In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that if you like, you can go to the heavenly planets, higher planetary system. Yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). In the higher planetary systems, you get more, I mean to say, elevated standard of life. You can live there for millions of years, and there is better facilities for sense enjoyment. But anywhere you go within this material world, you cannot avoid the four principles, namely birth, death, old age and disease. The birth, death, old age and disease are the inconveniences of the body. The spirit soul has no birth, no death, no old age and no disease, neither the spirit soul is annihilated after the destruction of this body. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is the statement of the Bhagavad-gītā, that after the annihilation of this body, the spirit soul does not annihilate. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to stop this disease: birth, death, old age and disease. And this can be achieved very easily if you simply try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā,
- janma karma me divyaṁ
- yo jānāti tattvataḥ
- tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
- naiti mām eti kaunteya
- (BG 4.9)
Means that if you simply try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa, why does He appear in this material world, what are His actual activities—if these three things you can understand, then after giving up this body, you don't accept any more material body, but in your spiritual body go back to home, back to Godhead. Of course, it is very difficult task to understand Kṛṣṇa, but it is due to our misunderstanding or uncleanliness of the consciousness. If the consciousness is cleansed, then you can very easily understand what is Kṛṣṇa. This cleanliness of the consciousness can be effected by chanting the transcendental vibration, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. It is open to all. It is not a secret thing. We are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra very loudly. Everyone can hear it and chant it. If you regularly chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, then gradually your consciousness will be cleansed. The process of advancement in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is said in the Vedic literature, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). The first installment of benefit by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is that your consciousness becomes cleansed. And as soon as your consciousness becomes cleansed, the tribulations or the miserable condition of material life becomes extinguished. The miserable condition of material life is compared to the blazing fire in the forest. As it is very difficult to extinguish the forest fire, similarly, the problems of material life cannot be extinguished simply by material benefits. As the blazing fire in the forest cannot be extinguished by the help of fire brigade or bucketful of water, similarly, by material adjustment, the problems of material miseries cannot be solved.
Because we are, by constitutional position, we are spirit soul, any material comforts will not give us actually a favorable condition of life. Just like a fish taken out of the water cannot be comforted by material comfort, er, comfort on the land. Unless the fish is again thrown into the water, any kind of comforts on the land will not make him happy. Therefore as spirit soul, we must take to the spiritual life, and then we shall be happy. The spiritual life begins by the process mentioned in the Vedic literature,
- śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
- smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
- arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
- sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
- (SB 7.5.23)
Means that you must hear about God, you must chant about God. Then the spiritual life begins. We request you, therefore, to chant the transcendental vibration, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. This is chanting. And for hearing about Kṛṣṇa, you can read our books. We have got about twenty books like this, as you are seeing in my front. So if you want to understand Kṛṣṇa through philosophy and knowledge, there are immense provisions for this philosophy and knowledge in these books. So if you are unable to read or if you have no knowledge, if you have no education, you can simply chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This is open to all. There is no secrecy.
So our request to all, we are requesting all over the world the same thing, "Please chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and be cleansed of your consciousness and understand your spiritual identity." We are preaching this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra all over the world, and people are accepting it. Even the child is accepting and chanting this mahā-mantra. Your culture, the Roman culture, is well-known all over the world, and you are the pioneer of civilization in Europe. So if you accept this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, whole Europeans will follow you. If you chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, you haven't got to pay any fee, neither you will lose anything. There is no loss, but the gain is very much.
So this is the formula given in the Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is the science of God. We are presenting this book as it is, without any malinterpretation. It has been translated in many European languages, in German language, in French language, English. So I think most of you may know English. You can try to read this book. They are available in our center. And try to understand what is the science of God. This human form of life is achieved after a evolutionary process, going through different species of life. This is the opportunity to understand your spiritual identity and your relationship with God. If you lose this opportunity and die without understanding God, that is not very good business. We must utilize this human form of life for the highest achievement of life. After all, we are under the stringent laws of nature. It is very difficult to surpass the stringent laws of nature, especially birth, death, old age and disease. There has been much advancement in scientific knowledge in the modern age, but they have not been able to make any solution of the problems, namely birth, death, old age and disease. If you really, therefore, want to get out of the clutches of material energy, namely birth, death, and old age and disease, you must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And it is not at all difficult. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, simply by chanting His holy name, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, you can achieve the best attainment, which can be attainable in this life. This valuable life, human form of life, should not be wasted or misused simply by animal propensities. The animal propensities means the necessity of the body—eating, sleeping, sex life and defense. The animals also know their business, how to eat, how to sleep, how to utilize sex life and how to defend himself. So the human life is not meant for simply animal necessities of life, but there is another necessity, to understand spiritual life and to achieve the highest perfection of life.