Our subject matter is most sublime: the glorification of the holy name of God. This subject was discussed by Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami, who noted that a brahmana, who was very fallen and addicted to all kinds of sinful activities, was saved simply by chanting the holy names of Krsna. This is found in the Sixth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, an epic work by Vyasadeva describing the pastimes of Lord Krsna and elaborating on the philosophy of Krsna consciousness.

In the Fifth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the universal planetary systems are very fully explained. Within the universe there are lower, middle and higher planetary systems. Actually, not only the Bhagavatam but all religious scriptures contain descriptions of hellish or lower planetary systems and heavenly or higher systems. Srimad-Bhagavatam gives evidence of where these planets are and indicates how far they are from this planet, just as astronomers have calculated how far the moon and other heavenly bodies are from earth. Similarly, the Bhagavatam contains descriptions of the various planets.

Even on this planet we experience different climatic conditions. In temperate countries such as the United States, the climate is different from that of a tropical country like India. just as there are environmental differences on this planet, there are other planets which have far different atmospheres and environments. After hearing a description of such planets from Sukadeva Gosvami, Pariksit Maharaja said:

Pariksit Maharaja was a Vaisnava (devotee), and a Vaisnava always feels compassion for others distress. For instance, when Lord Jesus Christ appeared, he was greatly aggrieved by the miserable conditions of the people. Regardless of the country or sect to which they belong, all Vaisnavas or devoteesany people who are God conscious or Krsna consciousare thus compassionate. Therefore to blaspheme a Vaisnava, a preacher of Gods glories, is a great offense.

Krsna never tolerates offenses committed at the lotus feet of a pure Vaisnava. A Vaisnava, however, is always ready to forgive such offenses. Krpambudhi: A Vaisnava is an ocean of mercy. Vanca-kalpa-taru: Everyone has desires, but a Vaisnava can fulfill all desires. Kalpa-taru refers to a tree in the spiritual world which is called a wish-fulfilling tree. In this material world a particular type of fruit can only be gotten from a particular type of tree, but in Krsnaloka, as well as in all the other planets in the spiritual sky, all the trees are spiritual and will yield whatever one desires. That is described in the Brahma-samhita (cintamani prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa [Bs. 5.29]). A pure Vaisnava is compared to such a wish-fulfilling tree, for he can bestow a matchless gift upon a sincere discipleKrsna consciousness.

A Vaisnava is addressed as maha-bhaga, which means fortunate. One who becomes a Vaisnava and is God conscious is understood to be greatly fortunate. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the chief exponent of Krsna consciousness in this age, has explained that the living entities in various planetary systems all over the universe are rotating in different species of life. A living entity can go wherever he likesto heaven or to hellsimply by preparing himself for either place. There are many heavenly planets, many hellish planets, and many species of life. Padma Purana estimates the species of life to be 8,400,000, and the living entity is rotating or wandering through these species and creating bodies according to his mentality in his present life. As you sow, so shall you reap, is the law that governs here. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that out of these numberless living entities who are transmigrating in the material world, one may be fortunate enough to take to Krsna consciousness. Krsna consciousness is being distributed freely everywhere, yet not everyone takes to it, especially in this age of Kali. Because of this, Srimad-Bhagavatam characterizes people in the age of Kali as unfortunate. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that only those who are fortunate take to this Krsna consciousness and thus attain a pleasant and blissful life of knowledge.

It is the duty of a Vaisnava to go from door to door to try to get unfortunate people to accept good fortune. A Vaisnava thinks, How can these people be delivered from their hellish life? That was also Maharaja Pariksits inquiry. Sir, he said, you have described that because of ones sinful activities he is put into a hellish condition of life or in a hellish planetary system. Now, what are the methods by which such a person can be saved? This is a very important question. When a Vaisnava comes, when God Himself comes, or when Gods sons or His very confidential devotees come, their only mission is to save sinful men who are suffering. They have knowledge of how to do this. When Prahlada Maharaja met Lord Nrsimhadeva, he said:

Maya-sukhaya. Actually this is a fact. We have succeeded in creating a humbug civilization. Every year so many cars are being manufactured, and for that purpose so many roads have to be excavated, prepared and repaired. This creates problems after problems, and therefore it is maya-sukhaya, illusory happiness. We are trying to manufacture some way to be happy, but we only succeed in creating other problems. The United States has the worlds largest number of cars, but that does not solve any problems. We have manufactured cars to help solve the problems of life, but we often experience that this also creates other problems. Once we create cars, we must travel thirty or forty miles just to meet our friends or go to a doctor. We can even go from New York to Boston in less than an hour by plane, but it takes even longer than that just to get to the airport. This situation is called maya-sukhaya. Maya means false, illusory. We try to create a very comfortable situation, but we only succeed in creating another uncomfortable situation. This is the way of the material world; if we are not satisfied by the natural comforts offered by God and nature, and we want to create artificial comforts, then we have to create discomfort also. Most people, ignorant of this fact, think that they are creating a very comfortable situation, but in actuality they end up traveling fifty miles to go to the office to earn a livelihood and fifty miles to come back.

Due to such conditions, Prahlada Maharaja says that these vimudhas, materialistic persons, have unnecessarily burdened themselves simply for temporary happiness. Vimudhan, maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato. Therefore in Vedic civilization it is recommended that one free himself from material life, take sannyasa, the renounced order, and execute devotional service with no anxiety.

The taking of the renounced order, however, is not always necessary. If one can execute Krsna consciousness in family life, that is also recommended. Although Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a family man and magistrate, he still executed devotional service most excellently. Dhruva Maharaja and Prahlada Maharaja were also grhasthas, householders, but they trained themselves in such a way that even as householders they were not faced with interruptions in their service. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja said, I have learned the art of always remaining in Krsna consciousness. What is that art? Tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah: simply glorifying the victorious activities and pastimes of the Lord. The word virya means very heroic. By reading Srimad-Bhagavatam, we can come to understand that Krsnas activities, His fame, His associates and everything else about Him are all heroic. In this connection, Prahlada Maharaja said: I am certain that wherever I go, I can glorify Your heroic activities and be saved. There is no question of my falling down, but I am simply anxious for those who have created a type of civilization in which they are always busy working hard. I am thinking of them. Prahlada further says:

Even if there were some point in working that hard, such people do not know what it is. All they know is the sex urge and the brothels that gratify this urge. However, Prahlada Maharaja has compassion for such people: naitan vihaya krpanan vimumuksa eko. My Lord, I do not need salvation alone. Unless I take all these fools with me, I shall not go. Thus he refused to go into the kingdom of God without taking all the fallen souls with him. This is a Vaisnava. Nanyam tvad asya saranam bhramato nupasye: I simply want to teach them how to surrender unto You. Thats all. That is my goal.

Surrender is thus emphasized because a Vaisnava knows that as soon as he surrenders, the path is clear.

A Vaisnava is always thinking about how the fallen conditioned souls can be delivered and is always involved in making plans to do so. The Gosvamis, the chief disciples of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, were such Vaisnavas, and were thus described by Srinivasa Acarya:

With similar Vaisnava compassion, Pariksit Maharaja told Sukadeva Gosvami: You have just described the different types of hellish life. Now, tell me how those who are suffering can be delivered. Kindly explain this to me. Adhuneha maha-bhaga yathaiva narakan narah nanogra-yatanan neyat tan me. The word narah refers to human beings, or those who are fallen. Narakan narah nanogra-yatanan neyat tan me: How can they be delivered from their fierce miseries and horrible pains? That is typical of a Vaisnava heart. Maharaja Pariksit also said, Somehow or other they have fallen down to a hellish life, but that does not mean that they should remain in that condition. There must be some means by which they can be delivered, so kindly explain those means.

Sukadeva Gosvami replied:

How can this be done? There are various ways in which sinful activities can be committed. One is by the mind. If a person thinks of committing some sinful activity and thus makes a planI shall kill that manthat is also considered to be sinful. When the mind is thinking, feeling and willing, then there is action. In certain areas of the United States, a dog owner is responsible according to law if his dog barks at someone passing on the road. Although the dog simply barks, the owner is held responsible. The dog is not responsible because it is an animal, but because the owner of the animal has made the dog his best friend, he is responsible by law. Similarly, just as the barking of a dog may be considered unlawful, offensive speech may also be considered sinful, for it is just like barking. The point is that sinful activities can be committed in so many waysone may think of them, or one may speak sinfully, or one may actually commit a sin. In any case, they are all considered sinful activities. Dhruvam sa vai pretya narakan upaiti: One has to suffer punishment for such activities.

People do not believe in a next life because they want to avoid botheration and punishment, but the next life cannot be avoided. It is a well known fact that we must act according to law, or we will be punished. If one commits criminal activities, the state will punish him. Sometimes, however, a criminal may escape punishment by the state, but this is not the case with Gods law. One can cheat others, commit theft and hide, thereby saving himself from the punishment of the state, but one cannot save himself from the superior law, the law of nature. It is very difficult because there are many witnesses: the daylight is witness, the moonlight is witness, and Krsna is the supreme witness. Thus one cannot say, I am committing this sin, but no one can see me. Krsna is the supreme witness sitting within the heart, and He not only notes what one is thinking and doing, but He also gives the living entity facility. If one wants to do something in order to satisfy his senses, Krsna gives all facility. This is stated in Bhagavad-gita. Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah: I am sitting in everyones heart. Mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca: [Bg. 15.15] From Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.

In this way Krsna gives us a chance. If we want Krsna, He will give us a chance to have Him, and if we dont want Krsna, He will give us a chance to forget Him. If we want to enjoy life forgetting Krsna, forgetting God, Krsna will give us all facility so that we can forget, but if we want to enjoy life in Krsna consciousness, Krsna will give us the chance to make progress. That is up to us. If we think that we can be happy without Krsna consciousness, Krsna does not object to that. Yathecchasi tatha kuru. After advising Arjuna, He simply said, Now I have explained everything to you. Whatever you desire, you can do. Arjuna replied immediately, karisye vacanam tava: [Bg. 18.73] Now I shall execute Your order. That is Krsna consciousness.

