At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Bengali poet Hemachandra wrote, «There are so many countries rising in prominence: this land, that land. Japan is a very small country, but it is rising like the sun. Only India is under eternal slumber.» When he mentioned the other part of the world, he said, «America is rising forcefully, as if he is coming to swallow the whole world. Sometimes he is shouting as if with a war cry, and the whole world is shivering. His enthusiasm is so intense and great that he wants to snatch the world from the solar system and give it a new shape, a new molding.» America has been mentioned in this way by Hemachandra. In the same way, Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj came to give the world a new shape through Krishna consciousness. He once said, «We must go there and build it in a new way — with Krishna consciousness.»
What is Krishna consciousness? Krishna consciousness means real love and beauty. Real love and beauty must predominate; not selfishness, or exploitation. Generally, whenever we see beauty, we think that beauty is to be exploited, but actually, beauty is the exploiter, beauty is the master, and beauty is the controlling principle.
And what is love? Love means sacrifice for others. We should not think that sacrifice is to be exploited by us. Who is to be the recipient of sacrifice? Is it our party? No. We are in the group of those who sacrifice themselves: the predominated negative party, Mahabhava’s party. The underlying principle of love is sacrifice, but sacrifice for whom? And who is the beneficiary? Love is the beneficiary. Everyone should contribute to the Centre, but no one should draw energy from there. «Die to live.» With this spirit, we should combine and work for real love and beauty.
And beauty will be victorious in the world. Love will be victorious in the world. We will sacrifice everything to see that the banner of divine love will flutter all over the world, for a particle of that divine love will be able to keep peace and distribute peace in all directions. Just as fighting soldiers dedicate everything and give their lives so their countrymen will benefit in the future, we should sacrifice our lives and work to bring real peace for everyone.
In Vrndavan, the land of Krishna, the standard of sacrifice is unlimited. Devotees there are willing to risk everything for Krishna. If that principle of sacrifice is enthroned, then peace will automatically follow.
Krishna consciousness should be enthroned above all other conceptions. All other conceptions are meant to be subservient to Krishna consciousness. The ideal of Vrndavan, Krishna’s abode, is above all other ideals. In theistic comparison, the conception of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lila is above all other conceptions. There, theism reaches its zenith. That is our highest goal, and step by step, that should be explained, thought out, accepted, and preached.
Without this, what sort of benefit are you expecting from your present engagement? Only death is awaiting you. You are so proud of this scientific civilisation and are boasting so much, but death is awaiting you whether it is atomic death or natural death. You can’t cross death. One English poet has written:
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave
Awaits alike the inevitable hour:
The paths of glory lead but to the grave
You do not care to solve the greatest danger. You say that you are big thinkers, that you are great men, and that you should command the respect of society, but the general inevitable problem for every atom here is death. What is your contribution for solving the greatest danger which is waiting to devour everyone — scientist, insect, or virus? What is your solution to death? Have you taken any steps to solve that universal danger? What you are doing at present is exploitation, and you are encouraging a lower life as a reaction. You are exploiting nature, and everyone who is deriving the benefits will have to pay to the farthing with interest.
«For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.» This is your statement, but what have you done to solve that? You are endangering the fate of the world by your fascinating proposals of apparent comfort. What is this? You are avoiding the greatest inevitable danger, so your life is a useless malengagement. In one sense, you are traitors to society. Come with courage to face and solve the real problem, the common problem, and the most dangerous problem; otherwise, you should leave the field and go away. Leave it to us. We shall prove that the world is an abode of perfect happiness: visvam purna sukhayate.
But to understand this, you will have to dive deep, not into the plane of body and mind, but into the plane of soul. You will have to dive deep into the reality that is within us. It is not a foreign thing to be acquired by loan, but the soul is within everyone, even the insects and the trees. So, we have to rise to the plane of soul. Eliminate both your physical and mental encasements and find out your own self. There you will find the key, the clue to the proper world where life is worth living.
The solution is there; a hint is given by many mahajans, by great saints in every religious sect to some extent, but our claim is that India has given the highest conception of the spiritual world in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. So, we challenge all of you: we are not imaginationists; we are most practical thinkers. We don’t avoid any great problem by saying, «Oh, it can’t be solved.» We do not belong to the party that wants to easily take prestige and fame. We don’t want to classify ourselves with those hoaxing people. Come and see whether the plane of reality can be found. You are not required to spend any less energy in your campaign. So take our program; try it and see.
Where are you? Who are you? What is the real nature of the world? In the Koran, in the Bible, and in the Vedas, and in every other scripture, a hope and hint has been given about the life of reality. Is this all a hoax? What charm have the materialists given? That charm is only for the self-deceivers, and that is dragging them into the country of loan and debt, the land where: «Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.» So, a divine civilisation should be drawn out into this plane. We have to try the path that has been suggested by the great saints and scriptures. It is not unreasonable. It is not madness. Come, reason can also be applied there.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave a solution to all our problems with an allegorical example. He said, «We see that you are poor, but there is a happy solution. Your wealth is underground in your own room: just try to unearth it. Don’t approach it from the southern side, the give-and-take method of karma, for then whatever you do will bring some reaction that will capture and disturb you, and you will have no time to reach the proper solution. If you approach that hidden wealth from the western side, through the yoga system, by manipulating the subtle forces of nature to attain supernatural mystic power, that will enchant you and take your attention away from the desired goal. Your own activity in the wrong direction will create obstacles to your achievement.
