The four principles of Life | SB 01.02.14 | 17 Feb 2007 | Montreal, Canada | Gopal Krishna Goswami

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Hare Rāmāṣyamaḥ kāmpaḍī. Hare Rāmāṣyamaḥ kāmpaḍī. Sotavyāketyā vyāśā. Sotavyāketyā vyāśā. Meḥapuḥ yāśetanaḥ. Meḥapuḥ yāśetanaḥ. Therefore, with one-pointed attention, one should constantly hear about, glorify, remember, and worship the Personality of Godhead who is the Protector of the devotees. Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki— Ācārya! If realization of the Absolute Truth is the ultimate aim of life it must be carried out by all means. In any one of the above mentioned castes and orders of life the four processes namely glorifying hearing remembering and worshipping are general occupations without these principles of life No one can exist. Activities of the living being involve engagement in these four different principles of life. Especially in modern society, all activities are more or less dependent on hearing and glorifying. Any man from any social status becomes a well-known man in human society within a very short time if he is glorified truly or falsely in the daily newspaper. Sometimes political leaders of a particular party are also advertised by newspaper propaganda, and by such a method of glorification, an insignificant man becomes an important man within no time. But such propaganda, a false glorification of an unqualified person, cannot bring about any good either for the particular man or for the society. There may be some temporary reactions to such propaganda, but there are no permanent effects. Therefore, such activities are a waste of time. The actual object of glorification is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has created everything manifested before us. We have broadly discussed this fact from the beginning of the Janma-dasya śloka of the Bhāgavad-gītā. The tendency to glorify others or hear others must be turned to the real object of glorification, the Supreme Being, and that will bring happiness. So this verse is very important, and it would be nice— how many of you have this verse memorized? I am sure Druvida has it. Has anyone else memorized this verse? Actually, all of you should try to memorize this verse. Because this verse contains all the elements you need to know how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. You know, devotees often try to memorize ślokas. Of course, most of you are householder devotees living at home. Everyone there. But brahmacharis often try to do that, or those who live in the temple. Would be nice if all of you also try to do that. And this is one of the very important verses of the Bhagavatam that explains how we can make spiritual advancement. This verse is from the second chapter, Divinity and Divine Service. And Prabhupāda has lectured very extensively on the important verses from this chapter. In fact, almost every verse in this chapter is so significant that we should memorize it, or at least know the translation. But this verse specifically is very important because it contains many important points that we should meditate upon if we wish to make spiritual advancement. So, Śrīla Gosvāmī, speaker of the words, as you know, the Bhāgavatam was spoken on different occasions. Śrīla Vaiṣṇava Swāmī recited it to Parīkṣita Mahārāja. And Śrīla Gosvāmī spoke the Bhāgavatam to the sages in Nāmaśvaranya. Śrīla Gosvāmī, 'vāraśruti-dhara.' 'Shruti-dhara' means one who can memorize everything just by hearing once. And just by hearing the Bhagavad Gita once, he memorized the entire Bhagavad Gita. Unbelievable, isn't it? And he recited this to the sages in Dwarashwaranya who were discussing how people in Kali Yuga could be saved. So Sruta Goswami is stating over here that when "One-pointed attention." Tasmād ekena. Tasmād means therefore, ekena means by one. So, with single-pointed attention. In other words, it doesn't matter which varna or āśrama you belong to. In the previous verse, Śrīla Gosvāmī has stated, It doesn't matter which caste or order of life you belong to. Our real business is to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is our real business. Some of us may be doctors, lawyers, housewives, students, but actually even though we have different professional occupations, even though we may belong to different varnas, our real business is— what's our real business? To glorify Kṛṣṇa, to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is our real business. We all have the same business. Doesn't matter what our background is. It doesn't matter what our present status is. You may be sannyāsi or a brahmachari or a priyasta, that