These are practical difficulties, and therefore we are called conditioned souls. Our activities are conditioned, not free. But you can attain a life of freedom, life of unlimited energy, unlimited happiness, unlimited bliss. There is possibility. This is not story or fiction. We see so many planets within this universe. We have got so many flying vehicles, but we cannot approach even to the nearest. We are so much limited. But if we worship Govinda, then it is possible. You can go anywhere. We have written these statements in our small booklet, Easy Journey to Other Planets. This is possible. Don't think that this planet is all and all. There are many, many millions of other very nice planets. There the standard of happiness, standard of enjoyment is many more times greater than what we are enjoying here. So how this is possible?

I shall read the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, which is spoken by Govinda Himself. Bhagavad-gita, Seventh Chapter. Lord Krsna says,

So in reply to that mode of yoga, Krsna is directly speaking here: mayy asakta-manah. If you try to concentrate your mind on the form of Krsna, so beautiful... He's enjoying with Radharani and His associates. Then, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam, if you practice this yoga, mad-asrayah, yunjan mad-asrayah... You have to practice this yoga, at the same time, you have to take shelter of Krsna. Mad-asrayah. Asrayah means "under My protection." This is called surrender. If you go to a friend in a difficult position and you surrender to your friend, "My dear friend, you are so great, so powerful, so influential. I am in this great danger. So I surrender unto you. You please give me protection..." So you can do that to Krsna. Here in the material world, if you surrender to a person, however very big he may be, he may refuse. He may say, "Well, I am unable to give you protection." That is the natural reply. If you are in danger and if you go even to your intimate friend, "Please give me protection," he will hesitate, because his power is very limited. He'll first of all think that "If I give protection to this person, whether my interest will not be jeopardized?" He'll think like that, because his potency is limited. But Krsna is so nice that He's so powerful, He's so opulent... He declares in the Bhagavad-gita, everyone, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: [Bg. 18.66] "You leave aside everything. You simply surrender unto Me." And what is the result? The result is aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami: "I shall get you released from all kinds of reaction of your sinful life."

This material world, our activities are all sinful activities. There is action and reaction. Whatever you are doing, there is action and reaction. Even there is good reaction, still it is sinful. Still it is sinful. Just like according to Vedic literature, pious activities, the result of pious activities... Janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhih [SB 1.8.26]. Suppose you are not acting anything sinful in this life, you are very pious in every respect. You are charitable, you are benevolent, everything is all right. But Bhagavad-gita says that it is karma-bandhana. If you give in charity somebody, say, some amount of money, you'll get that money back four times, five times, or ten times more in your next life. That is a fact. So Vaisnava philosophy says that this is also sinful. Why sinful? Because you have to take your birth to receive that compound interest. That is sinful. Now suppose you are born in a very rich family. The trouble of being in the womb of the mother, that is the same. Either you are pious man or the impious man, when you are in the womb of your mother the difficulties and the pains perceived within the womb of the mother is the same, either you are black or white, either you are Indian or American or cat or dog or anyone. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam [Bg. 13.9]. The troubles of birth, the troubles of death, and the troubles of disease, and the troubles of old age are everywhere the same. It is not that because you are born in a very rich family, you'll be immune from diseases. It is not that you'll not become old. It is not that you'll be saved from the troubles of birth or you'll be saved from the troubles of death.

So these things are to be understood very clearly. But people have become so unintelligent, they do not care for... "Oh, death, all right. Death. Let it come." Birth... Now especially in these days, a child is in the womb of the mother, so many killing processes are there. So many. So why? Because people are becoming so much entangled that such person even do not get birth in the womb of the mother. He's placed and he's killed, again he's placed in another womb of mother, again he is killed. In this way, he does not see even the light. You see. So to become in the womb of the mother and to again accept death, to accept old age, accept disease, is not a very good business. If you are rich man, you have to accept all these troubles of material existence, or if you are poor man... It doesn't matter. Anyone who comes into this material world in this material body, he has to take all these troubles. It may be that you are American, the richest nation in the world. That does not mean there is no disease, there is no old age, there is no birth and there is no death. So the intelligent person is he who can make a solution of these problems. He's intelligent. Others who are making patchwork, patching, trying to make a solution of the problems of material life, although they are unable... It is not possible.

If you want to make a solution of material existence by the material way, it is not possible. That is also clearly stated. In the Bhagavad-gita you'll find, daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. This material nature which is accepted, claimed by Krsna as "My energy," mama maya... This is also another energy of Krsna. Everything will be explained in the Seventh Chapter. So it is very difficult to get out of this energy. Practically we are seeing what we are. Our efforts are very tiny to conquer over the laws of the material nature. It is simply waste of time. You cannot become happy by conquering over the material nature. Now science have discovered so many things. Just (as) the airplane from India. It would have taken months together to reach your country, but by airplane we can come here overnight. These advantage are there. But along with these advantages, there are so many disadvantages. When you are on the plane on the sky, you know you are in the midst of desert..., of danger. At any moment there can be crash. You may fall down on the sea, you may fall down anywhere. So it is not very safe. So similarly, any method we manufacture, we discover, to conquer over the laws of material nature, it is backed by another set of dangerous things. That is the law of nature. That is not the way to get out of this material pangs of life.

The real way is to stop these four functions of my conditional life. The four functions of conditional life means birth, death, old age, and disease. Actually, I am a spirit soul. That is explained in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita, that the spirit soul is never born or is never dead. He continues his life even after the destruction of this particular type of body. This body is only a flash, for some years only. But it will be finished. It is being finished by degrees. Just like I'm an old man of seventy-three years old. Suppose if I live eighty years or a hundred years, these seventy-three years I have already died. That is finished. Now a few years I may remain. So we are dying from the date of our birth. That is a fact. So Bhagavad-gita gives you the solution of these four problems. And Krsna here is suggesting, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah. If you take shelter of Krsna and if you think of Krsna always, your consciousness becomes always overwhelmed with Krsna thoughts, then Krsna says the result will be asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu [Bg. 7.1]. "Then you will understand Me perfectly, without any doubt."

Everyone is hankering after what is God, what is the nature of God. Somebody says there is no God, somebody says God is dead. These are all doubts. But here Krsna says, asamsaya. You'll be doubtless. You'll feel, you'll know perfectly well that God is there, Krsna is there. And He is the source of all energies. He is the primeval Lord. These things you will learn without any doubt. The first thing is we do not make progress in transcendental knowledge on account of doubts, samsayah. These doubts can be removed by culture of real knowledge, by real association, by following the real methods, the doubts can be removed. So Krsna consciousness persons, they are not after will-o'-the-wisp, phantasmagoria. No. They're actually making progress to the concrete Supreme Personality of Godhead.

As it is stated in the Brahma-samhita, cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam [Bs. 5.29]. There is a planet which is called cintamani-dhama, Goloka Vrndavana. So in that dhama... As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, mad dhama. Dhama means His abode. Krsna says, "I have got an abode, particular." How we can deny? How is that abode? That is also described in Bhagavad-gita and in many other Vedic literatures. Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama [Bg. 15.6]. Here, any dhama, any planet you go... Just like we have got in this planet. But we have to go back from this planet. You'll not be allowed to stay here. You are Americans, that's all right; but how long you shall remain American? These people, they do not understand it. You'll have to go back in some other planet, in some other place. You cannot say, "No, I shall remain here. I have got my visa or my permanent citizenship." No. This will not allow you. One day death will come, "Please exit." "No, sir, I have got so much business." "No. Damn your business. Come on." You see? But if you go to Krsnaloka, Krsna says, yad gatva na nivartante, you haven't got to come back again. Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama [Bg. 15.6].

This is also Krsna's dhama, because everything belongs to God, Krsna. Nobody's proprietor. This claim that "This land, America, belongs to us, United States," this is false claim. It does not belong to you, nobody else. Just like some years ago, four hundred years ago, it belonged to the Indians, Red Indians, and someway or other, you have now occupied. Who can say that others will not come here and occupy? So this is all false claim. Actually, everything belongs to Krsna. Krsna says that sarva-loka-mahesvaram: [Bg. 5.29] "I am the supreme proprietor, controller, of all planets." So everything belongs to Him. But Krsna says everything belongs to Him. So everything is His dhama, His place, His abode. So why should we change here? But He says yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam [Bg. 15.6]. Paramam means the supreme. In this dhama also, they are Krsna's dhama, Krsna's planets, but here it is not parama, the supreme. There are troubles. Just like this birth, death, disease, and old age. But if you return to Krsna's personal abode, Goloka Vrndavana, cintamani-dhama [Bs. 5.29], then you get eternal life, blissful life, full of knowledge.

