Prabhupāda: Fog. Fog, yes. The fog . . . we have got experience. When there is fog . . . I was, when I was going to your country, USA, I was on the ship. So there was all of a sudden fog cover, all over the sea. Anyone who has traveled in the sea, they have got experience. So you cannot go. Immediately the ship stops and horns, so that other ship may not collide. It becomes . . . so this fog . . . now, you have no instrument to drive away the fog. But as soon as the sun rises a little with strength, immediately fog is gone. So strong, but due to the sunshine, immediately it will go. Nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. This example is given.
Similarly, we may have so many bad habits, rāga, attachment. If you simply take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this will go, just like the fog—immediately. Immediately. So take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness very rigidly. That is called vīta-rāga. Simply by . . . this is the gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12) means to drive away the fog in the mind. That's all. Because we are covered by the fog in so many ways, and it is very difficult to drive away. But you keep yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it will be driven away. It will be driven away. There is no doubt about it.
So Kṛṣṇa is suggesting that first of all jñāna. The rascals have no knowledge how to become happy. They are thinking, "We shall . . ." they will be happy by drinking wine and eating meat and having sex life unlimitedly. They're thinking like that, so rascal. The whole civilization is condemned. They do not know how to become happy. They do not know how to become happy. Mūḍha. They do not know. The happiness is only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the fact. Kṛṣṇa assures that, that bahavaḥ, many; jñāna-tapasā . . . first of all, one must know that the way in which you are finding out, trying to . . . trying to find out happiness, that is nonsense. That is not possible. We have to give up all these things. That is tapasya. Voluntarily give up all these things. The more we are advanced means more we have given up all these things—eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This is the position.
So vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ . . . (BG 2.56). So how it is possible? How to become detached? Man-mayā: "Always be absorbed in My thought." Or man-mayā means . . . man means "mine"; mayā, "of Me," "Thinking of Me." That is recommended. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). This is the process. Always think of Kṛṣṇa, man-manāḥ. This is easy. Just like you love somebody. So if you chant his name, if you think of him, then you'll always remember. Similarly, if you simply think of Kṛṣṇa, if you simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa name, then you remain man-mayā. So vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ (BG 4.10). You should take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa advises, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66): "You take My shelter." So of course, those who are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, it is understood that he has taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Man-mayā. Man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ . . .
So if you do these things . . . not only you, there are . . . there are many examples. Bahavaḥ. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja and Dhruva Mahārāja, all big, big stalwart devotees. Nārada Muni, Brahmā, Svayambhū . . . svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilaḥ, prahlādaḥ bhīṣmaḥ . . . (SB 6.3.20). There are big, big personalities. To follow them, how? Prahlāda Mahārāja was being chastised by his father, five years old, but he did not know how to protest. He was suffering and chanting, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," "Nārāyaṇa." What can be done? What can be done? He was completely dependent on his father. And father had no mercy. The only fault was he, Kṛṣṇa . . . turned Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the fault. And he was being punished. He was punished, punished. This is the world. Even father will be enemy, what to speak of others. If you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, the whole world will be your enemy. You must be prepared for that.
So therefore you require tapasya. Tapasya. Tapasya means voluntarily agree to suffer. That is called tapasya. Voluntarily. Suffering is there, but why not suffer for Kṛṣṇa? Everyone is unhappy. Everyone is in suffering condition. Who is not suffering? Everyone is suffering. Tri-tāpa-yatana. Adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. Three kinds of sufferings are always going on. Why you are running fan? Because suffering; there is heat. So where is no suffering? This is called adhidaivika, the scorching heat, scorching, I mean, severe cold. There must be always. We are suffering now due to scorching heat, and when the . . . we are thinking, "If it is become cooler . . ." And when it is cool, then also we suffering. Then we think, "If there is some heat." When there is winter, we are hankering after heat, and when there is summer, we are hankering after cooling.
So this is going on. We cannot be happy. First of all we must know that. There is no question of happiness here. We are simply hankering, "If it would have been very nicely cool." And when it is cool, then you'll think, "If it had been nicely hot . . ." The same thing. Carvita-carvaṇānām. Carvita-carvaṇānām means chewing the chewed. We have tasted heat and cold both, but we are desiring, "If it would have been like this, if it had been like that, if it . . ." But never come to the conclusion that either heat or cool, we have to suffer. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya. That is explained by Kṛṣṇa. So long you have got this, this material skin, then this heat and cold you'll have to suffer. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). The śīta, the summer, the winter, or the summer season, neither of them are sources of happiness. But you are thinking like that. "If it would have been like this, if it would have been like this."
Therefore kāṅkṣa, akāṅkṣa. So if you become transcendentally situated, brahma-bhūta, there will be no more akāṅkṣa. There will be no more hankering either for this or that, because he knows . . . that is called jñāna. So after jñāna . . . that is required. Jñāna, in the human form of life, this knowledge is required. The animals cannot have jñāna. The human beings can have jñāna. This is knowledge that, "So long I'll possess this material body, I'll have to suffer. I'll have to suffer." Unless you come to this conclusion, there is no progress. If we remain attached to these bodily pains and pleasure . . . of course, nobody wants pains, but for pleasure you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of course, gradually you'll come to knowledge.
That is not our aim. Our aim is that the pains and pleasure, so-called pleasure—actually pain—this will continue so long we have got this body. Therefore we have to practice tapasya, penance. Simple thing, no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. This is tapasya, voluntarily accepting . . . those who are practiced to all these bad habits, so they will feel some pain, but you accept that pain. Then this pain will be over, this material pain. Just like sometimes for curing some disease the doctor says that injection or surgical operation. That is painful, but to cure the disease we should accept that thing. Similarly, if you want to become free from this material body, then you should accept, accept this pain. This is not pain; it is simply imagination. Actually, it is pleasure. So . . . because we have no knowledge, therefore jñāna-tapasā. And if there is knowledge and if there is tapasya, penance, then pūtā, purified. You become purified. Therefore it is said, bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ (BG 4.10). Then you come back to home, back to Godhead.