Spiritual Attachment and Material Detachment

TEXT 18

jnana-vairagya-yuktena

bhakti-yuktena catmana

paripasyaty udasinam

prakrtim ca hataujasam

TRANSLATION

In that position of self-realization, by practice of knowledge and

renunciation in devotional service, one sees everything in the right

perspective; he becomes indifferent to material existence, and the

material influence acts less powerfully upon him.

PURPORT

As the contamination of the germs of a particular disease can

influence a weaker person, similarly the influence of material nature,

or illusory energy, can act on the weaker, or conditioned, soul but not

on the liberated soul. Self-realization is the position of the liberated

state. One understands his constitutional position by knowledge and

vairagya, renunciation. Without knowledge, one cannot have realization.

The realization that one is the infinitesimal part and parcel of the

Supreme Spirit makes one unattached to material, conditional life. That

is the beginning of devotional service. Unless one is liberated from

material contamination, one cannot engage in the devotional service of

the Lord. In this verse, therefore, it is stated, jnana-vairagyayuktena:

when one is in full knowledge of one's constitutional position

and is in the renounced order of life, detached from material

attraction, then, by pure devotional service, bhakti-yuktena, he can

engage himself as a loving servant of the Lord. paripasyati means that

he can see everything in its right perspective. Then the influence of

material nature becomes almost nil. This is also confirmed in Bhagavadgita.

Brahma-bhutah prasannatma: when one is self-realized he becomes

happy and free from the influence of material nature, and at that time

he is freed from lamentation and hankering. The Lord states that

position as mad-bhaktim labhate param, the real beginning of devotional

service. Similarly, it is confirmed in the Narada-pancaratra that when

the senses are purified, they can then be engaged in the devotional

service of the Lord. One who is attached to material contamination

cannot be a devotee.

In the conditional state, we are influenced by material nature. We

have already discussed how we are conditioned by the three modes of

material nature--ignorance, passion and goodness. Goodness is superior

to ignorance and passion because from the platform of goodness we can

come to understand Krsna and thereby transcend the modes altogether. In

this age, people are generally influenced by the lower modes, the modes

of ignorance and passion. In these modes, we are not able to serve

Krsna. It is our constitutional position to serve someone, but when we

do not serve Krsna, we serve maya. In any case, we cannot become master.

Who can say that he is a master, that he is not serving anyone? We may

serve our family, society, country, business, automobile or whatever. If

one cannot find anything to serve, he goes and buys a cat or dog and

serves it. Why is this? It is because service is our nature. We are

simply lacking the knowledge of where to direct the service. Service is

meant to be rendered to Krsna. In the material world we are serving our

lusty desires, not Krsna, and we are deriving no pleasure from this. We

are also serving in an office or in some employment in order to get some

money. In this case, we are serving money, not the person. Thus in the

material world we serve the senses and money. In any case, service is

there. We must serve.

Actually the only master is Krsna. Ekale isvara krsna, ara saba

bhrtya (Cc. Adi 5.142). All the demigods, human beings, animals, trees

and everything else are servants. Self-realization is realizing that one

is the eternal servant of Krsna and that one's duty is to serve Him.

Selfrealization is not thinking aham brahmasmi, "I have become Brahman,

Bhagavan." How can we become Bhagavan? If we are Bhagavan, we are

actually the supreme powerful one. If this is the case, why are we in a

miserable condition? Why are we under the influence of maya? Does

Bhagavan come under the influence of maya? No. Krsna says specifically

in Bhagavad-gita that prakrti, maya, is working under His directions.

Maya is the maidservant of Krsna, and if we are the servants of ma-ya-,

how can we be Krsna, Bhagavan? When we come to our spiritual senses, we

can understand that we are erroneously engaged in maya's service and

that our duty is to engage in Krsna's service. That is self-realization.

As stated here: jnana-vairagya-yuktena. Real understanding is knowing

oneself to be the servant of Krsna, no one else. Because we are under

illusion, we are serving kama, lobha, moha, matsarya--lust and greed--

without benefit and without pleasure. Kamadinam kati na katidha palita

durnidesa: "There is no limit to the unwanted orders of lusty desires."

(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 3.2.25) When we come to the understanding that

our pleasure lies in serving Krsna only, we have attained jnanavairagya.

Therefore in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.7) it is stated:

vasudeve bhagavati

bhakti-yogah p rayojitah

janayaty asu vairagyam

jnanam ca yad ahaitukam

"By rendering devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, Sri Krsna, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and

detachment from the world." If one engages in the service of Vasudeva,

Krsna, this knowledge comes, and one becomes a mahatma. A mahatma is one

who realizes that Krsna is everything. He does not defy Krsna or try to

become Krsna. One who does so is not a mahatma but a duratma, a rascal.

What is the position and knowledge of a mahatma? Krsna states:

mahatmanas tu mam partha

daivim prakrtim asritah

bhajanty ananya-manaso

jnatva bhutadim avyayam

"O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are

under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in

devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, original and inexhaustible." (Bg. 9.13)

A mahatma cannot be manufactured. He is under the daiviprakrti, the

divine nature. There are two kinds of prakrti--para prakrti and apara

prakrti. Apara prakrti is the material world, and daivi prakrti is the

spiritual world. As soon as one understands that he is uselessly serving

maya in the material world in the form of society, friends, country and

so forth, one reaches the stage called jnana, knowledge. As soon as one

attains this knowledge, he reaches the brahma-bhuta stage, Brahman

realization, and he becomes prasannatma, happy. One may ask, "Why should

I serve Krsna?" We have already explained that being a part means

serving the whole. The whole is Krsna, and the individuals are meant for

Krsna's satisfaction. Isavasyam idam sarvam.

There are many isvaras, controllers, but the supreme isvara is

Krsna. As soon as one attains this realization, he has attained perfect

knowledge, and he renders service in bhakti-yoga. Foolish people say

that bhakti is meant for ajnanis, unintelligent people, but this is not

the case. In Bhagavad-gita Krsna indicates that after many births, the

jnani, the man in knowledge, surrenders unto Him.

As long as we do not understand Krsna, Vasudeva, we should

understand that we are still fools. We may advertise ourselves as very

great jnanis, learned personalities, but we are actually fools. That is

the sastric conclusion. If we are actually jnanis, we should surrender

unto Krsna.

There are many dharmas, or activities. Some are pious and some

impious, but Krsna tells us to give up both. Arjuna was thinking that it

was impious to fight with his relatives, but Krsna was insisting that he

fight. How could Arjuna act impiously? He could not, because Krsna's

service is transcendental to pious and impious activity. At midnight,

when the gopis heard the sound of Krsna's flute, they ran to the forest

to join Him. According to the sastras, it is immoral for young girls to

go see a young boy in a forest in the dead of night. But this was not an

impious activity because the gopis did this for Krsna. Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, who was so strict that no woman could even come near Him to

offer respects, actually said: ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena

ya kalpita. "What could be more wonderful than that worship conceived by

the gopis?" Although it actually appeared immoral for the gopis to dance

with Krsna, Caitanya Mahaprabhu states that their relation with Krsna is

the highest

form of worship. This is actually transcendental knowledge. One becomes

transcendental to all pious and impious activities when one serves

Krsna. After all, piety and impiety are within the material modes.

Krsna's service is transcendental to good and bad, pious and impious.

Bhakti-yoga begins when jnana and vairagya are complete. Jnana is

knowledge, and vairagya is detachment from matter and engagement of the

mind in spirit. Both of these are automatically attained when we engage

in devotional service to Krsna.

TEXT 19

na yujyamanaya bhaktya

bhagavaty akhilatmani

sadrso 'sti sivah pantha

yoginam brahma-siddhaye

TRANSLATION

Perfection in self-realization cannot be attained by any kind of

yogi unless he engages in devotional service to the Supreme Personality

of Godhead, for that is the only auspicious path.

PURPORT

That knowledge and renunciation are never perfect unless joined by

devotional service is explicitly explained here. Na yujyamanaya means

"without being dovetailed." When there is devotional service, the

question arises where to offer that service. Devotional service is to be

offered to the Supreme personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul of

everything, for that is the only reliable path of self-realization, or

Brahman realization. The word brahma-siddhaye means to understand

oneself to be different from matter, to understand oneself to be

Brahman. The Vedic words are aham brahmasmi. Brahma-siddhi means that

one should know that he is not matter; he is pure soul. There are

different kinds of yogis, but every yogi is supposed to have attained

selfrealization, or Brahman realization. It is clearly stated here that

unless one is fully engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, one cannot easily approach the path of brahmasiddhi.

In the beginning of the Second Chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is

stated that when one engages in the devotional service of Vasudeva,

spiritual knowledge and renunciation of the material world are

automatically manifest. Thus a devotee does not have to strive

separately for renunciation or knowledge. Devotional service itself is

so powerful that by one's service, everything is revealed. It is stated

here, sivah pantha: this is the only auspicious path for selfrealization.

The path of devotional service is the most confidential

means for attaining Brahman realization. That perfection in Brahman

realization is attained through the auspicious path of devotional

service indicates that the so-called Brahman realization, or realization

of the brahmajyoti effulgence, is not brahma-siddhi. Beyond that

brahmajyoti there is the Supreme personality of Godhead. In the

Upanisads a devotee prays to the Lord to kindly put aside the

effulgence, brahmajyoti, so that the devotee may see within the

brahmajyoti the actual eternal form of the Lord. Unless one attains

realization of the transcendental form of the Lord, there is no question

of bhakti. Bhakti necessitates the existence of the recipient of

devotional service and the devotee who renders devotional service.

Brahma-siddhi through devotional service is realization of the Supreme

personality of Godhead. The understanding of the effulgent rays of the

body of the Supreme Godhead is not the perfect stage of brahma-siddhi,

or Brahman realization. Nor is the realization of the Paramatma feature

of the Supreme Person perfect because Bhagavan, the Supreme personality

of Godhead, is akhilatma--He is the Supersoul. One who realizes the

Supreme Personality realizes the other features, namely the Paramatma

feature and the Brahman feature, and that total realization is brahmasiddhi.

As stated before, the word yoga means "to connect." Brahma-siddhaye

means "self-realization," and aham brahmasmi means "I am spirit soul."

Actually, realizing oneself to be spirit is not sufficient. One has to

progress further. One's fever may be cured, but one must also regain his

strength and appetite in order to be totally cured. Then one can have a

normal, healthy life, free of disease. Similarly, simply realizing that

one is spirit soul is not sufficient. One has to engage in spiritual

activity, and that spiritual activity is bhakti. Mayavadi philosophers

think that it is sufficient to stop all material activity, and the

Buddhist philosophers advocate nirvana, cessation of material life.

Neither give more information. Actually we are suffering due to this

material combination, and that is a fact. This body is composed of

earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego. The

Buddhists and Mayavadis advocate the annihilation of the components.

They say, "Let the earth go to earth, let the water go to water, let the

fire go to fire and become zero." If we dismantle the house of the

material body and become zero, we attain nirvana. Nirvana means the

cessation of pleasure and pain. The Mayavadis and Buddhists claim that

if we fill an empty pitcher, the water will make some sound as long as

the pitcher is not completely filled. When the pitcher is filled, there

will no longer be any sound. Thus they claim that all the Vedic mantras

and hymns stop when one is completely Brahman-realized. In other words,

the Buddhists and Mayavadis claim that the material world is false,

mithya, and that we should somehow or other make it zero. However,

simply realizing Brahman, realizing one's identity as spirit soul, is

insufficient. We must realize that Bhagavan is everywhere:

eko 'py asau racayitum jagad-anda-kotim

yac-chaktir asti jagad-anda-caya yad-antah

andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

"I worship the Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who, by one of His

plenary portions, enters the existence of every universe and every

atomic particle and thus unlimitedly manifests His infinite energy all

over the material creation." (Brahma-samhita 5.35)

Sri Bhagavan is not alone. He is not only localized, but is

everywhere. Although Krsna has a particular place, He is everywhere. It

is not that because Krsna is in one place, He cannot be in others. Since

we are conditioned, when we sit in our office we cannot be at home.

Krsna is not like this. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah. Krsna is

always in Goloka Vrndavana, yet He is andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantarastham.

He is within every atom of this universe. This universe is

existing due to the Garbhodakasayi Visnu. There is not only one

universe, but there are many millions, and they are all working very

nicely because the Garbhodakasayi Visnu is present. We should not think

that all these planets are floating in space without any arrangement

having been made. There is definitely an arrangement.

In order to be completely free of the material modes, one has to

come not only to the platform of jnana and vairagya, but to bhakti also.

When we mention bhakti, some people say, "I render bhakti to my wife. I

love her very much and take care of her. If I do not see her, I become

mad." Thus people have bhakti for their family, country, goddess Durga,

other demigods and so on. However, that kind of bhakti will not do.