And how that can be attained? Here it is, beginning... Krsna says that mayy asakta-manah: simply you increase your attachment for Krsna. Simply this method. These, all these, we are chanting, we are hearing, we are dancing, we're enjoying. Why? Just to detach our life from all nonsense things and attach to Krsna. This is the process. This is Krsna consciousness. You have to make your mind attached to something. But if you make your mind attached to something nonsense, then the same thing, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi [Bg. 13.9], birth, death, old age, disease. You have to suffer. You have to suffer. Your science, your material science, or nothing... No. Nobody can make any solution of these sufferings. But if you want real solution, permanent solution, permanent life, then you become attached to Krsna. Simple method. Mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan. That is the perfect form of yoga. All other yogas, they may help you to come to this platform of Krsna consciousness, but if you fail to come to this platform of Krsna consciousness, then all those troubles will be useless labor. That is not possible. If you take that slow process of yoga, it is not possible in this age. Not only in this age, five thousand years ago also. This is not possible. You may do your gymnastic feats, but it will never be successful. This yoga process, as it is confirmed by Krsna in the last chapter... This is Seventh Chapter. In the Sixth Chapter also, He has said the very thing, that yoginam api sarvesam: [Bg. 6.47] "The first-class yogi is he whose mind is always attached to Me, Krsna."

So this is Krsna consciousness. Try to understand Krsna consciousness. Simply by practicing this, some way or other, you become attached to Krsna. Some way. Yena tena prakarena, any way. Just like if you love somebody, any way, you try to get it... It is not very difficult. We know the tactics. Even an animal, an animal, he knows how to get his things tactfully. The struggle for existence means that everyone is trying to get his objective. So many tactfully. So you also try, instead of after this material will-o'-the-wisp, you some way tactfully try to capture Krsna. That will make your life successful. Some way. Mayy as...

So don't be first-class rascal. Become first-class intelligent man. As Caitanya-caritamrta author says, krsna yei bhaje sei bada catura. Anyone who has taken to Krsna consciousness, he's first-class intelligent man. So don't be first-class fool, but become first-class intelligent man. That is my request.

Thank you very much. (obeisances) Any question?

The other day so many students came, now nobody. Because they want to remain the first-class rascal, that's all. That is... It is a fact. So unless one is very intelligent, they cannot take to Krsna consciousness. They want to be bluffed, cheated, in this way or that way. That's all. Plain thing, simple thing. And result is very great, they'll not agree to accept. Yes.

So we want to be cheated. That is, cheating process is one of the items of conditional life. There are four defects of conditional life. One defect is that we commit mistake, and another defect is that we accept something which is not that. Just like commit mistake, that is not to be very difficult to understand. Every one of us know how we commit mistake, blunder. Even great men, they also commit blunder, you see. Just like there are so many instances amongst the politicians, a little mistake or a blunder, great blunder... So mistake, "To err is human," mistake is there. Similarly, accepting something as fact which is not fact. How it is? Just like everyone in the conditioned life, they think that "This body is my self." But I'm not this. I'm not this body. So this is called illusion, pramada. The best example is to accept a rope as a snake. Suppose in the darkness there is a rope like this, and you are..., "Oh, here is a snake." This is the best example of illusion. Accepting something which is not that.

So this defect is there in conditioned life. And to make error and mistake, that defect is there. And the third defect is that we want to cheat and we want to be cheated. We are also very expert. We are always thinking how I shall cheat somebody. And naturally, he's also thinking to cheat me. So the whole conditional life is the association of cheaters and cheated, that's all. So this is another defect. And the fourth defect is that our senses are imperfect. Therefore all knowledge that we receive, that is imperfect knowledge. A man may speculate, but he may speculate with his mind. That's all. But his mind is imperfect. However he may speculate, he'll produce something nonsense, that's all. Because his mind is imperfect. It doesn't matter that if you add thousands of zeros, it makes one. No. It is still zero. So this speculation process, to understand the Supreme, is nothing but zero. Therefore with all these defects of our conditional life, it is not possible to come to the real life. Therefore we have to take it from personalities like Krsna and His bona fide representative. That is real knowledge. Then you'll get perfection.

All right. Chant. (pause) The disease is that... Material disease is just like the tail of the dog. You see. The dog's tail is like this. And however oil it and try to make it straight, it comes like this. (laughter) You see. So these people, they want material enjoyment. "If Swamiji can offer us material enjoyment cheaply by some mantra," they'll come. You see. "When Swamiji says 'This is all rascaldom; come to Krsna,' this is not good. This is not good." Because he wants to keep the tail like this. However apply ointment, it comes like this. (laughter) This is the disease. They want material things. That's all. "If by mantra, if by some tricks, we can enhance our material enjoyment, oh, it is very nice. Let us take some drug and become in the fools' paradise and think, 'Oh, I am in the spiritual world.' " They want like this. They want to remain in fools' paradise. But when we offer real paradise, they reject.

All right. Chant. (kirtanaprema-dhvani)