East or West, Krishna Consciousness is the Best

Chaitanya Charita Amrit from Lord Chaitanya's teachings to Sanatana Goswami meaning is very simple the Vedic scriptures teach three main subjects samandha abhidaya and prayojana the samandha the relationship is to be formed with Krishna Krishna is the desired samandha praptya samandha and the praptera sadhana the means to achieve that samandha is bhakti and that is called as abhidaya abhidaya nama bhakti and the ultimate goal to be achieved prayojana is prema and this is purushartha shiromani the greatest goal to be achieved it is prema mahadhana vedashastra kahe samandha abhidaya prayojana krishna praptya samandha bhakti praptera sadhana abhidaya nama bhakti prema prayojana purushartha shiromani prema mahadhana vedashastra kahe samandha abhidaya prayojana krishna praptya samandha bhakti praptera sadhana abhidaya nama bhakti prema prayojana purushartha shiromani prema mahadhana He is very famous for his extremely brilliant logical and very powerful articles that he writes for the international back to Godhead magazine over the past so many years he is also a very dynamic youth preacher he has just come back from Mayapur conducting one month of Utkarsh camp along with Radhesham Prabhu for more than 400 young students who had come from all over India they conducted lot of question answer sessions called faith and doubt sessions very expert in answering philosophical doubts very brilliant speaker that will discover very soon for some of you don't know and also Chaitanya Chaitanya Prabhu has recently been included in the international back to Godhead magazine's editorial board is one of the associate editors of the international back to Godhead magazine and his colleagues are all very senior Shila Prabhupada disciples there are five of them four five of them Nagraj Prabhu Urmila Mataji, Pratakarma Prabhu and his realisations are very deep very profound and at the same time he is also very simple at heart and I have been personally very fortunate to be blessed by his association many times and actually there are a lot of things we can speak about him but since he's not a regular Sunday speaker here we thought we'll introduce him and also let all the devotees know about him so let us welcome Chaitanya Chaitanya Prabhu to our Shishyada Gopinath Mandir Sunday Feast programme in our traditional style but three times loudly chanting Haribol! Haribol! Haribol! Thank you Rajiv Haribol for your kind words I hope one day they will come true actually I'm not at all qualified to speak in front of all of you but it is only by following the instructions of Vaishnavas that we can ever become qualified so as a service to those devotees who instructed me I'll try to speak something so the topic which was displayed earlier was East or West Krishna Consciousness is the best so many times when we start practising a spiritual path or in general people sometimes feel that they should practise a spiritual path so a big question comes which path to follow so today we'll discuss some systematic and objective standards by which we can decide this but before that in all of us on the journey of life and we get some realisations in material life and we get some realisations in spiritual life so actually material life the realisations are essentially about the valuelessness of all material things and in spiritual life realisations are of the valuableness of all spiritual things that means that normally since our childhood now we or even before our childhood from previous lives we are coming from at least I am coming from a lower species so the momentum of material enjoyment of sense gratification is there and just as if a car is moving very fast you cannot stop it even if you put a brake so when we come into the human form of life also we have a lot of material desires but the human form is such that we cannot be satisfied by material things alone and that's why the animals do eating, sleeping, mating, defending and they sometimes get it sometimes don't get it but they go on with life but it is only humans when they get frustrated in mating that humans commit suicide no dog commits a suicide because his lover has spurned him why because in human life our consciousness is endowed for higher happiness for higher achievements and that's why in material life although the momentum of material desires goes on from the animal species but those material desires don't satisfy us and that's why we have many cherished goals I want to get as students maybe I want to get marks then I want to get a job then I want to have a family then I want to have a house and to whatever extent we succeed in these after we get this we realise oh it was anticlimax it was a just when the climax was supposed to come to its peak it was anticlimax after I get it it's disappointing nothing in material life lives up to its expectations actually whatever we get when we don't have it we hanker for it but as soon as we get it we start hankering for something else whether it be a new dress or a new house or a new car so actually in material life as a person goes forward he realises the valuelessness of material things but the nature of Maya is that she doesn't let us come to spiritual life she makes us think okay this particular material thing might be valueless but that will be valuable okay you got this kind of car that didn't give you pleasure but that model car you get and that will give you pleasure so increasing the opportunities for material enjoyment is what the modern media the modern culture does is actually the whole advertising industry the desire producing industry desire producing industry where there are no desires create desires and in this way people never actually come to the realisation that it's not that this particular thing in material life is not going to make me happy but it's material life itself that is not going to make me happy it's so that realisation we get only if we come in the association of devotees so Sri Prabhupada explains in one Rathyatara lecture in America he was giving to hippies so he said all of you hippies are not very much appreciated in your country because people say you are frustrated with material life the hippies were a very peculiar phenomena in world history actually America emerged like the superpower in the Second World War and America there was no battle in America but America was supplying weapons to all the allied countries so those became very wealthy and the generation that was born to those who fought in the American war and came back they were called the flower generation so right from the childhood they had everything that ordinary people dream about because the parents were wealthy and they were born wealthy but they found that all these things don't make us happy whether it is wealth or position or prestige or power or career these things don't make us happy and that time there was some propaganda over there that actually you can become happy by spiritual means that propaganda is correct but they were taught that you can get spiritual happiness by taking drugs in fact there was this drug LSD so LSD has a chemical full form but they had their own full form all those who take drugs they would say we belong to LSD the League of Spiritual Discovery so we will take drugs and we will make spiritual discoveries but basically they broke away from the materialistic way of life that was there in America and that's why the American mainstream were frustrated with them these people they don't take jobs they don't get married they don't do anything normal so Prabhupada was saying in your country people don't appreciate you because they say you're frustrated but he says I sympathise with you human life is meant to be frustrated human life is meant to be frustrated he says in the Vedanta Sutra it is said you should do spiritual enquiry but when will the people do spiritual enquiry when they are fed up with material enquiries so this is the uniqueness of Prabhupada's insights there are so many spiritual teachers who talk about you should do spiritual enquiry but what is the corollary of that that means one has to become actually fed up with material life has to realise Vishwanath Chakraborty Thakur in the purport of 2.71 Vihaya Kama Nihasarvan he is one who gives up material desires he says transcendentalist loses faith in his material desires he loses faith he says the desire will come for wealth the desire will come for fame the desire will come for mundane enjoyment but he says oh I have tried this is not going to make me happy so he loses faith so Prabhupada was saying yes human life is meant to get frustrated because only when we get frustrated then we will make spiritual enquiry and animals don't get frustrated with material things so in material life actually gradually we realise the valuelessness of material things but if we come to Krishna consciousness then we understand that there is something else that is valuable so now Prabhupada explains in another lecture that how does this Brahma Jigyasa the spiritual enquiry take place he says it is by sadhu sangha most people don't have so many spiritual enquiry but if they see some sadhus they wonder what are these people doing why are they chanting Hare Krishna why are they left the world why are they doing such crazy things so then that enquiry comes and that enquiry becomes a seed of their spiritual enquiry and then when we come to Krishna consciousness actually we get everything on a platter you know we like a period is on his Radhanath Maharaj's book you know he went out searching for a guru but we look at Shri Prabhupada the guru went out searching for devotees and for most of us actually we didn't go to search for Krishna or Guru it is actually devotees who came out searching for us and even when they came most of us were hiding we were trying to run away we were trying to avoid I remember in my hostel in the first time there was supposed to be a programme so where the programme was there in the hostel is 96 so the person who was supposed to host the programme at the time of the programme he locked the room and went away so the preacher was there and I was attended so there was no programme there was no place to take the programme so then I invited him to my room and then from that time I became the host of the programme and therefore I had to be present but it was Gautam the Guru was very wonderful but the point was that person he just the devotee had come to his room but he locked the room and went away and actually that is symbolic most of us avoid actually Krishna consciousness either overtly or covertly so because we get everything on a platter it's devotees who come and give it to us and they they actually beg us chant Hare Krishna practise Krishna consciousness so often we don't realise the value of these things so what is the difference between Sadhaka chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and a very advanced devotee it's not that advanced devotees chant some other new mantra but that the advanced devotee realises the value of the mantra so as in the Hareram Ashtakam it is said Aho Dukham Maha Dukham Dukha Dukha Dharam Yathaha Kaachayam Vismrutham Ratnam Harer Naam Eva Kevalam He says alas what a great sorrow what a great disaster what a great calamity and the common people they mistake the jewel of the holy name to be like a broken piece of glass and they neglect it in fact Dhruv Maharaj says the opposite he says actually you are like a the material life existence is like a broken piece of glass material desires material objects but we think of those to be jewels and that which is a jewel we think of that to be as a as a broken glass so we don't realise its value so actually by practising Krishna consciousness we experience the joy of Krishna consciousness and we get some realisations of the value but along with that Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami also says that if you philosophically understand how Krishna consciousness is the highest gift that God has given us then that will help us to become strong to practise Krishna consciousness Siddhanta Baliya Chitte Na Kare Alasa Iha Haithe Krishna Lage Sudhrudha Manasa Don't be lazy about understanding philosophy because by understanding philosophy you will become determined to fix your mind on Krishna so today we will philosophically analyse how Krishna consciousness is actually the supreme gift that is possible in material existence so I was taught I started by talking about how there are different kinds of paths so there are so many organisations so many teachers so many people teaching so many different things so how do we categorise it so one simple way of categorising is some people are there who are exclusivist my way is the only way if you don't follow my way you are going to go to hell forever so this sounds very arrogant and very narrow minded Bhaktivinoda Thakur says nobody has a monopoly on the truth the truth is the legacy of all the children of God so if somebody says that I my way is the only way and everybody else is going to hell that's very narrow-minded and there are some people who go to the other extreme oh we don't want the narrow-mindedness we will have broad-mindedness so what is that broad-mindedness all ways are right so one is only my way is right the other is always are right so you know spiritual path actually is meant to give us some knowledge and affect some transformation so it's like somebody comes from my engineering college and he says my engineering college is the only engineering college in the world if you are not getting a degree from my college then you are bogus that is exclusivism and pluralism is every building is an engineering college every building is an engineering college so this pluralism sounds broad-minded but actually it waters down a spirituality to nothingness because if everything is right then nothing is wrong and if all paths are right then somebody says I am an atheist my path is also right but if the atheist path is right then God doesn't exist only and all the paths to love God become wrong so therefore although pluralism is the popular word in modern psyche but actually it is flawed so Krishna consciousness is neither of these it is actually inclusivistic. Inclusivism is actually one path only and there are many different levels in this path as Lord Krishna in the 12th chapter of the Gita describes now you can serve me in this way if not that way this this way so like that we'll discuss a little bit later there's one way with various different levels on it now what are these different levels actually Bhaktivinoda Thakur described this as fear, desire, duty and love some people approach God out of fear oh that if I don't obey God then God will punish me so therefore let me go to God but that is not a very noble motivation higher than that is out of desire oh I want something from God but then if God doesn't fulfil the desire then forget God, God doesn't exist so there are fear, desire, duty oh God has provided me so much so let me serve him so some people ask you know what has God done for me you know why should I serve God but actually if we look at our own body from the scriptural point of we can understand how this body is a source of misery but there's another way of looking at it is actually if we have to make one part of the body artificially the scientists sometimes make this artificial eyes or this organ transplants so nowadays a lot of people have digestive problems so some medical researchers thought we can make artificial stomach you know in the Egyptians the Egyptian pharaohs you know they were gluttons they like used to eat a lot and what they would do is they would become they would eat and they had employed their physicians to make special painless vomiting pills so they would eat in golden bowls and then get another golden bowl take a pill and vomit everything out and then again eat and again take a pill and vomit it out and you can see how desperate the soul is for enjoyment you know somehow trying to squeeze out enjoyment of course eventually they vomited out their intestines only most of them died early so the ISO people have a lot of digestive problems because people eat at odd times and eat all sorts of odd things so scientists thought can we make artificial digestive system so if you can't digest food we'll put a artificial digestive system for kidney we have dialysis and other things they started they thought first we'll make a machine but they found this whole digestive system is so complicated you will not need a machine you need a factory and not a factory but a chain of factories that even with nanotechnology will be two miles wrong so then they dropped the idea completely they found that actually the amount of work that is performed when we eat one morsel of food you know the little scientific work is forced into displacement so there is it has to go down to all the digestive system so the amount of work that is required to digest one morsel of food is more than the amount of