BG 7.1 – Accept Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Giriraj Swami: We shall read from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Chapter Seven, “Knowledge of the Absolute.”

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Srila Prabhupada explains that the middle six chapters of Bhagavad-gītā are the most confidential, and they are protected on either side by six chapters. But the middle six are the real essence of Bhagavad-gītā. So, we begin with Chapter Seven,

TEXT 1

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha
yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ
asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ
yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear, O son of Pṛthā, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In this Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the nature of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is fully described. Kṛṣṇa is full in all opulences, and how He manifests such opulences is described herein. Also, four kinds of fortunate people who become attached to Kṛṣṇa and four kinds of unfortunate people who never take to Kṛṣṇa are described in this chapter.

In the first six chapters of Bhagavad-gītā, the living entity has been described as nonmaterial spirit soul capable of elevating himself to self-realization by different types of yogas. At the end of the Sixth Chapter, it has been clearly stated that the steady concentration of the mind upon Kṛṣṇa, or in other words Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the highest form of all yoga. By concentrating one’s mind upon Kṛṣṇa, one is able to know the Absolute Truth completely, but not otherwise. Impersonal brahma-jyotir or localized Paramātmā realization is not perfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth, because it is partial. Full and scientific knowledge is Kṛṣṇa, and everything is revealed to the person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

So here in Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says that by practice of bhakti-yoga, one can know Him in full. Actually, the Absolute Truth has three features: Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. Brahman is the impersonal effulgence which emanates from the transcendental body of Krishna. Paramātmā is the localized Supersoul, The Lord within the heart but the last word in God realization is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or Krishna in the spiritual world. Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā describes Lord Krishna,

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

Krishna, who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual form. He is the origin of all, but He Himself has no origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes. So, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ; “sat” means eternal, “cid” means knowledge, and “ānanda” means bliss. So, realization of impersonal Brahman is realization of “sat,” or eternity. Realization of Paramatma, the Lord within the heart is realization of “sat” and “cid”, eternity and knowledge. But realization of Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is realization in full—sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ eternity, knowledge, and bliss. Everyone in the material world wants pleasure, but unfortunately, we do not know how to get to pleasure. But Krishna Himself is reservoir of all pleasure. So, if we go to Krishna, we can satisfy our thirst for pleasure. Someone may be thirsty, and he may get a cup of water but his thirst may not be satisfied. But if he goes to the reservoir, he can take any amount of water to quench his thirst. So, we want pleasure, and if we go to the reservoir of pleasure, we can satisfy our thirst.

One Vaishnava poet has described the material world to be like a desert, and in the desert, everyone is thirsty. So, if in the desert someone says, “I will give you water, one drop.” Well, yes, you can say that you have gotten water, but what will one drop of water do? We require gallons and gallons of water, not just one drop. So, the material world is compared to a desert, and the one drop of water is sense gratification. Maya offers us one drop, and what is the one drop? Just sense gratification. It cannot satisfy us. The happiness of society, friendship, and love cannot satisfy us. Only Krishna can satisfy us. So, although the jnanis or mental speculators want to become one with Brahman or impersonal light, they cannot get real happiness in impersonal light, because variety is the mother of enjoyment. We cannot enjoy without variety. So, although the jnanis try to merge and become one with the impersonal brahmajyoti, they do not get any real pleasure there, and therefore, even if they rise to the position of impersonal merging Brahman, they cannot remain because they want happiness. And although in Brahman one gets relief from suffering, one does not get real happiness.

