So anyway, Lord Caitanya entrusted to spread this message to the Indians. Bharata-bhumite manusya-janma haila yara [Cc. Adi 9.41]. There are many kinds of living entities. There are men, there are animals, there are birds, beasts, trees, aquaticsall of them are living entities. But He is entrusting to the manusya. Bharata-bhumite manusya-janma haila yara. "One who has taken his birth as human being, Indian human being, to him I am entrusting this message, that this should be distributed all over the world in villages, in towns, this message." So I am especially speaking to the Indians present here, that you have got a responsibility on behalf of Lord Caitanya. If you believe in our sastras, in our acaryas, then those who are present here as Indians, I will request them to take this responsibility of spreading the... (aside:) This is disturbing. ...this message of Lord Caitanya all over the world. And He said, bharata-bhumite manusya-janma haila yara, janma sarthaka kari [Cc. Adi 9.41]. Janma sarthaka kari means "First of all make your life successful." You cannot distribute this transcendental message without making your life successful. Janma sarthaka kari. That means persons who are born in India, they have got the facility for making life successful. How? Because there is immense treasure-house of transcendental knowledge in India. It is known to everyone, in every part of the world. Unfortunately, we Indians, we do not know the value of our spiritual treasure-house. I have got one German Godbrother. He was formerly known as Mr. Hans Sulyea(?). He is now Sadananda Swami. He is living in Sweden. And one of his disciples, Vamana-datta... What is his German name?

So we Indians, we should know that we cannot imitate the Western countries. They are far advanced. So far materialistic way of life is concerned, you cannot compete with them. Just like some years before there was industrial exhibition in India in which the government was very proud to show that they are manufacturing cycle and sewing machine. When Western part of the world, they are manufacturing so many complicated machineries, we are proud of manufacturing cycle and sewing machine. Similarly, in every respect... In medicine also, there are so many laboratories in India, but still, seventy-five percent of the medicines are imported from foreign countries, because they are lagging behind. So my point is that in every country, in every human society, there is a special qualification. The day before yesterday I was seeing one picture in that church, of Hardwar. Millions of people assembled there for taking bath in the Ganges. In 1958 there was a special fair in Jagannatha Puri. It was written in the almanac that on that particular day, if somebody takes bath in the sea and has an audience of Lord Jagannatha, then he will be liberated. I was also there and with other friends. You'll be surprised to know that for a few-hour visit, about six million people assembled from all parts of India. And government had to make a special arrangement for their taking bath in the sea and visiting the temple. Similarly, there is Kumbha-mela. These assemblies are not advertised. People know it by parampara. I am speaking to you; you are speaking to your friend. In this way they know it, and on that particular day they assemble at a place, just like Prayaga, on the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna. Millions of people will assemble. So still, in spite of our present leaders' policy to completely eradicate all religious ideas... They have made secular state. But people are so born that naturally they are inclined to take part in spiritual movement. That is the nature. Therefore Lord Caitanya said that bharata-bhumite manusya-janma haila yara [Cc. Adi 9.41]. To take one's birth in the land of India, to take one's birth as human being, is great opportunity undoubtedly. But still more great opportunity is there who has taken his birth in India. We are... We must be proud, provided we do not forget our own Vedic culture.

