4

Now Prahläda Mahäräja makes a further statement about the complications of material life. He compares the attached householder to the silkworm. The silkworm wraps itself in a cocoon made of its own saliva, until he is in a prison from which he cannot escape. In the same way, a materialistic householder’s entanglement becomes so tight that he cannot come out of the cocoon of family attraction. Even though there are so many miseries in materialistic family life, he cannot break free. Why? He thinks that sex life and eating palatable dishes are most important. Therefore, in spite of so many miserable conditions, he cannot give them up.

In this way, when a person is too much entangled in family life, he cannot think of his real benefit—to escape from material life. Although he is always disturbed by the threefold miseries of materialistic life, still, because of strong family affection, he cannot come out. He does not know that he is wasting his limited duration of life simply for family affection. He is spoiling the life that was meant for realizing his eternal self, for realizing his real spiritual life.

“Therefore,” Prahläda says to his demoniac friends, “please give up the company of those who are simply after material enjoyment. Just associate with persons who have taken to Krishna consciousness.” That is his advice. He says to his friends that this Krishna consciousness is easy to attain. Why? Krishna consciousness is actually very dear to us, but we have forgotten it. Therefore anyone who takes to Krishna consciousness becomes more and more affected by it and forgets his material consciousness.

If you are in a foreign country, you might forget your home and your family members and friends who are very dear to you. But if you are all of a sudden reminded of your home and friends, you will at once become very preoccupied: “How shall I meet them?” In San Francisco one of our friends told me that long ago he left his young children and went to another country. Recently a letter came from his grown-up son, and at once the father remembered his affection for him and sent some money. That affection automatically came, even though he had forgotten his child for so many years. Similarly, our affection for Krishna is so intimate that as soon as there is some touch of Krishna consciousness, we at once revive our relationship with Him.

Everyone has some particular relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Lord, which he has forgotten. But as we become Krishna conscious, gradually our old consciousness of our relationship with Krishna is revived. And when our consciousness is actually in the clear stage, we can understand our particular relationship with Krishna. One may have a relationship with Krishna as a son or servant, as a friend, as a parent, or as a beloved wife or lover. All these relationships are pervertedly reflected in life in the material world. But as soon as we come to the platform of Krishna consciousness, our old relationship with Krishna is revived.

We love—every one of us. First I love my body because my self is within this body. So actually I love my self better than the body. But that self has an intimate relationship with Krishna because the self is part and parcel of Krishna. Therefore I love Krishna more than anything. And because Krishna is all-pervading, I love everything.

Unfortunately, we have forgotten that Krishna, God, is all-pervading. This memory has to be revived. As soon as we revive our Krishna consciousness, we can see everything in relationship with Krishna, and then everything becomes lovable. Now I love you or you love me, but that love is on the platform of this ephemeral body. But when love of Krishna is developed, I will love not only you but every living entity because the outward designation, the body, will be forgotten. When a person becomes fully Krishna conscious, he does not think, “Here is a man, here is an animal, here is a cat, here is a dog, here is a worm.” He sees everyone as part and parcel of Krishna. This is very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gétä: “One who is actually learned in Krishna consciousness becomes a lover of everyone in the universe.” Unless one is situated on the Krishna conscious platform, there is no question of universal brotherhood.

If we actually want to implement the idea of universal brotherhood, then we will have to come to the platform of Krishna consciousness, not material consciousness. As long as we are in material consciousness, our lovable objects will be limited. But when we are actually in Krishna consciousness, our lovable objects will be universal. That is stated by Prahläda Mahäräja: “Beginning from the nonmoving plants and trees and extending up to the highest living creature, Brahmä, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present everywhere by His expansion as the Paramätmä, the feature of the Lord in everyone’s heart. As soon as we become Krishna conscious, that extension of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramätmä, induces us to love every object in relation with Krishna.”