Indian man: (indistinct) . . . praising anyone that can perform even, praying to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So the fundamental is the four things. Please explain.
Devotee: He's talking about the four principles which are compulsory to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Indian man: Yes, compulsory.
Prabhupāda: Yes, because we are now dull brain. Anyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is described as rascal.
- na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
- prapadyante narādhamāḥ
- māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
- āsuriṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
- (BG 7.15)
This is Kṛṣṇa's words, that anyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he must be in one of these groups. What are the groups? Duṣkṛtinaḥ—meritorious sinful person. A person is merit. He has got merit. Just like a thief, a rogue, a cheater, he has got merit undoubtedly. Without being meritorious, they cannot be expert thief or expert rogue or expert politician. (laughter) So they have got merit, but duṣkṛtinaḥ. Kṛti means merit, and duṣ means abominable. Merit is being used for bad purposes or sinful purposes. They are called duṣkṛtinaḥ. This is one group. Another group—mūḍha. Mūḍha means fools, rascals or children, those who have no knowledge or one who does not know what is the purpose of life. They are called mūḍhas. And another group is called narādhama. Naradhāma means the lowest of the mankind. The highest of the mankind is one who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, and the lowest, one who does not know what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the lowest of the mankind. This human life, human form of life was given to him by laws of nature to understand Kṛṣṇa, or God, but he's not using it. Misusing it. They are called narādhama. And then, next group is māyayāpahṛta jñāna. You can say, "There are so many learned persons. They are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. They are after drinking and eating meat and . . . they are education." So then, He says that "They are educated. They have so-called educated, but their real knowledge is taken away." Just like one is rich man, but his money is taken away. So these four groups . . . so why this meritorious person or educated person, they do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness? That means dull brain. So in order to make the dull brain suitable for understanding Kṛṣṇa, these four principles of austerities is the first need: no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. Then his brain, the finer tissues of the brain, will develop to understand Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise it is not possible.