Lord Krishna is Transcendental and Unborn | Rus-Split | BG 4 | 16 Sep 1989 | Gopal Krishna Goswami

PRASAD RAVAL. What are we supposed to discuss today? Fourth chapter of which book? Bhagavad-gītā. So the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā is called Transcendental Knowledge. Yesterday we discussed the third chapter. What is the name of the third chapter and second chapter? Can those who are standing outside hear me also? So I will have to request our translator to speak at the top of his voice. Because hearing my voice won't help them. They have to hear the translator's voice. So friends, I'm sorry that you have to go through this inconvenience, but the fact that you all are going through this inconvenience means you are really attracted to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, in no civilized society would people sit down so uncomfortably for 2 hours to hear a spiritual lecture unless they had some attraction. There's no doubt That very soon you will be rewarded with a very nice temple where all of you will be able to sit comfortably. So in the fourth chapter, Kṛṣṇa says: imām vivāśvate yoga-prauktavanahām avyayām, vivāśvān manave prāha manur-eṣvakaye bravet. That is, Kṛṣṇa is saying, "I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the Sun God, Viśvāśvān." Vivasvan gave it to Manu. Manu gave it to Ikshvaku. Once again, I want to just remind all of you that obviously if I'm giving a summary of one chapter in one day, you can't expect me to cover all the verses in the chapter. I'm trying to summarize the chapter and cover important verses. So please bear this in mind. So some of you may think that the Bhagavad-gītā is 5,000 years old. Very often when people ask you, "How old is your scripture?" You say, "5,000 years." But actually the Bhagavad-gītā is millions of years old. After all, the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Kṛṣṇa to the Sun God, Viṣṇu. This Sun is the King of all the planets, and the Sun Planet controls all the other planets because the Sun Planet supplies heat and light. Nobody can live without heat and light. So The Bhagavad-gītā is millions of years, was spoken millions of years ago. It is said that Viśvāsvana gave this knowledge to Manu, and Manu gave it to Ikṣvāku. Maharaja Ikṣvāku is from the same dynasty as Lord Rāmacandra. So King Ikṣvāku existed at the beginning of Treta-yuga. So it is said that this, this is at least 2 million years ago. It is at least since 2 million years that this knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā is being practiced in the human society. Do you want to know how I've come to the figure of 2 million? Anybody here is good in mathematics? Any mathematics scholars? You Russians are very good in mathematics. Okay, this is very simple mathematics. 5,000 years of Kali-yuga are over, and before that there was Dvārpa-yuga. Dvārpa-yuga was 800,000 years, and before that there was Treta-yuga. Treta Yuga was, uh, 1.2 million years in duration. So King Ikshvaku was the ruler of the planet at the beginning of Treta Yuga. So Bhagavad-gītā is 1.2 million plus 800,000, that is 2 million, plus 5,000 of Kali Yuga. 2 million point 5 years at least to human society. This 2 million years is only the duration that this knowledge has been known in human society. Not that when it was first spoken to Vivasvan. So we can see that this is very ancient wisdom. At least in English there is a phrase, I don't know if in Russian you have a similar phrase, "Old is gold." Do you have something like this in Russian? So this Supreme Science is coming down through the disciplic succession. Kṛṣṇa says, ivām paramparapraptam imāṇ rājaśrūvidu. This Supreme Science is coming down through the disciplic succession. So the kings in the olden days were called Rajrishi. All of you may know this form of government, whether it is communism, capitalism, socialism, these are all isms that have come into being in the last 100 years. But previously we had the system of monarchy. Even in your country you had the czars, isn't it? So, so the difference is The rulers who existed before, who were known as Rajas, they were also great sages. Can you all hear the translator's voice in the back? Yes? No? Louder? So the kings were also great sages, and it was obligatory for a king to also be fixed in the spiritual path. So this spiritual knowledge was coming down from one king to another king who were kings and great sages. But in course of time, knowledge was lost because the disciplic succession was broken. So Krishna says, "Arjuna, I'm giving the same knowledge to you again that I gave to Vivasvan thousands and thousands, millions of years ago." It's a loud voice. Okay. So Arjuna, when he heard that Kṛṣṇa was saying that He gave this knowledge to Vivasvan, he got confused. He said, "How can I believe that You gave this knowledge to Vivasvan when he is senior to You by birth?" Just like if I say I gave this knowledge of Bhāgavad-gītā in Moscow to your great-grandfather, you will say, "How can I believe that?" You will say, "My great-grandfather is senior to You by birth, Swamiji. How did You speak to him?" So Kṛṣṇa in reply says, "Arjuna, PRASAD RAVAL. Many, many times both you and I have appeared, but I can remember all my previous births, but you? This is the difference between God and us. We very often want to challenge God. We want to become like God, but we don't have the abilities of God. In this fourth chapter, you will understand that God is not an ordinary person. You will understand that Lord is completely transcendental to the material creation. So Kṛṣṇa explains in the 4th chapter that He is unborn and His transcendental body never deteriorates. That means you and I get old, but Kṛṣṇa never gets old. And Kṛṣṇa appears again and again in every millennium in His transcendental form. Kṛṣṇa also explains when does He appear. For example, He says in the Bhāgavad-gītā, yadā idāhi dharmesaḥ gnanir bahautir bahārataḥ abhyūtan madharmaṣyaḥ dadātmān śrī-jñāmyāham. Whenever and wherever there's a decline of religious practices and a predominant rise of irreligion, at that time I descend myself. So Krishna appears from time to time in different parts of the world, always with the same purpose. And that purpose is illustrated in the 8th verse of the Bhagavad-gītā. Paṇhitana ya sādu naṁ viṇaśritya duṣkṭhaṁ dharma-saṇstha-paṇārtha-ya sambhavāmi yoge yoge. In order to deliver the pious and to destroy the miscreants, to establish the principles of religion, I advent myself again and again. You want to say something, Prima Vati? Okay. Maybe the men can carry some other men on their shoulders. Prima Vati, what if some people go on the top of that almāra? What if some athletes jump up on— 4 or 5 athletes can— I feel very, very bad. I should have had the program in the park. So some of you want to go on the top, you can go on the top. Should I go ahead with the lecture now? Some more people can go in that room on the left. Wants to go on top of the almāra? Should I start now? Okay, okay, we are getting distracted. I must go back to the lecture. Everyone's okay? Some more men can come here. All of you should learn the art of mystic yoga. One type of mystic yoga is you become smaller than the smallest. So if you become smaller than the smallest, we can call few more thousand people. Okay, so now I'm starting again. Now Kṛṣṇa says that anybody who understands the transcendental nature of My appearance and disappearance, he does not have to take birth again in this material world. Janma-karma-cāme devyame vāma-vidhi tat-bhātāha tekta-deham pūnār janma-netima meti-svaro 'jana. So Kṛṣṇa is saying That if you can just understand that I'm not an ordinary person, that my coming and going