satyam daya tapah saucam
titikseksa samo damah
ahimsa brahmacaryam ca
tyagah svadhyaya arjavam
�These are the general principles to be followed by all human beings: truthfulness, mercy, austerity, observing fast on certain days of the month, bathing twice a day, tolerance, discrimination between right and wrong, control of the mind, control of the senses, non-violence, celibacy, charity, reading of scripture, simplicity, satisfaction, rendering service to saintly persons, gradually taking leave of unnecessary arrangements, observing the futility of unnecessary activities of human society, remaining silent and grave and avoiding unnecessary talk, considering whether one is the body or the soul, distributing food equally to all living entities (both man and animals)seeing every soul- especially the human form- as a part of the Supreme Lord, hearing about the activities and the instructions given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the shelter of the saintly persons, chanting about these activities and instructions, always remembering these activities and instructions, trying to render service, performing worship, offering obeisances, becoming a servant, becoming a friend and surrendering one�s whole self. O Kind Yudhisthira, these 30 qualifications must be acquired in the human form of life. Simply by acquiring these qualifications, one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.� (7.11.8-12)
So we�ll read the purport little by little rather than all at once, since we don�t have so much of time. So this is the kind of list that we can print out and hang on our wall as an ongoing meditation. I mean, 30 different points that should be part of life basically. Just this verse alone is a major regulation of our life. It is said that there are viddhi and niseda- there are instructions that are favorable for developing God consciousness and then there are niseda�s- prohibitions, thing that must be avoided or else we cannot become Krsna conscious. So both viddhi and niseda are there to regulate our life. Here it is said, �truthfulness;� truthfulness is ultimately goes even�of course truthfulness may include not lying but a higher understanding of truthfulness is to be completely faithful to the Absolute Truth and to not pursue any relative truth. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that if we are trying to pursue a relative truth then we will find that, in terms of knowledge, we will be poorly supplied and also our ability to retain knowledge will diminish. So in other words, when we are not truthful we become covered over. The reason why I said that, �of course truthfulness in general may mean to just speak the truth� but in context- in service to the Absolute Truth. Not when the soldiers come and ask, �Where are the devotees?� and they�re all hiding in the closets and say, �They�re hiding in the closets�� and the soldiers take them and shoot them! That kind of truthfulness is not beneficial. So it must be truthfulness that is beneficial for the service of the Lord. If it�s not beneficial for the service of the Lord, then we can also speak a lie- we should at that time.
Mercy: in the scriptures there is a description given of jivahimsa, of being violent towards living beings. It is also said, utvega nadiba, one should not cause any anxiety to any living entity. So jivahimsa, non-violence, is not passive non-violence, it means active non-violence; it means one has to do something. The example given�it�s not good enough when a man is drowning to just say, �Well okay, I won�t interfere�� no, one has to interfere, one has to save him. So people are drowning in the ocean of nescience, therefore it is violent to let them drown. So to be just peaceful is not enough; one has to become active to save the condition souls, to actually really be non violent. Therefore mercy is active. We must be active in somehow or other delivering the condition souls from the cycle of birth and death. Of course we have no personal qualification. We cannot do anything for anyone unless we are the messenger of the Supreme Lord. It is Krsna, dharmatusaksad bhagavat pranitam, it is Krsna who is establishing the original religious principle. No human being can do so. So therefore by repeating what Krsna says, what Krsna desires and applying it with our own intelligence and understanding it properly and then sharing all that with others, in that way we can be merciful; Somehow or other connecting people to Krsna. That is what mercy is all about.
