SB 2.3.17 – The Best Utilization of Time

Giriraj Swami: 

[Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.17]

āyur harati vai puṁsām

udyann astaṁ ca yann asau

tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta

uttama-śloka-vārtayā

TRANSLATION

Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service. Time and tide wait for no man. So the time indicated by the sunrise and the sunset will be uselessly wasted if such time is not properly utilized for realizing identification of spiritual values.

COMMENT

The human form of life is a special facility because in the human form we can realize God, realize who we are, and can realize our eternal relationship with God. We should not misuse this human form of life. And our duration of life is made of time, so not misusing the human form of life means not misusing our time, not wasting our time on any activity outside Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada had a friend in Bombay named Brijratan Mohatta, who was a very intelligent person and a very successful businessman. He was married to R.D Birla’s daughter, and he was the wealthiest man in what at first became West Pakistan, I guess it is just Pakistan. 

It is very interesting that Srila Prabhupada used this example with him. Srila Prabhupada was very expert in speaking to his audience, but in this case he was especially expert, or really exact. He said exactly what was right because somehow, I met Mr. Mohatta at his office and he explained that there are two philosophies of accounting. One philosophy is that the head tells the account to just keep the accounts, and in the other philosophy, the head tells the account to point out ways in which things could be improved, point out perhaps defects and find out ways that things could be improved. I am not even sure what Mr. Mohatta was discussing in the office, but he said that he was in the second category, he wanted the accountants to speak up when they saw something. 

When Srila Prabhupada was meeting with Mr. Mohatta in Juhu, he said that in the ledger of our life, anything done for Krishna consciousness is gain, and anything outside of Krishna consciousness is lost. Now, any businessman, or anyone, wants to maximize their gains and minimize their losses. And of all things of value, the thing that is of utmost value is our life. We have wealth, we have relations, we have everything, but the highest value to us is our life, without our life none of the rest has any meaning. Srila Prabhupada told him, “Anything in relation to Krishna consciousness is profit, and anything outside of Krishna consciousness is loss,” so we should be very careful about how we use our time, which really means how we use our life. 

PURPORT (continued)

Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold.

COMMENT

Okay, there is profit and loss, but there is also a magnitude of loss. But the magnitude of loss, if we waste our time, is so great that we cannot buy back any of that time we wasted with any amount of money. Or at the time of death, we cannot purchase any extra time beyond what is allotted to us by spending any amount of money. So we can just imagine how precious that time is and we don’t want to waste money. Nobody wants to waste money, but wasting our time is even a greater loss because we can’t buy time for any amount of money. But yet, we have that tendency to waste time; waste time means to spend it outside of Krishna consciousness. 

PURPORT (continued)

Human life is simply awarded to a living entity (jīva) so that he can realize his spiritual identity and his permanent source of happiness. A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity.

COMMENT

The Vedānta-sūtra which begins with janmādy asya yato, the Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates. And then he says ānandamayo ‘bhyāsāt, that the Absolute Truth is by nature blissful, made of ānanda. And because we are part and parcel of the Absolute Truth, Krishna, our nature is also blissful, but because we have come into this material world and accepted this physical body, our original blissful nature is covered. But that desire for happiness is within us, and therefore, everyone is always seeking happiness. Everyone, even an ant. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that if you put your finger or a stick in front of an ant, it will go around, it doesn’t want its life to be restricted. And if there is sugar, immediately all the ants will come to enjoy, getting concentrated or whatever. 

PURPORT (continued)

A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity. But he is vainly seeking happiness in the material atmosphere. A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities.

COMMENT

We are spiritual and we can be happy in spiritual activities, in the spiritual atmosphere. And in the material atmosphere, we are frustrated and disappointed and miserable. Srila Prabhupada often gave the example of a fish out of water. The fish is happy in water, and if you take the fish out of water, even if you put it in a golden bowl and fill that bowl with gems, jewels, and spray aromatic fragrances, if the fish is out of water, it will be miserable, it will be just flapping for life. 

