Hare Kṛṣṇa. So this is very simple method: chant, dance, eat nicely, and realize God.
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. So this is very simple method: chant, dance, eat nicely, and realize God. First of all give to the audience, then... (devotees chanting japa) Why don't you collect something, door? Right side bride, left side bridegroom.
Jāhnavā: Right side bride. (wedding fire sacrifice begins)
Prabhupāda: Yes. That's all right.
Devotee: Your right side. (devotees chanting japa)
Prabhupāda: And who is going to be this grain ceremony?
Himāvatī: Dayal Nitāi?
Prabhupāda: Little, little. You have not learned your hand? Left-handed. Three times. Just see. You are old. You should learn it. One, two, three, four. That's all. One, two. You don't see? What I'll do? Come on. I'll show you again. One, two, three, four. Do it again. Is it open? (devotees chanting japa)
Satsvarūpa(?): Yes.
Prabhupāda: Anyone's father, mother has come?
Rukmiṇī: My father and mother.
Prabhupāda: Your father, mother? Any other? No. (chants with devotees responding:)
- oṁ apavitraḥ pavitro vā
- sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā
- yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ
- sa bahyābhyantara-śuciḥ
- śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu
Chant it three times. Three times (devotees responding:)
- vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca
- śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam
- sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
- śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gana-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca
(I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of all the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇavas and unto the six Gosvāmīs, including Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and all His devotees, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and all the gopīs, headed by Lalitā and Viśākhā.)
(chants standard prayers for fire sacrifice)
This evening we are going to hold a marriage ceremony for three couples of our students. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to understand to always bear in mind or always be in consciousness that we are eternally related with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So the process is to utilize this human form of life for elevating oneself to the highest perfectional stage. There is evolution of life from lowest animal in the water and up to the highest platform or highest planetary life, where the duration of life is many, many millions of years. The highest planetary system is called Brahmaloka, or where the first created being, Brahmā, lives. The duration of Brahmā's life is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā that forty-three hundred thousands of years multiplied by one thousand makes one twelve hours of that Brahmaloka. Just like there is distinction of the duration of life between the microbes and the human being, similarly, there are different grades of different duration of life in different stage of planetary system. So the life is evolving. Now after evolutionary process from the lower animals, from the aquatics to plant life, vegetable life, then microbes, reptiles, birds, beasts, then we come to the human form of life, this civilized form of life. Now here it is just like crossing. Where we should go next life? Whether I shall promote myself to the higher planetary system or into the spiritual sky, Vaikuṇṭhaloka, or I shall go down again in the evolutionary process of lower animals? That is to be decided. So if we want to go to the higher planetary system, we can go there. If we want to stay here, we can do that. If we want to go down, that we can do. And if we want to go back to Godhead, that also we can do. So this facility is given in this human form of life. Now it is our choice, where shall I go? Shall I go down to hell, or shall I go up to heaven, or I shall go back to Godhead, back to home? Everything we can do. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directly approaching the spiritual sky, back to home, back to Godhead. No more evolutionary process. That is the advantage of this Kṛṣṇa conscious... If you make your consciousness completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, if you understand what is Kṛṣṇa, what is your relationship, how you have to act in that relationship, simply if you learn this science in this life, then it is assured by the Lord Himself, Kṛṣṇa, in the Bhagavad-gītā, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya: (BG 4.9) "After leaving this body, one does not come again back to this material world to accept one of the 8,400,000's of species of body, but he goes directly unto Me." Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). "And if one can go back there, then he does not come back again in this material world to accept this material body." And material body means three kinds of miseries, threefold miseries always. And at least threefold miseries are exhibited in four kinds of distresses, namely birth, death, old age, and disease.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a new movement. It is there always in the Vedic scriptures, but people have forgotten. So we are trying to revive that movement, although in India the movement is there always, especially since the last five hundred years, introduced by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In your country it is introduced since 1966.
