Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 12, 2000, pm
My humble obeisances in the lotus feet of my diksa guru, nitya lila pravista om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, and to my siksa guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja. We are very fortunate to assemble here. [tape break] I will speak more. I have come from very far away, India, Vrindavana, to give you some [tape break] As they have told, we want, we all want happiness and peace of mind. No one wants suffering, difficulties, sorrows and suffering. Even an ant or monkeys, dogs, hogs, they all want happiness. But how we can be happy? This is the problem.
So nowadays there are so many religious movements and missionaries. Like Buddhism, like Christianity, Moslems, like Sanatana-dharmi. We all want happiness. In this we see that all have some special kind of theories. Buddhism is being preached everywhere in India, now in China, here, there, in whole world. They are telling that, "You should follow me and I will give you happiness." They are telling, "This world is zero. From zero everything has come. From zero everything has been created, has come. So that anything like this, and after this, oh, we will all be, the whole world will be zero." But we ask them that if we are zero, then from where this world came? And why we want happiness? And from where all species in this world came? Different kinds of humans, trees, creepers, animals, from where they came if it is zero. And then what is the need of your preaching if whole world is zero. To whom you are preaching if they are all zero, and how you can preach to zero. Very strange and wonderful. If everything is zero, then how they can give happiness to others. So it is evident that they cannot give pleasure, happiness, peace of mind.
They give an example of how they will be happy. That there was a Buddhist person, guru. He was in the age of eighty. There was a mountain, and in that mountain there was a very deep cave. And he went inside. And he told his disciples to put a very heavy stone on the mouth of that cave. And there was nothing, no food, no air, no water, nothing there. He began to die inside. He became so weak that he could not open the mouth of that cave, and thus he died. They say that this is nirvana and he became so happy. So you should be very careful.
Also we see that Christians also speak of a God. But we want bread and butter from God. "Oh, God, please give me butter and bread."
Devotee: Daily bread.
Srila Narayana Maharaja: "Daily bread and everything." But they have this idea that God has no shape, no attributes, no qualities, nothing. If God has no shape, then how He can be very merciful? But in their religious book, Bible, in First Canto it has been told, "God created man out of His own image." So then God has shape, and from His shape, like His shape, He has made us human persons. I don't know why they don't admit this fact, though it is written in Bible First Canto. You can open and read it. So God has shape.
G-O-D. Three letters. G - Generator of this world, He has generated this world, creator of this world. O - Operator. Who is operating this world? So many persons are taking birth and so many are dying, some are wealthy, some are rich, some are blind, some are with eyes, and some so much poor. Who is managing this world? Who? Who is giving intelligence, who is giving this body? Someone is there who controls everything. And D - Destructor. So these activities, if a shapeless person is there with no power, no attributes, how He can do all these things? So Supreme Personality of this whole universe, a Supreme Personality of Godhead there must be, and He must have a very beautiful shape. If God is shapeless, no mercy, then from where this world came? There is an idea that, that from zero nothing can be created, there must be something or whole thing. And that is why in Vedas it has been told:
om purnam adah purnam idam
purnat purnam udacyate
purnasya purnam adaya
purnam evavaçinyate
(Isopanisad Invocation)
["The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance." (BBT)]
That God is akhanda, complete. And we are all eternal servants of that Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is so beautiful, three-folded He stands, playing on flute, very teeny age [teenage], charming to all, even to creepers, trees, animals He is very charming. And He has created humans, us, very beautiful. How beautiful you are. So He is very charming, attractive, and that is why He is called Krishna. You may call Him also Christ, no harm. Because the word Christ has come from Krishna. We have a history. We have a history that Jesus came to India, and He went to Vrindavana, He went to Jagannatha Puri, and He saw that attractive Krishna, and then He became a very pure devotee, like a son, and then He came to Jerusalem, and there He preached. In India also Krishna is called Krsta, Krsta is called Christ, and from that Jesus 'Christ' came. This word is derived from there. So they also accepted that Christ is embodiment of wholesale love and affection. So really this Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, very beautiful, attractive, having all the qualities, and He has created this whole world and He is managing everything.
Also in the scriptures of Mohammedans it has been told. Even they don't accept the shape of Khuda or Allah. They accept that Khuda or Allah is Supreme Personality of Godhead. But even in their Purana it has been written 'inhallaha kalaka men suratahi', that Allah or Khuda has created all human bodies like Him. So everywhere the same thing is told. In our Vedas also it has been told that Krishna was very beautiful in His young age, and He will always be young in three phases of time (past, present and future).
Anyhow we have forgotten, and if we will remember His names, then we will liberated and we will be happy forever. Krishna has invested His whole power, His whole mercy, His whole attributes in His names. And these names are what? Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So chant this name and you will see if you are regularly chanting, for ten days even, in process, giving up your bad habits, giving up eating flesh, eggs, meat, wine, everything, coming in pure process, we are guaranteeing this, that you will be happy forever.
Nityananda Prabhu Himself has given guarantee that, "You must be happy, you must be happy, you must be happy," telling like this. So today in brief I told you, and I request you that you will be happy if you are chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Again I will request you to come tomorrow with your friends and collogues and we will speak so many things.