Anything minus Krishna Is Zero

Giriraj Swami: We are in the year of Srila Prabhupada centennial. Srila Prabhupada was a great personality—you cannot actually calculate how great he was and how his influence is. When Srila Prabhupada began this movement in 1965, practically no one outside India knew about Krishna or heard the word “Hare Krishna.” Practically no one outside India was vegetarian. Practically no one outside India knew about reincarnation. If someone was vegetarian or believed in reincarnation, he was considered really strange, almost crazy. So, by Srila Prabhupada’s influence, everywhere every day, people are becoming vegetarian. So many people now believe in the existence of the soul and the transmigration of the soul, where so many things have already happened by the Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, and more and more will happen in the future. So 1996 promises to be a very special opportunity to glorify Srila Prabhupada and spread Krishna consciousness.

To begin a new year in the association of devotees and chanting the holy names of the Lord is most auspicious. You all are so fortunate that Srila Prabhupada’s mercy come in contact with the Krishna consciousness here tonight. The more you chant the holy names and the more you associate with the devotees, the more you will be able to understand what Krishna consciousness is and how important it is. Of course, when we first came to India, we were invited to a large house with a big driveway to have a program somewhere in Bombay. When we arrived, people started telling us that today is the holiday, that we never heard of it. Srila Prabhupada had introduced many holidays in Vaishnava calendar. We never heard what people talking about. So, we told Srila Prabhupada that people are saying such and such things about holiday. Srila Prabhupada replied that, “Yes. You are Krishna’s servant, so for us every day is the holiday.” So actually, we can do the same thing that we are doing right now every day, and also we are eventually doing the same thing that is come together, chant together, hear kṛṣṇa-kathā, take kṛṣṇa-prasāda.

Srila Prabhupada said that even a hundred years ago in India, people used to meet, especially in the villages. People used to meet in the evening, and few hours, they would chant the holy names and hear some kṛṣṇa-kathā and see some kṛṣṇa-līlā, and my whole life was based on Krishna consciousness. Every aspect of one’s life is based on Krishna consciousness. Of course, Srila Prabhupada was in Calcutta on September 6, we will celebrate the one hundredth anniversary when Srila Prabhupada appeared in Calcutta. But he had some relatives outside of Calcutta. Sometimes his parents used to take him there, and in the evening, all of the people from this village or the town would gather together. For three hours, they would hear some recitation on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Rāmāyaṇa, and Mahābhārata. And Srila Prabhupada remained over here, he was just a small child. They would return to Calcutta in the carriage, horse ride carriage. So, he would be lying on the seat, and the elders, they would be discussing the līlās of Rama and Krishna. And he would be listening to it and go to sleep thinking of Rama or Krishna. So, he dreams about Rama and Krishna.

So, life was such a way that Krishna was the center of the life in every activity. Any family function, any social event, any religious function, Krisha would be central point. And therefore, Lord Chaitanya says that if Krishna is not there, then everything becomes useless. So, when Srila Prabhupada came to the United State, he addressed the American people and said, “You have good wealth, you have aristocratic families, you have good education, you have advanced technology, you have so many things but they are all zeros. But if you put one in front of zero, you get thousands or millions or billions. And that one is Krishna. So, everything minus Krishna is zero, plus Krishna everything has value. You don’t have to change anything that we are doing, really. We just have to add Krishna, and then everything will have meaning. Our lives will have meaning.”

Srila Prabhupada gives the example that a small screw in a big machine is very valuable. The big machine is doing so much work, but if the small screw comes out, then the big machine cannot work. So, everyone is concern about that small screw because it has a relationship with the big machine and when it is in big machine, it has value. But outside of the big machine, it has no value. If you see a small screw lying on the road, we don’t care. But when it connected to machine, it has big value. So in the same way, when we are connected with Krishna, with Krishna consciousness, our life have value, our life have meaning. But if we disconnected form Krishna, we have no value. A finger is the part and parcel of the body and if a finger is connected to the body, that has value. Even the little finger, if there is some pain, we will do anything to cure it. With a little finger, if there is some disease, we will do anything. But the same finger is cut off from the body, it has no value. We don’t even want to look at it.

So when we are connected with Krishna, we have values, and when we are disconnected from Krishna, we have no use. What we are doing here tonight, involving our relationship with Krishna, should be done every night, not just one night or two nights or three nights, but every night. It is very easy, very easy to come together, chant Hare Krishna, discuss Krishna consciousness. Anyone can do it in any situation, in any part of the world. Certainly, we have to do it. So even if we can’t come to the temple every night, then in our homes, we can do the same thing. In our hospitals, we can do the same thing. We can do it anywhere and everywhere and we want to do same thing. So, we should end the year as we do in beginning of the year.

Of course, we know that many people tonight will go out to this hotel, and they will see some show, eat and drink. Actually, previously, when we had the book distribution marathon in December, the devotees would not want to stop. They would want to distribute the maximum number of books until the end of the marathon. We used to have to tell the devotees that you must return by the next morning maṅgala-ārati, otherwise, if you come after maṅgala-ārati, we will not count your score. So we used to spend the whole night out, and I also used to go here to hotel in holiday inn. I know they used to have shows all night, and rich people used to come in big cars, and quite often, they were drunk. Seeing that, sometimes they would open up, sometimes they would start to cry, sometimes they were saturated verses from the Bhagavad-gītā that they had known many years ago when they were children. Sometimes they would start to sing.