is both transcendental, then you become free from the cycle of birth and death. Sometimes people think that God has gone away, so now he's not present before us, that means he has gone to sleep. But just like in 1 or 2 hours you will see the sun is going to set in Moscow, but that doesn't mean that the sun has gone to sleep. They, um, do you, can you, are you all concentrating on the lecture or still there's a discussion of accommodation? Do you want me to take a 2-minute break till we adjust all this? The ladies can go in the left, in the small room, that will help. So just because Kṛṣṇa is not present before us, it does not mean that Kṛṣṇa is not, is not performing His pastimes anywhere else. This universe where you and I can see is only a small portion of God's total creation. Just like in a bag of mustard seeds, one mustard seed is insignificant compared to the whole bag. So Kṛṣṇa is always performing His pastimes in some planet or the other, but we should not think that Kṛṣṇa, when He appears on this planet, He becomes like one of us. He always remains transcendental. For example, when an ordinary child is born, it comes out of the mother's womb crying, and it comes out with so much of dirt that as soon as it comes out of the mother's womb, the baby has to be washed. But when Krishna appeared, he appeared in his transcendental four-handed Narayana form in front of his parents. And please don't think that these are fairy tales from some mythological books. This is all a fact, and Krishna, when he was on the planet, he performed pastimes which nobody else can ever perform. For example, he lifted the Govardhan Hill. There was a huge mountain 14 miles long, and he lifted it with one small finger. In the Olympics, they have awards for what they call weightlifting. I think one of the Russians is the world record holder for weightlifting. But can you imagine the weight of 14-mile-long mountain? And he lifted the mountain of 14 miles long with one small finger. Have you seen the picture of Hercules holding the world globe? All of you have seen it? In school everybody sees it. So you'll see the picture of Hercules holding the globe. You see his cheeks are so full of wrinkles, he's in so much pain, he was carrying a small globe. When Krishna was lifting the Govardhana Mountain, he had no pain at all. And when he was carrying the Govardhana Mountain, Indra, was releasing unlimited amount of rain. Still that mountain did not move. Krishna showed the whole universe in his mouth to his mother. When you and I open our mouths at the doctor, the doctor puts a spoon inside, and after he puts the spoon in our mouth, he throws it away. Because our mouth is so dirty. But when Krishna opens his mouth, his mother sees the whole universe. Krishna showed the universal form In which Arjuna saw thousands, everything, the whole planet in His form. So this is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We can go on discussing His transcendental qualities, but at the present moment we just want to establish that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord who is completely transcendental from all aspects. So Kṛṣṇa says that in the past many people got absorbed in His spiritual instructions. And by being absorbed in His instructions, they got purified, and thus they were able to attain Him. The point is, people very often say, "Can you show me God?" So if you want to see Bhoga, you have to have qualification. That is, you must take shelter of Kṛṣṇa's instructions. Otherwise you cannot understand Bhoga. Kṛṣṇa says, "E ye 'tama-prapadeyām te tam sthayvā bhajamyaham." All of them have surrendered unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Which means,— that the proportion in which we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will guide us. So Kṛṣṇa also says— why, you know, I think most of you know that in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we only worship Kṛṣṇa and not the demigods. Because people worship demigods to get some fruitive results, but we worship Kṛṣṇa to develop love of God. In the fourth chapter, Kṛṣṇa also talks about a very scientific system of society which is known as the system of varnāśrama. Varnāśrama-dharma means the division of the society into four social and spiritual orders. Just like our body is divided into different parts, there is the head, the hands, the belly, and the legs. So similarly, there must be division in society. You cannot expect that everybody is classless and everybody is the same, because everybody is not the same. For example, even in a classless society, why isn't everybody a scientist? Why isn't everybody an engineer or a doctor? Why isn't everybody a judge? Because if one is qualified, then he becomes a judge. If one is qualified, he becomes a doctor. If one is qualified, he becomes an engineer. So Kṛṣṇa says, according to the three modes of nature and the work ascribed to them, this four divisions of society are created by Me. Brahman, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Sudras. I had explained this briefly 2 days ago. The Brahmins are compared to the head of the body. The Kshatriyas are compared to the hands. The Vaishyas to the belly and the Sudras to the legs. The Brahmins do the intellectual work. They do, they think for the society. But they are thinking how society can be saved from the cycle of birth and death. They are not thinking how society can be exploited more. And the Kshatriyas are ready to defend the people, weaker sections of society, especially the old people, ladies, and children, and also do the administration. And the Vaishyas will take care of the agriculture and cow protection. The cows must be protected. In a society where there's no cow protection, there can never be peace and happiness because cows are innocent children of the Lord. Just see, the cows gives you milk. It doesn't even drink its own milk. And then, and this cow only takes grass and the grass becomes milk. In India, people use the stool of the cow, cow dung, for cooking, for producing gas. And even after the cow dies, it leaves behind the skin that is used for so many useful items. So the cow is the most innocent of all creatures, and milk is the most perfect food, isn't it? So the Vaishyas, they take care of agriculture production and they take care of the cows. And the Sudras, of course, serve the other three orders. So Krishna is telling Arjuna, actually as you know, Krishna is trying to tell Arjuna that as a Kshatriya, his duty is to fight. So Krishna is telling Arjuna, "You must do your duty, and if you do your duty, then that is perfection." So we must know what is action, what is inaction, what is forbidden action. Karma, vikarma, aakarma. These are words in the Vedic dictionary. Very often we do not know what is to be done, what is not to be done. That instruction should come from the bona fide spiritual master. Just like when you are sick, you turn to the doctor for guidance. Therefore, we must surrender to the bona fide spiritual master for guidance as to what we should do and what we should not do. Because Kṛṣṇa explains in the Gītā, it is very hard to understand what is action, inaction, what is it, and what is inaction and what is forbidden action. So action is that activity which is performed in accordance with the direction of the scriptures. And if you perform activities for the pleasure of the Lord, just like Kṛṣṇa is telling Arjuna to engage in this battle for His pleasure, Forbidden action, which is also known as vikarma, refers to activities that are against the laws of God. And by engaging in vikarmic activities, one becomes liable for punishment. Just like when you violate the laws of the state, you become liable for punishment. So