everything. Even if we are situated in the midst of fiery turbulence, we will not be
disturbed. That is the mode of goodness.

Bhagavatam means the science of God. If the science of God is perservered in, we
will be situated in the brahma-bhuta status. From that brahma-bhuta status, we have
to work, for work is recommended here. So long as we have this material body, we
have to work. We cannot stop working; it is not possible. But we have to adopt the
tactics of yoga, and in this way, even by doing some ordinary work, which, by destiny
or circumstances we are put into, there is no harm. Suppose that, in one’s own
occupation, one must speak a lie or his business can’t go on. Lying is not a very good
thing, so one concludes that the business is not based on very moral principles and
one should therefore give it up. In the Bhagavad-gita, however, we find instruction
not to give it up. Even if we are put in such circumstances that our livelihood cannot
go on without some unfair practice, we should not give it up. But we should try to
make it purified. How is it purified? We should not take the fruitive result of our
work. That is meant for God.

Sukrta means pious activities. And duskrta means impious activities. On the
material level we can be pious or impious. Either we are performing some pious
activities, or we are performing some impious activities—or we have a mixture, pious
and impious. Lord Krsna advises that we should act with knowledge of, or devotion
to the Supreme. What does that knowledge mean? It means that I am the part and
parcel of the supreme consciousness, or that I am not this body. If I identify myself as
an American, as an Indian, or this or that, then I am on the material plane. We
should identify ourselves as neither Americans nor Indians, but as pure
consciousness. I am a subordinate consciousness of the supreme consciousness; in
other words, I am the servant of God. God is the supreme consciousness, and I am
His servant. So, for our present understanding, subordinate means servant.

We don’t ordinarily carry out the work of a servant in relationship to God. Nobody
wants to be a servant, but everyone wants to be the master, because to become a
servant is not a very palatable thing. But to become the servant of God is not exactly
like this. Sometimes the servant of God becomes the master of God. The real
position of the living entity is to be the servant of God, but in the Bhagavad-gita we
can see that the master, Krsna, became the servant of Arjuna. Arjuna is sitting in
the chariot, and Krsna is his driver. Arjuna is not the owner of the chariot, but in
the spiritual relationship we should not cling to the concept of the material
relationship. Although the whole relationship, just as we have experience of it in
this world, is there in the spiritual world, that relationship is not contaminated by
