WORKING FOR KRISHNA (part1) - KKS LECTURE - 8TH MAY 1998
Bhagavad Gita 12.10
abhyase 'py asamartho 'si
mat-karma-paramo bhava
mad-artham api karmani
kurvan siddhim avapsyasi
If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.
PURPORTOne who is not able even to practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, under the guidance of a spiritual master, can still be drawn to this perfectional stage by working for the Supreme Lord. How to do this work has already been explained in the fifty-fifth verse of the Eleventh Chapter.
Maharaja: Ok here we are...eleventh chapter……fifty five
My dear Arjuna, one who is engaged in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruititive activities and from mental speculation, and he who works for me who makes me the Supreme Goal of his life and who is friendly to every living being he certainly comes to Me.
…Purport
One should be sympathetic to the propagation of Krsna consciousness. There are many devotees who are engaged in the propagation of Krsna consciousness, and they require help. So, even if one cannot directly practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, he can try to help such work. Every endeavor requires land, capital, organization, and labor. Just as, in business, one requires a place to stay, some capital to use, some labor, and some organization to expand, so the same is required in the service of Krsna. The only difference is that in materialism one works for sense gratification. The same work, however, can be performed for the satisfaction of Krsna, and that is spiritual activity. If one has sufficient money, he can help in building an office or temple for propagating Krsna consciousness. Or he can help with publications. There are various fields of activity, and one should be interested in such activities. If one cannot sacrifice the results of such activities, the same person can still sacrifice some percentage to propagate Krsna consciousness. This voluntary service to the cause of Krsna consciousness will help one to rise to a higher state of love for God, whereupon one becomes perfect.
Invocation
Maharaja: The kartalas have been put on the floor……..we can do that because, Lord Balarama is the first servant of the Supreme Lord. And Lord Balarama becomes the personal servant of the Lord in the form of Ananta Sesa, Ananta Sesa is the bed where the Lord rests upon so therefore Lord Balarama not only becomes the bed of the Lord but he also becomes all of the paraphernalia of the Lord, therefore the drum, the instrument, the plates, the cups and all these paraphernalia that are used by the Supreme Personality of Godhead are non different to Balarama even Vrndavana Dhama is Lord Balarama, therefore karatalas should never be placed on the ground and if by mistake they come to the ground we should place them on our head just like beads or anything like that……I don’t know who the DEMON is that did this….!
So in this verse we are speaking about a special concession that Lord Krishna is giving for attaining the perfect stage. Generally speaking if we are speak about the stage of perfection of Krishna consciousness, then we are talking about following a certain process, that there is the chanting of the holy name as the central focus of that process but at along with that is a certain whole series of regulations. Krishna consciousness is not just a matter of being simply engaged in a devotional mood but there are many prescribed duties regulative principles. Not only the four regulative principles but even regulative principles that are more refined just like we were discussing the karatalas……. but like that….. we bow down in the temple,we are offering obeisances to sanyassiss and spiritual masters and so forth, so many regulations. In fact the first thing you do in the morning is offer obeisances, as soon as you wake up you are supposed to immediately take a shower, wash your mouth, hands and your whole body, put on clean cloth, tilak and go to the temple for mangala arati and so forth . so the regulative principles of Krishna consciousness are outlined as 64 regulative principles. These are not so easy to follow and then of course the basic four regulative principles that we are following of giving up sinful life is also there. So it says if you have problem in following the regulative principle in Krishna consciousness still you can be purified and gradually attain perfection …it says in the verse by working for me.
Srila prabhupada explains it by saying: caring for the mission of Krishna consciousness and considering all the missions of Krishna consciousness as important. So this is an important principle, that we should care for this mission of Krishna consciousness. Not only those who don’t follow the regulative principles but everyone, devotees should care for this mission and should see the importance of it and should see that this mission is essential within the world and deserves all possible support and our interest, we should see how important it is and that it makes all the difference. And that without it, this mission of Krishna consciousness, the world is dry and cruel, there is not actual real satisfaction and people, not only people actually, all living entities are simply exploiting each other.
The material world is a place which is described as…sanskrit….that one living entity is food for another, those who have hands will eat those living entities without hands, those who have two legs will eat the ones with four legs, the principle there that the one who less legs eat the ones with more legs …so it is explained…….all this is going on but everyone is completely exploiting the other living entities and in this way one living entity becomes food stuff for another so that in it self is a very cruel basis of existence which we see through out the whole material world,… have you ever seen a bird trying to drink water, they look look look look look in all directions, they look left, right , look up then quick peck peck then quick look again look again …..Why is that bird looking like that ….obviously because any moment something can swoop down from all sides, a gat could jump on it, some bigger bird can just suddenly swoop up and grab it and all kinds of variety of things are possible in bird’s existence where you are an attractive piece of flying food for many other creatures, ……………………………….so constant anxiety … this is the nature of material existence...(contd tomo)