We, being spiritual beings, are in our natural position in the spiritual atmosphere, and that is where we can find our true happiness and lasting happiness. When we are out of the spiritual atmosphere, in other words, when we are engaged in material activities and material consciousness, we are miserable. And that is the case of most people, unfortunately. But there is hope.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities. The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage and personality are all identical with Him. 

COMMENT

We have understood that our happiness lies in being connected with Krishna, with the Supreme Spirit. So how do we get connected with Krishna? That is explained in this sentence: “His name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, His associates, His paraphernalia.” If we come in contact with the Lord in any one of those manifestations, we can realize our spiritual identities and actual happiness. 

PURPORT (continued)

The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage and personality are all identical with Him. Once a person comes into contact with any one of the above-mentioned energies of the Lord through the proper channel of devotional service, the door to perfection is immediately opened. In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.40) the Lord has explained such contact in the following words: “Endeavors in devotional service are never baffled. Nor is there failure. A slight beginning of such activities is sufficient even to deliver a person from the great ocean of material fears.”

COMMENT

Someone might have a doubt, “All right, well, I can engage in devotional service and that will bring me real happiness, but what if I am not successful?” But here Srila Prabhupada quotes the Bhagavad-gītā, that in this endeavor there is no diminution or loss. In other words, whatever you do is a permanent asset. In material activities there is diminution and loss. For example, you may amass so much money, but then you can lose it in this life, and if not in this life, at the time of death you lose it. Or one may acquire so much learning, so much knowledge, but one might lose it, even in this life, one might have to struggle; being affected or afflicted by some disease and all of that knowledge will be lost, inaccessible. And what to speak of at the time of death. But whatever assets we accrue in Krishna consciousness, acquire in Krishna consciousness, are never lost. Even if we make only 1 percent progress in this life, it stays with us, and in the next life, we begin from 2 percent. There is no diminution or loss, so we should not hesitate, we should give ourselves fully to this process, and if we do it properly, we can be completely successful in this life. 

PURPORT (continued)

As a highly potent drug injected intravenously acts at once on the whole body, the transcendental topics of the Lord injected through the ear by the pure devotee of the Lord can act very efficiently.

COMMENT

That is a very good example. If a highly potent drug is injected intravenously, it will immediately act on the whole body. In the same way, the highly potent topics of the Personality of Godhead injected in the ear of the pure devotee acts very powerfully. Aural, A-U-R-A-L, that means “Through the ear,” not oral, O-R-A-L, which means “Through the mouth.” 

PURPORT (continued)

Aural realization of the transcendental messages implies total realization, just as fructification of one part of a tree implies fructification of all other parts. This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī prepares one’s complete life for eternity. 

COMMENT

Now Srila Prabhupada has brought us to the point of the verse, that “By rising and setting the sun decreases the direction of life of everyone, except for one who utilizes the time in topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead” because that activity prepares us for our eternal life. In other words, it prepares us to go back home, back to Godhead. And that going back home, back to Godhead, doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the body and going somewhere, but we can be back to Godhead even in the body if we are helpfully engaged, jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate

īhā yasya harer dāsye

karmaṇā manasā girā

nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu

jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate

If we are fully engaged with our body, mind, and words, then we would be considered liberated even in this body, even in this life. 

PURPORT (continued)

Aural realization of the transcendental messages implies total realization, just as fructification of one part of a tree implies fructification of all other parts. This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī prepares one’s complete life for eternity. And thus the sun fails to rob the pure devotee of his duration of life, inasmuch as he is constantly busy in the devotional service of the Lord, purifying his existence. Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age and disease.