doesn't matter. We can't forget the fact our real business is to serve Kṛṣṇa and to make spiritual advancement. That should be our real focus. But to make spiritual advancement, we naturally have to follow a certain path. You can't just do anything whimsically and still hope to make spiritual advancement. So over here Śrīla Gosvāmī Mahāprabhu is emphasizing that with one-pointed attention, We should not be multi-focused. You know, they have this multifocal cameras. We should not be multi-focused. I want spiritual life, I want material life, I want this, I want this, I want this. We should be single-pointed. That means, whatever we do, we should do it with intention that we can make spiritual advancement. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu described to Sanatana Gosvāmī the process of śrī-nāgati. Śrī-nāgati means to surrender, to take shelter. In Vancouver, Canada, we have a farm started about 20 years ago, 25 years ago. It's called śrī-nāgati. So whenever I go there, I remind the residents there, 'Your farm is called ranch, 'sharnagati.' So, all of you should mould your life in such a way that you can achieve that goal. So, Lord Caitanya was describing to Sanatana Gosvāmī the prāsada of sharnagati, and on this point He gave us 6 valuable instructions. The first thing He said was, 'Accept everything favourable for spiritual advancement.' And 2, reject everything unfavorable for spiritual advancement. So that should be the guide, the broad guideline for every devotee. Doesn't matter what the occupation is, that what is favorable for spiritual advancement we accept, and what is unfavorable for spiritual advancement we reject. Just like These days people are very health-conscious. So because they are health-conscious, they tend to accept what is good for health, isn't it? And if something is bad for health, do you take that? You don't take it. Why do people drink bottled water over tap water? Costs money, but still they feel it's safer. So they take bottled water over tap water. So similarly, we should constantly be examining Is this activity, is this association, is this endeavor conducive or detrimental for spiritual advancement? So what should one do? Constantly hear about and glorify. We should constantly hear and glorify what? About the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dasmati, Eke Namah Manasa, Bhagavan Sathya Tampati. So, our lives will be so molded, we can hear and glorify about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, hear and glorify, what do we hear and glorify? His Holy Names. Now Rūpa Gosvāmī has given us many wonderful books. One of them is a book called Śrī Upadeśamit, which actually only has 11 verses, small book. And each of these verses has a very elaborate purpose by Prabhupāda. And each of these verses is very significant. Narottama Das Thakura in one of his prayers says, Rūpānagunātā pade kāiveya kṛti, kabehāma hira-bhosa yuga-lapariti. When will that auspicious day come When I will be able to read the books left behind by, by whom? By Rūpa Gosvāmī. So it's a privilege to study his books. So in Śrī Urdhvaśrama, which Prabhupāda presented under the title of Necro-instruction, Rūpa Gosvāmī in the 7th verse Prasad Raaval speaks as follows. He says that the holy name, character, pastimes of the Lord are sweet like sugar candy. Sugar candy is sweet, isn't it? And by and large, almost everyone loves sweets. Is there any culture in the world where people don't eat sweets? I heard Raveena ji yesterday after eating prasad, "Oh, no sweet then." That's why. So diabetes has become such a major disease today. People love sweets. Diabetes now has reached an international level of recognition. The United Nations recently declared Diabetes Day. When the disease reaches a certain level, then the United Nations recognizes that as a major international threat. Siddhāntī has achieved that status now. So everyone loves sweets. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "The Holy Name is sweet like sugar candy. The pastime of the Lord is sweet like sugar candy. The character of the Lord is sweet like sugar candy." So what does this imply? This implies, since the Holy Name is so sweet, We should be attracted to the Holy Name all the time. Does that make sense? The Holy Name is sweet. So we should be attracted to the Holy Name all the time, isn't it? And over here too, it is saying, 'nityadā.' 