What Is This Life

We must ask the materialist, "Do you think that life is simply this spark of one hundred years? If it so happens that I get called in the army and killed, or run over by a car, is everything finished? Is that all there is to life-a little bit of sense pleasure, a few showers, a few meals and some nice clothes? Do you think that that's all there is to life?" No. Life is meant for a complete understanding of our eternal nature and our eternal relationship with God. That is the completeness of human life. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada states:

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is teaching people the spiritual knowledge of man's eternal relation with the Supreme Lord, and we can see by the results of his Krsna consciousness movement that a divine population is in the making. Otherwise how could his disciples so quickly stop their meat-eating, illicit sex life, gambling and intoxication, and be so content simply chanting the holy name of Krsna and serving His pure devotee?

To care for one's child by putting nice clothes on his body and giving him nice foodstuffs and a place to sleep is not enough. If that is all that we give our children, they will never know the real aim of life, and they will always be frustrated and misled. We can see this happening in high schools and on college campuses throughout the world. Why are young people rebelling so strongly and turning to violence, intoxicants and uncontrolled sex life? It is due to the frustration caused by material consciousness. Therefore we are taking care in our Krsna conscious society to culture love of God. That should be the only occupation of the parent, teacher, politician or anyone else who is in a position to lead or instruct. The responsible members of society must learn how to see everything in its relation with the Supreme Lord through the medium of devotional service, the eternal function of all spirit souls.

Krsna consciousness is a purifying movement meant to bring forth what is already present within us but is covered over by lust.

Just as a mango becomes sweet upon maturing, so by changing from the immature concept of "I am this body" to the clear consciousness of "I am part and parcel of Krsna," we reconnect ourselves with Krsna and display the all-blissful nature of the spirit soul. The conditioned soul attempts pleasure through bodily connection, but the devotee connects with Krsna through devotion and thus experiences divine pleasure.

Everyone desires to have their bit of paradise on this temporary planet where everything is destined to be destroyed, but it is only when one recognizes a superior eternal nature or existence that he can experience the state of atmarama-self-satisfaction. Of those who have attained this atmarama state by breaking free of material lust, the highest are those who take to the devotional service of the Lord. Such was the case for Sukadeva Gosvami, who from the time of his birth was fixed in impersonal Brahman realization (the realization of knowing oneself to be spiritual energy) and was transcendental to all mundane sex desire and lust. He recounted to Maharaja Pariksit:

Krsna confirms the potency of this knowledge:

His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada states:

Therefore the result of this sahkirtana movement of chanting Hare Krsna is that people are actually exhibiting symptoms of transcending the shackles of material sense experience and are beginning to manifest love of God. They have smiling faces, they dance and sing in the streets, and sometimes they cry, moved by the beauty of the Lord and His pure devotees. These are bona fide symptoms of spiritual ecstasy, and they are within everyone; it is simply a matter of freeing the spirit soul from the encagement of false ego (bodily sense enjoyment). It is like lifting the shade and allowing the sun to enter.

One cannot have a loving relationship with anything impersonal. It is not possible be happy in this way, any more than it possible to find satisfaction by conversing with the air or the floor, because there is no reciprocation. To love, one must have a personal relationship. To know Krsna, the Absolute Truth, one must reestablish one's personal relationship with Him. One must be devoid of all self-motivation and sense gratification. That is called devotional service, Krsna consciousness, the purification of human consciousness.

Everything in Krsna consciousness is spiritually pure. Our Krsna conscious marriages are an example. It is not that we get married on the basis of romance, dating, or living with someone for a while. It is a symptom of this degraded age that simply because they have lived together, eaten under the same roof and had sex life together, a boy and girl will consider themselves married. This is the consciousness that attracts people today. Even in so-called "legal" marriages, where is the firm conviction that husband and wife together should seek out the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with the intention to render transcendental loving service to Him and His pure devotees? What other way is there to create a spiritual society where people are not like cats and dogs? A Krsna conscious marriage is meant to teach people how to love Krsna, how to perfect one's life by serving Him instead of just taking from Him.

When one recognizes Krsna's supremacy, he automatically pleases everyone because Krsna is the root of everyone's existence.

It is just a matter of whether or not one wants to agree. But to whom else can we surrender? Certainly it is not enough to place faith in our families. To depend on family life for pleasure is illusory because family members will all succumb to death at some time, and then all that will remain will be sentimental memories. Krsna conscious family life is not simply to surrender to that limited consciousness-"Oh, what would I do without you?"-but to surrender to Krsna-"Krsna, what would I do without You?" That is purified consciousness. It is not, "My dear baby, how nicely I will enjoy you and pamper you," but instead, "How I will try to teach you nicely to serve Krsna and His pure devotees." That is the platform on which there is no material attachment. Pure love is manifested when one soul enlightens another regarding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all pleasure. When Sukadeva Gosvami was approached by the sages of Naimisaranya for advice for the fallen people of this age, he replied:

To say that we are unattached does not mean that we display no love, but that we are free from the entanglement of bodily relationships and are attached instead to relating with all living entities as spirit souls. Knowledge that all men are eternal parts and parcels of the Lord is the only plane on which full satisfaction can be found because the eternal function, the eternal engagement, of the spirit soul is the mood of transcendental loving service to Krsna.

If we do not give people the knowledge that the devotional service of the Lord and His pure devotees is the highest perfectional stage of life, we keep them in bondage to this material existence of eternal birth and death. Because death is against everyone's personal self-interest, and because material activities simply bring one closer to death, the entire population of the world is frustrated and anxious, having missed the center of enjoyment. Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement is the prime benediction for all humanity because it teaches people how to live together peacefully and develop love of God. Only by developing love of God can we become free from the clutches of birth and death, and therefore nothing else is perfection but pure love of Krsna and His unalloyed devotees.

The devotees of the Krsna consciousness movement are simply trying to spread this sublime message all over the earth. Observe how people everywhere-in America, Japan, Australia, Canada and Europe-are taking to this lifestyle and taking off the shackles of material existence. Not only adults but children also are participating in this movement. Our Krsna conscious children live in our farm commune, New Vrndavana, in the mountains of West Virginia, where they learn this knowledge of Krsna consciousness, and by the time they are twelve they are out preaching to people in a purified state of understanding. They are not attracted to the material world because they see it for what it is. Because they are given a full opportunity to taste the nectarean pleasure of spiritual life in Krsna consciousness, they are free from bondage to material sense gratification. What is there in the material world that can offer eternal pleasure? Nothing! Real pleasure comes from Krsna. That is transcendental knowledge, and that is our birthright as parts and parcels of Krsna.

We must simply accept what is already ours-spiritual bliss in the service of Krsna. By taking to this Krsna conscious way of life one can satisfy all one's desires. When one becomes Krsna conscious he loses all fears and anxieties and becomes fixed in eternal happiness.

We ask you to try and understand this sahkirtana movement. It is not necessary that you live in the temple and shave your head, but come and learn. Give up the false spiritual teachers who are saying that you are God, that there is no God, that God is a chemical, or that God is this universal manifestation. Watch this movement-it is so sublime. Why shouldn't everyone dance in the street? Why not get up and raise your arms? Why not dance in ecstasy? To lose all inhibitions does not mean to prance around naked. It means to act in the knowledge that we are the eternal servants of Krsna. That is the message of this sahkirtana movement, and that is the message that is overflooding the world with love of God. And, if you want, it can overflood you.