Srila Prabhupada gives the example that a patient is suffering from fever, so he takes a cure, and the fever is reduced. The temperature becomes normal. But even if his temperature is normal, as long as he continues to lie in bed and does not engage in normal activities, can we say that the patient is cured? No. So the impersonalists, they want to bring down the fever of material existence. Even if they bring down the fever of material existence, unless they get engaged in normal, healthy activities, they are not really cured. And normal, healthy, spiritual activities are devotional service to Lord Krishna. So therefore, only devotional service can really satisfy the soul. Even coming to the stage of impersonal realization, even then the soul is not satisfied. And therefore, the Bhāgavatam says patanti adhaḥ, even after they rise to the highest position of impersonal realization, patanti adhaḥ again they fall down. Just like we can send a rocket ship into outer space, but unless the rocket ship finds some shelter, again it will come back to Earth. So similarly, the impersonal jnanis and yogis, they may rise to impersonal Brahman, but because they don’t get shelter under the lotus feet of Krishna, again they fall down. So, the achievement attained by the devotees is much higher than the achievement attained by the karmis and jnanis. And not only is the achievement greater, but it is permanent, whereas the achievement of the karmis and jnanis is not permanent.

PURPORT (continued)

In complete Kṛṣṇa consciousness one knows that Kṛṣṇa is ultimate knowledge beyond any doubts.

COMMENT

So, asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ means without any doubt. In other processes, one doesn’t get immediate realization of transcendental bliss. And therefore, one always has doubts whether he is making progress. We had one devotee who came to Krishna consciousness who previously was a yogi in the Himalayas. And he had actually studied under a bonafide yogi. And he said that the yoga process takes so long before one gets any tangible result that the yogis never know whether they are actually making progress or not. And therefore, by the arrangement of the Lord, as the yogi makes progress, he is able to experience yoga siddhis or mystic perfections. But the yogi is not supposed to enjoy the mystic perfections. But the mystic perfections that he gets are just indications that he is making progress and that he should continue. And if the yogi actually tries to enjoy yogic siddhis, he is considered to be fallen. He has become diverted or distracted from the real purpose of yoga, which is to realize the Lord in the heart, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino, the yogi sees the Lord within the heart in meditation.

PURPORT (continued)

Different types of yoga are only steppingstones on the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One who takes directly to Kṛṣṇa consciousness automatically knows about brahma-jyotir and Paramātmā in full.

COMMENT

In other words, if you get a million rupees, ten rupees and one rupee are automatically included. So, when one realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he automatically realizes Paramātmā and Brahman, which are very small parts of the Absolute Truth.

PURPORT (continued)

By practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness yoga, one can know everything in full – namely the Absolute Truth, the living entities, the material nature, and their manifestations with paraphernalia.

One should therefore begin yoga practice as directed in the last verse of the Sixth Chapter. Concentration of the mind upon Kṛṣṇa the Supreme is made possible by prescribed devotional service in nine different forms, of which śravaṇam is the first and most important. The Lord therefore says to Arjuna, tac chṛṇu, or “Hear from Me.”

COMMENT

So, we all have images of the yogi practicing meditation in the Himalayas or in the forest. But what are the practices of the bhakti yogi? So, the practices of the bhakti yogi basically are nine, and the first is śravaṇam, just like you are sitting and listening. That is śravaṇam, the beginning of bhakti-yoga. So Here, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, tac chṛṇu, “Hear from Me,” because the beginning of bhakti-yoga is to hear, and hear from whom? Hear from Krishna, hear from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or from Krishna’s representative who repeats the same message as Krishna. Just like here in Krishna consciousness, we do not manufacture any new theory or any new procedures. We simply repeat the same message as Krishna, the same philosophy as Bhagavad-gītā, and the same process as given in Bhagavad-gītā. So therefore, hearing from the representative of Krishna is as good as hearing from Krishna Himself, because the representative of Krishna just presents the message of Krishna as it is, without any addition or subtraction, without any compromise with mundane ideas, but as it is, just as Krishna spoke Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna and Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gītā from Krishna.

