First of all understand Kṛṣṇa. Just like if you become a friend of some very big man, so first of all try to understand him. Then you'll try to understand his family affairs or confidential things. But these people jump over to the rāsa-līlā, and misunderstand. And therefore they sometimes say: "Kṛṣṇa is immoral." How Kṛṣṇa can be immoral? By accepting, by chanting Kṛṣṇa's name, the immoral persons are becoming moral, and Kṛṣṇa is immoral. Just see the foolishness. Simply by chanting Kṛṣṇa's name, all immoral persons are becoming moral. And Kṛṣṇa is immoral. And it is spoken by a rascal professor.
So it is very difficult. Nobody can understand Kṛṣṇa without become a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Because Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yas cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). Tattvataḥ, in truth. Tattvataḥ means truth. If one wants to understand Kṛṣṇa as He is, then he has to take this process of devotional service, bhakta, bhakti. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). When one is employed as the servitor of Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of senses . . . master, and hṛsīkeṇa, when your senses are also engaged in the service of the master of the senses, then you also become master of the senses. You also. Because your senses are engaged in the service of the Hṛṣīkeśa, the senses have no other opportunity to be engaged. Locked up. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18).
So this is the process of devotional service. If you want to become master of the senses, gosvāmī, svāmī, then you should always keep your senses engaged in the service of Hṛṣīkeśa. That is the only way. Otherwise it is not possible. As soon as you become a little slack to engage your senses in the service of the master of the senses, immediately māyā is there, "Come on, please." This is the process.
- kṛṣṇa bhuliyā jīva bhoga vāñchā kare
- pāsate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
- (Prema-vivarta 6.2)
As soon as you forget Kṛṣṇa, even for a moment, immediately māyā is there, "Please, my dear friend, come here." Therefore we have to become very cautious. We cannot forget Kṛṣṇa even for a moment. Therefore the chanting process, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma . . . always remember Kṛṣṇa. Then māyā will not be able to touch you. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etān taranti (BG 7.14). Māyā cannot touch. Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was engaged in the service of Hṛṣīkeśa. Māyā came in full-fledged strength. Still, she was defeated; Haridāsa Ṭhākura was not defeated. So try to understand Kṛṣṇa as Hṛṣīkeśa.
So Hṛṣīkeśa, Kṛṣṇa, began to laugh that, "He is My friend, constant associate, and such weakness. He first of all was enthusiastic to ask Me to keep his chariot, senayor ubhayor madhye. Now viṣīdantan, now he is lamenting." So . . . we are all fools like that. Arjuna is not fool. Arjuna has been described as Guḍākeśa. How he can be fool? But he is playing the part of fool. If he does not play the part of a fool, how this Bhagavad-gītā will come from the mouth of Śrī Kṛṣṇa? And because he is devotee, he is perfectly playing in such a way that Kṛṣṇa is giving instruction. So perfect teacher and the perfect disciple, Arjuna. We have to learn from their de . . . our position . . . Arjuna is representing just like ordinary man like us, and Kṛṣṇa as Hṛṣīkeśa, giving His advice, perfect advice. If we take . . . if we read Bhagavad-gītā in the spirit of understanding like Arjuna, the perfect disciple, and if we accept the advice and instruction of Kṛṣṇa, the perfect teacher, then we should know that we have understood Bhagavad-gītā.
By my mental speculation, by rascal interpretation, by showing one's scholarship, you cannot understand Bhagavad-gītā. That is not possible. Submissive. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). So we have to surrender as Arjuna, he surrendered. Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7): "I surrender unto You. I become Your disciple." To become disciple means to surrender, voluntarily accepting the instruction, the advice, the order of the spiritual master. So Arjuna has already accepted that, although he is speaking that na yotsye, "Kṛṣṇa, I shall not fight." But master, when He explains everything, he will fight. Master's order. Not to fight, that is his own sense gratification. And to fight in spite of he had no desire to fight, that is the satisfaction of the master. This is the sum and substance of Bhagavad-gītā.