NOD Ch1- 6 Characteristics of Pure Devotional Service| Rus-Split |18.1.91 |Śrīla Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

This law book of devotional service was compiled by Rupa Gosvāmī. And why did Rupa Gosvāmī compile it? Because he was specifically ordered by Caitanya Mahāprabhu to read the vast Vedic literature and present the essence in summary form. Just like the Bhagavad-gītā is a summary of the Vedas, the Nectar of Devotion also is a summary of essential principles of pure devotional service. As you probably know, all of you, Rūpa Gosvāmī was a very highly placed individual in society at the time he met Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was very respected because he was virtually working like a prime minister, and he was working as a prime minister in the most important kingdom, in the most important republic of that time. But when he met Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he simply said, "I am, I, people think I am very learned, but I don't even know who I am. Please guide me." And then Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave him instructions on devotional service. It is said that just like Kṛṣṇa inspired Brahmandī Hārta with spiritual wisdom, Caitanya Mahāprabhu inspired Rūpa Gosvāmī with Spiritual Wisdom. So do we have Nectar of Devotion in Russian? No. Not as yet. I have told Sannyāsa we should do it. So this book, Nectar of Devotion, is very sweet, nectarian, and contains very valuable instructions about spiritual advancement. This book is originally known as Bhakti-rasāmita-sindhu. But Prabhupada called it nectar of devotion because devotion to Kṛṣṇa is nectarine after all. Those who think that devotional service is not nectarine will not stay in devotional service for long. So you have to be convinced that devotional service is nectarine. Otherwise, why should we take something bitter? So those who are on the devotional path, Prabhupada says, they remain in the ocean of constant loving service to the Lord. And they have no business with any other activity. Now see how qualified Rupa Gosvāmī was. But Rupa Gosvāmī is saying in the introduction to his Bhaktirāṭṇamid-dāsa-Indra that I have no qualification to present this literature, but because I have been ordered by Caitanya Mahāprabhu to present this, I am humbly begging and trying to present this literature. Ene Caitanya-carṭhamṛta. In every, at the end of every chapter and beginning, what does Kṛṣṇanātha Kavirāja say? "I have no qualification at all. By the mercy of the rūpa-rāgūnāt and the Kṛṣṇa Mīr, I am trying to present this vast literature." Before we start speaking, we say: Om jñāna-timirandhasya jñānan janāśalakya-cakṣaṇmālatā-niñātāsmāi śrī-gurave namaḥ. I do not know how many of you devotees understand the meaning of the prayers that the speaker of the Bhāgavatam says before his talk. But in this Om Agyanatimrindasya, the speaker is saying that I am born in ignorance and had no knowledge, but by the mercy of the guru, now my ignorance is being destroyed. So one prays to the guru to get empowered to be able to speak properly. So Rūpa Gosvāmī led a very simple life. Along with Sanatana Gosvāmī, his elder brother, and others in Vṛndāvana. He himself would live underneath a different tree every day. And though they lived underneath a different tree every day, Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanatana Gosvāmī inspired all the other rich people to build very opulent temples in Vṛndāvana. So Bhaktirasamrīdāsa Mahāsiddha contains Many essential topics for discussion, but we shall just discuss two topics today. One is, why do you take to pure devotion? And two, what are the symptoms of one who is on this devotional path? If you just understand these two, ha, you can be assured of success. You don't have to worry about more. So I was asked a question, what are the six characteristics of pure devotional service? So we shall discuss the six characteristics of devotional service. Prasad RAVAL. So the first characteristic of pure devotional service is it frees oneself from all types of material distress. So as long as one stays in material existence, there is nothing but material distress. Even if you get promoted to the heavenly planets, still you can't escape the basic miseries of life. The scientists are trying to go to outer space and they keep promising you that one day you will be able to go there regularly, just like you can go Moscow-Bombay, Leningrad-Bombay on plane, you can also, you will be able to travel to outer space one day also. Let us assume tomorrow Air Klotz starts to sell you a ticket to travel to the Moon Planet. Does it mean by going to the heavenly planets or something you will be able to conquer all the miseries of life? So in the material world, as long as you stay anywhere, even in the upper heavenly planets, there is nothing but distress. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, if you take the pure devotion, then you become free of material distress. The point is, once you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then even if you are in seemingly difficult position, you don't feel the effect at all. Why? Because you know the cause of the disease, you know the cause of the suffering, and you know the cure of the suffering. Parīkṣita Mahāprabhu did not get disturbed. When the Brahmin boy cursed him to die. So you can only escape the material distress that is going to hit you, doesn't matter where you go, unless you take to pure devotional service. Our false ego is so strong, it is like a strong rope, and we are tied by the strong rope to material desires. So the Vedas say, Only the devotee can untie the strong rope which has surrounded, by which we are caught, or tied. So Nupur Goswami's conclusion is that only by pure devotional service can you ultimately escape material distress. Then the second characteristic is that pure devotional service is the beginning of all auspiciousness. Different people have different understanding of what is meant by auspiciousness. Auspiciousness. Like if you go to India, you will see a lot of rich people, when they have money, instead of giving it to Krishna, they will build hospitals or schools and put their names in front of these institutions. And some people may say giving money to someone for sense enjoyment is also auspicious. The real auspiciousness is when you tell people how to establish their relationship with God. And unless you can establish your relationship with God, You cannot free yourself of all material distresses. A person who is Kṛṣṇa conscious is a friend of everyone, even the trees and the plants and the animals. Just like Lord Caitanya, when He was going through the Jalakanda forest, He was even able to make the animals chant Him. "Shh, shh, shh, will you go and hurry now?" Even those who don't believe it, anybody hears the holy names, they all benefit. The power of the Holy Name is such, knowingly or unknowingly, anybody who chants benefits. So the point is, Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "Though there may be so many auspicious activities in society, the most auspicious activity is the distribution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Just like these days in the Western countries, and I was reading articles about the food relief for Leningrad that has been organized by West Germany and other agencies. So the West German government thinks, "Oh, this is the highest welfare activity, sending food packages to Leningrad." But we say the highest activity is giving people knowledge of God. Because unless people have knowledge of Bhoga, God, they cannot free themselves from the cycle of birth and death. So therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the most auspicious activity." Sometimes when children become Kṛṣṇa conscious, their parents are very upset. Is it sometimes or it is always? What is it? Always. Okay. Always. Nearly 99% of the time. And this is not just in Soviet Union. Even in India. Even in India the parents come and say, "Why can't you live at home and practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness? We are not telling you don't join Hare Kṛṣṇa, but live at home, not in the temple." And especially in countries like India, they never let the daughters join. In India we don't have any women's ashram. Because they don't let their daughters join. So the point is that when you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you meet so many opponents. So they don't realize that by your becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, you are also helping your parents, grandparents, everyone. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, after Hiranyakaśipū was killed by Lord Nrsimhadeva, Prahlāda said, "My dear Lord, even though my father was a demon and he gave me so much trouble, because he was my father, I am requesting You, please give him liberation." And what did the Lord say? "He is already liberated. You don't have to worry." When Dhruva Maharaj was going back to Godhead, Kṛṣṇa had sent two planes, one for him, one for his mother. One plane brought Dhruva Maharaj back to Godhead and one plane brought his mother back to Godhead. Of course his mother was special. She is not like your and my mother. She is the one who inspired Dhruva to go to the forest to look for Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so auspicious that anybody who takes to it gets spiritual benefit. On the other hand, somebody may have very high education, somebody may have many achievements, but if he doesn't have love of God, then he has nothing. So if you really want to do something, friends, for the welfare of the world, Please take the Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously and don't waste your time. Bhaktisiddhānta Sādhani ṭhākura-yiṣṭhas te. If there is a shortage of anything on this planet, it is just one commodity. Like right now, these Soviet people are very upset because they say the shelves are empty when they go to the supermarket. Vāsudhama was telling me he went to a clothing store a few days ago and there was nothing to buy. But nobody— so people are complaining about the shortages. But nobody is complaining about one shortage: love of God. Nobody is complaining and nobody is talking about God. So there's a big shortage of one commodity: love of God. And that commodity can only be distributed by the pre-advaniyas of ISKCON. Because nobody else is trying to practice love of God, so how can they give others the philosophy? So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is all auspicious. Another characteristic of pure devotional service is It gives you transcendental pleasure. In other words, there are other sorts of pleasures besides transcendental also, but these other types of happiness are not permanent. Rūpa Gosvāmī says there are three types of happiness: spiritual happiness, happiness through Brahman realization, happiness derived from material activities. This is known as, um, Happiness derived through sense enjoyment. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, it has a beginning and an end and it can end at any time. It is temporary. It can end at any time. So there is no real happiness. Let's say you are the president of the country today. Can you remain the president permanently? You may desire to, but will material nature let you remain the president?

