Bhagvat : BE LIKE A SWAN - THE SWAN [HAMSA] IS ONE WHO DISCRIMINATES BETWEEN MATTER AND SPIRIT, WHO EXPLAINS THE MEANS OF BONDAGE AND THE MEANS OF LIBERATION,25th June

BE LIKE A SWAN - The swan [hamsa] is one who discriminates between matter and spirit, who explains the means of bondage and the means of liberation

TRANSLATION
[Närada Muni had spoken of a swan. That swan is explained in this verse.] The Vedic literatures [shästras] vividly describe how to understand the Supreme Lord, the source of all material and spiritual energy. Indeed, they elaborately explain these two energies.

The swan [hamsa] is one who discriminates between matter and spirit, who accepts the essence of everything,

and who explains the means of bondage and the means of liberation. The words of scriptures consist of variegated vibrations.

If a foolish rascal leaves aside the study of these shästras to engage in temporary activities, what will be the result?

PURPORT
The Krshna consciousness movement is very eager to present Vedic literature in modern languages, especially Western languages such as English, French and German.

The leaders of the Western world, the Americans and Europeans, have become the idols of modern civilization because the Western people are very sophisticated in temporary activities for the advancement of material civilization.

A sane man, however, can see that all such grand activities, although perhaps very important for temporary life, have nothing to do with eternal life.

The entire world is imitating the materialistic civilization of the West, and therefore the Krshna consciousness movement is very much interested in giving the Western people knowledge by translating the original Sanskrit Vedic literatures into Western languages.

The word vivikta-padam refers to the path of logical discourses concerning the aim of life.

If one does not discuss that which is important in life, one is put into darkness and must struggle for existence.

What, then, is the benefit of his advancement in knowledge?The people of the West are seeing their students becoming hippies, despite gorgeous arrangements for university education.

The Krshna consciousness movement, however, is trying to convert misguided, drug-addicted students to the service of Krshna and engage them in the best welfare activities for human society.

Bhagvat: ONE WHO HAS EDUCATION AND WEALTH MUST USE THEM TO SATISFY THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD BY HELPING THE KRSHNA CONSCIOUSNESS MOVEMENT,24th June

Bhagvat: one who has education and wealth must use them to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by helping the Krshna consciousness movement

TRANSLATION
When one is enriched with wealth and knowledge which are under his full control and by means of which he can perform yajna or please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one must perform sacrifices, offering oblations to the fire according to the directions of the sastras. In this way one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT
If a grhastha, or householder, is sufficiently educated in Vedic knowledge and has become sufficiently rich to offer worship to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he must perform yajnas as directed by the authorized scriptures.

Bhagavad-gita (3.9) clearly says, yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanam: everyone may be engaged in his occupational duties, but the result of these duties should be offered for sacrifice to satisfy the Supreme Lord.

If one is fortunate enough to possess transcendental knowledge as well as the money with which to perform sacrifices, one must do it according to the directions given in the sastras. It is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.3.52):

The entire Vedic civilization aims at satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This was possible in Satya-yuga by meditation upon the Supreme Lord within the core of one's heart and in Treta-yuga by the performance of costly yajnas. The same goal could be achieved in Dvapara-yuga by worship of the Lord in the temple, and in this age of Kali one can achieve the same goal by performing sankirtana-yajna.

Therefore one who has education and wealth must use them to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by helping the sankirtana movement that has already begun—the Hare Krshna movement, or Krshna consciousness movement. All educated and wealthy persons must join this movement, since money and education are meant for service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
If money and education are not engaged in the service of the Lord, these valuable assetsmust be engaged in the service of maya. The education of so-called scientists, philosophers and poets is now engaged in the service of maya, and the wealth of the rich is also engaged in maya's service. The service of maya, however, creates a chaotic condition in the world.
Therefore the wealthy man and the educated man should sacrifice their knowledge and opulence by dedicating them for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord and joining this sankirtana movement (yajnaim sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasam).

Bhagvat : INSTEAD OF BEING VERY MUCH ANXIOUS ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND UNNECESSARILY WASTE TIME AND ENERGY, ONE SHOULD SAVE HIS ENERGY FOR ADVANCING IN KRSHNA CONSCIOUSNESS,23rd June

Bhagvat: Instead of being very much anxious about economic development and unnecessarily waste time and energy, one should save his energy for advancing in Krshna consciousness

Extract from Srimad Bhagvatam

TRANSLATION
An intelligent person should be satisfied with eating prasada [food offered to the Lord] or with performing the five different kinds of yajna [pancha-süna]. By such activities, one can give up attachment for the body and so-called proprietorship with reference to the body. When one is able to do this, he is firmly fixed in the position of a mahatma.

PURPORT
Nature already has an arrangement to feed us.
By the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is an arrangement for eatables for every living entity within the 8,400,000 forms of life.
Eko bahünam yo vidadhati kaman.
Every living entity has to eat something, and in fact the necessities for his life have already been provided by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Lord has provided food for both the elephant and the ant.

All living beings are living at the cost of the Supreme Lord, and therefore one who is intelligent should not work very hard for material comforts.
Rather, one should save his energy for advancing in Krshna consciousness.
All created things in the sky, in the air, on land and in the sea belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and every living being is provided with food.
Therefore one should not be very much anxious about economic development and unnecessarily waste time and energy with the risk of falling down in the cycle of birth and death.