work that average human being performs throughout the day more than what throughout the day actually who is doing that work in the 15th chapter 14th verse Lord Krishna describes aham vaisvanarobhotva praninam deham ashritah pranapanasamayuktah pachamyannam chaturvidam so Krishna says it is I who will digest your fire and digest everything so actually it is Lord Krishna who is you know people ask what is God doing for me he's even digesting your food you know there is a saying God gives and forgives we get and forget we get and forget so actually scientists try to do a analysis of you know if you had to put artificial limbs into the body so we can't put artificial limbs in the stomach we can't put artificial stomach we can't put artificial brain but whatever we can put that would cost just to maintain the body for one day using artificial systems would cost between seven to eleven crore rupees so God is spending seven to eleven crore rupees on us every day and we are asking what is God doing for me so that is the misfortune so actually a wise person understand that God is doing something for me so I should serve him but duty can often become a burden higher than duty is love and that is what Bhagavatam says that love of God is the ultimate platform of approaching God so so the Chetan Charitamrit goes further and describes how do we develop our love for God so love of God is the common goal described in the different religions of the world so there are different levels but the Vedic scriptures give actually the greatest revelation so now is this just a sectarian claim because we are following the Vedas so Vedas are the greatest no for example in India among the colleges IIT is considered the highest best college now that is not just because the IITians are proud they may be proud but that is not the reason why IIT there are objective criteria maybe the quality of the technology that is provided the calibre of the teachers over there or the most important the campus recruitment afterwards whatever criteria so based on that is the objective criteria by which it is decided which universities at what level so there are objective criteria by which we can understand actually that Krishna consciousness is the highest in this multiple level of multiple level of revelations that God has given so Sambandha Abhidheya and Prayojan I discuss this word so I just explain what does this mean although the terms may sound a little new Sambandha Abhidheya and Prayojan but the essential principle is common to everything for example if somebody wants to purchase a car so then first thing is he establishes Sambandha, Sambandha with what okay with a car okay I want to have a car I want to develop a relationship as a possessor as the owner of a car and then a car doesn't come free so then there is Abhidheya, Abhidheya is the process what is the process I have to go and earn some money or nowadays you don't money take loans and they have to pay afterwards more than what we would otherwise have paid but there is Abhidheya and then after one gets the car and one drives in the car and then as soon as driving in the car people raise their eyes enjoy the envy in your neighbour's eyes that is the Prayojan so Prayojan means the fruit that comes so there people think if I have a car people will admire me and I'll be happy so actually in every activity that we do there is Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojan we decide I want to develop a relationship with a particular object or person and then we follow the process to do that and then we get the fruit but with everything except Krishna the Prayojan is as I discussed earlier an anti-climax disappointing just temporary there is happiness but afterwards there is disappointment so the Vedic scriptures describe very systematically all these three things Sambandha with whom should we develop a relationship why what happens if I don't develop a relationship with that person and why does such a thing happen so the Sambandha Gyan is very systematically given similarly okay if you understood that I have to develop a relationship with God how do I develop that relationship the process is also very practically clearly and powerfully delineated we'll discuss each of these attributes one by one and the Prayojan when we develop love of God what happens after that that is also very graphically described so let's see this one so now when we come to Sambandha Gyan so different people have Sambandha with different things so there is materialism that means people are just interested in materialistic things and they want Sambandha with positions, possessions, people now there is another thing which Bhaktharo Thakur calls as religious materialism, religious materialism means that people say I am a religionist but the purpose of religion is to get material things and sometimes if you see most of the religions of the world they say that oh you should follow all the rules and regulations so that you can go to heaven and you can enjoy like all these people who are ready to lay down their lives in the Jihad you know some Quranic verse has been twisted and they are told that you will be able to enjoy with 73 virgins in heaven now 73 virgins they think oh great enjoyment that is their motivation there is no love for Allah in it there is only love for that which is people love here also so actually there is there are some there are the materialistic people who market materialism of this world and the religious people who market materialism of the next world so actually there is no change in the ultimate values it is the same thing if you see whether it is the Islamic or the Christian revelation it's all how you will enjoy in heaven you know where is poor God in heaven nobody knows so this person will be this terrorist supposed to be he killed somebody and then he goes and he's supposed to enjoy with virgins and what is God supposed to do God is supposed to supplier of virgins such a strange idea so it's just a religious materialism and then after that there is scientism scientism means people say oh actually there's nothing that exists the only thing that exists that is particles hadrons, protons, mesons and then you ask them okay how does a meson develop attraction for Cadbury chocolate there's no explanation why does a mother love a child because some chemicals are secreted in the brain well if your mother had done like that with you if your mother had said that her love for you was just some chemical she would never allowed you and then you would not have proposed such a theory would not have lived to propose such a theory so it's actually science is useful in its own way but it is very insufficient as a means to understanding the world it doesn't tell us whom to develop a relationship with and then of course there's impersonalism impersonalism is you know if you ask people where did everything come from some people say everything came from nothing which is illogical everything came from something and that something was scientists will say that was a bang where did that bang come from that came from other bang and that came from where oh that came from other bang there's a parampara of bangs we believe in a parampara of gurus you believe in a parampara of bangs so they have this theory of the eternally rebounding universe so there's a bang and there's a crunch and there's a bang and there's a crunch it's strange it's just imagination run wide but if you ask the impersonalists so if you ask the where did everything come from to the materialist they will say everything came from a thing or everything came from bang if you ask the devotees everything came from God if you ask the impersonalists where did everything come from they have a brilliant answer actually everything doesn't exist only so nothing exists and nothing came from nothing so actually then does your logic exist no my logic also doesn't exist then I reject your logic so it's actually very very superficial then the bhakti explains that actually our someone has to be developed with God so now although all many religions of this world talk about God but there's a great difference so now you know in the Abrahamic religions Abrahamic means Judaism Christianity and Islam there is mentioned that we should develop love for God but there is very little description of God so in the Renaissance period 14th, 15th, 16th centuries at that time in the Catholic religion they made huge churches to glorify God and Michelangelo was one of the sculptors prominent sculptors at that time he was primarily a painter but he was versatile so he was told in one of the biggest churches that of the Sistine Chapel that you make a sculptor of God giving out his grace to man so then he started out making the putting the different stories of the Old Testament in the in the walls and the roofs of the Sistine Chapel and then finally he had to make this particular picture of God extending out his grace to man so Michelangelo would generally portray man as the prototype Adam with a young muscular handsome so then he did the whole painting of man the sculpting of man and then now he had to make the sculpting of God but when he was to start he asked the priest over there the father what does God look like he had no idea then they went up to the bishop and they went right all the way up to the Pope I think it was Pope Innocent II at that time who was asked but they had no idea and then finally they did their own reasoning and they said if God is the father of everyone God must be the oldest person and then they depicted God as a old person so this is the picture that is actually there in the Sistine Chapel so the personality on the right is supposed to be God and the personality on the right left is supposed to be man now simple question arises here so with all due respect to the teachings of Jesus Christ but he came across and taught upon time-place circumstance and he clearly said there's much that I have to tell but you're not the ears to hear so they didn't give much revelation about God's personality so what happens is that this became the defining image of first the Renaissance the Reformation and then the scientific revolution and essentially what happened in European history because man is more attractive than God we don't know what God looks like so man became the centre of the world and essentially if you see what has happened in modern society we say there is no God but then who who is in charge yeah we are in charge you know we can go to moon we can go to Mars we can go to wherever we want and we can do what we want so there are companies which are selling land on the moon and there are people who are purchasing the land so you know first of all who gave them the land on the moon so the idea is that God is not there we are the proprietor of everything you know Bhoktaram Yajna Tapasam Sarvaloka Maheshwaram everything belongs to me so essentially what happened that when there is not a sufficiently attractive revelation of God then people put God aside and they bring man in the centre and that's how that's what has happened in modern society that's why we see that religion is declined to a large extent and what has come in is worship of man worship of man we don't some people make deities of man also worship but the idea is the human intelligence the human ego is what is to be worshipped humans are the greatest so this happened because there is no revelation of God now you compare this conception of God with the Vedic conception now you see this Krishna is all attractive and reciprocates now with so many of his devotees in so many different ways so now but unfortunately India is modern India is a product of a historical tragedy what are that historical tragedy at first India was ruled by Muslims and the Muslims destroyed many temples but when the Britishers came they did not destroy any temples they they destroyed the faith that made people go to the temples by misinterpreting the scriptures so what happened when they came to India and if they have the idea of God as a very fierce old stern person and they came to India they came to Mathura they came to all these places they saw you know Krishna this particular picture is that small boy stealing doing something stealing butter I says who is this this is God God and what is he doing stealing butter stealing butter God he just got a complete intellectual short-circuit just couldn't make any head or tail out of what how can God first of all God a small child and then he steals butter God should be imperfectly moral how can he steal so then what some Indians did was actually you are correct God cannot be moral so actually all these stories they are just metaphorical actually you know what God is God is the impersonal all-pervading light it is just temporary forms of that particular God so Indians thought that we have to defend ourselves from the criticism and then they didn't know how to defend they said oh actually what the Vedic literature teaches impersonalism so I'll come back to impersonalism little later but the Vedic understanding of God is not only God is very attractive but actually Vedic literature also describes how God acts what does God do in the spiritual world so the concept of Leela now God performing pastimes is something very extraordinary it has no parallels in any of the religious traditions of the world so what exactly is this concept of Leela now so Krishna is actually the hero in the Leela but Krishna you know the any movie any drama that is done is done directed by director so Yogamaya is the director who directs the drama but then people say oh if Krishna is being directed by someone he's not under control he's not in control how is he God yes Krishna is not in control because he's being directed by Yogamaya but Yogamaya is directing him according to a script and this way Krishna is simultaneously in control and not in control he's not in control he's absorbed in fact Vishnachakra Vidhakur in his Bhavartha Deepika he analyses this very beautifully he says some people say that like some people get this question that oh if God if God knows everything then why do I need to pray to him? God knows what I want why should I trouble him with my prayers you know when the devotees were there in Navadweep at that time they would do loud Kirtans and the neighbours would say you don't know any basic philosophy he says God is there in your heart you don't have to scream so loudly for God to hear he can hear when you pray but actually if you scream what will happen Mahavishnu is sleeping he will wake up and he will destroy the world so that was a strange idea but so they say God knows everything why do you need to pray to God but actually the prayer is not a substitute for a shopping list people think what is the purpose of praying just take a list and go to God that is the idea of prayer but we see in the Vedic literature the Brahma Samhita there is no request at all from Brahma of anything just glorifying the Lord so when we pray to God the purpose of prayer is not just to ask God for something but the purpose of prayer is many folds one is that we can actually experience the presence of God we can experience life in the presence of God we can understand things from Krishna's perspective and then we can get the strength to do Krishna's will so prayer is for a far higher purpose so some people say that oh God knows everything God is Sarvajna so I pray to him yeah he knows but we should develop a relationship with him and some other people say oh God is absorbed in his pastimes with his devotees so will he hear my prayers no God is Krishna is there with the Gopis and the Gopas and all of them will Krishna hear my prayers so some people say actually Krishna can hear the prayers because Krishna is just doing a Natak Krishna is actually just doing a drama but if you say Krishna is doing a drama why does Krishna do Leela no sometimes people say that God is all powerful so God is all powerful so that doesn't mean that you know sometimes in the slums there is some Gunda who is all powerful in that particular slum and then everybody has to go down and bow to him and give him the hafta so God is not that kind of all powerful he's all powerful but he does not delight in bragging his power he actually delights in reciprocating love with his devotees and that's why he makes his devotees forget that he is God and that's what there is a drama so drama sometimes conveys the idea of a falsity but it's not false it's the highest reality but it's called a drama because actually there is a particular reciprocation of love that is happening over there so this is something which is quite extraordinary to understand how Krishna does Leela he does Leela because simply wants to reciprocate love with his devotees and he wants everyone to forget that he is God just like a millionaire may sometimes come with all his family members and he will do a drama in which he becomes a beggar and then he will go Give me something to eat. I haven't eaten anything for three days.