«If you approach the treasure from the north, the side of that grand brahmasmi, the impersonal conception, with the help of misinterpreted Vedantic logic, then you will enter into eternal samadhi, that great phantom will swallow you up, your existence will be nowhere, and who will come to enjoy the peace of getting the wealth? Only if you approach from the eastern side, with the help of devotion, will you get the wealth easily. That is the direction of the sunrise, the light giving direction. And that light is not prepared by our own hand; that light is from the source of all light — the revealed truth. It is extended from the quarter which is unknown to us. That light is revealed knowledge, bhakti, the path of devotion.
Adopt that path in your search for the real wealth within you, and easily you will find your own self, which is most wonderful (ascharyavat pasyati kaschid enam). Discovering that your own self is so wonderful, you will be ashamed, thinking, «How could I have been carried away by the charm of this mundane world? I am the soul. How was it possible for maya to have such enchanting power over me that my own self, which is so wonderful and so valuable, was drawn into illusion? The peace which is within me has been greatly admired by the spiritual stalwarts, but I have come in connection with mortal and nasty, rotten things. How? It is most wonderful, but I was deceived.»
Then from atma to Paramatma, from soul to Supersoul, then from Vasudev to Narayan, and then from Narayan to Krishna, the progressive understanding in God realisation is not unscientific; it is really scientific. This is vijnan, scientific knowledge:
jnanam te ’ham sa-vijnanam idam vaksyamy asesatah
yaj jnatva neha bhuyo ’nyaj jnatavyam avasisyate
In the Bhagavad-gita (7.2), Krishna says, «Arjuna, now I shall explain to you scientific knowledge not only about the soul, but also about its potency. The mind, the senses, and the modes of nature are all non-atma, or material. There is a direct and indirect and indirect approach towards reality which I shall now explain to you. Please listen attentively to Me: jnanam te ’ham savijnanam. What is this? There is Myself and My potency, and the jiva, the living entity, is the marginal potency which is filling up all these material worlds.» If the jiva-sakti, the spiritual potency, were withdrawn, then everything would be stone, and who would care for exploitation? All this fighting tendency, this tendency for exploitation, would stop if the marginal potency, the jiva, were withdrawn from matter. Everything would be dead. The soul has entered into this material consciousness and has made it a moving thing. You should understand this properly, in a scientific way.» We are not lacking in our ability to give you a scientific explanation.
A higher conception of the finer world is here. It is real, and where you are trying your utmost to make a stand, the place that you consider real, is unreal.
ya nisa sarva-bhutanam tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani sa nisa pasyato muneh
«You are asleep to your real self-interest and the real truth, while you are awake in the plane of self-deception.» We must establish ourselves in the plane of reality and try our best to extend it to others. And to preach means this: «I sincerely have faith in Krishna consciousness and relish it to the utmost. I find that my future prospect is also here. Because I feel that it is very tasteful, useful, and wholesome, I have come to distribute it to you, my friends. We should guide our lives according to the principles of Krishna consciousness as taught by the spiritual master. Take it, and you will be successful in fulfilling the goal of your life.»
In this way, we have to approach everyone with God consciousness, Krishna consciousness. We must show how God consciousness ultimately merges in Krishna consciousness. We have to prove dexterously, step by step, that Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure (Akhila-rasamrta-murtih). What is Krishna consciousness? Rupa Goswami has given a scientific definition. Rasa, pleasure, cannot be avoided. We are all after rasa. Everyone, every unit, even the smallest unit of the world is always hankering after rasa, happiness, ecstasy, and all possible phases of rasa are personified in Krishna. Try to understand how it is. What is rasa? What is its nature? How can a comparison in rasa be drawn? In this way, step by step, you will have to come to the Krishna conception of Godhead. It is not a tale from the ancient Indian scriptures. Krishna is not the object of a tale, but fact. You have to come out and face that living fact, that reality. We shall try our best to show you how it can be a fact. Krishna is a fact. He is a reality, and reality is for itself.
You have to pay for the goal. You must «die to live», and in this way you will feel that it is not a hoax. When you progress on the path, you will feel it (bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra chaisa). With every step forward, you will feel these three things: satisfaction, nourishment, and the eradication of your hunger. Your hankering in general will be diminished.
Generally, we feel, «I want this, I want that, I want everything; still I have not satisfied my hunger.» But you will feel that your hunger is being appeased as you progress in Krishna consciousness, and what you previously thought would give you relief will take leave from you automatically. Their trade won’t continue; they will all withdraw, your natural inclination for spiritual advancement will automatically increase, and you will find acceleration in your progress. You will practically feel these three things, so come and take what we say. In this way, you have to approach one and all, leaving the result to the Lord.