Bhagvat : ONE SHOULD BE SATISFIED TO MAINTAIN BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER WITH WHATEVER IS AVAILABLE WITH MINIMUM ENDEAVOR, 22nd June

Bhagvat : one should be satisfied to maintain body and soul together with whatever is available with minimum endeavor

Extract from Srimad Bhagvatam

TRANSLATION
Even if one is a householder rather than a brahmachari, a sannyasi or a vanaprastha, one should not endeavor very hard for religiosity, economic development or satisfaction of the senses. Even in householder life, one should be satisfied to maintain body and soul together with whatever is available with minimum endeavor, according to place and time, by the grace of the Lord. One should not engage oneself in ugra-karma.

PURPORT
In human life there are four principles to be fulfilled-dharma, artha, kama and moksha (religion, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation). First one should be religious, observing various rules and regulations, and then one must earn some money for maintenance of his family and the satisfaction of his senses.

The most important ceremony for sense gratification is marriage because sexual intercourse is one of the principal necessities of the material body. Yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham. Although sexual intercourse is not a very exalted requisite in life, both animals and men require some sense gratification because of material propensities. One should be satisfied with married life and not expend energy for extra sense gratification or sex life.

As for economic development, the responsibility for this should be entrusted mainly to the vaisyas and grhasthas. Human society should be divided into varnas and asramas—brahmana, kshatriya, vaisya, südra, brahmacharya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa. Economic development is necessary for grhasthas. Brahmana grhasthas should be satisfied with a life of adhyayana, adhyapana, yajana and yajana—being learned scholars, teaching others to be scholars, learning how to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, and also teaching others how to worship Lord Vishnu, or even the demigods.

A brahmana should do this without remuneration, but he is allowed to accept charity from a person whom he teaches how to be a human being. As for the kshatriyas, they are supposed to be the kings of the land, and the land should be distributed to the vaisyas for agricultural activities, cow protection and trade. Shüdras must work; sometimes they should engage in occupational duties as cloth manufacturers, weavers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, brass-smiths, and so on, or else they should engage in hard labor to produce food grains.

These are the different occupational duties by which men should earn their livelihood, and in this way human society should be simple. At the present moment, however, everyone is engaged in technological advancement, which is described in Bhagavad-gita as ugra-karma—extremely severe endeavor. This ugra-karma is the cause of agitation within the human mind. Men are engaging in many sinful activities and becoming degraded by opening slaughterhouses, breweries and cigarette factories, as well as nightclubs and other establishments for sense enjoyment.

In this way they are spoiling their lives. In all of these activities, of course, householders are involved, and therefore it is advised here, with the use of the word api, that even though one is a householder, one should not engage himself in severe hardships.

One's means of livelihood should be extremely simple. As for those who are not grhasthas—the brahmacharis, vanaprasthas and sannyasis—they don't have to do anything but strive for advancement in spiritual life. This means that three fourths of the entire population should stop sense gratification and simply be engaged in the advancement of Krshna consciousness.

Only one fourth of the population should be grhastha, and that should be according to laws of restricted sense gratification. The grhasthas, vanaprasthas, brahmacharis and sannyasis should endeavor together with their total energy to become Krshna conscious. This type of civilization is called daiva-varnasrama. 

One of the objectives of the Krshna consciousness movement is to establish this daiva-varnasrama, but not to encourage so-called varnasrama without scientifically organized endeavor by human society.

Gita shloka 3.15, BY BECOMING KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUS, CONDITIONED SOULS CAN RETURN HOME, BACK TO GODHEAD, 21st June

Gita shloka 3.15

by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, conditioned souls can return home, back to Godhead

TRANSLATION

Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.

PURPORT

Yajñārtha karma, or the necessity of work for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa only, is more expressly stated in this verse.

If we have to work for the satisfaction of the yajña-puruṣa, Viṣṇu, then we must find out the direction of work in Brahman, or the transcendental Vedas.

The Vedas are therefore codes of working directions.

Anything performed without the direction of the Vedas is called vikarma, or unauthorized or sinful work.

Therefore, one should always take direction from the Vedas to be saved from the reaction of work.

As one has to work in ordinary life by the direction of the state, similarly, one has to work under direction of the supreme state of the Lord.

Such directions in the Vedas are directly manifested from the breathing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It is said: asya mahato bhūtasya naśvasitam etad yad ṛg-vedo yajur-vedaḥ sāma-vedo ‘tharvāṅ girasaḥ.

“The four Vedas-namely the Ṛg-veda, Yajur-veda, Sāma-veda and Atharva-veda-are all emanations from the breathing of the great Personality of Godhead.” The Lord, being omnipotent, can speak by breathing air, as it is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā, for the Lord has the omnipotence to perform through each of His senses the actions of all other senses.

In other words, the Lord can speak through His breathing, and He can impregnate by His eyes.

In fact, it is said that He glanced over material nature and thus fathered all living entities.

After creating or impregnating the conditioned souls into the womb of material nature, He gave His directions in the Vedic wisdom as to how such conditioned souls can return home, back to Godhead.

We should always remember that the conditioned souls in material nature are all eager for material enjoyment.

But the Vedic directions are so made that one can satisfy one’s perverted desires, then return to Godhead, having finished his so-called enjoyment.

It is a chance for the conditioned souls to attain liberation; therefore the conditioned souls must try to follow the process of yajña by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Even those who cannot follow the Vedic injunctions may adopt the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that will take the place of performance of Vedic yajñas, or karmas.