I have eaten three times on the same day. But he does that. Why? Because he gets joy in that.

He doesn't like everybody treating him as a boss and respecting. He wants to reciprocate love. So that at the highest level is what Krishna does but Krishna is completely absorbed in his pastimes with his devotees and simultaneously Krishna is completely available to every one of us.

That is what Krishna alone can do. Nobody else can do it. Zoroastrian Maharaj says the Paramatma is the personal incarnation of Krishna for every one of us.

Krishna has personally come for all of us. So Krishna is available and also he is available to all of us and is available to his devotees. So for his devotees he is sort of deluded.

He is not aware he is God. He is Mukta but for Sadhakas he is Sarvajna. He knows how to plan their spiritual advancement and help them advance.

So the Leela is something which is very amazing which helps us to actually draw out our love for Krishna. So sometimes you know once we had a drama. The title of the drama was When God Fails and Love Triumphs.

When God fails. So that was actually Krishna going as Shantidut. When Krishna goes as Shantidut he actually fails.

If God is all-powerful can he not force what he wants? No he doesn't force. He respects Duryodhana's free will. He says okay I will try to persuade you.

If you don't I respect your free will. You know the Bhagavad Gita is not a book of commandments. The Bhagavad Gita is a book of choices.

Krishna tells you choose. If you choose this, this will happen. If you choose that, that will happen.

Now you decide what you want to do. So Krishna gave Arjuna the, Krishna gave Duryodhana the choice and Duryodhana made the wrong choice and he had to bear the consequences for that. So Krishna is all-powerful and other places he displays his all-powerfulness.

You know he covers the sun to save Arjuna from entering fire and so many other, he lifts Govardhana hill to protect his devotees. So he's all-powerful. But Krishna doesn't go about displaying his all-powerfulness all the time.

Because then there can be no reciprocation of love. Sometimes he displays as and when it is required for the purpose of Leela. But unfortunately, okay, before we go to the impersonalism, this is slightly hierarchical understanding which helps.

Now there are so many mundane literature in the world which talk about hundreds of things. Among them the literature that talk about God is special. Now among the revealed scriptures in the world, the Vedic scriptures are special.

