Somehow or other we have fallen in this material world. There are many causes, but as we are in this material world, it is to be taken that somehow or other we have come here. Light, the sparks of fire... There is fire, and there are sparks. Everyone has got this experience. So the sparks are coming and dancing within the fire. It is also brilliant and it is also fire. If a small spark of fire falls on your cloth, immediately it will burn. It will immediately make a black spot. We have got this experience. Because although it is small, but it is fire. Therefore it burns. Similarly, we are a small particle, part and parcel of God. Just like the spark, it falls down from the fire. There may be three conditions. The spark may fall down on the ground, the spark may fall down on the water and the spark may fall down on some dry grass. So if the spark falls down on the dry grass, then it may, again, makes another fire. And if the spark falls down on the water, then it is completely finished. And if it falls down on the ground, then it may continue as fire for some time, then it becomes extinguished.

Anyway, in these three conditions... So when we fall down in this material world... The material world is of three modes of material nature, goodness, passion and ignorance. So if we acquire the quality of goodness, there is chance of enlightenment, knowledge, so that again fire can be generated. But if we fall down on the water, practically it is finished. Ignorance. So sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna. So in our fallen condition, mostly the rajo-guna and tamo-guna is very prominent, in our fallen condition, in this material condition. So symptoms of rajo-guna and tamo-guna means material desires and greediness. And sattva-guna means enlightenment. If we cultivate the sattva-guna quality, just means, if we cultivate the brahminical qualification, that is the platform of sattva-guna. So that is described in the Bhagavad-gita, satyam samo damas titiksa arjavam jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.42]. If we cultivate this kind of life, to be truthful, to be peaceful, to be tolerant, to be men of wisdom, knowledge, faith in God and the sastras, in this way there are nine to twelve qualities. If we acquire that qualities, then we become brahmana.

Brahmana means there is chance of understanding Brahman. Brahma janati iti brahmana. And this human life is meant for inquiring about Brahman. Athato brahma jijnasa. This is the first verse, aphorism, of the Vedanta-sutra. So the whole Vedic literature, in a gist form, is described in the Bhagavad-gita. And it is being explained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. So it is a very important book, spoken by God Himself. And another system of religion... Sometimes the representative of God is speaking, the servant of God speaking. They are also the same, but according to time and circumstances they are modified. But here in this Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is speaking.

So you are coming, I mean to say, the Indians who are present here, from a country where Krsna appeared. It is a great fortune for you that you have taken your birth in India. It is not ordinary fortune. So why? To take Indian birth, to take birth in India, automatically they are advanced in spiritual knowledge. Still, so much fallen condition of India, still, you go to a village, they will very easily understand Krsna consciousness without any advanced education. Because by birthright they have got the knowledge. In Vrndavana, when we walk on the street, the thela-walla, the cartsmen, the milkmen carrying milk, immediately they'll offer namaskara, "Swamiji." The other day, I think you were present? We were walking. So we entered one field, just for walking. So the villagers, the cultivators, they came to congratulate us. To receive us. "Swamiji, it is our great fortune that you have come to our field." But in this country if I would have entered in another place, perhaps would have brought charge of trespass or might shot down. So that is the different system. That by birthright they are Krsna conscious.

If we speak something about Krsna and Rama... Generally, in the villages, the Ramayana or Mahabharata, they are recited by the panditas, and still thousands and thousands of men come to hear about Ramayana and Mahabharata. We have practical experience in India. We held several Hare Krsna festivals in Calcutta, Bombay and Hyderabad, Madras, many thousands people come. Twenty thousand, thirty thousand people, they come, still. So my request is that you are here in foreign country, you don't forget your heritage. That is my request. Don't be bada saheb. Remain as Indian with Indian culture, and here is the temple of Krsna, we are distributing this Krsna culture all over the world. So don't miss this opportunity, but you take advantage of it. That is the duty of every Indian. That is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His mission is, especially to the Indians He said,

Krsna preached this Bhagavad-gita, five thousand years ago, but it was not broadly preached. It was spoken on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. Arjuna knew it and some of his other friends. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu is also Krsna. He appeared as a devotee of Krsna. And He distributed this Krsna consciousness movement and He wanted that every Indian should seriously take this Krsna consciousness movement, make his life perfect, and distribute the knowledge. This is India's duty. So you have got one opportunity, you Indian people, that you take this advantage of distributing Krsna consciousness. It is good for you and for everyone who takes the knowledge very adherently. Therefore Krsna says... This is Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita where He is speaking plainly about bhagavata-bhakti. And this knowledge is described as raja-guhyam. Most confidential knowledge. Here,

Just like what we are doing here in this temple? These boys, these American and Canadian boy, what they are doing? It's very easy. What is that? Chanting Hare Krsna, dancing and eating prasada. What is the difficulty? To chant Hare Krsna or in ecstasy, dance nicely and dancing, dancing, when you become hungry and tired, take nice prasada. What is the difficulty? By this process they are becoming devotees. There is no need of discussing higher philosophy or becoming a mystic or magician or juggler or bluffer or cheater, nothing. Simply accept this simple process. You come here and chant Hare Krsna maha-mantra and automatically you'll be ecstatic. Because this Hare Krsna maha-mantra is not ordinary sound. It is spiritual sound. Narottama dasa Thakura has sung, golokera prema-dhana hari-nama-sankirtana. This sound, just like you receive sound from distant place, in radio. Similarly, this sound is not produced in this material world. It is brought from the spiritual world. Golokera prema-dhana. There in the spiritual world there are eternal liberated devotees. They are so much ecstatically enjoying simply by chanting and dancing, the descriptions are there, that there is no sex life.

Just imagine. Here in this material world there is sex life. That is considered to be the highest pleasure. But the spiritual world means there is no sex life. Although there are very beautiful women, very beautiful men, with four hands. The men are with four hands there and very attractive. All of them are young. They never become old. Because in the spiritual world there is no birth, death, old age and disease. That is spiritual world. So there is no... Old age is due to this body. Otherwise, spirit soul is everlastingly young. You can think over yourself. Just like I am now old man. So sometime I think that in my childhood, when I was born, I was jumping and dancing. Now I cannot do that. Because of this old body. So we are hampered on account of this material body. Encagement.

So there are two ways, as I have already explained, that if you like you can become free from this bondage of material body. If you like. And if you don't like you can continue your material way of life, changing different material bodies. Changing different material body is described here: mrtyu-samsara-vartmani. Mrtyu. Because with any body, material body, either cat's body, a dog's body or human being's body or demigod's body or even Brahma's body, you have to die. There is no escape. Therefore it is called mrtyu-samsara-vartmani. And the, another path is, aprapya mam, this mrtyu-samsara-vartmani means you don't get Krsna. Krsna says aprapya, not getting mam, Me. Two alternatives. Either you get Krsna and go back to home, back to Godhead, this is one path. And the other path that you remain in this material world and repeatedly get a body and die again, get again another body. This is going on. Repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. So Krsna is, because He is our supreme father, supreme friend... suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. Krsna says

This is confirmed in the Upanisad, that two birds are sitting on one tree. One bird is eating the fruit and another bird is simply observing. So the observing bird is Krsna and the eating bird is the living entity. Two birds. In another place also Krsna says ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi sarva-ksetresu bharata [Bg. 13.3]. The question of the ksetra-jna, the owner of the body and the body. In this Chapter, in the Thirteenth Chapter, it is discussed. So in that chapter Krsna says that "I am also one of the owner of the body, but the difference of this singular individual body and Myself is this, that the individual soul knows about his own body. But so far I am concerned, I am present in everyone's body and I know everything of everyone's body." Just like you are a spirit soul, I am a spirit soul within this body. You know the pleasure and pains of your body. I know the pleasure and pains of my body. But Krsna, he knows the pleasure and pains of your body and pleasure and pains of my body and everyone's body. That is Krsna. That is Paramatma. Jivatma and Paramatma.

So all these facts have been very widely described and discussed. So we should be very careful to accept the instruction of Bhagavad-gita as it is. If we do not accept, then Krsna says asraddadhanah. One is not interested in this type of occupational duty, dharma means occupational duty. So dharmasyasya parantapa. Asya dharmasya. What is this dharma? In the end of Bhagavad-gita it is clearly said, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. This is dharma. This is real dharma. And anything except this, is bogus, cheating. This is real dharma. Krsna came, He said that yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata tadatmanam srjamy aham [Bg. 4.7]. Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8]. Hm? Dharma-samsthapanarthaya. To reestablish the religious system. Yuge yuge sambhavami, "I come." He comes. So, or He sends His representative, His son or His devotee. His servant. In this way, Krsna is trying to enlighten the whole human society.

So we should take advantage of it. If you don't take advantage of it, asraddadhanah, no faith, no interest... Asraddadhanah purusah, the human being. This is a chance of human form of life to accept the system which is offered by God Himself. That is our duty. But if one is not interested, then the result is that aprapya mam. "He cannot get Me." Aprapya mam. So if we don't get Krsna, then what is the wrong there? Very, very wrong. That Krsna says: nivartante mrtyu-samsara-vartmani, [Bg. 9.3] then he remains in the cycle of birth and death. That is not very pleasing job. We are making material efforts to make nice road, nice cars, nice skyscraper building, nice other facilities of life. But why I am doing this? This is practical. If I am called by death. How, we are not very happy, "Oh, I am attempting to build this and now I am dying," this is very painful. Sometimes at the time of death, they cry, that "I could not finish my business."