Austerity in the same way; there is no need to perform any separate austerity because austerity in itself is not a limb of bhakti. Bhakti has 64 limbs. That means that if there are 64 types of activities which give us bhakti and austerity is not amongst them. Austerity though, is glorified in the scripture: yajno danam tapas caiva pavanami manisinam, that by performing sacrifice, by giving in charity and by engaging in austerity, even saintly men are being purified. So in that sense, austerity is certainly held in high esteem in the scripture. It is also said, nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam suddhyed yasmad brahma-saukhyam tv anantam (5.5.1). This is from the 5th Canto, and Maharaja Rsabhadeva is speaking to his 100 sons and instructing them about spiritual life. And he says that this human form of life is not meant for sense gratification, which is available even to hogs and dogs that eat stool; this human form of life is meant for penances and austerities so that one may reach the state- the transcendental state- of happiness, which is beyond the three modes of material nature. So like that, austerity is glorified in the scripture. But austerity only creates the preliminarilies; it is the austerity that gives us the strength to practice bhakti. But in itself austerity is not spiritual. But a lack of austerity may make us weak and may hollow out our determination.
So a certain amount of austerity is required as a preliminarily activity to get a certain amount of basic determination because, in the initial stages in devotional service we are acting in the mode of goodness. We are not yet transcendental; we are in a transcendental process but we ourselves are not transcendental. We are therefore trying to fix ourselves in the mode of goodness. This is the interim stage of devotional service. Then, as we get more and more advanced, eventually we�ll come to a transcendental stage. That is the stage of transcendental bliss and where one gets absorbed in bhava. At that stage one is completely, ecstatically performing devotional service. Then in the mode of goodness, we are performing our devotional service out of duty. So this is vaidhi bhakti- devotional service based on rules and regulations. And then there is devotional service- spontaneous devotionals service- based on spontaneous attraction to Krsna.
So there�s a big difference between the two because in the first one where spiritual life is performed out of duty, it may be all austerity. You know, sixteen rounds of austerity! Mangal Aratik of austerity! Ekadasi- shoo! Austerity! Just everything austerity, austerity; so much service- austerity. Clean the kitchen- austerity, lots of austerity! So this is all part of vaidhi bhakti. But in raganuga it becomes completely different; it becomes more ecstatic and we think, �Wonderful! Can�t wait! Oh mangal aratik! I wouldn�t miss it for anything in the world. Oh, my rounds! Yes, wonderful! Again I�m allowed to chant�� So there�s a very different perception. Austerity of course, will remain in the course of serving the Lord. For the pleasure of the Lord we have to struggle with the material energy and in that struggle with the material energy, yes it is not so easy to serve Krsna. Many of us sort of, when we decide that, �I want to join the Hare Krsna movement� have a feeling of wanting to give up everything, wanting to give up our house, wanting to give up our job, wanting to give up all the complications of material life, and then just simplify our lives and just be a happy Hare Krsna! But of course, we have to again deal with the material energy for Krsna like anything! And there we have to overcome things that we don�t like. For yourself you may have certain limits and say, �Well, this is the limit�� but for Krsna, for His service we sometimes have to expand that limit and then do things that we would have never done. That is the case.
For Krsna, therefore, we have to perform the austerity of doing things in service to Him that we would have otherwise never done- never! There was one devotee in India, he lived a long time in India, and he was in the Vrndavan temple, and he was a natural book distributor- a natural one! Before he was a devotee, he use to sell encyclopedias door to door; you know- the foot in the door, the hands in the door, the head in the door, body in the door, the book in the house, the encyclopedia in the hand and just�So when he joined the Hare Krsna Movement and found out that book distribution was the program�ah! That was ecstasy for him! He even joined before; he joined in the magazine days. So he was very happy about book distribution. So, his name was Vishal. And last year I was in Mayapur and I met a devotee in Mayapur and he had just bought some books from another devotee. This other devotee was distributing books and the books were Bengali books! So he couldn�t read them and he had bought them! And then he said that, �Yes�� I said, �Why did you buy them?� He said, �This devotee said that �don�t worry if you cant read them; you just distribute them!�� and then he bought them and I knew Vishal was there! I just knew! I knew Vishal was in Mayapur and sure enough, later that day I saw Vishal! And I knew it you know- it had his signature all over!
