Text 4] Ideal Family Life 145

about Krsna. Simply by hearing, by attending lectures in the different
centers of the Krsna consciousness movement, where topics of Krsna
from Bhagavad-gitd and Srimad-Bhagavatam are discussed, they will be
purified of their sinful inclination for constant indulgence in illicit sex,
meat-eating, intoxication and gambling, which have all become promi-
nent in modern days. Thus they can be raised to the status of light.
Punya-sravana-kirtanah. Simply by joining the kirtana—Hare Krsna,
Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama
Rama, Hare Hare—and by hearing about Krsna from Bhagavad-gita,
one must be purified, especially if he also takes prasdda. This is all going
on in the Krsna consciousness movement.

Another specific description here is srnvan bhagavato *bhiksnam
avatara-kathamrtam. It is not that because one has once finished
Bhagavad-gita he should not hear it again. The word abhiksnam is very
important. We should hear again and again. There is no question of stop-
ping: even if one has read these topics many times, he should go on read-
ing again and again because bhagavat-kathd, the words spoken by Krsna
and spoken by Krsna’s devotees about Krsna, are amrtam, nectar. The
more one drinks this amrtam, the more he advances in his eternal life.

The human form of life is meant for liberation, but unfortunately,
due to the influence of Kali-yuga, every day the grhasthas are working
hard like asses. Early in the morning they rise and travel even a hundred
miles away to earn bread. Especially in the Western countries, I have
seen that people awaken at five o'clock to go to offices and factories to
earn their livelihood. People in Calcutta and Bombay also do this every
day. They work very hard in the office or factory, and again they spend
three or four hours in transportation returning home. Then they retire at
ten o’clock and again rise early in the morning to go to their offices and
factories. This kind of hard labor is described in the sastras as the life of
pigs and stool-eaters. Nayarn deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kiman
arhate vid-bhujam ye: “Of all living entities who have accepted material
bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should
not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is
available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool.” (Bhag. 5.5.1) One must
find some time for hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita.
This is Vedic culture. One should work eight hours at the most to earn
his livelihood, and either in the afternoon or in the evening a house-
holder should associate with devotees to hear about the incarnations of
