Serving Maya

Expressions researched:
"maya's service" |"serve maya" |"service of maya" |"serving maya"

SB Canto 1

SB 1.18.22, Purport:

So those who are attached to the means of bhakti-yoga are factually self-controlled and can all of a sudden give up their homely or bodily attachment for the service of the Lord. This is called the paramahaṁsa stage. Haṁsas, or swans, accept only milk out of a mixture of milk and water. Similarly, those who accept the service of the Lord instead of māyā's service are called the paramahaṁsas. They are naturally qualified with all the good attributes, such as pridelessness, freedom from vanity, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, respectability, worship, devotion and sincerity. All these godly qualities exist in the devotee of the Lord spontaneously. Such paramahaṁsas, who are completely given up to the service of the Lord, are very rare. They are very rare even amongst the liberated souls. Real nonviolence means freedom from envy. In this world everyone is envious of his fellow being. But a perfect paramahaṁsa, being completely given up to the service of the Lord, is perfectly nonenvious.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.30.10, Purport:

In other words, one cannot satisfy his dependents by this illusory service, although one cannot get out of the service because servant is his constitutional position. A living entity is constitutionally part and parcel of the Supreme Being, but he forgets that he has to render service to the Supreme Being and diverts his attention to serving others; this is called māyā. By serving others he falsely thinks that he is master. The head of a family thinks of himself as the master of the family, or the leader of a nation thinks of himself as the master of the nation, whereas actually he is serving, and by serving māyā he is gradually going to hell. Therefore, a sane man should come to the point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engage in the service of the Supreme Lord, applying his whole life, all of his wealth, his entire intelligence and his full power of speaking.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.10.23, Purport:

This argument offered by Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa is certainly very effective. In his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.4), Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says, tasmāt kenāpy upāyena manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet: (SB 7.1.32) somehow or other, one should engage in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually every living being is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, but due to forgetfulness, a living entity engages himself as an eternal servant of māyā. As long as one is engaged in māyā's service, he cannot be happy. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement aims at engaging people in Lord Kṛṣṇa's service. That will help them become freed from all material contamination and sinful activity. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.10): vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ. By becoming detached from material activities, we will be freed from fear and anger. By austerity, one becomes purified and eligible to return home, back to Godhead. The duty of the king is to rule his citizens in such a way that they can become Kṛṣṇa conscious. This would be very beneficial for everyone. Unfortunately the king or president engages people in sense gratification instead of the Lord's service, and such activities are certainly not beneficial for anyone. King Rahūgaṇa tried to engage Jaḍa Bharata in carrying the palanquin, which is a form of sense gratification for the King. However, if one is engaged as a palanquin carrier in the Lord's service, that is certainly beneficial. In this godless civilization, if a president engages people somehow or other in devotional service or the awakening of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he renders the very best service to the citizens.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.1.53, Purport:

"My dear brothers, you are being carried away by the waves of material energy and are suffering in many miserable conditions. Sometimes you are drowning in the waves of material nature, and sometimes you are tossed like a swimmer struggling in the ocean." As confirmed by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, this tendency to be battered by the waves of māyā can be changed to one's original, natural tendency, which is spiritual, when the living entity comes to understand that he is eternally kṛṣṇa-dāsa, a servant of God, Kṛṣṇa.

(jīva) kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa,

karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi

If instead of serving māyā under different names, one turns his service attitude toward the Supreme Lord, he is then safe, and there is no more difficulty. If one returns to his original, natural tendency in the human form of life by understanding the perfect knowledge given by Kṛṣṇa Himself in the Vedic literature, one's life is successful.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.5.14, Purport:

As soon as one is purified of material contamination, he is again attracted by Kṛṣṇa (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170)). In the material world, everyone is contaminated by the dirt of sense gratification and is acting according to different designations, sometimes as a human being, sometimes a beast, sometimes a demigod or tree, and so on. One must be cleansed of all these designations. Then one will be naturally attracted to Kṛṣṇa. The bhakti process purifies the living entity of all unnatural attractions. When one is purified he is attracted by Kṛṣṇa and begins to serve Kṛṣṇa instead of serving māyā. This is his natural position. A devotee is attracted by Kṛṣṇa, whereas a nondevotee, being contaminated by the dirt of material enjoyment, is not. This is confirmed by the Lord in Bhagavad-gītā (7.28):

SB 7.8.10, Purport:

In this material world, everyone thinks that he has conquered his enemies, not understanding that his enemies are his uncontrolled mind and five senses (manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7)). In this material world, everyone has become a servant of the senses. Originally everyone is a servant of Kṛṣṇa, but in ignorance one forgets this, and thus one is engaged in the service of māyā through lusty desires, anger, greed, illusion, madness and jealousy. Everyone is actually dependent on the reactions of material laws, but still one thinks himself independent and thinks that he has conquered all directions. In conclusion, one who thinks that he has many enemies is an ignorant man, whereas one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness knows that there are no enemies but those within oneself—the uncontrolled mind and senses.

SB 7.14.16, Purport:

The same goal could be achieved in Dvāpara-yuga by worship of the Lord in the temple, and in this age of Kali one can achieve the same goal by performing saṅkīrtana-yajña. Therefore one who has education and wealth must use them to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by helping the saṅkīrtana movement that has already begun—the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. All educated and wealthy persons must join this movement, since money and education are meant for service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If money and education are not engaged in the service of the Lord, these valuable assets must be engaged in the service of māyā. The education of so-called scientists, philosophers and poets is now engaged in the service of māyā, and the wealth of the rich is also engaged in māyā's service. The service of māyā, however, creates a chaotic condition in the world. Therefore the wealthy man and the educated man should sacrifice their knowledge and opulence by dedicating them for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord and joining this saṅkīrtana movement (yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32)).

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 13.133, Purport:

Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa never did anything harmful to a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, he was never inattentive in the service of the Lord, nor did he ever violate the rules and regulations of a pure Vaiṣṇava. It is the duty of a Vaiṣṇava ācārya to prevent his disciples and followers from violating the principles of Vaiṣṇava behavior. He should always advise them to strictly follow the regulative principles, which will protect them from falling down. Although a Vaiṣṇava preacher may sometimes criticize others, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa avoided this. Even if another Vaiṣṇava was actually at fault, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa would not criticize him; he saw only that everyone was engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. That is the position of a mahā-bhāgavata. Actually, even if one is serving māyā, in a higher sense he is also a servant of Kṛṣṇa. Because māyā is the servant of Kṛṣṇa, anyone serving māyā serves Kṛṣṇa indirectly. Therefore it is said:

keha māne, keha nā māne, saba tāṅra dāsa

ye nā māne, tāra haya sei pāpe nāśa

"Some accept Him, whereas others do not, yet everyone is His servant. One who does not accept Him, however, will be ruined by his sinful activities." (CC Adi 6.85)

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1:

In the second stage, which is called dāsya-rati, a person appreciates his position as being everlastingly subordinate to the Supreme Lord, and he understands that he is eternally dependent on the causeless mercy of the Supreme Person. At that time there is an awakening of natural affection, such as is felt by a son who grows up and begins to appreciate his father's benedictions. At this stage the living entity wants to serve the Supreme Lord instead of serving māyā, illusion.

The third stage in the development of transcendental love is called sakhya-rati. In this stage one associates with the Supreme as a friend on an equal level, with love and respect. As this stage is further developed, there is joking and such relaxed exchanges as laughing. On this level there are fraternal exchanges with the Personality of Godhead, and one is free from all bondage. At this stage one forgets his inferior position as a living entity, but at the same time he has the greatest respect for the Supreme Person.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.30 -- London, July 23, 1973:

Just like Gandhi served his country so much, so nicely, so voluntarily. Still, the result was he was killed by his countryman. Just see. Result was, the reward was that he served his country so much. It is undoubtedly, nobody can serve so sincerely. Everybody knows. But the result was even a person like Mahatma Gandhi was killed by his countrymen. Just this morning Mrs. Sharma was telling that she has worked so much for the family, but still, the sons and daughters, they want, "No, no, you cannot go. You serve us, serve us. We are not satisfied yet." They will never be satisfied. You serve māyā. The māyā will never be satisfied. Teṣāṁ na karuṇā jāta na trapā nopaśānti. (?)

