So even Krsna's expansion, Visnu, He is also subordinate to Krsna. The greatest manifestation of Visnu is the Maha-Visnu who is lying on the Causal Ocean of material creation, wherefrom the material universes are emanating by His breathing process. Such a gigantic and huge, I mean to say, form of Visnu with four hands, He is also stated in the Brahma-samhita,

So we are going to have our relationship with that Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then how that can be achieved? That is now being explained by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and that is called, the process of executing the service by which we can attain to that point, is called abhidheya. Abhidheya means execution of duties, execution of duties, or execution of obligationnot duty: obligation. Duty you sometimes may avoid, and you may be excused, but obligation we cannot. Obligation means you have to. Because you are meant for that, if you do not do that, then you will be in difficulty. Our obligation as living entities... We are part and parcel of the Supreme. Just like the hand. At once I feel some itching sensation here, so at once the hand comes without asking for it. It is so made psychologically and mechanically and whatever you may say. At once I feel some itching; at once the hand comesobligation. It is obligation. Similarly, we are part and parcel of the Supreme. We have got obligation to serve Krsna. If we are not doing that... That means if the hand is cut off from this body, there is no obligation. The hand which is cut off from this body, that hand will not come to cure my itching. That means it is fallen. His business is finished. Similarly, if we do not... Just like if the hand does not work the obligation which it hasto serve this bodythen it is to be understood the paralyzed or diseased, infected. And doctor sometimes advise, "Cut it off. If you want to save your other parts of the body, then cut it off." Similarly, these conditioned souls, they are now conditioned, or in one way they are cut off from the original, I mean to say, relationship, forgetful. So if we want... If this hand wants to remain in healthy state, it is the duty of the hand to fulfill the obligation of the hand's duty, and then it remains very healthy condition.

So our duty is to serve God. There is no other duty. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's preaching, that "You have no other duty, anything. That is all false illusion. If you have selected any other duty than to serve Krsna in Krsna consciousness, then you are foolish. You are doing something wrong, which is not for your interest." This is the teaching of Lord Caitanya and the Bhagavata also. So if somebody may argue, "Oh, if I completely engage myself in the service of Krsna, then what to do? How I shall live in this material world? Who will take care of my maintenance?" that is our foolishness. If you serve an ordinary person here, you get your maintenance; you get your wages, dollars. You are so foolish that you are going to serve Krsna and He is not going to maintain you? Yoga-ksemam vahamy aham [Bg. 9.22]. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that "I personally take charge of his maintenance." Why don't you believe it? Practically you can see. That means faithlessness. There is no reason. Suppose I am serving some master here, so-called master, and he is at once paying me wages"Take your wages"twenty-five dollars, ten dollars or whatever it may be, at once paying. And I am going to serve the Supreme, and there is no maintenance for me? Oh, what a foolishness. This is called forgetful. This is called spell of maya. Maya will dictate, "Oh, you are going to serve Krsna? How you'll maintain yourself, you foolish. Don't go there. Don't go to the Krsna consciousness society. It is cheating." No, it is not cheating. It is actual fact. Yes. It is not cheating. But if you want to gratify your senses, oh, there is no scope. Then go to hell. Then go to hell. But if you want to serve Krsna, there is every arrangement for you. There is every arrangement for you. If you want to cheat Krsna, then Krsna will also cheat you. Dyutam chalayatam asmi. Krsna has said in His vibhuti-yogam that "Amongst all cheating process, I am gambling. I am gambling." There is cheating process. Wherefrom this cheating process comes? There is cheating process in Krsna also because He is the origin of everything. Whatever there is, even cheating process, thieving process, what is condemned in this world, that is also there in Krsna, but that is without any contamination. That is difference. When He cheats, it becomes worshipable. Krsna wanted to cheat Dronacarya. That is a fact in the Mahabharata. He advised Arjuna, "Just go," asked Yudhisthira that "Just go and tell lie to Dronacarya that 'Your son is dead.' " Don't you think Krsna is trying to cheat? So there is cheating. Everything is there, but that is in full. God is good; therefore His cheating is good, His thieving is good. Everything is absolute. Unless you cannot understand this Absolute Truth, there is no understanding of Krsna. There is no understanding of Krsna.