Unfortunately, the present policy is that students are being taught to forget their old Vedic culture and try to imitate the Westernized way of life, industrial life, technical life. That is being encouraged. But here I find that the young men and young girls and boys, both, they are very much interested about Indian original culture of spiritual life. Recently, you know, some yogi came, and he simply bluffed so many people that "If you pay me thirty-five dollars, I will give you one personal mantra, and you will be in transcendental life," or so many things. So thousands and thousands of European boys and girls, as well as in America, they flocked together, but later on, they were frustrated. That means while the Indian youths are coming to the Western countries for advancement of technological knowledge, the Western boys and girls, they are hankering after spiritual life. This I have very particularly studied. I am here, not in Canada, in America. I came here in 1965, and I am studying the mind of the younger generation especially. They are hankering after something, spiritual enlightenment, not only in America, also in Europe. And they expect something from India because... It is a fact. I have read one book written by one Chinese gentleman. That book is recommended in the New York University for study. That Chinese gentleman is very learned man. He has given comparative studies of all religion and philosophies, but he recommends that "If you want to study religion as it is, then you have to go to India." So our Indian spiritual culture is still adored and worshiped by the learned section of every part of the world. And especially in America and Germany and England, they are hankering after it. We should be little careful that this knowledge, transcendental knowledge, as distributed by Lord Caitanya, should be seriously taken up by the responsible Indians present here. Unfortunately, I see that Indians are not very much interested, but that is our misfortune. Actually, Caitanya Mahaprabhu entrusted this mission that anyone who has taken birth as human being on the land of Bharata-varsa should learn this spiritual science very seriously, make his life successful, and distribute all over the world so that people of the world may become happy. That was His mission. Now, this Krsna consciousness movement is started on this mission, on the mission of Lord Caitanya, that to distribute,

Unfortunately, people in the present age, they think that God is dead. And what is the use of chanting something, somebody who is dead, chanting the holy name of God, who is already dead? The other day I was speaking in the church that God is not dead. God cannot be dead. Neither you or me cannot be dead. There is living symptom in your body, and there is living symptom in the cosmic manifestation also. Just try to understand what is God. Then place your verdict, whether God is dead or not. How God can be dead? Just like when a man is lying on the floor, if his vital condition, his pulses, his heart is going on, then how you can say that that man is dead? Similarly, if you study the cosmic manifestation... Of course, it is a subject matter to be learned very scrutinizingly with calm head, that as your body is functioning nicely by physiological arrangement, similarly, the body of the cosmic nature, by physical arrangement it is also moving nicely. Therefore, so long your bodily functions are going on nicely, you are not dead. Similarly, the Supreme Soul is also not dead because by the symptom of His gigantic body, universal body, we see that everything is nicely going on. So God is not dead. This is a statement of the crazy fellow. God is not dead; neither we are dead. Now, we, being part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, our function is just to serve the Supreme. This example of body I have said many times in this class, that as the part and parcel of your body, namely the hands, the legs, the eyes, the ears, they are meant for serving the whole body, similarly we, being part and parcel of the Supreme Whole, we are also meant for serving the Supreme Whole. So God is not dead; we are also not dead. We shall be dead when we cease to function as part and parcel of the Supreme Whole. That is our death.

It is very nicely analyzed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

Now, if you put to this test of intelligent class of men, hardly you will find one in thousand or one in million. Therefore the present social structure is practically without any intelligent class of men, or without any head. At the present moment the whole society is going on by manufacturing some schemes that "This scheme will be successful for the proper execution of our human activities." But another man gives you another plan. Therefore in the political world there are so many "isms," and they are fighting with one another. That means there is no standard intelligence. I differ from you; you differ from me. Now, nobody knows who is intelligent. So by this analytical study we can understand that at the present moment there is need of intelligent class of men. Not that everyone should be intelligent, but even a small percentage of people, if they become intelligent, with these qualificationstruthful, clean, and controlling the mind, controlling the senses, simplicity in behavior, and tolerance, knowledge, application of knowledge in practical life, and full faith in God... That, these nine symptoms, brahma-karma svabhava-jam... [Bg. 18.42]. The intelligent class of men is called brahmana, according to Vedic literature. And the next class, the administrative class, is called ksatriyas, and the next class is called the vaisyas, and the general class of men is called the sudras. So even in that, according to Vedic literature, it is said that kalau sudra sambhava. In this age, practically all men are on the standard of sudra category. Kalau sudra sambhava. So this movement, Krsna consciousness movement, is started so that even one is born a sudra by qualification, he can be raised to the standard of the highest intelligent class of men, brahmana, by pancaratriki-viddhi. By pancaratriki-viddhi it is said that it doesn't matter what a man is, but if he is trained up by diksa process, tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam... Dvijatvam means twice-born. Twice-born, they are, the brahmanas are twice-born, the ksatriyas are twice-born, and the vaisyas are... That means higher class of men, they are called twice-born. Why twice-born? Because one birth is made by father and mother and the next birth is made by Vedic knowledge and spiritual master. This is the system. So nobody is born brahmana or intelligent class of men, but by cultivation of knowledge, by practice, by good association, one can come to the higher standard of life. And when one is on the platform of goodness, then one has to transcend that platform of goodness and come to the platform of pure goodness. In the material world, even a man is supposed to be very good man, there is possibility of his being affected by the modes of passion and ignorance. But in the transcendental platform, which is called visuddha-sattva, pure goodness, there is no possibility of interaction of these three qualities of material nature, namely goodness, passion, and ignorance.

