"What is the practice you preach?"

Yes. We are preaching the original practice. Practice means which is practically done. And sometimes things are impractical when they are unnatural, and natural things can be practiced very easily. So our preaching is to reinstate the living soul to his original condition. The original condition of living being is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. As such, the part and parcel is meant for rendering service to the whole.

Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. The finger is expected to give service to the whole body. When I am feeling itching, my finger is helping it. When I want to pick up something, my finger is helping. Similarly, any part of my body... When I want to go out, my leg is walking. When I want..., I want to see something, my eyes are helping. So in this way you can understand what we mean by part and parcel.

Take materially also, any machine. The part and parcel... Just like here is a machine, tape recorder. There are different parts. One part is required to give..., adjust speed; one part is required how to move, how to start, how to stop, how to increase. So different parts. Similarly, we are living entities, and the Lord is also a living entity. And we are originally created to help the Lord. He does not require... Because He's complete.

But just to give a crude example, as the part and parcel required: now, suppose this finger is not giving me service; it is diseased. So sometimes doctors advise that "You have to ampute [sic] this finger, otherwise it will affect the whole body." Similarly, we living entities, being part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, when we rebel, that is our diseased condition. We..., when we don't want to render service to the Lord, that is a state which is called demonic state.

The demonic state... Just like a citizen of this state is part and parcel. A citizen expected to render service to the state, but if he refuses, then he's considered a traitor or a criminal and is put into punishment. Similarly, all the living entities who are in this material world, they have rebelled. They are part and parcel, sons of the Lord, but they have refused to give service, under certain condition it may be. And they are all put into this material world. And in this material world there are different varieties of living entities.

So all of them are criminals, maybe first-class criminal, third-class criminals, second-class criminal. Amongst the criminals also, in the prison house, there are divisions. So here those who are materially prosperous, they are also criminals but first-class criminals. That is the difference. And those who are suffering materially, they are also criminals. They are third-class criminals. But all of them criminals.

How they're criminals? Because either one is rich or poor, he's subjected to the tribulations of this material nature. It does not mean that the rich man will not die, but everyone wants to live, either rich man or poor man. It is not that the rich man will not be diseased, but everyone wants to take precaution against disease. No one wants to become diseased, but everyone becomes diseased. Everyone dies. It is not that the rich man will not become old and the simply poor man will become old. No. Everyone will become old.

It is not that... When a child takes birth, the condition within the womb of the mother, airtight packed, cannot move-we forget, but that is a great suffering. The suffering of death, suffering of birth, suffering of disease and suffering of old age-these are imposed on the living entities, those who are criminals. Criminals means revolted against the service of the Lord.

So we are trying to bring them into practice, how to serve Lord, how to..., how to serve the Supreme Lord. That is our movement. It is not patchwork. Other humanitarian societies or welfare societies, they are trying to give some patchwork. They cannot give relief to the stringent laws of nature: birth, death, old age and disease. But we are giving the final cure of the disease of condition of material existence.

That is the teaching of Bhagavad-gita: mam hi partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah [Bg 9.32]. In this material world there are consideration of pious activities or impious activities. By pious activities one gets very good family, birth in very good family, and nice education, beautiful body, janmaisvarya-sruta-sri [SB 1.8.26].

Four things: birth either in good nation or in good family, janma; and aisvarya means wealth, richness; and sruta means education; and sri means beauty. So this is the consideration of material pious or impious. And impious means just the opposite: birth in abominable species of life, just like cats, dogs, hogs, or uncivilized people, ugly feature, no education. These are consideration, pious or impious. But either you become pious or impious, you cannot get out of these stringent laws of nature: birth, death, disease and old age.

So we are educating our students to practice how to revive his old..., the eternal constitutional position to serve the Lord. This is our practice. Just like here you can see the boys have decorated the sitting place of the Lord, how nice, with flowers and candles. It is not very expensive, but it is so beautiful that immediately it attracts. You see?