So here it is said, abhidheya. How to make progress in that execution of devotional service, that is being taught. So,

So there are two different kinds of Vedic literature. One section is called sruti, originally coming. Just like this Caitanya-caritamrta. This is a book written by Krsna dasa Kaviraja Gosvami, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya. It is called smrti. Why? Everything written here is corroborating the Vedic literature. There is nothing, suggestion, "I am a philosopher. I am a speculator. I think this will be like this" Here you'll see in every step he is quoting from Vedas. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is quoting. This is the topics between Sanatana Gosvami... This is the Vedic way. Now that sage, a great sage, he is giving his conclusion that srutir mata prsta disati bhavad-aradhana-vidhim: "I have inquired so many Vedic literature. Now I am in conclusion that worshiping the Supreme Lord, that is the injunction of the..., nothing more. Nothing more." The whole idea is... And that is confirmed by Bhagavad-gita also. Krsna says in the Fifteenth Chapter you will find. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. What is the purpose of Veda? The purpose of Veda is to understand Krsna. That's all. If you can understand to some extent Krsna, then your all Vedic studies finished. No more taking trouble. So we have to follow.

Now, here the great sage says that "I have consulted all the Vedic process, all the Vedic literature, and I see that bhagavad-aradhana-vidhi: the only injunction is that, to worship the Supreme Lord." And similarly, in the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed by the Lord, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam: [Bg. 15.15] "By Vedic study means I. One has to understand Me. That's all." If you try to understand Krsna as far as possible, through the reliable sources, through the bona fide sources, then your Vedic study is going on in Krsna consciousness. Tepus tapas...

So any way, some way or other, if one takes to this Krsna consciousness, he becomes at once purified, at once. Never mind what he is. There may be classification in the social convention: he is big, he is small, he is brahmana, he is sudra. Caitanya Mahaprabhu never says that "I am a brahmana," "I am a ksatriya." Naham vipra na ca nara-patih: "I am neither a brahmana nor a ksatriya nor a vaisya and anything of this material designation." "Then what You are?" Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah: [Cc. Madhya 13.80] "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna." That is our transcendental... So as soon as we take to this, then everything is all right. But we have to take it very seriously. That is called abhidheya. With all seriousness... Then everything is all right. It is such a nice thing. Everything is all right.

Yatha matur vani. Now sruti, this Vedic, vedo mata. Vedo mata. Veda is called mother. Why? But this mother gives birth the second birth. We have... Several times we have discussed in this hall that first birth is given by this material father and second birth is by the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the father, and the Veda is the mother. So when a person is called dvija, second birth, when he goes to the spiritual master and takes lessons from Veda... This upana... The sacred thread is called upanayana... Upanayana means to bring him nearer. Upa means nearer, and nayana means bringing. To take a fallen soul nearer, that is called upanayana. And when the spiritual master sees that he is quite competent to come near to God, he recognizes him and he gives him sacred thread. That is called brahmana. That is the symbol that he has approached an acarya. Acaryavan puruso veda. How one is understood that he knows spiritual science? That means who has a spiritual master. These things are there.

Srutir mata. Srutir mata. Smrtir api tatha vakti bhagini. Now, I have... We have divided the Vedic literature into two. The knowledge which is coming in disciplic succession, that knowledge is mother, and this knowledge, by memory, with reference to the context of Vedic literature, if you sometimes write, that literature is the sister. That is compared with sister. One is with the mother, and the other is the sister. Puranadya ye va sahaja nivahas te tad-anuga. So all these Puranas, they are called sruti. There are eighteen Puranas, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and there are so many, Vedanta-sutra... They are called... Upanisad is Veda; it is sruti. That is the gist of Vedic knowledge. But Puranas, they are called smrti. So this sruti smrtir, according to Indian theistic scholarship, there are two kinds of literature: sruti smrti. So there was another devotee of Krsna. He has written another nice song. He says, srutim apare smrtim apare bharata manye bhava-bhitah. Well, people are taking shelter of the Vedic literature who have become afraid of this conditional life. What is the end of Vedic literature? Just to get oneself liberated from this material entanglement. So he says that "People, those who are afraid of this material life, material entanglement, let them worship sruti, Veda, or smrti, or Mahabharata. Let them be engaged in that way." Srutim apare smrtim itare bharatam anye bhajantu bhava-bhitah. "Then? What is that?" "Now, I am not going to do that." "What you are going to do?" Aham iha nandam vande yasyalinde param brahma: "I shall worship Nanda Maharaja." "Why? You have left all Veda and Puranas, everything. Why you are going to worship Nanda Maharaja?" "Because he has captivated the Supreme Lord playing as a crawling child in his courtyard. So I shall worship Nanda. Nanda Maharaja is so great that God is obliged to come to him to play as a child and crawling in his courtyard. So I shall... Nanda Maharaja." So if you approach such a devotee who can bring God to crawl in his courtyard, that is all perfection.

Thank you. Any question? (end)