19800427 Bhagavad-gītā 15.5

(Disclaimer: The following is a machine-generated transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. It will be reviewed and verified against the original audio soon.)

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 27, 1980 – in Murāri Sevaka Farm, USA. The lecture begins with a reading from Bhagavad-gītā 15.5.

Today I’d like to read a Shloka, a verse from the Bhagavad Gītā as it is by Silaisi bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupda Chapter 15 Text 5 Nirmana Mohajita Sangha Dosha Adyatmanityaravi Mukta Sukha Dukh Samgar Gachantyamudha Padamabhayang Tat Translation One who is free from illusion, false prestige and false association, who understands the Eternal, who is done with material lust and is freed from the duality of happiness and distress, and who knows how to surrender unto the Supreme Person, attains to that eternal kingdom Purport. The surrendering process is described here very nicely. The first qualification is that one should not be deluded by pride. Because the conditioned soul is puffed up, thinking himself the Lord of nature, of material nature, it is very difficult for him to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

One should know by the cultivation of real knowledge that he is not Lord of material nature. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Lord. When one is free from delusion caused by pride, he can begin the process of surrender. For one who is always expecting some honor in this material world, it is not possible to surrender to the Supreme Person. Pride is due to illusion. For although one comes here, stays for a brief time, then goes away, he has the foolish notion that he is the Lord of the world. He thus makes all things complicated and he is always in trouble. The whole world moves under this impression. People are considering that the land, this earth, belongs to human society and they have divided the land under the false impression that they are the proprietors.

One has got to get out of this false notion that human society is the proprietor of this world. When one is freed from such a false notion, he becomes free from all the false association caused by familial, social and national affections. These fake associations bind one to this material world. After this stage one has to develop spiritual knowledge. One has to cultivate knowledge of what is actually his own and what is actually not his own. And when one has an understanding of things as they are, he becomes free from all dual conceptions such as happiness and distress, pleasure and pain. He becomes full in knowledge. Then it is possible for him to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus end the purport by Śrīla Prabhupda.

So here there are many very wonderful advices given to us by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupda that the conditioned soul is very puffed up, thinking himself The Lord of material nature. Because of that conception, it is very difficult for him to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. It is very difficult for the conditioned soul to see things as they are. Therefore, what happens is that because one does not see things as they are, one starts to look for a solution of his own concoction. And this world has got so many people who are ready to provide you what you want. Prabhupāda has called this as the world of the cheated and the cheaters. If you want the truth is very hard to find. But that also Kṛṣṇa has provided, that is a bona fide spiritual master.

But if you want something, if anyone wants something other than the truth, then Māyā or illusion also provides. In India there’s a story about one jewelry shop. In the jewelry shop, it appears that everyone is chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa. There’s a man at the front counter and he’s always chanting Keshavakesha vakeshav. And when one goes, he sees that little bit behind the counter. There’s a person who is working in the back office. And he is saying Gopāla Gopāla Keshava is a name for Kṛṣṇa. Means one with beautiful. Here Gopal of course is a name for Kṛṣṇa, the cowherd who was associating with the cows and the cowherds in Brajadam. So the second person, he would be chanting gopāla. And in the back, the person who is mixing the gold and who is doing the jewelry work, he’s saying hara hara.

In this way it appears that the whole shop is going on with Kīrtana. But actually it’s of a different nature. Person is walking into the shop. Those who know Hindi little bit, they can understand the first person, he is saying KE Sahib Kasaib. Who is this man? Kasaib means that what is this person? And the person next behind, he’s saying go follow. He’s a cowherder. He’s a foolish person, doesn’t know anything. And the man in the back, he’s saying Haraha Hara means to take everything, you steal it all. One name for Kṛṣṇa is Hari. Because he can steal away our mind. Because he is so attractive that if we just chant his name he will fill our hearts with transcendental joy. So he can steal away our mind. Therefore, Hari hara is a name for the Lord’s expansion.