The intelligent man is speaking, "My dear Lord, I have served my senses, lust, anger, greediness, so much so. Still, they are not kind upon me. They are still dictating, still dictating, 'Do this, do this, do this.' Therefore," samprataṁ labdha buddhi (?), " now I have got intelligence by Your grace." Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpayā (CC Madhya 19.151). "By the grace of my spiritual master, by the grace of yourself, I have got this intelligence. Now I have come to You, to serve. Kindly engage me." This is surrender. "I have served my senses, lust, greediness, and other things so faithfully. They are not satisfied.

Lecture on BG 2.25 -- Hyderabad, November 29, 1972:

That is called dharma. If sugar has become pungent and chili has become sweet... You purchase chili. If it is not very pungent, you throw it... "Oh, it is not good." Because the dharma of the chili is lacking there. Similarly, if you take sugar and if you find it salty, then you... "Oh, what is this?" So everything has got some characteristic. So we are living entities. We have got our characteristics. That is sanātana. I am sanātana, eternal, and my characteristic is to serve God. If I don't serve God, then the characteristic will remain there. Then I'll have to serve māyā, in the illusion that I have become master. Actually, he's serving, but... Just like one man has got motorcar. So motorcar, to maintain a motorcar, to purchase a motorcar, it requires lots of money. So to get that money, he has to work very hard. And when he gets that money, he purchases a car, and then he has to maintain it by oiling, by supplying so many things. But he's thinking that "Now I have got a motorcar. Very nice." What is that? You are serving your motorcar. That's all.

Lecture on BG 3.31-43 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1969:

Yes. If somebody says, "Oh, why shall I serve God?" all right, then you shall have to serve dog. That's all. Therefore he is befooled. He does not know that he has to serve somebody. His constitutional position is like that. He cannot escape. So therefore if he denies to serve God, Kṛṣṇa, then he has to serve māyā, illusion, in the hope that "I have become the master."

Just like in your country the President Johnson was the master. Actually, he was not the master; he was the servant of the country. Now the country has dismissed him. He is no longer master. So our mastership in this material world is like that. Actually, we are servant, but we are thinking master. In a family, I am servant of my wife, I am servant of my children, I am servant of my servants, but I am thinking I am master. "I am master of this family. I am master of this country. I am master of this society." Nobody is master.

The Caitanya-caritāmṛta says, therefore, "The master is only Kṛṣṇa." Ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa āra saba bhṛtya: (CC Adi 5.142) "Only Kṛṣṇa, or God, is master, and everyone is servant." Yāre yaiche nācāya se taiche kare nṛtya: "Each servant is dancing according to the order of the Supreme."

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Montreal, June 13, 1968:

Prabhupāda: Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the main principle. Who is acting. The person who is acting, if he is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness then whatever he is acting that is spiritual. Yes?

Pradyumna: In the first and the second chapter, also, about dharma in the second chapter. It says ahaituki and another... So that devotional service has to be causeless in order to be the perfect conductor?

Prabhupāda: Yes. All right. Let us have kīrtana. Yes, you want to ask? Yes.

Devotee: Man has forgotten and is serving māyā, he's actually serving Kṛṣṇa anyway then why is he miserable?

Prabhupāda: That is māyā. When you serve māyā then you get miseries. Just like a man who is serving in the prisonhouse, he is also serving the government, but he is in misery. That is called māyā. He's also serving. That is explained by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). When he's serving favorably, he is happy. When he is serving unfavorably or being forced, that is not bhakti, that is māyā. He has to serve. That is his constitutional position. Either outside or inside, but he cannot but serve Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa. He's eternally servant. Either he understands or not understands, he is servant. But when he's serving consciousness, conscientiously, then he's deriving the real profit. And that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Now chant.

Lecture on BG 13.3 -- Bombay, September 26, 1973:

The Māyāvādī philosophers, they cannot understand. The servant wants to become the master. That is not possible. That is not possible. If the servant remains a faithful servant, that is perfection of his life. Artificially, if the servant wants to become master, that is only botheration. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is educating everyone to understand this fact, that everyone is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Don't try to imitate Kṛṣṇa. That is botheration. You cannot be happy. Artificially, if one wants to become something else which he is not, then it is simply botheration. There is no happiness. An artificial life is not happiness. Natural life is happiness. So naturally we are servant of Kṛṣṇa. If we don't serve Kṛṣṇa then we have to serve māyā.

Actually, people are engaged. Those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, they have given up the servitude of Kṛṣṇa, but they have accepted the servitude of so many other things. Somebody is thinking, "I am the servant of my country," somebody is thinking, "I am servant of my family," somebody is thinking, "I am servant of my wife," or somebody is thinking, "I am servant of my office boss," or somebody is thinking, "I am servant of my dog." That is also going on. Servant he must remain, but if he does not become servant of Kṛṣṇa, he has to become servant of so many things. He cannot give up his position as a servant. That is not possible. He may change the name in different way, but he remains a servant. That's a fact.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- New Vrindaban, September 5, 1972:

So he says, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ. Dharma means, I have already explained, dharma means occupational duty. So everyone has got occupation and he is trying to get out of the inconveniences of material existence. So here it is suggested, because the question was dharma, dharmaḥ kaṁ śaraṇaṁ gataḥ, under whose protection is dharma now existing? So he is coming to that point. First of all he's explaining what is dharma, what is occupational duty. Actually dharma means occupational duty. Religion, I have already said, it is a kind of faith. Faith can be changed, but our constitutional position, occupational duty, that cannot be changed. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, but without serving Kṛṣṇa we are serving māyā. We have accepted a false occupational duty, therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means false. Just like if I have got a body of America, American body, then my occupational duty is different from the body of an Indian, or from the body of a dog or a cat. So according to the body, our occupational duties change. But real occupational duty is of the soul. When you come to that platform—the occupational duty of the soul—that is the highest class of religion. That is explained here, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Detroit, August 3, 1975, University Lecture:

That is dharma, which cannot be separated. If sweetness is separated from sugar, it is no longer sugar. Similarly, dharma means that. Dharma means, real meaning is, characteristic. The characteristic of the living being is to serve. Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave this instruction. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). That is the characteristic of all living entities, to become servant, to become servant of Kṛṣṇa. But when we do not serve Kṛṣṇa, then, because my constitutional position is to serve, I have to serve māyā. If you don't serve Kṛṣṇa, then you will have to serve māyā. Because you have no other business than to serve. Just like a servant class. If he gives up one master, he must accept another master. May be better master, but master he has to accept. Just like dog. Without accepting a master, it is street dog. It has no position. So dharma means that, the characteristic of the living being.

Lecture on SB 1.3.1 -- Vrndavana, November 14, 1972:

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That means the so-called faith, you should give up. It is a faith. "I am Hindu." "I am Muslim." "I am Christian." Or "I am this," "I am that." This is a kind of faith. You are neither Hindu, neither Muslim nor Christian; you are servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is real characteristic. And actually we are servant. We are serving. That is our characteristic. Either he may be Hindu or Muslim or Christian, but the real business is that everyone is serving. It is not that because I am Hindu, I don't serve. Or because one is Christian, he doesn't serve. No. Everyone is serving. But he's serving māyā. He's serving kāma, krodha, lobha, mātsarya. He's serving. In this material condition, we are serving our whims, kāma. Sometimes I become angry and I serve my anger—I beat others. That means I am serving anger. I am serving my lust. I am serving my greediness.

Lecture on SB 1.8.37 -- Los Angeles, April 29, 1973:

Don't think that we are safe now. We are not safe. Without Your protection, we are always unsafe." This should be the position of the devotees. We are actually in a dangerous position, this material world. At any time, māyā will catch, at any time. As soon as we are a little inattentive... "Now I have done my duty. Now let me take rest little." No, there is no rest. We must be always alert.

There is a verse from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. What is that? Avyartha-kālatvam. Avyartha-kālatvam. A devotee should be so much careful that he should see, "Whether my time is unnecessarily being spent? Whether I am now engaged in māyā's service or Kṛṣṇa's service?" That one should be very much alert. Avyartha-kālatvam nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ, prītis tat vasatis tale(?). These are the symptoms of advanced devotees. What is that? Nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ. He's, he's never tired of chanting, or singing or dancing. No tiresome feeling. Nāma-gāne sadā. Sadā means always; ruci, taste. "Oh, very nice. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma..." This is the taste. This taste, to awaken this taste, it takes time. To become... Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī. When he was chanting, he was thinking, "I have got only one tongue and two ears. What I shall chant?" He was thinking, "If I could get millions of tongues and trillions and ears, then I could relish something by chanting and hearing."

