So Advaita Prabhu, when He found that people are simply engaged in eating, sleeping, and they are not, they have no concern with Krsna, and their life is being spoiled, so He wanted to start this Krsna consciousness movement, say, about six hundred years ago, but He considered Himself as unable to take up this movement seriously because the condition of the people was so wretched. He thought that "If Krsna Himself comes, then it can be done. Otherwise it is not possible." So Advaita Prabhu called Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by His call, He appeared, Krsna appeared. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was almost like grandson of Advaita Prabhu. But when He was young man, a very beautiful youth, so at that time nobody knew, but Advaita Prabhu knew that "He is Krsna. He has come." So He was simply... Sometimes devotees pretend to be not in knowledge. So He was praying Krsna, "This boy is very nice. If He takes up this Krsna consciousness movement, then it will be very successful. He is very intelligent, beautiful."

In this way there was, Caitanya's Mahaprabhu's time, this Krsna consciousness movement was going nicely, very. And after Him, there was six Gosvamis. They also managed. Then, as it is the rule of this material world that you start something very good but in due course of time the things deteriorate, so this Vaisnava, Krsna consciousness movement, also deteriorated in due course of time. Say, after the disappearance of the Gosvamins, about 250 years after, the things became most ridiculous. The so-called devotees... Their representatives still are continuing. They are called prakrta-sahajiya. Prakrta-sahajiya means taking things very easily. They thought that Radha-Krsna is just like a boy and girl's lusty affairs. And in this way they took it that sex life as religion. Even Vivekananda, he also criticized, "Vaisnavism is sex religion." So the things deteriorated in such a way that... And similarly, as Advaita Prabhu was afflicted, similarly, Bhaktivinoda Thakura... He was at that time a householder, government officer and magistrate. He felt very much: "Oh, Lord Caitanya's movement is so... People... As soon as one will see that he belongs to the Caitanya sampradaya, he'll deride, 'Oh, these are all rascals, simply taking sex pleasures. That's all.' " There were thirteen pseudo Vaisnavas, thirteen sects: Aula, Baula, Karttabhaja, Neda, Daravesa, Sani, Sahajiya, Sakhibheki. Sani community... You have heard that in London there is a Sani community. Sani Hindu center you have heard from Mukunda? The Sani is there still. So there are thirteen pseudo pretenders belonging to the Caitanya-sampradaya. They are called first Aula, Baula, Karttabhaja, Neda, Daravesa, Sani, Sakhibheki, Gauranga-nagari, Cudadhari, Ativadi, and Smarta, Jata-gosani. Like that, thirteen.

So if I describe these thirteen, it will take thirteen hours. So I don't describe all them. But one or two must be described. The most important is the Jata-gosani. Jati-gosani. They created a caste of gosvamins, just like they created a caste of brahmanas, a caste of gosvamins. So this gosvami will come by hereditary birth, just like brahmana. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura was very sorry to see the condition of the society. So these gosvamins... The original history of gosvami is the six Gosvamins. Now, out of the six Gosvamins, none of them were priestly class. So far Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, they were great politicians, prime minister, a finance minister in the government of Nawab Hussain Shah. So... And similarly, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, he was a big zamindar. His father is... Zamindar means landholder. During British period... No, at that time not British period, Mohammedan period. They distributed land among some, I think, in the Western countries bourgeois (pronounces "boor zhwa") they call? Bourgeois? Or in England, the landholders, what they are called?

Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not liked by the hereditary brahmanas. They dislike. Whenever there is Caitanya movement, they pose another counter. This Rama-Krishna is a counteraction of Caitanya. Because Caitanya, the Vaisnava-sampradaya, accept Caitanya Mahaprabhu as incarnation of God, so they presented this Gadadhara Chatterjee as incarnation of Krsna, and by worshiping Kali. You see? So this competition is since a very long time between the Vaisnava and the other sect. Anyway, when these Gosvamis... My point is that originally the Gosvamis came from ordinary person. There is no caste. But they manufactured a caste of Gosvami, you see, this brahmana class. This brahmana class, the hereditary brahmana class, played so many havocs in the history of India. The Pakistan is also due to this hereditary brahmanism. You see? They hated so much the Muhammadans and the sudras. First of all they hated the sudras, and then, when the sudras, they became Muhammadans, they hated the Muhammadans. And gradually it developed that the so-called sudras and Muhammadans, politically the Britishers took advantage, agitated them. They cut up India into Pakistan and Hindustan.

