Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda mentioned that everyone is looking for pleasure. So when one comes into devotional service, how is it possible to know if one is actually looking for his own pleasure or really in search of God.
Prabhupāda: So long you'll seek your own pleasure, you'll suffer. And when you'll seek Kṛṣṇa's pleasure, you'll enjoy. The example is given: Just like you catch up some sweetmeat, the fingers. If the fingers say, "We shall enjoy it," you spoil it. But if the fingers put it to Kṛṣṇa, then you'll enjoy it. Unless you know this art, that we cannot enjoy independently, that is not possible. If we enjoy through Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, then we'll be happy. This is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness art. Directly you cannot enjoy, that is not possible. They are making this mistake. They want to satisfy their senses directly. That is not possible. That is spoiling the life. And if you satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa, the through Kṛṣṇa you satisfy yourself. This is the technique. The same analogy. The fingers cannot directly enjoy the sweet ball, but when the sweet ball is put into the stomach, these five fingers enjoy, also these five fingers enjoy. These five fingers, whole body will enjoy.
(Lecture on Bhagavad-Gita-------New Mayapur, French farm).
Nirantara: Prabhupāda, what pleases you the most?
Prabhupāda: If you love Kṛṣṇa.
Devotees: Jaya.
(Lecture-------Atlanta).
Pañcadraviḍa: So you say that two kinds of people enjoy life, the paramahaṁsas and the great fools. So what's wrong with being a great fool? They're also enjoying.
Prabhupāda: Yes. You become. That's nice. If you want to remain a great fool, there is no checking you. You can go on.
Pañcadraviḍa: Well, then what, what is the check on fools? What is the check on fools?
Prabhupāda: There is no check on fools. You can do anything.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: How do we know that the animals don't know all of these great truths?
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: How do we know that the animals don't know all of these truths?
Prabhupāda: Because they cannot follow. If you call the dogs and hogs, "Please come here. There will be Gītā lecture," they'll not come.
Nalinī-kānta: We have already had a hog's body. So we didn't like it. Otherwise, why would we change?
(Morning walk------Mayapur).
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, could it be said that in a society where stress is placed on developing this understanding of God, people would naturally become disinclined for these so-called modern activities of sense gratification?
Prabhupāda: That is the best qualification. If he becomes disinterested with these so-called modern civilized activities, that is the perfection of life. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra caiṣa (S.B.11:2:42). Bhakti means the more you become God conscious, you become disinterested with these material activities. And that is needed, because material activities means you are wasting our time. What is the value of animal life? It is risky. If we become like animal, then we'll become animal next birth. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (B.G.8:6). At the time of death, the mind's position will give me another body. That is nature's law. That you do not know. There is no education how the body is being transferred, how the soul is transferred to different bodies. And there are 8,400,000 different forms of body, and at the time of death, according to our mentality, we have to accept by nature's law a type of body which may not be human body. That we do not know. There is no education. The people are kept in darkness about the laws of nature. That is a very risky civilization.
(Evening Darshan-------New York).
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