'Nityadā' means constantly. Sri Taksaswami is saying, when you constantly hear and glorify the Holy Name of the Lord,. And Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "It is sweet like sugar candy." But unfortunately, even though the Holy Name is sweet like sugar candy, we are not attracted to the Holy Name. Is that right or wrong? Are we attracted to the Holy Name? Yes. By and large, Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "Even though the Holy Name is sweet like sugar candy," He says, "We are not attracted to the Holy Name." Why? Because of the disease of avidyā. Because our tongue is affected by this disease of avidyā or ignorance. Therefore, even though the Holy Name is all sweet, We are not attracted to the Holy Name. So, this avidya is reflected through the agencies of kam, krodha, lo, moh, madhyam, and sarya, which are also identified as anartha. Anartha means that which is unnecessary, that which is not required. So because of the influence of these anarthas, though the Holy Name is all sweet, we are not attracted to the Holy Name. We are chanting around, we fall asleep. We are hearing the Bhagavad Gītā, we fall asleep. We look forward to getting out of that, isn't it? So the reality is, even though the Holy Name is sweet, We are covered by ignorance, and therefore we are not able to follow what are the guidelines of the Lord. Isn't it? So that is a problem that we have to recognize. We may be initiated, we may be brahman, we may be sannyāsis, whatever, but that doesn't mean that I now have spontaneous attraction to Your Holy Name. And we hear again and again the instruction in the Bhāgavatam that we should chanta Holy Name, canto vratāśva-kata-kṛṣṇa-puṇyaśravaṇa-kṛtana. So again and again we hear the glorification that we should chant the Holy Name. So what is the solution? Is there a solution? Or we just lift our hands and say, "I surrender, there's no solution." I can't develop any possible attraction for a Holy Man. What do we do? Let's try, let's give it a chance, maybe that's the solution. So, he gives the solution, Rupa Gosvāmī. Among the sages we see that they identify the problem and they also give the solution. A mature life They can identify the problem, but they don't necessarily have a solution. Just like if you look at the various diseases, so many diseases are identified, cancer, AIDS, and so many. But if you go to the doctor and say, 'Do you have a solution?' He'd say, 'No, there's no solution.' So the material life, they can identify a problem, but they don't necessarily have a solution. Or they may attempt a solution which may not necessarily come true. But in spiritual life, the sages identify the problem and give us the solution. So Rupa Gosvāmī gives us the solution. He says, "The Holy Name is sweet like sugar candy, but because our tongue is afflicted With the disease of avidya, we are unable to taste the sweetness of the Holy Name. Prabhupāda used to often give the example of somebody suffering from joint dis— If you have joint dis— and even if somebody gives you sugarcane juice, you won't be able to appreciate the sweetness. Sometimes you run a high temperature and you run a high temperature and someone gives you a very nicely palatable meal, you won't be able to appreciate. You have something, you get blisters in the tongue, and if you have blisters in the tongue, and then somebody gives you nice samosa, kachori, you know, you just won't be able to experience it. So similarly, now the Holy Name is sweet because our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, touch are all full of lust, anger, greed, envy. We can't appreciate the sweetness of the Holy Name. So that is a fact that we are unable to appreciate the sweetness of the Holy Name. Many times we tell people, "Chant, chant, chant," and they keep saying, "Kant, Kant, Kant." "Kant, Kant, Kant." That's because they can't appreciate the value of the Holy Name. You know, the reality is unfortunate that even though the Holy Name is the most valuable asset, majority of the people can't appreciate the value of the most valuable asset. So, what is the solution? Rūpa Gosvāmī goes on to say that the solution is, he says, by regular, by attentively chanting the Holy Name. This disease will be destroyed at the root. It's just like a good surgeon. You go to a doctor with a disease. One doctor may superficially try to cure it, but not worrying whether the disease will reoccur. Another doctor could be more intelligent, he'll say, "I must cure it superficially and also the root, so the disease doesn't reoccur." Am I right? So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, this disease can be cured at the root. How? By attentive chanting of the Holy Name. If we attentively chant our japa, then the disease will be cured at the root. So what we— what Prabhupada Swami is conveying to us is that we not only have to chant the Holy Name, But we have to attentively chant the Holy Name. So devotees have to constantly examine whether the japa we are doing is attentive or inattentive. Just like it is said, there are three stages of chanting the Holy Name. What are the three stages? The offensive stage, the Dāma-pāsa state, and the Śūda-dāma state. Saying, when you discuss the 10 offenses, in the 10th offense, the 10th offense has 2 aspects, A and B. One is to maintain a material attachment while chanting the Holy Name, and the B is to be inattentive in chanting. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, the cure to The cure to our not relishing the sweetness of the Holy Name is attentive chanting of the Holy Name. So devotees often ask this question, "What do we mean by attentive chanting of the Holy Name?" And the simple answer is that at least when you're chanting your 16-nama japa, Let the 16 rounds be your major focus and not this 16-round chanting be accompanied by other tasks at the same time. Sometimes, you know, devotees chant while driving or chant while cooking or this and that. Of course, you can chant all the time. Even in this verse it is said, 'Nityadā.' 'Nityadā' means constantly. When it reads the japa, then you're going to count. Towards your quota of 16 minimum rounds should be done with concentration. And if you do that with concentration, then that will cleanse the heart faster. Chetodarpan avajna. But sometimes we also hear devotees saying, "Well, I have been initiated for 20 years." All we need to endeavour is purify our chanting and be more attentive in our chanting. And then Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "The disease will get destroyed at the root." At the root. So if the root is cured, then it will be easier to cure, easier to tame the other senses. So we should have faith in the words of Rūpa Gosvāmī 'And then, once again, the Holy Name will appear sweet.' So the Holy Name is sweet. Please have no doubt, the pastimes and character of the Lord are also very, very sweet and relishable. Just see Parikṣit Mahārāja, he was fasting and hearing the Bhāgavatam, and he was getting so much pleasure that he went on requesting Śrī Kṛṣṇa with Swāmi, be described more and more, isn't it? More and more, the transcendental glories of the Lord. So that position is attainable if we endeavor by the proper means. Further, it is said here, one should constantly remember and worship. So this is also very important. Remember. Remember the Personality of Godhead. In Nectar of Devotion, Guru Prabhupāda Swami has given many rules and regulations. Actually, the Nectar of Devotion is nothing but a law book. I told devotees the other day that I was with Prabhupāda in Los Angeles when he released the Nectar of Devotion book. It had just arrived from Dainapon in Japan. And the whole temple room in LA was crowded. So he held up the Nectar of the Ocean book and said, "This is the law book of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Every devotee should read that." So it contains many rules and regulations, isn't it? Sometimes people complain, "In ISKCON there are too many rules and regulations. Too many. I want a movement where I'll have full freedom." As they say, You get what you pay for, isn't it? And Kṛṣṇa also says, ye yajñamām prabodhante, you want a complete liberal path with no guidelines, no restrictions, sure, go ahead, but you're not going to get enhanced love of God. But if you want love of God, then obviously you have to conform to the rules and regulations given by the ācāryas and the Lord. So Rūpa Gosvāmī has given many rules and regulations in the Nectar of Devotion, but in the end he says that the purpose of all these rules and regulations is to come to the point that you always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Kṛṣṇa. If you chant the Holy Name regularly, attentively, Then it is possible to attain to the next stage. Prahlad Maharaj was asked by his father, "Son, what is the best thing you learned in school today?" The father had tried to influence his son through the agency of Sandan and Marka. Sandan and Marka were the two sons of Shukracharya, and they were the teachers Pralad, so Prabhupāda, Priyānikāśipū, had instructed these two teachers, "Make my son give up his attachment to Viṣṇu, and he should understand that I am Supreme." So the father was expecting an answer like, "Dad, you are Supreme." So the father made him sit on his lap, patting him on his head, said, "So what was the best thing you learned in school today?" And what did Pralāda respond? He said, śrīla Rādhārāṇa-kṛṣṇa-vṛṣṇa-smāṇam pāda-sevaṇam aja-mādaṇa-tāṁ sakya-mādhurya-vṛṣṇa. He described the ninefold process of devotional service. And as soon as the father heard the ninefold process, he was so angry, he just went off his head. Anyway, the ninefold process that Pralāda revealed was heard by him when he was in the womb of his mother, living in the ashrama of Narada Muni, from the great sage Narada. So the origin of this is Narada Muni, but it's come to us through the medium of Prasad. So Prasad RAVAL, when he gave the Ninefold Process, he said, 'Shraulam, Kirtanam, Vishnu, Varnam.' So the key point to note here is that Pralhad Maharaj didn't say, 'Vishnu swaranaam, shraavanam, keertanaam.' He could have said that. Vishnu swaranaam, first remember, then hear, then glorify. Isn't it? But he said, 'Shraavanam, keertanaam, Vishnu swaranaam.' Why? Because there is a specific reason behind it. And the reason is, if we hear something, Chant something, then you can remember that something. Isn't it? If you don't chant or hear about something, you're not going to be able to remember that something. Just like in our day-to-day lives, sometimes you will meet someone, some childhood friend or someone, okay. You meet somebody and he talks about your old friendship, that, that, that, that. Then you also remember, that talk brings back memories, doesn't it? If you are busy talking about a mundane subject matter, there is a good chance you will dream about that subject matter too. You talk all day, you talk about that subject matter before sleeping, you even dream about it, isn't it? So, this principle is very logical that the mind tends to gravitate towards areas, then you talk and hear. If all day you're hearing just prasād prasād prasād prasād, then your mind will also gravitate in that direction. Therefore, the result, one positive gain of attentive hearing and chanting is the ability to think about Kṛṣṇa will become easier. Your ability to think about Kṛṣṇa will develop faster. Because very often devotees say, "How to think of Kṛṣṇa? It's impossible. Mind is chanclay bānaḥ Kṛṣṇa." Even Arjuna said, "The mind is more often turbulent than the waves. How am I going to think of Kṛṣṇa? It's impossible." You know, we say it's impossible, the mind, Kṛṣṇa. Arjuna said the mind is obstinate, turbulent, fickle, isn't it? So, it may be difficult But it's not impossible. If it was impossible, Kṛṣṇa would not have told us. Kṛṣṇa has not given any instruction that is impossible to attain. The Bhāgavad-gītā, the Bhāgavatam do not present theoretical knowledge. Sometimes some of us feel, "Ah, that's utopian, it's too theoretical, it's not very practical in this age, we're too far gone." So, I mean, the scriptures do represent what is called eternal wisdom, sanatana-dharma. And it is certainly attainable if we also take the proper means. So attentive chanting and hearing helps us to remember the Lord. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, all these rules and regulations that I have given, the purpose of all these rules and regulations is to bring us to the point that we always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Krishna. Just like any businessman when he starts his business, what is his real goal? To always make a profit and never make a loss. Am I right? No businessman starts business with the intention, "Oh, I want to make a loss." I mean, he may show it on record he's made a loss to escape paying income tax, but anyway, in reality, nobody wants to make a loss. Am I right? "Oh, Prasad, you are a businessman." So, his goal is to always make a profit and never go into loss. Isn't it? So that should be our goal. To always make a spiritual profit and never go into spiritual loss. So if you always remember Kṛṣṇa, that means you're making a spiritual profit. And if you're not remembering Kṛṣṇa, then your enterprise is going into loss. So we should so plan that our enterprise runs at a profit. Now, how do you remember Krishna? That's a challenge but not impossible. Because the great sages have also given us many wonderful guidelines. And in the 8th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita called the Taming of the Soul, Krishna also gives us various guidelines how we can always remember him. In fact, you know, there's an organization these days called the Art of Living. But Krishna teaches us the art of living and the art of dying. You should know both, isn't it? So Kṛṣṇa explains the art of dying. He says, yam yam api śraddhad bahvām. Where your mind is at the moment of death, that's the type of body you'll get. And the laws of nature are such that at the moment of death, your mind will gravitate towards activities that you have