This human form of life is very precious. People do not understand the value of the human body. They think 'Oh, this life is all-in-all and after I'm dead, everything is finished, so let me enjoy as much as possible, as much sense gratification as possible before it's too late and I have to finish my existence'.
So, this kind of conception of life is a very dark, very fallen, a very degraded conception. Because of this sort of thinking people have lost all kinds of consideration for other living entities, they inflict violence without any restriction on poor animals in the slaughterhouses. Daily millions and millions are suffering, being treated in a very bad way. But people do not even consider, 'Oh, perhaps I should think about what the animal, that living being, sentient being is going through. Because everyone is busy with sense gratification, no one has the time to consider what the other living being is feeling.
'I am the most important personality in the whole universe. My family is very important, my society, my nation. I am the centre of everything that is going on, so if you're outside of my family, if you're outside of my nation, if you're outside of my religious community or whatever, then you become my enemy.' There are so many circles, different sects and cults and they fight with one another. People think that this Hare Krishna is a cult, something weird, but they're all a cult. They're a cult. What is a cult? A cult is a limited circle of people with a common interest. Everyone has some kind of interest. 'Let's fight for Christianity. Let's fight for Islam. Let's fight for America. Let's fight for blacks, let's fight for women, for women's rights'. This is very prominent, that women should be given independence. So they fight.
But if we are all like that, locked up in our limited circles, limited communities where sense gratification is going on... Because that's what it is, it is sense gratification. If I simply think of my family and I don't ever consider the family of a cow... They also have a family. Right? They also have a mother and a father and so on, and when the calf is taken from the mother, the mother cries. Isn't it? These rascals, they say that an animal has no soul. How cruel that is?
This Krishna consciousness movement is started by our Srila Prabhupada, our great spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada is not an ordinary man. He's a very, very exalted devotee. He should be given respect as good as God. This is the proper treatment for the Spiritual Master. Saksad-dharitvena samasta sastrair (Guruvastakam verse 7) He's the Supreme Lord manifested to our eyes. Krishna manifests Himself through the spiritual master. The spiritual master is not God Himself, but because he's so surrendered, completely surrendered to Krishna, Krishna acts through him, so we can understand. We are covered in ignorance, we can't understand what is actually the aim of human life. People challenge us, that 'You're escapists, you're escaping reality. You're not dealing with the real problems. Simply chanting and dancing and taking prasadam, living nicely, no problem, this is naive. This is some kind of a utopia'. Of course, they don't understand that Krishna consciousness is not just chanting and dancing and feasting, it's way beyond that. Arjuna was not chanting, dancing and feasting. If they had the patience to actually understand our philosophy and if they took the time to read this Bhagavad-gita... Why are you expressing any sort of opinion about our movement if you have not read even the basic scripture, which our movement is based upon? Arjuna wasn't chanting and dancing, he was fighting. He was fully immersed in a very responsible duty. He was actually considering, 'If I go and fight, kill the other party, then the women will be unprotected and there will be varna-sankara, unwanted population, unwanted children and that will create a disturbance. Just like now, in Kali-yuga, there is unwanted population, a man and woman, they get together, they have sex life and there is unwanted population. 'Oh, an accident'. Then these unwanted children come up with all these bogus theories, 'Ah, everything is coming by accident', because that's how they came about, by accident. Little sex desire, 'Okay let's go'. And then there is a child, by accident.
So he's an accident, and then he comes out with the accidental view, everything is an accident, 'There's no God, there is nothing, no sense, no order. Everything is chaos, just enjoy'. It is very difficult to preach in this society of varna-sankaras. But Arjuna was responsible, he had a way much more responsible position than you could ever have. The battle of Kuruksetra was actually a World War. There were 640 million soldiers killed in this war. All the kings came there, from all the different parts of the world. We should not be foolish. The Vedas actually explain about all the seven continents, do not think that you've discovered America. Five thousand years ago all these informations were already explained by Srila Vyasadeva. The information is there.
They knew about America. They knew about all these things and all the kings from all over the world assembled together in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra to fight a World War. Bhagavad-gita is not a joke, Arjuna is not some tribal king fighting another tribal king. The whole world came together to fight this war. So, he was considering because he understood, 'Well, my decision will influence the course of happening in the whole world'. So, Krishna says yoginam api sarvesam (Bg.6.47), you're the greatest of all yogis, the greatest devotee, bhakto si me priyo si me (Bg.4.3). He says 'I have explained to you this confidential knowledge of Bhagavad-gita because you're my dear friend and you're My devotee'. This is also Hare Krishna movement, Arjuna, the Raja-rishis. This Bhagavad-gita wasn't explained to low-class men. It was meant for Raja-rishis, the saintly kings.
These saintly things were ruling over the whole world. Where is that politician who can rule over the whole world? He can't even rule over his own senses, over his own mind. So much greedy, the politician, money, power and simply stealing and taxing the citizens and enjoying lavish luxury at the expense of poor people. And then the next politician comes and he steals, then the next one comes. This is the democracy, or as our spiritual master says, 'Demon-crazy'.