COMMENT

As eternal spiritual beings, we are not meant to die. We actually don’t die, but we leave the body, which is what we call death because we have accepted a material body, which was not necessary and it was not wise. But by discussing kṛṣṇa-kathā, we realize our eternal spiritual identity and then we don’t have to take birth in another physical body and suffer that repetition of birth, death, old age, and disease. But we should do this and we should be very serious about it because when we take birth in a physical body, we suffer a lot. Now, we might think, Oh, well, if I didn’t have a body, how could I enjoy? But actually, we don’t really enjoy through the senses of the body.

In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Krishna compares the body to clothing. Do you enjoy because of clothing? Sometimes the clothing gets in the way of our enjoyment, so it is not that the clothing gives us pleasure, but it is the senses of the body within the clothing that gives us pleasure. Similarly, this body is like clothing, so the real pleasure is experienced not by the body, but through the soul or the spiritual body and spiritual senses within the physical body. And when the spiritual senses of the spiritual body are free from the covering of the physical body, it can enjoy more. It can really enjoy without any interference and without any end. 

PURPORT (continued)

Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age and disease. The materialistic way of pious activities like charity is recommended in the smṛti-śāstras as quoted by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. Money given in charity to a suitable person is guaranteed bank balance in the next life. Such charity is recommended to be given to a brāhmaṇa. If the money is given in charity to a non-brāhmaṇa (without brahminical qualification) the money is returned in the next life in the same proportion.

COMMENT

In other words, if you give money in charity to anyone, you get that amount back in the next life. Guaranteed.

PURPORT (continued)

If money is given in charity to a half-educated brāhmaṇa

COMMENT

Do we have any half- educated brahman here? [Laughter] 

PURPORT (continued)

If money is given in charity to a half-educated brāhmaṇa, then the money is returned double.

COMMENT

People are looking for a good investment should pay attention to this purport. [Laughter] 

PURPORT (continued)

If the money is given in charity to a learned and fully qualified brāhmaṇa, the money is returned a hundred and a thousand times, and if the money is given to a veda-pāraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), it is returned by unlimited multiplication.

COMMENT

In the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyah, that “The purpose of the Veda is to realize Him” so the Veda-pāraga really means “One who has realized Krishna.” So if you give money in charity to such a person, a devotee, but only a devotee who has realized Krishna, the money is returned by unlimited multiplications. 

PURPORT (continued)

The ultimate end of Vedic knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ).

COMMENT

Now, how can money be returned by unlimited multiplication in the material world? Because everything in the material world is limited, no matter how wealthy you are, there is a limit to your wealth. So having that return in unlimited multiplication means that you have to go to the spiritual world and there you get an unlimited return. 

There was once an incident in Hong Kong. Srila Prabhupada had gone there and he was received in a Rolls-Royce and taken to the penthouse suite of the most prestigious and popular hotel in Hong Kong for a press conference. One of the reporters asked Srila Prabhupada, “You are supposed to be a spiritual person, why are you riding in a Rolls-Royce? And Srila Prabhupada replied, “That is true, it is really not worthy of me. I come from the spiritual world and in the spiritual world, everything is made of cintāmaṇi stone - spiritual gems. So even if this Rolls- Royce was made of solid diamonds, it wouldn’t have been good enough. Why did I accept it being a spiritual person? Because this was all my disciples could offer so I accepted it, but it wasn’t proper.” [Laughter]. But Srila Prabhupada, in a humorous way, was making a point, that the limited opulence of this material world can’t compare with the unlimited opulence of the spiritual world. Therefore, to get that unlimited return on our charity to a pure devotee of Krishna, means we will have to go to the spiritual world to collect, which is more than anyone could imagine. 

PURPORT (continued)

There is a guarantee of money’s being returned if given in charity, regardless of the proportion. 

COMMENT

If you have given charity, you will get a return. The proportion will depend on to whom you give the charity, but in any case, it is guaranteed you will get some return.

PURPORT (continued)

Similarly, a moment passed in the association of a pure devotee by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to Godhead.

COMMENT

That is the purpose of our association, and what a result! 

