8
THE PATH OF PERFECTION
Kṛṣṇa Himself does not sit down idly. All His pastimes are filled with activity. When we go to the spiritual world, we will see that Kṛṣṇa is always engaged in dancing, eating, and enjoying. He does not sit down to meditate. Is there any account of the  gopīs  meditating? Did Caitanya Mahāprabhu sit down to meditate? No, He was always dancing and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The spirit soul is naturally active. How can we sit down silently and do nothing? It is not possible. Therefore, after Śrī Kṛṣṇa outlined the  sāṅkhya-yoga  system in the Sixth Chapter of  Bhagavad-gītā , Arjuna frankly said,
yo 'yaṁ yogas tvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana etasyāhaṁ na paśyāmi cañcalatvāt sthitiṁ sthirām
“O Madhusūdana [Kṛṣṇa], the system of  yoga  which You have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.” (Bg. 6.33) Although Arjuna was highly elevated and was Kṛṣṇa’s intimate friend, he immediately refused to take up this  sāṅkhya-yoga  system. In essence, he said, “It is not possible for me.” How could it have been possible? Arjuna was a warrior, a householder, and he wanted a kingdom. What time did he have for meditation? He flatly refused to practice this type of meditational  yoga , saying that the mind is as difficult to control as the wind (Bg. 6.34). That is a fact. It is not possible to control the mind artificially; therefore we must engage the mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then it is controlled. If Arjuna found this process more difficult than controlling the wind, then what of us? After all, Arjuna was not an ordinary man. He was personally talking with the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and he proclaimed the mind to be like a great wind. How can we control the wind? We can control the mind only by fixing it on Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. That is the perfection of meditation.
No one really wants to sit down and meditate. Why should we? We’re meant for positive activity, for recreation, for pleasure. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, our recreation is dancing and chanting, and
Yoga as Action
9
when we get tired, we take  prasāda . Is dancing difficult? Is chanting difficult? We don’t charge anything to dance in the temple. If you go to a ballroom, you have to pay to enter, but we do not charge. It is natural to enjoy music and dancing and palatable foods. These are our recreations, and this is our method of meditation. So this  yoga  system is not at all laborious. It is simply recreation,  susukham . It is stated in the Ninth Chapter of  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.2) that this  yoga  is  susukham —very happy. “It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” It is natural, automatic, and spontaneous. It is our real life in the spiritual world.
In Vaikuṇṭha, the spiritual world, there is no anxiety.  Vaikuṇṭha  means “freedom from anxiety,” and in Vaikuṇṭha the liberated souls are always dancing, chanting, and taking  prasāda . There are no factories, hard work, or technical institutions. There is no need for these artificial things. In  Vedānta-sūtra  it is stated,  ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt : God is  ānandamaya , full of bliss and pleasure. Since we are part and parcel of God, we also possess these same qualities. So the goal of our  yoga  process is to join with the supreme  ānandamaya , Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to join His dance party. Then we will be actually happy.
On this earth we are trying to be happy artificially and are therefore frustrated. Once we are situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we will revive our original position and become simply joyful. Since our actual nature is  ānandamaya , blissful, we are always searching for happiness. In the cities we are inundated with advertisements. Restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and dance halls are always announcing, “Come on, here is  ānanda . Here is pleasure.” That is because everyone is searching for  ānanda , pleasure. Our society for Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also announcing, “Here is  ānanda ,” but our standard of pleasure is very different. In any case, the goal—pleasure—is the same.
Most people are hunting for pleasure on the gross material platform. The more advanced search for pleasure in speculation, philosophy, poetry, or art. The  bhakti-yogī , however, searches for pleasure on the transcendental platform, and that is his only business. Why are people working so hard all day? They are thinking, “Tonight I shall enjoy. Tonight I will associate with this girl or