Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: Theoretical way / Practical Way? BG 2.20 |RUS-Split| 5.7.92|Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

So we're going to discuss a verse from the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā. How many people sitting in the audience are coming here for the first time? All of you people have come at the invitation of the Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees today. Well, it's nice to know who is in the audience because Just like in school you have different grades, grade 2 and grade 10. So obviously grade 10 doesn't study the same books that the grade 2 student studies. So those who are coming for the first time normally need a little introduction to what is Krishna consciousness. Those of you who've been coming regularly obviously need a little bit more of advanced philosophy. So first we'll give the Bhagavad-gītā class. After this we'll do a little reading from Caitanya-caritāmṛta, very attractive to the devotees. Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! This is a very important verse of the second chapter, and in this verse Lord describes the nature of the soul. And the second chapter of all the chapters of the Bhagavad-gītā has been described by Thakur Bhaktinath as the most important. Thakur Bhaktinath was a very great saint who was in the household or ashram, but still who wrote over 100 books. In his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, he has said the second chapter is the most important of all because it summarizes the entire Gita. Just like when you go to school, you start your education with A, B, C, D, E, F, G, in every ABC, the A, B, C, D, E, F, G. So similarly, the spiritual knowledge starts with the understanding of the difference between body and soul. Does not matter whether you are advanced devotee or a neophyte, everyone has to remind himself that he is not this body. Even the so-called advanced devotee, if he forgets that he's not this body, if he identifies that he is his body, his advancement will be finished. So Krishna in the second chapter, through a series of verses, is making one simple point, and that point is the eternal nature of the soul. That is, it never takes birth, it never dies. If Krishna wanted, he could have made this point through one verse, but he has used many verses to make the same point. The reason is repetition is necessary to drive a point home, as Prabhupada says in the Bhagavad-gītā. Now, there is something in the body, and when that something leaves the body, the body has no value. Doesn't matter whether you live in Vladivostok or Moscow, London or Delhi or wherever. This thing is common, that when that something leaves the body, the body becomes completely useless. That is the soul. When the soul leaves the body, then the body becomes useless. Just like the car carries a driver, this body is just the covering for the soul. So the nature of the soul, as Krishna had described, is It is eternal. It can never take birth, never die. When the body is slain, the soul still lives on. The Vedas have even described the measurement of the soul, which is 1/10,000th the tip of your hair. Vedas describe that if you were to take the tip of your hair and divide it into 100 parts, and then again take each part and divide it into 100 parts, that is the measurement of your soul. In other words, It is so, so small that even with the best of equipment in the material world, you can't detect it. We are living in a modern age where everybody believes in evidence. And sometimes your devotees may meet people who say, you people say there is a soul, but where is the proof there is soul? Without proof, we don't believe it. Show me the soul. We can show you, we can show you consciousness. Consciousness is the result of the presence of the soul. The fact that the soul is there is reflected in your consciousness, because when the soul leaves the body, there is no consciousness. So consciousness, or chetna, is the force, is the proof of the presence of the soul. So once you understand the nature of the soul, this is known as knowledge of eternity. Knowledge of the soul is known as knowledge of eternity. And once you understand that actually you're eternal in nature, and this body is only a temporary companion, Just like when you take a plane or a train and go somewhere, you may have several companions that you meet on the way, and they may even become your friends, but when the destination arrives, you go your way and they go their way. So similarly, all these relatives, friends, society that we are so fond of, they become our temporary companions and associates, but at the time of death, we all part and walk our own ways. So this knowledge that the soul is eternal is also supported in the other bona fide scriptures of the world. Actually, there are many points in the Bible which are very similar to the points made in the Vedic texts which have been summarized in the Bhagavad Gita. For example, in the Bible it is said, "What shalt I do if thou gainest the whole world but suffer the loss of your eternal soul?" In other words, in this statement the Bible is saying you may gain the whole world You may even become the king of the whole world, but if you have lost your soul, my friend, what have you gained? So what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Very basically, we first establish there's a God in control who is the cause of all causes. Then we tell people to get out of this bodily consciousness and come to the real awareness. Our spiritual master Śrīla Prabhupāda said, vichara consciousness is also known as hazy consciousness. Hazy consciousness means identifying with the body. And when you identify with the body, you just cater to the senses and thus miss the opportunity to perfect your existence. So once you understand that the soul is eternal and the body is perishable, then naturally the next question arises: what is going to happen to the soul at the end of this body? And that has been implied in the other places in the Vedas and in the Bhagavad Gita, that based on one's actions, one's next life is decided. Just like this point also is supported in the Bible where it says, as you sow, you shall reap. So the Vedas advise that having obtained the rare human body, one should utilize this rare human body for following or living by the laws of the Lord rather than defying the laws of the Lord. In the purport, Prabhupada's pointing out how the body goes through 60 different stages of development. It doesn't matter whether you have an Indian body, American body, Russian body, animal body, Everyone's body goes through these 6 stages of development. The first stage of the body's development— if its body is birth, then it grows, then it maintains itself, then it produces byproducts, like a man and woman get married, they have children, then it gets old, and finally it disappears or vanishes in the form of death. So we can see that the body is constantly changing. Actually, Prabhupada was once talking to me in 1976 in Bombay And he said, discussing the second chapter, he said, our movement is not a religious movement. He said, our movement is an educational movement. You mean these six stages of body transformation don't take place for Americans and Britishers? And he named few different nationalities of the world. Everybody has to go through these six stages of development. What is religious about this? This is real science, acknowledging the trans— the changes that the body goes through. What we in society accept as science is not real science. It is imperfect science. But what the Vedas present, it's real science, because this science is coming from the perfect person, namely God. This Bhagavad Gītā was spoken 5,000 years ago on the Battle of Kurukshetra to Arjuna. Why was it spoken to Arjuna? Arjuna only had one qualification. Yes, even though this knowledge was spoken 5,000 years ago, It should not be taught that the knowledge is only 5,000 years old. Krishna explains in the Gita, 4th chapter, that this knowledge was first imparted to the sun god Vivasvan. From Vivasvan, it went to the father of mankind, Manu. From Manu, it went to Ikshvaku. So this is estimated— it is estimated by historians that this was spoken about at the end— at the beginning of Treta Yuga. So if you want to mathematically calculate How old this knowledge is, it is estimated to be around 2.5 million years old. Well, Treta Yuga lasted for 1.2 million years, Dwapara Yuga 800,000, and, uh, so that is 2 million, and 5,000 years of Kali Yuga have gone by. So 2,500,000 years old is the rough estimation of this, well, of this knowledge. And when you hear this knowledge It still looks as if it was spoken only yesterday because this is spiritual wisdom, real wisdom. Therefore Krishna says in the 9th chapter, Raja Vidya, Raja Goyam, this knowledge is the king of education. So the body is going through different stages of development. We can see that ourselves, and eventually the body perishes in the form of dust. But unfortunately, it is this body that we are catering to while we are alive. We don't say that you don't have to take care of the body. Sure, you have to take care of the basic necessities of the body, but we should live under the principle of simple living. Simple living means you have the basic necessities of life, what is needed for survival, so that a maximum of time can be saved for spiritual purposes. Therefore, our philosophy is simple living and high thinking. You live simply and you think high. What is high thinking? High thinking means you're evaluating what is the goal of life. You are thinking, how can I get out of this miserable condition in which I am? How can I find real happiness? So that is high thinking. That is, you're trying to understand what are the teachings of the Supreme Lord. So this is spiritual consciousness— simple living and high thinking. You live simply so that you can devote maximum time to understand the goal of life. So the body is constantly changing. The soul remains constant, and then based on how we act, our next life gets decided. The body develops because of the presence of the soul, because the moment the soul leaves the body, the body stops to develop. So realizing that the soul is eternal and the body is perishable, we should take care of the spiritual needs of the soul. Our spiritual master used to give an example of a bird in a cage. You may have a bird in a gold— in a golden cage, but if you don't feed the bird inside the cage, what value is the golden cage? Similarly, there's a story that once a man was getting drowned, so another man dived in and came back with his hat and coat. But what's the value? The man actually got drowned, so what's the value if he just rescued his coat and hat? Therefore, the Vedas say, having obtained the rare human body One should very intelligently cultivate for the real goal of life, not falsely identify with the body and just worry about the body. This body is nothing but a combination of different chemicals— earth, water, fire, and air. It's a combination of different elements. Actually, there are two bodies that we