Therefore it is said, bhaktir bhagavati. Bhakti must be rendered unto

the Supreme. It is not that one should render bhakti unto an imitation

Bhagavan. If one says that he is Bhagavan, we should ask, "Are you

present in everyone's heart? Can you tell me what I am thinking now?" If

one is Bhagavan, he must be akhilatma. If one is isvara, he must be

present in everyone's heart. Krsna is present in everyone's heart

(sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah). All this should be scrutinizingly

studied. It is not that one should accept this rascal or that rascal as

Bhagavan. Nor should one render bhakti to this demigod or that demigod,

to one's family, country, society, wife, cat, dog or whatever. All this

is not really bhakti but imitation bhakti. It is actually lustful

desire. If we can develop bhakti for Krsna, Krsna consciousness, our

lives will be successful. Actually there is no alternative. As stated in

this verse, sadrso 'sti sivah pantha. Parabrahman is Krsna, and brahmasiddhaye

means understanding our relationship with Krsna. It is all

right for one to understand oneself as Brahman (aham brahmasmi), but

what is our relationship with the Parabrahman? There are always two:

Brahman and Parabrahman, atma and Paramatma, isvara and Paramesvara, the

individual living being and the supreme living being, nitya and

nityanam, cetanas and cetananam. There are always two present, and two

means a relationship. We should therefore understand our relationship

with the Supreme, with Parabrahman. Understanding that relationship is

brahma-siddhaye.

We are qualitatively one with Parabrahman, but parabrahman is very

great whereas we are very small. Parabrahman is one (kaivalya). There is

no alternative and no duplicate. There is no one equal to Him or greater

than Him. That is the meaning of kaivalya. Human life is meant for

inquiring about Parabrahman and one's relationship with Him.

Unfortunately, people are not asking questions about Parabrahman.

Everyone is asking about the news and the morning paper, and everyone is

concerned with going to the market and purchasing so many goods for

cheaper prices. All this is going on in human society and in cat and dog

society also.

This world is full of darkness and ignorance, but Krsna

consciousness is transcendental to this material world. In Krsna

consciousness, there is no darkness but simply light. If we try to qnd

things at night, it becomes very difficult; however, in the daytime,

there is no difficulty. The sastras enjoin that we leave this darkness

and come to light. This light is given by the guru.

om ajnana timirandhasya

jnananjana-salakaya

caksur unmilitam yena

tasmai sri-gurave namah

"I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master

opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful

obeisances unto him."

It is the guru's business to give light by knowledge. The guru has

completely assimilated the Vedic essence of life. Sruti, knowledge, is

received by hearing. It is not experimental. We cannot understand that

which is beyond our sense perception by experiment. We cannot understand

who our father is by experimental knowledge. One cannot say, "Let me

find out who my father is by experiment." Our father was existing before

we were existing, and it is not possible to understand by experimental

knowledge that this or that man is my father. The real authority is the

mother; therefore Vedic knowledge has been likened to the mother and the

puranas to the sisters. We should understand from the Vedas what

ultimate knowledge really is. The ultimate knowable objective is Krsna,

and simply by understanding Krsna, we can understand everything. We do

not have to understand things separately. Krsna is within our hearts. He

is not far away; rather, He is everywhere. If Krsna sees that we are

attached to Him, He becomes our friend. He is a friend to everyone, but

He is especially a friend to His devotees. As Krsna Himself says in

Bhagavad-gita (10.11):

tesam evanukampartham

aham ajnanajam tamah

nasayamy atma- bhava-stho

jnana-dipena bhasvata

"Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy

with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance."

Jnana is there, it is simply covered with the curtain of ignorance.

Light is there, and darkness is there, but when we are in darkness we

cannot see things as they are. Krsna says that as one devotes himself to

rendering service, He Himself dispels the darkness of ignorance. If we

actually want to become perfect in this life, we only need to engage in

devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan. It

is not that Bhagavan is difficult to find. Bhagavan is within the heart.

Isvarah sarva bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati (Bg. 18.61). That is the

real Bhagavan, within the hearts of all. That Bhagavan is always active.

He instructed Brahma, the lord of the universe, and Brahma, having

received Krsna's instructions, created the entire universe. Krsna will

also give instructions to us if we simply take to devotional service.

TEXT 20

prasangam ajaram pasam

atmanah kavayo viduh

sa eva sadhusu krto

moksa-dvaram apavrtam

TRANSLATION

Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material

is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same

attachment, when applied to self-realized devotees, opens the door of

liberation.

PURPORT

Here it is clearly stated that attachment for one thing is the

cause of bondage in conditioned life, and the same attachment, when

applied to something else, opens the door of liberation. Attachment

cannot be killed; it has simply to be transferred. Attachment for

material things is called material consciousness, and attachment for

Krsna or His devotee is called Krsna consciousness. Consciousness,

therefore, is the platform of attachment. It is clearly stated here that

when we simply purify the consciousness from material consciousness to

Krsna consciousness, we attain liberation. Despite the statement that

one should give up attachment, desirelessness is not possible for a

living entity. A living entity, by constitution, has the propensity to

be attached to something. We see that if someone has no object of

attachment, if he has no children, he transfers his attachment to cats

and dogs. This indicates that the propensity for attachment cannot be

stopped; rather, it must be utilized for the best purpose. Our

attachment for material things perpetuates our conditional state, but

the same attachment, when transferred to the Supreme personality of

Godhead or His devotee, is the source of liberation.

Here it is recommended that attachment should be transferred to the

self-realized devotees, the sadhus. And who is a sadhu? A sadhu is not

just an ordinary man with a saffron robe or long beard. A sadhu is

described in Bhagavad-gita as one who unflinchingly engages in

devotional service. Even though one is found not to be following the

strict rules and regulations of devotional service, if one simply has

unflinching faith in Krsna, the Supreme Person, he is understood to be a

sadhu. Sadhur eva sa mantavyah. A sadhu is a strict follower of

devotional service. It is recommended here that if one at all wants to

realize Brahman, or spiritual perfection, his attachment should be

transferred to the sadhu, or devotee. Lord Caitanya also confirmed this.

Lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya: simply by a moment's

association with a sadhu, one can attain perfection.

Mahatma is a synonym of sadhu. It is said that service to a

mahatma-, or elevated devotee of the Lord, is dvaram ahur vimukteh, the

royal road of liberation. Mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimuktes tamo-dvaram

yositam sangi-sangam (SB. 5.5.2). Rendering service to the materialists

has the opposite effect. If anyone offers service to a gross

materialist, or a person engaged only in sense enjoyment, then by

association with such a person the door to hell is opened. The same

principle is confirmed here. Attachment to a devotee is attachment to

the service of the Lord because if one associates with a sadhu, the

sadhu will teach one how to become a devotee, a worshiper and a sincere

servitor of the Lord. These are the gifts of a sadhu. If we want to

associate with a sadhu, we cannot expect him to give us instructions on

how to improve our material condition, but he will instruct us how to

cut the knot of the contamination of material attraction and how to

elevate ourselves in devotional service. That is the result of

associating with a sadhu. Kapila Muni first of all instructs that the

path of liberation begins with such association.

