SB 2.3.10 – Engage in Bhakti-yoga with Great Force

Giriraj Swami: Well, we will read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The basic text book of yoga is the Bhagavad-gītā and the Bhagavad-gītā discusses various types of yoga, including karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, ashtanga-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. But at the end of the Sixth Chapter, Lord Krishna who is the speaker of the Gītā – says, yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā – “of all different types of yogis, the one who worships Me with faith and devotion is the highest of all”—in other words, bhakti-yoga. And at the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Krishna says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. man-manā means always think of Me, mad-bhakto—become My devotee, mad-yājī – worship Me, and māṁ namaskuru – offer obeisances to Me. And Krishna says if one does that, one will come to Him.

So, we are all spirit souls—our actual identity is as a spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna Who is the supreme soul. And somehow, we have come into the material world, and the material world is just a fraction of the entire creation of God. The material world is compared to a prison—when you are in the prison, and all you know is the prison, it seems very big. But it is small in comparison to what is outside the prison. When you are in the prison, almost everyone else is a prisoner, but the population outside the prison is much greater. So, the material world is like a prison in which we conditioned souls are confined. And in it most people are like us—there are few devotees, bhakti-yogis, but most people are ignorant of their actual identities, who they are, where they came from, where they are going—they are just ignorant. And so, devotees who have knowledge of the world outside the prison approach the prisoners and tell them this is not your real life, you are not meant to suffer in the prison of material existence, you are meant to be free.

Now to be free, means to voluntarily obey the laws of God. Just like in the material world someone in prison is following the laws of the state, but by force. A free person also follows the laws of the state, but voluntarily. So ultimately, we must serve God directly or indirectly. Indirectly means we are in the prison of material existence and we are forced to suffer. The Bhagavad-gītā mentions, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam—that one should always be conscious of the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. But when we are liberated from the prison-like existence, then there is no birth, death, old age, or disease or any misery at all—you are completely free. So, success in human life really means to become free from material bondage and liberated in Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness means being conscious of Krishna. As Krishna says, “man-manā”—always think of me. And there are nine processes of devotional service or bhakti-yoga, and the first three are most central. First is śravaṇam, which is hearing—right now you are engaged in śravaṇam—hearing. And after hearing is kīrtanam which means chanting—earlier we had some of that beautiful music of chanting responsively. Chanting and hearing. And after chanting and hearing comes remembering Krishna. So, there are various processes of bhakti-yoga, but the most central are chanting and hearing, and with chanting and hearing comes remembering.

Now, hearing which is first, śravaṇam, has different stages. The first is śravaṇam which is simple hearing, what we are doing now—hearing. But then there is another stage called mānaha which means reflecting on what you have heard. And then the next stage is applying what you have heard, or meditating what you have heard. So, this is the basic sadhana of hearing. And then as devotees, there is a fourth element, which is prayer—that you pray for the teachings to enter your heart. You can pray to the book, you can pray to the author of the book, you can pray to the subject of the book, to be able to understand the truth, and apply it, and realize it.

So, that is the Bhagavad-gītā—it brings you to the point of bhakti-yoga. And then there is a more advanced book called Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is also a much longer text—the Bhagavad-gītā is seven hundred verses, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is eighteen thousand. So how many times more? Do we have any mathematicians in the group?

Devotee: Thirty?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, it is about twenty-five times longer, thirty times longer.

So, I am going to read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. According to Vedic culture there are four puruṣārthas or four goals in life: dharma, which means performance of religious activities, artha—economic development, kāma—fulfillment of material desires, and mokṣa—liberation. And of all those, mokṣa, liberation, is the most important.

But then there is a fifth, pañcama puruṣārtha, which is pure love for Krishna. And that is considered higher even than liberation.

So, I will read this verse and you will find it very interesting because it applies directly to you. You, who are in the room, fall in different categories. But this verse covers every category, so you are included.

This is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three: “Pure Devotional Service.”

