Chapter Six

“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” (Bg. 7.3)
God realization is not possible for animals or for persons who are almost animals, or for animals in the shape of human beings. Contemporary civilization is by in large an assembly of animals because, as stated before, it operates on the basis of the animal propensities. The birds and beasts arise early in the morning and busy themselves trying to find food and sex and trying to defend themselves; at night they look for shelter, and in the morning they fly to a tree to find nuts and fruits. Similarly, in New York City, great hordes of people travel from one island to another by ferry boat or wait for subways in order to go to the office for the purpose of finding food. How is this an advancement over animal life? Although the ferry and subway are always crowded, and many people have to travel forty or fifty miles for bread, the birds are free to fly from one tree to another.
Real civilization is not concerned simply with man’s animal needs but with enabling man to understand his relationship with God, the supreme father. One may learn about his relationship with God by any process-through Christianity, through the Vedic literatures or through the Koran—but in any case it must be learned. The purpose of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not to make Christians into Hindus or Hindus into Christians but to inform everyone that the duty of a human being is to understand his relationship with God. One must learn this, otherwise he is simply wasting his time by engaging in animalistic propensities. We must all try to love Kṛṣṇa or God. If one has a process, he should practice it, or he can come and learn this process. One should not begrudge the selection of one process over another. Viṣād apy amṛtaṁ grāhyam amedhyād api kāñcanam/ nīcād apy uttamāṁ vidyāṁ strī-ratnaṁ duṣkulād api (Nīti-darpaṇa 1.16). Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that one must catch what is right from any source. If there is a glass of poison with some nectar in it, he says, one should take out the nectar and leave the poison. In the same way, if one finds gold in a filthy place, he should take it. similarly, although according to the Vedic system of education one must be given instruction by intellectual persons like brāhmaṇas, if someone lower on the social scale has learned the truth, one should accept him as a teacher and learn from him. One should not think that just because one is lowly born he should not be accepted as a teacher.
Similarly, if one is serious about understanding God, he should not think, “I am Christian,” “I am Hindu,” or “I am Muslim.” If one is serious about understanding love of God, he should consider which process is practical. One should not think, “Why should I follow Hindu or Vedic scriptures?” The purpose of following the Vedic scriptures is to develop love of God. When students come to America for a higher education, they do not consider the fact that the teachers may be American, German or of other nationalities. If one wants a higher education, he simply comes and takes it. Similarly, if there is an effective process for understanding and approaching God, like this Kṛṣṇa consciousness process, one should take it.
Not all, but those who are intelligent and fortunate take to this process of devotional service (kevalayā bhaktyā), and their only desire is to serve Kṛṣṇa. From early morning till late at night the devotees are engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. This is called kevalayā, pure; for them there is no other business. This process is recommended for all, and it is the perfection of all religious processes. (Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje [SB 1.2.6]). In Sanskrit, there are two words, para, and apara, which describe the superior (transcendental) and the inferior (material) approaches to religion. In the execution of material dharma, or religion performed for material gain, people generally go to a church or a temple and pray, “God, give us our daily bread.” Actually, this need not be asked for, for bread is already provided for everyone. Even the birds and beasts get their bread without having to go to church to ask God for it. Similarly, our bread is also provided, whether we go to church or not. That is not a problem, for no one is dying in the streets of starvation, nor do we find a bird, beast, or even an ant dying of starvation. Food is there, and one need not bother about it. If the brain should he taxed, it should be taxed for Kṛṣṇa or God. This is the proper utilization of time. There is no scarcity of bread in the Kingdom of God.
Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that one should try to attain that which cannot be attained by traveling all over the universe. What is that? Kevalayā bhaktyā—pure devotion. By God’s arrangement there is sufficient food, land and prospects for food on this planet, but we have arranged things in such a way that in one part of the world people are suffering and in another part they are throwing grains in the ocean. The Vedas say, eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān—the Supreme Person is supplying food to many living entities. The difficulty in this material world is that we take more than we need and thus create our own problems. problems are created by men, led by the so-called politicians. According to nature’s way or God’s way, everything is complete. According to Śrī Īśopaniṣad: