Prabhupāda: Nobody should have any objection. And if you do not surrender to God, then what is the meaning of your religion? It is bogus. That is the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: dharmaḥ projjhita kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2). Here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam all this bogus type of religion is rejected. And what is that bogus type of religion? Bogus type means which religion does not know who is God and how to love Him. That's all. Do you agree or not?
Mrs. Sahani: Yes, I agree.
Prabhupāda: So religion cannot be two; religion one. God is one, and to offer our submission to Him, that is religion. Simple thing. And God comes personally to demand this. Sarva dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is religion. Now say what is your objection about this religion.
Mrs. Sahani: No objection at all. Religion means surrender to God. That's called real religion.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is religion. And that is first-class faith which teaches how to surrender to God. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6).
Mrs. Sahani: This is the highest knowledge.
Prabhupāda: That is highest knowledge. It doesn't matter whether you are Muhammadan, Christian or Hindu or this or that. Whether you know God and you have fully surrendered to Him, then it is perfect. Otherwise, it is simply waste of time. Śrama eva hi kevamalam. If you simply perform the ritualistic ceremonies very strictly, but you have no idea of God, you have no knowledge how to love Him, it is simply waste of time. Śrama eva hi kevalam.
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed ratiṁ yadi
- śrama eva hi kevalam
- (SB 1.2.8)
You are very religious, very nice, but are you interested with God or dog? "No, I am interested with dog." Then what is religion? Religion means you must be interested with God. That is religion. What is the report? How much they are interested now?
Nava-yauvana: Forty million pounds.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Forty million pounds are being spent in Germany to take care of dog. This is advancement of civilization.
Mrs. Sahani: And how to surrender to God? How to do this?
Prabhupāda: Simply surrender to God immediately. He says, sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66).
Mrs. Sahani: For a layman who doesn't know anything about things.
Prabhupāda: People do not know. Therefore God comes personally to teach you. Why don't you take the teaching? Why don't you take? Kṛṣṇa is coming personally and teaching you. Why don't you take the teaching? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ (BG 18.66). Why don't you become fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa?
Mrs. Sahani: Yes, but for, you know . . .
Prabhupāda: That is another thing.
Mrs. Sahani: Someone has to create interest first, and then people will take the teaching.
Prabhupāda: That is conditional. But He wants unconditional surrender. That is religion. Of course, if you cannot surrender unconditionally, then you at least practice. That is also instructed: man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). At least think of Kṛṣṇa, man-māan. What is the difficulty if you think of Kṛṣṇa? What is the difficulty? Is there any difficulty?
Mrs. Sahani: You first have to surrender to God.
Prabhupāda: Eh? No difficulty. If you chant Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, where is the difficulty? That is man-manā. Apply your mind to Kṛṣṇa. Where is the difficulty? The difficulty is that we'll not do it. That is our determination. We shall do everything, but not this. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, there is no difficulty. Everyone will teach about Bhagavad-gītā. So many things they will speak, but nobody speaks that you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Rather, they will say Kṛṣṇa is fictitious, there was no Kṛṣṇa, there was no . . . they mislead, that's all. And he becomes a big scholar. The more he deviates you, misguides you, he becomes a big scholar. This is going on. Is it not? There are so many scholars, politicians, philosophers, they are talking of Bhagavad-gītā. Nobody is talking that Kṛṣṇa . . . surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Am I right or wrong? They'll say: "We have got different meaning of Kṛṣṇa." Now, this is the position. Why different meaning of Kṛṣṇa? All the sages, all the saintly persons, they have accepted Kṛṣṇa. Just like Arjuna, when he understood Bhagavad-gītā, he immediately accepted Kṛṣṇa: paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). This is understanding of Kṛṣṇa. Sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava (BG 10.14): "Keśava, whatever You have spoken, I take it altogether as it is." Sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye. All fact. And they are manufacturing some meaning. How they'll understand Kṛṣṇa? This is going on. And our this movement has become little successful . . . people give me such credit, "Swāmījī, you have done wonderful." But I do not know what wonderful. I do not know any magic. I simply say that you accept Kṛṣṇa or Bhagavad-gītā as it is. That's all. That is my magic. And they are accepting it. We are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. We do not make any interpretation that, "Kṛṣṇa means this, Kurukṣetra means this, Pāṇḍavas means this." No. We are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is.