In civilized world . . . Now, at the present moment, especially the famous movement, Communist movement, they are after completely driving out religious system. This is the misfortune of this age. So they are not in fault in one sense, because the guardians of the religious system, they are fallen. Just like immediately our Śubhavilāsa Prabhu was asking me that "We have seen so many temples. Why they are so neglected?" Is it not your question? And why they should not neglect it? The, mostly, the temples, they have become the means of livelihood. That is the defect. Temple is not meant for means of livelihood. Then it will deteriorate. How long you can falsely worship Deity and make show of ārati? You cannot go on very long time. That is not possible. You'll be disgusted—unless there is feeling, bhāva, that "Here is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has very kindly come here to receive, to take, accept my humble service. He's so great that He cannot be approached by a person like me." Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.20).
Suppose for the impersonalist, virāṭa-rūpa, the sky is the head of the Personality of Godhead. They think like that. And the big, big mountains are the bones, and big, big oceans are the holes of the body, and the trees, they are . . . In one sense, it is all right. But if you take the virāṭa-rūpa, how you can capture? It is impossible. He has virāṭa-rūpa. He has shown virāṭa-rūpa to Kṛṣṇa (Arjuna), but you cannot capture that virāṭa-rūpa. You are teeny. Therefore He is so kind that He has appeared before you in this temple so that you can touch Him actually, you can serve Him, you can dress Him, you can offer Him eatables. It is . . . Therefore, if we think like that . . . Not think; it is a fact. Because God is not only very big. Mahato mahīyān aṇor aṇīyān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.20). He can become smaller than the smallest. That is God. Brahman does not mean simply big so that you cannot capture. That is omnipotency. Whatever He likes, He can become. He can put all the universes within His mouth. When Yaśodāmāyi challenged that "Kṛṣṇa, You are eating earth. Your friends are complaining," "No, mother, I did not. They are telling false." "Now Your elder brother, Balarāma, also is saying." "No, He has . . . This morning He is angry with Me; therefore He has joined with them." "I want to see Your face." So she opened the mouth and the mother saw that millions of Yaśodā and millions of universes are within the mouth. Then she thought, "Maybe something . . . All right, don't do it." That's all. "Finish with this." Now Kṛṣṇa, millions of universes within the mouth, He's being punished by Yaśodāmāyi. This is Kṛṣṇa. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. This is Kṛṣṇa.
So when Kṛṣṇa comes, you cannot see Kṛṣṇa. You cannot capture Kṛṣṇa, mahato mahīyān. When He comes before you, arcā-mūrti, arcā-vigraha . . . This is arcā-vigraha, Deity. Arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīḥ (Padma Purāṇa). Kṛṣṇa has appeared. Just like the same thing: Kṛṣṇa . . . Yaśodāmāyi wanted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his (her) son, for which hundreds of years he undergone . . . or she undergone austerities. And when the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before him . . . before her, for both the husband and wife: "What do you want?" "Now we want a son like You." So Kṛṣṇa said, "There is no second one beyond Me, so I shall become your son." So He became son. So He must play perfectly, that Yaśodāmāyi may not understand that "Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Then the feelings of mother and son will disappear. Anyway, Kṛṣṇa is playing exactly like a little child. So that is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. This is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Similarly, to us. We are not so elevated like Nanda Mahārāja or Yaśodā Mahārāja. We're just beginners. So we do not know what is Kṛṣṇa. We cannot see Kṛṣṇa, either His virāṭa-mūrti or this mūrti. So what we can see? We can see stone, wood or material things. So when Kṛṣṇa appears to be seen by you and He appears like a stone statue, He's not stone statue. Don't think. Therefore we must learn how to see Kṛṣṇa. So we should not think that "Here is a stone statue." As soon as we think of stone statue, then our this feeling, bhāva, will be lost.