engaged in during your lifetime. Prabhupāda said that if, for example, at the moment of death you are thinking, "Oh, I built a big house in Toronto, but I only lived here for 30 years. What a huge investment I made. I should at least have lived for 50 years." If you're just thinking like that and you die, then in the next life you'll come back in that house. See, Kṛṣṇa is so kind. But not as the owner of the house. You may come back as one of the insects in the house. Where is the silicon sleeping on the bed, you have to sleep below the bed. The insect in the house is always worried, "Somebody may step on my head." So, he's always trying to run. So, the laws of nature are very severe. You know, we tend to minimize the laws of nature. And ignore them often, but the laws of God are very strict. So, Krishna explains us in the chapter, wherever your mind is at the moment of death, that's the type of Godiwan gets. And Krishna says, think of me as one who is the smallest, think of me as one who is inconceivable, think of me as one who is more luminous than the sun. And then the sages have also said, remember Krishna's Leela, Rupa, Guna, Nāma. You remember Kṛṣṇa's Holy Name, how powerful the Holy Name is, how the Holy Name is not different from the Lord, how the Lord incarnates in the Holy Name. Then remember His various līlās. There's so many wonderful pastimes of the Lord. You read the Kṛṣṇa Book, the summary presentation of the 10th canto. Prabhupāda translated the Kṛṣṇa Book ahead of the other cantos. Right after the 2nd canto, am I right, he proceeded to the Kṛṣṇa Book. Because Prabhupāda wanted the members of ISKCON to get a bona fide presentation of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Because many people have a tendency to misunderstand His pastimes. So read the Kṛṣṇa book. There's so many wonderful līlās over there. Then you can meditate on Kṛṣṇa's instructions from Bhāgavad-gītā. Just like in the Bhāgavad-gītā, first can we read that when the Lord had departed from the world, Arjuna was feeling very sad. When Arjuna discovered the Lord had departed, so Arjuna began to meditate on those pastimes in which he was saved by the Lord. Those were inconceivable situations, but Arjuna survived and was victorious because he had Krishna's mercy. But then Arjuna began to meditate on Kṛṣṇa's instruction from Bhāgavad-gītā. And when he began to meditate on Kṛṣṇa's instruction from Bhāgavad-gītā, Arjuna felt as if Kṛṣṇa was right there. Kṛṣṇa was next to him. And his sadness evaporated, disappeared. And once again Arjuna felt joyful. So Prabhupada says in the purport of the story that just like Arjuna was meditating on Krishna's instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, the devotees of this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement should also meditate on Krishna's instructions from the Bhagavad-gītā. So that's another way of positively engaging your mind. The mind needs some engagement, positive or negative. So if you don't have positive engagement, the mind is going to gravitate towards negative engagements. But we have to engage the mind. Am I right? So, remember the Bhagavad Gita instructions that you can meditate on the wonderful form of the Lord. Here in Toronto, you have very beautiful deities, Shri Srila Da Kṛṣṇa, Gopinātha, Gaurīdhāi, Jagannātha, Subhadra, Bāhlāvana. You have 2 sets of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, 3 sets of Gaurīdhāi. Did you know you have 3 sets of Gaurīdhāi? 1 big and 2 small. You have 2 sets of Jagannātha deities, You have duplicates and triplicates of everything. So, you have big Jagannath, small Jagannath, big Radha Krishna, tiny Radha Krishna, big Gauranga, too small. So meditate on these deities. Meditate on the dresses the deities are wearing. Beautiful. What dress is the Tulasi? Don't look in that direction. What color was the Tulasi? Radha Krishna's dress. So if you want to tax your brain, Every day when you come, of course most of you come on Sundays, but anyway, so whenever you come, meditate. Today I saw the Deity was wearing purple dress. Last Sunday I came, they were wearing yellow dress. The Sunday before they were wearing— every Sunday they put on a nice new dress. So meditate on the dresses the Deities are wearing. You know, that is one way of engaging the mind. You have to think of ways how you can keep the mind busy all the time. And then of course, there's Prahlāda Mahārāja's way of meditating how the conditioned souls can be saved. In some temples in America like San Jose, the grihāsta devotees go on hurry round. And the grihāsta devotees go on weekends and take these smart bookstands