have. One is the gross body, the other is the subtle body. A gross body is made of earth, water, fire, air, ether, and subtle body is mind, intelligence, and false ego. So the body, as we have discussed, is constantly changing. You can look at a picture of yourself when you were young and you will say, this is I when I was young. On what basis do you say this is, this is I, when I was young? On what basis? There's only one basis. That is, when you were young, the soul was there, and now even though your body looks different, the soul is still there. And that soul is what you call ya Therefore, looking at from any angle, you can't deny there's something in the body, and that something in the body is responsible for giving us consciousness. So there's a story, story known as the story of liquid beauty, which Prabhupada used to relate to prove this point. All of you know that story of liquid beauty? So since everybody knows that story, I won't repeat that story. Anyway, in the— through that story of liquid beauty, you can see that the real beauty— is not this body which is made of different elements. The real beauty is the presence of the soul. Because the soul is there, we are attracted to this body or somebody else's body. And when the soul leaves the body, we have absolutely no attraction. Nobody wants to go and look at a dead man or a dead woman. So recognizing that the soul is eternal, recognizing that this body ultimately becomes nothing but dust, the intelligent individual will use his body in activities that are ultimately beneficial rather than destructive. Some of you may be wondering, what does it mean, thus thy art, thus thou shalt become? It's a statement from the Bible, but Prabhupada quoted this many times. So this body that we spend hours and hours decorating in front of the mirror, that we, we apply so much fragrance so that the body looks appealing to others, is nothing but dust, and it's going to become dust. So we'll explain how it becomes dust. For example, in different religions they have different ways of parting with the body. For example, the Christians, the Mohammedans, they may bury the body. So when you bury the body, even if you bury it in some very expensive casket made of teakwood, eventually the ants come in and eat the body. In some parts of the world like America and Western Europe, in America at least I know, dying is also very, very expensive business. They have such expensive caskets costing even $10,000, $15,000. But what is the value? The ants are going to come and eat it in any case. And the Hindus, for example, they burn the body, so then also it becomes ashes. Then there's another community called the Parsis. They originally descended from Iran, and they have a very unique system of what they do with the body after the person dies. It's very horrible, but we'll still describe it to you. So after that, they throw the body in a well, and in that well, the eagles come and eat the body. And so after the eagles eat the body, naturally they naturally pass stool, and the stool becomes dust again. So this body becomes dust. This body that we spend hours and hours standing in front of the mirror just to see how handsome or beautiful you look. We're so attached to this body that if somebody tells us, oh, you look very handsome and beautiful, we feel so flattered. And if somebody tells us, oh, you don't look— you look ugly, you feel so discouraged. If you tell an old man how young you look, he feels so flattered. If you tell a young man how old he looks, he feels so insulted, because everyone is identifying with the body and they just want to hear what will please them. So Krishna says in the second chapter, just like we change our clothes, we change, we get rid of our old garments and wear new garments, similarly the soul leaves one body and takes on another body. Actually, this fact That there is soul in the body is also being recognized by modern scientists all over the world now. Many doctors, when they see people die, they are recognizing that there's something in the body. When that something leaves the body, the body loses all luster. So you can't deny the existence of the soul. If you want to deny the existence of the soul, then prove to us where's that I in the body that you're always referring to. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means understanding the difference between matter and spirit, understanding the difference between the body and the self, or the soul and the body. Now some of you may want to know, how do we practically use this knowledge that I'm not this body? You may say, okay, we agree I'm not this body. Now what do I do with this knowledge? Is Kṛṣṇa consciousness just a theoretical way of life, or is it a practical way of life? Is Kṛṣṇa giving us philosophy that we can apply in our day-to-day life, or it's something you just, you know, hear and keep it in your mind. No, it's a, it's a practical way of life. Understanding you're not the body and the real identity is the self, and the self is eternal, naturally then you will engage in activities which will give pleasure to the self and not just the body. In other words, since the soul is eternal and it is transmigrating, you naturally want to engage in activities by which your next life can be at least a human form of life, if not higher. So this knowledge again may come as a little surprise. You mean we can go to lower forms of life also? Yes, you can. Just like you may be a free citizen now, but if you break the law, you at once will be a prisoner. Similarly, if you break the laws of God, you