View source for The Vrndavana people were ordinary men, agriculturists, taking care of the cows. They were not Vedantists, not philosopher, not scientist. Ordinary. But what is their credit? The credit is nobody could love Krsna excelling them. That was their credit

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[[Category:vrndavana]]
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[[Category:Krsna and the Philosophers]]
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[[Category:Love for Krsna]]
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[[Category:Questions Posed by Srila Prabhupada]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="General_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Lectures" text="General Lectures"><h3>General Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureExcerptLosAngelesJuly51971_0" class="quote" parent="General_Lectures" book="Lec" index="89" link="Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, July 5, 1971" link_text="Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, July 5, 1971">
<div class="heading">These Vṛndāvana people, they were... Nanda Mahārāja, he had 900,000's of cows, and he was a big man amongst the agriculturists. So they were ordinary men, agriculturists, taking care of the cows. They were not Vedāntists, not philosopher, not scientist. Ordinary. But what is their credit? The credit is nobody could love Kṛṣṇa excelling them. That was their credit.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, July 5, 1971|Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, July 5, 1971]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">So one who performs this yoga system, how to increase love for Kṛṣṇa, that's all, then you understand everything. The Vedas, they confirm it. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavanti. If you simply understand Kṛṣṇa, then everything will be understood. Because Kṛṣṇa is everything, God is everything. To understand Kṛṣṇa, simply this attachment... Mayy āsakta-manāḥ. Āsakti means attachment. So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is... We are teaching people, our students especially, how to increase attachment for Kṛṣṇa. Why this temple? They are feeling that "We are sitting in Kṛṣṇa's presence. Kṛṣṇa is so nicely dressed. I am dressing." Otherwise, from atheistic point of view, you see that "Why these people are bothering like this? They have taken a brass idol and wasting time after it?" They can say like that. Because they have no love for Kṛṣṇa. But one who has love for Kṛṣṇa, he sees, "Kṛṣṇa is so kind. He's accepting my dressing. I am crowning. I am garlanding." That is a feeling.</p>
<p>So the whole process is to increase our feeling of love for Kṛṣṇa. That is required. Not anything else. Just (like the) gopīs. They were not Vedāntists. They were not scholars. They were village girls, and also low class. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, the third class. The fourth class is the śūdra. They were neither brāhmaṇa nor kṣatriya. Vaiśya. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam ([[Vanisource:BG 18.44 (1972)|BG 18.44]]). Vaiśyas, they have to take three kinds of profession: agriculture, trade, and cow protection. As the kṣatriyas were meant for giving protection to the human being, the vaiśyas are understood to give protection to the cows. Go-rakṣya. Go means cow; rakṣya means protection. That is their business. So these Vṛndāvana people, they were... Nanda Mahārāja, he had 900,000's of cows, and he was a big man amongst the agriculturists. So they were ordinary men, agriculturists, taking care of the cows. They were not Vedāntists, not philosopher, not scientist. Ordinary. But what is their credit? The credit is nobody could love Kṛṣṇa excelling them. That was their credit. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended, ramyā kācid upāsanā vrajavadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā: "There is no comparison of the method of worship which was adopted by the damsels of Vraja." Unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa. No bargaining: "By loving Kṛṣṇa, I shall become a big man, I shall become a great philosopher, or great scientist," or "I shall improve my material condition." These are anyābhilāṣitā. And bhakti begins when one is devoid of all these material considerations. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Śūnyam means when one makes zero all these material desires. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.167|CC Madhya 19.167]]) even uncovered by the resultant action of philosophical speculation and fruitive activities. Everyone is working to get some result. That is called fruitive activities. So a pure devotee has no such desires. He has no other desires. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanam. Their only business is how to please Kṛṣṇa. That can be done by everyone, if he wants. Take, for example, if you want to please me, it does not require high education or great amount of riches or knowledge or beauty. Nothing. It is your business how to love me, how to please me. That you will know.</p>
<p>So if we want to love Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will let us know. Kṛṣṇa is within you. Simply we have to decide that we shall love Kṛṣṇa only. That is wanted. Then everything is there. Ārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim, nārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim (Nārada-pañcarātra). The kim word is used: "What is the use of?" That is kim. So the śāstra says that if you have learned how to love Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of these books? There is no use. You can avoid anything, all this reading. But if you have actually developed your love for Kṛṣṇa... And after reading all these books, philosophy, science, if you cannot love Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of it? Both ways. Useless. If you do not love, do not develop your love for God or Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of your philosophizing and scientific knowledge? This is all useless. And if you actually have learned how to love Kṛṣṇa, or God, then there is (no) need of philosophy or science or books. So therefore the main point is how to develop. Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends this. Premā pumartho mahān. Our greatest success of life is how to love God, Kṛṣṇa. That is greatest success. Now you can do it. But there is prescribed method, given by great ācāryas. Just like in this temple we are doing. We are timely giving. The atheist will say, "Oh, these are so foolish that they are taking so much labor for preparing food and offering and wasting time. Best thing would have been to go to some club and enjoy wine and playing cards." They'll waste time in that way, but when... We are not wasting, but they say we are wasting time. They will criticize. You see? They are prepared to waste time in a brothel, but if people are sitting nicely in a temple and talking of Kṛṣṇa, serving Kṛṣṇa, they will laugh. That is our position. So we have to become callous to all these criticisms. We have to go with our business, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That's all.</p>
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