Lecture on SB 1.15.37 -- Los Angeles, December 15, 1973:

The father spends so much money. He becomes an expert. But if he does not get a good master to employ him, he is useless. He is useless. His technological knowledge will be useless if he does not get a master. So therefore the modern education system is to create dogs. He will never be happy unless he gets a good master. Actually, we are constitutionally all dogs. But we do not know whom to serve. That is our misunderstanding. Actually, every one of us, servant. That's a fact. But we are missing the point, where to engage ourself in good service. That is Kṛṣṇa. We have to serve. You cannot avoid this. If you do not serve Kṛṣṇa, then you will have to serve māyā. That's all. But you have to serve. So in that respect, if we do not know who is the best master, then we will have to serve our senses, our lusty desires. If I do not become servant of Kṛṣṇa, then I shall become full of desire, to my lusty desires for sex life. I have to become servant. That is a fact. You cannot become master. Therefore the most intelligent person is he who knows that "Why shall I serve my lusty desires? Why not serve Kṛṣṇa?" Because I have to serve. This is intelligence.

Lecture on SB 3.25.18 -- Bombay, November 18, 1974:

Not that ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I become Bhagavān." How you become Bhagavān? If you are Bhagavān, if you are actually the supreme powerful, then why you are in miserable condition under māyā? Does Bhagavān come under māyā? No. Kṛṣṇa says, mama māyā. Māyā is the maidservant of Kṛṣṇa. And we are servant of māyā. So how we can become māyā, uh, Bhagavān? This is common sense. Had I been Bhagavān, then why I have become servant of māyā?

Therefore we are engaged in the service of māyā in so many phases and different names. Somebody's serving country, somebody's serving society, somebody's serving family, office, this, that, so many. This is māyā's service. Now, when we come to our senses, that "I am..., so long I was engaged in māyā's service. Now I have to engage myself in Kṛṣṇa's service," that is self-realization. That is described here that jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena. (SB 3.25.18) Jñāna-vairāgya. This is knowledge, that "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa. I am nobody's servant." This is jñāna. Because I am in illusion, I am, for nothing, without any benefit, I am serving so many... Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśāḥ. Kāma-lobha. I am serving this kāma, lobha, moha, mātsarya, but without any benefit, without any pleasure. So when we come to this stage, to know, that is called jñānam. And as soon as you become jñānī, actually in knowledge, then what is the next step? Vairāgya. "No more I am serving anyone. I shall serve only Kṛṣṇa. That's all." This is called vairāgya. Jñāna-vairāgya.

Lecture on SB 3.25.27 -- Bombay, November 27, 1974:

So asevayā ayam. What is our business at the present moment? We are serving māyā in different varieties. So māyā has got three modes—sattva, rajas, tamas or mixed. Just like the color displayer, very expert in mixing colors. Actually there are three colors: blue, red and yellow. This blue, red, yellow, the color display of the mix-three into three equal to nine; nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. So in this material world we, living entities, we are colored in this way. Three into three—sattva, rajas, tamo-guṇa. Three into three equal to nine, and nine multiplied by nine, eighty-one. So there eighty-one colorful living entities are there. Somebody's human being; somebody's demigod; somebody's cat; somebody's dog; somebody's servant; somebody's tree; somebody's plant... There are 8,400,000's of forms of life. And that is our service. Just like the dog is barking. He's thinking that he's dog. So his business is barking. That means serving the laws of material nature. Similarly, somebody's serving, somebody's serving in some way someone-variety.

Lecture on SB 3.25.27 -- Bombay, November 27, 1974:

Because we are not meant for this service. We are, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Our main business is to serve Kṛṣṇa. In Vṛndāvana, in Goloka Vṛndāvana, somebody's serving Kṛṣṇa as His friend, cowherd boy. Somebody's serving Kṛṣṇa as gopī, as lover. Somebody's serving Kṛṣṇa as father and mother, Mother Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja. Somebody's Kṛṣṇa's friend as servant, as tree, as water, as flower, as land, as cow's, as calf. So many ways. This is our business. But somehow or other we did not like to serve Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we have been put into the service of māyā in three modes of nature. Just like criminal. A criminal does not like to obey the laws of the state; therefore a criminal is put into the prison house and he's forced to abide by the law of the state. The state laws are there—either outside the prisonhouse or inside the prisonhouse. But one who does not obey ordinarily outside the jail the orders or the laws of the state is put into the prisonhouse. But he cannot avoid the laws of the state. That is not possible. Because a citizen means he must abide by the laws of the state.

Lecture on SB 3.25.27 -- Bombay, November 27, 1974:

The dog has got the dog's body. He's hungry or there is some company, barking. And somebody has got minister body, he's ordering. He's in better position. And better than him somebody else, better than him somebody else, better than him somebody else. In this way you go up to Brahmā, Lord Brahmā. He also servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is the position.

So we, living entities, we are servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is our nature. That is our nature. Simply we are trying to avoid Kṛṣṇa's service. Therefore we are engaged in this māyā's service, or material nature's, under different bodies.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

(BG 3.27)

In the Bhagavad-gītā: prakṛteḥ. You have been put under the clutches of māyā. He's giving you as you are desiring because you are desiring, bhoga vāñchā kare. Sometimes I used to enjoy like this, enjoy like... Everyone is trying to enjoy. But enjoy means we are becoming entangled. Yajñārthe karmaṇo 'nyatra loko yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). If you want to enjoy with Kṛṣṇa, that is your natural propensity, and if you en..., want to enjoy life without Kṛṣṇa, that is māyā. That is māyā.

Lecture on SB 3.25.27 -- Bombay, November 27, 1974:

That is difficulty. Otherwise to serve Kṛṣṇa is not at all difficult. There is no difficulty. But I cannot give up the service of my sinful activities.

Therefore here it is said asevayāyaṁ prakṛter guṇānām. That you have to learn. That you can learn very easily if you turn your attention to the service... Therefore this bhakti-yoga service. We are simply insisting get up early in the morning, do this service. In this way, if we engage ourselves in the service of Kṛṣṇa, gradually we shall forget the service of māyā. The service of māyā means sinful activities. That's all. So, so long we are in the service of māyā, duṣkṛtinām, engaged in sinful activities, it is not possible. But if you engage the positive and the negative... The Māyāvādī, they are simply trying to be negative. There is no positive engagement. But here in the bhakti-yoga the negative is there and positive is there. Therefore there is electric light bulb, negative and positive. Therefore there is enlightenment. Simply negative will not help you. And if you don't care of the negative sides, simply positive also will not. But bhakti-yoga is so strong, if you take to the positive side of service of Kṛṣṇa, the material service or māyā's service will automatically become negative. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). That is called vairāgya. The bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-yoga. Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yogam.

Lecture on SB 3.26.42 -- Bombay, January 17, 1975:

Why? Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Because they have no information of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, where to enjoy ānanda, ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12), and they are by nature seeking after ānanda, this so-called oneness, monism, that will not please them. They will require again ānanda. But because anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ, they have not worshiped Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, they come down again in this material world and worship the feet of māyā. That is their position. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). And as soon as you are engaged in the service of māyā, that is your adhaḥ patanti. Adhaḥ patanti. As we, all these materialistic person who are within this material, you are serving māyā... Everyone is serving. Nobody is without serving. But they are serving māyā. So you have to transfer your service from māyā to Kṛṣṇa. Then your life will be successful and you will taste different varieties of prasādam perpetually and enjoy life eternally and blissfully.

Lecture on SB 5.5.3 -- Hyderabad, April 15, 1975:

Everyone is serving the so-called societies, and for his own satisfaction, sense gratification. Nobody wants to serve anyone. He wants to serve himself. That is the position, real position. So in this way, if we spoil, spoil our life We are serving, but serving our senses, lusty desires. We have to change this mood of service to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to serve. We cannot become master. That is not possible. As soon as you become master, you will be kicked. But that is also false position. We cannot become master, we are servant, but instead of serving Kṛṣṇa, we are serving māyā. That is our position. So we have to change this position. We, instead of serving māyā, we have to transfer our service to Kṛṣṇa. That is perfection of life. Thank you very much. (break)

Lecture on SB 6.1.11 -- New York, July 25, 1971:

If you fix up your mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then your mind cannot go elsewhere. You practice it and you'll see it. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18).