No.

So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, material happiness is temporary. And then later on there is reaction. Prabhupada said even the so-called pleasure of sex life, it is temporary, and then there is reaction. One reaction is you will have a baby. Then you have to bring up the baby. You have to wake up in the night, baby will cry at any time, clean stool, urine, everything, and spend money. Another reaction is you can do abortion. You can use contraception and still have sex life. But by contraception and abortion, You are going to get punished severely by the laws of nature. Prabhupada said those who go for these things like abortion, contraception, they will never even see the light again. In other words, they will go on transmigrating from one womb to another and just go on dying in the womb only. So in the womb there is no light. So this is the reaction of the so-called highest pleasure material life, sex life. Then They take, for example, people want to have unrestricted sex life, so what are they getting now? AIDS. Do you know that AIDS is now becoming, is the number 2 killer in America today after cancer? And people are getting, and people are, and they have no cure to AIDS. And why do you get AIDS? Due to breaking the laws of nature. So when you break the laws of God, you're going to get the reaction from material nature. End is going to be suffering. So happiness derived from material enjoyment is temporary. Now second is happiness derived by identifying oneself with the Supreme Brahman. This is the second source of happiness, but that is also temporary. Therefore it is said that even if this is multiplied, even if the happiness obtained by identifying with impersonal Brahman is multiplied a trillion-fold, it cannot compare to but A drop of water in the vast ocean of devotional service. Brahman realization is like a drop of water, and the vast ocean is like pure devotional service. I hope I am not giving you too much philosophy and scaring you away from devotional service. Then the next is the third source of happiness is happiness through devotional service. So happiness through devotional service is unlimited. The nature of this happiness is that the waves of the ocean are just getting higher and higher and higher. What did Caitanya Mahāprabhu say on this same theme? Who knows? Nobody. All scholars are sitting there, 300, 200 scholars in this room, 150. Satyarāja, what did he say? He didn't open. Vishnu das. Oh. When I give you the answer, you will say, "Oh, so simple." It's in the second mantra, second shloka, shukṣaṣṭra. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, ananda-bhūdi-vartanam pradīpudhaṁ puṇṇāṁ rātas-vādha-dam sarva-paśnapam pannam vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṁ-kīrtanam. Ananda-bhūdi-vartanam. Ananda-bhūdi-vartanam means pleasure is always increasing. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that as we surrender to Kṛṣṇa, the pleasure you get is always increasing more and more, more and more. And in this section, Prabhupada gives an example of a Brahmin called Kola Vaisya Sridhar. He was a devotee of Lord Caitanya, very poor, meethrupal, didn't have too much money, had no money at all. His small business was, he used to make cups from banana leaves. And when making cups from banana leaves on the bank of the Ganges, he was earning hardly a few kopecks a month. But he was still giving half his money for worship of the Ganges. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so pleased by his devotion. So He offered him unlimited material opulence. What did he pray? Kula-vijñāśrīla said, "No! I don't want anything. If there's anything I want, it is only pure devotional service. So Deva, please bless me that I may always be in the association of devotees." So this is the value of devotee association. It says in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, by associating with a devotee for 1/11th of 1 second, you can make spiritual advancement. Can you calculate 1/11th of 1 second? I can't calculate. 1/11th of 1 second. So if you associate with someone for 1/11th of 1 second, a pure devotee, you can get bhakti. Vedesu durlabham adhun bhakto govindam adhipurusam tamah mahamajami. By trying to understand God through the Vedas, it is impossible. But if you understand God by serving a devotee in devotional service, then you can understand Him. So devotional service gives you transcendental pleasure that is superior to the other types of pleasure that you can obtain. Next characteristic is the devotional service is very rare. Very rare, very rare. It is achieved with great difficulty. And one who receives this devotional service is very fortunate. So we must not underestimate the value of devotional service. When you have something valuable, you know it is rare, so you keep it with great caution. Just like when you have a diamond, you know it is rarely achieved, so you preserve it. Bhaunam janmanamante jnanamamam prasadeyante vasudeva sannvāmiti sannātmā sadhuṇabhāvāya. After many, many births, he is a fortunate soul who receives the seed of bhakti. So the point is, devotional service is very rarely achieved. So if you have received this devotional service, which is very rare, make sure that you preserve it and you water it properly so you can take full advantage of it. It is said that Krishna will even give Mukti, but he won't give bhakti. "Bhushimohu." Why? Who knows the answer?