and they put it in shops. I know many devotees who do it. So that's— you all can think, how can we save the conditioned souls? One way is book distribution. So you can't go out full-time because you all have jobs and businesses, but you can take these stands and put them in different stores, you know, Indian stores, American stores, Canadian stores, and so on. So the point is, the various ways how you can engage the mind positively. That's the point. And as they say, God helps those who help themselves. So if we endeavor, then Kṛṣṇa will help. So it is being said that we should remember and then worship the Personality of Godhead. You should worship the Lord, worship the Lord on the altar, Devotees come and worship the Lord by chanting and dancing for His pleasure. When you come and bow down before the Lord, you are also worshipping the Lord. Just like the Rath Yatra is coming, there are going to be so many services we can engage, and we serve the Lord, worship the Lord through these services. Then you can even have your deities. Most of you have deities at home, so you worship those deities. But home deity worship should not be so elaborate that you can't concentrate on the temple. The temple should be your main focal point, the temple deities. And you can worship deities at home, but it should not be so elaborate and time-consuming that you have no time to come to the temple for temple programs. You follow? So the Lord is so kind, He allows us to worship Him through various ways. So worship the Lord by dressing Him, by singing for Him, by dancing for Him, by clapping for Him, by cooking for Him, making garlands for Him, bringing offerings to the Lord, financing these various gifts to the Lord. So these are various ways how we can worship the Supreme Lord. And by doing this, we purify ourselves. And further in this verse, Śrīla Gosvāmī says, The Lord is the protector of his devotees. Krishna is also known as Bhakta Vatsala. He's a protector of his devotees. So Krishna protects us. There's so many examples to show how Krishna protects his devotees, how Krishna protected Arjuna in the Battle of Kurukshetra, how Krishna came to Draupadi's rescue. When she was in anxiety, how she received nirvāsa muni. How Krishna protected Prasad RAVAL, Haidarsh Chakraborty. So Krishna is a protector of His devotees. Many times devotees say, "But how do I get to know, how do I gain confidence that Krishna is my protector?" So you will gain confidence that Krishna is your protector as you surrender to Krishna. If you keep yourself at a distance from Krishna, then you're not going to be able to understand Krishna's unlimited potencies. Krishna protects his devotees, but that doesn't mean that the devotee is never inconvenienced. But what it means is that even if you are inconvenienced, you have faith that, "My Lord is so kind and is minimizing my suffering." It's not that if you take the Krishna consciousness, there will never be any suffering, there will never be any material inconvenience. No, they're all living in the material world, so these inconveniences and miseries are going to strike everyone, devotee and non-devotee. But the devotee has knowledge that Krishna, even if I am going through a hard time, Krishna is so kind, He minimises it a thousandfold. And if I am getting some success, it is due to the causeless mercy of the Lord. So Krishna is the protector of His devotees, and our faith in Krishna's protection increases as we surrender. So in this verse, there are many important points. It would be nice if the devotees try to memorize this verse, write it on a board, and write that Sanskrit and the translation. And even if you can't remember the Sanskrit, at least remember the main points that Srila Gosvāmī is emphasizing. So to summarize, what are the main points that Srila Gosvāmī is emphasizing in this verse? What's the first point he says? Huh? First point he says, therefore, with one-pointed attention, isn't it? So he's saying main attention should be. Then what is he saying? What should we do with one-pointed attention? Here. Then what? Glorify. Then what's the third point? Remember. Then fourth, and then what did he say? Huh? Constantly. And what did he describe Krishna? What is Krishna? The protector of His devotees. So how do we gain confidence that Kṛṣṇa is my protector? As you surrender, you experience that. Very important point, isn't it? This is the— this verse contains all the elements to go back to Godhead. If you just meditate on this one verse and follow this verse, then your spiritual success is guaranteed. Everything is there right in this one verse. Isn't it? Hare Krishna.