PURPORT (continued)

A moment passed in the association of a pure devotee by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to Godhead. Mad-dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate. In other words, a devotee of the Lord is guaranteed eternal life. A devotee’s old age or disease in the present life is but an impetus to such guaranteed eternal life.

COMMENT

The Bhagavad-gītā says janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. It is part of the process of knowledge, in the Thirteenth Chapter, verse eight through thirteen. Lord Krishna describes the process of knowledge and He declares anything other than this is the process of ignorance, and one of the items in the process of knowledge is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam, to always perceive the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. That is knowledge, that is liberating. Ordinary people like to be in ignorance—where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise. So they don’t like to think about these things. “Oh, why are you so negative? Why are you morbid? Why can’t we think about something happy like sense gratification?” So a devotee is aware of these miseries, not for no benefit, but because being aware of these miseries is an impetus for the devotee to accelerate his spiritual practices, so he can go back home, back to Godhead. In fact, that word “Accelerate” comes from the very first sentence of the purport: “This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service.” 

So anyone who is reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is engaged in devotional service, but here Srila Prabhupada says, “You should accelerate it.” Anyone sitting in this temple room, chanting and hearing, is engaged in devotional service, but Srila Prabhupada says you should accelerate it. Like a motor vehicle has an accelerator, so he is just saying, “Okay, step on it, step on the accelerator, go faster. You are going, that is okay, but go faster. Don’t waste time because time and tide wait for no man, and we never know when death will come.” We should be prepared by uttama-śloka-vārtayā, by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. 

Now, we do have a few minutes and I thought to read one verse and purport, and perhaps not comment, which explains the basic principle of vidhi sādhana-bhakti, the different stages of devotional service. We are in the stage of sādhana-bhakti, to be in devotional service and practice, and within that sādhana-bhakti, there is vaidhi sādhana-bhakti and rāgānugā sādhana-bhakti. We are practicing vaidhi sādhana-bhakti, and the basic principle of sādhana-bhakti is to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. All the other positive injunctions and negative prohibitions are servants of these two, the injunction to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. And in his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada explains what we have to do to always remember Krishna. Then, we must take careful note of this point.

This verse it is from the Padma-Purana and it is quoted by Srila Rupa Gosvami in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, the basic principle of vaidhi sādhana-bhakti. And here it is in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā Chapter Twenty-two,

TEXT 113

smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur

vismartavyo na jātucit

sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur

etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ

TRANSLATION

“‘Kṛṣṇa is the origin of Lord Viṣṇu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the śāstras should be the servants of these two principles.’

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This verse is a quotation from the Padma Purāṇa. There are many regulative principles in the śāstras and directions given by the spiritual master. These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle — that is, one should always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Therefore one must strictly chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra twenty-four hours daily. One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we have recommended that the neophyte chant at least sixteen rounds. This chanting of sixteen rounds is absolutely necessary if one wants to remember Kṛṣṇa and not forget Him. Of all the regulative principles, the spiritual master’s order to chant at least sixteen rounds is most essential.

COMMENT

This is a very clear instruction which we should note very carefully. It may be in some extraordinary circumstances that a devotee is fully engaged in devotional service and has so much to do under certain circumstances, that he might miss a day. But even then, whatever he misses on that day, he or she should make up the next day. This is a very fundamental point. And yes, we have many devotees here and some are maybe not so regular in chanting sixteen rounds, but it is something to work towards. If someone is new, maybe some of the attendees here are new, and you are not able to start immediately with sixteen, then you can fix any number. But the idea is whatever number you fix as your minimum, you must chant that without fail, even if it is one round, two rounds, four rounds. And then whatever you set as your minimum, you make it up the next day if by chance you miss.

This is a way that we can gradually build up our spiritual strength. It is like with exercise, whatever push-ups, lifting weights, you begin with a certain weight or a certain number of repetitions, and then as you build up your strength, you increase it, it is natural. In the beginning it might just be beyond your capacity, and as you build up your strength, it becomes easy, it is natural. The same thing with chanting rounds. We want to—especially if someone is initiated they must have to be sixteen, but if someone does begin they can chant whatever number they fix as the minimum, stick to that and then gradually increase. Now, the concluding paragraph of this important purport: 

PURPORT (continued)

One may sell books or enlist life members or render some other service, but these duties are not ordinary duties. These duties serve as an impetus for remembering Kṛṣṇa. 

COMMENT

The idea is to always remember Krishna. So to do that, we have to chant at least sixteen rounds, but we don’t spend our whole day chanting. We engage in other activities that also help us to remember Krishna, but the idea is we should always remember Krishna and never forget Him. 

PURPORT (continued)

When one goes with a saṅkīrtana party or sells books, he naturally remembers that he is going to sell Kṛṣṇa’s books. In this way, he is remembering Kṛṣṇa. When one goes to enlist a life member, he talks about Kṛṣṇa and thereby remembers Him.

COMMENT

In one talk in Calcutta, Srila Prabhupada said that the preaching is the best way to remember Krishna because when you preach, people will ask you questions, and to answer their questions you have to think of Krishna, you have to speak about Krishna and also pray to Krishna to guide you in what to say to the person.

PURPORT (continued)

Smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit. The conclusion is that one must act in such a way that he will always remember Kṛṣṇa, and one must refrain from doing things that make him forget Kṛṣṇa. These two principles form the basic background of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Hare Krishna. 

COMMENT

We have finished just in time, and now we will have a call for questions or comments. 

Devotee 1: I am confused because in your lecture you emphasize that we ought to be spiritual and spiritual is infinite, but at the same time, you talk about materialistic. In order to gain something materialistically, you give to the educator that is not educated and that determines your return. But if don’t want to be materialistic, I want to be spiritual, so why should I address materialistic things if I am looking to be totally spiritual and connected? 

Giriraj Swami: Well, I wholeheartedly support your conclusion. The purport was not really meant to encourage people to give to these different categories of recipients to get some material return, but it was making the larger point that if you invest in hearing and chanting about Krishna, you will get the return of eternal life. It was just setting up a comparison, but not really meant to encourage us to do that. But we should be [unintelligible 00:49:53] devotee [unintelligible 00:49:58].

Devotee 1: I totally am searching for a spiritual connection. This is new for me; I am traditionally Christian. You said Krishna is your God, but I have learned that there are many gods out there. You say Krishna is the only God, and Christianity says, My God is the only God. I think and believe that there is one mistake, and all of the comparison of Buddha, Krishna, Christianity, Catholicism, we are seeking to be connected with our spiritual side [51:01 unintelligible], so I think other spiritual groups to find the connect—to further the progression of my soul because I don’t believe it is simply one Krishna [unintelligible 00:51:25] Christianity, Catholicism. I don’t know a whole lot but I feel that it is connected somehow and my search for the truth is to find that connection. Am I wrong? 

Giriraj Swami: No, you are right. Actually, we agree completely, the only thing is you don’t know that we agree. No, seriously, but I will explain how we agree. We agree because Krishna is not a different God from, say, the father of Jesus. I mean, Jesus said that he is the son of God, and in the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says He is the father of all living entities, so there is no contradiction. When we say Krishna, we don’t mean “Our God,” Krishna is just the name of the Supreme God, and He may be called by different names in different languages, cultures, or traditions. But it is the same. 

Devotee 2: Maharaja, she also asked me yesterday, why we worship Narayana? I gave her my explanation [unintelligible 00:52:50–00:53:09].

Devotee 1: My perception of it is that it is an idol and if you say Krishna is God, that is no representation of Krishna. Maybe it is a symbol to help us remember who Krishna is, but my God is so great that I can’t perceive Him because He is so great and that is sufficient for me. 

