One very good quality, that is why devotees give preference to Kali-yuga because it has a great quality and what is that? "Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya . . ." Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet . . . one can be freed from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom of God. It is so easy. Kali-yuga is so fallen, so sinful, so for them God made it so simple and easy. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya (SB 12.3.51).
I felt very happy to see your kirtan community but little . . . like if you take some medicine, side by side you need to take proper diet. Medicine and diet, therefore medicine is holy name. Bhavausadhi srotramano bhirama . . . just like this girl was saying, its like somebody fell in the ocean even though he could be an expert swimmer, he is not very happy because he has to struggle hard for his existence; same as this material ocean. Therefore to cross over this ocean of material existence, especially in this fallen age of kali . . . kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann (SB 12.3.51), there is one great quality. What is this best quality?
- kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
- mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
- (SB 12.3.51)
To chant the holy name of the Lord Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare/ Caitanya Mahāprabhu had also instructed the same thing:
- ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ
- paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam
- (CC Antya 20.12)
Therefore the point is, like you are all doing kirtan (chanting), this is the medicine . . . simultaneously, diet is also required then the result will be faster doctor is present here, he knows, doctors gives medicine and also say don't do this, don't eat this, eat this, stay like this.
So . . . this is a process. If you are sick or you are diseased and you only take medicine and neglect the rest then the medicine won't work. You should also improve your diet. How to improve your diet? What is the secret behind? As we are all trapped in this material world, what is the real reason behind it? The reason is sin. More or less everybody is sinful.
Starting from Lord Brahma to an ant, whoever accepted this material body, is suffering their karma. Karmic reaction is pious and impious activities. The reaction of pious activities is also one kind of suffering. This subject matter is very heavy. Therefore, we must go beyond pious and impious activities; beyond karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa.
Therefore, devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no trace of karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa . . . ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ . . .
- anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
- jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
- ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
- (NOD 1.1.11)
If you want pure devotional service then anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ, anyābhilāṣ means to reject this kind of mood that I am chanting to achieve some kind of material profit. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam states one must be devoid of all kinds of knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. This materialistic, sinful life has four main pillars. And what is that? . . . sastra says:
- striyaḥ sūnā pānaṁ . . .
- yatrādharmaś catur-vidhaḥ
- (SB 1.17.38)
Four types of sinful activities, what is that? Illicit relationship between men and women. Apart from our marital relationship, women should not associate with any man and men should not associate with any woman. This is most sinful. Stay away from this ". . . striyaḥ sūnā" and unnecessary animal slaughtering; eating meat, fish, eggs etc. This human being becomes a heavy weight to mother earth.
Sastra has some rules and regulations when number of intoxication and meat eating people increase, then mother earth suffers the heavy weight. Sastras says that we must reject these kinds of sinful activities. Do not maintain illicit relationships with women and don't eat meat, fish, eggs etc. and do not gamble and don't take intoxicants. Intoxication also includes betel leaf, cigarettes, tea etc.
So if you want to advance in spiritual life by chanting, strictly reject all these sinful activities.
All these American, European boys and girls, young men and women . . . first i taught them these four regulative principles. These people are accustomed to eating meat and drinking alcohol, tea, coffee their whole lives, they are now totally bereft of all these kinds of sinful activities. That's why they are brāhmaṇas. The symptoms of brāhmaṇas are honesty, kindness, austere, cleanliness, truthfulness, controlling the senses, controlling the mind and cleanliness. You all know its all mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore chanting of Holy name is surely effective, you will surely get purified, there is no doubt about it, but if you willingly . . .
Just like . . . if the wood is not fully dry it takes time to burn, it gives lots of smoke, slowly it will burn but it will consume lots of time but the dry wood will burn faster. Bhagavad-gītā is stating the same thing, yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ one whose sinful actions are completely eradicated. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām (BG 7.28).
That's why we recommend pious activities. When we act piously, we are freed from all kinds of sinful reactions and its stopped . . . you can do only one thing at a time. If you are engaged in one thing you can not simultaneously do another thing. So Bhagavad-gītā states:
- yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
- janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
- te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
- bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
- (BG 7.28)
Persons whose sinful actions are completely eradicated, they can engage themselves in transcendental loving service with determination. We should try hard to reject all four kinds of sinful activities. Pānaṁ striyaḥ sūnā yatrādharmaś catur-vidhaḥ (SB 1.17.38).
We must get rid of that. This is the subject matter of our preaching and everywhere we are preaching this. The community you have can continue chanting along with this also stop these sinful activities and spread this message. Then you will achieve perfection quickly and this very life you will go back to Godhead. You don't have to wait for another life. But it is not so easy to get unalloyed devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
- jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
- (BG 7.19)
After many births doing austerity and following rules and regulations. If I can go back to Godhead in this very life then, why wait for another lifetime? If in this life we can attain the Lord then why not? Who knows if I will get human birth next life.