TEXT 10

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaṁ param

TRANSLATION

A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is described in the Bhagavad-gītā as puruṣottama, or the Supreme Personality. It is He only who can award liberation to the impersonalists by absorbing such aspirants in the brahmajyoti, the bodily rays of the Lord. The brahmajyoti is not separate from the Lord, as the glowing sun ray is not independent of the sun disc. Therefore one who desires to merge into the supreme impersonal brahmajyoti must also worship the Lord by bhakti-yoga, as recommended here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhakti-yoga is especially stressed here as the means of all perfection. In the previous chapters it has been stated that bhakti-yoga is the ultimate goal of both karma-yoga and jñāna-yoga, and in the same way in this chapter it is emphatically declared that bhakti-yoga is the ultimate goal of the different varieties of worship of the different demigods. Bhakti-yoga, thus being the supreme means of self-realization, is recommended here. Everyone must therefore seriously take up the methods of bhakti-yoga, even though one aspires for material enjoyment or liberation from material bondage.

Akāmaḥ is one who has no material desire. A living being, naturally being the part and parcel of the supreme whole puruṣaṁ pūrṇam, has as his natural function to serve the Supreme Being, just as the parts and parcels of the body, or the limbs of the body, are naturally meant to serve the complete body.

COMMENT

Laura, in your pocket, you have a hand. And what is the function of that hand?

Devotee: To touch things.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, under whose direction?

Devotee: Mine.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, under your direction. So, in other words your hand is meant to serve you—it is meant to do what you tell it to do, because it is part of you. So, we are part and parcel of Krishna, so we are meant to do what Krishna wants us to do. Now we are meant to serve Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being, naturally being the part and parcel of the supreme whole, has as his natural function to serve the Supreme Being, just as the parts and parcels of the body, or the limbs of the body, are naturally meant to serve the complete body. Desirelessness means, therefore, not to be inert like the stone, but to be conscious of one’s actual position and thus desire satisfaction only from the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this desirelessness as bhajanīya-parama-puruṣa-sukha-mātra-sva-sukhatvam in his treatise Sandarbha. This means that one should feel happy only by experiencing the happiness of the Supreme Lord. This intuition of the living being is sometimes manifested even during the conditioned stage of a living being in the material world, and such intuition is expressed in the manner of altruism, philanthropy—

COMMENT

Alright, let us go one by one. What is altruism? Yes, doing things for others. Philanthropy?

Devotee: Giving away to charitable causes and stuff, like helping the poor.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, philanthropy means giving to others. Charity. Socialism?

Devotee: The idea that you share everything.

Giriraj Swami: Communism? Yes, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need; like socialism. Yes. So, what Srila Prabhupada is saying here is that in the ultimate sense—because we are all part and parcel of Krishna—we will experience happiness only in relation to Krishna. There is a story in India that the limbs of the body thought, we are doing all the work—earning money, buying food, cooking, eating—and the stomach is getting everything, so we should go on strike. So, all the different limbs of the body went on strike. But what happened is that all the different limbs of the body became weaker and weaker. And then they decided that we were doing better when we were serving the stomach. So, Krishna is like the stomach of existence, and by serving Krishna we benefit, and by not serving Krishna we suffer.

So, that is our natural function – to serve Krishna, like the natural function of the hand is to serve the body, or serve the stomach. And if the hand is not serving the stomach, there is something wrong with it—it is diseased, paralyzed, something. So, if we are not serving Krishna, we are in a diseased condition. So, these different manifestations such as altruism, philanthropy, socialism, communism, they are manifestations of the soul’s desire to serve others. But that desire to serve is perfectly and completely fulfilled only in relation to Krishna who is the supreme whole. And it is imperfectly expressed in altruism, philanthropy, and so on within the material world.

PURPORT (continued)

Such intuition is expressed in the manner of altruism, philanthropy, socialism, communism, etc.

COMMENT

What is etcetera? What is e-t-c? What is etcetera? Yes, and so on, yes.

PURPORT (continued)

By the undeveloped minds of less intelligent persons. In the mundane field such an outlook of doing good to others in the form of society, community, family, country, or humanity is a partial manifestation of the same original feeling in which a pure living entity feels happiness by the happiness of the Supreme Lord.

COMMENT

So, it is sort of a reflection of the real happiness that we feel when we render service to the Lord to make Him happy.

PURPORT (continued)

Such superb feelings were exhibited by the damsels of Vrajabhūmi for the happiness of the Lord.

