0 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,638 Lect LA 1968-12-23 Message to London Temple 1 00:00:02,639 --> 00:00:07,160 ANNOUNCER: Next is a speech to the members of London ISKCON temple, 2 00:00:07,161 --> 00:00:12,952 given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, 3 00:00:12,953 --> 00:00:20,208 recorded on December 23rd, 1968 in Los Angeles. 4 00:00:20,209 --> 00:00:26,232 PRABHUPĀDA: ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā 5 00:00:26,233 --> 00:00:33,285 cakṣur-unmilitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ [Svetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23] 6 00:00:33,286 --> 00:00:41,169 I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual master, 7 00:00:41,170 --> 00:00:48,419 who has opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge 8 00:00:48,420 --> 00:00:53,885 in my material existence of darkness. 9 00:00:53,886 --> 00:01:03,351 Ladies and Gentlemen, please accept my greetings in the happy new year of 1969, 10 00:01:03,352 --> 00:01:09,569 and blessings of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, 11 00:01:09,570 --> 00:01:17,607 for your kindly participating in this happy meeting of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 12 00:01:17,608 --> 00:01:24,293 Kṛṣṇa appeared on this earthly planet five thousand years ago 13 00:01:24,294 --> 00:01:29,973 and gave us the unique philosophy and religious principles 14 00:01:29,974 --> 00:01:36,692 of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the shape of the Bhagavad-gītā. 15 00:01:36,693 --> 00:01:40,751 Unfortunately, in course of time, 16 00:01:40,752 --> 00:01:45,654 as things change and deteriorate in the material world, 17 00:01:45,655 --> 00:01:52,939 people deteriorated and forgot the art of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 18 00:01:52,940 --> 00:02:00,645 Lord Kṛṣṇa again therefore appeared as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu 19 00:02:00,646 --> 00:02:03,664 at the end of the fifteenth century 20 00:02:03,665 --> 00:02:10,871 to revive the same Kṛṣṇa consciousness atmosphere in the human society. 21 00:02:10,872 --> 00:02:16,148 Lord Caitanya’s special gift to the fallen souls of this age 22 00:02:16,149 --> 00:02:23,781 of quarrel and disagreement is to induce the people in general, the religionists, 23 00:02:23,782 --> 00:02:31,720 the philosophers and everyone to take to the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. 24 00:02:31,721 --> 00:02:37,275 He informed us that the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead 25 00:02:37,276 --> 00:02:42,459 can descend also in transcendental sound vibration, 26 00:02:42,460 --> 00:02:48,919 and thus, when you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra offenselessly, 27 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:55,355 we immediately contact Kṛṣṇa and His internal energy, 28 00:02:55,356 --> 00:03:03,041 and thus we become immediately purified from all dirty things in our heart. 29 00:03:03,042 --> 00:03:10,687 Our conditional life of material existence is due to dirty things in our heart. 30 00:03:10,688 --> 00:03:15,597 Originally we are all Kṛṣṇa conscious living beings, 31 00:03:15,598 --> 00:03:22,301 but due to our long material association in different species of life, 32 00:03:22,302 --> 00:03:28,705 varying to 8,400,000 different forms of life, 33 00:03:28,706 --> 00:03:35,591 we are accustomed to transmigrating from one form of body or another. 34 00:03:35,592 --> 00:03:41,721 In such cycle of birth and death, I, you, and every one of us, 35 00:03:41,722 --> 00:03:44,654 although originally spirit soul 36 00:03:44,655 --> 00:03:51,254 and therefore qualitatively one in constitution with the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, 37 00:03:51,255 --> 00:03:55,657 we have identified with this material form of life, 38 00:03:55,658 --> 00:04:00,045 subjected to various forms of material pangs, 39 00:04:00,046 --> 00:04:06,341 specifically in the shape of birth, death, old age and disease. 