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Even if you chant with motive, that will take little time to become pure devotee

The day's main program was held on the circular lawn at the front of the house at 7 P.M. and was attended by a fairly select group of about eighty businessmen, scholars, and local dignitaries and their wives. Prabhupada chose to lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam verses 1.2.5-6, speaking cogently on the meaning of real religion, its practice and the result. "So it was krishna samprasno, question about Krishna. And the question was that religious principle, where did it rest? Because religion means the law of God. Not that you can manufacture law in your home or in your office or in a big conference by the public. No. Similarly, the word dharma, religion, is explained in the English dictionary, 'a sect of faith.' And people have interpreted in a different way, that 'I can manufacture my own way of religion.' It is going on very strong nowadays by some missionary sect, yata mat tata pat?as many ways there are, they are all perfect; that somebody said that to cut throat is my religion, that is also accepted. But that is not religion. Religion means dharmam tu sakshad bhagavat pranitam. What is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead or what is ordained by the supreme authority, that is dharma. Therefore in the next verse it is explained: sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokshaje/ ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati "If you want actual peace, atma, suprasidati, then you have to accept paro dharma. Para means supreme or superior. There are two kinds of dharmas, para and apara. Apara means this material world. There are two natures, one spiritual nature and one material nature. People do not understand what is spiritual nature." 

Modern scientists and philosophers, Prabhupada said, are engaged in studying the inferior material nature, which includes the mind and intelligence. "People think this mental speculation, poetry, philosophy, that is spiritual. No. So long the subject matter is material, the concoction of the mind, speculation of the mind, the so called philosophy, is also material." He explained what he meant by spiritual nature. "The spiritual world is called Vaikuntha. There is no kuntha, anxiety. That is spiritual world. When you become spiritualized, brahma bhutah prasannatma [Bg 18.54]. There is no more kuntha. This is the sign of becoming brahma bhutah. At the present moment our struggle for existence is with the mind and the six senses. When your existence is spiritualized, then you have no more anxieties. That is the sign." He informed his audience that people are anxious to establish universal brotherhood, but from the material platform it was not possible. It can only be realized on the spiritual platform, and that is described in Bhagavad-gita. "So considering from all these points of view, Bhagavan Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He's teaching us that paro dharmah. We have distinguished para and apara. Apareyam. The material elements, mind, intelligence, and ego, they are all material. Apara. So we have to come to that spiritual platform, brahma bhutah platform. Samah sarveshu bhuteshu. That is wanted. That kind of religious system is explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Paro dharmo. "Vrindavana Dasa Thakura, a great Vaishnava acarya, he has said, prithivite yaha kichu dharma name cale, bhagavata kahe taha pari purna chole. Bhagavata kahe [according to the Bhagavatam]. He doesn't say, 'In my opinion.' Nowadays it has become a very good fashion: 'I think.' 'In my opinion.' An authorized person in the line of disciplic succession, he does not speak by his own authority. Immediately he'll quote from Vedic literature to support his proposition. "So how is that Bhagavata says? In the introductory portion, Vyasadeva says, dharmah projjhita kaitavo 'tra [SB 1.1.2]. Cheating type of religion is completely kicked out. Here it is said. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokshaje. It doesn't matter whether you are Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Buddha or Jaini or so on, so on. There are so many, hundreds. But the test is yato bhaktir adhokshaje, whether you have developed your love for God. If there is no conception of God, if one does not know what is God and what is the order of God, then that type of religion is cheating religion and that kind of religion is completely thrown out from Srimad Bhagavatam." 