But that hara means to take or steal. So in this way they all appeared to be great saints. But actually their intention was more like use car salesmen. Superficially they fixed it up. But their Intention is to take everything. So in the same way there are many so called religious leaders, so called humanitarians. But some of them are superficially putting on some front, but they have other motives. Then there may be also the sincere people, sincerely illusioned, as it mentions here that people are working under a wrong impression. They’re working under the impression that this world is the property of the human beings. Therefore they have divided up the different lands. There’s a story in the Purāṇas how there were two kings who were chaining the boundary of their kingdoms. And all of a sudden an earthquake started. Bhumi Kampa.

And they heard laughing coming out from the earth. And they said, what is this? Why isn’t Mother Earth laughing? And the earth then spoke that so many times the kings are laying down their boundaries. This is mine, this is yours. And I am here all the time. And this is regularly going on. So this is quite humorous. They’re all thinking it’s theirs, but they’re lasting a short time and then they’re disappearing. Śrīla Prabhupda pointed out that when the United nations was founded not so many years ago, at that time I think there was 76 founding nations and now there are over 150. So our founder Acharya’s point was that this is the real United Nations. This is a spiritual United nations where everyone comes together on the spiritual platform. There are different levels of consciousness, different levels of existence. There is our gross bodily level.

Some people are working very hard simply to maintain their body. Some may consider them somewhat selfish if that is the extent of their labor. There are others who work for their family, to maintain their wife, to maintain their children. Then there are those who work for their community. Then there are those who work for their state. State. Then there are those who work for their national interest. Each is taking a broader view of things. Then there is the person who is working for all of humanity. He is considered to be very broad minded by the people. But we are seeing that due to lack of a perfect understanding that such humanitarians especially we see india there are many chicken farms and pig farms have been opened even by philanthropic and religious organizations.

And the result is that in eastern India they had to close down the pig farms because an epidemic of encephalitis, which is caused by pig feces, some bugs spread and it was killing thousands of people every day. So they had to ship all the pigs out. This was a special united nation push thing that we have to increase meat eating india. The people, if they are Eating vegetarian food, it would be very bad for them. So they pushed for this pigs and it created an epidemic. So like this, there are so many humanitarian ideas that come out. But as a result, what about the pure pig? He doesn’t want to lose his life. So there we see a clash of interest between the animal and the human.

Just like we see that nation to nation right now, the American interest and Iranian interest, each one is feeling nationalistic pride. But there is a clash. So in this way, on all these levels, there are always going to be clashes. The simple example is that each person is putting as his center something which is not the absolute center, something off center. So as a result, at one level or another, the logic or the harmony breaks down and one starts to act foolishly because he doesn’t see things as they are. So the basic intention of the Bhagavad Gītā and this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement is to bring the people to unawareness. Who they are, who is the actual proprietor, what is to be done and what is not to be done.

So that one can avoid being miserable, so that one can be always fixed in his consciousness. This cannot be done artificially, but this is done practically by practice of yoga. The supreme yoga is Bhakti Yoga or the Yoga of devotion. And this Kali Yuga, it is mentioned that of the nine practices of devotion of Bhakti Yoga, especially chanting and hearing Śravaṇa Kirtanam, the holy names of Kṛṣṇa is recommended. So there we have discussed how the different people, gradually their vision is broadened finally to the humanitarian. But on each level there is still some clash of interest. So finally we come to the person who is simply sees. Everything is the property of God. Everything is the property of the supreme personality of God. Him. He is the supreme proprietor and everything is his.

So then he sees all the living entities as the children of the supreme Lord. So then he cannot take anyone’s interest aside. He has to see to all equally Paṇḍita Samadharashina with equal vision. So that is the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to see everyone as the part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. So the very simple example is given that if one takes a handful of rocks and throws them into the water, it will create so many waves, ripples which will clash with each other. But if one takes one rock after another and drops it in the same place, so many concentric circles will very symmetrically come out from that central point and there will be no collision, there will be no disruption, there will be no agītātion.

So ultimately, the solution to all the problems is that everyone has to come in connection with the powerhouse, with the source of everything. Kṛṣṇa says, everything is coming from me. Now. This is simultaneously a very mystic, wonderful process. And it is also a very simple, sublime process. It is meant to be practiced by everyone. Previously, in the previous ages, only the Brahmanas, or those who are of the priestly order, could delve into the mysteries of the Vedas. But in the Kali Yuga, it is said Kalo Śūdra Sambhava, that in Kali Yuga, almost everyone is born a Śūdra. Everyone is born a Śūdra. And in Kali Yuga everyone is a Śūdra. Practically speaking, 99% by habit and by their nature, they have taken on the quality of śūdra, the general people. Śūdra means that no spiritual culture, Brahminical culture means spiritual culture, spiritual realization.

So for this age, you see, especially a very powerful medicine had to be given. There are different time periods in history. And during the different periods there are different methods for becoming spiritually awakened. During one period, known as the Golden Age, people would simply sit and meditate peace on the form of Kṛṣṇa in the heart for thousands of years. They could go on by the power of their yoga. They would continue. Then in the Tretajuga, the Silver Age, there was offering of very big sacrifices with so much ghee and grains. And even the demigods, higher beings from other planets would come down and participate in those functions. They would come down by their own airplanes, which did not require any patrol, but would travel by the power of sunlight. These things are all recorded in the Vedas. It’s not mythology.

These things are actually historical fact which we cannot deny, maybe science cannot explain. These things are very carefully set out. In that Dvarpa Yuga Kṛṣṇa himself was present. The Bronze Age at that time, everyone was worshipping in big temples and worshipping Kṛṣṇa personally. So these were the different systems. Meditation, sacrifice and temple worship. But in this Kali Yuga, the system is known as Hare Kirtanath. Chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is a recommended process. If we go to the drugstore and. And we asked the druggist to please give me a medicine, I am feeling sick. Then he will say, what medicine you want? What is ailing you? He said, no, you don’t worry. Is your medicine good? He said, yes, you give me any old medicine, I am feeling sick. He will say, no, your head hurts, your belly hurts, your foot hurts. What is hurting?

What is the ailment? Because for each ailment there’s a particular medicine. So similarly for each particular person, for each age you see, there’s a particular recommended treatment. Just like when there’s an epidemic malaria, then you have to give malaria medicine. If there’s a cholera epidemic, you have to give cholera vaccine. To give polio vaccine. Or to give something else won’t do. So in this particular age, there’s an epidemic known as crises of spiritual culture. Crises of faith, you see. So just like today it was announced that for the children, they’re showing the puppet show first. And for the adults, they’re going to first have lecture. And then after that they’re going to have dancing demonstrations. Similarly, when there’s some banquet, usually the children like to take the dessert first. They don’t like to wait. They want the sweet first.

But generally the sweet is served last for the adult participants. So in this Kali Yuga, if you start to tell people, you have to do this, you have to do that, you have to do this, they become very much cold feet. It’s too difficult. So instead, you see, Lord Chaitanya has made it very simple. You simply chant. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa Ka Hare, Hare, Ram, Hare, Ram, Ram, Hare. You see? And while chanting, if you feel you dance, you take prasadam. This can be practiced in your home. This can be practiced in the temple. The temple is nice. There’s so many devotees. Home is also nice. And the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Śrīla Prabhupāda said there’s no reason why every in every society, every family throughout the world. Can chant with their family members every night in their home. Who doesn’t like to sit and sing?

Why sing any old nonsense when you can sing something which is transcendental vibration. Which is not only going to be pleasant to sing. But which is going to be transcendentally enlivening and awaken one’s sleeping consciousness. And there is immediately reciprocation between Kṛṣṇa and his devotee. That anyone who takes the challenge and experiments, he can feel. Not that we are saying we are inviting everyone. This is not a secret. It’s an open secret. For those who have open minds and open hearts. They can embrace this chanting. Little courage is required. So you can call it that. Lord Caitanya has given us the dessert first. First you chant. First you taste transcendental joy in serving Kṛṣṇa by chanting his name. And then gradually from that platform of basic faith. Then you refine that devotional mood. Until you become completely transcendental to all the material.

