Vrindavana, October 24, 1972
We want to love Krishna, but without information of Krishna and without Krishna consciousness, our loving propensity is limited.
Pradyumna: (reading) “The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one can live without loving someone else. This propensity is present in every living being. Even an animal like a tiger has this loving propensity, at least in a dormant stage, and it is certainly present in the human beings. The missing point, however, is where to repose our love so that everyone can become happy. At the present moment, the human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is Krishna, and the Nectar of Devotion teaches us how to stimulate our original love for Krishna and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life. In the primary stage, a child loves his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up, he begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even the whole human society. But the loving propensity is not satisfied, even by loving all human society. That loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who is the Supreme Beloved. Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna. This…”
Prabhupada: There is a nice example in this connection. If you drop a stone in a pond it forms a circle. The circle increases, increases, increases untill it comes to the shore. Similarly, our loving propensity increases. In the primary stage, whatever a child gets he puts it into his mouth. Anna-brahman. Then when he grows he sometimes distributes things to his brother or parents, and the love increases. In this way, first self-centered, then family-centered, then community-centered, society-centered, nation-centered, or international centered. But this increase of our loving propensity will not be satisfied unless it reaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the Krishna consciousness movement.
We love. The loving propensity is there. Even when we have no family we keep pets, cats and dogs, to love. So by nature we are used to love somebody else. That somebody else is Krishna. Actually, we want to love Krishna, but without information of Krishna, without Krishna consciousness, our loving propensity is limited, within a certain circle. Therefore we are not satisfied. Nitya-siddha Krishna-bhakti. That love affair, loving propensity, is eternally existing, to love Krishna. Just like Dhruva Maharaja, when he met the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became fully satisfied. Svamin krtartho ‘smi varam na yace
‘O my Lord, I am so satisfied that I do not wish to ask any benediction from You.’ [Cc. Madhya 22.42].
STEPS FOR PURE LOVE
In the material field, we love somebody for getting something in return. That is not pure love. Pure love is different. Pure love is described by Lord Caitanya, in His mood of Radharani unto Krishna aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam
adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va. This is Radharani’s love, “You either embrace Me or trample Me down under your feet; neglect Me, or make Me broken-hearted, not being present at any time throughout My life, life after life. It does not matter I still love You unconditionally.” Mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah. “He alone, and no one else, is the worshipable Lord of My heart.” That is real love. And that love is existing in everyone’s heart. Nitya-siddha Krishna-bhakti. Our love for Krishna is there eternally. But it is not awakened. By this devotional process that love is awakened.
There are stages, one after another, if we practice.
adau shraddha tatah sadhu-sango ‘tha bhajana-kriya…
sadhakanam ayam premnah
pradurbhave bhavet kramah
(C.c Madhya 23.14-15)
Srila Rupa Goswami says that potent love for Krishna can be reinstated again by the prescribed method.
utsahah niscayad dhairyat
tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh
sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati
[Nectar of Instruction Text 3]
When you get little taste of love of Krishna…Just like we are sitting here. We have got little taste for loving Krishna. Otherwise, why we should waste our time in this way? This is called shraddha. So this shraddha is also invoked by association with sadhu, devotees. Then, if we become little enthusiastic…Just like you have become. Utsahah. You have left your country, everything, and you are going everywhere, coming with me. Not for any material profit, but for increasing your Krishna consciousness. This is called utsahah, enthusiasm. Our whole Krishna consciousness movement is depending on this enthusiasm. Just like I went to your country. At the age of seventy years, nobody goes out of home. But there was enthusiasm, “Yes, I must go.” And because I went, there is something. You have got the information. Similarly, enthusiasm is the basic principle.
Dhairyat is patience. Not that “I am working so hard for Krishna, but I’m not getting any impetus.” No. Don’t be impatient. Krishna will give you chance. He’s always giving chance, twenty-four hours, imperceptibly. But we cannot appreciate very much. Krishna sees and according to our strength He gives responsibility. But we must be assured that when we fully take shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna, without any reservation, Krishna must be pleased; may be it will take some time. This is called niscayad, certainty, assurance.
Tat-tat-karma-pravartanat. You have to execute the routine prescribed duties. You cannot go against the principles of devotional service. With patience, you must execute.
Sato vrtteh means dealings must be very honest. No duplicity. Very frank, plain.
Sadhu-sange, and in association of devotees. sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati. In this way, our propensity of love for Krishna will increase. Similarly, there are other six methods.
atyaharah prayasas ca
prajalpo niyamagrahah
jana-sangas ca laulyam ca
sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati
[Nectar of Instruction Text 2]
Ahara means eating and collecting. Atyahara, eating or collecting more than necessity. We should not collect more than what we need. Krishna will give; He is giving us. Just like we are spending so much money in all our centers. Krishna is sending us the necessary expenditure. Otherwise, how we are maintaining? So we should not be hankering after collecting more than what is necessity. That is atyahara. Similarly, we should not eat more than what we need for maintaining the body and soul together.
Prayasah. We should not endeavor for anything which requires too much anxiety. That is called prayasah. Automatically, by Krishna’s grace, whatever comes, that’s all right.
Prajalpah. Talking unnecessarily, nonsense. People waste their time talking three hours on some political situation. They have got enough time to discuss newspaper, but when they are invited to our class, they find no time.
We should not waste our time, a single moment. Time is very valuable. In your country, they say, “Time is money.” Either you take money, that is artha, or paramartha, spiritual asset. Money, artha, is required in the material world, and paramartha, spiritual asset, in the spiritual world. Even those who are materialists, they do not waste their time. We are after spiritual realization. How we can waste our time? Time is very valuable. So we should not waste time.
Jana-sangas ca. Associating with ordinary persons who are not devotees. Jana-sangas. People in general, they have no taste for Krishna. And greediness, laulyam. These things are impediments for advancing in Krishna consciousness.
Niyamagrahah means simply following the rules, but actually not understanding what is the meaning of such following. Just blindly. One should follow the regulative principles with firm conviction and understanding. Niyama agrahah and niyama-agrahah. Agrahah means eagerness to accept. And agrahah, not accepting. In both ways, niyamagrahah. Not to accept the regulative principles, that is also faulty. And too much agraha, false agraha, without knowing the meaning of it, that is also faulty.
ONLY BUSINESS TO INCREASE LOVE
So we should be very careful. Because our only business is yato bhaktir adhoksaje, to increase our loving propensity for Krishna, Adhoksaja, who is beyond the reach of our senses. Anubhava. We can perceive Krishna’s there, but not by our senses. We can touch, we can see, we can smell Krishna as we purify our senses. Sevon mukhe hi jihvadau [Brs. 1.2.234]. Not immediately. Just like Sanatana Goswami. He was talking with his Deity. As we make advancement in spiritual consciousness, Krishna will talk with us directly. The Deity will talk with you. There are many instances. In Vrindavana, there was Sakshi-Gopala. He has now gone to Orissa. He talked with His devotees, and went with His devotee.
So Krishna is giving us chance to touch Him, to see Him, to smell Him, to taste Him. By so many ways. This is called archana-marga. And gradually, when we advance, it will be directly. Just like we are directly talking. That will be possible. So patiently, by following the regulative principles it will happen. Sadhu-marganugamanam.
Adau gurvasrayam. In the beginning, one has to accept the bona fide spiritual master. Sad-dharma-prcchat. Then inquiry from spiritual master. Athato brahma jijnasa. One should inquire into the Supreme. Jivasya tattva-jijnasa. A human being is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya. Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. [Bg. 4.34]. In this way, we shall have to make advancement and gradually our dormant love of Krishna will be fully manifest. This is the way. Go on.
Pradyumna: “Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna. This theme is the sum and substance of Nectar of Devotion, which teaches us how to love Krishna in five different transcendental mellows.”
Prabhupada: Yes. The subject matter of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, basic principle, is how to love Krishna in five primary rasas: santa-rasa, sakhya-rasa, dasya-rasa, santa-dasya-sakhya-vatsalya-madhurya. Go on.
Pradyumna: “Our loving propensity expands just as a vibration of light or air expands, but we do not know where it ends. Nectar of Devotion teaches us the science of loving every one of the living entities perfectly by the easy method of loving Krishna. We have failed to create peace and harmony in human society, even by such great attempts as the United Nations, because we do not know the right method. The method is very simple, but one has to understand it with a cool head. Nectar of Devotion teaches all men how to perform the simple and natural method of loving Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we learn how to love Krishna, then it is very easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being.”
Prabhupada: Yes. Everyone in the human society is trying to establish love in the society, but it is being failed. The reason is that we are missing the central point. Just like from a point you can make a circle.If I do not take the central pointm, but make my own point, then my circle will clash with your circle. But if the center is the same, then I can draw one circle, you can draw another circle. None of these circles will overlap.
So by taking Krishna as the center, nirbandhe Krishna-sambandhe, if we relate our activities, social activities, philanthropic activities, political activities, religious activities any activity. If you make center Krishna, then my circle, your circle, another circle will not overlap. But it will give different lights. Krishna being center. That point we were discussing in this morning from Srimad-Bhagavatam. Atah pumbhir dvija-srestha varnasrama-vibhagasah. The perfection of one's execution of his appointed duties is the ultimate satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. [Bhag 1.2.13]
Everyone is trying to make his own circle. Political, social, humanitarian, philosophical, scientific. That’s all right. But Bhagavata says that make your circle perfect from the point of Krishna. Don’t miss the point. Samsiddhir hari-tosanam [Bhag 1.2.13]. Whatever you do, if you try to please Krishna, then your circle is perfect. Krishna must be center. Rupa Goswami says, nirbandhe Krishna-sambandhe. You can deal in politics. Then politics will be perfect. Krishna-sambandhe, you can make circle of scientific knowledge. Then it will be perfect. Making Krishna center of either politics, sociology, philosophy, religion whatever it may be it will be perfect.
Thank you very much.