The Hare Krishna Movement

Excerpt from lecture given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Seattle, October 4th, 1968

Visnujana: How do we render perfect service to Krsna?

Srila Prabhupada: By your anxiety. If you are anxious to serve Krsna, that is the real asset. Krsna is unlimited. What service we can offer to Him? And He has got unlimited servants also. What service He requires from you and me? He’s perfect in Himself. He doesn’t require any service also. But if you are anxious to serve Him, then He does not refuse. That is His mercy; that is His magnanimity. So the more you increase your anxiety to serve Krsna, the more it becomes perfect. He’s unlimited. Your anxiety, you become unlimited. So there is competition.

The more you serve Krsna, the more He accepts you and the more He gives you intelligence…

The more you serve Krsna, the more He accepts you and the more He gives you intelligence. You see? So the spiritual world is unlimited. There is no end of service, and there is no end of accepting the service. It is not that. So eagerness. Tatra laulyam eka mulyam. I am not manufacturing the answer, but I am giving you evidence from Rupa Gosvami, our acarya. He says, krsna-bhakti-rasa-bhavita matih kriyatam yadi kuto ‘pi labhyate: “My dear gentlemen, my dear boys and girls, if you can purchase a…, your sense of loving Krsna — ‘How I can love Krsna more and more’ — this, this much, this anxiety, if you can purchase this matih,” — means intelligence; it is very nice intelligence — ” ‘How I shall serve Krsna…’ ” Krsna-bhakti-rasa-bhavita matih. Matih means intelligence or status of mind, that “I’ll serve Krsna.” “If you can purchase this status of mind anywhere, please immediately purchase.” Then next question will be, “All right, I shall purchase. What is the price, do you know?” “Yes, I know what is the price.” “What is that price?” “Laulyam, simply your eagerness, that’s all.” Laulyam ekam mulyam. “Ah, that I can have.” No. Na janma kotibhis sukrtibhir labhyate. This eagerness, how to love Krsna, this is not available even after many, many births. So if you have a pinch of that anxiety, “How I can serve Krsna?” you must know you are the most fortunate man. A pinch only, laulya, this anxiety, “How I can serve Krsna?” it is very nice. Then Krsna will give you intelligence.

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te
[Bg. 10.10]

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

Anyone who is engaged with love and affection in My service, without any hypocrisy, then Krsna can understand everything. He is within me, within you. Then He will give you intelligence: “My dear boy, you do like this.” And by doing that, what he will achieve? Yena mam upayanti te: “He’ll come back to Me.” And what profit he will get by going there? Ah, yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama [Bg. 15.6]. Mam hi partha vyapasritya ye ‘pi syuh papa-yonayah [Bg. 9.32]. Duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. There are so many. Please read Bhagavad-gita As It Is. You’ll get perfect knowledge, the science of God. That is the only study for human being.

So simply your eagerness is the perfection for serving Krsna. Increase that eagerness. And eagerness means if you love Krsna, that eagerness will increase with your increase of love: “How I shall serve Krsna?” Because you are voluntary servant, nobody is forcing. That means unless you love Krsna, how that eagerness will increase? So there are so many things to love Krsna. Beginning is this sravanam kirtanam. This sravanam, hearing, and chanting. Hearing, you are hearing Hare Krsna, you are hearing Bhagavad-gita, you are hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam about Krsna, and chanting. This is the beginning. Then, naturally,

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

“Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.”