Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.1 Excerpt Prabhupada: The soul is the production of Krsna. Therefore ultimately, He is our dearmost friend. We are trying to love somebody. That somebody is a perverted reflection of Krsna. Actually… Just like the child. The child is searching after the mother’s breast. And it is crying. If somebody takes the child, he’s not satisfied. Because he cannot express that “I want my mother.” Similarly, we are hankering after loving Krsna in a perverted way. But because we have no information of Krsna, we have forgotten our relationship with Krsna, therefore we are loving this body, that body. Ultimately, I am loving a cat or dog or something else. The love is there, but we have misplaced the love. As soon as we replace our love to Krsna, then our perfection of love is manifested and our perfection of life is also achieved. Lord Caitanya preached this philosophy that prema pum-artho mahan. Prema, prema means love. His philosophy, Lord Caitanya’s philosophy, is aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayah. Vrajesa-tanayah means Krsna. Krsna appeared as the son of the king of Vraja, Vrndavana. Therefore And tanaya means son. So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, His propagation, His teaching, the substance of His teaching is that Krsna is the most worshipable object. Aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas tad-dhama vrndavanam. And as He is worshipable, similarly His place, the Vrndavana, where He appeared, that is also worshipable. Aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas tad-dhama vrndavanam ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena ya kalpita. And the method of worship, the best method of worship of Krsna was exhibited by the gopis. Now what were the worshipable method of the gopis? They were not very learned scholars or Vedantists. Or theosophists or mental speculators. None. They were ordinary village girls. And that also, not coming of a very high royal family or brahmana family. They were cowherdsmen. So their fathers were not very rich, but they had several cows, that’s all. So the gopis’ method of Krsna worship was that they could not forget Krsna even for a moment. That was their qualification. There are many verses about the mental situation of the gopis. I shall just try to explain you about their mentality, how they are loving Krsna. Krsna used to take His cows to the forest for pasturing. And the gopis, when Krsna was away from the village, the gopis were thinking, “Oh, Krsna’s, I mean to say, foot is so soft, and He’s walking barefooted on the stones and chips of stones, and they are pricking His foot. Oh, how much He’s suffering!” In this way they were thinking and crying. Krsna is away from the village and is walking in the forest, and the gopis were thinking at home that, “How much troublesome the walking is that He has gone out.” In this way there are so many. So while they were at home, while they were cooking or they were feeding their children, always they were thinking of Krsna. That was their qualification. That’s all. They were so much absorbed in thoughts of Krsna that not a single moment were without Krsna consciousness. So therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommends that ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena ya kalpita. There is no better method of worship than it was conceived by the gopis. And what was that? The gopis were twenty four hours, they were always Krsna conscious. They were requesting Krsna, “My dear Krsna, many, many yogis, many, many saintly persons, they go to the forest and meditate upon Your lotus feet. But they cannot fix up. They meditate Your lotus feet, but still, they think of something else. They are not perfect. Their meditation fails. But in our case Your lotus feet is so much fixed up in our heart that we are thinking of You and we cannot discharge our family duties. So kindly get out of our heart.” Just see. “Please excuse. Kindly go out of our heart so that I, we can do our duties.” That was their prayer. Therefore that is Krsna consciousness, ideal Krsna consciousness. You have to mold your life in such a way that you cannot think of Krsna, you cannot think but Krsna, only. The gopis were doing their duties. They were household…, housewife, girls. They had their husbands, children. But in spite of all these things, they were thinking of Krsna. So this is the instruction in the Bhagavad-gita. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. Krsna says that “Always be thinking of Me in your mind.” Man-mana. Manah means mind. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto, “and become My devotee. Don’t think Me as your enemy.” Sometimes Krsna is thought of as enemy. That kind of thought is useless. Not useless. Of course, the enemies who thought of Krsna always, they also got salvation. Because, after all, they thought of Krsna. But not in that way. Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto, “Just becoming My lover and devotee.” Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji, “Just worship Me,” mad-yaji mam namaskuru, “and offer your obeisances unto Me. In this way,” mam evaisyasi, “You’ll come back to Me,” asamsayah, “without any doubt.” So this is the benefit of Krsna consciousness, and Prahlada Maharaja is teaching that in this human form of life, especially from childhood, people should be taught God consciousness, Krsna consciousness, somehow or other. Then their life will be successful. And don’t spoil your life otherwise… This is the instruction, we have begun and we shall continue it. If you please come, we shall talk further. If any… (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
San Francisco, March 16, 1968