Prabhupada:

om ajñana-timirandhasya jñanañjana-salakaya
cakṣur unmilitaṁ yena tasmai sri-gurave-namaḥ;

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.]

sri-caitanya-mano-'bhiṣṭaṁ sthapitaṁ yena bhu-tale
svayaṁ rupaḥ; kada mahyaṁ dadati sva-padantikam

[When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?]

vande 'haṁ sri-guroḥ; sri-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ sri-gurun vaiṣṇavaṁs ca
sri-rupaṁ sagrajataṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunathanvitaṁ taṁ sa-jivam
sadvaitaṁ savadhutaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ krṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
sri-radha-krṣṇa-padan saha-gaṇa-lalita-sri-visakhanvitaṁs ca

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of all the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇavas and unto the six Gosvamis, including Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and all His devotees, headed by Srivasa Ṭhakura. I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Krṣṇa, Srimati Radharaṇi and all the gopis, headed by Lalita and Visakha.]

he krṣṇa karuṇa-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopesa gopika-kanta radha-kanta namo 'stu te

[O my dear Krṣṇa, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherdmen and the lover of the gopis, especially Radharaṇi. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.]

tapta-kañcana-gauraṅgi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrṣabhanu-sute devi praṇamami hari-priye

[I offer my respects to Radharaṇi, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrṣabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krṣṇa.]

vañcha-kalpatarubhyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanaṁ pavanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ;

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.]

sri-krṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

[I offer my obeisances to Sri Krṣṇa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line of devotion.]

hare krṣṇa hare krṣṇa krṣṇa krṣṇa hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

[My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.]

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your coming here and participating with our, this Krṣṇa consciousness movement. So Krṣṇa says,

mattaḥ; parataraṁ nanyat
kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
sutre maṇi-gaṇa iva
[Bg. 7.7]

So Krṣṇa is present everywhere because everything is resting on Him, on His energies. Just like in a big factory the proprietor may be out of the factory, but every worker is aware that "This factory belongs to such-and-such person." As this is possible to have always a consciousness of the proprietor of the factory by the worker, similarly, it is possible for everyone to become Krṣṇa conscious in every activity. That is the philosophy we are trying to preach all over the world. The Bhagavad-gita philosophy is like that. Yudhyasva mam anusmara [Bg. 8.7]. You have to... This world is so made that one has to work. Without working, nobody can even maintain his body and soul together. That you cannot avoid. But at the same time, we can remember Krṣṇa. That is... That depends only on practice and understanding, pure understanding.

So here Krṣṇa says that "There is nobody greater than Me." That is the verdict of all ancient Vedic literatures. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam also, the same thing is confirmed, that krṣṇas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. There is a list of different incarnations of God. In that list Lord Buddha's name is also there. Lord Buddha's name is described: kikaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati. Buddho namnañjana-sutaḥ; kikaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati. In Srimad-Bhagavatam the Lord Buddha's name is mentioned as future incarnation. Bhaviṣyati, "will appear." Kikaṭeṣu, "in the province of Gaya."So this is called sastra. Because Srimad-Bhagavatam was composed five thousand years ago and Lord Buddha appeared 2,600 years ago... Therefore five thousand years ago Lord Buddha's case was in the future. Therefore it is said bhaviṣyati, "He will appear." This is called sastra. Trikala-jña. Sastra writers, they are not ordinary men. Just like Krṣṇa is speaking. He is not ordinary man. Nobody will be interested so much if Bhagavad-gita was written by ordinary man. It was spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it was recorded by His incarnation, Vyasadeva. So it is transcendental literature. Ordinary literatures, they cannot be perfect because there are four defect: bhrama-pramada-karaṇapaṭava-vipralipsa. Bhrama means "to commit mistake." Pramada means "illusion," and vipralipsa means "cheating," and karaṇapaṭava, "inefficiency of the senses." So sastra means above these defects. Where there is no such defect, that is sastra. And you can understand how five thousand years ago Lord Buddha's appearance was predicted. Similarly, still there is prediction about kalki-avatara, which will take place about four lakhs and 27,000 years hereafter. Kalki-avatara's name, his father's name and where he will appear, everything is there. This is called sastra.

So we have to understand Krṣṇa from the sastra. Krṣṇa Himself speaking that mattaḥ; parataraṁ nanyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: [Bg. 7.7] "There is nobody else greater than Me." And when Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gita, he also accepted Krṣṇa like that. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhama pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavan: [Bg. 10.12] "You are Parabrahman." So Krṣṇa is Parabrahman. Brahman, we are all Brahman because we are part and parcels of Parabrahman, but we are not Parabrahman. We are subordinate Brahman. Eko bahunaṁ vidadhati kaman. We are supported by Krṣṇa. We are supported by God. He is one, God is one. And the supported Brahmans, or living entities, they are innumerable, beyond the numerical strength. Asaṅkhya. Nobody can count how many living entities are there, but God is one.

So from the ancient literature we understand that krṣṇas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. There are many incarnation of Krṣṇa, expansion of Krṣṇa, svaṁsa and vibhinnaṁsa. Some of the expansions are direct personal expansions, just like Lord Rama, Nrsiṁhadeva, Varaha. There are many. Ramadi-murtiṣu kala-niyamena tiṣṭhan [Bs. 5.39]. Krṣṇa is existing, expanding Himself in various forms like Rama, Nrsiṁha, Varaha, and so many others. There are different kinds of incarnations, avataras—saktyavesavatara, guṇavatara, manvantaravatara, yugavatara. Many incarnations. And in the Bhagavata it is concluded that the Lord's incarnations are so numerous that you cannot count. Just like if you sit down on the bank of a river, you cannot keep an account of the waves, how many waves are passing, similarly, there is no account how many incarnations are coming out from Krṣṇa. But Krṣṇa is above all. Here Krṣṇa personally says, and it is confirmed by all the sages, authorities, formerly by great sages like Narada Muni, Vyasadeva, Asita, Devala, and in the modern age by all the acaryas: Saṅkaracarya, Madhvacarya Ramanujacarya, Viṣṇu Svami—so many other acaryas—Lord Caitanya. Everyone accepts that Krṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How can you deny? We have to be guided by the acaryas. Acaryavan puruṣo veda. One who follows the principles of acaryas, he knows the things as they are. That is the verdict.

In the Bhagavad-gita also, we find: acaryopasanam. We have to follow the footprints, footsteps, of the acaryas, because they can give us right direction. And one who does not follow the acaryas and creates and manufactures his mental concoction, his version will not be accepted. There are many different commentaries on the Bhagavad-gita, but not all of them are according to the direction of the acaryas. You have to accept Bhagavad-gita as it is under the direction of the acaryas. They do not make any change. They explain how Krṣṇa is the greatest. Not that comment in a different way and deviate you that Krṣṇa is ordinary man.

So Krṣṇa, from Krṣṇa, the next expansion is Baladeva, svayaṁ prakasa. And from Baladeva, there is catur-vyuha: Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna. So again there is, from Saṅkarṣaṇa, there is Narayaṇa. From Narayaṇa, there is another expansion, the same: Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha. And from that Saṅkarṣaṇa, there is puruṣavatara, Maha-Viṣṇu. From Maha-Viṣṇu, there is Garbhodakasayi Viṣṇu. From Garbhodakasayi Viṣṇu, there is Kṣirodakasayi Viṣṇu. The Kṣirodakasayi Viṣṇu is situated in everyone's heart. Isvaraḥ; sarva-bhutanaṁ hrd-dese 'rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]. In this way, Krṣṇa is expanding in so many ways. By personal expansion, by the expansion of His energy, by the expansion of His differentiated parts and parcels. Just like we are. We living entities are vibhinnaṁsa. We are also expansions of Krṣṇa. So He is expanding Himself in so many ways. Svaṁsa, vibhinnaṁsa, and sakti, taṭastha-sakti, cit-sakti, antaraṅga-sakti, bahiraṅga-sakti. So we have to understand Krṣṇa in that way. And if we study scrutinizingly all these literatures, we shall come to the conclusion that Krṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And if there is any name of God, that is perfectly given in this word, Krṣṇa, "all-attractive." There are many diverse meaning of Krṣṇa given by the acaryas, but on the whole, Krṣṇa is the actual name of God.

So how you have to... For ordinary man, how one can understand Krṣṇa, that He is all-pervading? He is all-pervading. He is everywhere. Now, how to appreciate that He is all-pervading? That direction is given by Krṣṇa Himself. If we follow the direction of Krṣṇa, how to appreciate Him, then naturally and surely we shall come to the point to understand Krṣṇa, although He is all-expansive. So Krṣṇa says,

raso 'ham apsu kaunteya
prabhasmi sasi-suryayoḥ;
praṇavaḥ; sarva-vedeṣu
sabdaḥ; khe pauruṣaṁ nrṣu
[Bg. 7.8]

Just try to understand Krṣṇa by your daily experience. Krṣṇa says that "When you drink water and when you quench your thirst, when you feel the nice taste of water, that taste I am." Krṣṇa says. So you can understand Krṣṇa daily as soon as you drink water. Why one should say that there is no God? You just try to appreciate God according to the prescription given by God. Then you'll understand.

Just like a doctor gives you medicine and he gives you direction also that "You drink this medicine, take the bottle and take two drops or five drops," as he gives direction. Then gradually you understand that by taking that medicine, you are being cured, you are feeling in health. Similarly, this prescription given by Krṣṇa... This is meditation actually. When we meditate upon the taste of the water, that means we are meditating on Krṣṇa. Similarly, Krṣṇa says prabhasmi sasi-suryayoḥ;: "I am the sunshine, moonshine." So who has not seen the sunshine? If you have seen sunshine and if you follow this prescription given by Krṣṇa, then early in the morning you'll see Krṣṇa. Why do you say that "I have not seen Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa is not present before Me"? But you follow Krṣṇa's instruction, and He will be present. He is present; simply we have to purify our eyes and senses to understand Him. That is required. Premañjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ; sadaiva hrdayeṣu [Bs. 5.38]. Suppose you have a beloved friend. As soon as you hear telephone call, "Who is it?" "I am this." "Oh." You immediately see him. Does it not? Immediately, by the sound. Why? Because you are known to him, you are in love with him. Similarly, in this way, if you develop your dormant love of Krṣṇa, you'll see Krṣṇa in every moment. Premañjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ; sadaiva hrdayeṣu vilokayanti [Bs. 5.38].

It is not at all difficult to see Krṣṇa. Why do you say, "Can you show me God?" Why you are not seeing God? Here is God. So Krṣṇa says, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhasmi sasi-suryayoḥ; [Bg. 7.8]. So who has not seen the sunshine? Who has not seen the moonshine? Simply to understand, one has to understand that what is this sunshine? The sunshine is the reflection of Krṣṇa's bodily effulgence. Just like what is this moonshine? This is reflection of the sunshine. Similarly, the sun is also reflection of the brahmajyoti. And what is the brahmajyoti? Brahmajyoti is Krṣṇa's bodily effulgence. Then why do you say that you have not seen Krṣṇa? There are many other instances. Krṣṇa is giving some of them. If you study, if you meditate upon them, then you will see Krṣṇa gradually. He will be revealed. He'll be present immediately. It is all revelation. Not that by your eyes you can see. But if you follow the prescription, the direction, you will see Krṣṇa daily, always, twenty-four hours.

So when one is elevated devotee, maha-bhagavata—he is called maha-bhagavata—he does not see anything but Krṣṇa. Everywhere he sees Krṣṇa. Sthavara-jaṅgama dekhe na dekhe tara murti [Cc. Madhya 8.274]. He is seeing on the seaside a great ocean, a great sea, but he is not seeing the sea, but he is seeing Krṣṇa. He's (seeing) Krṣṇa's energy, how Krṣṇa's energy is working, and it is producing such vast ocean and sea. He is thinking like that. That is meditation. Anywhere he goes, he simply thinks of Krṣṇa. Sthavara-jaṅgama dekhe na dekhe tara murti. He does not see the material form of anything. Sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphurti. Everywhere he sees Krṣṇa. This is called Krṣṇa consciousness.

So one has to develop. How one can develop? This is the process: sravaṇadi-suddha-citte, if you hear. And as you go on hearing, your dirty things on the heart becomes clear. This hearing process is so nice.

srṇvataṁ sva-kathaḥ; krṣṇaḥ;
puṇya-sravaṇa-kirtanaḥ;
hrdy antaḥ;-stho hy abhadraṇi
vidhunoti suhrt satam
[SB 1.2.17]

If you simply hear about Krṣṇa. Just like we are speaking about Krṣṇa from this Bhagavad-gita. So if you try to understand Krṣṇa as directed by Krṣṇa, then Krṣṇa will also cooperate with you. Just like a teacher, when he sees that a student is very intelligent, he is following the direction, the teacher is more interest, takes more interest in that student. That is natural. If the teacher says, "My dear child, my dear boy, you write in this way," and if he tries, then the teacher takes more interest. Similarly, as soon as you will try to understand Krṣṇa according to the direction given by Him, Krṣṇa is within you, He will help you more and more. Teṣaṁ satata-yuktanaṁ bhajataṁ priti-purvakam, dadami buddhi-yogaṁ tam [Bg. 10.10]. Krṣṇa says, "I give him special intelligence to understand."

So therefore our duty is to follow the instruction of Krṣṇa as it is given. So Krṣṇa says, praṇavaḥ; sarva-vedeṣu. The oṁkara, praṇava... oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ; paramaṁ padaṁ sada pasyanti surayaḥ;. The Vedic mantras, oṁ bhagavate vasudevaya namaḥ;. This oṁkara, this praṇava, is Krṣṇa. So anyone who is chanting the Vedic hymns, and as soon as he vibrates this sound, transcendental sound, om, here is Krṣṇa. So how we can avoid Krṣṇa? Simply we have to know. You have to purify your eyes. You have to purify your ears. You have to purify your hands. You have to purify your legs. In this way, when your senses are purified in every step, in every moment, you will see Krṣṇa, nothing but Krṣṇa. The purificatory process—just to purify the eyes. Krṣṇa is present before you in arca-murti, arcavatara, nicely dressed by the devotees. Sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana **. It is the duty of the devotee to decorate the sri-vigraha, the form, transcendental form of Krṣṇa very nicely so that thousands of people may come in the temple and see Krṣṇa. And as you go on seeing Krṣṇa and your eyes become purified, then you will see Krṣṇa, how nice Krṣṇa is. Just like when Caitanya Mahaprabhu entered the Jagannatha temple, as soon as He saw Krṣṇa, immediately He fainted because His eyes were prepared to see Krṣṇa.

So we have to prepare our eyes to see. We have to prepare our ears to hear about Krṣṇa. In this way we can see Krṣṇa. And this is the process, how to... Just like we use our tongue. That is one of our senses. So Krṣṇa says that raso 'ham apsu kaunteya [Bg. 7.8]. Everyone drinks water. So he tastes it, relishes the taste of the water. So as soon as he relishes the taste of the water, according to the direction of Bhagavad-gita, he can see Krṣṇa. Similarly, by the tongue you can eat bhagavat-prasadam, the foodstuff offered to Krṣṇa. And as soon as you taste the foodstuff offered to Krṣṇa, you immediately remember Krṣṇa, how nicely Krṣṇa has taken this foodstuff. So by the tongue you can begin. Simply by eating krṣṇa-prasadam, without reading any Vedic literature, without reading even Bhagavad-gita, if you simply think of Krṣṇa, "How nicely Krṣṇa has tasted this foodstuff," you become Krṣṇa conscious.

So to become Krṣṇa conscious is not very difficult job. Simply you have to follow the direction. That's all. But if you manufacture your own meaning, commentation on Bhagavad-gita, then you are deviated. You are lost. Srama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8]. Then such kind of reading Bhagavad-gita is simply waste of time and energy. That's all. Therefore those who are not Krṣṇa conscious, who are not hearing from Krṣṇa conscious personalities, they are simply wasting time. The so-called reading of Bhagavad-gita, lecture on Bhagavad-gita, without Krṣṇa... God, kingdom of God without God. We want kingdom of God, peace and prosperity, but without God. There must not be God. That is our secular government. We want kingdom of God, but without God. That is not possible. If you give up God or God's relationship, there is no question of kingdom of God or peace and prosperity.

Then Krṣṇa says, praṇavaḥ; sarva-vedeṣu sabdaḥ; khe pauruṣaṁ nrṣu. When one man is famous... Yad yad vibhutimat sattvaṁ mama tejo 'ṁsa-sambhavam. Anything extraordinary, if you find Krṣṇa is the most extraordinary personality, but even within this world, if you find some great leader, great politician, great scientist, great businessman... There are so many. And he is very famous. So you should know that this fame and name of this person is due to Krṣṇa's mercy. You see Krṣṇa there. Nobody can be greater than any other friend unless he is specially bestowed the mercy of Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gita, yad yad vibhutimat sattvaṁ mama tejo 'ṁsa-sambhavam. A little portion of Krṣṇa's mercy is there. Krṣṇa is most opulent. Aisvaryasya samagrasya. You can claim that you are proprietor of ten crores of rupees or other can claim that "I am proprietor of fifty crores of rupees," and other can claim hundred crores of rupees, but nobody can claim that "I am the proprietor of all the money that is available within this material world." Nobody can say that. Even Brahma cannot say. But Krṣṇa, oh, His description is that samagrasya aisvaryasya: "All the wealth that is conceivable, He is the proprietor." So any wealthy person, any rich person you see within this material world, it should be understood that a portion of Krṣṇa's money has been taken by him. That's all. Nobody can claim that "I am the proprietor of all the money that is here in this material world." That is not possible. So if that man also thinks that "Whatever money I have got, it is Krṣṇa's money, Krṣṇa's mercy, Krṣṇa has mercifully given me this money," then what is his next duty? He should spend it for Krṣṇa. That is the proper utilization of money. Similarly, if one is famous, he should utilize his fame for Krṣṇa's service. Suppose I am trying to spread this Krṣṇa consciousness movement, but if a very famous man tries for it, it will be very quickly spread. That is the utilization of his fame. If a scientist, if he proves Krṣṇa's supremacy by scientific law, then his knowledge in science is perfect.

So everyone who possesses anything, if he knows that it is the gift of Krṣṇa and it should be utilized for Krṣṇa, then his life is successful.

ataḥ; pumbhir dvija-sreṣṭha
varṇasrama-vibhagasaḥ;
svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya
saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
[SB 1.2.13]

Saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam. It doesn't matter what you are. You may be an engineer, you may be a lawyer, you may be a businessman. Whatever you are, it doesn't matter. But try to satisfy Krṣṇa by your profession, by you occupation. Then you are successful. Saṁsiddhi. It doesn't matter what you are doing. It doesn't require that you have to give up your profession as a lawyer and join us as a sannyasi and dance. if you cannot do that... Everyone can do that, but if you think that you cannot do this, then utilize your profession for Krṣṇa's service. Then you become perfect.

So Krṣṇa consciousness is not a necessity for the members of this Society; it is the necessity of everyone throughout the whole world, without any discrimination. One has to take this advantage to become Krṣṇa conscious, to understand Krṣṇa in this way. Then the result will be sublime. Yo janati tattvataḥ;. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo janati tattvataḥ;. Just like anyone who understands that the taste of the water is Krṣṇa's energy, the sunshine is Krṣṇa's energy, the moonshine is Krṣṇa's energy, the Vedic mantras, that is also to please Krṣṇa... And the sound vibrated in the sky, or anywhere, the sound element is Krṣṇa. And the energy or the name, fame, opulence of big men of this world, that is also Krṣṇa. In this way, if we study Krṣṇa, then we know Him gradually. And as soon as we understand Him, janma karma me divyaṁ yo janati tattvataḥ;: "One who understands in truth," tyaktva dehaṁ punar janma naiti mam eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9], "immediately he becomes liberated, so much so that after quitting this body he comes to Me."

So what is the difficulty? Even in your ordinary life you can study Krṣṇa, you can understand Krṣṇa. And Krṣṇa will help you. As soon as you begin studying Krṣṇa, understanding Krṣṇa, Krṣṇa will help you from within. Krṣṇa is with you. Krṣṇa is not far away. He is so kind that He is sitting in your heart as your friend just to help you, how you become liberated from this material contamination. Why you do not take this advantage? Every sane man should take advantage of this instruction of Bhagavad-gita, but rightly, as it is said. Then anywhere he may be, it doesn't matter, he is a liberated person.

iha yasya harer dasye
karmaṇa manasa gira
nikhilasv apy avasthasu
jivan-muktaḥ; sa ucyate

Anyone who is trying to become Krṣṇa conscious and being Krṣṇa conscious he is trying to serve Krṣṇa sincerely... He may be situated anywhere. It does not matter, he is Indian or Hindu or Mussulman or Christian or this or that. Simply if he thinks of Krṣṇa always in the process as described here, he becomes liberated.

So you can become liberated at your home. Simply you have to think of Krṣṇa. The gopis were so elevated devotees. What was their function? The only function was that they were always thinking of Krṣṇa. That's all. Lord Caitanya therefore recommends, ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargeṇa ya kalpita. These vraja-vadhus, name... (end)

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