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A young devotee asked, "How do you convince a person that they are suffering, when they say that they are happy and not afraid to die?"

Prabhupada's reply was short and salty. "He is a madman!" As the whole room erupted in laughter, Prabhupada showed his teeth in a broad grin. "That's all. Who is caring for a madman's word?"

Newly-initiated Visvahetu raised his hand. "If we've been here, lifetime after lifetime performing impious activities, does it mean that we have to be here, lifetime after lifetime, performing pious activities to balance out our sinful reactions?"

Prabhupada opened his eyes wide and mildly admonished his young disciple. "One minute. That is Krsna consciousness movement. One minute. You are not reading Bhagavad-gita? What Krsna says? Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami. 'You surrender unto Me. Give up all your business. I will give you relief from all sinful reactions immediately.' So it requires one minute. 'My dear Krsna, I had forgotten. Now I understand. I fully surrender unto You.' Then you become immediately free from all sinful reactions. Without any reservation, without any politics. If you fully surrender, Krsna is assuring aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah."

Prabhupada paused briefly, his eyes wide open, his face animated and bright. "He reassures: 'Don't worry whether I will be able to give you relief from all reaction. Ma sucah. Finished. Guaranteed. You do this.' So how much time it requires to surrender to Krsna? Immediately you can do that. Surrender means you surrender and work as Krsna says. That is surrender. What Krsna says to do? Four things: 'You always think of Me, and you become My devotee. You worship Me and offer your respect, full obeisances unto Me.' You do these four things. That is full surrender. Mam evaisyasy asamsayah: 'Then you come to Me without any difficulty.' Everything is there. Krsna has given everything, fully. If you accept it, then life is very simple. There is no difficulty."

Finally, another young brahmacari asked Srila Prabhupada a detailed question. "You're here, and all the devotees are your disciples, Srila Prabhupada, eternal disciples, eternal servitors. But what if we have to take birth in the material world in the next life? How will we be able to render direct service unto you?"

"Even if you remain in the material world," Prabhupada replied, "if you have not completed your spiritual life, still you will get good birth. Sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrastah sanjayate. 'One who is a failure in completing Krsna consciousness, then he is given next chance in a very aristocratic family or a very nice pure brahmana family, so that he can again cultivate Krsna consciousness next chance'."

The young brahmacari continued. "Will that mean taking initiation from another guru or will he remain your eternal servant?"

Madhudvisa clarified the question. "His question was, when we take initiation from you, we understand that we become your eternal servitors. But if we had to come back again to another birth ..."

"But if you remain eternally in the instruction," continued Srila Prabhupada, "and if you fall from the instruction, how you can remain eternal? You have to stay on the platform. Then eternally you are safe. If you fall down from the platform, then it is your fault. Just like we are all in the Vaikuntha planets. Now we want to enjoy this material world. We have fallen down. Just like Jaya and Vijaya. Now we are trying to go back again. Therefore we say, 'Go back to home, back to Godhead.' There is a process. If you follow the process, then you go back. If you fall down, that is your fault. Therefore, this life is meant for tapasya, that is Rsabhadeva's instruction, that our life should not be wasted like the dogs and hogs and pigs. It should be utilised for tapasya, for understanding our position. Tapo putraka yena suddhyed sattvam. This is the aim of life. We have to purify our existence. At the present moment our existence is impure. Therefore we are subjected to birth, death, old age and disease. And as soon as we purify ourselves, then we are not subjected to these four material laws. Thank you very much, Hare Krsna."

With that, Srila Prabhupada brought the final session to a close.


- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu