Maya is nothing but an illusion which is covering my Krsna consciousness. That is called maya. I am... Krsna says that mamaivamso jiva-bhutah: [Bg. 15.7] "All these living entities, they are My parts and parcels, sanatana, not that they have now become servant of Me by material contact, but they are eternally servant." Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa: [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109] "The real identity of the living entity is that he is eternal servant of God, or Krsna." When we speak of Krsna, Krsna means God. Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28].

Na dhanam na janam. The karmis, they are hankering after wealth, riches, great following, great dependents. Na dhanam na janam. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, "I don't want. I don't want riches. I don't want many followers." Na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye. Another demand of the karmis is that "I must have very nice, beautiful, obedient wife." Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "No, I don't want that." Na dhanam. This is finishing materialism. In the material world people want these three things: dhanam, janam, and sundarim kavitam. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye. "Then mukti, You take mukti?" "No." Mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki: [Cc. Antya 20.29, Siksastaka 4] "I don't want to finish My repetition of birth and death also." That is called mukti. Mukti means stopping the repetition of birth and death. So those who are hankering after... The jnanis, the jnani-sampradaya, they want to merge into the existence of the Supreme Lord. But that merging is possible in the brahmajyoti. Brahmajyoti. The Absolute Truth is divided into three. Actually He is not divided. Because He is absolute, He cannot be divided. But according to the, I mean to say, realizer, somebody is realizing the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman, somebody is realizing the Absolute Truth as localized Paramatma, and somebody is realizing Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, most beautiful, lovable object. So the Bhagavata Purana says, vadanti tat tattva vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam [SB 1.2.11]. There is no difference between Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. It is only the different features of realization. If you want to realize the Absolute Truth by your imperfect senses... We should always know that our senses are always imperfect. Just like we are very much proud of seeing with my own eyes. We say sometimes, challenge, "Can you show me God? Can you show me this or that?" But we do not know how much imperfect are our eyes. We are seeing every day the sun, but we are seeing it just like a disk. But actually the sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. We cannot see. If there is (indistinct), immediately there is darkness, we cannot see. Unless there is light, sunlight or electric light or moonlight, we cannot see. We cannot see our eyeballs. We cannot see the eyelid, nearest. Longest, longest we cannot see; nearest we cannot see. Therefore we should not be very much proud of our seeing directly, direct perception. So direct... Anyone who is trying to understand the Absolute Truth by direct perception, he can rise up to the impersonal Brahman understanding, not more than that. And those who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth within his heart, just like yogis... Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. The yogi, by meditation, being in samadhi, they are seeing the Absolute Truth, Personality of Godhead, Visnu, within the heart. Dhyanavasthita. And those who are devotees, they are seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Arjuna is seeing, personally, face to face: Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of everything.

Budha. Budha means one who is actually in knowledge, one who is actually in understanding. Such person, he knows that Krsna is the origin of everything, janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. The Vedanta-sutra gives hint that "Absolute Truth is that which is the original source of emanation of everything." That Absolute Truth is Krsna. He says further, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: [Bg. 7.7] "Beyond Me, there is no other superior authority or truth."

"Out of many million of persons, one is interested how to make this life, human life, successful..." Everyone is interested how to enjoy senses, sense gratification. But that is the business of the animals. The animals, they do not know anything beyond their sense gratification. Ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca, samanyam etad pasubhih naranam. The sense gratification business is equal in human being and animal. The animal eats, and human being also eats. The animal sleeps, a human being also sleepsmaybe in nice compartment, but the sleeping business. The animal eats directly anything, whatever he gets; we make palatable dishes for satisfaction of our tongue. We kill many animals and eat them. So that may be the difference. Otherwise the eating business of the animal and the human being is the same. Similarly, sexual intercourse. The dog can freely have sexual intercourse on the street. The hog can have sexual intercourse on the street and without any discrimination whether mother, sister, or anything. That is hog life, dog life. But a human being has the same sexual desires but little decently. That is the difference. So the sastra says that if you become simply engaged in these four kinds of businesseating, sleeping, mating and defendingthen you are no better than animal. Your business is brahma-jijnasa. Try to understand what is Brahman. That is your business. The Krsna replies in the Bhagavad-gita, brahmano aham pratistha. Even if you want to understand the impersonal Brahman, you have to search out wherefrom this effulgence is coming. That is Krsna. That is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita:

So this Krsna consciousness movement is very important movementimportant in this sense, that we are educating people without any discrimination about Krsna, what is Krsna. And actually, as we understand from the Bhagavad-gita, if we simply can understand what is Krsna, as Krsna says, that manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye, yatatam api siddhanam... [Bg. 7.3]. It is very difficult to understand Krsna. But still, Krsna is understandable if we simply follow the instruction of the Bhagavad-gita as it is, without any malinterpretation. Actually there are so many editions of Bhagavad-gita all over the world, about six hundred, seven hundred in America, in Japan, in England. I have seen so many editions, English editions, what to speak of other language editions. So anyway, the malinterpretation is going on. We have, therefore, published Bhagavad-gita As It Is, without any malinterpretation. Our business is to present Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Krsna says, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. We say that, that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What Krsna says Himself, we simply carry the message. That's all. Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru: [Bg. 18.65] "Just always think of Me," man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah, "just become My devotee," and man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji, "just worship Me and offer your respectful obeisances unto Me. In this way you shall come back to Me." So we are teaching that, that... We are teaching our students that "Always think of Krsna." Smartavyam satato visnuh. Visnu and Krsna, the same category.

Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]. The Bhagavad-gita, the process is given there, how to study Bhagavad-gitaby the parampara system, not by your whimsical way. You must hear from the authorized person. Just like Krsna said, evam parampara-praptam: "I instructed this Bhagavad-gita philosophy to sun-god, and he instructed to his son Manu. And Manu instructed to his son Iksvaku." So in this way you have to study. Evam parampara-praptam. So if you want to study Bhagavad-gita As It Is, then you should study immediate parampara. Arjuna was present. Arjuna was personally instructed by Krsna. And you should catch up how Arjuna understood Krsna.

People are hankering after santi, peace, but they do not know the way. The way is described in the Bhagavad-gita. What is that? Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam: "I am the supreme enjoyer of everything." Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka mahesvaram: "I am the proprietor of everything." Isavasyam idam sarvam: [Iso mantra 1] "God is the proprietor of all planets." But we are claiming that "I am proprietor. We are proprietor, nationally." That is our mistake. Actually, everything belongs to God. Now, the Japanese claiming that "Japan is our country." Indians are claiming, "India is our country." But nothing belongs either to the Japanese or to the Indians or to the Americans. Everything belongs to God. This consciousness is called Krsna consciousness. If we understand three things only, that God is the only proprietor, Krsna is the only proprietor, He is the only enjoyer, and we are simply servant to help Him in His enjoyment... The highest perfection is found in Vrndavana. Everyone is trying to satisfy Krsna. That is real life. That is real mukti. In the Bhagavata it is said, mukti means hitva anyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih [SB 2.10.6]. Mukti means you have to give up your artificial ways of life and you have to situate yourself in your normal constitutional position. That is called mukti. Mukti hasn't got any other definition. Mukti means just like you are attacked with fever. If your fever is gone, then you are mukta, you are liberated from fever. Similarly, this disease, aham mameti... [SB 5.5.8]. I am in this material world, I am thinking this body as myself, I am identifying with this body, and according to that bodily relation, I am identifying my... Mamaham iti. There are thousands of women, but the one woman who has got bodily relationship with me, (s)he is my wife. There are thousands of children, but the one children or two children who has got bodily relation with me, they are my sons, my daughters. Mamaham iti manyate. Then our... First of all, this whole world is based on sex life, either in human society or animal society or bird society or tree society or aquatic society, any society, go. The central point is sex life. Sex life. And as soon as we unite with sex life, our, this bodily concept of life becomes more and more entangled. Then we want... Atah grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho 'yam [SB 5.5.8].

As soon as you forget your relationship with Krsna, immediately there is maya, and she will capture you. And the counterprocess is: as soon as you surrender to Krsna, the maya is gone. Just like it is said, krsna surya-sama maya andhakara [Cc. Madhya 22.31]. "Maya is considered as darkness, and Krsna is the sunlight, or sun." So wherever there is sun, there is no darkness. Similarly, wherever there is Krsna, wherever there is Krsna consciousness, there is no more darkness of ignorance. Tasmin vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavanti. So this Krsna consciousness movement is very important movement. It is not a sentimental movement. It is authorized. It is based on Vedic conclusion. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. Actually, the Vedas are meant for understanding Krsna. One who does not understand Krsna, his studies of Veda is simply useless waste of time. And one who understands Krsna simply, he has studied all the Vedas. Aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim, naradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim [Narada-pancaratra]. Krsna also said that,

Do not think that those who are devotees of Krsna, those who are fully surrendered to Krsna, they are ignorant. No. Krsna from within, He is giving intelligence. He gives intelligence to the devotees. Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam, dadami buddhi-yogam tam [Bg. 10.10]. He will give. Krsna is within your heart. Simply you have to surrender to Krsna, and everything will (be) supplied by Krsna. Especially He says, tesam evanukampartham: "In order to show them special mercy." To whom? Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam If you engage yourself in the service of the Lord, bhajatam, with love and faith, then Krsna is within youHe will give you all intelligence. Tene brahma hrda adi-kavaye. He gave the intelligence. That is... We are describing how He gave intelligence to Lord Brahma, who is the creator of this universe.