I Love Krsna More Than Anything!
Now Prahlad Maharaja makes a further statement about the complications of material life. We must always remember that Krsna consciousness is not a method for criticizing household life. Household life is recommended, but under the condition that one should not forget about his spiritual advancement in life. The difficulty is that in the material concept of life we forget our spiritual ideal. We should,
therefore, be very cautious in dealing with the materialistic world.Because our position is forgetfulness, there are so many regulations on how to become a householder, how to become a brahmacari and how to execute the renounced order of life.
So we have to revive our Krsna consciousness, which is the privilege of this human form. If we fail to revive our Krsna consciousness, then we miss the highest opportunity. We should always remember that. Prahlad Maharaja's position is that one should learn Krsna consciousness from one's childhood. Why? If we do not practice
Krsna consciousness from childhood, in the advanced stage of materialistic life we may be completely forgetful. Although in his childhood he preached in this way, Prahlad Maharaja himself was a householder, but he was a cautious householder. It is not harmful to become a householder and live with family, children and wife, but one should not forget his spiritual advancement--he should be Krsna conscious.
Prahlad Maharaja always reminds us that if we do not practice, if we do not know what the aim of our human form of life is, then we willmiss the opportunity for perfection. That is the point. Here it is said that if you do not practice, if you do not know Krsna consciousness from childhood, it is very difficult later, when you are materially advanced.
There is a very simple example: if a boy is not educated from childhood, it is not possible when he is advanced in age. I have actual experience of this. A father and a daughter both took a B.A. examination, and the daughter came out successful while the father failed. In the advanced stage of life it is no longer possible to absorb any sort of education. If in our advanced stage we sit down for the matriculation examination, we shall fail, and a boy of fourteen will pass. Therefore Prahlad
Maharaja warns that everyone should learn the importance of the science of Godhead from childhood. Otherwise, when one is complicated in family life, it will be impossible. Of course for this age, as I have already explained, Krsna consciousness is easily obtainable by the process of chanting. Generally, however, in the advanced stage of life it is very difficult to have any sort of education.
Prahlad also gives another picture. First of all, the attraction for wife has already been explained. Now he explains the attraction for children. It is customary in the Vedic system that a daughter is given in charity to the son-in-law at the age of twelve or thirteen years. At that time she goes to her father-in-law's house. Her father thinks, "Oh, how can she go?" She is always on her father's mind, and he also thinks of his brother, his old father--all these complications. Similarly,
Arjuna was thinking, "How am I to kill my grandfather? How is this possible?" These family relationships and family affections are very predominant, and they are all impediments to becoming Krsna conscious. We have to be very cautious that our family affections do not overcloud our Krsna consciousness. We should always know that the family relationships of this material world are simply a perverted reflection
of the real relationships in the spiritual world. This family is false--not exactly false, but temporary. It is temporary, but we are eternal; we should not be misled by temporary affection. That is being explained here. Sometimes we are strongly attached to our nicely decorated apartments and nicely made dresses. We think, "How shall I leave these?" This is the materialistic way of life--there is no end to it. Here is a
very nice example. The silk worm entangles itself in its own saliva, and when the imprisonment is finally made, the silk merchants go there and take the silk prison house of the worm and remove the silk. Before the worm comes out, the silk merchant takes the cell, otherwise, if the silk worm cuts its way out, there is no silk. In the same way, our entanglement becomes so tight that we cannot come out of this cell of family attraction. Even though there are so many miseries in the materialistic way of life, we cannot break free. Why? We think that sex life and palatable eating are very nice. Therefore, in spite of so many miserable conditions, we cannot give them up.
In this way, when one is too much entangled in family life, one cannot think of his real benefit--to escape from material life. He becomes entangled. Although he is always disturbed by the threefold miseries of materialistic life, still because there is family affection he cannot come out. He does not know that he is spoiling his limited duration of life simply for the affection of family. He is spoiling the
life that was meant for realizing his eternal self, for realizing his real spiritual life. But, since he is entangled in such family affection, he does not understand what he is doing. If we inquired ofevery family man, or anyone, whether or not he is happy in his material way of life, everyone will say, "I am not happy." But still, no one can cease material activities. Why? Because everyone has become entangled.
