Jai Prabhupada!

My guru.. my teacher.. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).. if I'm honest with myself.. If today I am so attached to my lord Krishna and crave his presence each single moment of the day, its all because of Prabhupada's books and his English translations of important vedic literature like the Bhagavad Gita As it is, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Brahma Samhita,  Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta and many more. Moreover he had the ability to distill the great wisdom in those books into few palatable drops of his public lectures.. Blessed are the people fortunate to hear him or read the great books he left behind...
His ultimate message was just to instill  love of Godhead in every human being as evident from this lecture...

Lecture by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada given at Los Angeles, July 5, 1971
Prabhupada: ...He (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) was traveling in South India. He saw one brahmana reading Bhagavad-gita. And persons who knew him, that "That man was illiterate," it was not possible for him to read Bhagavad-gita... But still, he was trying to read it, and crying also. So while others were criticizing, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to him, "Brahmana, what you are reading?" So he could understand that "This person, He's not come here to criticize me. He's serious." So he talked seriously, "Sir, I am reading Bhagavad-gita. Unfortunately, I am illiterate." Now see. He is illiterate and he is reading Bhagavad-gita. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inquired that "How is that, you're reading Bhagavad-gita and you say you are illiterate?" He said, "Yes, actually I am illiterate, but my Guru Maharaja asked me that 'You should read every day eighteen chapters.' So what can I do? (laughter) I have to carry out the order of my spiritual master. So I have simply taken this book. I am seeing it." Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Oh, you are not seeing it, simply. You are crying also." "Yes, Sir, I am crying also." "Then if you are not reading, how you are crying?" "Sir, I am not reading, but I'm feeling." "What is that?" "As soon as I take this Bhagavad-gita in my hand, immediately I feel Krishna and Arjuna sitting on the same chariot, and Arjuna is ordering Krishna that 'You drive my chariot between the two soldiers,' and Krishna is driving. So I am simply feeling how Krishna is nice, that He can work as a servant of His devotee. When I feel like that, I cry, how Krishna is so kind." Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately embraced him, that "You are really studying Bhagavad-gita." So unless we develop our love for Krishna, there is no meaning of reading. And if we can develop our love for Krishna just like this brahmana, even without reading any book, that is wanted. Mayy asakta-manah. Therefore Krishna also confirms, mayy asakta-manah, "Simply by increasing attachment for Me." Mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah. Mad-asrayah. Mad-asrayah means "under the direction of Me or My representative." So one who performs this yoga system, how to increase love for Krishna, that's all, then you understand everything. The Vedas, they confirm it.
Yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavanti.
If you simply understand Krishna, then everything will be understood. Because Krishna is everything, God is everything. To understand Krishna, simply this attachment... Mayy asakta-manah. Asakti means attachment. So our, this Krishna consciousness movement is... We are teaching people, our students especially, how to increase attachment for Krishna. Why this temple? They are feeling that "We are sitting in Krishna's presence. Krishna is so nicely dressed. I am dressing." Otherwise, from atheistic point of view, you see that "Why these people are bothering like this? They have taken a brass idol and wasting time after it?" They can say like that. Because they have no love for Krishna. But one who has love for Krishna, he sees, "Krishna is so kind. He's accepting my dressing. I am crowning. I am garlanding." That is a feeling. So the whole process is to increase our feeling of love for Krishna. That is required. Not anything else. Just (like the) gopis. They were not Vedantists. They were not scholars. They were village girls, and also low class. Brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, the third class. The fourth class is the shudra. They were neither brahmana nor kshatriya. Vaishya.
Krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam
vaisya-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.44].
Vaishyas, they have to take three kinds of profession: agriculture, trade, and cow protection. As the kshatriyas were meant for giving protection to the human being, the vaishyas are understood to give protection to the cows. Go-raksya. Go means cow; raksya means protection.That is their business. So these Vrindavana people, they were... Nanda Maharaja, he had 900,000s of cows, and he was a big man amongst the agriculturists. So they were ordinary men, agriculturists, taking care of the cows. They were not Vedantists, not philosopher, not scientist. Ordinary. But what is their credit? The credit is nobody could love Krishna excelling them. That was their credit. Therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommended,
ramya kacid upasana
vrajavadhu-vargena ya kalpita
"There is no comparison of the method of worship which was adopted by the damsels of Vraja." Unalloyed love for Krishna. No bargaining: "By loving Krishna, I shall become a big man, I shall become a great philosopher, or great scientist," or "I shall improve my material condition." These are anyabhilasita. And bhakti begins when one is devoid of all these material considerations. Anyabhilasita-sunyam
[Brs. anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
"One should render transcendental loving serviceto the Supreme Lord Krishna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." Bhakti- rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.111.1.11].
Sunyam means when one makes zero all these material desires.Jnana-karmady-anavrtam: [Cc. Madhya 19.167] even uncovered by the resultant action of philosophical speculation and fruitive activities. Everyone is working to get some result. That is called fruitive activities. So a pure devotee has no such desires. Anukulyena krsnanu-silanam. Their only business is how to please Krishna. That can be done by everyone, if he wants. Take, for example, if you want to please me, it does not require high education or great amount of riches or knowledge or beauty. Nothing. It is your business how to love me, how to please me. That you will know. So if we want to love Krishna, Krishna will let us know. Krishna is within you. Simply we have to decide that we shall love Krishna only. That is wanted Then everything is there.
Aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim, naradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim [Narada-pancaratra] .
The kim word is used: "What is the use of?" That is kim. So the shastra says that if you have learned how to love Krishna, then what is the use of these books? There is no use. You can avoid anything, all this reading. But if you have actually developed your love for Krishna... And after reading all these books,philosophy, science, if you cannot love Krishna, then what is the use of it? Both ways. Useless. If you do not love, do not develop your love for God or Krishna, then what is the use of your philosophizing and scientific knowledge? This is all useless. And if you actually have learned how to love Krishna, or God, then there is (no) need of philosophy or science or books.So therefore the main point is how to develop. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommends this. Prema pumarth mahan. Our greatest success of life is how to love God, Krishna. That is greatest success. Now you can do it. But there is prescribed method, given by great acharyas. Just like in this temple we are doing. We are timely giving. The atheist will say, "Oh, these are so foolish that they are taking so much labor for preparing food and offering and wasting time. Best thing would have been to go to some club and enjoy wine and playing cards." They'll waste time in that way. We are not wasting, but they say we are wasting time. They will criticize. You see? They are prepared to waste time in a brothel, but if people are sitting nicely in a temple and talking of Krishna, serving Krishna, they will laugh. That is our position. So we have to become callous to all these criticisms. We have to go with our business, Krishna consciousness.
That's all.
Thank you. (end)


*Nobody could have articulated this better than Prabhupada, our guru. *

Jai Prabhupada!!
Jai Sri Krishna!