All aspects of Krishna consciousness are so simple that anyone can follow them.
Krishna Consciousness is so Simple
So what is the difficulty? Follow the rules and regulations, worship the Deity, and chant the Hare Krishna mantra. Then you will remain as strong as Krishna. And if we manufacture some idea also, that is no good. Krishna cannot be manufactured; Krishna is Krishna. You cannot manufacture another form, competitor of Krishna. Then failure. Just like [the competitor] who came even in the lifetime of Krishna, Paundraka.- Room Conversation with Siddha-svarupa, May 3, 1976, Honolulu
Since we have started this movement in the Western countries, Europeans, Americans, Africans, Egyptians, and Japanese are all chanting. There is no difficulty. They are chanting very gladly, and they are getting the results. What is the difficulty? We are distributing this chanting free of charge, and it is very simple. Simply by chanting, one can have self-realization, God realization, and when there is God realization, then nature realization is included also. For example, if one learns one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and zero, then he has studied the entirety of mathematics, because mathematics means simply changing the places of these ten figures. That’s all. Similarly, if one simply studies Krishna, then all his knowledge is perfect. And Krishna is easily understood simply by chanting this mantra, Hare Krishna. So why not take this opportunity?- Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 5b
Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that anyone who surrenders unto Me, whether a woman, sudra, vaisya, etc., they all attain the highest perfection of bhakti-yoga, not that now I am grhastha, I am doing karma-yoga, or now I am vanaprastha, I am doing sankhya-yoga. This is all nonsense. So if you read my books, this is explained in so many places that by taking to the path of pure bhakti all the other yogas are achieved automatically, because bhakti is the culmination of yoga and the highest perfection of life, yet at the same time it is very simple and sublime. So I do not see what the difficulty is.- Letter to Kshirodakasayi, January 29, 1973
Body and Soul
In the Bhagavad-gita (2.13) it is said, dehino ‘smin yatha-dehe. Deha means “this body.” Dehinah means “the one who owns this body.” The dehi, the owner of the body, is within, and the body is changing from one form to another. The child has a certain type of body that changes to another type when he is older. But the owner of the body still exists throughout. Similarly, when this body is completely changed, we accept another body. People do not understand this. We are accepting different bodies, even in this life, from babyhood to childhood to boyhood to youth. That is a fact-everyone knows it. I was a child, but that childhood body is no more. I have a different body now. What is the difficulty in understanding that when this body will be no more, then I will have to accept another body? It is a great science.- Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 6
What is the difficulty to understand? Yes, this body will not remain. While he came out of the womb of the mother, that was another body. But these rascals, they do not understand it. It is very difficult to deal with the rascals, that’s a fact. Whatever they are doing is all rascaldom, that’s all. And forgetting their real business. So your son, does he believe that he’s going to be a young man? You believe? (laughs) Huh?- Room Conversation, June 24, 1976, New Vrindaban
The Existence of God
We living entities are also energy, but superior energy. How are we superior? Because we can control the inferior energy, matter. Matter has no power to act on its own. The big airplane can fly so nicely in the sky, but unless the spiritual energy-the pilot-is there, it is useless. The jet plane will sit in the airport for thousands of years; it will not fly unless the small particle of spiritual energy, the pilot, comes and touches it. So what is the difficulty in understanding God? If there are so many huge machines that cannot move without the touch of the spiritual energy, a living being, then how can you argue that this whole material energy works automatically, without any control?- Laws of Nature, Chapter 1
Krishna, the Original Guru
Shyamasundara: Doesn’t He say in Bhagavad-gita, “I am the spiritual master”?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, He is the original spiritual master because He was accepted as spiritual master by Arjuna. So what is the difficulty? Sisyas te ‘ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam [Gita 2.7]. Arjuna told the Lord, “I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” So unless He is a spiritual master how does Arjuna become His disciple? He is the original guru. Tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye: [Bhagavatam 1.1.1] “It is He only who first imparted Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahma, the first created being.”- PQPA 3: The Real Goal of life
As father maintains the whole family, similarly, Krishna, the Supreme Lord, or God, He has Supreme Lord, or God, He has many innumerable sons, living entities, and He is maintaining the whole body, whole family. What is the difficulty? Then next duty is to become developed consciousness. Just like a good son, when he feels that “Father has done so much for me. I must repay it, or at least I must accept obligation what my father has done for me,” this much feeling is called Krishna consciousness.- Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 2.13, Pittsburgh, September 8, 1972
Krishna’s Mystic Power
