Prabhupada: ....five years old. It is
a school. He was preaching amongst the class-friends this Krsna consciousness
movement. You have seen the picture of Prahlada Maharaja standing on the table
-- of course, there was no tables in those days -- and speaking to his
class-friends about devotional service. The friends of Prahlada Maharaja, they
objected, that "We are now children. Let us play now. We shall see about God
consciousness when we are old enough, or at the time of death we shall see to
it." Prahlada Maharaja said,
kaumara acaret prajno
dharman bhagavatan iha
durlabham manusam janma
tad apy adhruvam arthadam
[SB 7.6.1]
Prahlada Maharaja said, "My dear friends, Krsna consciousness should be learned from the very beginning of life, kaumara." The learning should be beginning between five years old to ten years old, between this time. This Bhagavata-dharma especially, first thing is, the children from the very beginning of their life should be given instruction on religious principles of life. What are the religious principles? Religious principle means to understand what is God. That is religious principle. It doesn't matter whether you are Christian or Hindu or Muslim or any... There are many hundreds and thousands patterns of religious system, but according to our Bhagavata school, we accept that religion as first class which teaches how to love God. That is religion. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. That system of religion is first class wherein the followers are given lessons how to love God. Unfortunately, at the present moment there is no question of how to teach them for loving God. They deny the existence of God. This is the present situation. People have become so rascal that they do not believe in the existence of God. Or somebody believes... Not believes. That is affirmed. Some of them say, "God is dead. Now we have to take to social work, political work. Let the subject matter of God be set aside." Especially in India. In India, the country where still God consciousness is so strong, the government wants that they should forget about this God business. So this is Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga means simply for fight on trifling things and forget God.
So anyway, apart from their business, our Krsna consciousness movement is especially meant for awakening the dormant Krsna consciousness of every man. Krsna consciousness is there in everyone. Otherwise how these European, American young men, young girls, children, they are taking part in it? It is not that I have bribed them. Sometimes the Christian missionaries go to our country. They bribe the poorer classes of men, and they become Christians -- not by understanding the philosophy or the religion. Because India is poverty-stricken, so if you do some social work, give them some medicine, give them some financial help, they think of, being obliged, and whatever you like, you can tell them. Similarly, in Muhammadan time also, all the Indian Muhammadans, they were not coming from very respectable high family. You know, in India there are four classes of men: brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra. Out of them, brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya are considered the topmost class. Now everything has deteriorated. So we find from the history of this conversion, from the sudra class, lower than the sudra class, not very many from the higher class. So still, that was based on bribing, giving some social help, political help, financial help. But our Krsna consciousness movement I started in 1966. I came here with seven dollars and a few books. So it was not possible for me to bribe these educated young boys and girls. That was not possible. But they accepted the philosophy very seriously and gradually it is growing. Now there are many Indians, they are not here, but other than the Indians, they are here. So the thing is I am very glad that you take something very seriously. That is very good. So for the children also, kaumara acaret prajnah. Prajnah means one who is intelligent. He should begin learning Krsna consciousness from the child life. That is our basic principle of this Gurukula. We are trying to generate some population fully Krsna conscious so that they may preach in future very nicely.
So Prahlada Maharaja says, dharman: "People, children should be taught from the very beginning of their life about dharma, religion." What is that religion? Religion means to accept God as the supreme authority. That's all. The sum and substance. And try to love Him. Just like very, if you have got a very wealthy friend or very learned friend or beautiful friend, you try to love him. You want to make friendship with him. So God means He is the most richest, most powerful, most learned, most beautiful. In this way, there is no comparison of God's opulence. So why should we not be attracted with God? If some rich man in your quarter attracts the attention of the neighbor, neighborers... If God is the richest man... He is not man; He is God. But He looks like man. He... Just like we see Krsna here, He has got also two hands and two legs. That is His original form. If He likes, He can expand thousands of hands and thousands of legs, as it was exhibited to Arjuna in His virat-purusa form. But the original form is Krsna, adi-purusam. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta... Although He can expand Himself in many millions of forms, but His original form is Krsna.
So this Krsna consciousness movement is directly connecting people with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and especially these children are required to learn this Krsna consciousness from the very beginning of their life. Because this human form of life is the only chance to understand God. You cannot understand God in any other form, in the form of a dog, in the form of a cat, or even the form of a demigod. Demigods, they are very rich, opulent, so sometimes they forget. Out of very much being affluent, people forget Krsna. Therefore the demigods also sometimes forget. And what to speak of the animals. So this human form of life is the only chance to understand God. Therefore if children are not given lesson about God... There is no guarantee that we will live one hundred years. There is no guarantee. Anyone, at any moment, can pass away. Therefore, before the next death comes, one must be fully Krsna conscious. That is the highest achievement of life.
Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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