So everyone can practice at home. Is it very difficult task, to gather some flowers and some leaves and decorate and have some picture or statue of the Lord, offer Him some fruits, flower? Everyone can do this. And by doing this, he gets the highest perfection of life: no more coming into this material world and suffer all these nonsense. This is our practice.

Then what is the basic idea behind Krsna consciousness? That means originally we are Krsna conscious. Krsna, or God, is my Lord, is my father. Because part and parcel... Just like somebody's children. The children is a part and parcel of the body. Why I love my child? Because he is my part and parcel of this body. I don't love so much other children, because they are not part and parcel of my body.

This family affection means the family members, they have got with my bo..., relationship with my body; therefore he has got the consciousness, "He is my father. He [she] is my mother." And the parents have consciousness, "They are my child." So they have got some duty. The father wants to see how the children are comfortably raised, and the children also seeing the interest of the father and mother.

Just like in family life we have got a certain kind of consciousness, "He's my father," "He's my child," similarly, if we develop our original consciousness, that "God is our father; we are all children," then the whole trouble ceases. If God is the proprietor of everything and every children has got right to enjoy the God's property, then where is the trouble?

For want of this consciousness, Krsna consciousness, everyone is claiming, "This is my property," "This is my state," "This is my country." Aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Aham means I, and mama means mine. This is nonsense. Nothing belongs to you. Everything belongs to God. Everyone has got right to live on God's property. This is Krsna consciousness. If everyone is taught this God consciousness, there is no need of this artificial United Nations. We are united by nature. God is the center. Why artificial spending so much money? We are united not only in the human society, but we are united in all living societies, all living entities.

Why we should treat the animals as different? Because there is no Krsna consciousness. I have got my consciousness that "The human beings in America are my brothers, or my countrymen. They should be given all protection." And why not cows? They are also born in America. Why they are being sent to slaughterhouse? Because there is no Krsna consciousness. There is no Krsna consciousness. Therefore this partiality, that "Only human being is my brother, and the cows and the other animals, they are not my brother." This is lack of knowledge.

But if we become Krsna conscious, if we take teachings of Bhagavad-gita, Krsna consciousness, Krsna says, sarva-yonisu kaunteya sambhavanti murtayo yah [Bg 14.4] "In all species of life, in all forms of life, as many creatures are there, they are all My sons." So how can you treat others as not your brother? They are also your brother. Even the ant is also your brother. He is in a different class of imprisonment, that's all. A different body. The ant has got also the same punishment-birth, death, old age and disease-as you have got. You are also criminal; he is also criminal. But he is also son of God; you are also son of God. This is Krsna consciousness.

If one becomes Krsna conscious, then brahma-bhutah prasannatma [Bg 18.54], as soon as he becomes Krsna conscious, then he becomes joyful, because he has no more enemy. "Everyone is my brother." Therefore he has no fear. If I become enemy to you, you become my enemy. If I am friendly to you, you are my friend. So a Krsna conscious person does not see anyone as something other than son of God.

He sees not that only this. "This person is son of God and that person is not son of God," this is lack of Krsna consciousness. Every living entity is son of God; therefore one can love, one can actually have the idea of universal brotherhood, only in Krsna consciousness, not otherwise. Otherwise, they are simply false propaganda.

Real Krsna consciousness, when one achieves, he becomes prasannatma, joyful. That is the first symptom of becoming full, Krsna conscious. Prasannatma..., brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kaṅksati [Bg 18.54].

He has no hankering. He has no lamentation. Samah sarvesu bhutesu. This is the highest stage of Krsna consciousness. Samah sarvesu bhutesu. Samah means equality; sarvesu, all; bhutesu, entities. This is third stage. First stage is joyfulness; second stage is no want, no lamentation; and third stage, to see all living entities on the same... Panditah sama-darsinah [Bg 5.18].

When one is actually learned, he sees... Mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg 18.54]. Then he becomes eligible to be a devotee of the Lord. To become devotee of the Lord is not so easy. These are the conditions. The beginning is joyfulness. The second stage: no want, no lamentation. "My father is Krsna, so I'll be fully sup..." Just like a child. He knows, "My father is there. I have no want." Everything is there. Prasannatma. "Why shall I hanker him? My father..."