Why? The Vedic scriptures are directly the word of God. The Vedic scriptures are also called as Shruti. Now among the Shruti, the Smriti that means the Puranas and the Itihasas contain the revelation in the most accessible way.

The word Smriti refers to that which is remembered. That means the great sages heard from God, they understood, they realised and then they spoke. So Smriti is not just that which is remembered, but Smriti also means that which helps us remember.

So if we just read the Shruti, if we read the Vedas, we will not understand anything from the Vedas. But if we read the Smriti, then we understand clearly that actually God is a person and we have to love him. Now beyond the Smriti, there are different Puranas, there are different Itihasas, there are 18 Puranas, many Upapuranas.

So the Vaishnava Puranas are the highest. Why? Because they contain the purest revelation. So basically this hierarchy is given by Jiva Goswami, the Tattva Sandarbha, based on the Vedic scriptures themselves.

So why he says the Vaishnava Smriti is the highest? There is a reason. Because you know there are Shaivite Puranas, there are Shakta Puranas, there are Vaishnava Puranas. So these are all meant for different people.

So Jiva Goswami gives an example of how the Shaivite Puranas not necessarily always contain the highest truth. For example, in the Shiv Puran it is said that I offer obeisances to that law of Karma, because of which Shiva has to wander the world carrying a skull and because of which Vishnu has to take ten incarnations of this miserable material world. So what does this mean? So Jiva Goswami gives the example.

He says, if somebody says alas see how intoxicating is gold. In fact gold is more poisonous than poison. Now this is a rhetorical statement.

Rhetorical statement means, no poison if you take you will die. Gold we are not going to die by that. But there is a particular thing to be emphasised over there.

What is the thing to be emphasised? That be very careful when dealing with gold. Because it will intoxicate you, it will poison you. So the analogy is given here for a rhetorical purpose, not for a factual purpose.

So people who are in Tamoguna, they don't believe in any law of Karma. They don't believe that there is any law by which I will be punished. And even if there is some law, they think that law is just like the law of this world.

So if there is a law of this world, what happens? Just become a bigger, bigger, you become more big politician, more big wealthy person. If you acquire power, if you acquire wealth, then you can escape the law. So people think similarly law of Karma will be like that.

If I can become very powerful, then I can escape the law. So for such people it is told, no you cannot escape the law. And therefore such a statement is given.

This statement is not true. So that's why Lord Shiva tells Kartikeya in the Skanda Puran that actually whatever is said in the Shaiva Puranas, if it is, if it contradicts the Vaishnava Puranas, then it should not be accepted. Because the Vaishnava Puranas contain the highest truth.

So the Vedic scriptures are very accommodating. They accommodate all kinds of people. But there is the highest level given.

Now among the Vaishnava Puranas, the Srimad Bhagavatam is the highest. Why is it the highest? Because it gives us the highest gift. It teaches how to develop love for God and nothing else.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, the 10th Canto, the Shamskanda is the highest. The Srimad Bhagavatam has 335 chapters. Out of which 90 chapters are there in the 10th Canto itself.

And that's why actually by the time Sukadeva Goswami starts the 10th Canto, now he is actually through only half Veda of the Bhagavatam. So the 10th Canto 9 cantos go through only half the Vedas. And this 10th Canto contains the pastimes of Krishna.

And there also there is the Vrindavan pastimes and the Dwarkamutra pastimes. Vrindavan pastimes are the most intimate. And in the Dashamskanda, whatever is given there, that is expanded further by the Goswamis.

So so many books written by them, Anandavan Champu, Gopal Champu and Sri Prabhupada is still the essence of all of them and brought it in. So this is a summary of what we just discussed. So actually there is a systematic hierarchy.

The hierarchy is not based on just some biassed opinion. It is based on a systematic understanding of what is revealed within the scripture. Now so Sri Prabhupada wrote in that way, Absolute is ancient, Thou has proved.

Impersonal calamity, Thou has removed. So impersonalism is a calamity. Calamity is a great disaster.

Why is it a disaster? Because when we hear the beautiful pastimes of Krishna. For example, the beautiful pastimes of Krishna actually attract our love towards Him. But if we go by the impersonalists, what they say is, these pastimes are all temporary.

The pastimes are the means by which you can be attracted to Krishna and come out of the material world. But unfortunately impersonalists say, these pastimes themselves are a product of Maya. So that which is the means to come out of this material world, they say that is the product of the material world.

It's like somebody comes along and says, that is the medicine, he calls it a poison. Then what will happen? Then people will never be cured. So Sri Prabhupada was often very strong about impersonalists for this main reason.

That actually different people have a right to believe whatever they want. But if what is right is portrayed by them as wrong, not only as wrong, but as a product of illusion, then innocent people get completely misled. So impersonalism, that idea that actually, ultimately I am only God.

I was an atheist, till I discovered I was God. So that is the idea of the impersonalists. Actually I am only God.

There is nothing else. There is nobody else. Another impersonalist would say that, actually there are so many gurus who come and say I am God.

But I have not come to tell you I am God. I have not come to tell you you are God. You are God.

So these are all very superficial ideas. If Prabhupada would say, if you are God, then why do you have to run to respond to nature? Why do you have to go to a doctor? Why do you have to grow old? But people don't think of these things. And they say that, oh actually my growing old is my Leela.

Oh very good, your growing old is your Leela. Then Leela is actually something which is voluntarily accepted for enjoyment. Then why are you becoming crippled? Why are you having digestive problems? That is actually not something voluntarily accepted for enjoyment.

That is forcibly imposed for punishment. So that's not Leela actually. That's Maya, not Leela.

So unfortunately in India, because of the idea that actually there is no God, ultimately we have to merge into God. Because of that, people don't take shelter of Krishna. Many times people come and pray in the temple.

But what are they praying? Actually all this prayer is all temporary. Ultimately I have to merge with God. So unfortunately because of this, not only do people not understand the highest truth, but they don't get any taste in their Bhakti.

So we discussed about Sambandha. Now let's come to Abhidhaya. Abhidhaya means the process of developing the relationship.

Now okay, once I understand that I have to develop my love for God. How do I actually develop love for God? Imagine, actually you just have to desire to love God and then you will love God. Is willpower enough? Somebody says okay I have some bad habits.

I'll give up the bad habits, my willpower. The fourth canto of the Bhagavatam describes how lust, anger, these are all diseases of the mind. So now if I have a disease, can I cure the disease just by willpower? You know somebody has loose motion.

He says by my willpower, I will not respond. I will not respond and I will make my willpower stronger and stronger and stronger. No, however strong you make your willpower, it's useless.

So the idea or somebody has got cough. I will not cough. My willpower is very strong.

Well what will happen to you? Your heart doesn't have so much power. It will burst whatever coughing is there. So many people who actually want to develop love for God also, they don't know how to develop love for God because no process is available for them.

Now there are so, before coming to Krishna Consciousness, I also used to read a lot of spiritual books and the spiritual books had two characteristics. They were very interestingly written and they were very inconclusively written. Inconclusively okay, this is good, this is good, but what should I do? No, that you can do whatever you want to do.

But then how do I get transformed by that? So unfortunately the process for developing love for God is not taught in any of the scriptures. Very, very brief understanding is given. You know actually the idea is and because there is no knowledge given, just by my willpower, I will become good.

But it doesn't work like that. Yes, willpower is important. If somebody has loose motions, willpower is important.

But the willpower has to be used to follow a process. What is that process? The process is that you have to go to a doctor and the doctor will tell, this is your prescription, these are your prescriptions, do's and don'ts. And the willpower has to be used to follow that.

Follow the do's and don'ts and then there will be some cure. But just raw willpower cannot actually change very deep-rooted behavioural tendencies, lust, anger, greed, envy, pride and illusion. They are very, very difficult to give up just by willpower.

We might become a little better, but actually very soon people relapse to their old ways. So because there is no Abhidheya, Abhidheya means a process given by which people can transfer their love from man to God. So what happens? People just get lost.

His Holiness Dandvir Maharaj has written a very amazing book of his experiences while preaching in Israel. The title of the book is, If Attacked, I will chant Hare Krishna. So he was in Israel for preaching and that time a war broke out between the Arab states and Israel.

And because America was supporting Israel, so the American government declared that all American citizens in Israel will have to join the army. Dandvir Maharaj said actually I am there for missionary purposes. He said no, no, you also have to join, whatever.

So then he was very intelligent. So he consulted some devotees, they consulted a lawyer. Now in American law there is a clause that you know if somebody, if a soldier is a religious person, then he should be given time for his religious practises.

So then he went into the army controlment and he went in, he was not a sannyas, he was a vanaprastha at that time. So he went in saffron. He said who are you? His boss asked him.

So the colonel asked him, he said you know I am Dan so and so. He says I have been told to, I have been drafted into the army. He says you cannot join the army in this dress.

He says no, I am Hare Krishna. As per my religious right, I have to wear this dress. He says no, no, no, you have religious rights, but not you have to wear our dress.

