Indian man: Śrīla Prabhupāda, everyone has to go through all the 84,000,000 journeys(?), or is that to, like, you know, on his pious or impious karma he might go through only the vegetable class or he might go through only the animal life?

Prabhupāda: That will depend on your karma.

Indian man (2): Śrīla Prabhupāda, there's one thing in the human nature, that he always thinks that he's the chief and around the world everything is running around him, and most probably he always can show off that "I am the leader of everything." Why is it so? In every person.

Prabhupāda: That is the disease, material disease. That is material disease. Everyone wants to become Kṛṣṇa. Nobody wants to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is material. Kartāham iti manyate. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. Rascal bewildered by false egotism, he's thinking "I am everything." That is material life. And when by cultivation of knowledge, good association, you come to the conclusion that "I am not everything, Kṛṣṇa is everything; I am His servant," then perfection. Otherwise he's in the māyā-cakra.

(Morning walk------Toronto).

Yogeśvara: What is material life and how can we live in this material...

Prabhupāda: Material life means no knowledge of God, no service of God. That is material life.

Yogeśvara: He wants to know how can we live in this material world without becoming entangled.

Prabhupāda: That he cannot know, God, by living here. You are trying to know so many things, why don't you try to know God? Material life means one who does not know God, one who does not serve God. These are the two things. So if you know God and if you serve God, that is not material life. So if you try to know God, and if you serve God, that is not material life. 

(Lecture-------Paris).

Acyutānanda: How can the world survive when people forget their karma and immerse themselves in Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Won't it lead to inaction and a stand-still condition?

Prabhupāda: What is that? (laughter)

Pancadravida: If they stop their karma and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, everything will stand still.

Prabhupāda: Nothing stands still. We are not karmīs. At least, we are not doing anything. We go and become guests of Pittieji and he does everything. We do not benefit. So you try to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, everything will be done automatically. You don't have to worry. Teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (B.G.9:22). Of course, you cannot stop karma. That is not possible. Not that everyone will become Kṛṣṇa conscious and your field of activities will be stopped. No. And Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not mean to stop the activities—some group of lazy people. No. We are the most active people, touring all over the world. Who can become a karmī like us? In this old age I am traveling all over the world. Can any karmī do that? So if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then karma, jñāna, yoga, everything becomes perfect. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like if you get one lakh of rupees, ten rupees is there. You haven't got to separately to acquire ten rupees. Similarly, karma, jñāna, yoga, they are ten rupees, twenty rupees, fifty rupees, like that. And Kṛṣṇa consciousness is one lakh of rupees. As soon as you get Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you'll get everything. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ (B.G.18:66), you'll get everything there. It is confirmed.

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaṁ param

(S.B.2:3:10)

Akāma. Akāma means bhakta. Praśāntā. He doesn't want anything. They are called akāma. Sarvakāma means karmī. He wants everything. Bring these dānaṁ dehi, rūpaṁ dehi, yaso (?) dehi, dehi, dehi, dehi. That is karmī. Akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma (S.B.2:3:10), mokṣa-kāma means those who are desiring after liberation. So whatever you may be, never mind. There are three classes of men, akāma, sarva-kāma, mokṣa-kāma, so whatever you may be, Kṛṣṇa is competent. He says, therefore, that tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta paramaṁ puruṣa. The only method that Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya... (B.G.18:66). If you, even if you want to be karmī, even you want the karmī's desire, that you want everything, to enjoy, that will also be fulfilled if you become devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta paramaṁ puruṣa. You haven't got to work separately for fulfilling your desire of karma or jñāna or yoga. Everything will be there. Kṛṣṇa is so powerful. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (B.G.4:11). If you want from Kṛṣṇa the result of your karma, good result, Kṛṣṇa will give you. Kṛṣṇa is not unable to award you this. So better you simply worship Kṛṣṇa. You get all your desires fulfilled. And the ultimate result will be that you will no more desire, because so long you'll desire, you'll never get peace. But by worshiping Kṛṣṇa for some material motive, you'll get that, (but) at the end you will not ask anything more. You'll be śāntā, praśāntā. This is the result. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja. He went to worship Kṛṣṇa for achieving greater kingdom than his father. That was his motive. But when he actually got perfection, he said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce (CC.2:22:42). Yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ, when you get Kṛṣṇa, then you'll understand that there is no more anything more obtainable than Kṛṣṇa, fully satisfied. That is wanted.

(Lecture-------Hyderabad).