COMMENT

What is a damsel? Yes, a lady. Yes, a lady. And Vrajabhumi—what is Vrajabhumi? So, you asked about the map of creation, so we are in the material world, and beyond the material world is a spiritual sky. And the material world is like a prison—and in terms of the whole cosmology, the material world is like a cloud in the spiritual sky. And within the spiritual sky there are spiritual planets. Just like in the material sky there are material planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and so on. So, within the spiritual sky, there is spiritual planets. And on the spiritual planets, the Supreme Lord in one of His forms presides. Even within the spiritual planets there are gradations, and the top most of the spiritual planets is Krishnaloka—the planet of Krishna. And even in Krishnaloka, there are three sections which also have their gradations – Mathura, Dvaraka, Vrindavan. Vrindavan is the highest. And another name for Vrindavan is Vraja, Vrajabhumi. So, the love of the gopīs—the damsels of Vrindavan, for Krishna—is the purest, and therefore it gives Krishna the greatest happiness. And because the devotee experiences happiness in relation to Krishna, it also gives the devotee the greatest happiness.

PURPORT (continued)

The gopīs loved the Lord without any return, and this is the perfect exhibition of the akāmaḥ spirit.

COMMENT

Kamah means desire and akāmaḥ means without desire. Without desire means without material desire, but in the higher sense it means the desire to make Krishna happy, and in that process one experiences the greatest happiness.

PURPORT (continued)

The Kāma spirit, or the desire for one’s own satisfaction, is fully exhibited in the material world, whereas the spirit of akāmaḥ is fully exhibited in the spiritual world.

COMMENT

In fact, wherever devotees gather in the mood of pleasing Krishna, that is the spiritual world. I mean, it does exist as a geographical place, but it can be experienced anywhere, and that is the idea of the temple. In the temple, everything should be done for the pleasure of Krishna. And if everyone cooperates for the pleasure of Krishna then it is the same experience as the spiritual world. And just like all the different parts of the body, all the different limbs, they work cooperatively—similarly all the devotees work cooperatively for the pleasure of Krishna. You do not have the left hand fighting with the right hand—they all work together.

PURPORT (continued)

Thoughts of becoming one with the Lord, or being merged in the brahmajyoti, can also be exhibitions of the kāma spirit if they are desires for one’s own satisfaction to be free from the material desires.

COMMENT

We mentioned dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa. So kāma—that desire to enjoy for oneself—always ends in frustration. Recently I saw a saying that the greatest obstacle to the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of happiness. So, kāma—that desire to enjoy for oneself—always results in frustration and disappointment. And then the reaction to that is the desire for moksha—to be released from that bondage, liberated from that bondage. But there is something higher, and that is pure love—pañcama puruṣārtha—pure love for Krishna – akāma. That is not the desire for selfish gratification, and it is not the selfish desire for release from the frustration that comes from the pursuit of material happiness. But it is in a completely different category, and it is our constitutional position as parts and parcels of Krishna to serve Him and make Him happy. And when He is satisfied, then we are automatically satisfied and happy.

PURPORT (continued)

A pure devotee does not want liberation so that he may be relieved from the miseries of life. Even without so-called liberation, a pure devotee is aspirant—

COMMENT

What does aspirant mean—what does aspire mean? You probably said it right, I just did not hear.

Yes—aspire means you want it, hope for it, work towards it.

PURPORT (continued)

A pure devotee is aspirant for the satisfaction of the Lord. Influenced by the kāma spirit, Arjuna declined to fight in the Kurukṣetra battlefield because he wanted to save his relatives for his own satisfaction.

COMMENT

How many of you have at least looked at the Bhagavad-gītā, read a little of the Bhagavad-gītā? So, the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken on the battlefield of Kurukshetra and Arjuna was declining to fight because he did not want to have to kill his relatives, which may seem like a nice thing. But his real motive was that his relatives should remain alive so that he could enjoy life with them. In other words, it was a selfish desire.

PURPORT (continued)

But being a pure devotee, he agreed to fight on the instruction of the Lord because he came to his senses and realized that satisfaction of the Lord at the cost of his own satisfaction was his primary duty. Thus he became akāma. That is the perfect stage of a perfect living being.