God does not interfere with our tiny independence. If we want to act according to the order of God, then He will help us. Even if one falls down sometimes, if one becomes sincere, thinking, From this time I shall remain Krsna conscious and execute His orders, then Krsna will help him. In all respects, even if one falls down, he will be excused and given more intelligence. This intelligence will say, Dont do this. Now go on with your duty. But if one wants to forget Krsna, if he wants to become happy without Krsna, the Lord will give so many chances to enable him to forget Him life after life.

Pariksit Maharaja said: It is not that if I say there is no God that there will be no God or that I will not be responsible for what I do. The atheists deny God due to their sinful activities. If they thought that there were a God, they would shudder at the thought of punishment; therefore they deny His existence. When rabbits are attacked by larger animals, they close their eyes and think, I am not going to be killed, but they are killed anyway. Similarly, we may deny the existence of God and His laws, but still God and His laws are there. In the high court, one may say, I dont care for the law of the government, but he will be forced to accept the government law. If one denies the state law, he will be put into prison and duly punished. Similarly, one may foolishly decry the existence of God by various means (There is no God, or I am God), but ultimately one is responsible for all his actions, both good and bad.

According to the law of karma, or the law governing activities, if we act properly and perform pious activities, we are awarded by good fortune, and if we act sinfully we have to suffer. Therefore Sukadeva Gosvami says:

Just as doctors are sought when one is diseased, according to the Vedic way of life there is a class of brahmanas to whom one should go for prescribed atonement for sinful activities. There are different types of atonement. If a person commits a sin and counteracts it by penance, that is atonement. There are examples of this in the Christian Bible. Sukadeva says that one has to execute the prescribed atonement according to the gravity of his sinful activities. A physician may prescribe an expensive medicine or a cheap medicine according to the gravity of the disease. For a headache, he may simply prescribe an aspirin, but if there is some severe illness he may prescribe a surgical operation which will cost thousands of dollars. Similarly, sinful activities are diseases, so one should follow the prescribed cures to become healthy.

By accepting the chain of birth and death, the soul accepts a diseased condition. The soul is not subject to birth, death or disease because it is pure spirit. In Bhagavad-gita Krsna says that a soul has no birth (na jayate) and that it has no death (mriyate).

Modern civilization is in dire need of an educational system to give people instructions on what happens after death. In actuality the present educational system is most defective because unless one knows what happens after death, one dies like an animal. An animal does not know that he is subject to death or that he is going to have to take another body. Human life, however, should be more elevated. One should not simply be interested in the animalistic functions of eating, sleeping, defending and mating. A living entity may have an abundant supply of food for eating, or many nice buildings for sleeping, or good arrangements for sex life, or a good defense to protect him, but this does not mean that he is a human being. A civilization which is based on these activities should be known to be animalistic. Since animals are also interested in these functions, what is the difference between human life and animal life if a human being does not go beyond them?

The distinction can be made when a human being becomes inquisitive and asks, Why have I been put into this miserable condition? Is there any remedy for it? is there perpetual eternal life? I do not want to die, nor do I want to suffer. I want to live very happily and peacefully. Is there a chance for this? What is the method or science by which this can be achieved? When these questions are asked, and steps are taken to answer them, our human civilization is the result. If the questions never arise, then that civilization should be known as animalistic. Animals and animalistic human beings are simply interested in continuing the process of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, but in actuality this process is forced to break down. The fact is that there is no real defense because no one can protect himself from the hands of cruel death. For instance, Hiranyakasipu, who wanted to live forever, underwent severe austerities, but he was foiled in the end by the Lord Himself in the form of a lion-man, Nrsimhadeva, who killed Hiranyakasipu with His claws. So-called scientists are now claiming that some time in the future we shall stop death by scientific methods, but this is simply another crazy utterance. Stopping death is not at all possible. We may make great advancements in scientific knowledge, but there is no scientific solution to the fourfold miseries of birth, death, old age and disease.

One who is intelligent should be eager to solve these four principal problemsbirth, death, old age and disease. No one wants to die, but there is no remedy. Everyone has to die. Everyone is very anxious to stop the skyrocketing increase of population by employing contraceptive methods, but still birth is going on. There is no stoppage of death, and there is no stoppage of birth. Nor can diseases be stopped, nor can old age, despite all of the latest inventions in medicine.

One might think that he has solved all the problems of his life, but where is the solution to these four problems of birth, death, old age and disease? That solution is Krsna consciousness. Every one of us is giving up his body at every moment, and the last phase of giving up this body is called death. But Krsna also says:

What happens to such a person? Mam etiHe returns to Krsna. If we are to go to Krsna, we must prepare a spiritual body. That preparation is the process of Krsna consciousness. If one keeps himself in Krsna consciousness, he gradually prepares his next body, a spiritual body, which will carry him immediately to Krsnaloka, Krsnas abode, and he will become happy living there perpetually and blissfully.