Therefore Ambarīṣa Mahārāja fixed up his mind always... Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we are teaching our students, how to fix up the mind always in Kṛṣṇa, some way or other. That is the first-class yoga system. And Kṛṣṇa also advises. (break) ...feet, and pray, bhajate. "Kṛṣṇa, I am Your eternal servant. Kindly again engage me in Your service. Somehow or other, without being engaged in Your service, I have been dragged to the service of māyā. Service I am going. I am rendering service. Because I am eternal servant, therefore my serving process is going on. But where it is going on? I am serving my lust, I am serving my anger, I am serving my greediness. So that means, in one word, I am serving my sense gratification. So kindly help me. Instead of serving my sense gratification, let me serve Your sense gratification." That is yoga. That is first-class yoga. Pray always, fix up your mind in Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, and pray that "I am eternal servant. Now I'm engaged in the service of my sense gratification, and You please help me. I have come to my senses, to engage my(self) in Your sense gratification." The business is there, sense gratification. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness means instead of satisfying one's own senses, one should be ready to satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not very difficult.

Lecture on SB 6.1.40 -- San Francisco, July 21, 1975:

"The real constitutional position of all living entities is to serve Kṛṣṇa." This is constitutional position.

But unfortunately, being misguided, instead of serving Kṛṣṇa, we are serving so many other things. Somebody is serving his family. Somebody is serving his country. Somebody is serving his dog. In this way, service is there—but the service is misplaced. Therefore we are not satisfied. Why in the material world people are not satisfied? Because his position is to serve Kṛṣṇa. He is serving māyā; therefore he is not happy. Plain thing. Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ: (BG 15.7) "Jīva, the living entity, they are My part and parcel." So each one of us, we are part and parcel of God. So we have got some duty. Just like the part and parcel of my body has got some duty. The eyes, his duty is to see. The ear, his duty is to hear. So every part of duty, even within, without. So we, being servant, eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, our only duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa. And because we are not doing that, therefore we are unhappy.

Lecture on SB 6.1.40 -- San Francisco, July 21, 1975:

Because his position is to serve Kṛṣṇa. He is serving māyā; therefore he is not happy. Plain thing. Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ: (BG 15.7) "Jīva, the living entity, they are My part and parcel." So each one of us, we are part and parcel of God. So we have got some duty. Just like the part and parcel of my body has got some duty. The eyes, his duty is to see. The ear, his duty is to hear. So every part of duty, even within, without. So we, being servant, eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, our only duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa. And because we are not doing that, therefore we are unhappy.

So that duty is called dharma. It is not a kind of faith. It is the constitutional position. You must have to serve. If you don't serve Kṛṣṇa, then you will have to serve māyā. There are two things: God or Satan. So similarly, God is Kṛṣṇa, and Satan is māyā. So if you refuse to serve God, then you have to serve Satan. That's all. You cannot become master. This is called dharma. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). And, as it is said here, vedo nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣāt. Vedo nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣāt. Veda, the knowledge, the law or the order, that order is from God. Therefore there is no difference between the Vedas and Nārāyaṇa.

Lecture on SB 7.7.28, 32-35 -- Mombassa, September 11, 1971:

Durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate. For a devotee there is no danger from the senses because his senses are engaged in the service of the Lord. So he is the greatest yogi. Yogi means who are trying to control the senses. That is by practice, by mechanical practice, that's all. But here there is no mechanical practice. Here it is factual activity, how to control the senses. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Hṛṣīka means the senses. The senses are engaged in the service of the Lord. If one thing is already engaged, it cannot be..., especially when one is engaged in the service of the Lord, he cannot be dragged to the service of māyā. Therefore, that is sense control. Sense you cannot extinguish. The living entity, you must have your senses. Living means you have got your senses. But they should be purified. They are now engaged in the service of māyā, and now, by bhakti-yoga process you have to purify and engage the senses in the service of the Lord. The eyes and hands, the legs, the tongue, the ear, all the senses. The eyes, instead of seeing very beautiful woman, see Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī. That sense perception is there, but it is spiritualized. The tongue wants go to restaurant and eat meat and drink wine, but engage the tongue in eating prasādam, that is control, that's all.

Lecture on SB 7.9.9 -- Montreal, July 6, 1968:

The example is that there was an elephant who was in danger. He was being dragged by an alligator in the water, and he prayed to Lord Viṣṇu, and he was saved. The example is that the elephant was not even human being. He was animal, but still, because he prayed to the Lord with devotion, so Lord immediately came to save him. This is the recommendation of all the Vedic scriptures. So bhaktyā tutoṣa. You can satisfy simply by your love. Bhaktyā means bhakti. Bhakti means bhaja sevayā. Bhakti... Simply you have to develop your service attitude. Service attitude is already there. We are servants by constitution, but we are serving māyā. We are so constitutionally servant that after very, very high education, taking all these degrees, oh, we are moving door to door, that "Give me some service." So this service is my constitutional position, but I am serving my lust, my greediness, kāma. Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśās. We are serving actually, but instead of serving God, we are serving kamādi, our lust, our greediness, our senses. In one word we are serving our senses. So the position is there, but when you turn that service spirit to God, that is your success of life. Otherwise it is simply waste of time.

Lecture on SB 7.9.12 -- Mayapur, February 19, 1976:

The śāstra says, "In order to take direction, one must surrender to guru." Kṛṣṇa says, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). That is the whole Vedic injunction.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja has already surrendered to Lord Brahmā, Nārada, and whatever intelligence he has got, he is trying to utilize it for satisfying the Supreme Lord. As yesterday, we have discussed that how we can satisfy Kṛṣṇa. He is ātmarāma. Nija-lābha-pūrṇaḥ. He's already satisfied with His own profit. What we can satisfy? So our, that endeavor to satisfy means our satisfaction. The example is given that tac ca ātmane prati-mukhasya yathā mukha-śrīḥ. If we serve Kṛṣṇa, then we'll be satisfied. We are not satisfied by serving māyā. If we want satisfaction at all, then we serve Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted. Everyone is dissatisfied. That is... Because we are serving māyā, there must be dissatisfaction. There must be dissatisfaction. Nobody can be peaceful within this material world so long he is under the clutches of māyā. That is not possible. But these rascals, they do not know this. It is said everywhere, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 2, 1973:

So the bhakti, bhakti cult... Everyone should take. Because that is natural. Natural. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Bhakti's not unnatural. Other things unnatural. That is the statement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Eternally you are servant of Kṛṣṇa. But we have accepted the service of māyā, instead of Kṛṣṇa. And we are thinking we are independent. We are being kicked out every moment by māyā, and still I am thinking I'm God, I'm independent. This is called illusion. He's being slapped always, he's being kicked by māyā; still he's thinking that he's independent, he's God, he's big, he's minister, he is something, something, something. This is called māyā. Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). This is called moha. So bhakti means to become freed from this moha, illusion. That is bhakti.

So dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90). People are after these four things. Dharma. Dharma. Generally, they try to become religious for some material gain, artha. Material gain. And why artha is required? Because kāma, to fulfill our desires, for lusty desires. We require money. Dharma-artha-kāma.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 11, 1973:

That is māyā. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes again and again as Himself, as a devotee, or he sends His servitors, His Vaiṣṇava, to preach this cult, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that "Educate people to serve Kṛṣṇa, to serve Me." Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. We are also preaching this cult, that "You serve Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). We are preaching this cult. So we are not manufacture anything. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is nothing concocted. It is fact. Everyone is servant, but at the present moment he's serving māyā. So, instead of serving māyā, let him serve Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead. This is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

So that service, when one agrees to serve Kṛṣṇa... Because nobody's agreeable to serve Kṛṣṇa. They will... Kṛṣṇa personally came, canvassed. How many people are serving Kṛṣṇa? Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā (BG 9.11). "Oh, it is too much. Kṛṣṇa is asking that 'Give up everything and serve un..., unto Him.' It is too much." People are taking, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā, because they are mūḍhas. They are thinking, "Why shall I serve Kṛṣṇa? I shall serve dog. I shall keep a dog and take him in the street.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.100-108 -- Bombay, November 9, 1975:

"Now I have become God." That is false. That is the last snare of māyā, because māyā... In this material world everyone is trying to become the chief man, everyone. Everyone is trying to become minister. Everyone is trying to become a Birla. Everyone is trying to become a big doctor or a big financier, everyone. This is the struggle for existence here. Everyone. At last, when failed in everything, then he thinks of him, "I am God." This is the disease, material disease. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in the very beginning He impresses that "You are not the master; you are the servant. If you don't serve Kṛṣṇa, then you'll serve māyā. That is your position." That is the position of everyone here in this material world. They are serving the māyā.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

(BG 3.27)

He is foolishly thinking that he is master. But he is always... Twenty-four hours, he is being kicked by the laws of nature. But the foolish man cannot understand. Therefore they have been called mūḍha. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15).

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.110 -- New York, July 17, 1976:

"Stay there." They cannot stay. Because, actually, whether they are going or not—that's another thing—but there is no staying place. Simply rotating in the sky is not very pleasant thing. We have got experience in the airplane. If we go five or six hours in the planes, we become suffocated. So it is not possible. Therefore those who merge into the Brahman effulgence, they again fall down, because they have no engagement in Kṛṣṇa's business. They never cultivated such knowledge. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Because the Māyāvādīs, they think, "What is this nonsense, serving Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is māyā. We are not going to serve māyā. We are going to become one with God, with effulgence." That oneness, you can stay within sunshine and be burnt up, but you cannot stay there. After your whims are fulfilled or you become disgusted... But because you have no information of serving Kṛṣṇa, then come down again to this material world and serve māyā—so-called hospitals and other things, philanthropic work. Because they have no information to serve Kṛṣṇa, the result is āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). The Brahman is also paraṁ padam. It is not material; it is spiritual world. But because they have no shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, they fall down again at the shelter of the māyā.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 22.14-20 -- New York, January 10, 1967:

When there is question of enjoyment, all the parties who participate in a particular type of enjoyment, they enjoy. So the perfection of enjoyment—when God desired that "I should expand Myself so that I can enjoy." So His enjoyment is not deficient, but if we want not to enjoy with God but we want to enjoy in a different way, that is my misfortune.

So originally, as Lord Caitanya has explained in the very beginning, you may remember, that the constitutional position of the living entity is to serve. This point we have explained several times. So we cannot change that position. If you don't serve Kṛṣṇa, then you have to serve māyā. That position is there. So here in this material world we are rendering service to these—kāma, krodha, lobha. We are servant of lust, we are servant of anger, we are servant of avarice, we are servant of so many things. So kāmādīnāṁ katidhā na katidhā. And servant, when one becomes servant, he has to execute anything which the masters order. Suppose one is serving some big man, he says that "You do this. I want." Now, to satisfy him one has to act according to his desire, which he may not like. Suppose one says that "You go and tell this lie.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 22.14-20 -- New York, January 10, 1967:

We have got practical experience in our life. Sometimes we do something which is not to be done, but being carried away by lust we do so many nonsense things. So we are servant of this lust and anger. So one who is in sense, he says like this, that "I have served this kāma, krodha, but the result is that they are not satisfied." This material world, if you go on serving anyone and if you ask the master, "Are you well served?" he'll never say that "I am." Rather, even a master is satisfied, he will not frankly say, "No, I am satisfied." This is the nature. So the devotee says, "Now, because I see that I have to serve only, so I have given up the service of this māyā. I have given up the service of māyā." Utsṛjyaitān. "Utsṛjya, the service of māyā I have now given up." Then what you want to do? Utsṛjyaitān atha yadu-pate sāmprataṁ labdha-buddhiḥ. "Now, just presently I am little bit intelligent." "What is that? You are resigning your service?" "Yes." "Oh, that is not very good intelligence. How you'll provide yourself? No." "Yes." Tvām āyā: "I have come to You, my Lord." Tvām āyātaḥ: "I have approached You because You are śaraṇam abhayam, You are a perfect master. There is no fear of my being dismissed." Śaraṇam abhayaṁ tvām āyātaḥ māṁ niyuṅkṣvātma-dāsye: "Now please give me an appointment in Your service."

Initiation Lectures

Initiation of Satyabhama Dasi and Gayatri Initiation of Devotees Going to London -- Montreal, July 26, 1968:

Our prayer is "Please engage me in Your service." We are all engaged in some sort of service. There is no doubt about it. But we are suffering. By rendering service to māyā, we are suffering. The māyā means the service which we offer to somebody, that somebody is not satisfied; and you are also offering service—we are not satisfied. He is not satisfied with you; you are not satisfied with him. This is called māyā. Just like recently there was postal strike. This is most important department of the state. The state is offering them salary to the best capacity; still, the postmen, they are not satisfied. And they are offering service to the state; the state is also not satisfied. So māyā's service is like that. You go on throughout whole life. There are many examples.

Just like in your country, in our country, President Kennedy, he wanted to give service to the country, but the people were not satisfied. Somebody killed him. Gandhi, whole life he engaged himself to the service of the country, but he was killed by his countrymen. This is called māyā, that you offer service somebody—he is not satisfied; you are not satisfied. Nobody is satisfied. Therefore one should be intelligent, that "What kind of service I am rendering?" The man who I am... In the family, suppose a gentleman—throughout his life he has served the family—asked his wife, "Are you satisfied?" "Oh, what you have done for me?" Asked the son. Oh, he is not satisfied. So this is called māyā.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, October 4, 1968:

You have got intelligence. Kṛṣṇa has given you intelligence. Try to understand with your intelligence but do not try to avoid. Make your question to understand it, not making question to avoid it. There are two kinds of question. That question will not help you. If you try to avoid, then Kṛṣṇa will help you to avoid, and if you want to capture Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will help you how you can capture. Two things are going on. Whatever path you want, you can accept. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). Kṛṣṇa helps according to the person's attitude. If... There are... Just like so many philosophers, they want to forget Kṛṣṇa. Just like you will find in Dr. Radhakrishnan's book, in the Ninth Chapter Kṛṣṇa said, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). The translation is all right, but he comments, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa that you have to surrender." Just see. That means his whole process of writing the book is to mislead persons how one can forget Kṛṣṇa. So if anyone wants to forget Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will give him such intelligence that he will never be able to understand Kṛṣṇa. But if anyone tries to love Kṛṣṇa, understand Kṛṣṇa, He'll give full of intelligence. You can understand. That is Kṛṣṇa. You have got full liberty. But if you forget Kṛṣṇa, then you have to serve māyā, and if you love Kṛṣṇa, then māyā will leave you.

Lecture -- Tokyo, April 20, 1972:

So Vaiṣṇava is the patitānāṁ pāvana... Fallen. Fallen means when one falls down from his actual position. That is called fallen. So every conditioned soul is fallen because he has fallen down from his actual position. What is his actual position? The position is that he is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is the constitutional position of living entity. But he has fallen means he has given up the service of Kṛṣṇa and he has taken the service of māyā, means so many things. Somebody is serving country, society, friendship, love, and so many things. They have created service. At last dog service, cat service. But because they have forgotten Kṛṣṇa's service, therefore they are called fallen. These fallen conditioned soul are claimed by the Vaiṣṇavas. Patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ. That is Vaiṣṇava's duty.

Lecture at Bharata Chamber of Commerce 'Culture and Business' -- Calcutta, January 30, 1973:

If Bismillah means Hare Kṛṣṇa... It is a question of language. So if meaning the same thing, Hare Kṛṣṇa... Hare Kṛṣṇa means we are addressing the Supreme Lord and His energy. Hara means the energy of the Supreme Lord, and Kṛṣṇa means the Supreme Lord. So we are addressing, "My dear Lord, my dear the energy of Lord..." Because Lord and His energy, they are, they are always existing. Just like sun and the sunshine, they're always existing. Sunshine is the energy, but sun is the energetic. Similarly, the Lord is there and His energy's also there. So we are praying both to the energy and to the Lord: "Please engage me in Your service. I am serving māyā. I am not happy. Therefore, please engage me in Your..." My, my constitutional position is to serve. Just like you're all sitting here. Every one of you are servant. If you consider that you are master, that is a mistake. That is māyā. Every one of you are servant. So "I am serving, but now I am serving māyā. I'm not happy. Let me serve You." This is the meaning of Hare Kṛṣṇa. So if it means that, there is no objection. It is a question of language. It does mean (indistinct). Of course, Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says the, the person whose name we chant, holy name, in each, in each holy Allah, or something like that, that is not objected if it is actually meaning the Supreme.