So there are many histories. So it is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He accepted everyone to this movement. So my Guru Maharaja's contribution is that he defeated these caste gosvamins. He defeated this brahmanism. He created that the same way as Caitanya Mahaprabhu did, that, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,

So his method of preaching is just according to the, strictly according to the rules and regulation of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And as Caitanya Mahaprabhu was called by Advaita Prabhu, similarly, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, when he saw this condition of pseudo Vaisnava all over the country, he also prayed to Lord Caitanya that "You kindly send somebody from Your personal staff so that I can start this movement." You see? So by the grace of Lord Caitanya, as we pray, sri-gaura-karuna-sakti-vigrahaya namo 'stu te. Gaura... He is mercy representation of Lord Caitanya. And he appeared as the son of this Bhaktivinoda Thakura. At that time he was known as Kedaranath Datta. Ken Datta. And he appeared in 1867 as the child of Bhaktivinoda Thakura. And the house is still preserved in Jagannatha Puri. At that time Jagannatha Puri, he was magistrate in Jagannatha Puri, and he was... The system in the Jagannatha Puri, the manager, the official manager, is the district magistrate. So he was district magistrate. And in February 1867, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura appeared. And when he appeared, his, this what is called, the intestine?

So when he was three years or four years old, he took one mango from the Deity room and ate it. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, "Oh, you have done a great wrong thing. You have taken the mango of the Deity before offering Him? It is a great offense." The child took it very serious, and my Guru Maharaja never took mango throughout his whole life. Whenever mango was offered, he would say, "Oh, I am a offender. I cannot take that." You see? So there was a big meeting. What is this sound? Somebody's sleeping? All right. (laughter) In Midnapur district, when he was young man, he was holding meeting. He was a great astrologer, and he opened an astrological school when he was young man. And there are many big students still practicing. They are all students of my Guru Maharaja. And there was a meeting in Midnapur district. The subject matter "Brahmanas and Vaisnavas." So in that meeting Bhaktivinoda Thakura was invited. At that time he was not very in healthy condition, indisposed. So he asked Sarasvati Thakura that "You go and speak there." So he spoke on the distinction between brahmanas and Vaisnavas, and he defeated so many learned panditas. Then the whole audience began to take, touch his lotus feet and touch with water and drink it, in this way, when he was young man. That book is also available in Bengali, Brahmana-Vaisnava.

Then, after disappearance of Bhaktivinoda Thakura in 1914... Bhaktivinoda Thakura organized this Krsna Caitanya's movement in pure form from Mayapur. He published many books and papers, Sajjana-tosani. When he passed away in 1914, at that time, he entrusted the matter to Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, that "I am going, my work unfinished, about this Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement. You take charge of it." So he took very seriously the word of Bhaktivinoda Thakura. So since 1914 to '18, he was simply thinking that "How I can expand this movement?" So in 1918 he started this movement with the help of some disciples. Krsna sent him. So one of the disciples, he is now Tirtha Maharaja. Perhaps he is... He belonged to Rama Krishna Mission Society. So he is very ambitious. So he took the opportunity of starting this movement, finding out the saintly person. So apart from that point of view, with his help this Gaudiya Mission was started, and gradually it developed. So in Calcutta Guru Maharaja started in 1918. And, I think, in 1922, when I was young man, one of my friends, he took me to Guru Maharaja. That was my first meeting. And, of course, he was speaking to everyone, but he found me as something. So immediately after my meeting, he said this, that "Why don't you preach this Caitanya's cult in the Western countries?" That is a memorable day. Of course, I did not know that I will have to do it. You see? It is...

Then, in 1928, there was a big fair which is called Kumbhamela. At that time I was doing business in Allahabad. My business was very flourishing. It was well-known drug shop. So the persons who went to organize our Gaudiya Matha's camp in that fair, somebody has told that "Here is a Bengali gentleman's business. You can go, and he is very religious man. He will help." So all the disciples of Guru Maharaja, they approached my shop, my store, drug store. And because I was thinking of them, so I thought, "Oh, here is the men." You see? You see? I was very glad"So they have come again"because I was separated from them in 1923, and again I saw them in 1928 after five years, and I was thinking of Guru Maharaja simply in this way, "Oh, I met a very nice saintly person. Very nice saintly person. If I can see him again?" Like that. So in this way, with my help, the Allahabad center of Gaudiya Matha was established. Then I was initiated in 1933. In 1933. And in 1936 I was, at that time, in Bombay, and Guru Maharaja was very much indisposed, and he was at Puri, Jagannatha Puri. We have got our temple there. Guru Maharaja established sixty-four temples, small and big. Just like I am increasing, he increased. So most of the temples were in Bengal. In Bengal there were about fifty out of sixty-four. And one temple was at Allahabad, one was in Madras. In this way, outside Bengal, about three, four, one Benares. And he sent Bon Maharaja also in 1933 to London for preaching, but unfortunately, some way or other, he could not do anything, so Guru Maharaja called him back in 1934. He was not satisfied and sent another Godbrother, gosvami.