similarly, when you violate the laws of God, you also become liable for punishment. Just like when you get your driving license, when you get your driving license, you are trained. If you do make this mistake, then you'll be fined. So similarly, in the human form of life, we must be trained by the proper authority what is permitted action, what is forbidden action. So by the— through the medium of this perfect knowledge that we receive from the Vedic scriptures, one can give up the so-called attachment to the fruits of his work. Through the medium of spiritual knowledge, One can give up this so-called concept of sense gratification. Sense gratification, as all of you may know, means those activities that, that are sinful or against the laws of God. So it is not that if somebody is aware of spiritual knowledge and if somebody is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he sits by idly. Sometimes people have a false understanding that if somebody becomes a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee, He will just be a burden to society, not contribute anything productive. But the Bhagavad-gītā says, Kṛṣṇa says in this fourth chapter, that one who has spiritual knowledge, he gives up attachment to the results of his activities and he's fully satisfied. And in this process he performs activities without being, without being attached to the results or fruit of activities. Just like from a practical angle, You may have seen the devotees of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they're doing jobs, they're printing books, they're managing companies, they're flying, whatever they're doing. But because the goal is to please Kṛṣṇa, it is said that they're not engaged in fruitive work, but work for the pleasure of the Lord. You can only act with this understanding when your mind and intelligence are completely controlled. Because only when your oṁ is controlled can you give up the desire for possessions. And when your mind and intelligence is controlled, then your guiding principle is simple living and high thinking. Like, I personally have been noticing, and I have been telling all my friends that I've been meeting, that I think the Russian system is very wonderful because it gives you your basic necessities of life but doesn't give you a lot of luxuries, so that you can keep your life simple and concentrate on spiritual activities. Because If you have unlimited, your desires can never be satisfied. And for spiritual life, simple living, high thinking is the best principle. So you may remember that in the second chapter we had pointed out that Kṛṣṇa says that one must become equipoised or tolerant. In the material world there's always duality. Duality means today you're honored, tomorrow you're dishonored. Today you get what you want, tomorrow you don't get what you want. Today you have a gain and tomorrow you have a loss. So a devotee should be transcendental and equal in both situations. Dāu, a devotee, is engaged in active work. He's not entangled in it. Just like the lotus flower is in water, but the water doesn't touch the lotus flower. So similarly, we have to be in the material world and not be affected by it. So Kṛṣṇa guarantees that one who is fully absorbed in the spiritual knowledge will return to Me without fail. Earlier Kṛṣṇa had established a system of varnāśram. In the varnāśram we had explained that there were four varnas, brahman— varnas means occupational duties. Those have been briefly explained. But there are also four āśramas, such as the brahmācārī, grihastha, vana-prastha, sannyāsa. The brahmācārī is only interested in hearing about Kṛṣṇa. And if you're only hearing about Kṛṣṇa, then your mind will automatically be in control. Very often devotees say, Swamiji, Guruji, the mind is troubling me. What to do? The mind is wandering. But if you chant your rounds nicely, then the Om will come in control. So if your ears are used to hearing the holy name, then the mind will automatically come in control. And this is confirmed by Kṛṣṇa in the fourth chapter. And Kṛṣṇa says that Kṛṣṇa conscious householder, Though he may have a wife, he may have a license for sense enjoyment, still he abstains from sense enjoyment because he understands that sense enjoyment in any situation is not desirable for achieving the goal of life. So one who is on the spiritual path, he uses all the senses and even the breathing just to develop love of God or to serve the Lord. In every breath we should be desiring to hear We should only be desiring to speak or hear only about the Supreme Lord. In other words, the principle of sacrifice or austerity is very strongly recommended by the great sages and confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā again and again. Therefore, in the 31st verse of the 4th chapter, Kṛṣṇa says, nāyam lokaṣau yajña-gyākse kuto nāya-kuru-sātama,— that, O son of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one cannot live in happiness either now or later. So in other words, Krishna is making a very clear statement. A human life is meant for performing austerities or sacrifices. Without sacrifices there cannot be any human life. You see so many so-called religious preachers giving big, big talks on religion, but they will not tell their audience, give up sense enjoyment. Even in countries like India, they have feared so many people who are attracting lakhs or hundreds of thousands of people to their lectures, but they will never say, "No intoxication, no meat eating, no gambling, no illicit sex." Since God is the purest person, to understand God we have to become pure, and you can only become pure by giving up sense enjoyment. So we must understand that the price you pay for realizing love of God. Definitely there is a price, but in exchange for this you will get unlimited spiritual happiness and entrance into the kingdom of God. So any of you, some of you may be attending our lecture for the first time, but please understand, in order to develop love of God, there will have to be some degree of sacrifice. Of course, in the initial stages one may be hesitant about making these sacrifices. One may think, "Oh, if I sacrifice this, this, this, how can I live?" But in exchange for this sacrifice, you will achieve a higher result. That is unlimited happiness. So Kṛṣṇa is emphasizing in this chapter again the importance of sacrifices. So Kṛṣṇa is pointing out one must observe sacrifices and obtain spiritual knowledge. Now after having explained all this, Kṛṣṇa speaks one of the most famous verses of the Bhāgavad-gītā. tad vidi pani-pateṇa paripaścina sevaya upakdevaśanti te jñānam jñāni-nāsta tvā darśana. Just try to approach the truth by approaching a self-realized soul. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth. In order to obtain spiritual knowledge, we have to approach a bona fide spiritual master. The qualification of the bona fide spiritual master is, one, that he must be in disciplic succession. He must have realized the conclusion of the scriptures that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. One should approach a spiritual master with a submissive attitude, and one must be anxious to serve the spiritual master personally. Kṛṣṇa, when He was on the planet, He himself accepted the bona fide spiritual master, and he showed how one should serve the spiritual master. His spiritual master's sons had been kidnapped, and he and his brother Balaram undertook a most difficult mission to rescue the sons of his spiritual master who had been kidnapped. So by surrendering to a bona fide spiritual master, one receives spiritual wisdom, instructions that will help one to make spiritual advancement. You will not fall into illusion. Just like when it is dark and you are walking and there are several people in the room, you may be banging against each other. But when the lights come out, then there will be no druka-druka. So similarly, Kṛṣṇa says, when you receive spiritual knowledge from a perfect personality, because you will not fall under illusion then. Because you will see that all beings are my parts and parcels. In the Bhāgavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-yo 'niṣukāntya murtaya sambhavanti ya "Tasam brahma-mahadyo niraḥṁ bija-pradāpyadā." "I am the seed-giving father of all living entities." So we must understand that we are all children of the same father. Due to national boundaries, we may say, "Oh, you belong to that country, I belong to this country, so you cannot come to my country." Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah. Just like you go to all these rich men, they have dogs in their garden. So when you go to their house, and as soon as the dog sees you, he says, "Bow, bow, bow, bow, bow." Don't come in. So we are all children of the same Father. This is known as the concept of universal brotherhood. We don't say this community is better than that community. We don't believe in violence. We believe that we are all children of the same Father. So animals also have a right to live. The Christians may say God has put these animals on earth for our enjoyment. But the animal also eats, sleeps, defends, and mates just like us. So what right do we have to kill them? That is very sinful. Therefore, a devotee of the Lord does not even want to harm an ant. So one who has the spiritual knowledge, he will be able to cross over the material miseries. Of course, due to past sinful activities, Sometimes even when you have spiritual knowledge, you may have an accident. It is not that because you have spiritual knowledge you can never get into an accident. But at least when you have the spiritual knowledge, even if you are— if you have an accident, because you have this knowledge, you can always come back to spiritual life. So we all know that when there is fire, everything becomes ashes, isn't it? I'm sure in your country also you have fire brigades. You may have a very nicely structured building, but when there's fire, it all becomes ashes. So similarly, the fire of spiritual knowledge, it burns all the reaction to material activities. So the point is, if you have spiritual knowledge, then you understand that you belong to the Lord and you should execute in activities by which the Lord will be pleased. Therefore, we must cultivate this spiritual knowledge. Don't think spiritual knowledge is boring. Spiritual knowledge is most sublime and enjoyable, just like spiritual sound. Now the materialist cannot understand how a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee chants the same mantra again and again, day and night. Just like on the Moscow hit parade, the same song doesn't remain on top of the hit parade always. Doesn't it? You have hit parade here? On the hit parade every week there's a different song on the top. Because people get tired of hearing one song, then they want another song. Isn't it? So this is material sound. But spiritual sound is different. The more you have, the more you hear, the more you feel like hearing. But in order to be convinced about this, you have to try it. Just like if I told you, "Here's a bottle that has honey inside which is sweet." For you to actually believe that the honey is sweet, you have to taste it. So Kṛṣṇa says in this Bhagavad-gītā, 38th verse of this chapter, that this spiritual knowledge is completely sublime. Sublime means it is very pleasing. And this knowledge is the mature fruit of mysticism. There are 8 types of mystic perfection that you can realize. One mystic perfection is becoming smaller than the smallest. Of course, if we had that mystic perfection, we would have no accommodation problem just now. Because you all don't have the mystic perfection, I see that all of you are standing and sitting with great difficulty. Now the scientists have already achieved this perfection of becoming smaller than the smallest. Like in your country, they have this very wonderful subway system. Yesterday I took the subway and I saw how deep it is. I think deepest in the world. So becoming smaller than the smallest can only be there if you can penetrate to the rocks. So the scientists have already achieved that perfection. So a devotee doesn't, does not want any of these 8 mystic perfections. Because even if you get these perfections, it doesn't mean you'll become free from the cycle of birth and death. So the mature fruit of all bhaktism is to come to the understanding that one must control the body and the mind and the senses and serve the Supreme Lord. So by controlling the mind and the senses, "And engaging in devotional service, one realizes real happiness." So a faithful man who has dedicated his transcendental knowledge and who controls the senses with this transcendental knowledge is very quickly able to become peaceful. So the point is that we are after peace, isn't it? Everybody is after peace. Yes, so the United Nations is a world body. And day and night they are discussing just how to find peace. But you cannot have peace unless you learn the secret of controlling the mind and the senses. Peace doesn't mean you just don't drop a missile or a nuclear bomb. If your mind is not peaceful, then your mind is always thinking of different sense desires, and in trying to achieve the sense desires, and because you want to achieve these sense desires, you are always making so many ambitious plans. So a man who has controlled his mind and senses can really be peaceful. Just like in the Western countries we have seen, and in India, so many millionaires. They have 20 cars, big mansion, everything, but still they are so unhappy. So we must gain control over the mind. So what is the future of those people who doubt the scriptures? Krishna says, for the doubting soul, there is no happiness now and later. Those who doubt the verdict of the scriptures, they can never be happy. We must understand the scriptures are compiled by the Supreme Lord. Dharmam te sakshat bhagavat-pranitam. Religion means the words of God. And if you think that these words of God are ordinary, then if you're doubting the words of God, you can never be happy today and you can never be happy tomorrow. So therefore we must cultivate the spiritual knowledge, and with spiritual knowledge we should slash This ignorance that is keeping us on the platform of bodily identification. So Krishna says, "O Arjuna, armed with yoga, stand up and fight." So yoga means not physical exercise. Yoga means the art of fixing oneself on the Supreme. Just like in Moscow you have a yoga society, and even at our book fair, so many people are coming to our stand and asking us for books on yoga. So the real yoga is that science by which you can control the body and the mind and the senses. And by controlling the body, mind, and senses, you can engage in devotional service. If you cannot control the body, mind, and senses, then you cannot engage in devotional service. Therefore, we don't try to cheat any of you. We tell everyone straight away that if you want to develop love of God, you must control the body and the mind and the senses. You may say, "Oh, it is impossible to control the body, mind, and senses. Impossible in this Kali-yuga, in this environment." But if you chant the holy names, engage in devotional service according to the direction of the sadhus, then your mind will be in control, your body will be in control, the senses will be in control, and you'll be situated very happily. So this is the summary of the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