According to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

`sadhu-sanga', `sadhu-sanga'--sarva-sastre kaya

lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya

"The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment's

association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success." (Cc.

Madhya 22.54)

It is said that man is a social animal, and, according to our

association, we can mold our character. Businessmen associate with one

another to develop their business capabilities. There are many different

types of association, and association brings about bondage to a

particular thing. If one associates with materialistic people, one's

bondage to sense gratification tightens. Woman is the symbol of sense

gratification; therefore anything dealing with sense gratification is

called yosit-sanga. This material world is filled with yosit-sanga

because everyone is interested in sense gratification. As stated in

Bhagavad-gita (2.44):

bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam

tayapahrta-cetasam

vyavasayatmika buddhih

samadhau na vidhiyate

"In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and

material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute

determination of devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take

place." The word bhoga means "sense gratification." Bhogaisvarya: Those

who are overly attached to opulence and sense gratification cannot

understand spiritual life, and they are very slow to take to it. At the

present moment people are manda, very slow. They do not take this Krsna

consciousness movement very seriously because they have been taught by

modern civilization simply to enjoy life for sense gratification. In the

Western countries, especially, there are many implements for sense

gratification. There are even machines for shaving, although formerly an

ordinary razor would do. Now, thanks to the machine, one does not even

have to move his hand. So this is considered progress. However, we learn

from the sastras that human life is not meant for sense enjoyment but

for tapasya. That is Vedic civilization. First of all, one must be

trained in the brahmacari system and learn how to deny the senses. A

brahmacari should be trained in tapasya, not in enjoyment. Formerly,

brahmacaris would have to go from door to door to beg alms for the

asrama, and they were trained from the very beginning to address every

woman as mother.

Presently, people are in such a miserable condition that they are

saying, "Let us die. Let us die." However, Krsna in Bhagavad-gita says,

"Why should you die?" People want to die in order to put an end to the

threefold miseries of material nature, but who is making research on how

to stop death? From Bhagavad-gita we learn that death is not really

natural for us. It is artificially imposed upon us, and we have to

become deathless again. That is the perfection of human life, but no one

cares about it. We have become so dull that we cannot avoid birth, old

age, disease and death. We are actually experiencing them because we are

not alert. For this reason, when Sanatana Gosvami approached Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, he said, "My dear Lord, somehow or other You have dragged me

to Your lotus feet. I am now asking You what my actual position is. Why

am I forced to suffer the threefold miseries of material life?" No one

is interested in inquiring about this matter. Moksa, liberation, means

getting free from the threefold miseries of life as well as birth, old

age, disease and death. Sometimes, when people are a little interested,

they take to a path that is not even approved, or they invent something.

But nothing need be invented. By this Krsna consciousness process,

everyone can be elevated. Everyone can be delivered, regardless of his

situation or culture. We have spread this Krsna consciousness movement

throughout the world, and people are becoming happy because of it.

According to Bhagavad-gita (9.32), anyone can take shelter of

Krsna. Krsna never denies anyone, and similarly, Krsna's devotee never

denies anyone. That is this Krsna consciousness movement. We tell

everyone, "Yes, you are welcome. Take this education and spiritual life

and become a devotee of Krsna." Sometimes we are criticized because of

this, but Krsna specifically says in Bhagavad-gita that even those who

are lowborn can take shelter of Him and become elevated for liberation.

What, then, to speak of pious people born in brahminical families?

Unfortunately, in this age people born in rich or brahminical families

often don't care for spiritual realization. They misuse their chance and

exhaust the results of their pious activities. Society needs first-class

sadhus in order to improve. If everyone is a sudra and debauchee, how

can society be peaceful? Therefore in order to organize society, Krsna

recommends the varnasrama-dharma. There must be ideal brahmanas,

ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. However, no one cares about this now.

One may ask, "What is a sadhu?" A sadhu is one who serves Krsna and

engages in Krsna consciousness without reservation. In Bhagavad-gita

(9.30), Sri Krsna says:

api cet suduracaro

bhajate mam ananya-bhak

sadhur eva sa mantavyah

samyag vyavasito hi sah

"Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged

in devotional service, he is to be considered saintly because he is

properly situated."

It is the sadhu's business to be very tolerant. When one becomes a

devotee, many people become one's enemy, because in this age people are

asuric, demoniac. Even one's father may turn into an enemy like

Hiranyakasipu, the father of Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada was only five

years old and was chanting Hare Krsna, but his father was prepared to

kill him because he was a devotee. Hiranyakasipu was saying, "Why are

you chanting Hare Krsna? Why are you speaking of a separate God? I am

God." That is the meaning of asuric, demoniac. Rascals who claim to be

God themselves are simply demons. Although Prahlada's father was

insisting that he was God, Prahlada Maharaja could not accept this. He

simply accepted his father as an asura, and consequently there was a

quarrel between them. When Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada Maharaja, "What

is the best thing you have learned from your teachers?" Prahlada

replied, "O best of the asuras, as far as I can understand, because we

have accepted this material body, we have to accept death. But this is

not the object of human life. Human life is meant for moksa,

liberation." Unfortunately, foolish people do not understand this. Krsna

says, mrtyuh sarva-haras caham: "I am death, and I will take away

everything you possess." (Bg. 10.34) Hiranyakasipu was such a powerful

demon that even the demigods were afraid of him, but Krsna took

everything away in a second. Hiranyakasipu was looking for security, and

he was thinking, "I will not die in this way, and I will not die in that

way." But he did not think that he would be killed by the Lord in the

form of Nrsimha. However intelligent we may be, and however much we may

try to cheat Krsna, Krsna is always more intelligent. When mother Yasoda

tried to bind Krsna with a rope, she found that the rope was always two

inches too short. Our intelligence is like that. We want to cheat God

and surpass Him, but this is not possible. People think themselves very

advanced in knowledge, but actually, due to their pride, their knowledge

is taken away by maya. Krsna actually takes the knowledge away from

atheistic, demoniac people like Hiranyakasipu. Atheists do not know that

Krsna's intelligence is always at least two inches greater than anyone

else's.

In material life, we simply struggle for existence. We want to

exist, and we do not want to die. Nor do we want to undergo the pains of

birth, catch diseases or grow old. There are so many miseries in

material life that we do not want, but they are forced upon us.

Unfortunately, we are not intelligent enough to make a solution to all

these problems. We should be inquiring like Sanatana Gosvami about how

to put an end to them all. Instead, we are working in such a way that we

have to accept another material body. We are experiencing the

difficulties arising from this material body, but we are not working in

a way to become free. This Krsna consciousness movement is giving

information on how to become liberated.

Those who are mahatmas are always engaged in chanting Hare Krsna,

Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,

Hare Hare. Bhajana is the chanting of Hare Krsna. If we serve a mahatma

like Haridasa Thakura, who was always engaged in chanting Hare Krsna,

our path of liberation is opened. However, if we associate with

materialistic people, who are simply mad for sense gratification, we

take the way of darkness. Tamo-dvaram yositam sangi-sangam. The Vedas

enjoin that we not remain in darkness but that we go to the light. We

have accepted a body, but we will not be allowed to remain in that body

permanently. We will have to give it up and accept another, and then

another and another. What is this business? The material world is in

such darkness, and people are taking on one body after another. The

Krsna consciousness movement is therefore here to give enlightenment and

liberation, and it is offering not only the simplest process of chanting

Hare Krsna but also the most sublime philosophy.

Chapter Eleven

The Symptoms of a Sadhu

TEXT 21

titiksavah karunikah

suhrdah sarva-dehinam

ajata-satravah santah

sadhavah sadhu-bhusanah

TRANSLATION

The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and

friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he

abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.

PURPORT

A sadhu, as described above, is a devotee of the Lord. His concern,

therefore, is to enlighten people in devotional service; that is his

mercy. He knows that without devotional service, human life is spoiled.

A devotee travels all over the country, from door to door, preaching,

"Be Krsna conscious. Be a devotee of Lord Krsna. Don't spoil your life

in simply fulfilling your animal propensities. Human life is meant for

selfrealization, or Krsna consciousness." These are the preachings of a

sadhu. He is not satisfied with his own liberation. He always thinks

about others. He is the most compassionate personality toward all fallen

souls. One of his qualifications, therefore, is karunika, great mercy to

the fallen souls. While engaged in preaching work, he has to meet with

so many opposing elements, and therefore the sadhu has to be very

tolerant. Someone may ill-treat him because the conditioned souls are

not prepared to receive the transcendental knowledge of devotional

service. They don't like it; that is their disease. The sadhu has the

thankless task of impressing upon them the importance of devotional

service. Sometimes devotees are personally attacked with violence. Lord

Jesus Christ was crucified, Haridasa Thakura was caned in twenty-two

marketplaces, and Lord Caitanya's principal assistant, Nityananda, was

violently attacked by Jagai and Madhai. But still they were tolerant

because their mission was to deliver fallen souls. A sadhu is merciful

because he is the well-wisher of all living entities. He is not only a

well-wisher of human society, but a well-wisher of animal society as

well. The word sarva-dehinam refers to all living entities who have

accepted material bodies. Not only does the human being have a material

body, but other living entities as well. The devotee of the Lord is

merciful to everyone--cats, dogs, trees, etc. He treats all living

entities in such a way that they can ultimately get salvation from this

material entanglement. Sivananda Sena, one of the disciples of Lord

Caitanya, gave liberation to a dog by treating the dog transcendentally.

There are many instances where a dog got salvation by association with a

sadhu, because a sadhu engages in the highest philanthropic activities

for the benediction of all living entities. Yet although a sadhu is not

inimical toward anyone, the world is so ungrateful that even a sadhu has

many enemies.

What is the difference between an enemy and a friend? lt is a

difference in behavior. A sadhu behaves with all conditioned souls for

their ultimate relief from material entanglement. Therefore, no one can

be more friendly than a sadhu in relieving a conditioned soul. A sadhu

is calm, and he quietly and peacefully follows the principles of

scripture. A sadhu is also one who follows the principles of scripture

and at the same time is a devotee of the Lord. One who actually follows

the principles of scripture must be a devotee of God because all the

sastras instruct us to obey the orders of the Personality of Godhead. A

sadhu, therefore, is a follower of the scriptural injunctions and a

devotee of the Lord. All good characteristics are prominent in a

devotee, and he develops all the good qualities of the demigods, whereas

a nondevotee, even though academically qualified, has no good

qualifications or good characteristics according to the standard of

transcendental realization.

There are 8,400,000 life forms according to the padma purana, and

the atma is the same in all of them. The sadhu can understand this, as

Bhagavad-gita (5.18) indicates:

vidya-vinaya-sampanne

brahmane gavi hastini

suni caiva svapake ca

panditah sama-darsinah

"The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal

vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a

dog-eater [outcaste]."

It is not that a brahmana is the same as a dog, but that the

brahmana is a spirit soul, and the dog is also a spirit soul. We are

conditioned according to our different bodies, which are given by

superior forces. Yamaraja offers the living entity a body according to

his karma. Karmana daiva-netrena. We have already discussed the point

that bodies are awarded according to one's qualifications. If we acquire

the qualities of a brahmana and work as a brahmana, we become a

brahmana. If we act as a dog and do the work of a dog, we become a dog.

Nor should one think that simply because one is born as a brahmana, one

is automatically a brahmana. There are characteristics mentioned in

Bhagavad-gita by which one can tell to which caste one belongs. Sridhara

Svami has also noted that birth is not everything. One has to acquire

the qualities. Whatever body we may have, our position is temporary. We

cannot remain in any position indefinitely. We may think that at present

we are Americans and are very happy, and that's all right. We may chalk

out our plans for continued happiness, but nature will not allow us to

stay indeknitely. As soon as nature calls, we die and give up our post.

Then we have to take the post of a dog, a cat, a demigod, a human being

or whatever. We are now given a most exalted life form, that of a human

being, but if we do not act accordingly, we have to take a lower body.

This is karmana daiva-netrena.

We should therefore be very careful in this human form that our aim

is to become devotees of Lord Krsna. That is the path of liberation.

Previously, great personalities in lndia used to go to the forest in

order to meditate to stop the repetition of birth and death. That is the

highest occupation for man, and actually every man is meant for that.

Unless we conquer repeated birth and death, we simply waste our lives

like animals--eating, sleeping, defending and mating. People in this age

especially cannot distinguish between animal life and human life. They

think the difference is that animals sleep in the street and human

beings sleep in nice apartments. However, the sastras do not define

civilization in this way. Whether one sleeps in the street or in an

apartment, the activity is the same. A dog may eat out of a garbage can,

and a human being may eat on a golden plate, but this does not mean that

they are engaged in different activities. In either case, both the dog

and the man are taking food into their bodies. A dog may have sex in the

street, and a human being may have sex in a very nice bed in a secluded

place, but that does not change the activity. People are thinking that

advancement of civilization means improving eating, sleeping, mating and

defending, but actually these activities have nothing to do with

civilization. They simply tighten our bondage to material life.

Human life is meant for yajna, sacrifice for the satisfaction of

the Supreme Person. We may perfect our activities, but our success lies

in satisfying Krsna by our talents. Presently we may be attached to

material activity, but we should transfer that attachment to a sadhu.

Then our lives will be successful. Presently we are attached to money,

women, nice houses, country, society, friends, family and so forth. This

attachment is called arjanam pasu. The word pasu means "rope." When we

are bound with a rope, we are helpless, and now we are bound by the

gunas, or the three modes of material nature. The word guna also means

"rope." We cannot free ourselves, for we are conditioned. We cannot move

freely without the sanction of the supreme authority. It is generally

said that not a blade of grass moves without God's sanction. Similarly,

we cannot do anything without the supervision of a superior authority.

It is not that God has to take personal supervision of this.

parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate... na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate:

in the Svetasvatara Upanisad (6.8), it is thus stated that the Supreme

Lord does not have to act personally. He has many agents to perform

everything for Him. We are so controlled that we are not even free to

blink our eyes. We may be moving our hands very freely, but at any

moment they can be immediately paralyzed. Presently I am claiming, "This

is my hand." But what is this? The hand could be paralyzed immediately.

This is conditioned life, and how can we improve it? Our business is to

become liberated from all this conditioning. How is this possible? Sa

eva sadhusu krto moksa-dvaram apavrtam (SB. 3.25.20). We have to turn

our attachment from material things to a sadhu. `Sadhu-sanga', `sadhusanga'--

sarva-sastre kaya: this is the advice of Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu. All sastras advise us to associate with a sadhu. Even

Canakya Pandita, the great politician, recommended: tyaja durjanasamsargam

bhaja sadhu-samagamam. One Vaisnava householder asked Caitanya

Mahaprabhu what the duty of a householder is, and Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu immediately replied, asat-sanga-tyaga--ei vaisnava-acara:

"Don't associate with nondevotees, but search out a sadhu." (Cc. Madhya

22.87)

At the present moment it is very difficult to avoid the company of

asadhus, those who are not sadhus. It is very difficult to find a sadhu

for association. We have therefore started this Krsna consciousness

movement to create an association of sadhus so that people may take

advantage and become liberated. There is no other purpose for this

society.

Krsna states in Bhagavad-gita (6.47) that the first-class sadhu is

one who is always thinking of Him. This process is not very difficult.

We should always think of Krsna, but how is this possible? We think of

our business, our dog, our family, our lovable object and so many other

things. We have to think of something; without thinking, we cannot

remain. We simply have to divert our thoughts to Krsna. It is the

sadhu's business to teach this, and one can learn this in the

association of a sadhu. Actually a sadhu will not teach anything else.

Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.4.15). This is

the way to make spiritual advancement. One has to associate with a

sadhu. Often the sadhu's task is a thankless one, but he has to be

tolerant. Despite all the trouble a sadhu may encounter, he is very

merciful upon fallen conditioned souls. He sees that people are

suffering due to a lack of Krsna consciousness, and because he is always

thinking of the welfare of others, he is suhrt. Other people are always

envious, but the sadhu is always thinking how to save others from the

clutches of maya. A sadhu is kind not only to human beings but to cats,

dogs, trees, plants and insects; he will hesitate even to kill one

mosquito. He does not simply think, "I shall just take care of my

brother." He looks on all living beings as his brothers because Krsna

says that He is the father of all living entities.

Because a sadhu lives in this way, he does not create enemies. If

there are enemies, they become enemies out of their own character, not

out of any provocation on the part of a sadhu. A sadhu simply teaches,

"My dear human being, my dear friend, just surrender to Krsna." Enemies

arise due to man's envious nature. Canakya Pandita says that there are

two envious animals--serpents and men. Although you may be faultless,

either may kill you. Of the two, Canakya pandita says that the envious

man is more dangerous because a serpent can be subdued by chanting a

mantra or by some herbs, but an envious man cannot be so subdued. In

Kali-yuga, practically everyone is envious, but we have to tolerate

this.

Envious people create many impediments to the Krsna consciousness

movement, but we have to tolerate them. There is no alternative. One

must be peaceful and depend on Krsna in all circumstances. These are the

ornaments of a sadhu. We should find a sadhu and associate with him.

Then our path of liberation will be open.

In the next verse, Lord Kapila further explains the activities of a

sadhu.

TEXT 22

mayy ananyena bhavena

bhaktim kurvanti ye drdham

mat-krte tyakta-karmanas

tyakta-svajana-bandhavah

TRANSLATION

Such a sadhu engages in staunch devotional service to the Lord

without deviation. For the sake of the Lord he renounces all other

connections, such as family relationships and friendly acquaintances

within the world.

PURPORT

A person in the renounced order of life, a sannyasi, is also called

a sadhu because he renounces everything--his home, his comfort, his

friends, his relatives and his duties to friends and to family. He

renounces everything for the sake of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

A sannyasi is generally in the renounced order of life, but his

renunciation will be successful only when his energy is employed in the

service of the Lord with great austerity. It is said here, therefore,

bhaktim kurvanti ye drdham. A person who seriously engages in the

service of the Lord and is in the renounced order of life is a sadhu. A

sadhu is one who has given up all responsibility to society, family and

worldly humanitarianism, simply for the service of the Lord. As soon as

he takes his birth in the world, a person has many responsibilities and

obligations--to the public, demigods, great sages, general living

beings, parents, forefathers and many others. When he gives up all these

obligations for the service of the Supreme Lord, he is not punished for

his renunciation. But if for sense gratification a person renounces

these obligations, he is punished by the law of nature.

Krsna and all the sastras say that our only obligation is to the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we take to His service, we are no

longer obliged to anyone. We are free. How is this possible? By almighty

God's power. A man may be condemned to death, but if a president or a

king excuses him, he is saved. Krsna's final instruction in Bhagavadgita

is to surrender everything to Him. We can sacrifice our life,

wealth and intelligence, and this is called yajna. Everyone has some

intelligence, and everyone uses his intelligence in one way or another.

Generally people use their intelligence in trying to gratify their

senses, but even an ant can do this. We should try to gratify not our

senses but Krsna's senses. Then we become perfect.

We have to learn this purificatory process from a sadhu. Inasmuch

as we try to gratify our senses, we become attached to the material

world. We may render service to the sadhu or to Krsna. The sadhu is the

representative of Krsna. He will never say, "Serve me," but will say,

"Serve Krsna." Therefore we have to approach Krsna through the sadhu.