So we can also see that even in the most bewildered conditions, people in India are Krishna conscious from inside. Although they were drunk, still some how they know about Krishna. So, we knew about Krishna consciousness. Today, all hotels are full for the whole time, and drink or eat meat, we will be engaged in sinful activities, and we will have to suffer the reaction. So we don’t want to do that because we know that it will harm ourselves if we do, so we don’t want to do that. Every one is in house or on road or in the hospital, that everyone else is out enjoying. So we don’t let us come to the temple and associate with the devotees. After the holidays are over, on an ordinary evening, most people won’t go out. They’ll stay at home and maybe watch television. They may remain in hostel, read or do something. We don’t fear that we have to do something because we think, well, watching television is not so bad, playing with family members is not so bad, playing in the hostel, talking about other people. We do that. So we all feel that we have to get together and do something Krishna conscious, and that will be our loss if we think that, Well, as others are doing, I will also do it. I am not going to club, we are getting drunk and eating flesh but we are not doing is so bad, I can also do the same thing. That is where I actually be a we lost because our life is made of time.

One businessman was talking with Srila Prabhupada in Juhu. So, Srila Prabhupada quoted one verse from Canakya Pandit that at the time of death, even at the cost of lakhs and crores of rupees even a minute, we cannot buy a minute more even for all of the richest in the world. So what is the value of one minute or one moment? It is invaluable. We cannot calculate the value because we cannot buy it back for any amount of money once it is gone. When the time of death comes, we cannot buy even one extra moment for any amount of money. So how much is each moment worth? We can’t even calculate. So, Srila Prabhupada was explaining to the businessman that in the leisure of your life, all the time which is engaged in Krishna consciousness, that is profit, and all the time that is engaged in other activities, that is loss. So a businessman understands how to calculate profit and loss. So, Srila Prabhupada always use the language to people to whom he speaking to. So, the businessman’s profit is what he wants, and loss is really what he does not want. So anytime you are spending in Krishna consciousness, it is profit, and any time you spend outside of Krishna consciousness is loss.

There is one verse in the shastra that says that just to pass even one moment in forgetfulness of Krishna is the greatest loss, the greatest anomaly, and the greatest catastrophe. There is nothing worse than forgetting Krishna even for one moment. You might think, Well, I do remember Krishna at the time, but what is the harm if I see a film? It is of only few hours. And in the film, I might remember Krishna. It is possible. But even one moment in forgetfulness of Krishna is considered the greatest calamity. So we should not compromise with maya. Maya will tell us, don’t be fanatical. You don’t have to give 100 percent Krishna consciousness. Even 90 percent is more than enough, even 5 percent is more than enough, even 80 percent is quite a lot. So, maya is always take away us from Krishna consciousness. We should not make any compromise with maya. There is one story of hanuman you may know that. When Hanuman want to get Sanjivani herb, he could not understand what he supposed to bring. So, he decided to bring the whole mountain. And we also seeing the picture of Hanuman carrying the mountain. So, on the way, Hanuman could not take any rest but he chose to not take any rest. He didn’t want to interrupt his service to Lord Rama. So, maya will always tempt us. She will always try to make some compromise with us, ‘Don’t work so hard, don’t strain so much, you can take a little rest, you can enjoy a little. You don’t have to always serving.’ But we should not do any compromise with maya.

So, one devotee was with Srila Prabhupada, perhaps in Hawaii and good humor man came by. The good humor man attracts females. He play some music. About the music, then good humor man has come. Sometimes they sing and come on bicycle also. So, good humor man was passing by the temple. And Srila Prabhupada noticed that devotees in the room giving his ears were going to the sound of the music. So, Srila Prabhupada told the devotees that, “You want some ice cream, you can have.” Devotee said, “No, no Srila Prabhupada I don’t want.” Srila Prabhupada said, “No, no, you can take.” But he said no. Srila Prabhupada explains that maya is always calling us, just like the good humor man plays his music to attract customers, to call customers. So, in the same way, maya always calls the conditioned souls, “Come on and enjoy me, come on and enjoy me.” Even the music is the same, “"Come on and enjoy me, come on and enjoy me.”

And Srila Prabhupada explained that in different species of life, different senses are prominent. The living entity in that species will be attracted by that sense. For example, when a bait is on hook and bait is calling the fish, “Come on and enjoy me, come on and enjoy me.” As soon as fish goes to get bait, he is caught and he dies. Similarly, when the hunter wants to attract a deer, the hunter will play some beautiful, smooth music, and the deer will be attracted. So, music is maya, music is saying, “Come on and enjoy me, come on and enjoy me.” When he come to enjoy, hunter catches it. So, the very strong—how to catch an elephant? It is not a small thing to catch an elephant. The hunter will find big ditch. . .[break]

So, you are engage in the service of the Lord and enjoying transcendental bless in Krishna consciousness. So, it doesn’t matter whether you live or die because, in either case, you will serve Lord Krishna and will enjoy transcendental happiness. A devotee need not wait until the time of death to enjoy the benefits of Krishna consciousness. He can enjoy even in this present life, jivanmukta, one who is fully engaged in the service of the Lord with body, mind, and words, jivanmuktas ucatate. You are considered liberated even in same body. We don’t have to wait until the time of death to enjoy the benefits of Krishna consciousness. We can enjoy it now.