become a prisoner again. You are a prisoner already, but then you have to take birth in lower forms of life where the prison sentence is even more tougher. There are 8,400,000 different species of life. Originally 400,000 of what you call human species. So you can take your birth as species that live in water, or they live on land but cannot move like the trees and the plants, etc., or the insect category, the bird category, or the animal category. You can just— so you will— your next body will be determined. Therefore, the Vedic conclusion is that once you act intelligently and not foolishly Intelligently means abide by the laws of the Lord. So once you recognize you're not this body and you're pure spirit soul, you don't want to engage in any activity by which the interest of the soul will be affected. So therefore, the Bhagavad-gītā and the Vedic scriptures conclude that one should take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and abide by His directions. Just like within milk there is butter, Within matchstick there's fire, within wood there's fire, within a child there is the ability to walk. So there's also loving propensity within everyone. So similarly, there is a tendency to love. The tendency to love is there in everyone. But because we can't find any satisfactory relationships in the material world with anyone, we are turning this loving tendency towards cats and dogs. Why do we turn our attention towards cats and dogs? Because we are looking for somebody to love, we're looking for someone to serve, but there's no one that we find who is reliable. All the relationships that we cultivated— husband, wife, father, son— they all, with the passage of time, they all say, 'Dasvidaniya.' So they all part. None of them are found to be reliable. So then our feeling is, 'Oh, at least these cats and dogs, they will not say, 'Dasvidaniya,' as long as we give them food and stay with us.' So we direct this loving tendency towards cats and dogs. But even if you get very loyal cats and dogs, at death even this relationship will terminate. So why not look for a relationship that will never terminate and which will be totally satisfying? That is the relationship with God. So Krishna consciousness means learning the science by which we can apply our relationship with the Supreme Lord. And how do we establish this relationship with the Lord? Very simple: chant the names of God. Why? Because the names of God are non-different from the Lord. Is the Lord. Kali, Kali nama rupa Krishna avatara. In Kali Yuga The Lord incarnates in His holy name. So the holy names of the Lord are not different from the Lord. Material name and substance is never the same. Just like when you want food, if you just stand in front of the store magazine and say, "Producti, producti, producti," producti is not going to come in your bag. When you're feeling thirsty and you say, "Vada, vada, vada," your thirst is not going to go away. When you say you want money, you say, "Dengi, dengi, dengi," the money is not going to come. Why? Because there's a difference between name and substance. But in the case of the Lord, there is no difference between name and substance. So when you chant the names of the Lord, you personally associate with the Lord. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there was a very interesting dialogue that took place between Parikṣit Mahārāja and Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Being a devotee of the Lord, Parikṣit Mahārāja asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī, I have just heard from you the description of the hellish planet. And the description is terrible. How can we save people from going to hell? Śrī Kaliyuga Swāmī said, Kāle dosena ede rāja nāstiye kamaḥ guna-kirtana-deva-kṛṣṇa-saṁ muḥkta-saṅgaṣa-paramuñjat. Actually, Kali-yuga is nothing but an ocean of vice. But there's one special benediction in this age. That is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. In Kali-yuga, wherever you see, there's nothing but an invitation for sin. Just like in your country now also, you can see that these sinful propaganda is increasing very rapidly, especially with the introduction of capitalist capitalism. That was what I personally feel one good thing in communism, it kept some types of materialistic sinful activities a little bit distant. That is what I think one good thing about communism in my opinion was, it kept certain gross sinful activities a little bit away from every, from the average man. Just like now you have a casino. I saw yesterday there's a recently opened a casino in your city. Actually, every city I went to on this trip of mine, everywhere I saw not only big signs for casino, but even posters everywhere inviting people, come, the first casino in city, come try it. I don't know all over the country, but I know in places like Moscow and Leningrad, we have a devotee selling spiritual books, and only few yards away from them are people selling pornography. So you see, in Kali Yuga, virtually you see tendency of sin Everywhere. But there's one benediction in this age. What is that? That's the chanting of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. So it is said, kṛṭaya dhyāyatā viṣṇuṁ kṛṭayo yajñato mā ke, vāpare parīcayāram kalauta dharī-kīrtanāt, that in this age of Kali, by chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa, you can get the same benefit that you can get in other ages by other means of self-realization. For example, in Kṛṭayuga, in Satya Yuga, of course, lasted for 100— in Satya Yuga, the people would live for 100,000 