Perhaps thinking back to the speech given by Member of Parliament Muthyal Rao in Hyderabad during his August visit, Prabhupada used the popular example of desa-dharma, nationalism, as an example of the false notions of religious duty adopted by the less informed. He pointed out that everyone has to accept another birth after giving up this body. That may not be as an Indian. It could be as a demigod or as an animal. Everyone has to move on, and there are different destinations. Real dharma should take us to the highest destination. "If you like you can go back to home, back to Godhead. That is possible. So therefore the intelligent persons, they must know, 'If I go to the devaloka, what is the result of going there. If I go to the Pitriloka, what is the result. If I remain here, what is the result. And if I go back to home, back to God, what is the result.' The ultimate result is that if you can go back to home, back to Godhead, then Krishna says tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg 4.9], that you don't get birth again in this material world. That is the highest gain. So if you want to go back to home, back to Godhead, then yato bhaktir adhokshaje. You have to adopt this means, bhakti." Saying that his Krishna consciousness movement was educating people how to become advanced in devotional service and how to go back home, back to Godhead, he told his mainly elderly audience that it was not a very difficult task. If it was not easy, he asked them, then how was it the Europeans and Americans were now taking it seriously? He said that before coming in contact with his movement, they had no interest in going to the church or finding out about God but now, "they are mad after God." "Why? Why have they become so? Because they have taken to the process. The process is important. Bhakti is not theoretical. It is practical. Yato bhaktir adhokshaje. If you want to take to the bhakti process, it is not speculation. You must actually engage yourself in the process." He said that the process was not just one, but nine, and of these, sravanam was especially important. "Simply hear. And that hearing process is also made very easy. This chanting Hare Krishna maha mantra, you chant and hear. Anywhere you can do it. You sit down in your home or in your office, in your factory, underneath a tree, or anywhere, you can chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And you can hear. This process will make you advanced in everything. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given His benediction, iha haite sarva siddhi hoibe tomara. Simply by this chanting and hearing of Hare Krishna mantra, all perfection you'll get. It's very easy. "There is no difference between Krishna name and the Krishna person. Because Krishna is absolute. Advaya tattva. Advaya jnana. So He has descended in this age, kali yuge nama rupe krishna avatara [Cc. Adi 17.22]. This nama, Hare Krishna, is the sound incarnation of Krishna. Don't think it is ordinary sound, Hare Krishna. Therefore Narottama Dasa Thakura has sung, golokera prema dhana hari nama sankirtana, rati na janmilo kene tay. This sound vibration is transcendental sound. It is coming from Goloka Vrindavana. It is not this mundane sound." Declaring the chanting of the holy names to be the essence of his movement, he invited his audience to adopt the chanting as their dharma. "So the ladies and gentlemen who are present here, kindly take this instruction of the sastra. Then you become situated in the transcendental, first class system of religion. Ahaituki. But don't chant Hare Krishna maha mantra with any motive. That is not good. Even if you chant with motive, that will take little time to become pure devotee, but better without any motive. "As a matter of duty, you chant regularly. Ahaituky apratihata. Then there will be no hindrances. You'll make progress without any hindrances. And then you'll be pleased?yenatma samprasidati. Then you'll be feeling transcendental bliss. Ceto darpana marjanam bhava maha davagni. All the blazing fire of this material world will be extinguished. Here, in this material world, it is compared with davagni. Davagni means the forest fire. Nobody goes to set fire in the forest, but it takes place. Similarly, however cautious you may be, you cannot make this material world without davagni. That is not possible. Narottama Dasa Thakura has sung that the material world is such that it is just like a blazing fire. Vishaya vishanale diva nisi. Here, everyone, even the Prime Minister, even the President, very opulently situated, but always full of anxieties. Very, too much anxieties. "So if you want to be yayatma samprasidati, then you must take to this process, this bhakti yogam. Sravanam kirtanam vishnoh smaranam pada sevanam [SB 7.5.23]. There are so many different items. And the most important item is sravanam. We can sit down, family members, and we can read from Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, and hear and chant Hare Krishna mantra. Very easy thing. That we want to introduce, every home. That is our only request, that in whichever position you are, it doesn't matter. You simply begin this chanting of Hare Krishna mantra and reading of Bhagavad-gita As It Is." 

Cautioning them not to speculate on the meaning of Krishna's instruction, Prabhupada encouraged them to step forward and take a leading role in enlightening others. "Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission is that. Yare dekha, tare kaha 'krishna' upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. He says, amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa. Ei desa. Just like Surendra is here. So I'll request. Dr. Sukla is here. It doesn't matter that you have to go out. You are in Aligarh, you become a guru. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's . . . 'How shall I become guru? I am grihastha, I'm engaged this . . .' No. You haven't got to learn very much, to be puffed up. You simply decide what Krishna has spoken. Then you become guru. If you want to manufacture something and show some magic, then you do not become guru." Prabhupada closed his talk with this earnest request and a final emphasis: "The Bhagavad-gita explains everything very nicely, how to become Krishna conscious, how to worship Krishna, how to understand Krishna. Everything is explained there very lucidly. So take it very seriously. That is our propaganda. We don't manufacture anything, any jugglery of words, any magic or any new ideas of God. These nonsense things we do not do. We simply carry out the order of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and we simply repeat 'krishna' upadesa. That's all. This is Krishna consciousness movement. You can take it and also you can do it. You can also become guru. That we want. Thank you very much." After a couple of questions the gathering broke up, the devotees distributed prasadam, and Srila Prabhupada retired to his room, pleased with the response and the genuine interest shown by the respectable citizens of Aligarh.


Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 5 by Hari Sauri Dasa