Reaching Life's Perfection
299
Krṣṇa consciousness. In hell people are suffering in so many ways, and in heaven they are enjoying their senses in so many ways, but a devotee of the Lord can live any place where there is Krṣṇa consciousness, and since he brings this consciousness with him, he is always self-satisfied. If he is sent to hell, he will be satisfied simply chanting Hare Krṣṇa. In fact, he does not believe in hell but in Krṣṇa. Similarly, if he were put in heaven, where there are so many opportunities for sense gratification, he would also remain aloof, for his senses are satisfied by Krṣṇa Himself. Thus for the service of the Lord a devotee is prepared to go anywhere, and for this reason he is very dear to Krṣṇa.
Renounced impersonalist philosophers say that this world is false and that the impersonal Brahman is truth. But if they are asked to go out into society where material sense gratification predominates, they will refuse for fear of being affected by those conditions. For a Krṣṇa conscious person, however, there is no such difficulty. Because he is controlled and has taken shelter of Krṣṇa, he is not afraid of going anywhere.
Consequently, when devotees meet in a place where there is no Krṣṇa consciousness, there is no harm, for they take the opportunity to chant Hare Krṣṇa and infuse the place with Krṣṇa consciousness. This opportunity should always be taken. It is not that one should close himself up in a room and chant alone. The great sage Nārada is a spaceman who travels all over the universe. Although he can dwell in the most elevated planets, he sometimes goes to hell and preaches there. That is the beauty of a servant of God—he is always acting out of love for Krṣṇa and His parts and parcels.
The underlying principle of devotional service is unalloyed love for Krṣṇa. Regardless of the position of a particular devotee—as friend, servant, parent, or lover of Krṣṇa—his service is unconditional, for Krṣṇa consciousness is not dependent on any material condition. It is transcendental and has nothing to do with the modes of material nature. A devotee is not afraid to go anywhere, and because of this he sees all material conditions as equal. In the world we may say that this is a good place to be and that is a bad place, but, as pointed out before, the devotee is not subject to these mental concoctions. For him the basic principle of material existence is bad, for material existence means forgetfulness of Krṣṇa.
In the neutral stage of devotion one may give more importance to the impersonal effulgence of the Lord and to the Supersoul within the heart, but Krṣṇa consciousness actually develops when one thinks, “Krṣṇa is my very intimate master of intimate relationships.” In the beginning, of course, impersonal realization and realization of the Supersoul are part of