So then he said but I need time for my prayers. He said yeah, yeah. He thought at least he is changing his dress, that is good enough.

Otherwise how much time do you need? He said six hours. He said what? He said yes. In the morning I wake up and I will do Mangala Aarti, then Narasimha Aarti, then Tulsi Aarti, then I will do Japa, then I have my small deity, there will be Darshan Aarti, there will be Guru Pooja.

Then, then because there will be no audience, so I will be the speaker, I will be the audience for the Bhagavatam class. Then at noon time there will be Noon Aarti, then evenings there is Sandhya Aarti, then Narasimha Aarti and then Gita class. So he said but I cannot give you six hours.

He said no, that is my right. You have to give me. And then he had to give.

So then every morning all the other soldiers would wake up and they would go for march pass. And Maharaj would wake up and chant Hare Krishna and do Mangala Aarti. Then the other soldiers started complaining.

He said you know, we are going in the heat and doing this march and this person is just ringing the bells. Then after that, so he decided that actually you know this is not good. So actually Maharaj was very polite and very respectful, very firm but he was very polite and respectful and his colonel developed some respect and attraction for him.

So he told him I will give you separate room where you can ring your bells privately. Nobody will see you. So he was saved from that also.

Then because Israel is a Jewish country primarily, so there was a Jewish Ravi over there. So the other soldiers complained to the Ravi. And then the Ravi called his colonel and told him I have heard that you have given this Hare Krishna six hours for his religious prayer, religious activity.

In the whole history of the American Army, even the most devout Jew has not been given more than 30 minutes. How can you give six hours? So now, he was actually quite, this colonel, he was quite impressed with Anjum Maharaj and he did not like this Ravi at all. So he told him if a Jew was given six hours, what would he do? So he said I am seeing this dad, you know all the six hours he is doing something.

He is not sleeping. You know he is ringing some bell, he is shaking his head, he is shaking his hand, he is speaking something. He is doing something and he is doing it quite seriously.

So actually even if time is given, there is no abhidheya given in that. What will you do for six hours? Now the Muslims chant their namaz and they do it, some of those who are devout they do it naturally for five times in a day. But you know if they are told to chant throughout the day, there is nothing for them to chant.

So actually the abhidheya is given very wonderfully. I will just complete Anjum Maharaj story. So then he was allowed six hours for his prayers and then he was told that you have to learn to shoot.

So they called him to the training where you have to shoot guns. So you have to learn to shoot. So then while they were calling him, then at that time he was not very interested.

He just started walking. He said where are you going? I am going for a walk. He said no, this is a class, you cannot go for a walk.

He said okay, sat down and then the whole class got over. He said sir, I have a question. Now everybody could see that he was not interested in the class.

Now everybody is interested what question he has. So then, sir, he said you told us that when we should shoot, we should shoot to kill. So they had told, the army had told when you shoot the enemy, you should shoot in the heart or in the chest or in the head so that the enemy dies.

Otherwise a wounded enemy will attack and kill you back. So you should shoot to kill. He said yes.

Everybody was hearing. Whom do we kill? The body or the soul? And then the instructor, the colonel, he said we kill the body. No, we kill the soul.

I mean we kill the body. Class dismissed. And he said Dan, come here.

He said tell me whom do we kill? And then he gave one hour class to him about the difference between the body and the soul. And then after that, the local media got the news that there is a Hare Krishna in the army. Then they came to interview him.

And then they saw him and they asked him, you know, if attacked, what will you do? So then he replied, if attacked, I will chant Hare Krishna. So that is the name of the book. If attacked, I will chant Hare Krishna.

And that came on all the Israeli newspapers at that time. And then, you know, there is actually the chief of the army. He read it and he said, what is this? You know, our army is meant for people who are going to fight, not for those who are going to chant Hare Krishna.

So then he sent the order and Maharaja released from the army. But he was in the army for one and a half months. And within one and a half months, his boss and his boss, both of them became devotees.

Now both of them are initiated disciples, chanting 60 rounds. So, you know, Krishna consciousness is very dramatic, very adventurous. So the point I was making is that there is no description of Abhidheya.

What is the process to be followed? How to transform one's heart? So actually you should pray to God. But what to pray? How to pray? How long to pray? You know, nothing is told. Now in India, there are many teachers who say that you should chant the names of God.

But again, they don't give any prescription. What happens? Chant whenever you can. Jab bhi sabhe milo ka jawab karo.

To kya hota hai? Kabhi sabhe milta hi nahi hai. So, because there is no prescription given, so even if people genuinely want to develop love for God, they don't know the means by which to develop love for God. Even if they genuinely want, I want to transform my heart.

But it's not just by willpower, it's not just by desire. Desire is important, but desire has to be coupled by a process. So, that is actually what the Gaudiya Vishnu Sampradaya has given us.

It has given us a very systematic process. And, you know, when Prabhupada went to America, he went and he was first in the Lower East Side, in the Bowery, among hippies, and he would invite them to chant Hare Krishna. And they all would chant very happily.

And then, once you start class, almost like half of the people would go away. But a few would sit and hear. And then he would talk about how if you are actually going to experience spiritual life, then you have to not only chant Hare Krishna, you have to follow the regulative principles.

And that was like a very bitter pill for them to swallow. So, one time, some very popular musicians, popular musical group over there, called the Phugs, they came for the programme. And they also liked the chanting of the Hare Krishna.

They were also playing with the music. And the devotees were, the early devotees were very happy to see. And then, Prabhupada started speaking on the illusion of material pleasure.

And how if one wants to practise spiritual life, one has to give up sense gratification. And these musicians, the Phugs, all their songs were about sense gratification. The wildest form of the sense gratification.

And you know, they couldn't believe their eyes and ears. You know, sense gratification is the goal of our life. Lord Krishna describes in the 16th chapter, and 12th was that, the demoniac people have decided, ascertained beyond doubt, nishchitah, what? Sense gratification is the prime necessity of life.

Prime necessity. So, paramah, so, they could, you know, how can this Swami commit aparad towards sense gratification? This is our worshipable deity. How can he commit aparad? And they just walked away.

They never came back. And the devotees were very disappointed. And they went and told Prabhupada, Prabhupada, here in the Lower East Side, among the hippies, that it is not very strategically wise to talk ill about sense gratification.

Prabhupada was aggrieved. He said, I have not come here to please the Americans. I have come here to please Krishna by repeating his message.

So, when I read this for the first time, I read this several times, but it struck me very much. Then, about maybe four, five years ago, when I read this again, it struck me, because I read the whole book. And on one side, you see how much Prabhupada struggled to actually go to America, you know, all alone, without any money, suffering heart attacks.

And, you know, practically speaking, Prabhupada boarding a Jalutha alone, at the age of 69, to go to a distant land, is one of the most courageous acts in human history. One of the most courageous acts, for an old person to go. Recently, the CNN, you know, they made a list of people who are achievers, who started their achievements post-50.

They made 100 people, and Srila Prabhupada is among the top over there. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. So, he started an organisation at the age of 69.

So, all the post-50 are just, you know, beyond 50, 51, 52, 53. But Prabhupada started at 69. So, it is, so he's obviously had a desire that people follow the process that he was teaching.

Now, otherwise, why would he go to America? Srila Prabhupada, if he just wanted to write books, for writing initially the books was difficult, but 1962, 63, 64, he got the three volumes, the first canto published. And once they were published, you know, Lal Bahadur Shastri recommended the books. At that time, Zakir Hussain, the President of America, of India, he recommended the books.

And then, for Prabhupada, the funds were flowing. If he just wanted to be a writer, you know, for him, he could have very easily written many, many books. Because he had got recommendations from so many big people.

Actually, when he went to Somati Muraji, and she told him, you know, please, allow me to go abroad. So, give me a, give me a place on your ship. So, he told him, Swamiji, you are so old.

America is so cold. How will you live there? You know, she was completely reluctant. And then, she said, you are like my father.

You know, I cannot let my father go to a distant country where he will die alone. She said, if you want to speak Bhagavatam, you come to my house. I will hear Bhagavatam from you every day.

Now, Prabhupada was not just interested in speaking. He was interested in transforming people's hearts. So, Prabhupada told her, if you really consider me your father, then will you not help your father to fulfil his spiritual master's mission? And she saw that he was so determined, she agreed to let him go.

But then, the point was, he was determined immensely to go to America to give a message by which people would follow a process. But then, the very message that he was giving was driving people away. So, this is a tremendous apparent contradiction.

On one side, you are taking so much efforts to go and tell people to do something. But what you are telling them to do is something which will make most of them go away. If you want people to follow something, then tell something which they can follow easily and they will become very popular.

So, why was Prabhupada doing like this? On one side, he is struggling to preach. On other side, his content of his preaching was such that most people would go away. In fact, several of the other spiritual teachers at that time, they appreciated.

Bhaktivinand Swami is teaching very pure yoga. But, what was it? Actually, Srila Prabhupada was like a, as we are talking about disease, disease cannot be cured by will power. Srila Prabhupada was like a super compassionate doctor, supremely compassionate doctor.