Yes. Because Krishna can be purchased by this Bhakti.

Yes, this is the price you have to pay to purchase Krishna. To purchase Krishna you don't need currency. You also don't need rubles. You don't need beauty. You don't need education. You don't need mundane knowledge. You don't have to be a big philosopher. You don't have to be a musician. You don't have to be a poet. You don't have to be a good debater. One who knows how to debate. You only need bhakti. That's all. That's all that Kṛṣṇa is looking for you. He doesn't see how handsome this Bhakta Sergey or Bhakta Vladimir is. He doesn't look for that. He doesn't see how much his bank balance is, or how much money am I going to get. He just sees how much sincerity he has. Don't look at the material qualities of a Vaiṣṇava. To analyze the Vaiṣṇava from a material angle is an offense. Because a Vaishnava is not interested in material things, nor is Kṛṣṇa interested in the material possessions of a Vaishnava. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta, there is a nice example. Brahmanda-brahmīta-kūṇḍa Bhāgavanujī guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāpāya-bhakti-lata-vīc. It is said, after traveling through many millions of births and deaths, he is a fortunate soul who gets the seed of bhakti. The example is given of a log of wood. If a log of wood is coming down from the mountain top, it is just being pushed by the pressure of the water. But then by chance the log of wood will get stuck on some corner of some stone. You understand this example, all of you? Yes? Are you devotees tired or falling asleep? No, okay. He said a very low yes. I don't understand, Guru.

I don't understand.