In 1936, just on the 13th, December, I wrote him one letter. Not 13th. I think by the beginning of December, 1936, I wrote one letter to Guru Maharaja. I knew he was little kind upon me, so I wrote that "Guru Maharaja, you have got many disciples. I am also one of them. But they are doing direct service to you. Some of them are brahmacaris, some of them sannyasis, but I am a householder. I cannot..." Of course, I was giving sometimes some monetary help, but I could not give any direct service, so I asked him that "If there is any particular service I can do for you?" So that letter was replied in 13th December, dated 13th December, from Puri. And he passed away on the 31st December. Just a fortnight before. So the reply was the same as he wanted me to do this preaching work in 1922, when I first met him, that "You try to preach whatever you have learned from me to the English-knowing people in English. That will do good to you and to the people to whom you shall preach. That is my instruction." So I took up, direction. And then he passed away in 1936, 31st December. So I consulted some of my Godbrothers, senior Godbrothers, "Guru Maharaja has told me like this. What can I do?" So you have heard the name of Professor Sanyal, and there were other Godbrothers. They asked me to write on the Vaisnava-siddhanta in English. So perhaps in 1935 I wrote one poetry. The part of it, somebody, you have got. He was very pleased. Since then he was insisting me that "You write on, preach on in English." At that time I was thinking, "What can I do?" So anyway, after his passing away, this Back to Godhead paper was started, as late in 1944, I think, because the expenditure was three hundred, four hundred rupees per month.

So somehow or other, it has begun, the blessings of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, as he wanted me, he desired me. So because he desired, my... I am not very expert or educated or nothing extraordinary, but only thing is that I believed in his word. That is... You can say that is my qualification. I believed cent percent in his word. So whatever success is there, it is just due to my firm faith in his instruction. So I am trying to follow. And by his grace, you are helping me. So actually, the responsibility will now depend on you. I am also old man. I may pass away at any moment. This movement should go on, you see, this movement started by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, then accelerated by Gosvamis, and then again Visvanatha Cakravarti. And when... Just like whenever there is... Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati [Bg. 4.7]. When there is some slowness, either Krsna Himself or some representative comes to give it a push. So you should know it, that this movement should be pushed on. This should not be neglected. And I am glad that you are catching the ideas very nicely, and try... Simple thing: you chant sincerely and follow the rules and regulation. The rules and regulation are not very strict. They are very simple. But because you are trained in a different way... But I am so pleased and obliged to you that you have adopted. I never expected. When I came first in Boston, I was thinking, "Oh, who will accept these Vaisnava rules and regulations? These people are after meat and wine and illicit sex, and how they will accept it?" I was hopeless: "How they will chant?" You see? So by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, at least, I am hopeful that this movement can be accepted by anyone. It is not so hopeless as I thought. But apart from my calculation, you are realizing. This movement should be pushed on. Just like great souls always think of the poor souls, similarly, you should also feel. That is the way. Lord Jesus Christ, he also prayed for the sinful persons. So this is very good. If we struggle hard to push this movement, then, even we, you don't get any follower, Krsna will be satisfied. And our business is to satisfy Krsna. That is bhakti. Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Bhakti means one has to engage his all senses for the satisfaction. Material life means sense satisfaction for his self: "I like this. I like this. I want to do something. I want to sing something or chant something, eat something, or touch something, or taste something. This is something..." That means using the senses. That is the material life. "I want to touch such soft skin. I want to taste such, what is called, nice food. I want to smell like this. I want to walk like this." The same thingwalking, tasting, touching, or anythingshould be utilized for Krsna. That's all. Instead of touching something else, if we touch the sanctified lotus feet of a devotee, that touch will be utilized. Instead of eating nonsense, if we eat Krsna prasadam, it will be all right. Instead of smelling something else, if we smell the flowers offered to Krsna... So nothing is stopped. If you want to use your sex life, yes, you can use for producing Krsna conscious children. Nothing is stopped. Simply it is purified. That's all. This is the whole program. There is no question of "Stop this." Stop cannot be. How it can be stopped? Suppose I am a human being. If somebody says, "Oh, you cannot eat," is it possible? I must eat. So there is no question of stopping. The question is purifying it. So... And the other philosophy is to, I mean to say, snub down forcibly, make it void, just like they say, "Just become desireless." They advocate. So how can I be desireless? Desire must be there. But I shall desire for Krsna.

So this is very nice process. And even others do not take it very seriously or they do not come to our philosophy, if you try for it, that is your business. Krsna will be satisfied. Our acaryas will be satisfied, Guru Maharaja will be satisfied. And yasya prasadad bhagavat... If they are satisfied, then your business is finished. You see? Not that others is satisfied or not. By your chanting some public is satisfiedno, we are not concerned with that. He may be satisfied or not satisfied. But if I chant in the proper way, then my predecessors, the acaryas, will be satisfied. That is my business, finished, if I don't invent in my own way. So I am very glad that Krsna has sent so many nice boys and girls to help me. Be blessed on this auspicious day. And there is nothing mine. I am simply a postal peon. I am delivering to you what I have heard from my Guru Maharaja. Simply you also act in the same way, and you will be happy, and the world will be happy, and Krsna will be happy, and everything will be... (end)