So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to train people to come to his original constitutional position. What is that? Every living entity is part and parcel of God. Therefore the duty of the part and parcel is to serve the whole. The part and parcel cannot enjoy individually or independently. That is not possible. Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. It has to enjoy at a certain post. Not that a finger will catch up some rasgullā and enjoy it. That is not possible. It must go through the stomach. The rasagullas will be caught and put into the mouth. It must go to the stomach, and the stomach will digest it, and the energy will be distributed—not only to this finger, but other fingers, other parts of parts of the body. This has to be learned. That is called yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). We are discussing that point. And this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that immediately everyone comes into ecstasy, and he wants to serve Kṛṣṇa.
So this temple or Deity worship, arcana, it gives chance to the people to take part in serving Kṛṣṇa. Just like this child is dancing, it is taken into account of his devotional service; it is not in vain. Anyone who comes here, who hears, who rings some bell or dance or offer obeisances . . . you'll find all these descriptions is there in our Nectar of Devotion. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. Anyone who comes before Him and renders a little service:
- śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
- smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
- arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
- sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
- (SB 7.5.23)
Little service, out of these nine varieties of devotional service. One, two, three, or just one—he is profiting. This is called ajñāta-sukṛti. Without knowledge, some balance of spiritual life is developed. Just like we collect money, four annas, four annas. Just like home saving. Say you can put it four hundred, five hundred, one rupee—one day you'll see it is fifty rupees. So this is called ajñāta-sukṛti. Without sukṛti, without being purified, without being pious, nobody can approach God. That is not possible. Catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtino 'rjuna (BG 7.16). This very word is used by Kṛṣṇa. Sukṛti means those who are . . . whose background is pious. And those who are duṣkṛtinaḥ . . . two words are being used: one sukṛti and one duṣkṛti. Kṛti, kṛti, this word is used, one is very expert. So the "expert" word is there, kṛti, but duṣ and su. There are men who are very expert, but some of them employing their expertness in sinful activities, and some of them employing their expertness in pious activities. That is the difference. You can apply your brain in two ways, this way or that way. But those who are applying their brain for pious activities, they can be devotees, and those who are applying their brain for impious activities, they cannot. That is not possible.
So this Deity worship is open for everyone so that, knowingly or unknowingly, anyone who is coming here, he is becoming pious. Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ (SB 10.12.11). Because Kṛṣṇa worship, or God worship, is not possible for persons who are sinful. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
- janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
- te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
- bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
- (BG 7.28)
Dṛḍha-vratāḥ: firm determination. That kind of devotional life is possible only when one is completely free from the resultant action of sinful activity. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ. Anta-gataṁ: one who has finished. We are suffering and enjoying, in this life. So what we are enjoying, that is due to our pious activities in the past. Just like in our daily business, if you have to take some money from somebody, that is your income; and if you have to pay somebody, that is your expenditure. Two things are going on. You cannot expect here, in this material world, simply income. There must be expenditure. So two things, they are known as sukha and dukha. Sukha means "happiness" and dukha means "distress." So as Prahlāda Mahārāja says, that this sukha and dukha, happiness and distress, is already destined. As soon as I get a certain type of body, my life's happiness and distresses are fixed up. That's all. You cannot change it. That is called destiny. But the atma, although within, encaged within this body, is always separated, apart from. Just like I can give you so many examples, that a dog, the body is dog's body; it must live as dog. But even a dog can be made a devotee. It doesn't matter. Because he has got the body of a dog it does not mean that he cannot be made a devotee. It can be trained. As you train the dog how to bite others at night, so you can train the dog also how to become devotee. Therefore this is training. This child is being trained up. From the beginning of his birth he's in the association of devotees.