Start Your Preparation Now—Lecture to Officers at Bank of India

Giriraj Swami: Bhagavad-gītā is universal science which explains the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, and the relationship between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul? It is not sectarian. According to Bhagavad-gītā, the identity of the living entity is that he is a spirit soul. He is not the body, but he is the soul within the body. And when the soul leaves the body, we say the body is dead. So the real person is the soul, and the body is just like an apartment. And when the soul leaves one apartment, it enters into another apartment. But the soul never dies.

And what kind of apartment the soul enters depends on the activities of the soul. Just like, say, we are living in an apartment, and then the landlord tells us we must vacate, or the government tells us we must vacate. So where will we go? We have to stay somewhere. So we have to go somewhere. And according to our savings, our earnings, we can get a better apartment or a lesser apartment. We can get our own bungalow, or we may have to live in a hut.

So similarly, according to our karma or activities, we get our next body. And if we have performed pious activities, we can get a better body. And if we perform sinful activities, we’ll get a worse body. Worse body means further from God consciousness or Krishna consciousness. We can even get an animal body or a plant body. So there is no guarantee that having come to the human form of life, one will necessarily get a human birth in the next life. You may actually descend again into lower species.

But the purpose of human life and the purpose of Vedic civilization is to come out of the repetition of birth and death, to be liberated. And the way to come out of the repetition of birth and death is to realize God, to surrender to God. If one takes birth, eats, sleeps, has children, and dies, he is considered no better than an animal. They also take birth; they eat, sleep, reproduce, and die. But the human form of life has added intelligence.

And in the human form of life, what is actually meant to make a permanent solution to the problems of life? And what are the problems of life—Repeated birth, death, old age, and disease. Nobody wants to get disease, but we are forced to get disease. Nobody wants to grow old, but we are forced to grow old. Nobody wants to die, but we are forced to die. So these are the problems of life. And these problems cannot be solved by any material means, although the scientists, the politicians, and others pretend that they can solve the problems of life, but they cannot.

Like disease, in spite of so many developments in medical science, we have not been able to stop disease. Rather, disease is always increasing. So we always need more hospitals, more doctors, more nurses, more medicines, more beds. If disease, if we could actually stop disease, then the hospital should become empty. All the patients should go home. The doctors should be out of work.

And old age, nobody even talks about stopping old age or death. We have become so callous that we accept that we have to grow old, we have to die. But actually, we do not want to grow old, and we do not want to die, because the soul is eternal. And it is only on account of the body that we have to suffer old age, disease, and death.

So according to Vedic civilization, there are different stages of life, and all of the stages are meant to prepare one for the time of death. Because at the time of death, if we can think of God, Krishna, then we go to God or Krishna. We do not have to take birth again in the miserable material world. But in order to think of God at the time of death, we have to begin now. We have to practice.

Death is compared to the final examination. So just as in school, if one attends the lectures, does the homework, writes the papers, then when the time for the final exam comes, he can pass the final exam without difficulty. But if he doesn’t go to the lectures, if he doesn’t do the assigned reading, if he doesn’t write the required papers, then he may fail. So we also have to prepare for the time of death, so that we can remember God at the time of death, or chant God’s holy name at the time of death, which means we have to start to prepare now.

And in Vedic civilization, one is supposed to retire at the age of fifty, so that one can devote himself fully to God consciousness or Krishna consciousness. So here, of course, you are given until the age of fifty-eight, but all right, better late than never. Even from the age of fifty-eight, or sixty, or any age, you can take up the real work of life, which is to become God conscious or Krishna conscious.

Now, according to Vedic literatures, the recommended method to become God conscious in the present age is to chant the holy names of God and to hear about God from authoritative sources. So specifically for the modern age, the holy names of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare are recommended. And to understand the science of God, we can hear from Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is the primary textbook, and then there are so many other books when one is ready.

So this is how we should use our time: chanting the holy names of God and reading about the science of God. But how much time can we spend chanting Hari Krishna? How much time can we spend reading Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Maybe six hours a day, maybe less, maybe more. Then how will we occupy the rest of the day?

Well, there are so many activities in the service of the Lord called devotional service. Actually, even in the temple, our morning prayers go from about four thirty to eight thirty and then again in the evening from seven to nine. So that is six hours, and then the rest of the day is filled with devotional activities in the service of the Lord.

So whatever ability one has, he can use it in the service of the Lord. For example, suppose someone knows how to cook, someone likes to cook, he can cook for Krishna. Someone knows how to clean; he can clean for Krishna, for God. If someone knows administration, because we also have a big organization, he can use his skills in administration in the service of the Lord, to propagate the message of Krishna. Probably we need accountants, and other people trained like you to help in the administration of the organization.

So whatever you know how to do, whatever you can do expertly, whatever you like to do, you can do it for the mission of the Lord. And that is how one is supposed to spend his life after the age of fifty. That is called vanaprastha ashram. Van means forest. So previously, people used to go to the forest, especially Vrindavan, which is the holy place of Sri Krishna. But now, there are so many temples of Krishna all over the world; one need not go to Vrindavan. Although, Vrindavan is a very nice place to go, to enjoy one’s retired life.

