Reaching Life’s Perfection 299 |
Krsna consciousness. In hell people are suffering in so many ways, and in a
heaven they are enjoying their senses in so many ways, but a devotee of a
the Lord can live any place where there is Krsna consciousness, and since a
- he brings this consciousness with him, he is always self-satisfied. If he is i
sent to hell, he will be satisfied simply chanting Hare Krsna. In fact, he
does not believe in hell but in Krsna. 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 Krsna Himself. Thus for
the service of the Lord a devotee is prepared to go anywhere, and for this
reason he is very dear to Krsna.
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 Krsna conscious per-
son, however, there is no such difficulty. Because he is controlled and has
taken shelter of Krsna, he is not afraid of going anywhere.
Consequently, when devotees meet in a place where there is no Krsna
consciousness, there is no harm, for they take the opportunity to chant
Hare Krsna and infuse the place with Krsna consciousness. This oppor-
tunity should always be taken. It is not that one should close himself up
in aroom and chant alone. The great sage Narada is a spaceman who trav-
els 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 Krsna and His
parts and parcels. ,
The underlying principle of devotional service is unalloyed love for
Krsna. Regardless of the position of a particular devotee—as friend, ser-
vant, parent, or lover of Krsna—his service is unconditional, for Krsna
’ consciousness is not dependent on any material condition. It is transcen-
dental and has nothing to do with the modes of material nature. A devo-
tee 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 sub-
ject to these mental concoctions. For him the basic principle of material
existence is bad, for material existence means forgetfulness of Krsna.
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 Krsna consciousness actually develops when one thinks, ‘‘Krsna is
my very intimate master of intimate relationships.”’ In the beginning, of
course, impersonal realization and realization of the Supersoul are part of