So that is the way of nature. That you may try to become very happy in this material world, nature will kick you out, will not allow you to stay here. Duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. This world is duhkhalayam. You make so many imagination, try to fulfill it, that's a very troublesome job. To get money and to make material arrangement, that is not very easy. After you've undergone severe hardship, then you can get some money and build big, big buildings or purchase car. So before possessing big, big buildings and cars you had to work so hard. And to keep them intact, that is also very difficult. So, and again there is no guarantee that you shall be able to enjoy it. Today you may be proprietor of a big house, big motor car, but after death you don't know, you have to accept a body, and it may be you become a cockroach in the car or in the house. That is not in your hands. That is in the prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. That will be considered. If you have got attachment for the car and you are dying, then you have done working such a way that you have no right to possess a car any more. You have to accept a cockroach body. Then you become, a, because you have got attachment, in the same car you become a cockroach. This nature's law we do not know.

So this is called mrtyu-samsara-vartmani. If we want to save this botheration, then hear what Krsna says. Then your life will be successful. If you don't accept Krsna's works, which are very plainly explained in the Bhagavad-gita, then you have to remain in this mrtyu-samsara-vartmani. It is very plain truth. There is no doubt about it, that... You may be very proud of your strong body, your social condition or political condition, but after death it is not under your control. It is under the control of the material nature. So don't be falsely proud, bewildered. Ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]. Don't be foolish person by false egotism that "I am free, I can do whatever I like." Then you'll suffer and remain in the path of repetition of birth and death. And there are 8,400,000 species of life. We have to go through this process, we fall down. So this human form of life is obtained, bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19], after many many births, evolutional process we have got it. Now it is the time to understand our position. What is that position? The position is that we are eternal part and parcel of God.

So in this way things are going on. They are described in this Bhagavad-gita very widely and expressively. So every human being is expected to receive this knowledge directly from Krsna. Don't interpret wrong way according to your whims. Take it as it is and be benefited. If you don't take it, asraddadhanah purusah [Bg. 9.3]. Those who have no interest to understand Bhagavad-gita as it is, the result is mam aprapya. Aprapya mam. He never approaches God. He remains in this material world of repetition of birth and death. That is not a very good job.

So our, this Krsna consciousness movement is trying to enlighten people so that they can accept these principles of Bhagavad-gita. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission is para-upakara. And He advises everyone, especially Indians, to become guru. He said, amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Every one of you, you become a guru, and try to deliver the persons where you are living. So how can I become guru? Yes, it is very easy. What is that? Yare dekha tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Then you become guru. You simply repeat what Krsna has said in the Bhagavad-gita, you become guru. To become guru is not... But if you want to be a bluffer, cheater, then you can talk all nonsense. But if you actually talk only Krsna's words, then you become a guru. It's not very difficult.

Krsna says man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65], four things only. And mam evaisyasi asamsayah [Bg. 18.65]. "By doing these four things, without any doubt, you come back to Me." And what are those four things? Man-mana bhava. "Always think of Me." That is very difficult job? You are seeing... [break] So man-manah. And then you become bhakta. Unless you are bhakta, you cannot continue to think of Krsna. Man-mana bhava mad, mad-yaji. "Worship Me." So here is Krsna, accepting everyone's worship. And what is the means of worship? Very simple. If you can offer very valuable things, that is all right. But if you think that you are poor man, you cannot supply any valuable things, Krsna says, "Never mind." Patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. "Simply little flower, little fruit, if you offer Me with devotion, I accept." So there is no difficulty.

Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. These four things. Very, very easy to do it. It is universal. There is no restriction. It is not that "I am not a brahmana, I am not an Indian, I am not a Sanskrit scholar, I cannot go to the temple." No, that is not. Krsna says, mam hi partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah [Bg. 9.32]. Never mind whether he is Indian, brahmana or this or that. Even if he's born in the lowest, lowest grade of family, papa-yoni. They are kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa abhira-sumbha yavanah [SB 2.4.18], there are so many. They're papa-yoni, almost animal. Sudhyanti, they also become purified and comes to Krsna. It is so wide, universal, easy and especially you are Indian, why you should not take advantage of this facility. You take it and be happy. That is my request. Thank you very much.