All the material trials and tribulations which affect us. Not that trials won’t come, but they won’t affect. We become upset because we are attached. We don’t know where to place our attachment. So we’re placing it on our society, on our family, on our nation, on humanity. But if we place our attachment on Kṛṣṇa, that includes everything else. Within that there’s national consciousness, there’s a family consciousness, because we see it’s all part of Kṛṣṇa, but we see how also ultimately everything does relate. When necessary, we can transcend and do so. The purpose of this human life, Atata Brahmachigasa, is to actually become conversant with what is absolute truth. What is the absolute truth? That truth which is not relative, which is not changeable, which is not temporary, that we have to base our life upon.

Especially we’re building a big samadhi temple for Śrīla Prabhupāda in Māyāpur. There you can go down 5,000ft. There’s not one stone. Because since millions of years the Ganges has been flowing, simply Ganges silt, original earth. So for a foundation, it is not like building on New York City where you have granite. So some critical engineering feats are to be done to make the proper foundation. So similarly, when one is building up his spiritual life, he has to have proper foundation if he’s trying to find out someone who tells me what I like to hear rather than someone who tells me what is the truth. You see, just like that, jewelry shop owners, they will tell you what you like to hear, but they’re going to give you not gold back. They’re going to give you something else mixed. So then who gets cheated?

You see, they are cheating. And the person who goes there, he gets cheated. So we shouldn’t go already with an idea in my mind that I want this thing out of spiritual life. If we knew what was spiritual life, then we wouldn’t be miserable. We wouldn’t get confused, which everybody gets confused, gets happy, gets distressed. In this material world, the solution is one has to approach actual authority to find out what is the full and absolute truth. And then upon that foundation, then he bases his life.

(Side B of the Cassette)

You may know the history of Lord Caitanya Mahprabhu. In conclusion, of course, he was a widower. He married. His wife died at an early age. Again he married. Then he took sannyas or gave up household life. And he started preaching all over India. When he was in Jagannath Purī. Then he was thinking that I have taken this renounced order. Someone has to show that a family man can also be very fixed up in devotional life. He ordered Nithyananda to go back and to accept household life. To show that whether one is in a renounced order, whether he’s in the grihast order, everyone can practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So then Lord Nithyananda, he accepted Vihasta Ashram. And he had two children, Birbhadra and Gaṅgā Devī. A son called Bir Bhadra and a daughter, Gaṅgā Devī. Both of who were great preachers. So our crya bhakti vino tako.

He said grihei tako vone tako sada hari vole tako. Whether in the grihe, in the household life or whether in the forest, whether in the renounced life, everyone should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. This process isn’t that one should give up his material thing. It’s not for giving up. It’s for giving up our misplaced attachments. Same things can be there, but the consciousness is mine. Ahami vami mind, mind I and mind Kṛṣṇas, kṛṣṇas. Or in Sanskrit, you see, they say, mein mei me. This is the illusion. Hakriti kriyamana ni gunai karamanasara basa hankara vivu ratma kurtahami timanya te. Everyone in this world thinks I am doing everything, I am planning, I am arranging. But ultimately it’s all being done by material nature. By very stringent laws of cause and effect.

And unless one enters deep into the science of Bhakti yoga of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can get out of this stringent law the kaai vih shiguna mai mama māyā dratthaya. This material energy is my energy. And she is very difficult to overcome, Duratthaya. Very difficult to overcome. But for one who surrenders to me, I easily deliver him. So we have to not give up things, but to give up our attachment. And that can’t be done artificially. That’s done simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. We realize that Kṛṣṇa is far more wonderful, you see, than all the other things that we have been contemplating during our life. And that with Kṛṣṇa, everything becomes perfect. Everything finds its place when they ponder. They’re the greatest devotees of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa puts them as the emperors of the world. They enjoyed so much opulence.

