Srila Prabhupada on Christmas and Love of God

Dec 24, CANADA (SUN) — Excerpt from a lecture by Srila Prabhupada on Srimad-Bhagavatam – December 02, 1968, Los Angeles. It is said that this Krsna consciousness movement is not an artificial thing that we have manufactured something, ideal thing, concocted, and we are preaching to the world that “You become Krsna conscious.” No. The Krsna consciousness is there. What is that Krsna consciousness? To love God. That is there. We are simply helping that “You try to love God; then you’ll be happy.” That is our mission. 

JesusIt is said that this Krsna consciousness movement is not an artificial thing that we have manufactured something, ideal thing, concocted, and we are preaching to the world that “You become Krsna conscious.” No. The Krsna consciousness is there. What is that Krsna consciousness? To love God. That is there. We are simply helping that “You try to love God; then you’ll be happy.” That is our mission.

Therefore this Krsna consciousness movement is postgraduate position of all religions. It is not any sectarian religion. You accept Christianity–very good. You accept Muhammadanism, Islamism–very good. You accept Hinduism–that’s all right. We have no quarrel with Hindus and Muslims or Christians or Buddhists. But our objective is that religion means there is connection, relationship with God.

Take, for example, Christian religion. They accept God: “God created this,” the beginning of Bible. That’s a fact. So the God consciousness is there. “God is great,” the God consciousness there. Now these Christmas holidays you have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you’ll observe nice festivals, festivities. Why? Where it began? God consciousness. Lord Christ he came to give you God consciousness, and in his relationship these festivities are going on. It may be degraded in another form. The beginning is God consciousness, but we have lost it.

So people cannot be happy without reviving God consciousness. It may be named in a different way–“Krsna consciousness.” That means God consciousness. That is the necessity. He’s trying to love somebody. That somebody’s love will be perfected when he loves Krsna or God. We are teaching that. Try to love God, and if you love God, if you love Krsna, then automatically you love everybody. That is the perfection of love. The example is just like if you love your stomach, if you supply nice food to your stomach, that means you love all the parts of your body. If you supply foodstuff in the stomach, the energy is distributed in all parts of the body. That means you love all parts of the body. If you love the tree, you pour water on the root and the water is distributed to the branches, fruits, flowers, leaves, everywhere.

So you try to love God and you’ll see that you’re loving even an ant. There are many examples I can cite in the history, how a man became universal lover. I have told you many times the story of a hunter. The hunter was taking pleasure by killing animals half, and when the same hunter became a devotee, he was not prepared to kill even an ant. So this is love of Godhead. This is the science. The same hunter who was killing every day so many animals, when he became a great devotee of Lord, he was not willing–because he becomes vastly learned. To become lover of God means fully enlightened in consciousness. He sees that “Here is an ant. This living entity, a small living entity, is also part and parcel. By his own work, he has got this insignificant body as an ant. I have got this human form of body, but that does not make any difference between the soul and the soul.” Panditah sama-darsinah. When it becomes actually… When a man becomes actually learned, he’s sama-darsi. He sees everyone on the equal level.

I was seeing just this evening the Ten Commandments. Now, in the Ten Commandments, the one commandment is that “Thou shall not kill.” But I am sorry to feel that killing propensity is so great in the Christian world. Why? Because there is lack of love of God. “Thou shall not kill.” Now there is organized killing process. So I do not know how they are following the Christian principles. It is clearly stated, “Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not tease your neighbor.” So why should I tease an animal neighbor? These defects are due to lack of love of God.

Therefore the whole problems of the world can be solved only by this movement, how to love God. This is a very sane proposal. Let anybody come before us and we shall be able to convince him that this is the only solution for all the problems of the world. You try to love God and everything will be solved. Otherwise, there is no possibility. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah. These are stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Andha yathandhair upaniyamanas te ‘pisa-tantryam uru-damni baddhah. They do not know what is the solution of world problems. What is that solution? They do not know the solution is svartha-gatim hi visnum, your interest is to love God. Unfortunately, you have been misled, durasaya, by a false hope. Bahir-artha-maninah, by external energy. The leaders… Now we are preaching love of God, nobody is interested. But if we had given some political bluff that “Here will be such and such party’s meeting, and it will give you heaven hand to hand,” oh, people will throng. You see. Because they are cheating. Satya bole ta mare lakta(?).

There is a nice poet, he says that if you tell the truth, people will come with their logs to hurt you. And chuta jagat bolai(?): and if you bluff them, they will be very nicely follower. This is the position. Actually, this is the solution. It is not that “This Krsna consciousness movement or Bhaktivedanta Swami who has started, he has concocted this idea.” No. It is standard. You come to argument, to reason. This formula that your interest is to love God. You have no other interest in this human form of life. Then your problems of life will be solved. Otherwise there is no possibility. If any other person is giving you any other idea, he’s simply misleading you.

That is also stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, andha yathandhair upaniyamanah. Just like a blind man is leading other blind men. What he’ll do? If a blind man says, “Come on. Come along with me. I shall cross you this road.” What is the benefit of this assurance? He is blind himself. Therefore in spite of so much endeavor in the United Nations for the last twenty or twenty-five years, there is no solution. Simply the flags are increasing. Instead of becoming united, the flags are increasing. I have got practical experience. Now India become independent. So India was one. Now there are two: Pakistan and India. So there was one flag; now it is two. And gradually, it will increase to four. So when I pass that United Nations building, I simply see the flags are increasing. Instead of increasing the peace movement, the flags are increasing, that’s all. So this sort of bluffing blind leaders cannot make happy the human society. This is the only solution: to push on Krsna consciousness movement, love of Godhead. Everyone will be happy, the human society. Visvam purnam sukhayate. Whole universe will be just like Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha means without anxieties. The material civilization means full of anxiety, full of anxiety. Nobody… Just like everyone, every animal, every bird, everyone is anxious. The bird, you give him some grains, it will eat, but it will look like this: “Oh, if somebody is not coming to kill me.” Anxiety, you see. America is so great, big nation, full of anxiety: “Russia is not coming? China is not coming? Oh, the Vietnam is there.” The China is also, “Oh, America is doing something. Oh. Let us see.” This is going on. What is this greatness? Increasing the anxieties, that’s all. Sada samudvigna-dhiyam asad-grahat. Because they have accepted something unreal which will not give them happiness. Here is reality, love of God. You take it. Don’t expect that it will be taken by all the nations, all the people. You take it individually and see how much you are happy. Individual. That is our request.

So we have no place. So we don’t mind. We can sit down underneath a tree and preach this Krsna consciousness movement. Some gentleman has offered this garage. That’s all right. So people are afraid to give us place, you see, because we are pushing God consciousness. That is our fault. You see? This is the position. So never mind. We can sit down anywhere and chant Hare Krsna. And I’ll request you to come and join us, and you’ll be happy.

Thank you very much.

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