So like that, he�s a natural; he would distribute books to his own mother! And nothing would stop him from distributing books to anyone. It was just completely natural- all the time! But not all of us are like this. For some it was an austerity, for some it was an adjustment and some might have never done such a thing! They might have never imagined that they would have gone out on the street and speak to strangers and say, �Excuse me�� stop them, and try and sell them a book- �Forget it you know, that�s too much�- but somehow or other, for Krsna, these things take on a different perspective. Many things take on a different perspective for Krsna. For Krsna, we can do all kinds of things we would have never done and what can we say, everyone has to in this, overcome some things that one really hates. Like me for example- I hate making phone calls, God do I hate making phone calls! I really hate it, it�s just�my whole life I just didn�t do it! I was temple president in Vrndavana even, I would never take the phone- I wouldn�t answer the phone! I had a vice president and he was the official phone man; I appointed him to be in charge of the phone so that I didn�t have to answer the phone! I wouldn�t deal with the phone! And the only one I would speak with sometimes on the phone was him! But not to anybody else because I hated phones! Because people call you and they just give you something to do as if you�and you�re already busy like anything! And then someone comes in the middle and just comes up with, �Can you do�� and they need an answer, �We need this now�� and this is too much, I was already busy now I�m double busy. So I hate phones! And just today I have to make all kinds of calls ah, that I hate to make! But somehow or other they settled me up with it. And now I have a phone in my pocket, and I hate the thing! But I have it because it�s for Krsna�s service, otherwise I�ll throw it in the water! Gosh!
So like this we have to, for the sake of pleasing Krsna and doing Krsna�s work, we have to give up our own preferences and our own idea sometimes. We may live in countries where we would have never lived, where would we have never gone! Like Bhurijana was sent to Hong Kong, all by himself. Shoo, only Chinese! That�s intense! It�s like not so easy if you�re from America so it was getting a bit much. But Prabhupada had sent him there. So after some time he wrote to Prabhupada that, �Prabhupada, it�s really very difficult. I�m just alone, I really can�t do this�� and Prabhupada said, �All right, I�ll send you a wife!� and she arrived after a few weeks! She landed and said, �Please to meet you; I�m your wife�� and that�s how it went and they�re still married for�I don�t know how many years! More than 30 years I think. So it�s quite amazing; Prabhupada somehow or other expected such surrender that people will just give up their whole life and their whole ideas about what they wanted to do with that life, and just�Prabhupada took those lives and took them as his property and began to just use people�s lives as he saw fit and sent them to different countries all over the world. So that was�of course, Prabhupada simultaneously had this inconceivable, transcendental nature which impressed people so much that it instilled that sense of surrender in them and that it instilled that sense of sacrifice.
So now we may not have that, therefore now we may not have the same strength to perform the same level of surrender as those devotees did in the presence of Prabhupada. That may be, but still we need to be prepared to perform austerity and that means we need to be prepared to make sacrifice for Krsna- to sacrifice our own idea for Krsna, that is what it means. It is one of the most difficult things to serve the devotees. To serve Krsna in a way is easy because Krsna is, at least in the beginning, generally not talking to us. So that makes it already a lot easy. Krsna on His own doesn�t just say, �And now I don�t want these bangles, I want��and then He mentions something that is like, �I want mangostine!� and we go, �What in the world is mangostine?� and then you have to go some exotic fruit shop and find mangostine- whatever that is! It�s not mango that I�m telling, it�s some exotic fruit. I don�t know why it�s called mangostine because it doesn�t taste like mango at all! But anyway just to use that as an example. So if the Deity might speak, He might tell us something that is difficult. So now we can get in a devotional mood and serve the Deity the way we want to serve, of course it is the scripture that binds us and that is austere. But within it we have some leeway. But if we were able to here the Deity speak it would be more difficult.
Therefore serving the vaisnavas is difficult because the vaisnavas, they tell you what they want and that�s tough because it may be different from what we want! So it is a very great step to become like chapatti dough in the hands of a vaisnava! And to allow that vaisnava just to knead us and pound us and shape us and flatten us and roll us out in chapatti�s or whatever form they want! That�s not so easy. But ultimately that is the requirement because even in the spiritual world, one must be the servant of a servant. In the spiritual world one is also not serving Krsna directly; one is serving Krsna through a devotee. So actually here, we are practicing. I think that everyone has some difficulty in associating with devotees- everyone- in surrendering to the devotees- everyone has some difficulty. But it is really that we are meant to practice here and come to that point to improve our sense of, �All right, I�m just your servant�� and gradually allow our life to be controlled by the needs of others. This is our austerity; not just observing fasts on ekadasi�s or on special tithi�s, that�s not the only austerity. Austerity is really to serve the vaisnavas. Of course, eventually that becomes ecstasy; when we come to the advanced stage then all the austerity disappears, then it is all ecstasy.
Bathing twice a day, it says here, is a minimum actually. Prabhupada writes that the advanced devotees, they take bath three times a day. So cleanliness is a very important feature, that we stay very fixed in the mode of goodness. Of course that doesn�t mean if you take bath three times a day that you�re advanced! That happens sometimes, �I take bath 5 times a day!� We had one devotee named Ragunatha Bhatta and we use to call him Ragunatha Bathroom! Because he would never come out of the bathroom! And he was permanently pink from the hot showers, you know; whenever he was not in the bathroom he was pink because from so much hot showers! And otherwise, most of the time he was just hours in the bathroom- hours! Just an hour under the hot shower- no problem- Ragunatha Bathroom! So it�s an interesting movement; we�ve got characters! We sure do!
The next quality mentioned here is tolerance. Tolerance, tolerance, tolerance; so this tolerance has to be stretched, this is the nature. We are not so tolerant, that is obvious. So tolerance has to be stretched; little by little we have to expand our tolerance levels in Krsna consciousness. In the beginning our tolerance is quite limited naturally and we have to become more and more tolerant. Of course, you know, just live 25 years in a Hare Krsna temple and you can tolerate a lot, automatically! If you�ve survived 25 years, nothing can shock you- nothing! You know that anything can happen, anytime and don�t be surprised! So there�s nothing in the world that can surprise you anymore after 25 years in a Hare Krsna temple! And in this way, I here, have gone through it before, seen it before, dealt with it before and what can you do! It�s part of life! So therefore we do not need to practice separately- �How do I become tolerant?� Just stay in the Hare Krsna Movement and it will happen automatically! It will happen automatically! It�s perfectly designed in that way- to make you very tolerant! So just fix your mind, no matter what happens- �I will never leave!� and then it will happen! You bet it will! It will all happen and that of course will bring you gradually to the point that nothing can shock you anymore; it�s all right. Gradually your tolerance will expand.
Discrimination between right and wrong: natevidusvat�it is said that discrimination between right and wrong�most people, it says, don�t know what is the goal of life (natevidhusvartagatim), they don�t know what is the real benefit, what is their real self interest. People don�t know and they�re following- svarta- sva means �self� and arta means �benefit�, therefore- �self interest�. svartagatim-� gatim means the �ultimate goal� so they don�t know what is the ultimate goal of self interest. That of course is Krsna. Andayetandariyamanam- the blind are simply following the blind, andaya�.pada, and in this way they bind themselves up more and more in the three modes of material nature. Therefore, discrimination between right and wrong is very simple because it is simply relating everything to what it is anakula and what is pratikula, this is the thing. Simply what is anakula, what is pratikula- anakulyasyasankalpa pratikulyayasyavarjanam- whatever is anakula must be accepted and whatever is pratikula must be rejected; whatever is favourable for the service of Krsna is accepted, whatever is unfavourable for the service of Krsna is rejected. In this way, we understand very clearly what is right and wrong.