Giriraj Swami: Oh, that is a nice sentiment, but God is great in all respects, and there is a nice verse that says, “He is greater than the greatest, and smaller than the smallest.” His greatness is not only in being big, His greatness is also in being small, and He can come in any size. This deity is taken to be Krishna. I know that, as our teacher Srila Prabhupada explained, to worship an idol means to worship something as God, which is not God. In the bible they worship the golden calf, that is idol worship. It is to worship something that is not God as God. 

I would put it like this: if you want to mail a letter to someone, you put it in a mailbox and you have faith that that letter will reach the person it is meant for. You can’t put it in any box, but if you put it in an authorized mailbox, it will reach the intended recipient. So you can’t worship any form and say, “This is God.” But if you worship an authorized form, that worship will go to God. And it is His mercy that He comes in the form of the deity to allow us to develop our loving relationship with Him. But if you don’t feel comfortable with it, there are many other processes, but this is one of the processes recommended in bhakti-yoga. I have seen in other traditions that the same thing is there, somehow or other, the same thing is there in some form or other. 

I will give an example. In the Jewish tradition they are very strong on the point of no graven images, but in the Jewish tradition they get the highest respect and worship to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. And they worship in a way like we worship the deities. The Torah is dressed in a very elaborated dress, you could say, and they have silver ornaments, the two poles, the two handles. They put these silver crowns on them and then they take it out to the ark, it is kept in the ark, which is like this deity room. Then I have seen some functions, they carry it out into the congregation and there is singing. It is really the same, and there is a philosophical reason for that. And that is, it is proper to worship the Torah as if it is God because it is the word of God. So on the absolute platform, the word of God is God, the name of God is God, and the form of God, is God.

Now, the long awaited moment has come for Gopal’s question or comment. 

Devotee 3: [unintelligible 00:58:48]

Giriraj Swami: [unintelligible 00:58:51]. All right, well. . . 

Devotee 2: [unintelligible 00:59:02–00:59:14] [Laughter]. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, if you are satisfied with a limited return, you could get it in this life. If you want an unlimited return, you get it in your eternal life. 

Devotee 3: How do we know?

Giriraj Swami: How do we know about what?

Devotee 3: [unintelligible 00:59:51] 

Giriraj Swami: Well, how do you know you will get it in this life? How do you know anything about an investment? You do some research, and based on the information, you make an investment. I think everyone here above the age of twenty-five at least, has some investments somewhere. How do they make their investments? They consult something, they consult authorities, there are so many authorities to guide you to make your investments. This is our authority, and this is what our authority says about investments. But don’t worry, you are well situated materially and spiritually, so don’t worry. Just be happy and chant and hear a lot about Krishna. 

Devotee 4: [unintelligible 01:01:17]. It is difficult to control the eating, so how much can we control the eating? Because when we control the eating, we are eating very little and we get sick. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, the Bhagavad-gītā says one should not eat too much or eat too little, so we have to find the proper amount for us. But Srila Prabhupada said, “If you can digest, you can eat ten chapattis, and if you can’t digest you shouldn’t eat even one chapati. So the basic, of course, for controlling eating is to eat only Krishna prasāda. That is the main thing, to eat only Krishna prasāda; food that is cooked with love and devotion and offered to Krishna. But even then eating Krishna prasāda, it is possible to eat too much or too little, like you said. 

Once His Holiness Indradyumna Swami and I were having lunch at a devotee’s home in Durban, South Africa. They were a living origin, and the way they were serving it, we kept thinking that they were bringing out the last preparation, so we would eat, and then they would bring something more. We couldn’t offend them by not eating, so we kept eating more, and then they brought more and we were eating more. I was really getting worried and exasperated, so I said to Indradyumna Swami, “What is happening? What are we going to do?” And he said, “As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, one should not eat too much or eat too little. Today we are concentrating on not eating too little.” [Laughter].

All right, thank you very much.