But otherwise, we have very major temples in Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, then Vrindavan, the holy place near Delhi, then Mayapur, the holy place near Calcutta. And there are so many temples throughout India that you can visit. But this is really the duty of every human being. And if we do not perform the activities we are meant to perform as human beings, in other words, if we neglect Krishna consciousness, we again come back in this cycle of birth and death. And we may even descend into the lower species of life. We do not know because everything depends on our thoughts at the time of death.

There was one famous king of India, Bharata Maharaja. He gave up his beautiful wife, affectionate children, kingdom, servants, treasury, everything, and he went to the forest to realize God. But somehow, he became attached to a deer. He took pity on a deer, and he became attached to a deer. And somehow, at the time of death, he thought of the deer, so in his next life, he had to take birth as a deer. So we have to be very careful. Death can come at any moment, and if we are not practiced to think of Krishna, then we may think of anything at the time of death and get a body accordingly.

So when we say Krishna, we mean God. Some people have the idea that God is impersonal, but according to Bhagavad-gītā, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham. Lord Krishna says He is the basis of Impersonal Brahman. Now, if we have to think of something impersonal at the time of death, how can we think of something impersonal? It is very difficult. But Krishna has His name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, so we can easily think of Krishna at the time of death and go to Krishna.

But some people think that beyond Krishna is some unknown, unknowable, nameless, formless one, and that we should try to merge and become one with the one. But such ideas are not really approved by Bhagavad-gītā. Rather, Bhagavad-gītā says that Krishna is the origin of everything. He is also the origin of impersonal brahmajyoti, but to worship the impersonal is very difficult, whereas to serve the person Krishna is very easy. And especially in the modern age, we can serve Him and realize Him by chanting His holy name, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

So, we can just practice reciting the mantra for a few minutes. Like I said, it is universal; it is for everyone. There is only one God. He may have different names in different languages and different cultures, but there is only one God. And if someone wants to chant the name of Jesus Christ, we can chant the name of Jesus Christ. If someone wants to chant the name of Allah, you can chant the name of Allah or any bona fide name of God found in any bonafide scripture. But since we are following the incarnation of God for the modern age of Kali, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and since He chanted Hare Krishna, so we also chant Hare Krishna. But there is no question of a Hindu god or Muslim god or Christian god; there is only one God. So please repeat after me. Don’t feel shy. So please repeat:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

And I will try eight words again. Try to listen carefully and repeat properly.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

So now, do any of you have any questions?

Devotee1: [Unintelligible 00:18:50]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, the form of Krishna is not material. Although He has form—His eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, legs, everything that we have—but our bodies are material; they’re made of flesh and blood and bones. But Krishna’s body is spiritual, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. Our bodies are subject to old age, and Krishna’s body never ages. When Krishna was on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, speaking Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, by material calculation, He was more than hundred years old. He had children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. But we never see a picture of Krishna as an old man with wrinkles and walking with a stick because His body is spiritual, and it never deteriorates.

So we worship Krishna with form, but we should not misunderstand that the form is material, like ours. The form of Krishna is spiritual. In the case of conditioned souls like us, the body is different, and the soul is different. The soul is spiritual, and the body is material. But in the case of Krishna, He is completely spiritual. There is no difference between body and soul in Krishna. His body is made of the same substance as our souls.

And in Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says “mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat” that He is the highest truth. Some people mistakenly think that there is something impersonal which is higher than Krishna. There is nothing beyond Krishna; there is nothing higher than Krishna. And just as the sunshine comes from the sun globe, similarly, the impersonal spiritual light called brahmajyoti comes from the transcendental body of Krishna. So Krishna is higher than brahmajyoti, not that brahmajyoti is more than Krishna.

You should read Bhagavad-gītā. All questions are answered in Bhagavad-gītā. But you should read Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Bhagavad-gītā is called Bhagavad-gītā As It Is because he presents Bhagavad-gītā just as Krishna spoke it five thousand years ago, and just as Arjuna understood it, without any interpretation or compromise or adulteration. So we should receive Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Then we will get the real benefit. Otherwise, so many translators and commentators put their own ideas in the name of Bhagavad-gītā. So we should accept Bhagavad-gītā just as Krishna spoke and as Arjuna understood. And how did he understand Bhagavad-gītā? First, he accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ, and He accepted everything that Krishna said as truth – sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye. He accepted everything as truth in total, not accepting some part and rejecting some part, picking, and choosing that “I like this; I don’t like this.” He accepted everything that Krishna said as truth. So we accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Krishna’s words in Bhagavad-gītā as absolute truth. As Arjuna did, we can get the real benefit of Bhagavad-gītā

Are there any other questions?

So, what are you planning to do after you retire? Have you thought about what you are going to do after you retire?

You will start some business with your son? He will join your business, and then what will happen to you at the time of death? What will happen to you at the time of death? But what will come in your next life? Have you thought about it? So what will happen to you in your next life?