I tried to cover all the verses, isn't it? My heart was always lamenting how uncomfortable all of you are and how comfortable I'm sitting. Is that okay? Please. Kāiva prasāda? Were all of you able to hear outside also this lecture? Yes or no?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Okay, I've tried my best. Okay.

So the question is— the Kali Yuga came for sure. Does it mean that Krishna couldn't prevent this Kali Yuga? He didn't allow that?

In the winter season, it's very cold in Moscow, isn't it? Gets minus 30. In winter, and this is the rainy season, it rains a lot. So in the rainy season, what do you do to protect yourself from the rain? You carry an umbrella. Am I right? And in the winter, what do you do to prevent yourself from the cold? Wear woolen clothing, warm clothing. Is that correct? So similarly, in Kali Yuga, to protect yourself from the effect of Kali Yuga, Krishna has given you warm clothing and an umbrella. And the warm clothing and an umbrella is Hare Kṛṣṇa and the Bhāgavad-gītā and devotional service. So if you chant and read and associate with devotees, then Kali-yuga will not touch you. Just like you may get diseased, but then you have the doctor's medicine. But this is a guaranteed medicine, a guaranteed medicine. And this medicine is being prescribed since thousands of years. It's not a new prescription. It is being prescribed by the most perfect doctor, that is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Question was that, that means that Kṛṣṇa couldn't prevent Kali Yuga coming.

I'm coming to that. So Kali Yuga is a part of the force, is a part of the cycle. So Kali Yuga will go on for 432,000 years and Kali Yuga, Kali Yuga comes in every cycle. Kali Yuga will make you realize there's no happiness in the material world. Just like now all over the world they are talking about the pollution crisis. People all over the world have built so many big, big industries and factories. Now the result of all that industrialization is pollution of the air. You can't even get air to breathe. So day by day Kali Yuga is making you realize that this material world is no place for a gentleman. Just like when you go to the prison house, they beat you in the prison house to make you realize that crime doesn't pay. So Kali Yuga beats you very hard to make you realize that there's no happiness.

So these miseries are being sent to us by Supreme Lord?

Anybody who takes birth in the material world has to go through these miseries. Actually, Kali Yuga from one angle is very, very good because in Kali Yuga Krishna has given a very simple way of self-realization— chanting His holy names. In Satya Yuga, for example, you had to sit down in meditation for 60,000 years. In Treta Yuga, for example, you had to have very elaborate sacrifices. In those sacrifices you need so many hundreds of pure brahmanas, pure milk, pure butter, and so on. All of you would get broke even if you had the sacrifice for one day a year. And in Treta Yuga, everybody had to present very expensive sacrifices, offerings. Just like if Prema Vati had told all of you, "You can come to the program today, but please bring gifts worth 1,000 rubles from my deities," none of you would come. So in Kali Yuga, it is so easy, just chant Hare Krishna and you get the same result. Just like in the Western countries, before Christmas something is sold for $100 and after Christmas it is reduced to $10. So Krishna has subsidized the process of self-realization in Kali Yuga by giving you such a simple method. Jesus Christ also said, thou shalt always chant the names of the Lord. So the chanting of the names of the Lord is a bona fide authentic process in all the scriptures. Yes.

Why didn't Jesus Christ said that the name of the Lord is Krishna?

Jesus Christ said he's Son of God. Jesus Christ did say thou shalt always chant the names of the Lord. Why Jesus Christ didn't say to chant the names of Krishna, I obviously cannot answer because I'm not Jesus Christ. But Krishna does say very clearly in the scriptures, chant the names of God. But Jesus Christ never said he's the Father, he said he's the Son. But Krishna always said he's the Father. So we, so we respect Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but we follow Krishna. Allah said he was a messenger of God. So Muhammad said he's messenger of God. Nobody said he's God. Only Krishna said he's Supreme Lord. Now in response to your question, I want to give you another explanation. See, the real meaning of the word religion is to develop love of God. So 2 and 2 is 4. Whether you're studying mathematics in grade 1 or in college, but still you have higher and lower level of mathematics, isn't it? In college they teach you trigonometry and so many complicated things, and in school they teach you very basic maths. So all these scriptures may be talking about God, but in the Bhagavad-gītā there is the most in-depth knowledge about God. For example, Jesus Christ, when he spoke the Bible, he had to say, "Thou shall not kill." And when Muhammad, when the Quran was spoken, he had to say that thou shalt not sleep with anyone but thy wife, because people were so degraded that they were sleeping with their mothers and sisters and daughters. But when Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhāgavad-gītā, he did not say either thou shalt not kill, nor did he say thou shalt not sleep with anyone but thy wife, because he spoke to a very enlightened human being. And therefore this knowledge is the most in-depth knowledge about the science of God.

What's the rate of— so let me explain. The— why Lord Kryon, why Lord Jivaswan, they— What's that, say that again? Such Gods like why Jivaswan, they have very long, long lifespan. And what's the rate of their lives with Brahma's life.

This is the rate. What's the rate of their life compared to Brahma's life? Brahma's life, of course, is the longest because Brahma is the creator. The scripture doesn't explain, the Bhagavad Gita doesn't explain exactly how long Vivasvan lives. Brahma lives for 311 trillion 40 million of our earthly years. You can't even calculate.

Some god had the name Surya, and now his name is Vivasvan. When did this change appear? What, Jambra? When did this change came?

The sun god Vivasvan, when did the name?

Yes, when did he change his name, Surya to Vivasvan?

Well, it's the same thing. From the very beginning he was known as Vivasvan and Surya. From the very beginning?

Those who are being killed by Krishna—

speak louder so people can understand the question. You have to answer that, ask the question for everyone's benefit, so people have to hear everywhere.

Those who are being killed by Krishna, they get liberated. And Kamsa got liberated, uh, by being killed by Krishna, but in his previous Like he, uh, he wasn't liberated though Krishna killed him. Why?

What's that?

Like Kamsa didn't be liberated in his previous life although he was killed by Krishna.

Well, Krishna, when he appears on this planet, he needs someone to also play the role of a demon. So the devotees of Krishna also take on different roles. Just like when you go to watch these movies, the hero really becomes a hero once he kills some demons. So somebody had to play the role of Kamsa. More questions?

Yes.

Louder so people can hear.

Good. Can you speak of departure of Śrīla Prabhupāda from this planet? And didn't Śrīla Prabhupāda speak about his next adventure on this planet.

Prabhupada never spoke about his next advent on this planet. Prabhupada left behind the ISKCON Society. He left behind a structure for governing ISKCON, and he left behind the Governing Body Commission to run the society. But Prabhupada left his books behind, and he said that these books will be read for the next 10,000 years. So when you read these books, you're directly associating with Prabhupada. So we do not say that Prabhupada has left the planet. We say that Prabhupada is still on the planet. He is present in his instructions. So we receive Prabhupada's instructions from the guru parampara, then actually we are on the path of perfection.

How could Srila Prabhupada go through all the difficulties and heart attacks? How could Srila Prabhupada go through all the difficulties, all the heart attacks and everything, and get success in America.

