The devotional service is so nice, if you simply take to devotional service, then all good qualities will come. You don't have to educate him, to send some reformatory school or this or that. That will be explained. The devotional service, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is so nice. If you simply take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all your . . . because originally you are good. You have become bad on account of the material association. Therefore devotion means to be purified. This is a purificatory process from material contamination. Sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ tat paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). If you think . . . vimarśanam. If we think little soberly, that "I am thinking 'I am American' or 'Indian.' Am I American or Indian? This is upādhi, designation. By accident or somehow or other, I have got this body in America. Therefore I am American. But next time I may not take the American body. I may take another, Chinese body or something else." So one has to understand that "I am neither American, neither Chinese, nor Indian, nor white, nor black." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am spirit soul, part and parcel of God." That is knowledge. We have to come to that. That is brahma-bhūtaḥ.
- brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
- na śocati na kāṅkṣati
- samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
- mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
- (BG 18.54)
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to purify the designation. And so long we are in the darkness of this designation, that "I am this," "I am that," "I am this," "I am that," that is ignorance. Suppose a thief, he is thinking that "If I do not steal, I cannot exist. I'll die. So I cannot stop stealing. I must go on." So this is ignorance. But if he thinks over, that "The cats and dogs and the birds and beasts, they are very nicely eating. They are not stealing anyone's . . . whatever he gets by the grace of God, he is happy," this is knowledge. Vimarśanam. Vimarśanam.
Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything God's property. And we are all part and parcel, sons of God, so the property is for us; it is not for others. Just like father's property is meant for the son's enjoyment. That's a fact. So "If other sons, without any labor, without any endeavor, they can get their food, why I am stealing?" This is knowledge. This is knowledge. "Why I shall steal? There is enough food." But because I haven't got this knowledge that "God is the proprietor. I am His part and parcel, son. So if He has provided food for the elephant, who eats at a time forty kilos, he can eat, and I eat only, say, half a pound, I cannot eat?" This is knowledge. "Why shall I steal? I shall depend on God." This is knowledge.
So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. I am God's part . . . why shall I starve? There are so many . . . out of 8,400,000 forms of life, eight million forms of life are less than the human being. Human being, only 400,000. Out of that, civilized men very few. Out of that, Americans are very few, Indians are very few. So "If so many, 8,300,000 forms of life, they can get without stealing, why shall I steal?" This is knowledge. Prāyaścitta vimarśanam. As soon as he becomes in quite perfect knowledge, then whole problem solved.
So this is the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. If we take seriously, then there is no problem. Otherwise the problems will go on, and the so-called rascal scientists will give us bluff, that "We are making solution of all problem." It is never solved. It will never be solved in the future also, unless we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is a fact. If you like, you can take it; otherwise suffer.