People have no understanding that this planet Earth is simply an insignificant tiny little nothing in the whole unlimited spiritual sky. This universe is a dark universe. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21).
The spiritual master is delivering me from darkness, this great, transcendental knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita can take me out of this dark worlds and situate me on my original platform in the spiritual sky of Krishna. Beyond this dark universe, there's the unlimited spiritual sky and in that spiritual sky, in Goloka and Vaikuntha, there is no need of the sun, there is no need of moon because everything is self-effulgent. Just imagine what kind of spiritual world it is. Everything is self-effulgent, quite the opposite of this material world. Here everything is dark and everything is limited. Whatever you want to enjoy, there is a limitation. Whatever relationship you want to establish, there is a limitation. If you want to go beyond this planet or some other universe, some other planet, just like they want to go to the moon planet, these fools and rascals. They don't understand that they cannot. It's not possible because everything is a limitation.
prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate (Bg 3.27)
They think, 'Oh, I can do anything I want', but he's checked by the material nature at every step. So, there are limitations, but because we're conscious because we're free because we're living entities, we understand. Where is this idea coming from? 'Oh, I feel limited. This is something unnatural. I want to be free, I want to go beyond limitations'. Where is this coming from, unless in our original state we belong to the unlimited world? Therefore, there must be an unlimited world. There must be an unlimited spiritual sky, there must be. The proof is that this material world is here, this limited world is here. It's not difficult to understand. It's not a faith, it's not a religion, it's not some sentimentalism. It is a plain fact.
So, those who challenge, 'Oh, you Hare Krishnas, you're escapists', they do not understand that we're actually living in that unlimited consciousness with Krishna in an unlimited universe. We understand that 'Oh, this planet Earth is simply a prison house. It is not all in all'. But they don't understand. They're escaping Krishna. They're escaping in their little limited societies and limited conceptions and limited consciousness, they're escaping from Krishna. So it's the other way around, don't be misguided by these rascals. 'What is night for all beings, is the time of awakening for the self controlled, and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage' (Bg.2.69).
People are pretty much objecting to any sort of spiritual cultivation or practice. They think that's a waste of time. 'Oh, you're escaping'. But, our Srila Prabhupada says, 'Yes, we're escaping. Because, what are you doing? You're simply running like dogs after sense gratification. The dog is running after a bone and you're running after money, you're running after power, running after jobs and simply getting smashed by the material energy.
mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram (Bg. 9.10)
Krishna is chastising you for your rebellion, for your foolishness, for your closed-mindedness, 'Oh, let me hide in darkness, let me hide from Krishna. I do not want to be Krishna conscious because then I will have to finish my illusion that I am God, I am the Purusha'. So, Krishna is chastising you, He sends the material energy to chastise you, to make you intelligent, to wake you up. He sends you a bonafide spiritual master, He sends the bonafide saints, just like Lord Jesus Christ, prophet Mohammed, Buddha and so on. These great souls, they've come here to bring the light, to bring you from that dark corner in the universe, to bring you back home, back to Godhead. 'Come on sir. Come on, enough of this rubbish. Come back home, where you belong'. So we should also go and bring that light to the people, we should not be afraid. They will thank us in the end, 'Oh, Prabhu, thank you so much that you brought me to Krishna consciousness, I was such a fool. I was trying to escape this wonderful blissfulness'.
What is the difficulty? Come and chant Hare Krishna with devotees, nice people. As soon as you come to devotee association, you feel so nice, everyone is nice to you. Because no one is motivated, no one is playing any agenda, 'Oh I want this, I want that, sense gratification'. Everyone is serving Krishna in unity. So, that is the secret of why everyone is blissed out, everything is nice. Taking nice prasadam, hearing this wonderful philosophy. Is there anyone pushing anyone? 'Come on, join us, here, pay some fees...' No, there is no such a thing. Quite the opposite. Wherever you go, you go and enjoy this sort of pleasure. You go into a club where there are some music and dancing and some food and immediately they're gonna charge you, 'Ah, you give us some money'. And there are so many people, they dance, 'Oh, look at me, I'm the best. I'm Krishna, the best dancer', a competition. 'I have to impress the Mataji, oh, look, I have the muscle'. And the Matajis also, the girls also, 'Oh, look, look, my body's the most sexy. Look at this, look at that'. So, quite the opposite. See, this is the foolishness. That boy, he doesn't understand that in Krishna consciousness he becomes free. He's being smashed at every corner, at every step of his life he's being pressured. 'You have to do this, you have to pay, you have to...' The material association, the materialists, they're simply pushing, 'Come with us, come, do this, do that, sign up...' And when you come to Krishna? Nothing. Simply if you want, we ask humbly, you chant this Hare Krishna maha-mantra,
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare
and you go back home, back to Godhead.