[break] ...he's now lunatic. Similarly, tiger is my brother, but not that because originally he's my brother, I shall go and embrace. No. I shall be careful. But not that I shall kill. Why shall I kill? He's not coming to encroach upon my property. He's living in the jungle. Why shall I go and kill a tiger?

This is all nonsense, lack of Krsna consciousness. He has not done any harm to you. He is living in his own jurisdiction. He is uncivilized. He is ferocious. God has given him direction: "Oh, you live here. You don't go there." That's all right. And why should you go to kill a tiger? He's not coming to encroach him.

This is Krsna consciousness. Why should I kill unnecessarily an animal? We have got so many nice foodstuff. Krsna has given me grains, fruits, milk. The cows, they are supplying tons of milk, but they are not claiming, "It is my milk. I shall drink." No. It is giving to you, as mother gives. And we are killing cows...

[break] ...mothers. This is lack of Krsna consciousness. So we teach all these things to our students who are going to be Krsna conscious.

"ISKCON members talk about
serenity, tranquility and bliss."

That is already explained. If I am trained in Krsna consciousness, then I am the sane man, I am not a madman, because I know what is my position, what is God, what are other living entities, what is this world, what is this material nature, what is this time, what are these activities. This knowledge is in full, because Krsna consciousness teaches all these things-what is God, what you are, and then what is this nature, beyond the nature, what other things are there.

Those who are not Krsna conscious, they do not know. They are frogs of the well, simply calculating, "This three feet water, space, is my habitation." And when he's given information of the Atlantic Ocean, he does not believe. "Oh, there is Atlantic Ocean? What is that nonsense?" "Oh, it is very, very big," somebody says. He's simply calculating his well water. "Oh, it may be four foot?" "No, very big." "All right, ten feet? How...?" He's calculating, this. These materialistic scientists, they are simply speculating like the frog in the well. They do not know; neither they have means. But a Krsna conscious person knows. He gets information from Krsna.

"Now, this material world is simply a fractional part of My creation." And what is this material world? This material world, we cannot even estimate one universe what is the length and breadth, and how many planets are there, how they are working. We have no information. And we are very proud of advancement of knowledge. And there are innumerable universes. All taken together, that is called material world.

Yasya prabha prabhavato... [Bs 5.40]. In the Brahma-samhita we get this information: yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti. Jagad-anda. Jagad-anda means universes. Koti means innumerable, hundreds of thousands multiplied by another hundred, hundred, hundred. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said that this universe is a grain of mustard seed in the bag of a mustard seed. Just imagine. Can anyone count what is the number of mustards seeds in a bag, in a one-ton or two-ton bag? Innumerable. It is beyond our experience. But there are so many universes, just like packed up in a bag. This is called material world.

So what to speak of the spiritual world? The spiritual world is at least three times greater than this material world. That information we get from Bhagavad-gita. Ekamsena sthito... [Bg 10.42] Ekam means one part. Even you take... One part, maybe, one hundred. But even not going so far, one part means divide the whole thing into four parts; that will be one fourth. This material world is only one fourth of the whole creation, and the three-fourth part is spiritual world.

In the spiritual world there is similarly innumerable planets, innumerable living entities. Just like, as I have already explained, that this material world is the just like prison house of the criminals. So our criminal department in the state, say, jail or prison house, that is not the countrywise, as big as the country. That is a fractional part only. Maybe a few hundred people or few thousand people living there, but the state is very big.

Similarly, the Lord's state is so big, though the criminal living entities are living in a corner only. This material world is in a corner. So what information we can get about God? "God is great," we simply theoretically say, but we do not know how great it is..., He is, and how His greatness is working. That we do not know. But Krsna conscious persons, because they are getting knowledge from Krsna directly, they have got all this knowledge. Therefore their knowledge is perfect.

"If one were to begin to study ISKCON
techniques, what would he have to give up?"