Therefore, Srila Prabhupada has named his edition of Bhagavad-gītā, “Bhagavad-gītā As It Is,” without any interpretation or adulteration; as it is. Just as Krishna spoke it five thousand years ago, and just as Arjuna understood it. And how did Arjuna understand Bhagavad-gītā? He accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān. So, we should accept Krishna in the same way as Arjuna. We should accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And Arjuna further stated, sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye, that, “My Dear Lord Krishna I accept as truth whatever You have said in total.” Not that he accepted part of what Krishna said and rejected a part. So, Arjuna accepted everything that Krishna said as the absolute truth, sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye. He didn’t accept one portion and reject another portion. Probably, you know the half-hen logic. Once, the farmer had a hen, and the hen was laying eggs. So, the farmer thought, “Well, the hind portion of the hen is very valuable because the hind portion is giving the eggs. But the neck portion is very troublesome because we have to feed the neck portion.” So, he thought, Well, let us just cut the neck portion and keep the hind portion. So, of course, as soon as he cuts the neck portion, the poor creature died, and he couldn’t get any more eggs.

So, we have to accept the Bhagavad-gītā as it is, in total, not cutting some portions. Generally, the karmis, when they come to the verse “karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana,” they think, Oh, this is very valuable. Let us keep this portion. And when they come to the verse “sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja,” “Give up all your nonsense and surrender to Krishna,” they think, Oh, this part is very troublesome. Let us cut this part. So similarly, the impersonalists, when they come to the verse where Krishna says, “I am in all things, and all things are in Me,” they think, Oh, this is very valuable. We should keep this. But when they come to the part, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru, Always think of Me, become My devotee, bow down to Me, and worship Me,” they think, “This is very bothersome. We should cut this part. So, Arjuna showed us how to accept the Bhagavad-gītā as it is, as the Absolute Truth, in total, not accepting one portion and rejecting one portion but accepting it completely.

So, Srila Prabhupada has presented Bhagavad-gītā as it is Krishna spoke it five thousand years ago, and as Arjuna understood it five thousand years ago. And if we accept it [Break in audio 00:32:27], tangible benefit. There are some commentators who interpret that Kurukshetra means the body, and the Kauravas are the one hundred sinful desires, and the Pandavas are the five senses, and Krishna represents the higher self, and Arjuna represents the lower self. But why interpret? Kurukshetra is there. If you take the railway from Delhi, you will come to the railway station Kurukshetra, and you can see the field of Kurukshetra. Kurukshetra is mentioned in various places in the Vedas as a holy place of pilgrimage. So, when Kurukshetra is there, why should we interpret that Kurukshetra is the body, that Krishna is the higher self, that Arjuna is the lower self? That means we are not accepting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. We are interpreting. If the direct meaning is not clear, then we can interpret. But if the direct meaning is clear, why should we interpret? Just like we quoted the verse man-manā bhava mad-bhakto; so some so-called scholar of Bhagavad-gītā has commented that it is not to the person Krishna that we must surrender, but it is to the unknown, unknowable, unmanifest, nameless, formless, senseless, that is speaking through Krishna.

So, such persons have no actual knowledge of Krishna. They do not know that Krishna is the Absolute and that there is no difference between Krishna’s inside and Krishna’s outside, and therefore they mislead the readers. Srila Prabhupada says that, “If I say, ‘Bring me a glass of water,’ and then someone else says, ‘No, don’t give the glass of water to Swamiji, but throw the glass of water on the wall behind the Swami.’” So Krishna says directly, “Surrender to Me,” but the commentators say, “No, don’t surrender to Krishna, but surrender to something behind Krishna.” So, such interpretations completely mislead the students of Bhagavad-gītā, and therefore, Srila Prabhupada took great pains to present Bhagavad-gītā as it is. So, when Krishna says, tac chṛṇu, ‘hear from Me’ we should hear from Krishna just as Arjuna heard from Krishna accepting Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and accepting whatever He said as the Absolute Truth, then we can make progress on the path of bhakti.

PURPORT (continued)

No one can be a greater authority than Kṛṣṇa, and therefore by hearing from Him one receives the greatest opportunity to become a perfectly Kṛṣṇa conscious person. One has therefore to learn from Kṛṣṇa directly or from a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa – and not from a nondevotee upstart, puffed up with academic education.