Afterward, not now. So devotional service is very rarely achieved. Because through bhakti Kṛṣṇa becomes your servant. You want to hear a story on this point? So once Caitanya Mahāprabhu was visiting a very prominent temple in South India. And he saw there was a man, and around him there was a big crowd, and everyone was laughing. They were all making fun of him. Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to that man, said, He went through the crowd to see, and there He saw a man was crying and he had the Bhāgavad-gītā upside down. He was reading like this. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to that man, "Why are you crying?" He said, "My spiritual master told me to read one chapter of Bhāgavad-gītā every day, but I am uneducated. I can't read, so I cannot carry out his instructions, so I am crying." This man was so unhappy. So uneducated, he didn't even know how to keep the book straight. He was keeping the book upside down because he didn't know the difference. One thing is you can't read, the other thing is you don't even know which way you should be reading. So Chaitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Still, why are you crying? There is no need to cry even if you can't follow the orders of your guru." So then he said, "When I look at this picture of Kṛṣṇa pulling Arjuna's chariot, My heart cries. How merciful the Supreme Lord is that He is becoming the chariot driver of His devotee Arjuna. See how merciful Kṛṣṇa is, how He is anxious to serve His devotee. So just meditating on the merciful nature of the Lord to His devotee, my heart is crying even more. The point is, so Caitanya Mahāprabhu then embraced that devotee and said, "Oh, you have really understood the Bhāgavad-gītā." Bhakti is more rare than even Mukti. So all of you who presently have the opportunity to take a firm grip on Bhakti must realize that this opportunity has been made available after millions of births and deaths, and if you don't take advantage of it, it will slip out of your hand. So another characteristic is one goes on the path of pure Bhakti, They deride the concept of liberation. This has been explained by Lord Kapiladeva to his mother Devakuti. Lord Kapiladeva says, "My pure devotees, my dear mother, have no desire for any type of liberation at all. My devotees don't ask me for anything but devotion." So we should ask Kṛṣṇa only for devotion. Don't ask Kṛṣṇa for currency or rubles or ticket to America or whatever, or some sense pleasure. Pray to Krishna that since times immemorial I have been rebelling against you, but now I am yours. Take me and use me as you see fit. So there are mainly, principally, 5 types of liberation. One is to become one with the Lord. Second is to live on the same planet as the Lord. Third is to have the same features as the Lord. Fourth is to enjoy the same opulence as the Lord. And the fifth is to become a companion of the Lord. But can you believe it? A devotee is not interested in any of this. He doesn't want it. He doesn't want any of these 5 types of liberation. You may say a devotee is very foolish. He doesn't want to live with the Lord. Doesn't want the same opulence as the Lord. He's crazy. But he wants something higher. That is the desire to serve the Lord. Don't underestimate the devotees of the Lord. They are so dedicated that even if they have to go to hell, they have no problem, no hesitation at all. So we don't say, "God, please take me to Vrindavan, Goloka Vrindavan, and only then I will chant Hare Krishna." Of course, in the beginning stages you may say that, it's okay. But then as you advance, you will automatically withdraw these desires. When the child is young, the mother has to induce the child to take medicine with the help of sugar candy. But the same child, when he grows up, then even if he has to go for an operation or bitter medicine, he takes it, but sugar candy. Is this true in your country also? Yes, it's true everywhere. So in the beginning you may have, you may come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness because you want some wealth or you want to get free from distress or whether you have a disturbed mind, but then as you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and get this higher taste, then all you will give up your material desires. So I said in the beginning one may come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness because he wants money or this facility or that facility. But then as you chant sincerely, you give up all these desires and you only want pure devotion. The sixth quality is that devotional service attracts even Kṛṣṇa. In other words, Kṛṣṇa can only be attracted by bhakti. Why is Kṛṣṇa attracted by Rādhārāṇī? Because Rādhārāṇī is the principal devotee. She is not a mundane girlfriend. Kṛṣṇa is— what, Kṛṣṇa has thousands of names, huh? You know, sometimes your devotees can make a list, how many names of Kṛṣṇa can I remember? And you can have competition with each other. You can tell the other devotee, okay, let's sit down. Come on, you give your list of names of Kṛṣṇa and I'll give my names list. Let's see who knows more. So one of Kṛṣṇa's names is Madana Mohana. And what's the meaning of Madana Mohana? Who knows? Yes, Mataji there. Attracts cupids. Okay. Okay, Madana Mohana means one who can attract millions of cupids. Not just one or two. One or two even ordinary man can attract. But Kṛṣṇa attracts thousands and millions at the same time. So, so Krishna is known as Madan Mohan, but Radharani is known as— who knows what is Radharani known as? Madan Mohan Mohini. That means she is the attractor or the attractor of Cupid. Everybody else is attracted to Krishna, but Krishna is attracted to Radharani. It is just like the magnet. The magnet pulls all of the pieces of steel. Then another piece of steel gets attracted to that magnet. So the point is, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is one who can attract everyone, but Kṛṣṇa Himself gets attracted to Rādhārāṇī. Kṛṣṇa is so attracted to Rādhārāṇī's beauty, Rādhārāṇī's devotion, that He Himself gets bewildered. "How can she have so much devotion for Me?" One of the reasons the Lord appeared as Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to find, understand, Radharani's devotion for Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted to see how intense Radharani can love Him. So He came in the form of a devotee, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So, when you take a pure devotion, devotees, you can attract Kṛṣṇa. You may not know one Sanskrit shloka, you may not be able to pronounce one Sanskrit shloka, verse properly. You may not be able to chant one melody properly. But if only you can do devotion, Kṛṣṇa will be attracted. To you. So don't be worried about material skills. Only be worried about spiritual skills. And spiritual skills means devotion. Gaurakṣoda ṣvāmī, the spiritual master of Bhaktisiddhānta ṣaḍvati, could not even read and write his name. But he had one attraction, one great quality. He was attracted to the Holy Name, Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. So now what I have done is only given you half the discussion that I had promised. The other half, characteristics of devotional service, that I have not discussed so far. So what should I do? Should I discuss those very quickly in 10 minutes, or do you want me to— should I do it in the evening in the café? You see, these are things you can only discuss with devotees. You can't discuss with outsiders. They will get very scared of devotional service, man. Even devotees get scared of devotional service when they hear all this. Suturādhara Mahārāja is confirming it. So I will take on some questions now. Vāsudhāma, is your prasāda ready? It is ready ahead of time today. Anyway, we are not ready. The devotees have decided that they are not going to take prasāda anymore. Vāsudhāma, they want to save the Lakṣmī. They are going to become like Dhruva Mahārāja and live on air. Okay? Yes.