COMMENT

So, one of my God brothers – godbrother, guru-bhai, means disciple of same guru. So, his service to Krishna was that he was acting as the cook in Juhu, Bombay, at a time when we did not have a temple, really. We just had a very makeshift arrangement. And it was very, very hot in Bombay, and on top of the heat he was cooking on fire—we did not have stoves like people in America and other places—he would literally make a fire. And he was so hot and so exhausted—he was just struggling to push himself through that ordeal of cooking. And then after—somehow managing to get through that meal—he came into the sort of hut where we were living, and he saw a picture of Krishna. And he thought, what is the matter with me? I am just thinking of myself. Here is Krishna—He is also in the same heat, so I should do something for Him. So, he picked up something that he used as a fan, and he started to fan Krishna. By fanning Krishna, he himself became completely relieved from his heat and exhaustion. And this was a practical example from his experience, that if we give up our selfish concerns and just work to make Krishna happy, then all our problems are solved.

PURPORT (continued)

Udāra-dhīḥ means one who has a broader outlook.

COMMENT

Earlier we mentioned how in the Bhagavad-gītā there are different processes of yoga mentioned, and then how Krishna, who is the supreme authority, says that bhakti-yoga is the highest. And so here in this chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a discussion of different demigods. If you want this you should worship this one, if you want this you should worship that one. And at the end of that list comes this statement – “That whether you are free from desire or full of material desires, or desire liberation, if you have broader intelligence, you should worship Krishna, who is the Supreme Whole.” That means there is no need to worship demigods like Brahma, Shiva, Durga, Ganesh, so many demigods—you just worship Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

Udāra-dhīḥ means one who has a broader outlook. People with desires for material enjoyment worship small demigods, and such intelligence is condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) as hṛta-jñāna, the intelligence of one who has lost his senses. One cannot obtain any result from demigods without getting sanction from the Supreme Lord. Therefore a person with a broader outlook can see that the ultimate authority is the Lord, even for material benefits. Under the circumstances, one with a broader outlook, even with the desire for material enjoyment or for liberation, should take to the worship of the Lord directly. And everyone, whether an akāma or sakāma or mokṣa-kāma, should worship the Lord with great expedience. This implies that bhakti-yoga may be perfectly administered without any mixture of karma and jñāna. As the unmixed sun ray is very forceful and is therefore called tīvra, similarly unmixed bhakti-yoga of hearing, chanting, etc., may be performed by one and all regardless of inner motive.

COMMENT

So, this tīvreṇa which means with great force—is the key. And with great force means without mixing bhakti-yoga with karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, ashtanga-yoga because those other processes are weaker, and adding them to bhakti-yoga weakens one’s practice. So, tīvreṇa, by great force means pure bhakti, without mixing these weaker processes. So, if one engages in bhakti-yoga with great force, one will get the happiness that one is looking for, and one will ultimately achieve pure love of Godhead, which is the ultimate goal.

So, I will tell one story that illustrates this principle. There was once a King named King Uttanapada—he had a very big Kingdom. And he had two co-wives. And one day the son of one of those co-wives was playing on his lap while he was sitting on the throne. And the other co-wife objected – “you cannot sit on the throne, because you are not born from my womb.” And the King—although it was his instinct to play with his son—but because he was overly attached to that co-wife, he did not allow his son Dhruva to stay on his lap. And so, Dhruva was very upset, and he went to his mother and told her what happened—that his step-mother said, you cannot sit on the throne because you are not born from my womb. And he wanted his Kingdom, so he asked his mother what to do. So she said, “Unfortunately your father—the King—favors his other wife, so I cannot do anything.” So, then Dhruva asked, “Who can help me?” And she said, “Only God can help you.” “And where do I find God?” He was just a young boy of five years.

Gandharvika, how old are you?

Devotee: Ten.

Giriraj Swami: Can you stand up? This is Gandharvika, she sings very beautifully. Her whole family’s very musical, and she is ten years old. And Dhruva was five years old, that means half of her age. Thank you. Five years old.

So, his mother said, “Only God can help you.” And Dhruva said, “Where can I find God?” And she said, “Well, I don’t know but many sages and saintly persons, they go to the forest to find God.” And so, he left home at the age of five and went to the forest—to the jungle. And he was looking for God—in his own way, as a five-year-old boy, looking behind the trees, looking under the rocks, looking under the logs. Just everywhere. Now, God, Krishna is in everyone’s heart, so He knows the desire of every living entity. And He knew that this boy Dhruva is very sincere to find Me. And so, he sent a guru, Narada Muni to Dhruva. From within the heart of Narada Muni, He inspired him, “That you go to the forest and you will find this boy and he is very eager to reach me.” So, Narada went into the forest and found Dhruva, and he tested him—because sometimes the spiritual master will test the disciple. So, he tested him, and he said, “Dhruva you are only five years old, you should not be taking things so seriously. You should go home and you should just play and have fun like the other children of your age.” And Dhruva replied, “If you can help me find God then I will be very happy, but if you want me to tell me to go home then you should go home.”