Prabhupada was determined to follow the orders of his spiritual master. Prabhupada's spiritual master had ordered him to carry the teachings of Lord Caitanya to the Western countries. So Prabhupada was always meditating how to make this possible. So Prabhupada's life was a life of immense struggle. He had to struggle to establish Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For over 20 years he was going from one location to another trying to get help to start the Society. Because he never deviated from the instructions of his spiritual master, ultimately he was successful. So similarly, we are sincere to the instructions of guru and Kṛṣṇa, then we will also be successful. Even when Prabhupāda went to America, For the first year he had almost no support at all, but because he persisted, in the end Kṛṣṇa sent him help. Prabhupāda had come to your country in 1972, and he planted the seed of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and now so many nice flowers are blossoming. Caitanya Mahāprabhu had predicted 500 years ago that every town and village there will be the chanting of the holy name. So because this is God's prediction, it has to come true. So now we can see it is coming true day by day.

Why, who is in the mode of goodness? What should we do? Criticize the killer or—

Someone kills someone who's in the mode of goodness. What do you mean? Be specific. Who has killed whom? If somebody comes and kills a devotee, for example, is that what you mean? Someone kills a devotee. If somebody kills a devotee, Well, it all depends. If somebody— it doesn't mean that now to me, if I say it's mercy of Kṛṣṇa, then you'll say, okay, I'll kill this person, it's mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Everything happens ultimately by the will of the Lord, but that does not mean that you can say it's the will of the Lord that we eat beef, so therefore we are killing the cows. But that does not mean that somebody can eat beef and say, oh, it's the will of the Lord if we kill the cows. You cannot kill anyone. Killing is a sin. Direct. Yes, yes.

How can I get benediction of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī?

By praying to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī for her blessings. When you chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, by the word Hare, you are addressing the energy of the Lord Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. So if you chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra sincerely and nicely, then you will get the mercy of Rādhārāṇī. If you don't chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra nicely, then you won't get the blessing. Therefore we must chant and we must chant attentively.

Can you comment on the point that Kṛṣṇa is all-sufficient? Is also? All-sufficient.

Affection?

Sufficient. Yes. In terms of sex.

Kṛṣṇa is Om Purnam Adā Purnāmidām. Kṛṣṇa is complete in all respects. For example, the rasa-lila dance in which the gopis were engaged with Kṛṣṇa. The gopis had performed austerities for thousands of years. They had the desire to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband, God as their husband, and hence they were given the chance to associate with the Lord in the form of gopis. So Kṛṣṇa is complete in all respects. He does not have to engage in any physical relationship He engages in these different pastimes just for the benefit of His devotees. And even in the midst of the rāṣṭra-dāṇḍa, Kṛṣṇa would totally disappear to exhibit His renunciation.

She told the whole story of Mahārāja Bhrigu, of a rishi Bhrigu, who came to Śrī Vāsudeva, the Brahman, and then—

Bhrigu Muni.

Bhrigu Muni, that's right. When he stepped over Vishnu's chest, Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, goddess of fortune, she was upset. Yes, she didn't like this activity of Bhrigu means so that means that in the future all Brahmins will live in poverty. Is it right?

Yes, it is said so, sir, because that Brahmin chest is kept his leg on the Lord's chest. From that day onwards, the Brahmins have been cursed by Lakshmi to remain poor. But that does not mean that you should worry that if you become a Brahmin, you become poor. Because a Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee is a Vaiṣṇava who is even above a Brahmin. Otherwise, all of you may leave the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement on fear that you may become poor. If you are giving your life to Kṛṣṇa, if you are offering your wealth to Kṛṣṇa, Then Krishna, then you are in a different category. But the problem today is that people want Lakshmi without Narayan. Lakshmi symbolizes, Lakshmi, Lakshmi symbolizes wealth and Narayan symbolizes the Supreme Lord. So Lakshmi should be at the feet of Narayan. But people these days want Lakshmi in their pocket and Narayan outside. Just like Ravana, Ravana wanted Sita and he didn't want Ram. So if you want Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa, then you are in a different category. But if you want only one Lakṣmī and no Nārāyaṇa, then Lakṣmī won't come. Until Kṛṣṇa is sure that you will not misuse the Lakṣmī, He doesn't give a sincere devotee an extra Lakṣmī. But when Kṛṣṇa is sure that you will use all the rubles for Him, then He gives you thousands of rubles. Again, the cycle goes again and again.

Is that a question? Yes, like approximately. If one is failed to get success in this Kali Yuga, so he must try next Kali Yuga.

But it is better that you try and get success now because Kali Yuga is getting dangerous day by day. Just like after 10,000 years it will be so terrible that even if you talk about God, they'll shoot you.

But she's asking about others.

Other Kali Yuga? This Kali Yuga itself has 427,000 years left. So for the next Kali Yuga to come, you have to go through Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwarpa Yuga, and then Kali Yuga. When you are diseased, you don't tell the doctor, "I will be cured once the next hospital is built." You tell the doctor, you tell the doctor, "Please cure me immediately." When you have severe toothache or headache, you don't tell your doctor, "Okay, cure my toothache in 100 years." So similarly, don't make a plan to get out of Kali Yuga in several lifetimes but get out this lifetime!

Okay? Look at it very deeply— This Kali Yuga...

The period inside Kali Yuga... Those who do not appeal, they go back at the end of this Kali Yuga when the whole creation will be Creation destroyed. is again created again, the process of birth that again starts. When will they— at the end of Kali Yuga they will be killed by the personality of Godhead who will appear as a form of Mahāprabhu. They will all be killed.

And then?

And then again when the whole science of creation, the whole cosmic creation again is created, again the living entities are born.

In such a yuga. Yes.

In the end of this Kali Yuga everyone will just be killed.

So those who are being killed in the end of Kali Yuga, they If you're in the beginning of satyayoga.

In the end, then again the whole process of satyayoga will start again. Because they'll have the fortune of— those who are killed by the Lord also are very auspicious, beneficial.

They don't get liberated. Who? Those who are being killed in the end.

Ultimately they'll just be destroyed. Actually our goal should be to preach, preach so much, distribute so many books. So that we can give everyone a chance to get relief from this misery now. Are all of you still sitting down comfortably? Can we go on for some more time like this?

Jesus Christ took all the sins of people for himself.