Although one is unhappy, he does not express that unhappiness. Why? He is expected to maintain the family which he has created. His only affection is maintenance of the family, and he becomes more and more entangled. Even if one is educated, due to that affection one commits so many sinful activities.
Prahlad Maharaja is trying to impress upon us that detachment is not possible, even if one is highly educated, unless one is trained from the very beginning. That is Prahlad's point of view. Even in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that unless one is Krsna conscious, he cannot become a perfect gentleman. No one can become qualified with high character unless he is Krsna conscious. Why? Because he is hovering on the mental plane, a person who is not in Krsna consciousness has no other direction than to commit sinful activities.
Prahlad says that material entanglement is something like a prison house. If we are not trained from the very beginning of our life about Krsna consciousness, the aim of human life, then we are shackled, just as in the prison house one is shackled with iron chains. We should always remember that the aim of human life is to get out of this material entanglement. If we are not taught at an early age, from the very beginning of school life, or at some stage of life, then the opportunity of this human life will be lost. That is his instruction. "Therefore, my demoniac friends," he addresses them again, "please give up the company of those who are simply after material enjoyment.
"Just make your associations with persons who have taken to Krsna Consciousness." That is his advice. He says to his friends that this Krsna consciousness is not difficult to attain. Why? Krsna consciousness is very dear to us, but we do not understand it. Anyone who takes to Krsna consciousness becomes more and more affected by it and forgets his material consciousness. How? It is very dear to us, but we have forgotten it.
If you are in a foreign country, you might have forgotten your home and family, your family members and friends who are very dear to you. But all of a sudden, if you remember about your home and friends, you at once become very preoccupied. "How shall I meet them?" I know in San Francisco one of our friends left his young children and went to another country, and the eldest child has now grown up. A letter came from the eldest child, and at once the father remembered and sent some money.That affection automatically came, even though he had forgotten for so many years. Similarly, our affection for Krsna is so intimate that as soon as there is some touch of Krsna consciousness, we at once revive our whole relationship with Him.
Everyone has some particular relationship with Krsna the Supreme Lord, that he has forgotten. As soon as we are dovetailed with Krsna consciousness, gradually the old consciousness of our relationship with Krsna is revived. And when our consciousness is actually in the clear stage, we can understand our particular relationship with Krsna. Someone has a relationship with Krsna as friend. Someone has a relationship with Krsna as son and parent, or as lover and beloved or husband and wife. All these relationships are pervertedly reflected in life in the material world. But as soon as we come to the platform of Krsna consciousness, that old relationship with Krsna is revived. We love--everyone of us. I love myself. That is a fact. I love myself, and that self has an intimate relationship with Krsna because the self is part and parcel of Krsna. The self is within this body, and
I love my self better than the body. Similarly, because my self is part and parcel of Krsna, I love Krsna more than anything. But we have forgotten that Krsna is all-pervading. God is all-pervading. This memory has simply to be revived. As soon as we revive our Krsna consciousness we can study everything in relationship with Krsna. Everything then becomes factually lovable. Now I love you or you love me. That love is on the ephemeral stage of this body. But when love of Krsna is developed, I will not love you only, but I will love every living entity because the outward designation, this body, is forgotten. When a man becomes fully Krsna conscious, he does not see, "Here is a man, here is an animal, here is a cat, here is a dog, and here is a worm." He sees everything as part and parcel of Krsna. This is very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gita. "One who is actually learned in Krsna consciousness becomes a lover of the universe." Unless one is situated on the Krsna conscious platform, there is no question of universal brotherhood.
Now we are talking of universal brotherhood. If we actually want to implement the idea of universal brotherhood, then we will have to come to the platform of Krsna consciousness, not material consciousness. As long as we are in material consciousness, our lovable objects will be limited. But when we are actually in Krsna consciousness, our lovable objects will be universal. That is stated by Prahlad Maharaja. "Beginning from the ant or the nonmovable plants and trees and extending to the highest living creature, Brahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present everywhere by His expansion as the Paramatma, the feature of the Lord in everyone's heart. As soon as we become Krsna conscious, that extension of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramatma, induces us to love every object in relation with Krsna."
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