If Krishna can float big, big gigantic planets in the air just like cotton swab floating, so is it very difficult for Krishna to lift a mountain with His hand, with His finger? That is not difficult for Krishna. But those who want to be cheated, when Krishna shows His transcendental strength, they don’t believe it, another cheating. They, they’ll admit, “Oh, this is mythology.- Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 1.13-14, July 14, 1973, London
Going Back to Godhead
Everything is present in Vaikunthaloka. There we can have an eternal, blissful life full of knowledge (sac-cid-ananda). It is not compulsory for us to rot in this material world. The easiest way to go to the Vaikunthalokas is: janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah [Gita 4.9]. Simply try to understand Krishna. Why does He come? What are His activities? Where does He come from? Why does He come in the form of a human being? We only have to try to understand this and study Krishna as He explains Himself in Bhagavad-gita. What is the difficulty? God personally explains Himself as He is, and if we accept Bhagavad-gita as it is, we shall no longer have to transmigrate. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Gita 4.9]. We shall no longer have to endure birth and death, for we can attain our spiritual bodies (sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Brahma-samhita 5.1]) and live happily in Krishna’s family. Krishna is providing for us here, and He will also provide for us there. So we should know that our happiness is in returning home, back to Godhead, where we can eat, drink and be merry in Krishna’s company.- Teachings of Lord Kapila, Verse 2
Bhakti-yoga at Home
So everyone can practice bhakti-yoga under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, one who knows the science of Krishna. Don’t lose this opportunity of human life. Practice bhakti-yoga, be Krishna conscious, and make your life successful. Our mission is to teach this science. It is not a business-”Give me some money, and I will teach you.” The knowledge is free. We are simply encouraging everyone, “Chant the Hare Krishna mantra.” What is the difficulty? Simply chant Hare Krishna and dance. Why go to some club to dance? The whole family can chant and dance at home. You will be happy. Then you will understand your constitutional position as servants of Krishna.- Dharma: The Way of Transcendence, Chapter 2
Getting Purified
What is the difficulty? There is no difficulty, but you become purified. The eating process is the same, but if you eat directly then you become materialistically encumbered. If you offer to Krishna, however, and then take it, then you become freed from all contamination of material life.- Krishna Consciousness, the Topmost Yoga System, Chapter 3
On Cow Slaughter
By killing the cows, how will you get any more meat? The total number of cows will remain the same. Simply wait for their natural death. That is the only restriction. You have got a limited number of cows. Either you wait for their death or you kill them at once-the number of cows is the same. So we simply ask you, “Don’t kill them. Wait for their natural death and then take the meat.” What is the difficulty? And we simply ask you, “As long as they’re alive, let us take the cow’s milk and prepare delicious foods for the whole human society.”
After all, how long will the cows live? Their maximum age is twenty years, and there are many cows who live only eighteen, sixteen, or ten years. So wait that much time; then regularly get dead cows and eat. What is the difficulty? – Journey of Self-Discovery, Chapter 6
Just see. Simply for tongue, so many slaughterhouses are being maintained. A small piece of meat they are eating, not very much. But for these small pieces, so many population, huge quantity of slaughterhouse is being maintained. They cannot give up that small piece of meat. What is the difficulty? The same thing can be made by milk, milk product, channa.- Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 1.10, London, July 12, 1973
Stopping Crime
It is not difficult. Simply invite everyone: “Come, chant Hare Krishna, dance, and take sumptuous prasadam.” What is the difficulty? We are doing this at our centers, and people are coming. But because we have very little money, we can hold sankirtana only on a small scale. We invite everyone, and gradually people are coming to our centers and becoming devotees. If the government would give us a large facility, however, we could expand unlimitedly. And the problem is big; otherwise why are there national news articles asking what to do? No civil state wants this criminality. But the leaders do not know how to stop it. If they listen to us, however, we can give them the answer. Why crime? Because people are godless. And what to do? Chant Hare Krishna and take prasadam. If you like, you can adopt this process of sankirtana. Otherwise, we will continue conducting it on a small scale. We are just like a poor medical man with a small private practice who could open a big hospital if he were given the facility. The government is the executor. If they take our advice and adopt the process of sankirtana, then the problem of crime will be solved. – Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 5b
Understanding Caitanya-caritamrta
In reply to those critics who say that Sri Caitanya-caritamrta is full of Sanskrit verses, it can be said that Srimad-Bhagavatam is also full of Sanskrit verses, as are the commentaries on Srimad-Bhagavatam. Nonetheless, Srimad-Bhagavatam can be understood by everyone, as well as by advanced devotees who study the Sanskrit commentaries. Why, then, will people not understand the Caitanya-caritamrta? There are only a few Sanskrit verses, and these have been explained in the Bengali vernacular. What is the difficulty in understanding?