Prabhupāda: My dear boys and girls, I thank you very much for your kindly receiving me to serve you. This Ratha-yātrā festival is part of our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started by Lord Kṛṣṇa five thousand years ago in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. Perhaps all of you know the famous book of knowledge, Bhagavad-gītā.
In that Bhagavad-gītā, Ninth Chapter, last verse, it is said there, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 9.34), mām evaiṣyasi kaunteya. In that verse it was assured by (the) Lord that if "always think of Me." Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. "Become My devotee." Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī. "Just worship Me. In this way you will come to Me." Mām evaiṣyasi.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to utilize to the best possible means this human form of life. We are coming to this human form of life in the evolutionary process from aquatics to reptiles, to plants and trees, then birds and beasts, then human form of life. Out of that human form of life, there are many uncivilized form of life, just above the monkeys. But those who are civilized . . . civilized means those who are following the instruction of the Vedas, varṇāśrama-dharma.
The human society (is) divided into four varṇas and four āśramas. The four varṇas are social division, namely the student life, the householder life, the retired life and renounced life. These four divisions of social life and four divisions of spiritual life—brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha . . . brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—in this way there are eight divisions. These eight divisions of human society are very scientifically adopted. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). This civilized division of human society is so perfect that one can gradually, from the aquatic life, can go back to home, back to Godhead.
Devotees: Jaya! Haribol!
Prabhupāda: So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the greatest boon to the human form of life. When Lord Kṛṣṇa was present, He advised this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement in the shape of Bhagavad-gītā. Unfortunately, there are many scholars, academic scholars of Bhagavad-gītā, but because they do not come in the disciplic succession from Kṛṣṇa, they misinterpret the real sense of Bhagavad-gītā and mislead the whole human society to the darkest region of ignorance.
So when Kṛṣṇa was present, once upon a time there was a lunar . . . solar eclipse. At that time Kṛṣṇa, with His elder brother and sister . . . His elder brother's name was Balarāma, and His younger sister's name was Subhadrā. This Subhadrā was also wife of Arjuna. So these three brothers and sisters in a chariot came from Dvārakā to Kurukṣetra.
At that time the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana . . . Vṛndāvana . . . Kṛṣṇa's childhood was spent at Vṛndāvana under the care of His foster father, Nanda Mahārāja. So when Kṛṣṇa went to His real father, Vasudeva, at Dvārakā, and came back to Kurukṣetra on this occasion of solar eclipse, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who were suffering too much out of separation from Kṛṣṇa, they came to see Him. And at that time His beloved Rādhārāṇī was too much afflicted. She said: "Kṛṣṇa, You are the same Kṛṣṇa, I am the same Rādhārāṇī. But the place is different, Kurukṣetra. It is not Vṛndāvana. Therefore I wish that You come with Me to Vṛndāvana and let Us enjoy Our previous life." This is the ecstasy of the residents of Vṛndāvana.