What is the difference between service to Kṛṣṇa in material world and spiritual world. Why devotee doesn't want even liberation? Because he can serve Kṛṣṇa also in spiritual world.

The devotee, even if he doesn't go through the 5 types of liberation, he is still serving Kṛṣṇa. And anybody who is serving Kṛṣṇa is already liberated. Just like devotee is living in Leningrad and engaged in full-time service, so he is automatically liberated. Because he is engaged in devotional service. So liberation, devotee, mayavadi has to wait for death for liberation. But the devotee doesn't have to wait for death for liberation. Yes. He is not satisfied with the answer, so we can discuss later. I don't know if you gave his question properly. Okay. I feel so bad. I have trouble understanding your Russian. Devotee is Russian. I feel miserable. Okay.

Does a pure devotee see any material things?

Well, a pure— okay, I understand your question. Well, a pure devotee is not supposed to engage in material enjoyment. If he is engaging in pure material enjoyment, then he is not pure devotee. Then he is trying to be pure devotee but has not become. Pure devotee has only one interest, serving Kṛṣṇa. That's what the materialist— they only have one interest, sense enjoyment. So a pure devotee has to be very careful that he by his example inspires others to the path of purity also.

What does it mean to be instrument, tool in the hands of Kṛṣṇa?

Good question. How to show up, Prasād RAVAL? What does it mean to be a tool in the hands of Kṛṣṇa? It means you do what Kṛṣṇa wants you to do. Next question is, how do you know what Kṛṣṇa wants you to do? Even the karmīs are thinking they are doing what Kṛṣṇa wants them to think. In India you meet all types of people and they all claim, "No, I'm doing exactly what Kṛṣṇa wants me to do." So what Kṛṣṇa wants you to do has to be confirmed by the bona fide guru and the śāstra. Otherwise it is wrong. Yes, yes.

How neophyte devotee can, should see the help of Kṛṣṇa?

How should a neophyte devotee?

Yeah.

What?

Should see help of Kṛṣṇa, help from Kṛṣṇa.

First of all, the neophyte devotee must understand that he is really fool number one. So when he realizes he is really a fool, and then he must say, "Please direct me," and he must do what the temple authorities tell him. But if the neophyte devotee is going to challenge every instruction he is given, that means he thinks he is more advanced than the person who is instructing. When you are diseased and if you go to the doctor and you tell the doctor what medicine you should take, Then the doctor will say, "Why did he come to me?" Yes.

Krishna says that we can approach him by realization. What does it mean to realize? Is some method of understanding?

Realization means you begin to think in your mind that what Krishna is saying makes sense, and what I say, what my mind is saying, is bogus. If you take a taxi anywhere in the world, You find the taxi driver will give you an opinion on everything under the sun. How to run the government, how to run the foreign policy, how to run the economic policy, because he thinks that he knows everything. So you have to really— so when you come to spiritual consciousness, you come with a background that you know everything, you are the smartest man alive. Just like every materialist thinks that he is the most handsome man, and the woman thinks she is the most beautiful woman. Everyone thinks that he should be in charge of everything, but by accident somebody else has become in charge. I'm sure there are a lot of people in the country who feel that they should be sitting in Gaurabhadra's chair instead of Gaurabhadra's. So that is material for mind. But when it comes in contact with the spiritual personality, then you realize, oh, everything I was thinking was all bogus so far. Okay, any more questions?

Yes, there is a process in devotional service which is called pushthimarga. It's when a person states of the Lord as husband and friend, as well-wisher, parent. And it is also said in the history of devotion that by thinking so, a devotee develops— by development of this sentiment, a devotee nourishes this devotional service to the highest standard. So for example, I have been I want to develop a certain type of relationship with Krishna. Yes. But the elder devotees, they say that a neophyte shouldn't meditate upon this relationship with the Lord. So the question is, in what cases this process of pushṭimārga is acceptable, and in what cases it is not acceptable?

I say pushṭi means Pushthi means nourishing.

Yes. And vānda means bad.