As a doctor, normally you go to a doctor and ask him for some medicine. He will charge a lot of money to give it. And then sometimes you call at night.

If you are sick, the doctor gets angry, why are you disturbing me at night? But, you know, where is a doctor who will actually himself go to the patient and beg to the patient, please take this medicine and give the medicine free of cost. So, imagine a hospital where you get the medicine and along with the medicine, you get free food, free food. So, that was what Prabhupada was doing.

You know, he was in America, he was cooking for the hippies, he was serving them prasad, he was washing their plates, so that they will chant Hare Krishna. So, he is such a compassionate doctor that actually he is himself going and giving the medicine to people. Now, Srila Prabhupada is on Jaldut in America.

When he reaches America, you know, at that time for normal Indians, the Indian mindset is America is like the land of dreams. And it's such a dazzling sight, the tall buildings, fast cars, the very fashionable people. So, Prabhupada did not see all this.

If you see Prabhupada's Bhagavate Markana Dharma, what did he say? He says that oh, actually, he did not see prosperous, fashionable Americans. He saw forgetful suffering souls. He did not see skyscrapers and fast cars.

He saw the modes of passion and ignorance, making people run around and do all sorts of crazy things. Srila Prabhupada could see that people are suffering and he wanted to give them the medicine. So, he is a very compassionate doctor.

Although he is a compassionate doctor, he is not a populist doctor. Populist doctor means, suppose somebody has, suppose people have diabetes and a patient comes along and he says, doctor says, okay, you have to stop, you have to take this medicine and you have to stop sugar. And another doctor, he says, okay, you take this medicine and you can stop sugar if you want.

If you want, you can take sugar. So, what will happen? Which doctor will become more popular? Second doctor, naturally, everybody will say, oh, this doctor, you don't have to follow anything. You can eat as much as you want.

There is one clinic just started, you know. Get slim, eat whatever you want and still get slim. Just a false promise.

So, now what happens? Such a doctor is there. The doctor says, you know, you can eat sugar if you want. So, then the doctor is happy because he gets a lot of patients.

The patient is happy because he doesn't have to follow any rules. So, wonderful, isn't it? Doctor is happy, patient is happy. But, no, the patient's body is killing him from within and eventually it will come out.

So, this is a populist doctor. Populist doctor is, who wants many, many customers and for the sake of the customers, he says, okay, you don't have to follow any rules. So, Srila Prabhupada was not a populist doctor.

He actually wanted to cure people and he knew what it takes to cure people. And therefore, he insisted not only on the do's but also on the don'ts. And when the do's and don'ts are followed, then there is miraculous transformation.

Amazing transformation takes place in the hearts and lives of people. Recently, His Holiness Chandramouli Maharaj has brought out a beautiful book called the Holy Jail. Holy Jail.

So, the cover is there is a jail and two hands are coming out of the jail and the hands of the prisoner are holding a Bhagavad Gita. And in the Bhagavad Gita, there is a picture of Krishna glancing compassionately on the prisoner. So, this book documents how people in the, His Holiness doing jail preaching in India and America and several other parts of the world, but primarily America and India, how people are getting transformed in amazing ways by the practise of Krishna consciousness.

So, many amazing stories are there. So, some stories, you know, one of our devotees Sarvabhauma Prabhu, he had gone to a, that Tihar, you know, Tihar is India's biggest jail. So, they have made a special youth jail.

Tihar youth jail. Why? They found that young people, when you put them in jail with hardcore criminals, they also become hardcore. So, instead of reforming people, it deforms people.

So, decided let us have all young people together in a separate jail. So, then when they went to, so when he was invited to this jail for a programme and all these young people, you know, most criminals don't think they have done anything wrong. They think actually my circumstances forced me to do it.

Duryodhana also said the same thing. Now, after great introspection, I cannot see the slightest fault in anything that I have done. So, they don't feel that they are very resentful, frustrated, who is the sadhu, we are not interested in hearing.

When Sarvabhauma Prabhu started the class and he started, he spoke something and he spoke that they all cheered and they clapped and heard the class and after that, there was kirtan and the kirtan became so ecstatic that there was a jailer and the prisoners. They were all dancing together. And now, actually in that Tihar youth jail, there are four young people who are chanting Hare Krishna 16 rounds and they have morning programme inside the jail.

So, what was that first thing that he spoke? He spoke that all of you are not offenders. We are offenders because we did not give you this knowledge earlier. So, this is actually a devotee's compassion, that a devotee doesn't see other people as sinful.

You are a sinner and you are going to go to hell unless you obey me. No. Actually, I was also sinful.

I was saved by my spiritual master and I want to share what I have got with others. So, the point is that there are amazing stories of transformation which take place. Why? Because if the process is followed, the do's and don'ts, then there is cure.

Otherwise, there are so many people who say that we are spiritualists, you know, we have this guru, we have this, we have that. But you know that they are disciples for 25 years and 25 years they still are smoking and they are still drinking tea and they are not able to give up anything. Why? Because there is no transformation of the heart.

You know, bhakti is quite scientific. When actually there is bhakti, what happens? There is para-isha-anubhav. That there is actually para.

Para is supreme or transcendental. Isha is God. Anubhav is experience.

So, bhakti is the process that gives us experience of God. The experience of God cannot be got by any material means. Now, people can come and glare at the deities.

They will get no experience of God. Because there is no bhakti. Sometimes when we devotees do kirtan, you know, devotees are in ecstasy and other people are in agony.

This is glaring. How can you be so happy? What right do you have to be so happy? We are miserable. You are also destined to be miserable like us.

So, why? The same holy name is going in their ears and the same holy name is going in devotees' ears. But because there is bhakti in the heart, there is para-isha-anubhav. And where there is no bhakti, there is no para-isha-anubhav.

Now, some people can claim that, oh, we also get tears. We also cry. We are also getting para-isha-anubhav.

But then, you know, people nowadays, there are so many television programmes. So, there is some same Ramayana going on. And Jyotayu dies.

And then Lord Ram comes and does his Nudal cinema. And people, oh, they cry tears. And then they switch the channel.

And then Sachin Tendulkar gets out for a zero. And they also cry tears. So, this is not bhakti.

Because bhakti, para-isha-anubhav, viraktir anyatra ca. We become detached from other experiences. So, the internal symptom of bhakti is that there is para-isha-anubhav.

We experience God within. And the external symptom is viraktir anyatra ca. When actually we become detached from other things.

So, this happens only when the abhidheya is followed properly. So, in Krishna consciousness, we have the means by which abhidheyas, we can work it out. So, this is going a little bit ahead with abhidheya, to understand how Krishna consciousness transforms our heart and transforms our life.

You know, what is it that determines our behaviour? So, there are many factors, among them fire primary. Some people say that, oh, some people are short-tempered. Why am I short-tempered? Oh, it's my genes are like that.

In America nowadays, this is the ultimate escape way for criminals. Somebody gets angry and commits a murder and the evidence is strong. And what the lawyer says? Actually, it's in his genes to become angry.

What can you do? They go to neurologist and get a certificate. And then instead of going to jail, he is transferred to a mental asylum. And then he comes out of there.

So, the idea is that, they say that, oh, my genes are like that. Yeah. Now, our genes do push us to behave in a particular way.

But they don't force us. They don't force us. The animals, they are programmed entirely by their genes, to a large extent.

The lower the species, the less their freedom. The higher the species, the more the freedom. And apart from our genes, we also have our family.

Now, the upbringing that we get during our childhood, that also determines our behaviour. Then beyond that, our association. Sometimes some children may have very pious parents and they're protected, but then they go into the hostel.

And in hostel, there is ragging. Ragging is the perverted version of initiation. Initiation means it brings us into pure life.

But in ragging, it's initiation into sinful life. So, people are told to do all those things. And what happens? Because of bad association, they become completely spoiled.

And that environment or association. And beyond that, there is free will. All of us.

Somebody might be in bad association also, but still, if it is determined, I don't want to become bad. Beyond that, there is God's grace. So, if you see among these five factors, which of these are not changeable now? The first and the second.

The genes, actually, we get our genes by our past karma. So, if the genetic nature which determines our behaviour, that is actually coming from past karma. We can't change that.

And the way we are brought up, we can't change that also. The remaining three, we can change. And among these three, actually, the easiest to change is our association.

Changing our free will is quite difficult. Imagine if we decide that I want to wake up in the morning. Because I want to do chanting.

And then, if you decide, I will stay with people who wake up late. Then what will happen? No matter how determined I am, the other people will be determined that they will not sleep till late night. And if I wake up, before the alarm wakes me up, they will switch off the alarm.

And if their association is not favourable, to use our free will is not so easy. It becomes much, much more difficult. In the Shatantra Amrit, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami compares the association of devotees to a walking stick.

He says, He says, He says, my path is very difficult. I am also blinded. So, repeatedly I am slipping and falling.