40 00:04:06,342 --> 00:04:12,544 The whole material civilization is a process of hard struggle of life, 41 00:04:12,545 --> 00:04:16,848 ending in birth, death, old age and disease. 42 00:04:16,849 --> 00:04:20,865 The human society is struggling fruitlessly 43 00:04:20,866 --> 00:04:25,993 against these perpetual problems of life in different ways. 44 00:04:25,994 --> 00:04:30,258 Some of them are making material attempts 45 00:04:30,259 --> 00:04:35,229 and some of them are making partially spiritual attempts. 46 00:04:35,230 --> 00:04:40,226 The materialists are trying to solve the problems by achievement 47 00:04:40,227 --> 00:04:46,863 of scientific knowledge, education, philosophy, morality, ethics, 48 00:04:46,864 --> 00:04:53,709 poetic thoughts, etc., and the spiritualists are trying to solve the problems 49 00:04:53,710 --> 00:05:01,691 by different theses like discerning matter from spirit in various ways. 50 00:05:01,692 --> 00:05:09,367 And some of them are trying as mystic yogis to arrive at the right conclusion. 51 00:05:09,368 --> 00:05:15,646 But all of them must know it for certain that in this age of Kali, 52 00:05:15,647 --> 00:05:24,591 or the age of quarrel and dis… dissension, there is no possibility of success 53 00:05:24,592 --> 00:05:31,639 without accepting the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 54 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:36,538 Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 55 00:05:36,539 --> 00:05:42,653 has therefore recommended that everyone, be he a fruitive worker, 56 00:05:42,654 --> 00:05:46,217 a salvationist or a mystic yogi, 57 00:05:46,218 --> 00:05:51,197 if actually he wants to be freed from the pangs of material existence, 58 00:05:51,198 --> 00:05:54,173 he must take to the process of chanting 59 00:05:54,174 --> 00:05:58,629 Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare 60 00:05:58,630 --> 00:06:03,723 Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare 61 00:06:03,724 --> 00:06:09,645 Kṛṣṇa consciousness is therefore an art of changing our hearts 62 00:06:09,646 --> 00:06:14,441 by purification from the dust of material desires. 63 00:06:14,442 --> 00:06:19,667 We cannot stop our desires because as living entities, 64 00:06:19,668 --> 00:06:25,056 desiring is the component part of our constitution. 65 00:06:25,057 --> 00:06:31,633 Therefore we cannot give up our desires, but we can purify our desires. 66 00:06:31,634 --> 00:06:37,862 Killing of desire is no solution, but curing the desires, 67 00:06:37,863 --> 00:06:42,158 diseased condition of desire, is the right solution. 68 00:06:42,159 --> 00:06:49,888 As such, therefore, this dust of misunderstanding is cleared off. 69 00:06:49,889 --> 00:06:54,318 We can see our real position of life 70 00:06:54,319 --> 00:06:59,001 and make steady progress towards the ultimate goal of life. 71 00:06:59,002 --> 00:07:04,919 We have forgotten the ultimate goal of our life due to lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 72 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:10,097 Therefore our entire activity should be executed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness 73 00:07:10,098 --> 00:07:15,208 to revive our lost relationship with God, or Kṛṣṇa. 74 00:07:15,209 --> 00:07:20,966 We do not prohibit anyone to cease from the present occupational duties, 75 00:07:20,967 --> 00:07:22,966 but we simply recommend 76 00:07:22,967 --> 00:07:26,688 that he executes such duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 77 00:07:26,689 --> 00:07:30,104 Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu 78 00:07:30,105 --> 00:07:34,773 never recommended changing one’s position of life, 79 00:07:34,774 --> 00:07:38,822 but He favored the process of hearing about Kṛṣṇa 80 00:07:38,823 --> 00:07:41,981 from the right, bona fide source. 81 00:07:41,982 --> 00:07:47,780 One should give up the artificial process of philosophical speculation 82 00:07:47,781 --> 00:07:54,227 to arrive at the real goal of life, but one should submissively hear 83 00:07:54,228 --> 00:07:57,409 about the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, 84 00:07:57,410 --> 00:08:05,106 which is generally inculcated in Śrīmad- Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. 85 00:08:05,107 --> 00:08:12,683 If one submissively chants the mahā- mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, 86 00:08:12,684 --> 00:08:18,077 and hears the message of Kṛṣṇa as it is in the Bhagavad-gītā 87 00:08:18,078 --> 00:08:20,570 without any malinterpretation, 88 00:08:20,571 --> 00:08:27,528 then he does not have to change his position by some artificial method. 89 00:08:27,529 --> 00:08:31,013 Simply by the method of chanting and hearing, 90 00:08:31,014 --> 00:08:36,914 he comes to a transcendental position which will help him to know God, 91 00:08:36,915 --> 00:08:44,514 His name, His form, His quality, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, and so on. 92 00:08:44,515 --> 00:08:49,330 We are, however, misled by persons and leaders 93 00:08:49,331 --> 00:08:53,386 who have very little connection with God, or Kṛṣṇa. 94 00:08:53,387 --> 00:08:56,825 Some of them are denying the existence of God, 95 00:08:56,826 --> 00:09:03,428 some of them are falsely trying to place themselves in place of God, 96 00:09:03,429 --> 00:09:08,299 some of them are in favor of the impersonal feature of God, 97 00:09:08,300 --> 00:09:14,257 and, at last, some of them, without being able to reach any right conclusion, 98 00:09:14,258 --> 00:09:19,527 are accepting the ultimate goal of life as void, or zero, 99 00:09:19,528 --> 00:09:26,514 in utter hopelessness and frustration. 100 00:09:26,515 --> 00:09:32,641 But Kṛṣṇa consciousness is solid ground for understanding Kṛṣṇa, or God, 101 00:09:32,642 --> 00:09:39,051 directly by the simple method of chanting the holy name of God, or Kṛṣṇa. 102 00:09:39,052 --> 00:09:44,855 Misled by blind leaders, the followers who themselves are blind 103 00:09:44,856 --> 00:09:48,152 have failed to achieve the desired success, 104 00:09:48,153 --> 00:09:53,109 but here is a method called by the name Kṛṣṇa consciousness 105 00:09:53,110 --> 00:09:56,287 which is directly offered by Kṛṣṇa, 106 00:09:56,288 --> 00:10:00,876 and the instructions are plainly described in the Bhagavad-gītā, 107 00:10:00,877 --> 00:10:04,584 given to us five thousand years ago, 108 00:10:04,585 --> 00:10:10,651 and again confirmed by Him in the form of Lord Caitanya five hundred years ago. 109 00:10:10,652 --> 00:10:18,571 This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a great art of life, very easy and sublime. 110 00:10:18,572 --> 00:10:23,437 This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement gives you everything you want, 111 00:10:23,438 --> 00:10:26,211 without any artificial endeavor. 112 00:10:26,212 --> 00:10:31,597 It is transcendentally colorful and full of transcendental pleasure. 113 00:10:31,598 --> 00:10:37,031 We prosecute these Kṛṣṇa consciousness activities through singing, dancing, 114 00:10:37,032 --> 00:10:43,644 eating, and talking philosophy received through authorized disciplic succession, 115 00:10:43,645 --> 00:10:47,542 and therefore it gives us everything we want, 116 00:10:47,543 --> 00:10:52,447 without any artificial change of our natural instincts. 117 00:10:52,448 --> 00:10:58,160 The consciousness is there in you, but it is now dirty consciousness, 118 00:10:58,161 --> 00:11:04,760 and what you have to do now is to cleanse it from all dirty things 119 00:11:04,761 --> 00:11:08,030 and make it clear Kṛṣṇa consciousness 120 00:11:08,031 --> 00:11:13,660 in pleasant method by chanting the glorified holy name of God: 121 00:11:13,661 --> 00:11:17,733 Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare 122 00:11:17,734 --> 00:11:26,605 Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare 123 00:11:26,606 --> 00:11:26,607 Subtitles by Pratyatoṣa Dāsa, Causelessmercy.com