So Prabhupāda has answered your question. Prabhupāda has already answered all questions. We just repeat everything he has said. We are just like parrots. So Prabhupāda has said the highest type of relationship that you can have with God is when you have God as your son. That's the relationship that Mother Yashoda had with Kṛṣṇa. To treat God as your son. Don't treat God as your father or husband, lover, because in these relationships you will have certain expectancy. You will expect something. Like when you treat God as your father, then you think, "Oh, my father will take care of everything." So we go to the church and pray, "God, give us our daily bread." But when you have Kṛṣṇa as your son, young son, then what can you expect from him? Then you only want to serve him. Are there any mothers in the room with young children? They can tell you, there is nothing they can expect from them. You can't tell the son, young child, "Go and cook for me." 'Or do this or that.' You have to do everything for the child. So to treat God as your son is the highest relationship. And if you want to cultivate that, nobody will say no. Okay?

And what about if I want to treat God as my friend?

Your son can also be your friend. You make him such a nice son that he will be your friend also. Kṛṣṇa was also Mother Yāsodā's friend. They used to play also. Kṛṣṇa would steal butter and run, and Mother Yāsodā would run behind him. Then Kṛṣṇa would climb up the pillar so Mother Yasoṣṭha could not reach him. Okay, Agraṇa, you had a question? You had your hands up.

Yeah?

You put your hands up, that's why I asked you.

Can you explain why Kṛṣṇa, you know, how to say, why Kṛṣṇa blessed Kaliya, serpent Kaliya, by touching by his feet, and although he was very offensive and so on, like made very many bad things. But Lord Brahma, who was praying to Kṛṣṇa, he didn't bless in such ways.

All these, all those personalities who play the role of demons when Kṛṣṇa appears, actually they are all devotees of Kṛṣṇa. Even to play the role of Kṛṣṇa's enemy, you have to be a very advanced soul. You think Jñāne Kāśipu was a demon eternally? And after all, Kaliya had also prayed to Kṛṣṇa at one point. Kaliya had told Kṛṣṇa, "Please be merciful upon me. I am insignificant." So we must understand all these demons are actually devotees also.

You said that we should not say about these qualities before guests. Huh?

Why?

We should not say something before guests, before newcomers. Yeah, like these qualities. Can you explain, how to say, what should we speak before them and what shouldn't?