We are only agents, and we are working because He has ordered us. So, we must remember what is bhakti, what is devotion proper. Whatever I do, the wage I earn must not come to me; I am only an agent. The benefit should go to the proprietor, to my Master, Krishna. We should move with this idea, and that will be bhakti proper. Otherwise, we will be engaged in karma-kanda: fruit-hunting. I want to enjoy the result of karma for myself, but the result should go to my Master. I am His servant, and I am working under His order. I am His slave; I am not the proprietor. I am not the proper person to be the recipient of the fruits of energy. The master of energy is the Supreme Lord, and all the products of energy should go to Him. It must not be tampered with on the way. This should be the attitude of every worker. Then, it will be bhakti proper. We are not the recipients; He is the recipient. We must always be conscious that the only beneficiary is He. Only then are we devotees. We are not the beneficiaries but selfless workers. It is said in the Bhagavad-gita (2.47):
karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango ’stv akarmani
«You have a right to perform your duty, but you have no right to enjoy the fruits of your work.» This is a great warning. Krishna says, «Do not think that because you are not the beneficiary of the fruits of your action, you have no reason to take so much trouble to work — never.» That is the most heinous curse, to think that because I am not the beneficiary, I am not going to work. Even selfless activity is also of a lower order. Rather, we must perform godly activity for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. That is bhakti, or devotion. And there is also a gradation in bhakti: there is a big division between vidhi-bhakti and raga-bhakti, calculative devotion and spontaneous devotion.
God is not a constitutional king, but He is an autocrat. To work for an autocrat is the highest conception of sacrifice. What degree of selflessness and courage is required to work for an autocrat, a despot, a liar who is up to anything? Not only that, His normal position is such. It is not a temporary temperament, but His eternal inner nature. Krishna is an autocrat because law emanates from Him. An autocrat is above law. When there are many, there is a need for law; when there is only one, there is no need for law. Krishna is a despot but He is absolute good. If there is any check in His despotism, the world will be the loser. Goodness must have its full flow. Is that bad? Can there be any objection to this? Goodness must have its freedom to flow anywhere and everywhere. If we say that God is absolute good, then what do we lose by giving Him autocracy? Should autocracy be with the ignorant and the fools? No. The absolute good must have full autocracy. Not that law will go to bind His hands. Then we will be losers. And Krishna is a liar, to entice us, because we cannot understand the whole truth. So, to entice us to gradually come to the truth, He has become a liar.
The first thing to understand is that He is all goodness, so everything emanating from Him cannot but be good. Any defect is on our side. We are encroachers. He is not an encroacher. But He shows this as His play, lila. Everything belongs to Him, so there is no lying. When He says, «Let there be light», there was light: «Let there be water», there was water. If He has such potential power, can there be any lying there?
We have to sacrifice ourselves for Krishna because He is the absolute good, beauty, and love. Faith and selflessness are required to such a high degree. If we accept Krishna consciousness as our highest ideal, then so much sacrifice is necessary, but sacrifice means life: «die to live.» There is no loss by sacrifice. We can only gain by giving ourselves.
So, kirtan, or preaching has been accepted as the means to the end. There are so many ways by which we can approach the souls of this world with kirtan: by direct approach, through books, and by performing sankirtan, chanting the Holy Name congregationally. By helping others, we help ourselves; we help our own fortune and our own faith. Not only will others benefit by our performance of kirtan, but we will also benefit eternally.
Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita (2.47), «Never be attached to not doing your duty (ma te sango ’stv akarmani). Because you are required to work for Me, will you stop work? Don’t subject yourself to that painful reaction, for then you will be doomed. Don’t be attached to stop work and strike. No. That is a dangerous vacuum. Don’t jump there in that eternal vacuum, but work for Me, and you will thrive.» Krishna says, «Abandon all varieties of duty and just surrender unto Me (sarva-dharman parityajya Mam ekam saranam vraja). My position is such: I am your guardian, your friend, your everything. Your goal of life is to be found in Me. Believe it, Arjuna. At least I must not deceive you. You are my friend — You can take it for certain.»
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te pratijane priyo ’si me
«Think of Me always and become My devotee. Worship Me and bow down before Me. In this way, you will certainly come to Me. My dear friend, I promise you on oath; I am speaking the truth. I am everything. Try to come to Me. I am the goal, the fulfilment of life not only for you, but for everyone. From the absolute consideration My position is such. At least you are My friend. I won’t deceive you. You can believe Me. I promise that I am so.»
How shamelessly Krishna is expressing Himself here. He has come to plead for Himself so much, for our benefit. And a record is kept in the Bhagavad-gita for our guidance. And Lord Krishna came as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to preach about Himself. He came as His own canvasser with His eternal associates. He even brought Srimati Radharani, devotion personified, along with Him, saying, «I will show how charming Your position in My service is, how beautiful and dignified the devotion of My other half can be. So, come along with Me.» And Baladev has come as Nityananda to canvass, and Vrndavan has come to canvass itself in Nabadwip. So, we are most indebted to the canvasser, especially when Krishna Himself has come to canvass and to show how beautiful, how magnanimous, and how sacrificing divine love is.