Not the devotee has to be, you see, just dressed in rakes. No, Kṛṣṇa provides him. But the devotee only is thinking, how I can love Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa is thinking, how I can provide for my devotee, you see, It’s a perfect reciprocation. The devotee never is asking, please give us our daily bread. He knows that automatically the daily bread will come. It’s a much higher relationship. How can I serve you? What can I do which will please you, Ka? And in turn, Kṛṣṇa is thinking always, how can I provide a nice facility for my devotee? How can I serve him? You know, india, everyone, they like to worship Lakshmi because she is the Goddess of Fortune. But one name of Lakshmi is Chanchalla. That means that she’s very, you can say whimsical or very flickering. She goes anytime, Goddess of Fortune.

Sometimes she’s there and sometimes she’s gone. No one can tie her down, you see. But here is Rukmiṇī Dwarkerdish. We sing that Rukmiṇī who is none other than Lakshmi, she is always by the side at Varkadesh, you see, wherever there is Narayan, automatically Lakshmi is there. So if you want to keep you see Lakshmi, you have to have Narayan. Then she is fixed. But if you want without you see Narayan, Lakshmi, if you want Goddess of Fortune, without the husband of Goddess of Fortune, then she’s very difficult to keep in one place. Ram. And he wanted Sītā without Ram, but he was destroyed. But his brother, he wanted to see Sītā and Ram together. And so he was given the kingdom of Lanka. So this is the secret on all levels for fulfillment.

We have to take this good advice that is given to us today from the Bhagavad Gītā that Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor. And by understanding that, actually we are relieved and he provides. We’re not worried about that. We’re worried about how we can actually become dear to him, actually earn that affection that he’s giving us already by doing something for a change which will please him. He is given that simple thing is this chanting, doing some service. That is the medicine in the Khalijug. That is the drug which will work all the processes. Maybe you see, they are all good, all the different yogas. Jñāna Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, Astanga Yoga, Oṁ Dhakam, you see. But they are medicines for a different period. They don’t have the effect. Now in this Kali Yuga, the medicine is Hari Naam.

So this center is simply a very big dispensary, charitable dispensary. Everyone can come and participate. And the request is that they will take this chanting with them to their homes. There’s no charge. But if someone makes some progress in his spiritual life by chanting, by studying these books, that is our repayment, then we will be satisfied factually. Seeing in the Western countries, people don’t have the slightest idea basically what is spiritual life. They don’t understand that their eternal soul, that there’s spiritual sparks, individuals, that there’s a reincarnation. These things don’t come in most of the people’s brains. Very few intelligent people think about these things. And india the people are trained from birth. But now they’re thinking that we have to become advanced like the West. That’s what they’re thinking india. Those Indians who come here, they’re already financially advanced.

Then they start to think back on their spiritual life also. That is very mature and proper. There’s no disadvantage, no bar against being economically viable. The only mistake is they want to give up their culture india for the affluence. The point is that in the west, without the higher culture, people aren’t satisfied simply with finance. There’s no limit to the need because the desires are going on. And india, you see, they’re thinking they need economic affluence. But if they give up their spiritual culture, they’re also not satisfied. So both things you see are nice. So that is possible within this Bhakti Yoga devotional service using microphone, loudspeaker, art, video, everything can be used. But on each thing it’s written property of Kṛṣṇa. And how is it being used? Being used to broadcast Ka’s message to video photograph Kṛṣṇa’s deity, Ka’s dancing and so on.

So in this way, if things are engaged to serve Kṛṣṇa, engaged for advancing people’s spiritual life, that is a much higher purpose. If people build a nice facility in their house so they can daily chant, offer their food to Kṛṣṇa, bring a friend over and feed him. Nice. Kṛṣṇa Prashad. This is very wonderful preaching. Come to the temple and associate with devotees and hear the lectures from Bhagavad Gītā and Śrīmad Bhāgavata. Come to the festivals. In this way one’s life goes very quickly and he’s becoming more and more attached to Kṛṣṇa. And gradually he starts to see how Kṛṣṇa is helping him at every step. Step not a blind faith, actually one can see. So we thank all of you for coming here today.

