“First step Krishna took in educating Arjuna”

Prabhupada, London, August 17, 1973: So you’ll find this first class, second class, third, you cannot stop it. Just like in Bombay sometimes I showed to my disciples, say in 1935. 1935 means about fifty years ago. Fifty years ago when I was in Bombay, that time I was doing some business. So a class of men, they were living on footpath. Their home is on the footpath. They have got a box or a bag and lying on the footpath and eating on the footpath, their, everything on the footpath.

Now the same class of men are still there. Now economically, fifty years ago, the value of money was greater. At that time, fifty years ago we were purchasing, say ghee, at most one rupee per kilo. So now you cannot get first class ghee unless you pay twenty-five rupees per kilo. So the value of money has decreased. So that means, in other words people are getting more money.

Formerly, one servant was engaged, ten rupees or twelve rupees per month. Now you cannot get a servant unless you pay one hundred rupees. So in that comparison, everyone is getting more money, but still the condition is the same. Condition is the same. This will go on.

Even if you get more money, the other circumstances will force you to remain in the same condition as you were fifty years ago. Because you are destined. This is called destiny. You cannot change your destiny. That is not possible.

Therefore Bhagavata says that do not try to change your destiny. Everyone is trying to change the destiny. I am poor man, I must be very rich man. But you cannot change your destiny. Tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido na labhate yad bhramatam upary adhah.

In this world we are, every one of us are bound up by the laws of karma, destiny. We have got our destiny. So much happiness, so much distress we must have. Because this is a mixture of happiness and distress. Here you cannot have unadulterated happiness.

That is not possible in this… Unadulterated happiness, real happiness can be achieved in the spiritual world. Not in the material world. So certain amount of happiness and certain amount of distress we have to enjoy and suffer. You cannot change it. This is the law of nature in this material world.

Therefore Bhagavata says, tasyaiva hetoh prayeteta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah. People are wandering within this material world, living entity, in different forms of life under different conditions of life. But they are not getting the information of Krishna.

That is their misfortune. So one who is fortunate during this period of continuous wandering in different species of life on different planets, he contacts another devotee. Guru-Krishna. Or one who is actually anxious to unite with the Supreme Lord, how one gets this consciousness—by associating with devotees. Just like we are holding this class.

Even those who are not devotee, outsider, if they come they can also understand, then he becomes, one becomes very seriously anxious how to understand God, how to go back to home, back to Godhead. Then Krishna immediately helps. This is the process. Krishna is there within your heart.

As soon as you become little serious, immediately, Krishna is ready. Krishna is ready, He is sitting with you as a friend. Simply looking for the opportunity when you’ll come back to Him. That is Krishna. He’s always sitting with you.
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