You give your time to God. Very good.

And what is your conception of God? I agree that God is everywhere, but if you want to serve God, you have to know who He is and what He wants.

Do you want peace? Spend peace, yes. I agree. I agree with everything you have said. But unless you know who God is and what His instructions are, how will you know how to give your time to Him? You have to have knowledge.

Suppose you say that you know that after retirement, you want to serve the president. But you have to know who the president is and what the president wants. Otherwise, it is just vague. So we are saying Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What Krishna wants is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. You study Bhagavad-gītā; you learn Bhagavad-gītā. Then you will know how to devote your time to God. We cannot make up our own method of service to God; we have to serve God the way God tells us. So that’s why we have Bhagavad-gītā. That’s why we have educational institutions to teach people who God is and what God wants. Then your ambition will be fulfilled.

It is true that only in Krishna consciousness or God consciousness can you be peaceful. Otherwise, you cannot be peaceful. I agree with you.

What is your plan? Yes, after retirement. After retirement, what?

Devotee 1: I want to live in peace

Giriraj Swami: And how to achieve peace? Do you have any idea?

Devotee 1: By serving the poor. [Unintelligible 00:28:00]

Giriraj Swami: Okay, so now we will have some chanting. Because the reason I said everyone needs help is because everyone is going to die. Everyone is going to grow old, everyone is going to get a disease, and nobody wants it. You may be the prime minister, but still, you are going to die. You may be the richest man; you may be the poorest man. Still, you are bound to suffer. So everyone needs help; everyone needs relief from suffering. And we should know the method how to relieve suffering. Then you can really do good for others. Otherwise, if one doesn’t know the method, then it is like the blind leading the blind, nobody is really making progress.

So, serving the body, or even serving the mind, does not give any real lasting benefit because sooner or later the body is going to be finished, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, even with the doctor’s help and medicine and all facilities. But death will come, and nobody wants to die. So, we have to show people how to get out of the repetition of death and death. That will be a permanent solution. Other things are only temporary.

Devotee 2: [Unintelligible: 00:32:00]

Giriraj Swami: Well, he is giving his instructions in Bhagavad-gītā. So, if you want to do what he wants you to do, and then you can learn from Bhagavad-gītā what he wants you to do.

Devotee 2: [Unintelligible: 00:33:06]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, if you engage in pious activities, puṇya, you will get some material reward. And if you engage in sinful activities, or pāpa, you will get some punishment. Dharma, or religion, dharma is defined as the orders of God, and that which violates the orders of God is sin. So, there are actually three types of activities. Karma means regulative activities according to scripture. Then vikarma is an activity against the scriptures, and for such activities, we are punished. But then, beyond karma and vikarma, is akarma. Akarma means transcendental activities performed for the satisfaction of Krishna, for which there is no material result. There is no material good result, there is no material bad result, because even if you do puṇya, you have to take birth again to enjoy the results. And definitely, if you do pāpa, you will have to take birth again to suffer the reaction. So, only by akarma, or spiritual activities done in Krishna consciousness, can one be liberated from having to take birth again. So, that is what we need to do.

And why do we engage in sinful activities? “nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma.” Because people are mad for material enjoyment. They’re mad after sense gratification. They engage in all sorts of forbidden activities, which is not good for them. Because of such sinful activities, they’re forced to get another material body and suffer life after life. Any other questions? Yes,

Devotee 3: I have a question in my mind for a long time [Unintelligible 00:37:39]

Giriraj Swami: One can progress stage by stage, or one can go directly. Like if you want to get to the top of a tall building, you can walk the stairs and go step by step, or you can take the lift and reach the top immediately. So, we are giving the lift that one can go straight to the top by chanting Hare Krishna. Even if someone is illiterate, if he chants Hare Krishna, He can still hear about Krishna from Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, even if He cannot read himself, and He can reach the goal. If someone comes to us and he wants to surrender to Krishna, and if He wants to learn how to read and write, we’ll teach Him how to read and write.

Devotee 3: [Unintelligible 00:40:43]

Giriraj Swami: We also have schools. We have one here in Juhu, and in different places in India, we have schools.

Devotee 3: [Unintelligible 00:41:19]

Giriraj Swami: You are saying the good qualities are decreasing

Devotee 3: [Unintelligible 00:42:17]

Giriraj Swami: The general tendency in Kali-yuga is for things to get worse. But we can counteract the bad tendencies of Kali-yuga by chanting the holy names. In fact, the Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad says, “iti shodashakam namnam, kali-kalmasha-nashanam” that if you go through the pages of the Vedas, you will not find any better means to counteract the bad effects of Kali-yuga than chanting the sixteen names.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

So, that is how we can counteract the bad effects of Kali-yuga.

Devotee 4: [unintelligible 00:44:04]

Giriraj Swami: Why are the political leaders exploiting because they are not trained properly in Vedic civilization. There is proper training of leaders, but now there is no proper training. Anyone who can get votes by hook or by crook, he can keep you.