Does that mean that he must go through all the miseries in hellish place and now he's going through Jesus Christ was not an ordinary person, but we should not think that just because Jesus Christ died for our sins, we have a license for committing sins. Just like the Christians have their philosophy of sinning and atoning. That is, they go to the church, they apologize for their sins, and they come out and again start sinning. Actually, this is a very interesting topic. If you want, I can speak on this topic for 2 or 3 minutes. Because this topic is discussed in the 6th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. After Parīkṣit Mahārāja heard the description of the hellish planet, he wanted to know how can people be saved from going to hell. Parīkṣit Mahārāja said, "What is the use if an elephant goes and has a bath in the river and then he comes out of the river, he sits down in the mud and he becomes dirty again." So he said, There is no point in executing religious duties and again sinning at the same time. Just like a tree may get burned by fire, but as long as the roots of the tree are there below the earth, the tree will grow again. So Parikṣit Mahārāja says, unless the roots of sinful desire are taken out from the heart, one cannot give up sinful activities. 'Ke tith ke vulya bhaktiya vasudeva parayana.' Just like when there is fog, in Moscow also you have fog sometimes? Okay, no. But then you know there is fog, like in London they have very heavy fog. So when you have this 'tumān,' your scientists cannot destroy this 'tumān.' But when the sun comes out, it gets destroyed. So the Bhagavad-gītā says, The tendency to commit sinful activities can be destroyed only when you engage in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

But his point was that Jesus Christ took all the sins of people for himself. That means that he has to go through all the penances, all the penalties.

Jesus Christ was empowered Son of God. He does not have to go through the suffering like you and I have to go through.

So that is that now he is in God's kingdom.

Yes. Jesus Christ was not an ordinary person. I said that in the very first line.

Is it possible, is it possible to change which has been given to you by hand?

Yes, it is. Therefore those who come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness don't rely so much on astrology. When you are born, you are born based on certain future that is based upon your past karma. But when you clap in front of the Deities, all these lines go away. The point is, I'm not saying that Vedic astrology is wrong, so don't get me wrong. What I'm saying is a devotee, when he surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he does not have to worry about his sinful reaction that is due to him.

Actually, she is a speed doctor.

She is a?

A speed doctor.

A is speed doctor.

A is speed? No, it's extrasensory doctor. Huh? Like mystic doctor. She? Yeah, and she can feel, um, development in other cities and she can help others. But if she feels bad, she transforms her bad feelings to others. So should she avoid with those feelings, those mystic abilities and everything. I don't understand the question. Explain again. She can feel people on the distance, in the distance, far away, for instance, in other cities. And if she feels badly, she transforms her feelings to other people.

Do you want me to give you a true answer or a diplomatic answer? If I give you a true answer, I won't offend you?

She came from USA, you just ask this question.

Maybe we can discuss it privately after the question answer. After the question answers, I meet few devotees in small groups, that's when you can ask those questions.

Okay.

Loudly, people can't hear. Prasad Raaval, how long should I go on with this question answer? Now how long? Should I go on for another 10-15 minutes? I won't eat any prasadam. Oh, one spoon. Ah, there. Okay, I'll take a little bit on me. Okay.

The question is, and now we have TV shows and ESP doctors.

I don't know about anything about manual therapy. Why should I bluff you with an answer?

Let me explain a little bit. We have a TV show with the ESP doctors curing people by TV, and a lot of people get released from—

A lot of people get cured by TV because, as some of my doctor friends have told me in America and all, many diseases are just mental psychological diseases. People just mentally think they are sick, and then when they get a little bit of psychological help, Then they get cured. There are many psychological studies that have been carried out which show that people fall sick and pretend sick for various reasons. One is also to gain sympathy of people. In sympathy, to get sympathy of people. See, this man is sick, you know. So my point is that you can ask me spiritual questions. I'm not an expert on this mental therapy and whatever.

You said that we should chant the Holy Names of the Lord, but Christianity and Islam also says that you should chant the name of the Lord. So followers of those religions, they also follow this principle. That means that they also chant Holy Names of the Lord, or they have— they chant some other names.

If somebody wants to be a follower of Lord Jesus Christ and chant the names of Jesus Christ, and at the same time follow the regulative principles that we follow, we don't object. The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is the most powerful name. Just like you may have several medicines that can cure the same disease in the drugstore, but there's one medicine that is the best medicine. So we did not say, we don't say that if you chant the names of Lord Jesus Christ it is bad, or if you chant the names of Allah it is bad. No, we will never say that.

Prasad said that it's offensive to do tilaka like that. So, shouldn't we allow people with such tilaka to come to our programs?

You allow people to come to your program without any tilaka?

Yes, but if somebody come coming to the program.

So, what's the harm if they come with this type of tilaka? But if we, but we don't let Vaiṣṇava devotees put on that tilaka. Tilaka is our uniform. A policeman without uniform does not command respect. But a policeman with uniform commands respect, isn't it? So similarly, when we put on tilak in our— then it indicates that we are devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This body is the temple of the Lord, so we decorate the body with auspicious signs of tilak.

What is the disciplic succession of the— our rabbinical tradition? Or?

Orbindo. Orbindo. Orbindo. He is in no disciplic succession. Anyway, he's not, I'm not, I'm not an expert on Orbindo's disciplic succession. Orbindo is not in any Vaishnava disciplic succession.

Does Nijayapur Temple belongs to his cult?

Nijayapur Temple in America? How did you hear of the temple in Russia? I know, but how did you hear of that? You get that here? We can discuss it after the class. Okay.

In material world, we always stress on the law of preservation. For instance, like law of energy preservation and matter. So, that's such a law of preservation of matter. Spiritual energy existing in spiritual life. Huh? That such law of preservation of spiritual energy existing in spiritual life.

Spiritual— actually all energy is actually spiritual, but when we misuse these energy then it becomes material energy. All energy is supposed to be used in service to the Lord and it should be preserved. Nothing should be wasted. Once Prabhupāda was going on a morning walk in New Jersey He saw in some karmi's house there was a drop of, drops of water leaking from a tap. Prabhupada walked into his house and closed the tap. He said, it's Kṛṣṇa's energy, it cannot be wasted. So even, even what you call material energy is actually spiritual energy, but actually it is being misused, so we call it material energy. Okay, last question. I don't mind going on. Are you, are you people comfortable? I'm only worried about your comfort. Okay.

What's the difference between the spirit and the soul?

The soul is spiritual, so therefore we call it spirit soul. No difference.

No, there is no difference between the spirit and the soul.