So, he showed his determination and he passed the test of his spiritual master. Then the spiritual master instructed him to chant the holy names and to follow different prescriptions which Dhruva did exactly. They were not easy instructions to follow, but because he had faith in his guru and he was eager to achieve the result of God, so he could get his Kingdom, he followed the instructions. And he followed the instructions with such force and such purity, and such adherence that eventually after about six months God came. And Dhruva was overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy of pure love and although he was just a small boy, the Lord touched him on his head. And being touched by the Lord on his head he was blessed with the ability to express his appreciation for the Lord in beautiful prayers that would ordinarily be beyond the capacity of a five-year-old boy.

So, in the end the Lord asked him – “I am very pleased with you, now what can I give you? I am ready to give you whatever you want, I am ready to fulfill whatever desire you have.” And Dhruva replied, “I do not want anything.” And the Lord responded, “But what about your Kingdom? You came to the forest to find Me so you could get your Kingdom—what about your Kingdom?” And Dhruva replied, “That Kingdom was like a piece of broken glass compared to You who are like the most valuable jewel. So, I am a million times more satisfied and I do not want anything else.” Svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi varaṁ na yāce—I am fully satisfied and I do not want any benediction.

So, this is an example, although he began with a material desire, but because he engaged in bhakti-yoga with force—full force and faith—he was ultimately freed from his material desire, and was situated in pure devotional service. So that is the great value of Krishna consciousness—that when one has Krishna consciousness, he is so satisfied that he does not desire anything else. Once Alexander the Great—who knows who is Alexander the Great? Yes, who?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, he was Greek, that is true. And what else about him. Alexander the Great.

Devotee: A philosopher, and conqueror.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, he conquered everywhere he went. He conquered everywhere. So, in his conquering he came to the precincts of India. And there was a yogi sitting in meditation, doing austerities. And it was very hot. So, Alexander the Great was so impressed that he got down from his horse or his chariot, and he approached the yogi and said, “I am Alexander the Great, the conqueror of the world, and I am very impressed with you and I am ready to give you whatever you want. Just ask me whatever you like.” And the yogi replied, “I have only one thing to ask of you, please move to the side, because you are blocking the sunlight.” And that sunlight was hot—that was an austerity. But he was so satisfied with his spiritual practice, he did not want anything from Alexander the Great—he just did not want to be disturbed in his practice.

So, when one gets Krishna consciousness or spiritual consciousness, one is fully satisfied, he does not want anything else. And so even if you begin with desires—most people in the beginning, they do have desires because they do not know about Krishna and love for Krishna, so they may have material desires, or desires to become released from material bondage. But when they learn about bhakti-yoga and if they practice bhakti-yoga with great force without mixing it with other weaker processes, then they become akāma—that means free from any selfish desire, and they desire only Krishna and Krishna’s satisfaction – and that brings them the highest satisfaction and bliss.

And the easiest process – well, chanting and hearing is easy—but the easiest is the chanting of the holy names. 

Hare Krishna.

So, do you have any questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: I find that sometimes I just get almost distracted. I will be really devoted with all my heart and then a week or a month or something I kind of get distracted and not I guess care as much. And then I get back on it. What do you say to that?

Giriraj Swami: Well, that is the mind. And in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says that the mind can be one’s best friend or one’s worst enemy. When the mind is thinking of Krishna and how to serve Krishna and how to please Krishna, it is your best friend. But when your mind tries to take you away from Krishna, like that envious attitude we discussed. We are working and giving everything to the stomach, we are working, we want to enjoy, so when that envious attitude comes, then the mind is acting as our worst enemy. And every conditioned soul is in the material world because of envy of Krishna. If we were not envious of Krishna, we would not be in the material world. Even people who are not—well most people are not conscious that they are envious of Krishna, but they are, and that is why they are. So, the Bhagavad-gītā says that we must control the lower self with the higher self. So, when your mind tells you, “Why should you be spending your time chanting Hare Krishna and serving Krishna?” You could be—whatever. Then your higher self must control your lower self and say, “No, mind, we are not going to do that, we are going to do this.”

