Śyāmasundara: Our position in life is because Kṛṣṇa desires it.
Prabhupāda: First you desire. I desire to become such and such, Kṛṣṇa helps me: "All right, you become such and such." Man proposes; God disposes. So if I want to become a devotee, Kṛṣṇa makes you a devotee. If you want to become a demon, Kṛṣṇa makes you a demon. So when you become a demon, He gives you facility how to act as a demon. And when you become a devotee, He gives you facility how to become a devotee. Kṛṣṇa is very kind: as you want, He also gives you facility. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). But Kṛṣṇa says that "You give up all this nonsense habit of becoming demon. You just surrender unto Me." That's Kṛṣṇa's desire. That is Kṛṣṇa's desire.
But we don't surrender to Kṛṣṇa; we surrender to our senses. Mind… My mind wants to do something, I do it. That's all. I don't surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is the cause of our suffering. Just like a small child, if he obeys the order of the parents, he is happy. If he does not do so, that is another thing. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is our supreme father. If we obey Kṛṣṇa, then we are happy. If we don't obey, then you are unhappy. Is there any difficulty to understand? It is very plain thing.
(break) …ask for them to fight, Kṛṣṇa arranged for the battle. Arjuna said, "No, I shall not fight. I shall not kill my brother and nephews on the other side." That is Arjuna's manufacturing; that is not Kṛṣṇa's manufacturing. Kṛṣṇa wanted that on the battlefield all the demons should be assembled and they should be killed. That was Kṛṣṇa's desire.
But Arjuna said, "No, they are my kinsmen. They are my brother, grandfather, nephews and son-in-laws and so on, so on. I cannot kill." Therefore he was given lesson on Bhagavad-gītā, and he was asked at the end, "What you want to do?" Then Arjuna said, "Yes, I shall do what You are asking, that's all." That is finished, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73).
This is spiritual life. We want to do something whimsically. Kṛṣṇa says something else. If we accept Kṛṣṇa's instruction, then you are perfect, and if you go on doing something whimsically, then you are suffering. But we prefer to act whimsically according to our dictation of the senses. We do not take the dictation of Kṛṣṇa. That is the cause of our fall-down.
So our this movement is to teach people how to become obedient to Kṛṣṇa. That's all. We are practically trying to be obedient to Kṛṣṇa, and we are preaching others also to become obedient to Kṛṣṇa. Simple thing. And how to become obedient to Kṛṣṇa? That is also stated:
- man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
- mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
- (BG 18.65)
You come to the temple, you become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, offer your obeisances, always think of Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto: "Always think of Me," Kṛṣṇa says. "Just become My devotee, offer your obeisances to Me, and your coming back to Me is guaranteed." That's all. Very simple thing.
If anyone wants to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is very simple. This is the formula; anyone can accept it. If not, if he wants to understand through philosophy, science, everything, there are books, three dozen books he can read.