years. And in Satya Yuga, the principle of the process of self-realization was meditation on the Lord. For example, Valmiki, the compiler of the Ramayana, he meditated, meditated for 60,000 years. Then came Treta Yuga. Treta Yuga, the lifespan got reduced to 10,000 years. And in Treta Yuga, the process of self-realization was having very elaborate yagyas. In those yagyas, many brahmanas would be needed and a lot of genuine food stuff like pure milk, pure butter, pure water, and other ingredients. Then came Dvarpa Yuga, in which the lifespan was 1,000 years. And in Dvarpa Yuga, the process of self-realization was, uh, performing— presenting expensive offerings to the Lord in the place of worship. So that same benefit that you could obtain in Satya Yuga by meditating for 60,000 years that you could obtain in Treta Yuga performing yajñas for 1,000 years, that you could obtain in Dvarpa Yuga by making expensive offerings to the Lord, that same benefit you can get in Kali Yuga bahau just by chanting the names of Krishna. It is just like in the market, if some car, let's say a Volga car that sells for 300,000 rubles and somebody reduces the price to 5,000, everybody will run to buy it. So the process of self-realization in this age has been made very easy. Previously you had to wait for 60,000 years for meditation. That same benefit you can get today just by chanting the names of God for whatever the duration of your life is. Now the forms of meditation or self-realization that were recommended in previous ages are not practical in this age. For example, in Satya Yuga, the process was meditation. Where will you meditate today? Where will you go and sit to meditate? Wherever you go, the planes are flying above you. Even if you manage to reach on top of the Himalayas at 28,000 feet, the planes can fly even above that. So, and wherever you go, even if you manage to find a secluded forest in Bhadivastava to meditate, your mind is so disturbed, what will you meditate on? Then in Treta Yuga, the process was, as I said, offering very elaborate sacrifices to the Lord, very expensive, having big yagyas. First of all, where are the ingredients today for doing the yagya? None of you could afford it with everything being so expensive. Durga, you have to save, even strength, uh, you have to struggle even for your basic necessities of life. If you imagine if you had to do yagya with butter, milk, and all these things every day, how much it would cost you. And where are the Brahmanas? Even in India, there are no Brahmanas left anymore. And if you wanted to do a fire sacrifice in your house every day, all your neighbors would make sure that you're kicked out of the house. People may not like you're doing kirtan, but if you told them now select between having kirtan or a fire sacrifice, they would all select kirtan. Because in a fire sacrifice, they would just be scared the fire may spread to their house. Then in Dwārpa, you guys have said, the process was everybody went to the temple of the Lord, they had to take a lot of rich, very expensive offerings to the Lord. Of course, there was no poverty at that time. Everybody had plenty of opulence and they offered it to the Lord. If we had told all of you, including those who've come here the first time today, You can come into our lecture, but you must bring at least a minimum present of 10,000 rubles for our deities. Many of you would not have come. So all these things which are so difficult in the previous ages, which are so difficult to do today, the Lord is so kind, he has made everything very simple for you. That is to chant the holy names of the Lord, because the holy names are non-different from the Lord. Therefore we chant the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. It's not we chant the holy names because we are crazy or we are sentimental. Yes, we are crazy, but we are crazy after Kṛṣṇa. And the materialist is crazy after sense enjoyment. So being crazy for the right cause is beneficial, but being crazy for the wrong cause, that is detrimental. So when you chant the holy names, you get satisfaction. And as you chant the holy names, you associate with the Lord. As you chant the holy names, The natural misgivings from the heart begin to get reduced. It's like you may have cataract, and when you have cataract, you can't see clearly. You know what this disease is, cataract? You have this in your country also. Do people get diseased in Vādivāṣṭha? Yeah, da? Do they get old here? Do people also get old in Vādivāṣṭha? Do they also die? They do. So just like anywhere else. So the point is that by chanting the holy name of the Lord, The material misgivings that are keeping us away from God, they begin to get eliminated. Just like as the sun is rising, things become more and more clear. So in the beginning you see only the reflection of the sun, early in the morning, only the rays of the sun. Then as the sun comes out more and more, things become more and more clear, isn't it? So if we take shelter of the sun of Krishna, then just like darkness is scared of sunshine, Illusory energy will be scared of the spiritual energy. So our recommendation to everyone is to always stay connected to Krishna, always stay in the association of God, and the illusory energy will not touch you then. Krishna Surya sama maya hayande kala yahan Krishna tahini maya dikala. Where there is Krishna, there is no room for maya, just like the way the sunshine, there's no room for darkness. Associate with the holy name. And discover real happiness. Right now people have no concept where can they find real