Therefore, O great devotees, please give me the walking stick of your mercy. So, today morning only, when I was coming here, my walking stick got stolen. So, then I was just pondering on this verse.

So, actually what happens, without a walking stick also, a person can walk. But, two things. One is, the walking is slower and any time one can fall down.

That's what happens if we are not with devotees. You know, the progress becomes slower. Start chanting Hare Krishna and you complain and complain and then you wonder, does this mala have 108 beads or not? So, sometimes one round may take 15 minutes or sometimes one round takes three minutes.

Because we miss, we fall so much in love with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra that before it comes out, only it goes inside. So, so what happens without association? Progress is slower and the chance of falling away is much greater. So, therefore, if we change our association, then it's much easier to change our free will.

And if we actually use our free will properly, then all of us can get Krishna's mercy. And once Krishna's mercy comes, what is Krishna's mercy? Prabhupada explains, not something magical. That you know, somebody says that, oh, my Guru can give you, give you, my Guru can give me electric shock.

Can you give electric shock? Yes, come, there is an electric socket. How much shock do you want? You know, the purpose of the Guru is not to give shock. Already material life is giving so much shock.

The purpose of the Guru is to teach us how to save ourselves from the shocks, how to transcend the shocks. So, people have a very superficial idea of what mercy means. Actually, what is the real mercy? The real mercy is that we experience satisfaction in Krishna Consciousness.

Then we don't search for anything higher. So, now, if we see, this is a little, I'll just quickly rush through, this will take some time. But what I was telling is how Abhidheya is most clearly given in the Vedic literature.

That is the point which is going on. But within the Vedic literature also, it is in Gaudiya Vishnuism that Abhidheya is most clearly given. So, different Acharyas have defined Bhakti differently.

So, Ramanuja defines Bhakti as Satatam Smritir Vishnu, continuous recollection of God. And he said there are two levels of Bhakti, Sadhana and Phal. Madhavacharya says that actually Bhakti is a strong emotion of love accompanied by the knowledge of God's majesty.

Nimbarkaacharya says that it's like a special kind of love. And Vallabhacharya says it's also a kind of love. So, their all basic idea is what is Bhakti? Bhakti is we remember God with love.

But Jiva Goswami gives an entirely different understanding. Based on the instructions that were given to Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Jiva Goswami described that Bhakti is not just a state of our mind. Bhakti is actually Radharani, is the essence of God's internal potency of bliss, which is the most important potency of God.

So, Bhakti is not just something which we think and we get Bhakti. You know Vishwanath Chakraborty Thakur in his commentary to the Shriti Stava, the prayers of the personified Vedas, in the 10th Canto, he described that the conditioned mind can never think of God. Because our mind is material.

And if we say that Oh, Krishna is like a bluish black, Krishna is a young man with a bluish blouse complexion. What we do is, we think of a bluish black cloud and we think of a young man and we superimpose the two together. A superimposition of two material objects cannot produce the supreme personality of God.

So, he says that actually the conditioned soul cannot think of God. But, when the conditioned soul, according to the scripture, tries to meditate on the description of God, then God infuses within his heart the Ladini Shakti, Bhakti. And then actually there is experience.

So, Ladini Shakti has two functions. First is, it gives bliss to Krishna. And secondly, it nourishes the devotee.

So, if we just do Bhakti according to our mind, that is not Krishna Bhakti, that is Mana Bhakti. Because actually we cannot invoke Krishna by the thoughts of our mind. But it is only when we do according to scripture, then Krishna is pleased and Krishna infuses Radharani to come in our heart.

So, this understanding that Bhakti is not just a state of our mind, Bhakti is actually the manifestation of Krishna's internal potency within our heart. This is something which is not there in even any of the Vaishnav traditions. This is a unique revelation of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

And that's why Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnavism is, we are Brahma, Madhava, Gaudiya Vaishnava. So, Gaudiya Vaishnava, sometimes people say Gaudiya refers to Bengal, Gaudadesh. That's only external understanding because Gaudiya Vaishnavism is now there all over the world.

Actually, what it refers to is that the word Gauda comes from the word Guda. Guda means jaggery. So, there is jaggery which grows in all over the country.

But, if any of you have tasted the jaggery in Bengal, it is very sweet. It is, if anybody is addicted to chocolate, it can be your Vaishnava substitute for chocolate. So delicious, just place it on the tongue and it melts on the tongue.

Very, very delicious. So, there was Vaishnavism going on all over the country. But when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came, there was Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

So, there is jaggery all over the country, but there is special jaggery in Bengal. Like that, the special sweetness of Bhakti is there in Gaudiya Vaishnavism because Radharani's presence is invoked. So, that's Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

The sweetness is unparalleled. I am just rushing through some things now. So, now, when we practise Bhakti, it is not just that we have to think of Krishna.

No. Radharani has to manifest Herself in our heart. Bhakti Devi has to manifest Herself.

And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu describes that what are the ways in which we can inspire Bhakti Devi to come in our heart. These are the five things. You can recite this verse.

So, these are the five things. The association of devotees, the chanting of the holy names, the hearing of Bhagavatam, going to holy places and worshipping the deity. So, these are the five activities, very potent forms of devotional service.

And if we do these activities, we can experience miraculous transformation in our hearts. And that is what Srila Prabhupada has given us in Krishna Consciousness. You know, all the activities that we do, the morning programme is centred on these five activities.

And when we go for Yatras, we do these five activities. When we come here on Sunday, we are doing these five activities. So, by this, all of us can actually powerfully experience transformation of the heart.

And we can make very rapid spiritual advancement. So, this is the, you very clearly delineated. If I want to love God, what should I do? Associate with devotees.

I chant Hare Krishna. When we do these things, anybody and everybody can become transformed. So, that's why it's a universal process.

And then, of course, now the Prayojan is the last part. What happens actually when we develop our love for God? So, that is also revealed in the Vedic scriptures. Now, how Krishna interacts with his devotees in the spiritual world and how Krishna, when he comes to the material world, he interacts with his devotees.

So, it's a very attractive world described. You know, in one of the books inspired by Bhakti how, you know, Krishna is a supreme positive and he is the enjoyer. And Radharani is the supreme negative.

She is supremely, supreme enjoyer. And when, now the Mayavadi idea is, the Mayavadi and the mathematical idea. Mathematical is also, is a material version of Mayavada.

So, what is their idea? If positive and negative come together, you'll have zero, you'll have static. But actually, from the Vaishnava point of view, what happens? When positive and negative come together, then the positive assumes the mood of the negative. And then searches around for the positive with double energy.

That means what? Krishna, he wants to taste, you know, what is Radharani? How is Radharani so happy? I want to know that. And therefore, I will come as, in the mood of Radharani. Radha bhava jiti suvilam, Radha bhava jiti suvilitam naumi Krishna svarupam.

He comes in the form and the complexion of Radharani. Now, before this also, at one time, Krishna desired, in the spiritual world, that, you know, I want to taste Radharani's love. So, when Krishna had, Krishna and the gopis had come for the rasa nila, Krishna told the gopis, Krishna told Radharani, specifically said, you know, how is it that when I play my flute, you leave everything, you leave everyone and just come here.

You go mad. Now, don't you know, Krishna is playing with Radharani. You don't have any regard for morality.

You don't have any regard for what society will think. So, Radharani also understood Krishna's mood. Radharani said, actually, I am not the culprit.

Your flute is the culprit. Now, your flute is so attractive, that as soon as anyone hears the sound of your flute, they lose all their intelligence. They lose all their intelligence and they become your slaves.

Now, you are asking me, you are accusing me of immorality. You know, if I had your flute, then I would make you more immoral than you. Achha, Krishna said, let us try then.

So, then Krishna gave his flute to Radharani. And Krishna gave his flute to Radharani. Then Radharani took the form of Krishna.

And Krishna took the form of Radharani. And then, Krishna started playing the flute. Radharani started playing the flute in the form of Krishna.

So, actually, when Krishna started playing the flute, or Radharani started playing the flute, whatever you want to say. So, at that time, you know, Radharani was actually very sweet. And the sweetness of her flute was completely captivating.

And the full moon was there in the sky. And, actually, Krishna had disappeared at that time. They wanted to enact the whole Leela again.

So, Krishna was not there and Radharani was playing the flute in the mood of Krishna. And in the full moon saw extraordinary beauty of Radharani in the form of Krishna. The moon felt that, oh, I want to take the dust off Radharani's lotus feet.

And then, now, the moon falls down and the whole Rasleela pastime cannot take place only. So, the night will get complete darkness. There has to be some light.

So, then, as the moon appeared to fall down suddenly, Krishna came running, leaving everything. Krishna came in the form of Radharani. And when Krishna came in the form of Radharani, when the moon saw the beauty of Krishna as Radharani, he was about to fall in ecstasy, but then he froze in ecstasy.

