Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ: "It is not only said, but it is accepted by sadbhiḥ, those who are actually advanced in spiritual life, sadbhiḥ." Why? Why the spiritual master should be accepted as directly as the Supreme? Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya. This priya, again, priyāṇām: "Because he is very, very dear to Kṛṣṇa." Not that because he is worshiped as Kṛṣṇa, therefore he thinks himself Kṛṣṇa and declares, "Now I am Kṛṣṇa." No. Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya. This priya. Priya is word. So therefore try to become priya of Kṛṣṇa. Do, act in such a way that Kṛṣṇa can understand that you are very dear to Him.
And the very simple thing is that ya idaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati. This confidential service, preaching of Bhagavad-gītā . . . what is that? Bhagavad-gītā preaching essence: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Simply go and preach. This very thing. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). This is Kṛṣṇa's desire. Preach to the world, "Just be Kṛṣṇa conscious." Man-manāḥ. "Just become Kṛṣṇa's devotee." Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī. "Just worship Kṛṣṇa." Mad-yājī mām . . . "just offer your obeisances to Kṛṣṇa." Four words. Then you become a preacher. It is not very difficult to become a preacher and to become a spiritual master. How?
Very simple thing, go and speak what Kṛṣṇa says. That's all. You have nothing to manufacture, Dr. Frog. (laughs) There is no need of manufacturing. We are very safe because we don't manufacture. We simply repeat, parrotlike, what Kṛṣṇa has said. That's all, finished. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: "Let aside everything. Just become My devotee, surrendered soul." So we are preaching that. We don't make any compromise. Therefore all people are against me because, "This man simply says, 'Kṛṣṇa.' " Yes. But I cannot say anything more. That's all.
So to become priya, very dear to Kṛṣṇa, is very easy. That is siddhi, perfection. Labdhvā harau bhaktim upaiti siddhim. Perfection, highest perfection: to become dear to Kṛṣṇa. That's all. You become dear to Kṛṣṇa, that is your perfection, highest perfection, supreme perfection. So such easy thing, and such highest perfection. Why people should not accept this? And it is practical. It is . . . just last night I was talking with Śrutakīrti that this church, nobody was coming. Therefore they were obliged to sell it off, and we purchased. So the church is the same, building is the same, and you are all Americans. But you did not come before, so that it was to be sold. Now everywhere it is packed up. Why? Because Kṛṣṇa is there. This is practical. This is practical. There is no question of enviousness. It is practical.
In Boston one Christian priest said frankly that, "These boys, girls, they are our boys, our girls. Either coming from Christian group or Jew's group, they are, after all, Americans. So they did not care for anything about God. Now they are mad after God. What is this?" This is practical. There is no question of competition. It is practical. Because they are trying. They are trying. Our only business is, "Just become dear to Kṛṣṇa." That's all. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means, "You are trying to be dear to so many things." Somebody is trying to be dear to his father, to his mother, or to his family, children, or country, community, society, nation. Everyone is trying to be dear, "I will do such-and-such thing for you. Please give me vote. Please make me president." They are trying. And after all, the president also is not dear, neither people is not dear. The real fact becomes disclosed after a few days when the, what is called, face covering, ah, mask, is over. That's all.
So this kind of trying to become dear is no use. It is simply waste of time. So if you try to become dear to Kṛṣṇa, that is siddhi. That is perfection. You are trying to become dear to so many objective. At last, to become dear to a dog, ferocious dog. He does not say anything to the master. That means the master has become dear to him. So we are trying to become dear to somebody. That is our desire, dormant desire. But that is being misplaced. We do not know where to become dear. That we do not know. That is Kṛṣṇa. If you become dear to Kṛṣṇa, that is the highest perfection. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhi, this siddhi, perfection. Out of millions and millions of person, one is interested to become perfect. Because this world is imperfect. So everyone is imperfect, all of us. So neither they do know what is perfection.
But here is described, here is perfection. What is that perfection? Yaḥ śraddhayā etad bhagavat-priyāṇāṁ pāṇḍoḥ sutānām iti samprayāṇaṁ śṛṇoti. Śṛṇoti. You simply hear about the Pāṇḍavas. Practically the whole Vedic literature, the Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata especially, those were narration, the Vedic knowledge . . . vedic knowledge, directly, it is very difficult to understand. Just like in the Vedānta-sūtra. The sūtra, the code words are there. Athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now it is the time for inquiring about the Absolute Truth." This is sūtra, code word. But that is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in narration. This is brahma-jijñāsā. The whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is brahma-jijñāsā. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Only this code is being . . . therefore Bhāgavata begins, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ sva-rāṭ (SB 1.1.1). Because Vedānta-sūtra says: "The Absolute Truth is that supreme source of everything." So Bhāgavata begins from that word, janmādy asya yataḥ, explaining. Explaining.
So Purāṇa means supplementary to the Vedas, to explain the knowledge. That is Purāṇa. Mahābhārata. Mahābhārata is also explanation of the Vedic knowledge, but through history. Because Vyāsadeva found it that directly to understand Vedic knowledge will be difficult for three classes of men. Trayī na śruti-gocarā. Strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarā (SB 1.4.25). Trayī. Trayī means Vedas, dealing with the three guṇas. Traiguṇya-viṣayā vedāḥ. In the Bhagavad-gītā, traiguṇya-viṣayā vedāḥ. Trayī. There are three subject matters in the Vedas. The first subject matter is to know God and what is my relationship with God. This is the first subject matter. Then second subject matter is that what is the ultimate goal of life, and the third subject matter is how to attain it. To know God, my relationship with God, and what is my ultimate goal of life and how to attain it—these three subject matters are Vedic knowledge. That is everywhere. Another subject matter is . . . trayī, means Veda is dealing with this material world. There is spiritual knowledge in glance.