So in order to become God conscious, you have to follow some rules and regulations. We do not give any credit to the vegetarians than the meat-eaters. Because one has to eat. But our proposal is, Kṛṣṇa conscious men, that we shall eat remnants of foodstuff offered to Kṛṣṇa. That is our philosophy. And Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26), that Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone who offers Me a little fruit, a little water, and little leaf with devotion and love, I accept it." Kṛṣṇa is not hungry that He is begging some food from us. No. He is trying to create loving transaction: "You love Me; I love you." Kṛṣṇa is God. Kṛṣṇa, practically by His energy everything is produced. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So why He should beg for, from me, a little leaf and little fruit and little water? He has no business. But if we offer a little fruit and little leaf and little water with love—"Kṛṣṇa, I am so poor that I cannot secure anything. I have secured this little fruit and little flowers and a leaf. Kindly accept it"—Kṛṣṇa is very glad. Yes. And if He eats, offered by you, your life is successful. You make friendship with Kṛṣṇa. That is our preaching.
So this little fruit, little flower and little water can be secured any part of the world by any man, poor or rich. And can be offered. Simply we have to try, we have to learn how to love Kṛṣṇa. And love begins with this give and take. You give something to your lover; he gives you, something to you. In this way love develops. Dadāti pratigṛhṇāti. The development takes place, loving affairs, by giving and taking. Dadāti pratigṛhṇāti bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva. When you create loving transaction with any boy or girl or any man, any friend, the give and take. So Kṛṣṇa is teaching us give and take. "You give something," Kṛṣṇa is begging. "You try to love Me. You learn how to love Me. Give Me." "Sir, I have nothing to give You." "Oh, you cannot collect a little fruit and flower and leaf and little water?" "Oh, yes. Why not? Anyone can collect." So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice. You can make direct friendship with Kṛṣṇa. You can become direct servant of Kṛṣṇa. Or, in higher stages, you can become father, mother of Kṛṣṇa. Or you can become lover of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is prepared to establish loving relationship... There is already loving relationship with us, because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Just like father and son. Son is the part of the body of the father. Similarly, the supreme father... So as the relationship between the father and the son cannot be broken... It may be forgotten for some time, but as soon as one knows, "He's my father," and as soon as one knows, "He's my son," immediately affection develops.
So we are eternally related with Kṛṣṇa. At the present moment it is simply forgotten, suppressed. Therefore we are thinking that we have no relationship with Kṛṣṇa. But that is not the fact. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the relationship is eternal. Simply we have to revive it. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means... We are now in different consciousness. I am thinking that I am Indian. Somebody is thinking, "I am American." Somebody is thinking, "I am this, I am that." But actual thinking should be "I am Kṛṣṇa's." That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "I am Kṛṣṇa's." And in Kṛṣṇa consciousness relationship, because Kṛṣṇa is for everyone, therefore I become everyone's. Just try to understand. In India, the system is when a girl is married to a boy, so—in your country also, everywhere, the same system—just like the nephew of the boy calls the girl "Aunt." Now, how she becomes aunt? Because, in relationship with her husband. Before the marriage, she was not aunt, but as soon as he (she) is related with her husband, the husband's nephew become the nephew. Just try to understand the example. Similarly, if we reestablish our relationship, or our original relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is for everyone, therefore I become for everyone. That is real universal love. The artificial, so-called universal love cannot be established unless you have established your relationship with the central point. Just like you are Americans. Why? Because you are born in this land. So another American is a member of your country, but if you become something else, then you have no relationship with another American. So we have to reestablish our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Then the question of universal brotherhood, justice, peace, prosperity will come. Otherwise, there is no possibility. Central point missing. How there can be justice and peace? It is not possible.
Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā the peace formula is given. The peace formula is that one should understand that Kṛṣṇa is the only enjoyer. Just like in this temple, our central point is Kṛṣṇa. If we are cooking, it is for Kṛṣṇa, not that we are cooking for our purpose. Ultimately, although we shall eat the prasādam, but when we cook, we don't think that we are cooking for ourself. We are cooking for Kṛṣṇa. When you go outside to collect some funds, it is not that the persons who are in the kīrtana party, they have got any personal interest. No. They are collecting, or they are distributing the literature, for Kṛṣṇa's sake, for making people Kṛṣṇa conscious. And whatever collection is there, that is being spent for Kṛṣṇa. So in this way, when we are practiced to this system of life, everything for Kṛṣṇa, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The same thing, what we are doing, we have to do. Simply we have to change the consciousness, that "I am doing for Kṛṣṇa, not for my personal." In this way, if we develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we come to our original consciousness. Then we become happy.
Unless we come to the original consciousness, then we are crazy in different degrees. Everyone who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is to be supposed crazy because he is talking on a platform which is temporary, transient. It will be finished. But we, as living entities, we are eternal. So temporary business is not our business. Our business should be eternal because we are eternal. And that eternal business is how to serve Kṛṣṇa. Just like this finger is the part and parcel of my body, but the finger's eternal business is how to serve this body, here. That's all. It has no other business. And that is the healthy state of the finger. If it cannot serve the whole body, that is diseased condition. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is eternal; we are eternal. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). These are the Vedic instructions. The supreme eternal is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and we are also eternal. We are not supreme; we are subordinate. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. He is the supreme living entity, and we are subordinate living entities. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. That one living entity, one eternal, He's supplying all the necessities of life to the plural number eternals. Eko bahūnām, unlimited number of living entities. You cannot count. Bahūnām. This is our relationship. So, as part and parcel, we have to serve Kṛṣṇa, and we are subordinate. He is supplying our necessities. He is the Supreme Father. This life is normal life and liberated life. Any other life, beyond this conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is sinful life.
So in this subject matter, topics between Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit, there is... Parīkṣit Mahārāja is anxious to know how these conditioned souls who are rotting in the hellish condition of life, they can be delivered. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī is first of all prescribing that they have to make atonement. Just like I gave you the example: If one man has committed criminal activities, he has to atone for the sinful activity. He must be arrested. He must be put into the jail and given some trouble for a certain period of time. And then he may be given freedom. So this atonement is there, by nature's law. You cannot avoid it. If you think that "God cannot see. I am doing this nonsense without His vision," that is wrong. Anything we do, that is recorded just like the service record. And the judgment... Just like in other literatures, there is the day of judgment. That's fact. We have to accept the judgment of the superior superintendent of all our activities.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that the volume of atonement should be according to the gravity of the offense. Just like when a man is diseased, he goes to a physician. He prescribes different type of medicine to the different type of patient according to the gravity of the disease. But there are many rascals, they say that any medicine we take, that's all right. No. That's not all right. You have to take the medicine through the physician, not independently. In your country there is law that you cannot purchase from the drug shop any medicine without being prescribed by the medical man. Is it not? So the prescription should be taken from the experienced physician to cure the disease. So in this age, Kali-yuga... It is called Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga means the age of quarrel and misunderstanding. This is the age. For nothing there is misunderstanding and quarrel and fight and war, for nothing. So in this age the medicine for delivering the conditioned souls from miserable, materialistic way of life is prescribed in the śāstras. What is that? Harer nāma, simply chanting of the holy name of Hari, Hare Kṛṣṇa. Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam: (CC Adi 17.21) "In this age, simply this harer nāma kevalam, only." There is no other alternative. Therefore in the next line it is stressed, nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā: "There is no other alternative, no other alternative, no other alternative."
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on authority. We are prescribing the right medicine, and it is becoming very effective also. That is the proof. If you say that "How I can understand that this medicine is very effective?" Yes, it is effective. By chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, any part of the world, although they do not know the meaning, they chant and they join and they become rectified, and they become bright-faced. That is the verdict. So therefore we appeal to everyone, irrespective of any caste-creed consideration, please come, join this movement, and be happy.
Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.