Control of the mind: well, it is said by Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita that the mind is more difficult to control than the wind. And it says sometimes a man even against his will is swept away like a boat in a storm by the wind. So what to do! It is also said that the mind is not our friend; only in the liberated state is the mind becoming our friend. So what to do when the mind is just not our friend? And the mind is spoilt like a spoilt child; it�s like living with a spoilt child. This child is all the time is nagging and nagging and nagging! The mind is just like crying, the mind is just totally obnoxious. So what to do with such a spoilt child? Well, people send such kids to boarding school or something like that. �Spoilt child, okay, send him to the boarding school!� My parents always threatened me with the boarding school! I don�t know if your parents did it to you but mine did it to me all the time! �And if you don�t behave properly, we�ll send you to boarding school�� that was the ultimate nightmare- boarding school. I could just imagine what it was�I didn�t like school already, what to speak of living in a school! My God! So it worked to some extent I must admit- the boarding school threat. So yes, it is a fact that one cannot just be soft with the mind, (sweet voice) �Oh my mind, how are you today? Are you feeling all right?�
(mind) �No!�
(sweet voice) �Oh, what is wrong?�
(mind) �I�m unhappy!�
(sweet voice) �Oh, why?�
(mind) �I want all these things!�
(sweet voice) �Oh, I see��
(mind) �I want them NOW!�
kamali tatu�karunapatra�there are the six senses, including the mind. The senses are all connected to the mind. And there the senses accept impulses from the sense objects and send signals to the mind. And the mind wants and the mind- thinking, feeling and willing- wanting, is the business of the mind. So, basically the senses are reflected in the mind and we are therefore working for the senses it is said. But the senses are ungrateful- ungrateful! The senses are ungrateful; we are just working hard for the senses, give them everything they want with all our energy and then, what they say: �Is that all? Is that all you could bring? Bring more!� and then, �But oh, I am tired.�
(mind) �Bring! NOW!�
(us) �But I�m exhausted��
(mind) �NOW! More!�
�And the senses drive us again! In this way we are pushed and pushed by the senses and the mind. And of course, what would you do if a boss�if you had a job like that? You work really hard, you give it everything you have and then, all they say is, �Is that all you can do?� well, one day you�re going to quit! One day you�re going to tell the boss, �Boss, you see that lake? Why don�t you jump in it!� Jump in the lake or something like that, in Dutch- *- and some other varieties like that, one might say; we would not suurender. This is the fact. But to the senses and the mind, we are very surrenedered. So we have to fight with our mind, this is spiritual life, it is a requirement. This is the austerities of the mind; the austerities of the mind are to be formed and one is to cut off dwelling on material thoufghts of senses gratifiaction right away, to not allow the mind to dwell on them. So as soon as a sinful thought occurs in the mind- CUT! Dont meditate- immediately cut. Because if we continue, jayato visnampumsam sanga...jayate, if �we continue to meditate then attachments develop. And when attachments develop then�we get deeply entangled, more and more and more. So we must be very careful. So therefore, control of the mind means there is an element of personal fight involved.
So it is said that one must at least situate himself somewhere where one is comfortable. There was Gajendra, the elephant, who played in heavenly lakes along with his wives and was spraying water on their bodies and enjoying. And just then, in the midst of his enjoyment, a crocodile came and attacked him ruthlessly and this crocodile just bit itself at the leg of Gajendra. Gajendra was in great agony but he was powerful. So he fought, he fought with that crocodile! But somehow or other, although initially he was obviously doing well because he was much stronger than this crocodile- much stronger- but because the crocodile was in it�s element, the crocodile sometimes in-between (this fight went on for very long) and the crocodile was in the water and sometimes, somehow or other, ate something it says and how exactly he did that while he had the leg in his mouth -I guess in the corner of his mouth! Or may be let go of the leg for a moment, quickly took a bite and then grabbed it again! - that is a little obscure in the story, that detail. But at the end of the story, the elephant had become very weak because of fasting and fighting in the water, and the crocodile was winning! And it�s said at that stage, Gajendra surrendered to the Lord and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord appeared while the crocodile was still hanging on the leg of the elephant. So then of course, the Lord saved him. Anyway, then in the purports to this narration, Srila Prabhupada explains that even although Gajendra was so powerful, he lost because he was outside of his element.