And association is a very powerful factor. If you associate with devotees, then by the association of devotees you will be carried along in the practice of bhakti-yoga. And man is a social animal, so if he does not associate with devotees, he will just be associating with other people who are not devotees, and who are engaged in different types of materialistic pursuits, and so that association will tend to pull you in that direction. So, association is extremely important. And that is why Srila Prabhupada formed the International Society for Krishna consciousness.

To be successful in any pursuit, you benefit from association. Like business people, they have a chamber of commerce, and by joining the chamber of commerce they feel their business will flourish more. So, we also have our association, and through that association our business of Krishna consciousness will flourish more.

Devotee: Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Good question. Yes?

Devotee: There are days where you are like, “I do not know if I want to go”—is it better to come on those days if you feel like you should not go, or is it better to stay home if your heart is not in it. Because I know that I, just because of the way my life is, I get really bogged down in all the tasks that are going on sometimes—it can be exhausting to think about coming to the temple and chanting, even though I love doing those things sometimes, that effort can feel exhausting. And so, in those times when I feel exhausted, is it good to come or is Krishna like, “Maybe you should stay home and wait until your heart is in it”?

Giriraj Swami: Well, stay home and do what?

Devotee: I have my own form of devotee and devotion at home that I can do I guess, but I see your point.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. But it would be good because, say you are talking about Wednesday evening, it is just one day a week. And it would be good to try to plan your day in such a way that you are not too exhausted at the end of the day. It is something; you are looking forward to it and you want to be in your best form for it. So, try and plan so you are in the best shape you can be in when the time comes. But yes, you would be surprised that sometimes when doing something Krishna conscious comes at the cost of our sort of material comfort or satisfaction, sometimes the result is even greater, because Krishna saw you made that sacrifice. Even though you were tired, but you made that sacrifice and so He may give you an extra reward.

Devotee: It is a good way to look at it.

Giriraj Swami: Because Krishna’s a person, He is not just an abstract concept, He has feelings and He sees when you are making an effort and He appreciates it. And sometimes it works the other way—we may do something not Krishna conscious and then we just get entangled in it, and then, “How did that happen? How did I get into this, I wasted so much time?” And it is the opposite experience. It did not turn out the way you hoped it would. So yes. But yes, I think it is worth making the effort and planning—planning.

Any other questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: I am a little confused about the part on desires, because when we may not desire extreme things in the material aspect like you mentioned, but nobody wants to live in the streets or suffer hunger or those kinds of things. So, I guess my question is, if you have material desires that can be seen through the eyes of Krishna, is that possible? Is there some kind of balance that can be found there?

Giriraj Swami: We must know what is material and what is spiritual. And basically, anything done for Krishna is spiritual and anything done for yourself without Krishna is material. So, we also eat, but what is the goal? The goal is to get energy and strength to serve Krishna. And of course, the food we eat is offered to Krishna, so it is prasāda, so that is not material. So, same thing with the residence—what are you going to do in your place of residence? If your activities are dedicated to Krishna, then that residence is a facility for your service to Krishna – then it is not material. But if in your home you are engaging in material activities, then that endeavor to get a home and earn the money to maintain the household is material. So, it is not so much the activity per se which determines if it is material or spiritual, but it is intention, it is the purpose, it is the consciousness. So, if the goal of your life is to become Krishna conscious and you are working so that you can live, and by living engage in Krishna consciousness, then it is not material. Or to the extent that you do it for Krishna it is spiritual, and to the extent that you do it for yourself it is material.

Devotee: Like the Deities, if you see them only with your eyes, it is made of matter, of molecules, but for devotees it is just more than that, they think it is a reminder of Krishna. It does not matter if it is a house—it does not matter which material thing we are talking about—if it has got a purpose oriented to Krishna’s desires.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, well, what is the difference between a house and a temple? A house is made of bricks and stones and a temple is made of bricks and stones. But in the temple the central point is Krishna, and everyone is cooperating for the service of Krishna. Now, if in your home the central point is Krishna, then your home is as good as a temple. So again, it is the consciousness—it is the focus. But that takes association—coming to the temple and associating with devotees and getting strength and inspiration for your practices at home. But what you said is true—one should live moderately, not too much, not too little, but just enough to facilitate one’s service to Krishna—that is correct.

Hare Krishna.