happiness. They are thinking they can find real happiness in the vodka bottle, in casino, eating meat, cigarette, etc., etc. Still they are not satisfied. And they foolishly still pursuing the same path. Therefore Prasad RAVAL said, punash punash charvita charvanana, simply chewing the chewed. You understand that? Simply chewing the chutney. You must have seen, do you have sugarcane? It's like in India, some of you have been to India, I think Vijayananda is the only one who has been amongst all of you. In India you have these sugarcane machines, so people, you take the juice out and then they throw the sugarcane on the floor. And then another poor man comes, he lifts the sugarcane and tries to squeeze some juice, but he might just get one small drop, that's all. So, chewing the chew, you've tried everything, no happiness, still you're thinking the next stroke, the next attempt is going to make me happy. The cigarette smoker has smoked so many cigarettes, none of them satisfied him. What he thinks, the next cigarette that I light, imported American cigarette, that will give me happiness. They've had so many bottles of vodka, they've got drunk so many times, but they think, now this next time when I drink, I'll really find happiness. In the last previous one, little happiness was missing, now it will be there. So till old age they go on attempting for sense enjoyment, but there's no sense, there is no happiness. Can you find water in the desert? Say, in the desert there is no water, is there? What did you read in your books when you were in school? Is there any water in the desert? Do the Russian deserts have water? No, in the desert there is no water, but there is sometimes the appearance of water which is called the mirage. So there's a thirsty dog in the desert, he sees there's a mirage little ahead. He runs towards that mirage, but when he reaches that spot which he previously saw, he sees, oh, the mirage has moved even further. So he keeps running, running, running, looking for water, finds no water, and dies of thirst. So that is material life. You are looking for happiness, but there is no happiness. If you're looking for water, you don't go to the desert. If you're looking for water, you should go to the ocean and the lakes and the rivers, not to the desert. So similarly, when you're looking for happiness, you don't go to material life, you come to spiritual life. So therefore, Chaitanya Mahāprabhu said, ananda-bhūdi-vārdhanā prati-padampūm nārmṛtasya svādhanaḥ. Anybody who stays on the spiritual path, he'll just experience more and more happiness. So this is our request to everyone. Those who are practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness should dive into it even more deeply so that they can taste the nectar of the Holy Name sweeter and sweeter. Just chanting is not enough. There are different stages of chanting the Holy Name. Now we have to go from the impure stage of chanting to the pure stage of chanting. In other words, try to avoid the offenses so that our chanting becomes more potent. And those who are coming here for the first time, they should understand they haven't come here by accident. Don't think that today was a sunny day and you didn't have anything to do at home, so you went out, you met the Hare Krishnas, and they invited you. You're here because all of you at some time recently or in the past had the desire to look into the absolute truth. So the Lord arranged it for all of you to meet devotees, and therefore when the devotees invited you. Because all of you had a sincere desire in your heart to search for God, you accepted the invitation and you came here. Nothing happens by accident or by chance. So you all should take advantage of this exposure and investigate this process of happiness even deeper. The Krishna consciousness is for everyone— for the old, for the middle-aged, for the young, and even for the animals, even for the trees and plants— because this is universal philosophy, and the chanting of Hare Krishna is beneficial to everyone. Even the non-moving entities like trees and plants benefit when they hear the Holy Name, and even the animals benefit when they hear the Holy Name. Take advantage of the Holy Name and make your life successful. Hare Krishna. Take on questions for a little time if you have. You mentioned something. Where's the book? Where are we? Well, the first law of God is to acknowledge the existence of God. Acknowledge the supremacy of God. First, we must acknowledge the supremacy of God. So chant the names of God. All scriptures talk about chanting the names of God. Avoid sinful activities like meat, fish, and eggs, intoxication, illicit sex life, and gambling. Read the instructions of God in Bhagavad Gita. God is begging us, don't waste your valuable human life. Yes, that if you follow the Ten Commandments and chant the names of Jesus Christ then you're a good person, you're a devotee of the Lord. We have no problem with that. Follow the Ten Commandments sincerely and fully. I'm just trying to find the exact lines I can go next to what you're referring to. So what Prabhupada is saying, if you read the two lines before this and the line after this, is the soul has no past, present, and future because the soul is eternal in nature. Prabhupada says, and because the soul has no birth. He therefore has no past, present, and future. Because past, present, and future only is with reference to this body. Past, present, future is only— just like we say, what did I do yesterday? That was different. What am I going to do tomorrow? It is all with