This is confirmed by the Vaisnava acarya Narottama dasa Thakura: chadiya

vaisnava-seva nistara payeche keba. We cannot directly approach Krsna;

we have to go through the transparent via media, Krsna's representative.

Those who are after material concessions go to different demigods.

They take something from Siva, Durga, Kali, Ganesa, Surya and whomever.

However, it was the goddess Parvati who asked Lord Siva, "What is the

best type of worship?" Lord Siva advised, aradhananam sarvesam visnor

aradhanam param (Padma Purana). "My dear Parvati, of all kinds of

worship, worship of Lord Visnu is the best." Then he added: tasmat

parataram devi tadiyanam samarcanam. "And even better than the worship

of Lord Visnu is the worship of a Vaisnava, a devotee."

Spiritual life begins with the association of a devotee, a sadhu.

One cannot progress an inch without the mercy of a sadhu. Prahlada

Maharaja has also indicated this:

naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim

sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah

mahiyasam pada-rajo-'bhisekam

niskincananam na vrnita yavat

"Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of

a Vaisnava completely freed from material contamination, persons very

much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus

feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by

becoming Krsna conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the

Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination." (SB.

7.5.32) Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada Maharaja, "My dear son Prahlada,

how have you become so advanced in Krsna consciousness?" Although

Hiranyakasipu was a demon, he was nonetheless inquisitive. Prahlada

Maharaja replied, "My dear father, O best of the asuras, one can receive

Krsna consciousness only from the instructions of a guru. One cannot

attain it simply by speculating. Ordinary men do not know that their

ultimate destination is to return to Visnu." In the material world,

people are always hoping for something. They hope against hope, yet

their hopes will never be fulfilled. People are trying to become happy

by adjusting the external energy, but they do not know that happiness

cannot be achieved without approaching God. People are thinking, "I must

first of all see to my own interest." That's all right, but what is that

interest? That they do not know. People are thinking that by adjusting

the material energy they will be happy, and everyone is trying this

individually, collectively or nationally. In any case, it is not

possible. People will ultimately be frustrated. Why attempt a process

that will ultimately meet with frustration? It is therefore said:

adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram punah punas carvita-carvananam (SB.

7.5.30). People are being baffled in so many ways because they cannot

control their senses. Their only possibility of rescue is Krsna.

Therefore in this verse it is said: mayy ananyena bhavena bhaktim

kurvanti ye drdham.

Prahlada Maharaja simply thought of Krsna. Because of this, he had

to undergo a great deal of trouble given by his father. Material nature

will not give us freedom very easily. If we become strong enough to try

to capture the lotus feet of Krsna, maya will try to keep us under her

clutches. However, if one gives up everything for Krsna's sake, maya can

have no effect. The most excellent example of this is the gopis. They

gave up everything--family, prestige and honor--just to follow Krsna.

That is the highest perfection, but that is not possible for ordinary

living entities. We should, however, follow the Gosvamis in their

determination to worship Krsna.

Sanatana Gosvami was an important minister in the government of

Hussain Shah, but he gave up everything to follow Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu. He adopted the life of a mendicant and lived under a

different tree every night. One may ask, "After giving up material

enjoyment, how can one live?" The Gosvamis lived by dipping into the

ocean of the transcendental loving affairs between Krsna and the gopis.

Since that was their asset, they could live very peacefully. We cannot

simply give up everything. We will become mad if we try to give up

everything without having staunch faith in Krsna. Yet if we find Krsna's

association, we can easily give up our opulent positions--our family,

business and everything. However, that requires sadhu-sanga, association

with a sadhu, a devotee. When we associate with a devotee, the day will

eventually come when we can give up everything and become liberated

persons, fit to return home, back to Godhead.

presently we are attached to material enjoyment, and Krsna even

gives us a chance to gratify our senses. He lets us enjoy ourselves to

the fullest extent because we have come to this material world to enjoy

sense gratification. However, this is called maya, illusion. It is not

really enjoyment, but simply struggle. When one realizes that he is

simply struggling life after life, that there is actually no real

enjoyment in the material world, one becomes a devotee of Krsna. That

realization requires knowledge, and that knowledge can be acquired by

association with a sadhu, a devotee.

Freedom from this struggle with material existence is further

explained by Lord Kapila in the next verse.

TEXT 23

mad-asrayah katha mrstah

srnvanti kathayanti ca

tapanti vividhas tapa

naitan mad-gata-cetasah

TRANSLATION

Engaged constantly in chanting and hearing about Me, the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, the sadhus do not suffer from material miseries

because they are always filled with thoughts of My pastimes and

activities.

PURPORT

There are multifarious miseries in material existence--those

pertaining to the body and the mind, those imposed by other living

entities and those imposed by natural disturbances. But a sadhu is not

disturbed by such miserable conditions because his mind is always filled

with Krsna consciousness, and thus he does not like to talk about

anything but the activities of the Lord. Maharaja Ambarisa did not speak

of anything but the pastimes of the Lord. Vacamsi vaikunthagunanuvarnane.

He engaged his words only in glorification of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. Ordinary conditioned souls, being forgetful of

the activities of the Lord, are always full of anxieties and material

tribulations. On the other hand, since the devotees always engage in the

topics of the Lord, they are forgetful of the miseries of material

existence. Thus they differ from other living entities, who are simply

suffering.

There is no one in the world materially engaged who can boldly say,

"I am not suffering." I challenge anyone to say this. Everyone in the

material world is suffering in some way or another. If not, why are so

many drugs being advertised? On the television they are always

advertising tranquilizers and pain killers, and in America and in other

Western countries they are so advanced that there are dozens of tablets

for various pains. Therefore there must be some suffering. Actually,

anyone who has a material body has to accept suffering. There are three

types of suffering in the material world: adhyatmika, adhibhautika and

adhidaivika. Adhyatmika refers to the body and mind. Today I have a

headache or some pain in my back, or my mind is not very quiet. These

are sufferings called adhyatmika. There are other forms of suffering

called adhibhautika, which are sufferings imposed by other living

entities. Apart from this, there are sufferings called adhidaivika, over

which we have no control whatsoever. These are caused by the demigods or

acts of nature, and include famine, pestilence, flood, excessive heat or

excessive cold, earthquakes, fire and so on. Nonetheless, we are

thinking that we are very happy within this material world, although in

addition to these threefold miseries there is also birth, old age,

disease and death. So where is our happiness? Because we are under the

spell of maya, we are thinking that our position is very secure. We are

thinking, "Let us enjoy life," but what kind of enjoyment is this?