Lecture -- London, August 23, 1973:

So on my order the fingers are working, not by the order of finger I am working. Similarly, you cannot bring God in your business. But you must be engaged in God's business. That is religion. That is religion. It is very simple formula. So God is great and we are teeny small living entities. Our only business is to serve God. We are serving, any one of us. That means if you do not serve God, then you have to serve māyā. You cannot be without service. Māyā is another agent of God. Just like if you do not obey the laws of the state as a free man, then you will be pushed into the prison house as a criminal, and you have to abide by the orders. You cannot say, "No, I'll not obey the orders of the state." That is not possible. If you voluntarily do not abide by the orders of the state, then you will be forced to abide by the state in the prison house. Similarly, those who have declared independence, so-called independence—nobody can be independent—that "I do not believe in God, I do not want any type of religion or serving God," such persons will be under the guidance or under the influence or power of the material nature, māyā. Māyā-mohita. Tribhir guṇa-māyāir bhāvair. We are now illusioned by the influence of māyā, material energy, in three ways: by goodness, by passion, and by ignorance. But instead of serving God, we are now serving māyā. And so long we shall be going on serving māyā, or serving in the prison house, we cannot be happy.

Lecture at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan -- Bombay, October 18, 1973:

That is its dharma. And chili is hot. That is its dharma. A snake bites. That is his dharma. Water is liquid. That is its dharma. Stone is solid. That is its dharma. You cannot change. So what is the dharma of the living entities, or the human being? Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has enunciated the dharma of the human being: jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). This is dharma, that every living entity is eternally servant of Kṛṣṇa. He cannot give it up. If he does not serve Kṛṣṇa, then he will have to serve māyā. Service is there. Nobody can say that "I don't serve anyone." Is there anybody who can say boldly that "I do not serve anyone?" You must serve. That is your dharma. Either you become a Christian or a Muslim or a Hindu or this or that, your real characteristic is that you have to serve. That service attitude, when it is misunderstood, it is applied to māyā, and we are not happy. When it is applied to Kṛṣṇa, then we are happy. Service you must render. That is your position. You cannot become master. Even the politicians, they promise, "I shall give you such and such service. Please give me vote." So the service is promised, because we have to serve.

Life Member House Lecture -- Hyderabad, April 14, 1975:

It can be done very quickly. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). And if you do that immediately, then you revive your original position immediately, within a second. Hoiya māyāra dāsa kori nānā abhilās. We are making plans in so many ways to be happy. But if we accept this one plan, that immediately surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. And if we do not accept this proposal of Kṛṣṇa, and if we make our own plans to be happy, it will be never be possible. Hoiya māyāra dāsa kori nānā abhilāṣ. Anādi bahirmukha jīva kṛṣṇa bhuli gelā, ataeva māyāra tare goliyā badila. We are not independent. If we do not agree to serve Kṛṣṇa, then we have to serve māyā. Our position as servant is never changed. We remain servant. So if we don't agree to accept Kṛṣṇa's proposal sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), then we have to take shelter of māyā and you have to perpetually serve. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19).

To serve māyā means to continue this material existence one after another. Now I've got this body, you've got this body, and if we do not change our attitude to serve Kṛṣṇa, then we get again next body. There are 8,400,000 different forms of body. We can see.

Morning Lecture -- Allahabad, January 15, 1977:

That Kṛṣṇa says. (aside:) Who is that making sound? Kṛṣṇa says, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. If you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, immediately... Of course, we must take sincerely, not a show. Everything is seriously. Then immediately we become on the path of mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ (SB 5.5.2).

So... And this line of devotional service is sevā, service. Ultimately we are all servants, but in the absence of being mahātmā, we are serving māyā. Service is there. We cannot become master. That is not possible. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). So there are two things: Kṛṣṇa and māyā, light and shadow. If you don't serve Kṛṣṇa, then you have to serve māyā. And those who are serving māyā in the name of Kṛṣṇa, they are called Māyāvādī. Actually, they are serving māyā, but they say that they have become liberated. Vimukta-māninaḥ. They are described as vimukta-māninaḥ. Māninaḥ means one who is not actually the thing, but falsely one is thinking that "I am liberated. I have become equal with Nārāyaṇa." They are called vimukta-māninaḥ. Actually that is not the fact. So we shall be very careful to avoid this kind of mahātmās who are thinking themselves as Nārāyaṇa, equal to Nārāyaṇa, or sometimes they claim greater than Nārāyaṇa. So we shall be very careful. This Melā, there are so many so-called mahātmās. But the symptom of mahātmā is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhajanty ananya-manaso.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

This is innate truth: as three angles of a triangle are equal to 180 degrees, similarly snow is white. Snow is white, water is liquid, stone is hard, chili is hot, sugar is sweet. These are eternal truths, fundamental truths. Similarly, a living entity is eternal servant of God. This is eternal truth. It cannot be changed. Water is liquid. That is the natural position, but when water becomes hard, it is due to temperature, under certain conditions, but as soon as the temperature reduces, the water becomes liquid. So liquidity of water is truth. Similarly, whiteness of snow is truth. Similarly, servitude of the living entity is truth. But he is serving māyā. That is untruth. If we take that there are two types of truth, there cannot be two kinds of truth. Truth is one. What we take as truth, that is māyā.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

"The material scientists say like this, they say like this." He accepts the leadership. So we have to accept the leadership, but if we accept the leadership of Kṛṣṇa, then our life is perfect. Other leadership is māyā, māyā's leadership. But we have to accept leadership. There is no doubt of it. So he accepted the leadership of sex, but he did not admit it, but going on speaking on sex. And those who have taken the leadership of God, they will speak only of God, nothing else. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109), that is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy, that we are eternal servant of God. So as soon as we give up the service of Lord, then we have to accept the service of māyā. So all these different atheists, scientists, they are all servants of māyā instead of becoming servant of God. He is servant, but he is servant of māyā. That is the difference between devotee and the materialistic person.

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

There is nature's help. Up to the human being, that law works. And human being, being developed conscious, so he has got the power of discrimination. Because originally the soul is given independence. Just like Kṛṣṇa is asking Arjuna, yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63). "Whatever you like, you do." That is the original connection. God is the Supersoul; we are soul, under Him, subordinate. So we are called taṭastha, means marginal. Marginal means we can remain either way. Either on God's side or māyā's side. That is my choice. So when we don't want to serve God, then we are sent to the māyā, to serve māyā. Māyā means his position as servant remains the same, but he thinks "I am master." That is māyā. He is Just like a child trying to do something father does not like. But when he cries, he's given that. "All right. Do this." But "All right, do this" or "Do that," he is under the father. He is under the control of the father. But when he is given such chance, "Oh, I am independent now. I am independent." So this is called māyā. He's never independent, but he thinks, "I am independent." Similarly, here also Just like we Indians, we have got independence. So what kind of independence? In British period there was not so much dependence.

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

That we have got. Nature of man, nature of living entity is that he's eternal servant. He is serving. Everyone is serving. Who is a living entity where in this world he can say that "I am not serving, I am absolute, I am nobody's servant"? Everyone is serving. Either he's serving māyā or Kṛṣṇa, that's all. When he is in knowledge, he is serving Kṛṣṇa and when he's foolish, ignorant, he's serving māyā. That's all. But he must serve. Just like a citizen, he must abide by the order of the state. If he abides by the order of the state in an ordinary way, then he's a good citizen. And if he (indistinct), then he will have to be forced to abide by the order of the state (indistinct). But in all cases he must abide by the order (indistinct).

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

That, that information we are giving that in reality everyone is servant, but he is under misconception, he's thinking he's master and he's forced to serve māyā. This is reality. Just like a outlaw, he is thinking that free from the state law but he's forced to abide by the state law in the kingdom. Similarly my position is I must carry the order. I am inferior. I must carry out the order of the superior. The superior, the supreme superior is Kṛṣṇa. If I voluntarily become the servant and carry out His order, then it is my normal life. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam vraja (BG 18.66). Otherwise it is abnormal life. I have to serve māyā. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Māyā will kick upon my face and force me to do something, prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27). So I will be servant of prakṛti, material nature. That means I will be servant of my senses. By nature, my senses dictate, "Now you do this," I will be forced to do it. This is my position.

