The easiest way to achieve liberation, Srila Prabhupada explains, Is to chant Hare Krsna.
Ladies and gentlemen, first of all I wish to thank you, the inhabitants of this great city, Philadelphia. You are so kind and enthusiastic in taking part in this movement. I am especially obliged to the American boys and girls who are helping me so much in spreading this Krsna consciousness movement in the Western countries. I was ordered by my spititual master to preach this Krsna consciousness in the Western countries. So in 1965 I first came to New York. Then in 1966 this society was duly registered in New York, and from 1967 this movement is tegularly going on in America, Europe, Canada. and south of Pacific Ocean, Australia, and throughout the whole world.
MATERIAL WORLD AND SPIRITUAL WORLD
What is this Krsna consciousness movement? Krsna, this word, means all attractive. Krsna is attractive to every living entity, not only human beings, even the animals, birds, bees, trees, flowers, fruits, and water. That is the picture of Vrndavana. But here in this material world, we have no experience of the spiritual world. However, we can get a glimpse, an idea of what is spirit and what is matter.
Just try to understand the difference between a living man and a dead body. As soon as the living force within the body is gone, then it is dead matter, useless. And so long the living force is there, the body is very important. As we experience in this body, there is something as dead matter and something as living force, Similarly, there are two worlds: the material world and the spiritual world. We living entities belong to the spiritual world. We do not belong to the material world. Somehow or other, we are now in contact with this material world and material body, and therefore, although we are eternal living force, on account of our contact with this material body, we have to undergo four tribulations: birth, old age, disease, and death. In this material world we get one type of body and it ends at a certain stage, just like any material thing. Take for example your dress. You dress with a garment, but when it is worn out and no longer usable, then you throw it and get another dress. Similarly this material body is the dress of the spirit or living force. But because we are attached to this material world and we want to enjoy it, therefore we get different types of bodies. This body is explained in the Bhagavad-gita as a machine:
Isvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya
[Bg. 18.61]
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, 0 Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy."
SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION
We living entities desire, but 'Man proposes, God disposes.' God is very kind. Whatever you desire, He will fulfill. Although He says that "This kind of material desires will never satisfy you," but we still want them. Therefore God supplies us different types of bodies to fulfill our different desires. This is called material or conditional life. This change of body according to desire is called evolutionary process. By evolution through millions of bodies we finall y come to the human form. Jalaja nava-laksani sthiavara laksa-vimsati. We pass through nine lakh species in water, twenty lakh species as plants and trees. In this way, nature brings us into this human form of life just to develop or awaken our consciousness. Nature gives uS the chance, "What do you want to do now? You have got developed consciousness. Do you again want to go through the evolutionary process, or do you want to go to the higher planetary system, or do you want to go to God, Knrsa, or do you want to remain here?" These options are available. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita :
yanti deva -vrata devan
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutani yanti bhutejya
yanti mad-yajino 'pi mam
[Bg.9.251]
"Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who worship Me will live with Me."
Now make your selection. If you want to go to the higher planetary system, you can go. If you want to remain here, in the middle planetary system, you can do so. And if you want to go to the lower planetary system, you can do even that. And if you want to go to God, Krsna, l that also you can do. It is up to you.
Therefore, what is the difference between this material world and the spiritual world? The spiritual world means there is no material consumption. Everything is spirit. The trees, the flowers, the fruits, the water, the animals everything is spiritual. There is no annihilation. It is eternal. If you want to go to that spiritual world, then you can have this opportunity now in this human form of life, and if you want to remain in this material world, you can do that too.
STOP THIS SUFFERING
Our movement says, "Why not stop this material, conditional life, repetition of birth, death, old age, and disease? Why should we remain in this material body and undergo repetitive change of body? Let us have our original, spiritual body." That is wanted. That is intelligence. Vedanta philosophy states, athato brahma jijnasa : "Now this life is meant for enquiring about the Absolute Truth." This inquiry is required. That is human intelligence. Or we can spoil our lives like the animals. They are also eating; we are also eating. They are also sleeping; we are also sleeping. They are also having sexual intercourse; we are also having sexual intercourse. They are also defending; we are also defending. These four principles are common to the human being and to the animal. The special advantage of human being is that if he likes, he can stop this repetition of birth and death and go back to home, back to Godhead. The Krsna consciousness movement is trying to educate people about this science, how to go back to home, back to Godhead.
It is not a so-called religious movement. Of course, anything which has connection with God, you can take it as religious movement. But it is very scientific movement. Big scientists, philosophers, and thinkers should try to understand this movement. We have got more than eighty books for convincing them. If you want to know the value of this movement through science and philosophy, we have got enough ingredients to supply you. Otherwise it is simple, very simple. Simply chant this mantra, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Then everything will be manifest to you. Ceto-darpana-marjanam[Cc. Antya 20.12]. This chanting of Hare Krsna mantra means cleansing the core of your heart. Our heart or mind or consciousness is now covered with so many dirty things. So if we chant this Hare Krsna mantra, then these dirty things will be cleansed. Then we shall be able to see, Who am I, what is my position, what is the goal of my life, what I have to do?" This is human consideration. The dogs and cats cannot do that. But a human being can do it very nicely.
You will find that these young men, not only from your country but in other countries also, in Africa, in Australia, in Canada, in Europe, in Asia everywhere as soon as they are understanding this philosophy, they are joining this movement. It is not very difficult. We don't ch arge anything for selling Hare Krsna mantra. We are chanting everywhere like you saw in this Ratha-yatra. Our only means is chanting Hare Krsna. And these thousands of men are following simply by chanting Hare Krsna mantra. So you can understand what is the potency of this Hare Krsna mantra. We do not pay anything to you ladies and gentlemen to follow us. We simply chant Hare Krsna.
SOUND FROM ANOTHER WORLD
Narottama dasa Thakura, a great acarya of Vaisnava sampradaya, has sung, golokera prema dhana, harinama sankirtana. This chanting of Hare Krsna is not anything material; it comes directly from the spiritual world. Therefore you will never feel tired of chanting Hare Krsna. You can see it practically. You can go on chanting twenty-four hours; you will never feel tired. Therefore it is said, golokera prema-dhana. This chanting vibration is coming from the spiritual world. Just like you receive material sound vibration in the radios or television from a distant place, there is another machine which can receive the vibration from the spiritual world. That vibration is Hare Krsna mantra. golokera prema dhana, hari-namasankirtana, rati na janmilo kene tay
"Oh, I am so unfortunate that I did not get any attachment for chanting this Hare Krsna mantra." Samsara davanale, diba-nisi hiya jvale. The samsara, this material world, is very uncomfortable place. Everyone is always full of anxiety. However rich you may be, however powerful you may be, but the anxiety must be there. You can understand, your president Nixon, how much anxiety he had when all people wanted him to come down. In this material world whichever position you may be situated in, it doesn't matter. It is full of anxiety. Therefore it is called a blazing fire, always burning the heart. If you want to get rel ief from this uncomfortable position of anxiety, then you must take to this Hare Krsna mantra. This is our request. You can try for it and you will see the practical result. It will not cost you anything; there is no loss about it. So our only request is, with folded hands and begging you with so many flatterings, we simply request … Dante nidhaya trnakam padayor nipatya. (I have come to you, taking this grass in my teeth, and I am falling down on your feet.) This is our process. We are not very violent or pushy. As you saw in our three hour long procession so many people came but there was no violence. The police department of your country very much appreciates this because they have got experience that whenever there is some procession, there is violence. "Windowbreaking crowd," they say. But this crowd is not a window-breaking crowd. This Ratha-yatra is another occasion to invite you. Our only request is that you chant Hare Krsna mantra, and you will feel very much happy. There will be no anxiety. And then you can do your work. It doesn't matter what you are doing. Chanting of this Hare Krsna mantra will make you more and more happy, free from material anxieties, and if we continue this process, then everything about spiritual life will be clearly understood, and very easily we shall be able to go back to home, back to Godhead.
WHO IS JAGANNATHA?
Here you see Jagannatha, Balarama, and Subhadra. They are Krsna and His elder brother and His sister. In India, there is a place called Kuruksetra about ninety miles north of Delhi. It is accepted as a holy place of pilgrimage. People gather there, especially during the solar and lunar eclipses. About five thousand years ago, there was a solar eclipse, and people from all parts of India came to Kuruksetra. Lord Krishna, who was at that time a prince at Dvaraka also came with His elder brother and sister. Krsna in His childhood, was raised as the foster son of Maharaja Nanda and mother Yasoda in Vrndavana. He was the most beloved personality in Vrndavana. When He left Vrndavana, all the people there, were very, very unhappy. When Krsna came to Kuruksetra from Dvaraka with His brother and sister, the people in Vrndavana got that news, and they came to see Krsna out of their love. And the most beloved personality, Srimati Radharani, was requesting Krsna that "You are the same Krsna. I am the same Radharani But the place is not the same. You are here in Kuruksetra in royal opulence, and we are coming from the village. So if You can, please again come to Vrndavana." This was Radharani's request. It is a very ecstatic feeling, which only the advanced devotees can enjoy
We observe this festival annually at many places all over the world. At the present moment we hold this ceremony at London, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Melbourne.
I thank you very much for coming here. Please try to understand our philosophy. You are all educated boys and girls. We have got more than eighty books. Please try to read and understand them. Take it very seriously, and you will be happy.
Thank you very much.