COMMENT

Sanskrit scholarship is no qualification for understanding Bhagavad-gītā. There are many Sanskrit scholars, but Lord Krishna Himself chose Arjuna to be the first student of Bhagavad-gītā. Why? Arjuna was not a Sanskrit scholar. He was not a Vedantist. He was not even a brahman what to speak of a sannyasi, he was a kshatriya. He was a warrior. So, out of all the persons that Krishna could have chosen to hear Bhagavad-gītā, why did He choose Arjuna? Lord Krishna Himself gives the answer: “bhakto ‘si me sakhā ceti, because you are My devotee and you are not envious of Me, I shall make you the first student of Bhagavad-gītā.” So, only someone who is the devotee of Krishna, in a relationship with Krishna, can understand Bhagavad-gītā. And therefore, if we want to understand Bhagavad-gītā, we must learn from a devotee. Because no one except a devotee can actually understand Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada says we should hear either from Krishna directly or from a pure devotee of Krishna. A pure devotee of Krishna worships only Krishna. He does not worship any demigod, what to speak of any ordinary human being. And he engages in no other activity except bhakti-yoga. That is a pure devotee. So we should hear Bhagavad-gītā and take lessons in Bhagavad-gītā from a pure devotee, who has no other lord than Krishna, who has no other engagement than devotional service. In fact, at the end of the Gītā-māhātmya, we find the statement, “Let there be one God, Krishna. Let there be one hymn, the holy name of Krishna. Let there be one scripture, Bhagavad-gītā, and let there be one work, devotional service to Krishna.” So, Krishna consciousness is the real platform of unity: one scripture, one God, one hymn, and one activity.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam this process of understanding Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, is described in the Second Chapter of the First Canto as follows:

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ
kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ
sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati

evaṁ prasanna-manaso
bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ
bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ
mukta-saṅgasya jāyate

bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś
chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi
dṛṣṭa evātmanīśvare

“To hear about Kṛṣṇa from Vedic literatures, or to hear from Him directly through the Bhagavad-gītā, is itself righteous activity. “

COMMENT

So, all of you are sitting here and hearing about Krishna, and just by sitting and hearing about Krishna, you are becoming pious. Actually, in Vedic civilization, the central point of all activities, was Krishna. There was no social function, no family function, no religious function without the central point of Krishna. Srila Prabhupada explains when he was a child, he lived in Calcutta, but his parents used to take him into the suburbs outside the city to visit relatives. So, every night in the village, in the suburbs, and the town, everyone in the village would gather together and hear about kṛṣṇa-kathā. Hear some recitation of Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Rāmāyaṇa. And sometimes there would be some dramatic performances of kṛṣṇa-līlā or rāma-līlā. So, people’s time was filled with Krishna consciousness, with kṛṣṇa-kathā. And Srila Prabhupada describes how he was just a child, so at the end of the program, his parents would go in the carriage back to Calcutta. And in the carriage, Srila Prabhupada would be lying on the laps of his mother or father, and they would be discussing the pastimes of Krishna, the pastimes of Rama, which they had just heard in the kathā. And thus, hearing about Rama and Krishna, thinking about Rama and Krishna, as a small child, Srila Prabhupada would fall asleep. So, everything was Krishna, centered in Krishna. And the first point is hearing. So, you can do the same thing here. Every evening, come to the temple and hear about kṛṣṇa-kathā. Or, if you can’t come to the temple every evening, then at home; you take Bhagavad-gītā, you gather all the members of the family together, and you read and discuss. Or you invite friends to read and discuss, to chant Hare Krishna, and then you distribute prasāda.