I know that every Sunday there’s a very nice attendance, very proud of the community in Los Angeles and all of you devotees who come here. So thank you very much. Hare Kae, are there any questions? Yes. No. Just like when Maharaj Prickshit was the ruler of the earth, he was the Kṛṣṇa conscious king. He did not allow any thieves to steal. He was as strong as a tiger, you could say. Even there was one cow which was being beaten. He immediately arrested the person. Why you are beating a cow? During the rule of Yudhisthir, it is mentioned in Mahabharata that one man’s son died in his presence, in the father’s presence. And the father went and complained to the king that you are a bogus king. You are fake. How is it that a son can die before the father?

This means that your kingdom is not properly managed. Son should die after the father. And that was the only instance in the kingdom where a son had ever died before the father. Things were so in harmony with nature that no untimely death, not even extreme heat or cold occurred. So when people read these things, they think, well, this is mythology. How can it be? How can it be that people come from other planets? We look down on the ants and we see, oh, look at the ants. We don’t realize there are people looking down at us. Oh, look at those humans. We don’t have that intelligence to understand that there are far more intelligent beings than us who are controlling this universe. And they are mentioned in the Vedas.

So when there’s a Kṛṣṇa conscious society, it does not mean that there’s no government, but this code book of Manu. Nobody can do any dishonest thing and not get punished. But that is to be completely fair and very strict based upon not some concoction. But what is the karma? What is the reaction he is going to get for his crime to counteract that reaction so that he is free from the reaction and able to again make progress in his spiritual life. Nobody else understands the intricacies of nature. That by doing something, what is the reaction? What is the fruit of that activity? Except for a Kṛṣṇa Consciousness person? You had a question. What is an ecclesiastical guru? You tell me, where did hear the term pardon? In what context? One should. That means that there’s institutionalized gurus in some place. There’s hereditary guruship.

Hereditary guruship is not altogether excluded. The point is that simply by birth one can’t become a guru just as much as simply by birth, one can’t become a Doctor, I may be born the son of a doctor, but unless I go to medical college, I can’t start operating on people. Even if I may have seen my father do so many operations, I may know I have to pass the test and I have to be accredited. Similarly, this hereditary guruship has found a place india with the result that many of the descendants in the hereditary line, they don’t act up to the position simply on some family tradition they are maintaining. So this kind of family tradition should not be the criterion.

But he should be actually practicing the activities which are indicated for a spiritual master to be practicing, such as actually chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, accepting initiation, following certain regulative principles. Achajya means to show by example many of these people in their private life, they’re not leading a spiritual life yet they are by birthright, they are claiming some right. So this is some anomaly which should be avoided. There are certain families india that claim that we have the only right to give be a guru because of our family. So in the bygone, about hundred years ago, there was a lot of clashes over this point. Actually there was no Muslims india.

Muslims only came because of this hereditary viewpoint that if anybody was sprinkled by water from a Muslim on a Hindu, then they, the very caste conscious hereditary Brahmins refused to accept him in the Hindu society. Therefore he was an outcast and he became a Muslim. Now there are so many Muslims, Pakistan, Bangladesh, 20% within India. Historically there were no Muslims india before because of this very rigid viewpoint based on this kind of ecclesiastical guru. Hereditary Brahmanism, hereditary caste system. Therefore people who just by being sprinkled by water, they are forced to change their concepts by social pressure. An unusual situation. So Lord Chaitanya, he was against saying that the power of Kṛṣṇa is that he can purify anyone. So if someone is purified, Jai Kṛṣṇa Veda Tatta Se Guru.