The Bhagavad-gita concludes, therefore,

So that transcendental platform is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita: brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati [Bg. 18.54]. As soon as one is situated in that Brahman platform, he is free from all anxieties immediately. Caitanya Mahaprabhu explains that brahma-bhutah situation, ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. Immediately. So the brahma-bhutah platform, which we have to ascend after so much qualification, so much understanding, so much practice of yoga, dhyana, meditation, can be achieved in this age by the blessings of Lord Caitanya simply by chanting Hare Krsna. Simply by chanting. Caitanya Mahaprabhu... As I have explained, that one has to lift himself to the platform of brahma-bhutah stage, when one is free from all anxieties. Now, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that simply by chanting Hare Krsna, param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanamwhat is the gain? The first gain is ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12], cleansing of the heart. What is that cleansing? That I am thinking at the present moment in my material concept of life that "I am part and parcel of this matter." And when we come to the understanding that "I have nothing to do with this matter; I am accidentally in contact with the matter, but my real position is that I am spirit soul, brahma-bhutah..." Brahma-bhutah prasannatma [Bg. 18.54]. Aham brahmasmi. Aham brahma. Lord Sankaracarya, he preached this philosophy, that... Just try to understand, but don't try to misunderstand. Unfortunately, this understanding that aham brahmasmi, people are misunderstanding that "I am God." He is not... Nobody can be God. God is supreme. God is great. We are very small. If I am God, if I am great, then how I have come to this position? How I have fallen from my brahma-bhutah stage? That is not actually understanding. Brahma-bhutah, aham brahmasmi, means "I am part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman." This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita and every Vedic literature, that the living entities are just like sparks of the fire, just like there is big fire and there are sparks also, small particle of fire. That small particle of fire is also fire, but it is not as big as the big fire. Similarly, in quality we are as good as Brahman, but in quantity we are minute, infinitesimal, and He is infinite. That is the difference.

So this philosophy of Bhagavad-gita, supported by the movement of Lord Caitanya, chanting the holy name of Hare Krsna, we are trying to push on in this part of the world, in pursuance of the order of Lord Caitanya, that prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama. So I'll request Indian ladies and gentlemen who are present here to join this movement. This is your duty. Because you are Indian, you have got this duty. If you forget your duty, then you are forgetting your identity. So my special request in this meeting is for the Indian ladies and gentlemen to support this temple, and by supporting this temple, to support this movement. It is good not only for the Indiansfor everyone. It is no sectarian religion. It is completely scientific and philosophical. Everyone can accept it, not dogmatically, but with reason and argument. And you can practically see that all my students, none of them are Indians. Until now, they are all American. They are educated, they are intelligent. They are trying to understand it with all logic and philosophy, and when they understand it nicely, they take to it very seriously. So my request is that this is a very nice movement. Everyone, either Indian, American or Canadian, should take part in it and encourage us.

Thank you very much. (end)