Oh, I'm not saying that we shouldn't discuss it in front of guests. What I meant was, if you discuss in front of— see, there are different types of guests. Like the guests who are sitting here are probably a little more serious. They've been chanting for a long time and they come to the temple regularly. Now the people you meet in the auditorium and in the café, maybe those are coming for the first or second time. So naturally they are not ready for very high philosophy. With the guests, Prabhupada would generally just speak about 4 things. Actually, if you read all of Prabhupada's lectures, he only focused the lectures on the following points: Who is God? There is God. We are His part and parcel. We are eternal. There is spirit soul that does not die. You are not this body. So this was point number 2, you are not this body. Point number 3, you have to give up sense enjoyment. Point number 4, engage in devotional service. Point number 5, start devotional service service by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. So simple. A devotee must understand Kṛṣṇa is a protector, the well-wisher, and my eternal guardian, and the real enjoyer. That's all. Then you become Kṛṣṇa conscious. So easy. Still people don't want it. It is like Prabhupāda was saying, once there was a cartoon in the front page of a paper in Holland, Amsterdam. So in the cartoon one person was saying, "Chant, chant, chant." Just like you sometimes go to karmīs and say, "Please and the man was saying, "Can't, can't, can't." So what to do? People are so drunk today, even when you try to save them, they don't want to be saved. Once Bhaktisiddhānta Ji used to say a story. Once a man was absorbed in flying a kite in the terrace. In India they do a lot of kite flying. Do they fly kites in your country? I think in Tashkent area they fly kites. So, they fly kites even in Anandgarh? Okay. So the man was flying a kite from the rooftop, terrace, rooftop. He was so absorbed in flying the kite that he was about to fall off the roof. And somebody ran up to him and said, "Careful, you are going to fall!" And the man said, "Don't disturb me, I am flying my kite." So people today are about to fall into hellish planets. And we go and tell them, "Please wake up, jeev jagat." They say, "No, no, no, don't disturb me." What about the karmis? Even our own devotees become like that. Sometimes I have seen devotees have been chanting for 10, 10, 15, 15 years, but they fall into so much maya. You try and preach to them the philosophy, nothing penetrates through the thick wall. This just shows you how powerful maya is. It can bewilder a man of intelligence also, forget a neophyte. So you must be careful. I am not telling you this so that you say, "Oh, I am in maya." Even advanced devotees fall in maya. So, What do you want? Why do you say I should not be in Maya? I am only telling you this so that you be careful so you don't get into an accident. So I will stop over here. Alright, Krishna. Yes. So, so tomorrow morning, of course I know that most of you will not be able to come, but I will give another class in the temple from 6 to 7:30, you know. Then we have to go to Kiev. So I just wanted to thank the devotees for coming to the program. And request them to take the Kṛṣṇa consciousness very seriously. The devotees must be very alert about their chanting of the japa. Every devotee must try and read the books 1 hour a day at least. And even those devotees who live at home, they should try and get devotee association at least once a week or twice a week, come as much as they can. Prabhupāda told us, Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the simple is straight and for the crooked is difficult. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very simple. You just have to take to it with faith and you will see the results yourself. We must work in a cooperative spirit, follow Vaiṣṇava culture, Vaiṣṇava etiquette, be respectful to everyone, and try and be a servant of everyone. One who says he is a devotee of the Lord is not a devotee of the Lord. But one who says that he is a servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord, he is my devotee. So you never become poor in serving of Vaiṣṇava. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. So now you all are going to have prasādam. And then we go to the program, huh? How many devotees go on book distribution here? So book distribution, we can talk about book distribution tonight. Book distribution, all of you know, is very important activity. And we must keep going on book distribution because through these books we enlighten others about the goal of life. Prasadam tells me still 5 more minutes. I have to speak for 5 more minutes. Unlike a tape recorder, you press the button so it starts. So Prabhupāda said that if you want to please me, then distribute my books. Why did he say this? Was it because Prabhupāda was trying to satisfy some false ego, or did he want the money from the sale of these books? No. It's because Prabhupāda knew that these books are presenting the Absolute Truth, and unless one takes to Absolute Truth, one cannot become purified. Therefore Prabhupada emphasized book distribution, because anybody who touches the auspicious messages of Godhead will get purified. Like I've always said, the people of your country I find are very fortunate. They are very fond of reading and they are very fond of philosophy. And nobody is more philosophical than Kṛṣṇa. So as you are practically seeing, more and more people are taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness every day. Why? Because they find that these books make sense. In 1971, when Prabhupāda came to your country, there was not a single devotee. And he made one devotee in that trip. I remember in 1976 when I came, there was only one devotee. And when we used to do house programs in '76, there would just be 3, 4 people in the house program. And in 1977 August, Janamasmi, I remember we celebrated. I celebrated Janmashtami 1977 in Moscow, and we just had 3 devotees, 2 people for the Janmashtami program, Ananda Shanti and one other person who was chanting. And now in 1991, there are thousands of devotees. So this is realization of Lord Caitanya's prediction that the Holy Name will spread to every town and village of the world. So by working hard in a dedicated manner, You will be able to deliver the message of Kṛṣṇa. This week in Moscow, I did some programs in some places who had no exposure to Kṛṣṇa consciousness ever before. I did a program with the assistant director of a very big department of Academy of Sciences, and we had another program with the, the publishing house of the Institute of Oriental Studies. Where there were about 30 intellectual people who had no exposure to Kṛṣṇa consciousness ever before. But my experience was that even though they had never heard of anything before, when they heard the philosophy, they all wanted the Bhāgavad-gītā. So our philosophy is very strong. There is no competition. There is no comparison. All that is needed is the dedication of the devotees. And then the miracle will be done by Prabhupāda and the disciplic succession. Once someone asked Prabhupāda, "How long should we speak to a karmī on the street? How long do you speak to a person to get him to take a book?" Prabhupada said you talk to a person on the street only as long as it takes to get him to take a book. You don't have to stand on the street and socialize with people, hai hai hai, for 1 hour. And when they take the book home, then the spiritual bomb will destroy the material desires. So we should distribute these spiritual bombs. Material bombs are destructive. Spiritual bombs are constructive. And the people are asking for these spiritual bombs. So just take them and give them. That's all. And this activity of book distribution is for the most confidential devotees of the Lord. Okay. All right, good. So I think that we can end the program now, huh? Now we're going to have prasadam. Now what is it? If you all have any questions while prasadam is ready, I can answer. Otherwise— Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama. Lama Lama Hare Hare.