Beauty in Krsna’s Presence 163
given before, zero has no value, but if we bring the number one and place
it by the side of zero, the zero becomes ten. So one need not stop what-
ever one is doing. We never say, ‘‘Stop everything material.’’ One simply
has to add Krsna.

Of course, we have to give up anything which is against Krsna con-
sciousness. It is not that because we do not stop material duties, we
should not stop meat-eating. We must stop it, for this is contrary to ad-
vancement in Krsna consciousness. One cannot commit sinful activities
and at the same time advance in Krsna consciousness. But Krsna says,
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami: ‘‘Surrender unto Me, and I
shall rescue you by giving you liberation from all kinds of sinful
reactions.”

Every one of us, life after life, is knowingly or unknowingly commit-
ting sinful activities. I may knowingly kill an animal, and that is certainly
sinful, but even if I do it unknowingly, it is also sinful. While walking on
the street we unknowingly kill so many ants, and in the course of our
other ordinary dealings—while cooking, while taking water, while using a
mortar and pestle to crush spices—we kill so many living beings. Unless
we remain Krsna conscious, we are liable to be punished for all these
unknowingly committed sinful acts.

If a child unknowingly touches fire, does it mean that the fire will ex-
cuse the child and not burn? No. Nature’s law is so strict, so stringent,
that there is no question of an excuse. Even in ordinary law, ignorance is
no excuse. If we go to court and say, ‘‘I did not know that this action was
criminal,’’ this plea does not mean that we shall be excused. Similarly, ig-
norance is no excuse for transgressing nature’s laws. Therefore, if we ac-
tually want to be free from the reactions of sinful life, we must be Krsna
conscious, for then Krsna will free us from all sinful reactions. It is
therefore recommended, kirtaniyah sada harih—one should always chant
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare
Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, so that Krsna will save us.

We should always keep Krsna within our minds, for Krsna is like the
sun. This is the motto of our Back to Godhead magazine:

krsna—strya sama; maya haya andhakara
yahan krsna, tahan nahi mayara adhikara
(Cc. Madhya 22.31)
Krsna is just like the brilliant sun, and maya, ignorance, is just like dark-
ness. When the sun is present, there cannot be darkness. So if we keep
