By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
If you want to go to the higher planetary systems by pious activities, then you can go there, yānti deva-vratā devān. You can go to the planet where Lord Brahma lives or where Indra lives or Chandra lives. Through the modern process, you can go to the moon planet by taking a sputnik or jet. But by (the sputnik or jet) you can go – whether you can go or not, that is up to you (to believe) – but you cannot stay there. That is not possible.
Krishna tends the cows in His Supreme Abode, Goloka Vrindavan
If you want to stay there, then yānti deva-vratā devān. You have to prepare yourself by worshiping that particular deva, or deity, demigod; then you will be admitted. Just like if you want to go to a foreign country you have to take the permission of the immigration department, visa, then you can go. If that law is there in this planet, why not for other planets? How can you go abruptly, by force? That is not possible. Yānti deva-vratā devān. You have to prepare yourself to go.
You can go there, but after this life. If you are sufficiently prepared to enter that particular type of planet, you can go there. Similarly, you can go to the planet where Krishna lives. Mad-yājino ‘pi yānti mām [Bg. 9.25]. So what is the difference between going to the higher planetary systems, heavenly planet, and going to the planet where Krishna lives?
The difference is, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramam mama [Bg. 15.6]. If you go to the planet where Krishna lives, then you haven’t got to come back again. Otherwise, in other planets, in the heavenly planets, kṣīṇe punye punar martya-lokam viśanti. You can live there, just like you can live in a foreign country so long your visa continues. Similarly, you can go to the higher, heavenly planets, but you can live there up to the point of visa, punya. By pious activities you can go to the higher planetary systems, but by impious activities you go to the lower planets. Adho gacchanti tāmasāh, jaghanya-guna-vrtti-sthā, ūrdhvam gacchanti sattva-sthā [Bg. 14.18].
So even if you go to Brahma-loka, Indra-loka—ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāh punar āvartinao ‘rjuna [Bg. 8.16]—you have to come back again. But, yad gatvā na nivartante, tad dhāma paramam mama [Bg. 15.6]. If you go to that planet, yad gatvā na nivartante, one does not require to come back again. “That is My real abode.” Tad dhāma paramam. Every dhāma is Krishna’s, but that is the parama dhāma, supreme dhāma. Just like the king. The kingdom belongs to the king, but still he has got his special royal house, palace. Similarly, Krishna is the proprietor of all planets, sarva-loka-maheshvaram [Bg. 5.29], but still He has got His own planet. That is called Gokula Vrndāvana.
So this Krishna consciousness movement is a movement to educate people how to go back to Godhead, Krishna. So our request is that you take advantage of this movement. Don’t be fully simply absorbed in the activities of animal life—eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. This is also required, but under regulation. Eating is not prohibited in Krishna consciousness movement, but eating is regulated. Don’t eat anything without Krishna’s prasādam. Oh, Krishna prasādam, there are so many varieties nice foodstuff. Be satisfied by taking Krishna’s prasādam. So your eating problem will be solved and you will advance in Krishna consciousness to go back to home, back to Godhead.
So this Krishna consciousness movement is very important movement for the human society, and this is not a Utopian thing. It is authorized. For every action of Krishna consciousness movement there is support from Vedas, Vedic literature. Just like whenever we speak something we immediately give evidence from the Bhagavad-gita. It is not that something, “In my opinion it is…” No. We have no opinion. We don’t give our opinion. We present Bhagavad-gita as it is, that’s all. As Krishna says, we say the same thing. We have no difficulty. Krishna says, mattah parataram nānyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. “There is no more superior truth than Krishna.” Krishna says. We accept that. We preach that. That Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead! krishnas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. If you are searching after God – that is your duty. Athāto brahma jijnāsā. That is your human life’s business, to search out the truth, Absolute Truth. Then that (Absolut Truth) is Krishna, that is Krishna. In the Vedānta-sutra it is indirectly said, “The Absolute Truth is janmādy asya yatah [SB 1.1.1], from whom everything is generated.” That is Absolute Truth. That answer is given in the Bhagavad-gita, aham sarvasya prabhavah mattah sarvam pravartate [Bg. 10.8]: “I am the origin of everything.” Aham ādir hi devānām [Bg 10.2].
Somebody may say the demigods like Lord Brahma, Siva, they are the beginning demigods. But Krishna says, aham ādir hi devānām. “All the demigods are also coming from Me.” Sarvasya prabhavah mattah sarvam pravartate. These things are there. So we are teaching that. It is not difficult. We are not manufacturing anything by our fertile brain. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gita. And we are presenting Bhagavad-gita as it is, preaching the Bhagavad-gita as it is. The Bhāgavata is also further explanation of Bhagavad-gita, Vedānta-sutra explanation.
[An excerpt from a lecture delivered on Jan 31, 1974 in Hong Kong]
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