Philosophy Discussion on Plato:

That is going on, and especially in the Western countries we see that at the old age, when he has no children, so he keeps a dog or two or three pets to serve. So the serving position is already there, and when the servant wants to become master, that is māyā. Because this word māyā means actually he is serving and he is thinking that he is master. That is māyā. Māyā means what is not fact. So by meditation, when he actually becomes a realized soul, he will understand that "Oh, I am servant. So why I am serving māyā? Let me serve Kṛṣṇa." That is perfection. So if his guide, spiritual master, engages him from the very beginning to serve God, then he becomes quickly perfect, because he is servant and he has to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his perfection. He is falsely thinking that he is master. That is māyā. Here also they are simply serving. Just like President Nixon. He thought himself, "I am the master of America." But actually he is not. The master is the public. As soon as the public wanted "You come down immediately," he had to do that. So if the president of big state, he is under the false impression that although he is serving he is thinking master, then what to speak of others? Everyone is serving, but he is thinking master. So perfect knowledge is there that when he comes to the platform that "God is the supreme master, He is great, and we are servant." That is perfection of life.

Philosophy Discussion on Plotinus:

Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice. Anyone who takes it seriously, he becomes immediately liberated, because liberation means to be engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. This is liberation. We are engaged in māyā's service. That is our bondage. But service we have to render. We are servant—either māyā's servant or Kṛṣṇa's servant. Servant is our constitutional position. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109), Caitanya Mahāprabhu says. Our real identity is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. So even if he is..., are in this material body, if you are engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, that is liberation. Hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. When we give up our otherwise life... "Otherwise life" means to be engaged in māyā's service—as the head of the family, head of the community, head or member of this and... We have designated in so many ways. So that is our conditional life. And the same service, when we render to Kṛṣṇa cent percent, we are liberated. Sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. That is mukti. Mukti, they, by impersonalism, account of poor fund of knowledge, they think mukti means no more activity. Why no more activity?

Philosophy Discussion on Plotinus:

So when he gives up this bodily concept of life, how his activities will be stopped? But this poor fund of knowledge, Māyāvāda, they cannot understand. The active principle is the soul. So, so long the active principle is within the body, the body is active, and the active principle gone, the body is lump of matter. So even one is liberated from this lump of matter, he must remain active. That is explained in the Bhakti-śāstra, that when he is no more in bodily concept of life, then he remains active, but activity hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). When his senses are completely engaged in the service of Hṛṣīkeśa-Hṛṣīkeśa is another name of Kṛṣṇa—that is called bhakti. Bhakti means the activities of liberated life. One may understand or not understand; if he is actually engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, under the direction of spiritual master, he is liberated. But if he voluntarily accepts again māyā's service, then he is become conditioned. This is the secret. Is that...?

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:

Prabhupāda: Unless mother is good, how the children are good?

Yamunā: Tora(?). Tora is one of the biggest, and he helped more than anybody. He would come home, and she would read to them from the Bhāgavatam. But he would tell her, "Oh, if you don't serve Kṛṣṇa, you must serve māyā." And he would say, "That's māyā." He would tell mother that at seven years old, and he would explain to her. Swamiji, by the end of our classes, he was actually understanding the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, being able to listen to it and ask questions about it.

Prabhupāda: He gave you questions?

Mālatī: Even at the temple when there would be lectures, and then the lecturer says, "Are there any questions?" Tora would raise his hand, and he'd ask very intelligent questions.

Prabhupāda: Then why not keep him with me, your mother and he? (devotees cheer)

Yamunā: Oh, ho, ho! Haribol!

Prabhupāda: I think your mother will not agree to that.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1971, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Hear and narrate. So, whatever you have heard, you can speak. (break) So, in your country also they do not like this organized Christian religion (indistinct). The difficulty is that either Hindu religion or Christian religion, religion is one. So what is that one religion nobody knows perfectly, and it was not presented because they did not know what is religion. They are simply sticking to a particular kind of faith. Faith can be changed, faith can be given up but real religion, that cannot be given up. It may be perverted. Real religion is to render service to the Supreme Lord. That cannot be changed. We are serving, if not to the Lord, we are serving māyā. But my, that characteristic to serve is continued. So religion is presented simply on formulas and stereo-typed ideas, but actual religion is this surrender. Yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. Bhakti means serving. Bhaja sevayā. Sevayā means serving. So, religion means to serve the Supreme Lord, that is religion. Anything which has no such idea, that is not religion. Then again (you) have different types of religion, how far they are making progress with, on that ultimate goal, serving Kṛṣṇa. The more we advance, the more you become perfect, our real religious life becomes manifested, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We say this is real religion. So what others have to say on this point? We say this is real religion.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 31, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Now these things will be explained further in the next chapter. (break) ...nothing to... He's self-sufficient. He hasn't got to find out māyā to enjoy.

Dr. Patel: No, the lower... That is the jīva.

Prabhupāda: And the jīva, because he's dependent, he has to... Just like a servant. If he wants to, little more comfort, he may find out a bigger master. But he has to serve. That is the position. You have to serve. If you don't serve Kṛṣṇa, then you serve māyā. That's all.

Dr. Patel: That is what I was saying, that...

Prabhupāda: This is the position.

Guest (5): Does God need service?

Prabhupāda: God does not need. You need to serve God. God does not need.

Morning Walk -- March 31, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like government knows. Suppose government is creating one city, but he's creating at the same time the jail house. Although there is no criminal at that time. But government knows there are some criminals who will fulfill this jail house. Because you are independent. Everyone is independent. Not absolute independent, but slight independent. So therefore you have the option either to serve God or serve māyā. That's all.

Dr. Patel: Serve God or serve Mammon.

Prabhupāda: That's it.

Dr. Patel: You can't serve two masters at the same time. (break)

Prabhupāda: That is not possible.

Dr. Patel: As a matter of fact... (break)

Prabhupāda: ...minute quantity. (break)

Guest (5): Why does God permit all these sins and offenses?

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Morning Walk -- April 18, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes, senses. In that stage he cannot give up. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartante. When one sees that "This is better quality than the other," then he takes. Unless... Because superficially... Suppose because for becoming Vaiṣṇava, he has to undergo so many austerities. So ordinary man cannot find out that this is better life than that. So when he understands, "This service is not good; to serve Kṛṣṇa is good," then he can give up the service of māyā. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartante. Just like an ordinary servant, he is serving in your house, but if he gets some more salary in other's house, he gives it up. That is required. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartante.

Girirāja: (reading) "This māyā or illusory struggle for existence is immediately stopped. Lord Brahmā, who has full control over the Goddess of learning and who is considered to be the best authority in Vedic knowledge, was thus perplexed, being unable to understand the extraordinary power manifested in the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (break)

Prabhupāda: ...muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. (break) ...said that unless one comes to understand the inconceivable power of God, there is no meaning of God.

Dr. Patel: It is inconceivable to conceive God.

Prabhupāda: No, no, inconceivable power of God. God is in your presence.

Morning Walk at Marina del Rey -- July 14, 1974, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Let them do whatever they do, but still, Kṛṣṇa is there. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣam tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.35)**. (break) ...your undeveloped conscious, more you are servant of nature. The mo... As you have got less developed consciousness,... Just like the dog and the girl, she is developed consciousness. Therefore the dog, less conscious, it is serving. Similarly, if you are not Kṛṣṇa conscious fully, then you have to serve māyā.

Bahulāśva: Kali-dāsa. (japa)

Prabhupāda: To serve māyā means to accept this material body. māyā will give you a dress according to your karma, and you'll have to work. This will continue.

Bali Mardana: Oh. So those who do not develop their Kṛṣṇa consciousness fully must again take a birth.

Prabhupāda: Oh yes.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: Servant. God is supreme, we are all subordinate. God is maintaining us just like father maintains. So it is the duty of the son to be obedient to the father, to act according to his order. Then everything is perfect. At the present moment on account of this bodily concept of life every one of us thinking nationality and duty of nation, duty of the community, duty of the family, so many duties. But actually we, being spiritual, our only duty is to serve God. We are serving; everyone is serving. That is our constitutional position, to serve. But at the present moment we are serving māyā, illusion, and we have to be trained up to serve the Supreme Being. Then our life is perfect. (break) ...at the present moment, although there are many religious system, they have no clear conception of God, although religion means to approach God. There is no religion throughout the whole world which is not connected with the word God. So religion means to understand God. But if we have no clear conception of God, then the religion is defective. Do you admit it or not? Religion means to understand God or God's laws. That is religion. But if we do not understand what is God, then that religion is also defective. So far our position is, we are approaching directly God through His agent, and our conception of God is there in the temple worship or our working for God. But we have got no vague idea of God. We have got complete idea: Kṛṣṇa. You want to speak anything?

