udarah sarva evaite
jnani tv atmaiva me matam
asthitah sa hi yuktatma
mam evanuttamam gatim
“All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me I consider verily to dwell in Me. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he attains Me.” (Bg. 7.18)
Here Krsna is saying that all the men who come to Him—whether they be distressed, in need of money, curious, etc.—are welcomed, but out of them the person who is in knowledge is very dear to Him. The others are welcomed because it is understood that in course of time, if they continue on the path to God, they will become as good as the man of knowledge. Generally, however, it so happens that when one goes to church for profit, and the money doesn’t come, he concludes that approaching God is nonsense, and he gives up all connection with church.
That is the danger of approaching God with ulterior motives. For instance, during World War II it was reported that many wives of the German soldiers went to church to pray for their husbands’ safe return, but when they found they had been killed in battle, they became atheistic. Thus we want God to become our order-supplier, and when He does not supply our order, we say that there is no God. That is the effect of praying for material things.
In this connection there is a story of a little boy, about five years old, named Dhruva, who belonged to a royal family. In the course of time his father, the king, tired of his mother and deposed her as his queen. He then took another woman as queen, and she became stepmother to the boy. She was very envious of him, and one day, as Dhruva was sitting on the father’s knee, she insulted him. “Oh you cannot sit on the lap of your father,” she said, “because you are not born of me.” She dragged Dhruva from his father’s lap and the boy became very angry. He was the son of a ksatriya, and ksatriyas are notorious for their quick tempers. Dhruva took this to be a great insult, and he went to his mother who had been deposed.
“Dear Mother,” he said, “my stepmother has insulted me by dragging me from my father’s lap.”
“Dear son,” the mother replied, “what can I do? I am helpless, and your father no longer cares for me.
“Well, how can I take revenge?” the boy asked.
“My dear boy, you are helpless. Only if God helps you can you take revenge.”
“Oh, where is God?” Dhruva asked enthusiastically.
“I understand so many sages go to the jungle and forest to see God,” the mother replied. “They undergo great penances and austerities in order to find God there.”
At once Dhruva went to the forest and began asking the tiger and the elephant, “Oh, are you God? Are you God?” In this way he was questioning all the animals. Seeing that Dhruva was very much inquisitive, Sri Krsna sent Narada Muni to see about the situation. Narada quickly went to the forest and found Dhruva.
“My dear boy,” Narada said, “you belong to the royal family. You cannot suffer all this penance and austerity. Please return to your home. Your mother and father are very much anxious for you.”
“Please don’t try to divert me in that way,” the boy said. “If you know something about God, or if you know how I can see God, please tell me. Otherwise go away and don’t disturb me.”
When Narada saw that Dhruva was so determined, he initiated him as a disciple and gave him the mantra, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Dhruva chanted this mantra and became perfect, and God came before him.
“My dear Dhruva, what do you want? You can take from Me whatever you want.”
“My dear Lord,” the boy replied, “I was undergoing such severe penances simply for my father’s kingdom and land, but now I have seen You. Even the great sages and saints cannot see You. What is my profit? I left my home to find merely some scraps of glass and rubbish, and instead I have found a very valuable diamond. Now I am satisfied. I have no need to ask anything of You.”
Thus even though one may be poverty-stricken or in distress, if he goes to God with the same determination as Dhruva, intent on seeing God and taking His benediction, and if he happens to see God, he will no longer want anything material. He comes to understand the foolishness of material possessions, and he puts the illusion aside for the real thing. When one becomes situated in Krsna consciousness, like Dhruva Maharaja, he becomes fully satisfied and doesn’t want anything.
The jnani, the wise man, knows that material things are flickering. He also knows that there are three aspects that complicate all material gain—one wants profit from his work, one wants adoration from others because of his riches, and one wants fame because of his wealth. In any case, he knows that all of these apply but to the body and that when the body is finished, they also go. When the body dies, one is no longer a rich man but a spirit soul, and according to his work, he has to enter another body. The Gita says that a wise man is not bewildered by this, for he knows what is what. Why then should he bother himself attaining material wealth? His attitude is, “I have an eternal connection with Krsna, the Supreme Lord. Now let me establish that relationship firmly so that Krsna will take me back to His kingdom.”
The cosmic situation is giving us all facility to reestablish this relationship with Krsna and return to Godhead. This should be our mission in life. Everything we need is bring supplied by God—land, grain, fruits, milk, shelter and clothing. We only have to live peacefully and cultivate Krsna consciousness. That should be our mission in life. We should therefore be satisfied with what God has supplied in the form of food, shelter, defense and sex, and should not want more and more and more. The best type of civilization is one that ascribes to the maxim of “plain living and high thinking.” It is not possible to manufacture food or sex in a factory. These and whatever else we require are supplied by God. Our business is to take advantage of these things and become God conscious.
Although God has given us all facilities to live peacefully on this earth, cultivate Krsna consciousness, and finally to come to Him, in this age we’re unfortunate. We are short-lived, and there are so many people without food, shelter, married life or defense from the onslaughts of nature. This is due to the influence of this age of Kali. Therefore Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, seeing the dreadful situation in this age, emphasized the absolute necessity for cultivating spiritual life. And how should we do it? Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives the formula:
harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha
[Adi 17.21]
“Just always chant Hare Krsna.” Never mind whether you are in a factory or in a hell, in a shack or in a skyscraper—it doesn’t matter. just go on chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. There is no expense, there is no impediment, there is no caste, there is no creed, there is no color—anyone can do it. just chant and hear.
Somehow or other, if one comes into contact with Krsna consciousness and executes the process under the guidance of a bona fide guide, he is sure to go back to God.
[From: "On the Way to Krsna" Ch.5, By His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya for the International Society for Krsna Consciousnesss]
