Krsna consciousness means training...

Expressions researched:
"Krsna consciousness means to train" |"Krsna consciousness means training"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness means training people for becoming fit to enter into that eternal life, blissful life. That training is meant for human being, not for animals.

Lecture on BG 4.7-10 -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:

Why I am subject to death? Why I am subjected to birth? Why I am subjected to disease, old age? This is called brahma-jijñāsā. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is called inquiry, real inquiry. That is human life's inquiry. The beasts, the birds, the animals, they can(not) inquire these things. They are suffering, but they cannot inquire, "Why I am suffering?" Here is an opportunity. Here you can understand that "I am as good as God, although I am very small." Then you can prepare yourself. Tat tvam asi: "You are the same." You can also join with Kṛṣṇa and dance with Him. Why you are forgetting that? But you have to qualify yourself. You cannot dance with the dog and God at the same time. If you want to dance with the dog, then remain here. Go on perpetually dancing with the dog. But if you want to dance with God, you can prepare yourself and go there and dance with him. That is up to you because tat tvam asi: "You are the same." That, everything, is my choice, what I want to do.

In the practical life also. President Nixon is the head of your state. You can also become. But you must have the capacity. Simply by thinking that "I am President Nixon, Nixon, Nixon...," that will not do. Tat tvam asi means that, "You have got the same quality as God. Now you have to realize and you have to act. Don't misuse your life simply in animal propensity and go to dog." No. Therefore Vedic... Tamasi mā jyotir-gama: "Don't remain in the darkness. Come out to the light." Tamasi mā jyotir-gama: "Don't remain in birth and death cycle. Come to the eternal life." So everything is there. You can have eternal life, blissful life, life of knowledge.

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness means training people for becoming fit to enter into that eternal life, blissful life. That training is meant for human being, not for animals. So you should not misuse this human form of life. Try to understand tat tvam asi, and act accordingly. That will be successful of our activities. Is that clear?

Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to train people how to become servant of God. That is all. Because everyone is under the impression that I am God, I am master, I am proprietor. This illusion. To dissipate this illusion and to put him into the right position, that "you are not master, you are not enjoyer, you are simply eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." If you remain in that position, then you are happy.

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Bombay, March 28, 1974:

Living entity is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. When he, instead of becoming servant of Kṛṣṇa, wants to imitate Kṛṣṇa to enjoy.... Because the enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa. Bhoktā. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). But when we try to imitate Kṛṣṇa...

Just like here also we can see practically, everyone is trying to become a big or small īśvara, Kṛṣṇa. Īśvara is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). But here the struggle is that everyone is trying to become īśvara. Nobody wants to become servant. Although he is servant of māyā. He cannot be īśvara constitutionally. Any one of us. This is called illusion. Actually, we are servant but we are trying to become īśvara. This is called māyā. So this position of the living entity is called dharmasya glāniḥ, discrepancy of the constitutional position. Actually, I am servant but I am trying to become master. This is called dharmasya glāniḥ. So when the world is full...

Of course, there are devotees who are trying to become servant. They are trying. The devotional service means, Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to train people how to become servant of God. That is all.

Because everyone is under the impression that I am God, I am master, I am proprietor. This illusion. To dissipate this illusion and to put him into the right position, that "you are not master, you are not enjoyer, you are simply eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." If you remain in that position, then you are happy. If you artificially try to become Kṛṣṇa, that is your unhappiness. Artificial thing will never give us any pleasure. Prakṛti and puruṣa. Kṛṣṇa is the puruṣa. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣaṁ divyaṁ śāśvatam (BG 10.12). He is puruṣa, we are prakṛti. Aparā-prakṛti, parā-prakṛti.

This matter, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4)—earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false ego—they're all material. That is described. And apareyam. These are inferior material nature and there is another superior nature. That is also described. Or energy. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām, jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho (BG 7.5). We living entities, we are prakṛti. We are not puruṣa. But we are trying to become puruṣa. Suppose a woman artificially wants to become man. That is very troublesome. Similarly, actually position is prakṛti. Prakṛti means enjoyed, one who is enjoyed. And puruṣa means one who is enjoyer. So our position is to be enjoyed, but we are trying to become enjoyer. Our position is to be predominated but we are trying to become predominator. That is called dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata.

But there are certain persons who are above this mistake, illusory energy. Who are those? The devotees. The devotees, who are called sādhu. Sādhu. There is a word, sādhu. Sādhu means honest, good behaved. They are called sādhu.