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 14, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Yes. My only business is to serve Kṛṣṇa. I don't mind what will happen next.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, though, that Kṛṣṇa....

Prabhupāda: Don't talk like foolish. That desire everyone has. He is serving. He is serving so many things, but he doesn't want to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his foolishness. He is serving māyā; still, he denies to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his misfortune. Ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kono bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). So unless one is very fortunate, he does not agree to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Madhudviṣa: So that future is determined by the great souls, such as yourself.

Prabhupāda: No, that...

Madhudviṣa: Because you are creating people's good fortune.

Prabhupāda: Fortune, there. It is already there. I am simply informing.

Garden Conversation -- June 23, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Generally, it does not change, if one likes this type of form. Śānta, dāsya, sākhya, vātsalya, mādhurya.

Kulādri: That change is available to anyone to progress from śānta to dāsya?

Prabhupāda: That change is not material change. The spiritual bliss is there, either in this form or that form.

Devotee (3): Śrīla Prabhupāda, you said that if we serve Kṛṣṇa we will enjoy, and if we serve māyā then we suffer. How can we get over our desire to serve māyā and enjoy separately from Kṛṣṇa?

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Pradyumna: Says in the material world when we try to enjoy we suffer. When we try to enjoy we suffer? Then how will we get over our desire? And when we serve Kṛṣṇa we become happy. But how will we get over our desire to serve māyā? The attachment is strong.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Pradyumna: He says how will we get over the desire to serve māyā, to try to enjoy ourselves in this material world?

Prabhupāda: Serve Kṛṣṇa.

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Mrinaline -- Vrindaban 27 August, 1967:

The feeling which you had by becoming compassionate to the fallen bum is very good, but the best way to deliver a bum is to revive his dormant Krishna Consciousness. If you can do that then give the bums good food and shelter. If you cannot do that, then simple supplying food and shelter, is serving the Maya. But there is no benefit to serving Maya, as you know, as it is all false, temporary or illusion. We are concerned with Reality, not Maya, and that should be the object of life.

I am very glad to learn that many of my devotees are coming to India. Students who will come here for studying Krishna philosophy as scholar and devotee will have ample opportunity. My god-brother Swami B.H. Bon, has agreed to give them free boarding, lodging and tuition, at least for ten students at a time. So they are welcome. I am also trying for their concession of passage as well as a permanent home in Vrindaban. Let us depend upon the Will of Krishna.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Subala -- Los Angeles 8 July, 1969:

Regarding you taking a job, I hope if you properly execute your activities, you will have no lack of money. In the beginning there may be a little hardship, but everywhere it has proved successful. I have information from Brahmananda that last month they collected about $2,400. So after all, it is all Krishna's money. When He sees us very faithful and trustworthy, He gives up His money for expenditures. Simply pray to Krishna that you may be able by His Grace to serve Him nicely. Our prayer of the Hare Krishna Mantra means addressing Radha and Krishna for being engaged in Their service. Hare Krishna means "Oh Hare, Oh Radharani! Oh Krishna! Please engage me in Your service so that I can get relief from the service of Maya." Just like a person resigns from an inferior quality of service and accepts a superior quality of service, similarly, our prayer to Krishna is to give us relief from the inferior quality of service to Maya, and to be engaged in the superior quality of service to Krishna. Service we have to render, and the whole process is to accept the superior quality of service in Krishna Consciousness.

Letter to Madhudvisa -- Hamburg 7 September, 1969:

I beg to thank you very much for your letter (undated) and the enclosed check for 100 dollars for my book fund. Also I very much appreciated the poem that you have written for Vyasa Puja Ceremony, and because it was too late for being published in the Vyasa Puja booklet, I have handed it over to Hayagriva for publication in BTG. This poem was especially nice and I thank you for it. I am always encouraged to learn of your activities in the San Francisco temple, and I think that by the Grace of Caitanya Mahaprabhu you shall do very great service to His Sankirtana Movement. For so many countless lifetimes the conditioned souls have been giving all of their service and energy to the service of Maya, and I am requesting all of my disciples that for this one lifetime you give all of your energy and service to Krishna. The spiritual force is eternal, so to give simply one lifetime to Krishna is not a very difficult thing. And yet if we are serious in executing the devotional principles, this one lifetime of service to Krishna will absolute and final solution to all the problems of life.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Rsabhadeva -- Bombay 16 November, 1970:

Now you are placed in a responsible post, so I may request you to very carefully execute the regular program as you have learned it in Los Angeles. If the regulative principles are strictly followed there is no chance of maya's dangerous influence to come in and cause some havoc. Maya is always peeping, ready to take advantage of our any lapse from devotional standard, so everyone should be continuously engaged in either chanting, studying or working and preaching. This full schedule will save you from engagement elsewhere. Maya and Krsna are always side by side. Either one is serving Krsna or he is serving Maya. Please manage the affairs of your temple in close cooperation with Karandhara and your Godbrothers and Krsna will give you the good intelligence to progress nicely.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Yamuna, Gurudasa -- Nairobi 17 October, 1971:

The selected men, namely the MPs who are there, are supposed to be the leaders of the country, are all there. If they can be convinced of our important movement then in India we shall have a very good holding. Actually our movement is so important that without taking to it, no other method, political, social, religious, or cultural, can give relief to the present chaotic status of the worldly situation. The leaders of the society must try to understand this point, that godlessness cannot give any relief to the human society. The whole world is so made that the living entity must serve Krishna; otherwise he has to serve maya. It is the same example that the citizen of the state has to render service to the government in order to become a good citizen. If one does not abide by the government laws then he is put into prison walls and forced to serve the government more tediously. So if we do not perform sacrifice, yajna, which means method of activities for pleasing the lord; as you know it is stated in Bhagavad-gita that any work not done for the satisfaction of the Lord must entangle the doer in the complication of the stringent laws of material nature.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Karandhara -- Bombay 10 May, 1974:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 1, 1974. I am glad to hear that you are agreeable to and making plans to come and join with me. Everyone has some potency. You have special potency. Do not waste it in the service of maya, but use it in the service of Krsna. Although there is inconvenience, we must endure it with a vow and finish our business in Krishna conscious service. As for you joining me, the following is my schedule; I will be leaving India on May 23 for Rome where I will be going to Via Misttetta 2, near Piazza Lodi, Rome 00182. On the 30th of May I will go to Geneva, Switzerland and will be at 9, chemin du Credo 1213 Petit Lancy. And on June 9 I will be arriving in Paris and will stay in Paris for a week. After this our program is not fixed up. I may tour in Europe or travel. So I hope you will be able to join me either in Rome, Geneva or Paris. I am very eager to meet with you so please try your best to arrive in Europe while I am there.

Letter to Sukadeva -- Bombay 28 December, 1974:

The temple president is in charge and the sannyasi should not contradict the instructions. Although if he does see something wrong or if he sees a fault or defect he should bring it out directly to the temple president. And then work it out in a Krsna Conscious way. Not that he will try to over-ride the temple president's authority. I want that you all work together cooperatively. Please continue your programs there with great enthusiasm and try to strictly follow all of my regulations without any deviation. Keep yourself always fixed in Krsna's service. Don't let even a spit moment go by being engaged in the service of maya.

Letter to Uddhvareta -- Bombay 28 December, 1974:

I am always praying to Krsna that my disciples will not fall away from the path of Krsna Consciousness. In the Bhagavad-gita it says; bahunam janmanam ante (BG 7.19). After many many births one finally comes unto Me. Sa mahatma sudurlabhah, such a great soul is very rare. My simple request is that you very strictly follow all of our regulative principles without any deviation whatsoever. And thus by example show others how to do the same. Engage in devotional service according to your propensity and the direction of my appointed authorities. Always pray to Krsna so that He may keep you engaged in His transcendental service. Avoid the service of Maya like poison.

Letter to Mandakini -- Bombay 29 December, 1974:

You mentioned in your letter that you are getting only a tourist visa for Moscow. But my original plan was that by marrying this man you would be able to get a permanent resident/permit there in Russia as his wife. But apparently this is very difficult. Therefore I think for now you should remain there in __, executing your devotional service, preaching nicely, caring for the Deities nicely. Try to get some type of permanent residence permit for Russia. If you can not get this residence permit then I think it is better not to go there. We shall see as Krsna desires.

Please continue engaging in Krsna's service with staunch determination, not to be defeated and engaged in Maya's service even for one second.