Give up... Give up means... First give up is that "I am this material body." The nonsense idea that "I am this body," that is the root of all misunderstanding. So he has to give up this bodily consciousness. That is naturally. That is the beginning of teachings of Krsna consciousness. The Bhagavad-gita teaches Arjuna. Arjuna was overwhelmed of family affection, that "How can I fight with my members of the family? They are my brothers..."

So this conception, bodily conception, was first of all eradicated in the Bhagavad-gita. He lectured... Arjuna was talking, arguing with Krsna, that "If I kill my family, male members, the female members will be without husband, and they will be polluted, and there will be unwanted children and this or...," so many, as far as one can, materialistic person can think. So he was talking like that, as very man of wisdom. So Krsna first of all chastised him. Not in the beginning, because in the beginning there was friendly talk, but when Arjuna surrendered unto Krsna, that "You don't take me as Your friend. I accept You as my spiritual master. So You teach me."

This relationship of spiritual master and student... The student is called sisya. Sisya, the Sanskrit word sisya, this word comes from the root sas. Sas means ruling. From sas, the sastra. Sastra means authoritative books. They have been derived. And sastra. Sastra means weapons, armaments. That is called sastra. Just like sword, guns, they are called sastra. These two things are rulings. The state has got law books, authoritative books, and one who does not obey the law books, then the next word is gun and sword. This, these two words means to accept authority.

So sisya means one who accepts the authority of the spiritual master. He voluntarily accepts the rulings or the punishment of the spiritual master. That is called sisya. One voluntarily agrees to the spiritual master... This initiation is going on. This is the beginning of voluntary acceptance of the spiritual master. That means he agrees that he will abide by the orders of the spiritual master. This is called acceptance of spiritual master. Sisya. Sisya means voluntarily accepting the ruling. Everyone is free. If I give you some ruling, why should you accept it? Therefore this formal initiation ceremony is performed. He promises, "My dear sir, I shall abide by your order."

So Krsna was accepted by Arjuna as spiritual master just to teach him what is the actual duty in that war field. So at that time the first sisya, sasana, ruling: He chastised Arjuna by these words, "My dear Arjuna, you are talking just like a very learned man, but no learned man talks like this." That means "You are a fool." He very politely said that "You are talking with Me as if you are very learned man, but your subject matter is so third class that no learned man takes this subject matter very seriously." What is that? Bodily conception of life. "You are talking just like a very learned man, but your center of activity is the body. So this is not a learn..., symptom of a learned man."

So if we take this crucial test of learning, we shall find hardly a learned man in this world, hardly one man, because everyone is absorbed in this bodily conception of life. All their ideas-this nationality, humanity, this duty, that duty, all-everything on this. Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [SB10.84.13].

They are accepting this bag of skin and bones as self. You see? This is a bag made of skin and bone, and this... Is spirit soul so cheap thing that it is a bag of skin and bone and some stools and urine, combination? That is nonsense. So hardly you'll find any sane man or any learned man in this world. You see? So first teaching is that "You are not this body." That is the beginning of Krsna's teaching.

"My dear Arjuna, you are posing yourself as very learned man, but a learned man is not disturbed by this change of body." Just He says very nice example. Just like a child. A child is growing. Growing means he is changing body. A child is born so small; a few years, he becomes big. Now where is that small body? That body is gone. You tell whatever you think, but that body is gone-another body. Then the same child becomes youth, young man. That body is gone. The same man becomes old man. That, that youthful body is gone.

So every second the body is gone, but the soul is there. Anyone knows... You can remember; I can remember... When I was child, I remember I was doing this. And where is that body? That body is gone, but I am remain... Why I am remaining? Because I am eternal. I have changed my body, but I am there. Similarly, when I change this body, still I'll be there. This is knowledge. This is nir[?] condition. If in this, during this life, I am changing so many body, so many bodies, still I am there, similarly, it is natural conclusion: when I change this body, I shall remain. I may be in another body. This simple logic is sufficient for a sane man to understand that the living soul is eternal; the body is artificial, dress. By changing dress, one does not die. He is eternal. So,