Obviously we have to tolerate suffering. One of the characteristics of a

sadhu is tolerance. Everyone is tolerant to a degree, but a sadhu's

tolerance and an ordinary man's tolerance are different. This is because

a sadhu knows that he is not the body. According to a Bengali Vaisnava

song: deha-smrti nahi yara samsara-bandhana kahah tara.

If we properly understand that we are not the body, although we may

suffer, we will not feel the suffering as acutely. For instance, if one

thinks, "This is my car," and is very attached to it, he suffers more

when it is wrecked than a person who thinks, "It can be repaired, or I

can leave it." It is a question of mental absorption. Because he is more

like an animal, a materialist suffers more. The devotee, on the other

hand, takes Krsna's advice in Bhagavad-gita (2.14):

matra-sparsas tu kaunteya

sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah

agamapayino 'nityas

tams titiksasva bharata

"O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and

distress and their disappearance in due course are like the appearance

and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense

perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them

without being disturbed."

In summer we suffer, and in winter we suffer. In the summer, fire

brings suffering, and in the winter the same fire is pleasing.

Similarly, in the winter, water is suffering, but in the summer it is

pleasing. The water and the fire are the same, but sometimes they are

pleasing, sometimes they are not. This is due to the touch of the skin.

We all have some "skin disease," which is the body, and therefore we are

suffering. Because we have become such rascals, we are thinking, "I am

this body." According to the Ayur-vedic system, the body is composed of

three material elements: kapha-pitta-vayu. The more we are in the bodily

conception, the more we suffer.

Presently so many "ism's" are being developed according to the

bodily conception--nationalism, communism, socialism, communalism and so

on. In Calcutta during the 1947 Hindu-Muslim riots, there was more

suffering because everyone was thinking, "I am a Hindu" or "I am a

Muslim." But, if one is advanced in Krsna consciousness, he will not

fight according to such conceptions, A Krsna conscious person knows that

he is neither Hindu nor Muslim but the eternal servant of Krsna. Because

people are being educated to become more body conscious, their

sufferings are increasing. If we reduce the bodily conception, suffering

will also be reduced. Those who are Krsna conscious, who are always

thinking of Krsna within their minds and within their hearts, are not

suffering as much because they know that whatever they might suffer is

due to Krsna's desire. Therefore they welcome suffering. For instance,

when Krsna was leaving, Queen Kunti said, "My dear Krsna, when we were

in a dangerous situation, You were always present as our friend and

adviser. Now we are well situated with our kingdom, and now You are

leaving for Dvaraka. This is not good. It is better that we again suffer

so that we can always remember You." Thus the devotee sometimes welcomes

suffering as an opportunity to remember Krsna constantly. When a devotee

suffers, he thinks, "This is due to my past misdeeds. Actually I should

be suffering a great deal, but due to Krsna's grace I am suffering just

a little. After all, suffering and enjoyment are in the mind." In this

way, a devotee is not greatly affected by suffering, and this is the

difference between a devotee and a nondevotee.

Prahlada Maharaja, a five-year-old boy, had to undergo a great deal

of suffering at the hands of his father, who was torturing him for being

a devotee. The boy was trampled by elephants, thrown from a mountain,

placed in burning oil and thrown into a snake pit, yet he was silent

during this whole ordeal. Similarly, Haridasa Thakura, a Muhammadan by

birth, was a very great devotee and was always chanting Hare Krsna. That

was his only fault. However, the Muslim Kazi called him forth and said,

"You are a Muhammadan, born in a great Muhammadan family, yet you are

chanting this Hindu Hare Krsna mantra. What is this?" Haridasa Thakura

mildly replied, "My dear sir, there are many Hindus who have become

Muhammadans. Suppose I have become a Hindu? What is wrong with this?"

The Kazi became very angry and ordered Haridasa Thakura to be whipped in

twenty-two bazaars. This essentially meant that he was to be beaten to

death, but because he was such a great devotee he did not actually feel

the pain. Although a devotee may sometimes have to suffer, he tolerates

the suffering. At the same time, he is very kind to conditioned souls

and tries to elevate them to Krsna consciousness. This is one of the

primary features of a devotee's life. People are always putting a sadhu

into difficulties, but he does not give up his job, which is to spread

Krsna consciousness so that others may become happy. It was Prahlada

Maharaja who said: "My Lord, I am not suffering, for I know the art of

being happy." How is this? "Simply by hearing about You and chanting

about You I am happy." This is the business of a devotee--hearing and

chanting about the Lord. This is sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam. Now

this sravanam kirtanam is taking place all over the world through the

Krsna consciousness movement.

Even in ordinary life it is possible for the mind to be absorbed in

such a way that even a surgical operation may not disturb a man. Years

ago, when Stalin had to undergo a surgical operation, he refused the use

of chloroform. If this is possible even in an ordinary materialistic

life, what to speak of spiritual life? One's mind should always be

absorbed in Krsna consciousness, in thinking of Krsna. It is Krsna's

injunction, "Always think of Me." The European and American youths in

the Krsna consciousness movement have been accustomed to many bad habits

since birth, but now they have given these up. Many people think that it

is impossible to live without illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and

gambling. One famous Marquess told one of my Godbrothers, "Please make

me a brahmana." My Godbrother said, "Yes, it is not a very difficult

thing. Simply give up these bad habits--intoxication, illicit sex,

meateating and gambling. Then you can become a brahmana." The Marquess

then said, "lmpossible! This is our life." Actually we have seen that in

Western countries older men cannot give up these habits, and because of

this they are suffering, yet many young boys and girls have given them

up, and there is no suffering. This is due to Krsna consciousness.

This process is open to everyone. Everyone has heard of the

Bhagavad-gita. We can attain perfection simply by following the

instructions given in this book. It is not necessary to abandon our

responsibilities. Maharaja Ambarisa was a great emperor administering to

his kingdom, yet at the same time he spoke only of Krsna. Caitanya

Mahaprabhu requested that His devotees only talk about Krsna. If we

simply talk about Krsna and hear about Him, the stage will come when we

will no longer suffer. This is called anandamayo 'bhyasat in the

Vedanta-sutra. The living entity and Krsna are both anandamaya,

transcendentally blissful. On that platform, there is no possibility of

material suffering. It is not a question of displaying some magical

feats. The greatest magic is freedom from suffering, and this is the

freedom of a devotee. When we feel pleasure from hearing about Krsna and

talking about Him, we should know that we are making progress on the

path of perfection. At that time, material suffering will not be felt at

all. This is the practical effect of rendering devotional service, which

Lord Kapila is pointing out to His mother.