Actually, whatever we are doing here in the temple, you can do at home. Very few persons will be able to actually live in the temple. And what is the purpose of the temple? The purpose of the temple is to show the example of how you can practice Krishna consciousness even at home. Because there is nothing that we do in the temple that you can’t do at home. You saw we chanted Hare Krishna. You can chant Hare Krishna at home. Now we are reading from Bhagavad-gītā and discussing, you can read from Bhagavad-gītā and discuss. Of course, the best is to come to the temple as often as possible, at least once a week and best every day. And if you cannot come every day, then you can engage in the same activity at home. There is nothing really we do here that you cannot do at home. And at different places, we do have regular weekly satsaṅgas, of which you are all invited to attend.

PURPORT (continued)

And for one who hears about Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is dwelling in everyone’s heart, acts as a best-wishing friend and purifies the devotee who constantly engages in hearing of Him.

COMMENT

Yes, hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām;suhṛt satām, satām means truthful devotee, sat – truthful devotee, who is a truthful devotee? A truthful devotee is one who has no other interest besides Krishna consciousness. In other words, not a pretender who comes to the temple and makes a show of devotional service but whose intention is something different but truthful. He sincerely wants to understand Krishna. He sincerely wants to serve Krishna. Krishna, within the heart of the truthful devotee who hears the messages of Krishna, will cleanse the dirt, or the desire for material enjoyment. Actually, our hearts are dirty. They are filled with so many bad qualities, so many sinful desires. And if we have to clean our hearts by our own efforts, we will have a very difficult time. But here, Krishna says that, “If someone just hears about Me, if someone is eager to understand Me, I become so pleased that I Myself, as his well-wishing friend within the heart, take up the job of cleaning the heart from all dirty things.” Dirty things mean lust, anger, greed, envy, concoct, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, and mātsarya, and any desire except the desire for Krishna consciousness. Desire for bhukti, material enjoyment, or mukti, and impersonal liberation. Krishna conscious cleanses all the dirty things from within the heart just by seeing that the candidate is eager to hear about Krishna.

So, what you are doing here this evening is the beginning. And by repeatedly coming and associating with devotees, and hearing about Krishna, your heart will be cleansed. You will become enlightened in transcendental knowledge, and ultimately, you will be able to taste the nectar for which you are hankering, the nectar of transcendental bliss or Krishna consciousness. And after hearing, comes chanting, śravaṇam kīrtanam. So, come and hear about Krishna, and then chant the holy names of Krishna.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

This is the perfect combination for spiritual realization, śravaṇam kīrtanam; hear about Krishna, chant Hare Krishna and smaraṇam, when you hear about Krishna and speak about Krishna, then naturally you will think about Krishna, that is smaraṇam, and that is Krishna consciousness. Hare Krishna.

So, are there any questions or comments?

Question: In Kali-yuga, is the chanting of Hare Krishna maha-mantra more important than deity worship?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. If we make a comparison, chanting Hare Krishna is the most important of all devotional practices. But still, the chanting and deity worship should go side by side. Deity worship is also important because pure chanting is possible for one who is liberated. If one is liberated, he can chant twenty-four hours and he will never feel tired. But most of the persons that we meet are not liberated. They are not able to chant twenty-four hours. In fact, just to chant sixteen rounds, which takes about two hours, is an effort. Even sixteen rounds, they don’t chant. So, what about the other twenty-two hours? We need some other engagement that will keep us connected with Krishna consciousness. So, one of the other engagements is deity worship. Deity worship is very important. In fact, Srila Rupa Gosvami compiled Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which is the complete science of bhakti-yoga, and he has listed sixty-four items of devotional service. Now, of the sixty-four items, he has listed five which are most powerful: sādhu-saṅga—associating with advanced devotees, nāma-kīrtana—chanting the holy names of Krishna, bhāgavata-śravaṇa—hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā, mathurā-vāsa—residing in a holy place like Mathura, Vrindavan, or in a temple of Krishna, and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana—to serve the deity with faith and devotion. So, deity worship is also one of the five most potent forms of devotional service, and we should do both: chant Hare Krishna and worship the deity.

