It Is Not A Cheap Thing

In the Seventh through the Twelfth chapters Krsna gives an elaborate description of the Supreme Personality Himself, His nature and manifestations. Here in the Seventh Chapter, the nature of Krsna is fully described as being full of all opulences. How He manifests such opulences is also described in this chapter. The first three verses serve as a preface. "Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth." (7.3) It is not an easy thing to become Krsna conscious, nor is it a cheap thing. The stake is full knowledge or perfection, and Lord Jesus said, "Few there be that find it." In the very first verse here Krsna lays down the qualification: "By practicing yoga in full consciousness with mind attached to Me …" It is almost exactly the same thought found in the 47th verse of the previous chapter. "And of all yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all." Therefore, only by hearing of Krsna from Krsna Himself or from the pure devotee who repeats only what Krsna has said, can one understand the science of Krsna. That is the secret of Krsna consciousness which was also explained in the Fourth Chapter when the Lord told Arjuna that He had originally spoken this science of Krsna consciousness to the sun-god Vivasvan, who had spoken it to his son, and to his son, etc. And so it was coming down in disciplic succession, but somehow or other it was broken. This indicates that someone made a change. As soon as one interprets or puts his intellect between the message of Krsna and the transmission, the message immediately becomes material.