reference to the body. No, it is not with reference to the soul. Soul, there's no past, present, and future. Actually, this is a very intelligent question. I must say that all your three questions are very intelligent. Did you say you're coming here for the first time? Is it the first time you are coming here? Yes, it is the first time. Well, definitely I can see by your question you were searching for the answers. So yes, certain situations are more favorable for spiritual advancement than others. Just like when you're recovering from a disease, certain conditions are more favorable than others for recovery. Like a bhanitsa is more favorable for recovering than recovering in your home because you have doctors and nurses, everyone attending to you. Similarly, when you associate with spiritually minded people regularly, that is more favorable. So associate with them regularly. They say in English, and I'm sure there's a Russian equivalent, birds of the same feather flock together. Like at this time in the night, if you have a friend who likes drinking, where will you find him? Prasad Raaval. Bar. And when somebody likes to gamble, where will you find him? Casino. And if somebody likes to womanize and all, you'll find him in some club. So a man associates, a man keeps the company of people who share his feeling. So if you're looking for God, associate with Hare Krishna devotees. This is authentic for those who are looking for God. Other religion, actually, what is the meaning of religion? First, let's discuss that. Religion means to develop love of God and to give up your love for sinful activities. Actually, this question is important for all devotees also, because when you go to preach, you meet people who ask these questions all the time. So religion means to develop love of God and to give up love for things that God doesn't want you to do. So you have to see by which process you can develop love of God and by which process you can give up your love for sinful activity. So if by Krishna consciousness love of God can be developed, sure, it's the best process. Just like when you have fire in the house, you just phone the fire station and tell them, send some firemen to put the fire off. You don't send them. Only send some firemen from Bariwashtok, or only send some Russian ethnic firemen. Don't send anyone from Kazakhstan. When you fall sick, you go to the doctor sometimes. So when you go to the doctor, your only goal is to get your disease cured. You don't care what nationality the doctor has. So just see which process can give you love of God. We never say— we have never said that you can apply this philosophy with ease in Kali Yuga. Nor does Krishna say that, nor did Prabhupada ever say that. But if you try this process in the association of devotees under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, then it is guaranteed to work. After all, you can see in front of you thousands of Krishna conscious devotees all over the world are succeeding on this spiritual path. It's not that everybody is failing the exam. So keep trying, don't get discouraged, and take the help of sadhus and Vaishnavas. Many times our false ego is very strong. Our false ego says, oh, why should I take the help of anyone? If I take the help of someone, then they will think I'm a very new fight, very fallen devotee, and that man will get puffed up in his dealings with me. A Vaishnava will never think like that. Vaishnava is anxious to help anybody that he can to go back to Godhead. That is an order from the guru. You go back and take everyone back. Yes, this is a bewildering question sometimes. So pray to Krishna and Krishna will guide you to one. Then when you surrender to one, follow him. The qualification of spiritual master is that he must truly follow his spiritual master, and he should be conveying the meaning of religious principles by his behavior, and he should be practicing the principles of purity. You don't judge a material— you don't surrender to a spiritual master for any material reason. Akīsiddhānta Sādhvadī ṭhākura was the most educated of all scholars to appear on this planet, but his spiritual master was completely uneducated. He cannot even read and write his name. Bhakti was so educated that even for our American devotees, when they read English books, in every line they have to consult the dictionary 4 times. But he surrendered to Gorkī Śrīdārāṣṭhādhārā Bhakti not for any material reason, but only because Gorkī Śrīdārāṣṭhādhārā Bhakti was attached to the Holy Name and a great devotee of the Lord. So to be a devotee of the Lord, you don't need any material qualification. You don't have to be a rich man, very educated man, very handsome man, or any other spiritual qualification. Just need sincerity and devotion. Now, are you talking about talking to people on the streets or talking to them when you're not on book distribution? In other words, I want to know, is your question about talking to people who won't buy the books when you're out on book distribution mission, or when you're not on book distribution mission, or some other mission? So when you are out on books distribution, you naturally have to be practical. You can go all day and find two people will just talk to you all day and they won't buy books. You should speak to them, Prabhupada said, only as long as it takes to get them to buy a book. If they're not going to buy a book and just waste your time, then you can tell them, come to the temple, there we'll talk. Krishna Krishna, hale hale. Halle rama halle. Lama lama, hale hale. Halle Krishna, halle Krishna.