So one must be situated, Srila Prabhupada explained, in a proper asrama, in a proper condition of life where one can function. If one is not situated in a proper condition of life from where one can function, then one becomes weak. So therefore one must be situated in a situation, asrama or place, country, time, place, circumstance where one feels naturally all right. If you put someone from Holland in the Rajasthan desert, it will be very hard- very hard! I mean, we cannot stay there very long- it�s too austere; it gets 50 degrees and more! 60 degrees sometimes! You just can�t function anymore. So we couldn�t live there, it would be very hard to live there. But locals, they use to�they were born there, for them they can mange it, it�s home, it�s natural. So, in this way, one must be situated in a place which works; in a culture where one can function; in an asrama that works and then from that strong position, deal with control of the mind and the senses. Then it will be done. But control of the mind and the senses is not just a matter of, �I shall do it! I will do it!�
I�d like to offer the difference between the determination of the ksatriya and the determination of the brahmana. The Ksatriya, there is the example of Karna. Karna, his birth was obscure because he was Kunti�s son but she got him by mantra from the Sun God before she was married. So she put him in the basket down the river, and this that (which seemed to be a fashion in those days). Anyway, he then was found by a chariot driver. So the chariot driver was not a ksatriya. So therefore Karna was brought up by this chariot driver and therefore his caste was unclear and he was considered to be of the cast of his foster parents. But Karna was such a ksatriya; he couldn�t help himself of being ksatriya. So therefore he went to Dronacarya for an education and Dronacarya would not train him due to unclear caste. So then, he went to Parasurama; Parasurama was the most powerful warrior but Parasurama had sworn that he would never teach a ksatriya. So everyone was saying that Karna was not a ksatriya, so he thought, �Okay, if I�m not a ksatriya then I will learn from Parasurama.� So in this way, Parasurama questioned him to ask if he was a ksatriya, and he said, �No, I am the son of a sudra, a chariot driver.� So in this way he learned. Parasurama was very happy with his disciples, then one day the guru was resting with his head on the legs of the disciple. Then, an insect came. And this insect stung, stung Karna in the leg in such a way that his leg started bleeding and Karna never moved! He didn�t move an inch! He just didn�t even flex his muscles! Thus, his spiritual master did not wake up and that was Karna�s idea. So he had such control of the mind and the senses that he was able to do that. So when Parasurama woke up and he saw the blood, he said, �What is this?� when Karna told the story about the insect�(sniffs) Parasurama smelt a ksatriya! And said, �You! You are a ksatriya!� and he cursed him! He said, �You have cheated me; you have learned from me but you will forget whatever you have learned at the time that you will need it the most!� That was the curse. Then of course, in this way, Karna got defeated in a fight with Arjuna later in the battle of Kuruksetra. But let�s look for a moment at the situation�
What Karna could tolerate, no one else could tolerate; a brahmana could not tolerate. So in one sense the tolerance of the ksatriya is greater than that of a brahmana in the sense that the ksatriya can do it on determination- he can tolerate anything! But in the long term, the tolerance of the brahmana is greater because the brahmana is not tolerating on determination, a brahmana is tolerating on knowledge. He knows it�s better and therefore there�s no alternative to tolerate- what can he do! No, there�s no alternative. Whereas a ksatriya may not necessarily understand all the reasons why it�s better but he just grits his teeth and, �It must be done! It will be done!� So, if we think that controlling the mind and the senses is a matter of just determination, then we get into the ksatriya mode. But we should do it�controlling the mind and senses, not just because it says here but because we understand that if we don�t, we�ll get in the biggest, biggest trouble. Then we logically wouldn�t do it. Just as you�re not just going to put your hand in fire because you know you�re going to burn. You�re not just going to go for a swim in the canals in Amsterdam, even on a hot day when you feel like a swim, because you know those canals- you might dissolve if you go in there! Or God knows what lives in there! There might be crocodiles for as far as I know, or piranha�s- anything can be there! It�s something else! Or you might wound up with a certain piece of something brown on your head as you are swimming! In other words it�s not exactly a desirable thing to do�! So no one in his right mind would do that. But someone in ignorance of what Amsterdam canals are like, on a hot day might just feel like taking a swim. If you look at it, it can look attractive- nice water, swim, swim, swim�no way hozay!
So like that, knowledge changes the whole perspective. So this is the essence. Therefore, our mind control, our sense control must be based on knowledge, understanding that it�s better to control the mind and senses. Same way the four regulative principles; we must know that the four regulative principles are better. We must really see how they are better, how they improve our life. Then we can do it. You cannot just say, �Okay, this is what Srila Prabhupada wanted and therefore I must do it, therefore I shall do it, I will do it, I�m going to do it, for my whole life! I�ll take initiation now�I�m ready!� No, you�re not ready. You have to do it on the strength of knowledge, understand why it�s better- really thoroughly understand why it�s better, 100�s of reasons- then you�ll do it, then you�ll do it for a lifetime. Because, the strongest man who can carry the biggest burden will become weak with time and then even the biggest weight lifter, with time, cannot even lift one kilo anymore! Time wears out all of us and this is the big thing in austerity, in sense control, in mind control, is time and this is what we�re facing. How are we going to last for a lifetime? That is the question. Only on the strength of higher knowledge and realisation, on the strength of knowledge and on the strength of happiness that we�re going to be able to last a long time.
So knowledge, if we apply it, will give us that happiness. Therefore this combination of the knowledge and the happiness is the key. Okay, now any questions, any comments? because I�m leaving in five minutes�
Question: You said that in the spiritual world we have to serve in the (?) and the (?) is serving Krsna directly�
Maharaja: Radharani is�yes, some of the gopi�s are or some of the residents of Vrndavana are serving Krsna directly; Nanda and Yasoda- they are serving directly. So those devotees who are serving directly, they are the eternal associates of Krsna and they are known as ragatmika bhakta�s. And we must be raganuga. Ragatmika means�raga is deep, devotional attachment; atmika means their very being, their very self. Atma means the soul; atmika- the self. So they are the embodiment of deep emotional attachment to Krsna. And then we should become raganuga- anuga means the followers- so we should become the followers of those that have the deep attachment. That is the process. So therefore at one stage in one�s spiritual life, one may begin to develop a preference for a particular rasa- serve Krsna in a particular mood- either in the conjugal, parental, friendship, servitorship or neutral. Neutral is not very much desired by devotees. So anyway, then we will follow in the footsteps of such a devotee. That is the way it works. So yes we�re always the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant�and our acaryas are the servants of the servants of the servants; they�re serving the servants of the gopi�s of Vrndavana or the residents of Vrndavana. That is the process. So we practice already- we serve the temple devotees and eventually one must serve a spiritual master and then just really become the property of the spiritual master. So as we serve the vaisnavas it�s like we try, but when it comes to serving the spiritual master, you have to! The order of the spiritual master is absolute. One has to accept whatever the spiritual master says. And it�s really�like if he would say, �Sell your house!� you know what I mean, then sell your house! He�ll say, �Marry this one!� then you marry�and in the past we did many things like that. Like my spiritual master in those days once told me to stay illegal in Australia, which is something I don�t like- really don�t like stuff like that, you know, and I had false papers! Something I really don�t like! But I did and I had a false drivers license! And then I had a medi-care and everything in that name! But because the drivers license in those days in Australia, in one state, there was a drivers the license without picture, so therefore I used somebody else�s drivers license! But I also had my own drivers license still and I thought if I ever make an accident, I�ll just show my own license! � But anyway sometimes we�maybe that�s an extreme example I�m giving but I just give the example to add a little colour to my statement. But the principle is there; that one must surrender to a spiritual master- whatever he wants.
Sanatana Goswami had big sores on his body- very bad- and he was really thinking to give up his body. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu knew his mind and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu one day told him, He said, �No! This body�you have surrendered to Me already. So your body is My property!� So that�s as far as it goes�So we must become the servant of somebody.
I have to go