Whether someone is born a Śūdra or a Brāhmaṇa or Vaishya or a Sannyāsī, whatever he may be, whoever knows the science of Kṛṣṇa, he is spiritual master, he is guru. And there are so many Vedic evidences to that effect. Yes is religion. You see, there’s two things. One thing is faith and other thing is actual Dharma. So faith is something which is acquired that can be changed. Today I am having faith in Christianity, I change and have faith in Islam, I change and have faith in Hinduism, so on and so forth. But actual religion or Dharma, that can’t be changed. That is something which is within us. Actual spiritual understanding. That is Already there, but it is covered up. We already have a relationship with Kṛṣṇa. We have forgotten that relationship is of service.

So because we are an illusion, we are trying to serve our dog, our friend, our family. We are trying to serve someone. But every person we serve, we don’t get the reciprocation which will completely satisfy us. We will see so many defects. Of course, the modern solution is to smooth out the defects by intoxication. That is not a solution. So the actual Sanātana Dharma, eternal religious principle, that is already there. Everyone is already a pure spirit soul. Simply, they have been covered. So that is why you see this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not a faith. It is not something which one changes even if one has other faiths. These principles are absolute. They are for purifying the dust of accumulated birth and death from the consciousness of the living entity of the spirit soul. As this contamination is cleared away, then one’s full understanding is revealed.

He sees things as they are. He sees himself. And he sees the supreme personality of God, him that we are hankering for the clear light, for the transcendental realm and the supreme person. We’re hangering for that. But we’re tied down by this Māyā. So that is already there. It’s not that by chanting one is forcing or trying to, you see, make some artificial imposition in the mind. It is simply what is known as cheta darpur marjanam, wiping the dust off the consciousness. Our consciousness is like a mirror that has so much dust it that is wiped off. Then we can see things reflected on the mirror of our consciousness as they are. Is that all right? So it’s an ongoing process. If I and you see our material life is going on. Sometimes we’re happy, sometimes we’re sad. Sometimes it’s sunny out.

We think today is very nice. Sometimes it’s cold we don’t like. In this way, things are going on. In the winter we like hot water. In the summer we like cold water and vice versa. In the summer, we don’t like hot water. In the winter, we don’t like cold water. So the same water which gives us pleasure one time gives us displeasure another time. There’s the nature of material life. So one hand, our material life is going on. But the spiritual purification and advancement that is going on a separate track that doesn’t go on automatically. Material life is going on. We’re tied up within the wheel of chain and reaction. But we have to particularly go out of our way and do something in spiritual life. Whatever we do that is permanent that doesn’t get diminished, fixed deposit.

So we should go on, you see, accruing Sukriti spiritual benefit. And that will gradually reveal everything to us. It’s a very great opportunity. Any other question? Thank youk.

If a devotee doesn’t get in the mood, if he can’t conceive what a wonderful thing this is. We’re giving out the fruits from more Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s tree. If one doesn’t get inspired, if he doesn’t get enthused, if he doesn’t want to simply pick up those fruits and give out to everyone, then it’s to be understood his heart is just as hard as a rock. Hard as a rock. And as Śrīla Rāma Saraswami brought out yesterday that if someone misses the chance of Lord Caitanya’s mercy in this opportune moment, then for countless Kalpas days of Brahma, he won’t get such an opportunity again. He won’t get such a chance. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. There’s no one like him. There’s no one like him at all. You won’t find very difficult to understand his pastimes.

Simply by his thoughts, simply by his glance, simply by hearing about him, simply by serving him, one becomes ecstatic. Even the most sinful person, the most fallen soul, simply if he decides, I want to get Lord Caitanya’s mercy. It’s there, it’s waiting. Take it up, don’t drag the feet. The more that one can consume as much as you can eat. I remember when I was just watching television when I was about 7, 7 or 8 years old, there was this one noonday show, I can’t remember, there was some prize where you could take your shopping baskets and you could go in the supermarket. Take as much as you could within a certain time limit. And you see these people furiously grabbing this and that and shoving it and running out to the front.

And I was always thinking whenever I went to the how why don’t I get that opportunity? I can take the candy bars, whatever, you know, of course, whatever at that.

Time attracted my senses.

So here’s the opportunity. Take as much as you can in this lifetime, as much as you can. While HA Prabhu was there giving it, just take it.