No, we call it spirit soul because the soul is spiritual.

We have two words in Russian, spirit and soul.

Yeah, but in the Bible, the second chapter, always it is spirit soul. You have a question there?

Let me explain our question. We have a version of Bhagavad Gita by one doctor. So in that version, it said that when Arjuna asked Krishna to explain Bhagavad Gita again, as in Hari Gita, Krishna answered that he couldn't do this.

Hare Gita.

Yes, Vama Gita. Vama Gita. He, he answered that he couldn't do this because, uh, that time when he explained Bhagavad Gita, that time when he explained Bhagavad Gita previously, he was in, uh, in the trance, but now he's not in trance.

Well, this is Prasad for me, offering it to Krishna.

Okay. Okay. Yes.

Krishna says in the Bhāgavad-gītā to Arjuna, "I'm imparting this knowledge to you because you are my most confidential friend and devotee. Therefore you can understand the transcendental secrets of this great science." So we have to receive the science of the Gītā from a pure devotee, not from some so-called speculator doctor. So I think what I'll do at this point, I'll stop. Tomorrow I'm going to do two programs. Alankar will announce where. Maybe we can do japa together for a few minutes. I see that there are many newcomers in this program also. How many of you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra at least 4 rounds every day? Lift your hands.

How much?

At least 4 rounds a day. Almost everyone. No, you are not chanting. How many of you are chanting Because I see many faces that I'm seeing the first time today. Is there anyone in this assembly who does not chant any rounds at all on a daily basis? Hands up. Everybody is chanting. You're also chanting on a regular basis? So how many are chanting 16 rounds on a regular basis? So it is very important that we purify our chanting. Tomorrow morning, should I lecture on the 10 offenses or the 5th chapter of the Gītā? What do you want? Huh? So it is very important that all of you chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra very sincerely. Those who are not chanting 16 rounds should increase your chanting. Why do we say 16 rounds? Does anyone know why? Who knows why? I'll tell you why. Just like when you fall sick, you go to the doctor. Doctor gives you medicine and says, "Take this medicine every 6 hours, 4 times a day." Why does he tell you to take the medicine 4 times a day and not 10 times? You're a doctor, isn't it? Because the theory is that if you take the dose every 6 hours, then that dose, the effect of the dose will kill the germs for the next 6 hours. So if you take the medicine 4 times a day, then it will kill the germs. And gradually, if you take it— so similarly, if you chant minimum 16 rounds a day, good rounds, then The spiritual energy that you will get from this chanting will kill the germs of sense gratification that are there in your heart. So right now you have a lot of germs in the heart. They have to be killed. So that is why you must make sure that every word that you chant is done attentively. In Japan they have those trains which are called bullet trains. They go, "Beep," so fast. So don't chant your rounds at the speed of sound. If you chant the rounds at the speed of sound, then your material germs will not die. If you want your microbe to die, then you must chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. You must chant very attentively. So, should we chant for 5 minutes together? Or are all of you very tired? We chant?

Yes.

So everybody knows You know that in the japa malas we have 108 beads, huh? I must say that all of you are very brave people. For 3 hours you all have been sitting down in such a tight situation. Anyway, there's very nice prasadam, so all of you will not regret sitting down like this. Oh, sit down, sit down. Where is everyone standing? Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram. Of course, we could go on chanting for 24 hours, but I thought, oh, we can stop at this point. So you could see how much spiritual energy was being generated when we were all chanting together. Unlimited spiritual energy, isn't it? And all of you by this chanting have become rich now. Stali baghatini. Your spiritual bank account has been credited by a lot of extra spiritual points. See, this chanting is very simple and easy. I often say that there are, like for example, many of your devotees cannot speak one word of English, one word of Sanskrit, one word of Hindi, but you have no difficulty in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. In the Chinese language, they don't even have enough alphabets to write the word Kṛṣṇa, but we have seen that our Chinese people chant Hare Kṛṣṇa very easily. So all of you, those who are already chanting 16 rounds, our request is that you should improve the quality of your chanting. And those who are not chanting 16 rounds should gradually increase their chanting to come to 16 rounds.

Is it compulsory to chant all the rounds through in one time in morning?

Good question. You don't have to chant all the rounds in one sitting. The morning hours are the most auspicious hours for chanting. So you all should develop the habit of getting up early in the morning. And at least 16 rounds you should do with concentration. Just like when you are eating your lunch at home, prasadam, you eat with concentration. You don't eat while walking and all that, or driving. So similarly, you should try to do your 16 rounds with concentration. And of course, you can chant all the time, so extra rounds are welcome.

You told us that we should chant with concentration, but it is said that those who chant one round more than 9 minutes, they chant inattentively. Huh? They chant inattentively more than 9 minutes.

Generally, to chant one round nicely should take 7 to 10 minutes. You can do it in 7 minutes also. And you should make sure that when you're chanting on beads, you're chanting 108 times in one mala. Sometimes what happens when you have your hands inside the bead bag, you may skip on beads and you won't even know you've skipped on beads. So, are all of you going to improve your chanting now?

Yes.

Yeah. And those who are not chanting enough, are you going to increase your chanting? So, how many people who are not chanting 16 rounds have now decided that they will start chanting 16 rounds to kill the germs of sinful desires. How many after today's talk, how many are ready now to do 16 more? How many people are going to do 16 at least every day? You? Yeah, how many? Hands up.

Should we jerk out? Keep moving, moving.

Yeah, it's better. That's the way Prabhupada used to do.

It was some— because sometimes he lose his mala.

Be attentive and you will not lose your mala. Do you lose the rubles that you carry in your pocket? So, I think, announce tomorrow's program. Tomorrow morning in Nicholas, 11 to 2, that's all. Then evening, 5:30 to 8:30, say 5 to 8:30, Kṛṣṇa-kṛmā. And day after tomorrow program in His house from 1 o'clock onwards. Tomorrow morning, 11 o'clock, we'll discuss the 5th chapter of the Gītā. But the morning program I will leave at 2 o'clock sharp. Yeah, 11 to 2, that's all. Then in the evening we'll discuss the 6th chapter from 5 o'clock till 8, 8:30. And then on Monday we'll start the program at 1 o'clock at— and then I'll give another program on the 22nd. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Now you have nice prasāda, all of you. Hare Kṛṣṇa maharāja ki. Jai! Hare Kṛṣṇa maharāja ki. Jai! Hare Kṛṣṇa maharāja ki. Jai!