People must be truthful, they must be equipoised, not disturbed, not being disturbed by different situations. They must learn how to control the senses. They must learn how to control the mind. Śamo damas ti . . . they must be tolerant, titikṣā. Ārjava: they must be very simple, no duplicity, ārjava. Jñānam: they must know everything in full knowledge. Vijñānam: apply the knowledge in practical life. Āstikyam: they must believe in the Vedic injunctions, āstikya. That is called āstikya.
The atheist and, and theist, the theist believe in the Vedic injunction. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). That is theist. Not that, "I believe in God." They must believe in the injunction of the Vedas, what is said in the Vedas, one must believe. That is called theist. As we have given several times the example: the Vedas says that cow dung is pure. One who believes in that, he is theist. And one who does not believe in the words of the Vedas, they want to change, they want to misinterpret, interpolate, they are atheists.
Bhagavad-gītā, anyone misinterpreting, giving wrong interpretation, or according to his concocted interpre . . . they are atheists. Theist, he'll believe all the words of Bhagavad-gītā as it is, as Arjuna believed, sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yad vadasi keśava (BG 10.14): "My dear Kṛṣṇa, whatever You are speaking, without any malinterpretation, without any change of word, I believe in it." This is theist understanding. Not like the so-called rascal scholars, "It is not like this. It is not like that. I think it is like this." These are all rascaldom.
So this is the process of civilization. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means perfect civilization, perfect advancement of civilization, according to the direction of the Vedas. We do not concoct anything, any meaning. Just like why you are reading this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? This is the beginning of understanding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The professional readers, they immediately jump to the rāsa-līlā of Kṛṣṇa. They think that Bhāgavatam means that rāsa-līlā of Kṛṣṇa. Because it appears like ordinary boys and girls, so they like it. No.
This is the foundation of Bhāgavata. The nine cantos must be thoroughly read, then one can understand what is rāsa-līlā and what is Kṛṣṇa. If one jumps at once to the platform of understanding Kṛṣṇa's rāsa-līlā or vṛndāvana-līlā, he'll be misled. He'll be misled. Just like so many rascals are interpreting Kṛṣṇa in so many different way. They are thinking Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being. So when He acts like ordinary human being, they take Him as ordinary human being—avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11).
Therefore one should not jump. One should learn Bhāgavata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as recommended by Caitanya Mahāprabhu's secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara, bhāgavata giyā porā bhāgavata-sthāne: one who is practical bhāgavata, one who knows what is Bhāgavata, what is Bhagavān. Not from the professional reciters, who are reading Bhāgavata for belly's sake. Now they are reading Bhāgavatam, and if they get more money, they can become a sweeper. Because their consideration is money. They'll give up immediately reading of Bhāgavatam.
But my Guru Mahārāja used to say that it is better to become a sweeper and honestly earn one's livelihood than to become a false Bhāgavata reader for earning livelihood. Yes. Because they'll mislead the whole public. Nobody will improve. And actually we have seen that so many people, they're very much accustomed to attend the Bhāgavata-saptāha, but they remain in the same darkness as they were. No improvement. That is not possible.
So therefore Vyāsadeva has taken so much trouble to establish the Bhāgavata life in twelve cantos. One has to go one after another, one after another, one after another. Not jumping. Daśama-skandha, the Tenth Canto, is the face of Kṛṣṇa. So worshiping Kṛṣṇa means one should offer tulasī on the . . . on His lotus feet first of all. Not jump over to see to the mouth or to the face.