krishna conscious movement has saved thousands of people all over the world who were suffering from, uh, the disease of sense enjoyment. So the instruction which Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave to Vasudeva is actually for every devotee of this Krishna consciousness movement, Prabhupada says. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So preaching is very strongly emphasized in our, in our society. Doesn't matter which part of the world you may be residing in, because this is the desire of the Lord, that His devotees preach so that the conditioned souls can be woken up to the real mission of life. We have to preach, we have to chant, at the same time maintain an ideal Kṛṣṇa conscious behavior. This was very nicely revealed and Sanatana Gosvami's remarks about Haridas Thakur. Sanatana Gosvami, when he came to meet Haridas Thakur, he said, there are some people who, who don't behave, who behave nicely but do not preach, and there's some who preach but do not behave nicely, but you are simultaneously doing both, preaching and behaving nicely also. So this is the instruction for all of us. We have to behave nicely as well as dedicate our lives to Prabhupada's preaching mission. Not that in the name of preaching we abandon our Vaiṣṇava culture. So Prabhupada has given us many different mediums of preaching. He's given us the activity of book distribution, the medium of Hare Kṛṣṇa, the guideline to have very nice temples that can attract, uh, the conditioned souls to the process of worshiping the Lord. One activity that Prabhupada emphasized the most was this activity of book distribution. Why did Prabhupada emphasize so much this activity of book distribution? Because Prabhupada had the firm conviction that when people read the teachings of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as explained by him and the other great Ācāryas, they will be woken up to the mission of life. Book distribution is considered the principal activity of a Kṛṣṇa conscious movement, not to make some economic profit, but it mainly to educate people to understand the mission of life. Therefore, the devotees are being convinced about the importance of book distribution, participate in these activities. Sometimes some devotees say, I recognize that the Vaiṣṇava should be merciful, but I am finding it difficult to manifest this merciful nature. I know that Prabhupāda emphasized book distribution, Lord Caitanya emphasized preaching, but I do not consider myself advanced enough to take part in this. It is the nature of the contaminated mind to present obstacles. So on the one hand, we recognize the importance of preaching, but on the other hand, the contaminated mind, due to our past attachments, is trying to bewilder us to follow the instruction of the spiritual master and Prabhupada. So even if you are not qualified, in fact, the nature of a devotee is that he always considers himself totally unqualified. But by following the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the great Ācāryas, we will become qualified. Just like in the Bhāgavad-gītā, Krishna says, those who worship me with devotion, I make up what they lack and I preserve what they have. So what is needed is devotion and sincerity, and all other shortcomings Krishna promises to make them up. So it is essentially the desire that should be manifested. Once the devotee manifests the desire and sincerity, then Krishna within the heart will inspire you with the right lines that you should speak at the right time to motivate the other people to take these books. Isvara-sara-bhūtānām herdeśvrajñāt-eśrati. Krishna is residing in everyone's heart, and as in the form of— in the capacity of Paramātmā, Krishna is aware of the nature of our desires and the sincerity of our desires. So when our desire is sincere, when the desire is to please a spiritual master, Prabhupada, and Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa empowers us to become His preacher. Kṛṣṇa śakti vinanāye tāra-pravartana. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is explained that without being empowered by Kṛṣṇa, no one can become an empowered preacher. So when does Krishna empower us? When we are attempting to follow the path of purity. When we are trying to follow the path of purity that consists of the rules and regulations given by the great acharyas for spiritual advancement, then Krishna reciprocates. So Prabhupada not only said that books are the preaching of the essence, books are the basis, but he also said purity is the force. In other words, the enthusiasm, the conviction To distribute this transcendental knowledge comes as a result of sincere execution of the process of sadhana-bhakti. So people in your country, as we often said, are very, very fond of reading. There are more bookstores in your country than any other country on this planet. Not only do you have so many bookstores, you also have so many tables on the, on the, on the road where people are selling books. So they want to read, so we should give them the right material for reading. In the introduction to the Bhāgavatam, Prabhupāda says that since thousands of years volumes of books have been written, but these books have failed to bring peace on Earth. And the reason is that there's a spiritual vacuum in these books. So Prabhupada's books are filling the spiritual vacuum that exists in society. Therefore, our meditation should be, how can I become an instrument of the spiritual master, the disciplic succession, and give these people this transcendental knowledge by which they can wake up to the mission of life? This is samadhi for the devotee, constantly meditating on the desires of the Lord. To some, samadhi means closing your eyes and falling asleep, but to the Vaishnava devotee, samadhi means constantly meditating on the instructions of the Lord. Just like Prasad Maharaj, he was constantly meditating, how can I give these people Krishna consciousness? And we saw Prabhupada's personal example of how till almost the end of his life on this planet, He was constantly endeavoring to preach, preach, preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness to everyone. Even when Prabhupāda's body was sick and doctors would tell him, "Now take complete rest. Please don't see anyone." But Prabhupāda would never miss the opportunity to preach. Because as the Bhāgavatam says, the Vaiṣṇava's understanding is that this body has to be used for the benefit of others. Therefore Prabhupāda gave us this mission of book distribution. Now Narada Muni is emphasizing in this verse that we have to show mercy, but this, the desire to show mercy can be there according to this verse if two other essential characteristics are developed. One is be satisfied with whatever is provided by the will of the Lord, santoshtaye na kenava. And another is sarvairindhya pa shantyaccha. Sarvairindhya pa means