Completely froze, not being able to move at all. And then, Radharani started running, running, running. So, this is the Gopi, Sarva Dharmaan Paritra Jivam Ekam Sarvam.

They came. And then, it's a beautiful conversation. So, Radharani as Krishna said, Krishna, why have you come? Oh, Gopis, why have you come in the night like this? Did you come to see the beauty of the forest? Now, you have seen it, you can go back.

So, Krishna in the form of Radharani started rubbing his nails against the ground. He said, oh, you know why we have come? He said, we have been attracted by your flute. And you have called us for performing Rasleela.

Then, why are you speaking like this to us? And then, Krishna said, they talked and then they decided to perform Rasleela. Now, all the Gopis, they were watching. And they were completely fascinated.

You know, Krishna was taking on the role of Radharani so attractively. And Radharani was taking on the role of Krishna so attractively, that temporarily they forgot who was Krishna and who was Radharani. And they were observing, completely lost.

And then, they started performing Rasleela. And as they were performing Rasleela, then other Gopis also came along. And Krishna as Radha started dancing with Radharani.

Radharani as, with Krishna as Radharani. And then, as the dancing was going on, going on, then Krishna and Radharani went to a separate place. And then, the whole pastime takes place.

Radharani, Krishna says, you know, oh, I am tired. If you want to take me somewhere, please carry me along. And then, Krishna says, fine.

And then, Radharani disappears. Krishna as Radharani, Radharani as Krishna disappears. And then, Krishna as Radharani starts crying.

Oh, Krishna, where have you gone? Where have you gone? Where have you gone? And all the other Gopis come. And they say, what are you asking? He says, I don't know. Where has Krishna gone? Where has Krishna gone? Where has Krishna gone? So, now, because Radharani in the mood of Krishna is thinking so intensely of Krishna, and the Gopis cannot tolerate this.

Now, actually, in the Gopi Geet, in the Bhagavatam, it is described how the Gopis went deep into the forest in search of Krishna. And then, they just couldn't find Krishna anywhere. They went so deep into the forest that even the moonlight was not penetrating over there.

Finally, they decided, we'll come back now. So, then they came back and sat on the coast of the Yamuna. And there, they started offering the famous Gopi Geeta prayers.

And actually, the Goswamis have analysed, depending on the mood and the personality of each Gopi, you know, actually, the Gopi Geeta is Sri Gopya Uchu. It's in the plural. The Gopis said.

But the Goswamis have analysed which prayer is said by Lalita, which prayer is said by Vishaka, which prayer is said by Tunga Vidya, which prayer is said by Radharani, like that. And the whole Gopi Geeta goes on. And then, actually, the whole Gopi Geeta is a very beautiful metre, in the first syllable and the last syllable.

First syllable of one line and the first syllable of the next half line. jayati tethikam janmanavraja jaya shrayata indira shashvanatrahi shasha daita drishyatam deekshutavakas So, it's all beautifully rhyming. One of the most beautiful poetic compositions is there in the Gopi Geeta.

And all the Gopis offer intense prayers. And the last prayer is, Actually, the Gopis are initially asking Krishna to come back, because we are suffering from not seeing you. But the last prayer is completely selfless.

Just pray. yatte suja charnam buruham sthaneshu bheeta shanai priyadadhimai karkasheshu They pray that, You know, Krishna, when we think that you have gone deep into the forest, and you have gone barefoot, and your bare feet will be falling on the thorns and the pebbles and the twigs and they will get pierced. Thinking of this, our heart is getting pierced.

So, for that sake, you come back. And then, Krishna hears that prayer. Actually, from the poetic point of view, all the earlier verses are very poetic.

This verse is a different metre. The Gopis' intensity comes out. Their intense devotion comes out and they offer this prayer.

And then, Krishna reappears. So, if you see the Gopi Gita, there are five chapters. So, there is action in the first and second chapters, and there is action in the fourth and fifth chapters.

In the first chapter, Krishna is playing the flute and calling the Gopis. In the second chapter, the Gopis come and they discuss, and there is just the starting of the Raas Leela, and there is the disappearance of Krishna. In the third chapter, there are prayers.

In the fourth chapter, then, again, when Krishna comes back, the Gopis and Krishna have a long discussion. Krishna, what kind of cheater are you? How can you leave us and go away? We have left everything and come for you. Krishna says, I only wanted to intensify your love for me.

And in the fifth chapter, they perform the Raas Leela dance. So, if you see from the point of view of action, there is no action in the third chapter. But actually, there is an explosion of action in the third chapter.

That action is in the hearts of the Gopis. Their hearts are exploding with divine emotions. Every one of them is separated from Krishna.

So, that is actually what happens to a devotee. When we are chanting Hare Krishna, nothing seems to be happening. No action is happening.

But actually, the action, even when we are not aware, it is happening inside the heart. And then, finally, so, in this particular pastime, when Radharani says Krishna, and the Gopis see that Krishna is suffering in separation from Krishna. Krishna as Radharani is suffering in separation from Krishna.

So, then they can't tolerate this. And then they don't know where Krishna is. So, what they do is, just tell Krishna, actually, you are not Radharani, you are Krishna.

And then suddenly Krishna comes back and says, Oh, I am Krishna. He looks at himself and his whole form changes. And then, immediately Radharani appears over there.

And she smiles mischievously. You see, I told you, I am not the culprit. Your flute is the culprit.

And then Krishna takes his flute and touches his own head. Yes, my flute is the culprit. So, the spiritual world is filled with such extraordinary, profound, sweet pastimes.

And when we hear these pastimes, they spontaneously attract our heart to Krishna. And all other desires gradually go away with the process of purification. And, you know, when we hear these pastimes, we actually feel attracted.

I want to go back to the spiritual world. I want to be there, to participate in the wonderful pastimes of Krishna. In whatever way he sees fit.

And, when this spiritual desire arises in our heart, when Bhaktanath Thakur says, that is the beginning of the supreme auspiciousness. Somehow, some spiritual desire has to awaken in our heart. And once that awakens, then that desire will carry us forward.

That desire is nourished more and more by the association of devotees. And it will take us ultimately back home, back to Godhead. So, therefore, it is not just an empty boast when we say, actually, I'll just conclude with one story, one incident.

No, this is not a matter of pride for us, that Krishna Consciousness is the best. It's a matter of responsibility for us. It was when Radhanath Maharaj was in Kumbh Mela.

So, in 2001, at that time, one person, one Hindu person came and he said, he saw that Maharaj was a foreign-bodied person. He said, Swamiji, why did you convert from your religion to our religion? So, Maharaj said, no, actually, all religions teach love of God and everybody has to, can develop love for God by following the different religions. Yeah, but then you could have developed love for God in your own Jewish faith.

Why did you convert to our religion? So, Maharaj said, no, actually, all the religions teach the same goal. We can all develop love for God by whatever religion we follow. Then finally, he said what he wanted Maharaj to say.

He said, so, do you agree that our religion is superior to your religion? And that's why you converted from your religion to our religion. So, Maharaj said, I accepted Lord Krishna as my Lord, not because Hinduism is superior or because other religions are inferior, but because Krishna attracted my heart like no one else. Because Krishna attracted my heart like no one else.

So, it's not just a matter of pride. My path is the best path. That will become Monday.

If my path is the best, then actually I should develop the best love for Krishna. Follow the process and develop the love for Krishna. When we develop the love for Krishna, then we can attract the whole world to come to Krishna's lotus feet and share the same ecstasy.

That's what Srila Prabhupada did. In just 11 years, he travelled all over the world and because his heart was filled with love for Krishna, he attracted millions of people to develop love for Krishna and we are so fortunate that Prabhupada's disciples have carried it on and now they have given all of us Krishna consciousness and we can all relish it in our hearts and share it with others. So, I'll quickly summarise.

I started by talking about how there is the sambandha abhidheyana which is there in every part, whatever we want to do. We want to develop a relationship, possess a car, then we follow a process, get a loan and then purchase the car and enjoy. But what to develop sambandha with, that is told in the Vedic literature.

Different people have different sambandhas. So, it is to develop with God. All the religions talk about that, but the knowledge of God is most clearly given in the Vedic scriptures, so that it attracts us to develop a sambandha with Him.

And then we discussed how the concept of Leela helps us to understand how God loves His devotees and how we all have a sambandha with Him. Then we discussed elaborately about abhidheya. It's not just enough to want to develop love for God, there has to be a process.

Willpower cannot cure loose motion. So, similarly, willpower alone cannot transform our heart. We have to have a process.

And Prabhupada gave us the process. Prabhupada was a doctor who was extremely compassionate but at the same time non-populist. That's why he gave the do's and the don'ts.

And we discussed how we can among the genes, the upbringing, the association, the free will and God's grace. By changing the association we can actually begin to access our own free will more effectively and access Krishna's grace and experience magical transformation in the heart. And then lastly we discussed about how the prayojan, the wonderful goal that is waiting for us when we develop our love for Krishna, that is also beautifully described in the scriptures.

Thank you very much.