The most dear, most beloved by Kṛṣṇa, is Rādhārāṇī, and She is so humble. As soon as a humble devotee approaches Rādhārāṇī by glorifying Kṛṣṇa, immediately She accepts, "Oh, how great he is. He is doing greater service than Me." That is mahā-bhāgavata's darśana. Mahā-bhāgavata sees that everyone is engaged in service; therefore he has no discrimination. But don't imitate like that.
So bīja-nirharaṇam, the bīja, you should always understand. Material bīja means the propensity to rule over this material world better or greater than others. That is materialism. And therefore, Kṛṣṇa's first condition is that, "You give up all this nonsense. Please surrender unto Me." There begin . . . (indistinct) . . . and Prahlāda Mahārāja said, bīja-nirharaṇam, bhakti-yoga. The more one advances in bhakti-yoga, he is become humbler, because he has nothing to do with this material world.
Suppose a devotee is addressed by ill names. What does he care for it? Or if he is addressed by some good names. What does he care for it? One should be callous to all these so-called good names and bad names, because we do not belong to this material world. If I say that, "I am so great. I am this, I am brahmin, I am . . ." So what shall I do, taking this brahmanism or greatness of this material world? Bīja-nirharaṇam, yoga. This bhakti-yoga is called killing or impoting the seed of ruling over this material world.
So the beginning is guru-śuśrūṣayā, we have explained, by service to the spiritual master with love, bhaktyā, not officially. Officially doing something and internally doing something, that will not be successful. Actually, with brain and with love and affection, service.
- guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā
- sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca
- (SB 7.7.30)
Sarva-labdhārpaṇena. Śrīdhara Svāmī comments on the sarva-labdhārpaṇena means sarveṣāṁ sādhyanam ātmanena. Sādhya means respect. Whatever highest respect you have got, that should be offered to the spiritual master. Sarva-sādhya-ātmanena. Then tat-pādāmburuha . . . tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt . . . tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt tat liṅga ārhaṇa ādi. Īkṣa ārhaṇa ādi. So the linga. Linga means the form, the Deity. Tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt. Always meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
This Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma . . . as soon as we hear this sound, immediately we remember the form of Kṛṣṇa. Immediately we concentrate on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. This chanting is perfect. But I am chanting and I am thinking of and planning something else, that is aparādha. But that does not mean we shall stop. But we should try, abhyāsa-yoga, we should try to make it our habit, by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, we should immediately remember the form, quality, pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
Tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt. The lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, dhyānāt, that is meditation. Tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt tal-liṅgekṣārhaṇādibhiḥ. To come to the temple . . . deity worship is meant for that purpose, just to see the form of Kṛṣṇa so that we may remember. Always, twenty-four hours, we can see. It is not idol worship.
The rascal atheists, they can say like that, but our process is this. Guru-sevā, offering all respect to guru, and always thinking of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, seeing His forms in the temple, worshiping Him as they are described, as they are prescribed in the śāstras, this is the process. Tal-liṅgekṣārhaṇādibhiḥ. Tasya liṅgānām mūrtinām īkṣaṇa, īkṣaṇam ca arhaṇam ca ādi yeṣām bandhanādinam tasya.
So this is one of the process, that not only one should serve the spiritual master with faith and love, but he should always think of Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophy is . . . they say that, "You think of the spiritual master, he is God." That is Māyāvādī. Just like we have been in Surat, there is some Rāma Mandir without Rāma. This is rascaldom. They have placed their photo of spiritual master, but no Deity. This is Māyāvādī.
Ours is not like that. Ours is side by side. Not only spiritual master, his spiritual master, his spiritual master—along with the Deity. Tat liṅgam, we are calling the form. So tasya liṅgānām mūrtinām. Liṅga means mūrti. The liṅga is sometimes . . . some liṅga is also . . . just like śrī-liṅga, pūr-liṅga, the feminine gender, masculine gender. So here liṅga also means the mūrti, the form. Liṅga means, whether he is a puruṣa, or he is a woman or man, or his form. Liṅgānām mūrtinām.
Mūrtinam īkṣaṇa. Īkṣaṇa means seeing. Therefore, the Deities should be very nicely decorated; the temple should be very much cleansed, all-attractive. People may come and immediately become attracted with the Deity, īkṣaṇam, with devotion. That is the system of temple worship. Unclean temple worship or no decoration, no flower, this is useless. If you want to introduce temple worship, that should be properly done so that any man who comes immediately become attracted with the form, īkṣaṇam.
That facility should be given to the ordinary man. If he comes and he hears the chanting, the kīrtana, the bell sound, the karatāla sound, in this way gradually he becomes attracted. As we have seen, many students come in this way. They live and they become devotee. So these chances should be given. These chances should be given, according to śāstra, according to Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction.