How To Love Kṛṣṇa

There are five primary relationships with Krsna: as a passive devotee, as a servant, as a friend, as a parent, and as a lover. The cows in Krsna's abode are also liberated souls. They are called surabhi cows. There are many popular pictures showing how Krsna loves the cows, how He embraces and kisses them. That passive relationship with Krsna is called santa. Their perfect happiness is achieved when Krsna comes and simply touches them.

Other devotees are inclined to actually give service. They think, "Krsna wants to sit down. I will arrange a place for Him. Krsna wants to eat. I wi11 get Him some nice food." And they actually make these arrangements. Other devotees play with Krsna as friends on equal terms. They do not know that Krsna is God; to them, Krsna is their lovable friend, and they cannot forget Him for a moment. All day and all night, they think of Krsna. At night, when they are sleeping they think, "Oh, in the morning I shall go and play with Krsna." And in the morning they go to Krsna's house and stand by while Krsna is decorated by His mother before going out to play with His friends in the fields. There is no other activity in Krsnaloka (Krsna's abode). There is no industry, no rushing to the office or any such nonsense. There is sufficient milk and butter, and everyone eats plentifully. Krsna is very fond of His friends, and sometimes He enjoys stealing butter for them. One can actually live this way, and that is the perfection of existence. We should hanker for that perfectional stage of life. Krsna consciousness is the process to attain it.

But as long as one has even a slight attachment for this material world, one has to remain here. Krsna is very strict. He does not allow anyone to enter into His association who has any tinge of the material conception of life. Bhakti must be free from material contamination. Do not think, "I am a very learned scholar. I shall find out what is the Absolute Truth by mental speculation." That is nonsense; one can go on and on speculating and wi11 never find the source of all sources. It is said in Brahma-samhita, "One can go on speculating about the Absolute Truth for millions and millions of years, and still it wi11 not be revealed." One can rot in this material world as he is and can go on speculating, but that is not the right process. Here is the process-bhakti-yoga.

Lord Caitanya says that to render devotional service to Krsna is the highest perfectional stage of life, and compared to this, other things for which people are hankering in this material world are like bubbles in the ocean. Generally, people are after rewards, and therefore they become religious. They say, "I am a Hindu," "I am a Christian," "I am Jew," "I am Mohammadan," "I am this, I am that, and therefore I cannot change my religion. I cannot accept Krsna." This is called religiosity, dharma. With such a materialistic, sectarian idea of religion, they will rot in this material world, stuck to rituals and faith. They are under the impression that if they follow their religious principles, they wi11 get material prosperity. Of course, if one sticks to any kind of religious faith, he will get facilities for material life.

Why do people want this material prosperity? For sense gratification. They are thinking, "I shall have a very nice wife. I shall have very good children. I shall have a very good post. I shall become president. I shall become prime minister." This is sense gratification. And when one is frustrated and has seen that to be rich or to attain the presidency cannot give him happiness, after squeezing out all the taste of sex life, when he is completely frustrated, then perhaps he takes to LSD and tries to become one with the void. But this nonsense cannot give happiness. Here is happiness: one must approach Krsna. Otherwise, it wi11 end in LSD-confusion and roaming in impersonal void concepts. People are frustrated. They must be frustrated if they do not have genuine spiritual life because a person is spiritual by nature.

How can anyone be happy without Krsna? Suppose one is thrown into the ocean. How can he be happy there? That is not for us. One may be a very good swimmer, but how long will he be able to swim? He eventually becomes tired and drowns. Similarly, we are spiritual by nature. How can we be happy in this material world? It is not possible. But men are trying to remain here, making so many temporary adjustments for survival. This patchwork is not happiness. If one really wants happiness, here is the process: one must attain love of Godhead: Unless one can love Krsna, unless one finishes with love for cats, dogs, country, nation and society and instead concentrates his love on Krsna, there is no question of happiness. Rūpa Gosvami has given a very nice example in this regard: There are many drugs which saturate one with ideas or hallucinations. But Rūpa Gosvami says that unless one tastes that final drug of love of Godhead, Krsna-prema, he will have to be captivated by meditation, impersonal monism, and so many other distractions.