Suppose you are working in office. Your immediate boss, the superintendent, if he is pleased, that means the managing director is also pleased. You haven't got to please the managing director separately. If you please his representative, then the managing director sees the report, "Yes, this man is working nice." That he will accept. He has never seen him. But that is not the fact. Kṛṣṇa also seeing you.
So this is called mad-āśritāḥ. Yuñjan . . . mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ (BG 7.1). You have to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa . . . because you have no direct touch of Kṛṣṇa, therefore you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa's representative. Then this yuñjan begins. He will teach you how to practice the bhakti-yoga, how to worship Him, how to think of Him, how to offer obeisances, how to observe the ceremonies. Just like yesterday we perfomed the ceremonies, Ratha-yātrā, so this dress, Jagannātha dress, and function, everything you have to learn. This is called bhakti-yoga, mad-āśrayaḥ. And this, the beginning is mayy āsakta-manāḥ. Āsakti. Āsakti, we have to develop attachment. If you do not develop attachment for Kṛṣṇa, then other things does not come.
So this āsakti attachment has to be practiced. That āsakti, there is rules and regulation, or the method how you can develop, increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa. So the first thing is ādau śraddhā, faith that, "If I become Kṛṣṇa conscious, I will be happy. That is my goal of life." This is called śraddhā. If you have no śraddhā that, "By loving Kṛṣṇa, by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, my life will be perfect, that is perfection of life," then there is no beginning of bhakti-yoga. So first thing is this. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So, "You give up all other engagement, just surrender to Me." So if you have got faith actually, then you can devote yourself fully, cent percent, in the service of, that is the beginning, ādau śraddhā: "Yes, Kṛṣṇa says that by surrendering to Him I shall be free from all sinful reaction." If you have got faith, then you surrender, and actually you will be free from all sinful reaction. Kṛṣṇa says. Kṛṣṇa is not making any bogus propaganda. He said, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66), "I shall get you released from all reaction of sinful life." We are suffering because there is reaction of sinful life, but if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then your all reaction of sinful life is immediately nullified, squared up.
So this is the process of bhakti-yoga. You surrender and, in the past, whatever sinful activities you have done, that is squared up, now account closed. Now you begin a new life, devotional life, and if you stick to the principle as it is instructed, that do not have illicit sex life, do not have intoxicants, do not eat meat, do not play gambling, speculate, you promise before Kṛṣṇa and before the spiritual master, before the Vaiṣṇavas, so many witnesses, and if you violate, then you can understand what you are doing. You promise with . . . before the Deity. Kṛṣṇa is not different, so when the initiation takes place we promise so many things. But if we do not follow, if we do not keep our promise, that is a great fault. If you, by chance, by mistake, you violate the regulative principle, that is excused, but if willingly, if you go on committing sinful life—so just like in the churches they go to confess and again begin—that kind of business will not help you. That kind of business will not help you. "Now I have confessed, now I begin new chapter of sinful life. Again I shall confess." Kṛṣṇa is not so fool that you can cheat Him by this process. No, that is not possible. You can be executing the process of your advancement; unwillingly if you commit some mistake, that will be excused.
That is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Sometimes we take shelter of this verse, that api cet su-durācāro: "However sinful you might . . . may be," bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, "if he is fully engaged in My service . . ." But this word is very important. One cannot be fully engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa unless he is purified. Yeṣāṁ anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām (BG 7.28). One who is completely free from reaction of sinful life and is always engaged in pious activities, such person can be Kṛṣṇa conscious. So it is . . . it is not that one is a debauch, at the same time a Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is a contradictory. It cannot be. If he is actually Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is . . . cannot be debauch. And if he is debauch, then he is not Kṛṣṇa conscious. Two things cannot go parallel.
So we are . . . if we are fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa takes our all sinful, because continually we are suffering. What is that? Because, just like the same example, a infection. I have infected, say, two, three kinds of disease, so I am suffering from one infection, again another infection. They come. They take time. Just like if you sow a seed, it not that immediately becomes a big tree and fruits. No. It takes some time. Similarly, our pāpa-bījam, the seed of sinful activities, we take it, but in the . . . immediately we may not see that it is fructified, but it will, in due course of time. It will. Same way that one man has infected cholera bacteria, so not that immediately he is attacked with cholera; say after a few days. Therefore the injection is given, and that time is allowed in the medical treatment, so that if the infection has actually working, the disease will come. So immediately we may not see that we are infected with some certain type of sinful activities, but it will come into notice. That is going on. Therefore we shall be careful not to infect.
And how to become careful? If you always engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa's service . . . therefore the Deity worship in the temple is there to keep us always engaged. Not only Deity worship. The class, reading, hearing, kīrtana—in so many ways. There are nine different kinds of ways:
- śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
- smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
- arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
- sakhyam ātma . . .
- (SB 7.5.23)
Any way, if you keep yourself always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in Kṛṣṇa's business, then you are immune. You will not be infected. This is the process. Keep yourself always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness business, you will always remain immune. Sa-gunān samatītya etān brahma-bhūyāya (BG 14.26). And willfully, we shall not do anything which against the bhakti process, willfully. But because I am habituated . . . suppose a smoker, he has taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, at least has promised that, "I shall not smoke, I shall . . ." but all of a chance, sudden, suppose his friend induces him, "Oh, what is that? Smoke today," doing that. So sometimes we become induced, but we should always remember that "I have taken this vow. Why shall I be induced by my friend to smoke?" That is very nice. But even if by mistake you do that, that can be excused, but not willfully, "Now nobody is seeing. Kṛṣṇa is not here. Let me smoke now." Not that. (laughter) Kṛṣṇa's eyes are everywhere. You cannot escape Kṛṣṇa's eyes.
So in this way, this verse says that, "Increase your attachment upon Me." That attachment can be . . . the process is this, that first of all you must have full faith in Kṛṣṇa, or full faith in the words of spiritual master. That is the beginning. If you have no faith, there is no question of advancing. The advance, there is no question. Finished. Then everything is finished. First thing is faith. Then, then we have to associate with persons who have faith, sādhu-saṅgaḥ. This, this is . . . our opening of different center means we are giving chance. So those who are inmates of the temple, they should be also such nice devotees that anyone who will come in the association of devotees, he will immediately develop a sense of devotion. That is the duty, those who are managing this temple. By his character, by his behavior, he will be influenced. This, this is next step. First of all faith, the next step is to associate with devotees. But devotees must be also sincere devotee, otherwise what will be the effect of such asociation? Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo. Then, gradually he will be inclined to become one of the devotees. He will request the president, "Sir, you recommend me for being initiated. I am interested." That is called bhajana-kriyā. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā. Then bhajana-kriyā, he is initiated, the activities begins officially. Then as he make advance in this bhajana-kriyā, or activities in devotional service, then anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt, then all the unwanted things—the so-called illicit sex life, meat-eating, drinking, gambling, even up to smoking and drinking tea—finished. Anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. Then you become pure.