Srila Prabhupada has given the example that just as a railway car moves forward on two tracks, similarly, our Krishna consciousness also moves forward along two tracks: hearing and chanting about Krishna, and worshipping the deity of Krishna. Just like if a train were to try to move forward on one track, it would fall over. So similarly, if the neophyte devotee tries to move forward either just by chanting and not worshipping, or just by worshipping and not chanting, he will become derailed. So, we do both.

Question: Krishna and His dhāma are non-different. How can one atone for any sinful activity performed in a holy place?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, one’s service is magnified in a holy dhāma, but offenses are also magnified. Therefore, ordinary people are recommended to visit the holy dhāma for three days only. Because for three days, they are expected to be able to follow the regulative principles: no eating meat, fish, or eggs; no taking intoxicants, even coffee, tea, and cigarettes; no gambling; and no illicit sex. And of course, in the holy dhāma, there should not be any of these at all. So, if an ordinary person goes to the holy dhāma and spends a longer time, more than three days, he may feel restless. “I have to have a cigarette; I have to have a drink.” So therefore, three days is enough. But of course, if one is already purified and is accustomed to following the regulated principles and chanting Hare Krishna, then he can stay longer. But one should visit the dhāma for three days or for such period of time where he can strictly follow the regulative principles and not commit offenses. If one has committed some offense, then one should take shelter of the holy name and chant the holy names.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Question: Please, Maharaja, explain to us the process of birth and death and why there are so many people suffering. We have have recently heard, that in Algeria, people are organizing a jihad, spiritual war, and killing other people to bring them back to Godhead.

Giriraj Swami: So, people come into the material world because they want to take the place of Krishna. Instead of accepting Krishna as the Supreme Enjoyer, they want to be the enjoyer. They want to be the proprietor. They want to be the controller. So, there are so many teeny little imitation Krishnas are in the material world, and each little imitation god does not like the other imitation gods getting in the way. So they declare war on the other imitation gods, and they fight. There are so many miseries in the material world. Of course, war is a very major misery, but with or without war, we have to suffer in any case. Birth, death, disease, old age—these are the real problems of life. But ordinary persons do not consider the real problems of life. In fact, they think that they are inevitable. But an intelligent person will think, “I am suffering repeated birth, death, disease, old age. I don’t want to suffer, but I am being forced to suffer. Why? And how can I become free from suffering? When such intelligent inquiry comes, then one is actually considered a human being. Otherwise, he is just an animal—eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. So, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, he was the Prime Minister of Nawab Hussain Shah. He was very learned in scripture and in various languages like Sanskrit and Persian. But when he met Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he said that, “Although persons call me learned, I am so learned that I do not even know who I am.” Therefore, he asks Lord Chaitanya, “ke āmi” Who am I? Why have I come into the material world? Why am I being forced to suffer, although I do not want to suffer? And how can I become free from suffering?” Then Lord Chaitanya gave the answers. “jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ Your actual identity is that you are the eternal servant of Krishna. And why are you suffering in the material world? Because you have forgotten your eternal relationship with Krishna. And how can you become free from suffering? By reviving your eternal relationship with Krishna.”

So, Krishna consciousness is the only real way to become free from suffering. Otherwise, you can do whatever you like, but you cannot escape suffering. Nobody wants disease, and to counteract disease, there are so many hospitals, so many doctors, so many nurses, so many medicines, but we have not been able to stop disease. Rather, disease is increasing. If we were actually able to stop disease, then all the hospitals should become empty, all the patients should go home, the doctors should be free. We cannot stop disease; rather, disease is increasing. So, there is always a cry—more hospitals, more doctors, more nurses, more beds, more medicines. Diseases are increasing. So, we cannot stop birth, we cannot stop death, we cannot stop disease, we cannot stop old age by any material means. But if we surrender to Krishna and become Krishna conscious, we can become liberated from the repetition of birth and death.