control over the indriyas, control over the senses. So how do we gain control over the senses? We all know that the senses have a tendency to agitate, agitate, agitate. By engaging the senses in service to the Lord, by engaging the senses in positive activities, we can prevent the senses from being engaged in activities of sense pleasure. Therefore, Narada Muni had said, sarva-pādi vinir-muktaṁ tat parvena nirmalam reṣikena reṣikena sevṇa-bhaktir ucyate. That one of, one of Kṛṣṇa's names was Janārdana, which we discussed at the commencement of the class. Another of His names is Rīṣikeśa. Rīṣikeśa means owner of the senses. So when the senses are engaged in service to the Lord, then one gets freed from these material designations such as identification with the body. Therefore, the devotee is constantly meditating how can he become a powerful instrument of the Lord in delivering the conditioned souls. How he can serve the Lord better and better, how he can constantly improve his service, his sadhana, his behavior, his transcendental knowledge. Now in the purport, Prabhupada also quotes a verse from the 6th Canto of the Bhāgavatam. This was a verse that Lord Śiva had spoken to Parvati. Nārāyaṇa-parā-sarve nākodarśana-bibyati svarga-parvarga-nārkeśava-apītilyātadarśana. Lord Śiva told Parvati, "Don't underestimate A devotee of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, devotees of the Lord are so completely fearless. Hell, they're not at all concerned. So when you have to preach the mission of the Lord, you have to operate in very difficult conditions which are almost hellish, like hell. But the devotee is not affected by the environment because of his constant absorption in the spiritual mission that he's trying to execute. So by cultivation of the spiritual knowledge, by constantly hearing about the importance of, uh, of spiritual life, we get more and more attached to the process. The Vaishnava devotee, as Narada Muni is explaining in this verse, is merciful to all categories of living entities, not just to human beings but also to the animals, plants, everybody. The Christian concept of God and his creation is very limited. They don't understand that the animals are also created by the Lord and children of the Lord. Since the devotee recognizes that the Lord is the cause of all causes, aham bija pradāpita, and the seed-giving father of all living entities, the devotee is anxious to give spiritual benefit to everyone. Therefore, when you go on harināma, not only do the human beings benefit, but also the nearest other entities that we can't even see with our eyes, they also benefit. Lord Caitanya was even able to make the animals chant and dance in the Jarakanda Forest. But if we sincerely endeavor, then we are hopeful of at least making the human beings chant and dance. People are ignorant, they don't understand the value of spiritual life and the value of these instructions, but we have to still endeavor. Prabhupada once told us a story that, uh, once Lord Shiva was passing by in a market with Parvati, and there was a beggar on the way. So Parvati told Lord Shiva, 'Give him some donation.' But Lord Shiva said, 'No, I don't want to give him.' She insisted. So then Lord Shiva gave the beggar a watermelon. So when the beggar got the arbut, he said, 'What am I going to do with this?' He wanted money, so he threw the watermelon away. So Lord Shiva told Parvati, 'See, I told you, even I give this person charity, he won't accept it.' But actually, inside that watermelon, Lord Shiva had planted diamonds and jewels. But that, that foolish beggar didn't know that. So Prabhupada said, similarly, when we preach to Krishna people to take these books, they say, what am I going to do with these books? They don't want to take them. But devotees have to keep, uh, enthusiastic, trying to— we have to keep endeavoring. And if you keep endeavoring, then there will be reciprocation. So this Prabhupada book distribution marathon is a golden opportunity for the devotees to make spiritual advancement. As I said the other day, in ISKCON there's so many marathons, but this Prabhupada marathon in December is the king of the marathon. Just like the Vedic knowledge is so broad, but Krishna still says, Raja Vidya, Raja Gyan— this knowledge of Gita is the king of education. So similarly, this marathon is the king of marathons. Even the lazy devotees in our movement, in this marathon they want to go out and preach. We see even in countries like India where normally some devotees don't want to go out and book distribution, in Prabhupada marathon they all want to go out. So it's a good opportunity for all the devotees to take advantage of the spiritual mood of book distribution, get absorbed in the importance of book distribution, and help use this opportunity to give people the opportunity, knowledge by which they can really become happy. This is a very opportune time for preaching because people are realizing that just the change of ism is not going to make them happy. They were not happy when the tsars were ruling, and they were not happy when communism was introduced, and they thought they'll become happy with the basic principles of capitalism, but even with capitalism they are frustrated. So we have to give them Krishnaism, and that will make them happy. So all of you should be convinced about the importance of Krishnaism. And go and give the medium that will tell people what is Krishnaism. That is these transcendental books. You may say, okay, I'll stop everyone on the road and tell him about Krishna. Is that good enough? I find that easier than distributing a book. Prabhupada said that is not enough. Why? You tell them something, they'll forget it after a few hours or after a few days. But if you give them a book, they'll read it again and again. Not only will they read it, Their family members will read it also. Not only will their family members read it, their friends will read it also. On an average, one book distributed is read by at least 7 to 8 people besides the person who buys the book. And probably in your country, the figures may be a little higher. So just imagine, when you give a book to one person, you're at least paving the way for 8 to 10 people who will read about Krishna and understand how to give up Maya. And this is the speediest way to make spiritual advancement. Become a preacher of the Lord, distribute books. And the more you absorb yourself in this transcendental activity, the more energy Krishna is going to give you. You may think, if I stay out late, I'll get tired or whatever, but Krishna will give you spiritual energy, and spiritual energy will give you the strength and determination to go on. So please enthusiastically take part and get the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the whole guru parampara. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama. Rama Rama Hare Hare.