An Introduction to Devotee Lifestyle

An introduction on how to be a devotee of

Krishna

The Basic Idea

The Bhagavad-gita and the Vedic texts teach that we are not these temporary material bodies but
spirit souls, or conscious entities, and that we can find genuine peace and happiness only in
spiritual devotion to God/Krishna. The Gita and other well-known world scriptures recommend
that people joyfully chant God’s holy names, such as Krishna, Allah, and Jehovah. Krishna or
God is known by many names, according to His different qualities and activities and the extent
of the relationship, or realization of the devotee. In the Bible he is known as Jehovah (“the
almighty one”), in the Koran as Allah (“the great one”), in the Bhagavad-gita as Krishna, a
Sanskrit name meaning “the all-attractive one.”

The Most Recent Incarnation of Krishna

The ancient mantra as prescribed in the Vedic literatures: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna
Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is a transcendental sound
vibration. It purifies the mind and awakens the dormant love of God that resides in the hearts of
all living beings. Lord Caitanya the most recent incarnation of Krishna in this age requested His
followers to spread the chanting to every town and village of the world.

Anyone can take part in the chanting of Hare Krishna and learn the science of spiritual love of
Krishna and all living entities by studying the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. This easy and practical
process of self-realization will awaken our natural state of peace and happiness.
(For more information on who Lord Caitanya is please download the book Teachings of Lord
Chaitanya from the “Free ebooks” tab)

Krishna Devotees Today

The devotees you may have seen distributing books like Bhagavad-Gita, or chanting the Hare
Krishna Mantra with traditional Indian instruments, or dancing and chanting dressed in
traditional Indian robes, are for the most part full-time monks of the Hare Krishna movement.
The vast majority of Krishna devotees, however, live and work in the general community,
practicing Krishna consciousness in their homes and may sometimes visit Krishna temples for
inspiration and prayer.

A Philosophy for Everyone

The Hare Krishna Philosophy (a monotheistic tradition) is summarized in the following eight
points:
1. By sincerely cultivating the authentic spiritual science of sanantana-dharma presented in the
Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic scriptures, we can become free from anxiety and revive our
natural state of pure, unending, blissful consciousness.

2. Each of us is not the material body, but an eternal spirit soul, part and parcel of God (Krishna).
As such, we are all the eternal servants of Krishna and are interrelated through Him, our common
father. This is our natural position but due to intensive long term association and identification
with matter and materialism we have lost touch with our natural blissful position and eternal
nature. We have simply become materialistic and as a result of this materialism and bodily
identification we are frustrated in so many ways.

3. The Veda’s explain that Krishna is the eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and
all-attractive Personality of Godhead. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings and the
sustaining energy of the universe. He is the source of all incarnations of God, including Lord
Buddha and Lord Jesus Christ.

4. The Vedas are the oldest scriptures in the world. The essence of the Vedas is found in the
Bhagavad-gita, a literal record of Krishna’s words spoken five thousand years ago in India. The
goal of Vedic knowledge – and of all religions – is to achieve love of God.

5. We can perfectly understand the knowledge of self-realization through the instructions of a

genuine spiritual master such as Srila Prabhupada – one who is free from selfish motives, who
teaches the science of God explained in the Bhagavad-gita, and whose mind is firmly fixed in
meditation on Krishna.

6. All that we eat should first be offered to Lord Krishna with a prayer. In this way Krishna
accepts the offering and blesses it for our purification.

7. Rather than living in a self-centered way, we should act for the pleasure of Lord Krishna. This
is known as bhakti-yoga, the science of devotional service.

8. The most effective means for achieving God consciousness in this Age of Kali, or quarrel, is
to chant the holy names of the Lord: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Krishna Consciousness at Home

Srila Prabhupada, our acharya (fully self realized spiritual master and guide) makes it clear how
important it is for everyone to practice Krishna consciousness, devotional service to Lord
Krishna. Of course, living in the association of Krishna’s devotees in a temple or ashrama makes
it easier to practice devotional service. But if you’re determined, you can follow at home the
teachings of Krishna consciousness and thus convert your home into a temple.

Spiritual life, like material life, means practical activity. The difference is that whereas we
perform material activities for the benefit of ourselves or those we consider ours, we perform
spiritual activities for the benefit of Lord Krishna, under the guidance of the scriptures and the
spiritual master. The key is to accept the guidance of the scripture and the guru. Krishna declares
in the Bhagavad-gita that a person can achieve neither happiness nor the supreme destination of
life – going back to Godhead, back to Krishna – if he or she does not follow the injunctions that
Krishna has given us in the Vedic scriptures. And how to follow the scriptural rules by engaging
in practical service to the absolute truth, Krishna – that is explained by a bona fide spiritual
master such as Srila Prabhupada. Without following the instructions of a spiritual master who is
in an authorized chain of disciplic succession coming from Krishna Himself, we cannot make
spiritual progress. The practices outlined here are the timeless practices of bhakti-yoga as given
by the foremost spiritual master and exponent of Krishna consciousness in our time, His Divine
Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

The purpose of spiritual knowledge is to bring us closer to God, or Krishna. Krishna says in the
Bhagavad-gita (18.55), bhaktya mam abhijanati: “I can be known only by devotional service.”
Knowledge guides us in proper action. Spiritual knowledge directs us to satisfy the desires of
Krishna through practical engagements in His loving service. Without practical application,
theoretical knowledge is of little value.

Spiritual knowledge is meant to direct us in all aspects of life. We should endeavor, therefore, to
organize our lives in such a way as to follow Krishna’s teachings as far as possible. We should
try to do our best, to do more than is simply convenient. Then it will be possible for us to rise to
the transcendental plane of Krishna consciousness, even while living far from a temple.

Chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra

The first principle in devotional service is to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra
(maha means “great”; mantra means “sound that liberates the mind from ignorance”)

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

You can chant these holy names of the Lord anywhere and at any time, but it is best to set a
specific time of the day to regularly chant. Early morning hours are the best.

The chanting can be done in two ways: singing the mantra, called kirtana (usually done in a
group and accompanied by musical instruments), or chanting the mantra to oneself, called japa
(which literally means “to speak softly”). Concentrate on hearing the sound of the holy names.
As you chant, pronounce the names clearly and distinctly, addressing Krishna in a prayerful
mood. When your mind wanders, bring it back to the sound of the mantra. Chanting is a prayer
to Krishna that means “O energy of the Lord [Hare], O all-attractive Lord [Krishna], O Supreme
Enjoyer [Rama], please engage me in Your divine loving service.” The more attentively and
sincerely we chant these names of God, the more spiritual progress we make.

Since God is all-powerful and all-merciful, He has kindly made it very easy for us to chant His
names, and He has also invested all His powers in them. Therefore the names of God and God
Himself are identical. This means that when we chant the holy names of Hare, Krishna and Rama
we are directly associating with God and his transcendental potency, thus we are being purified.
Therefore we should always try to chant with devotion and reverence. The Vedic literature states
that Lord Krishna is personally dancing on our tongues when we chant His holy name.

When we chant alone, it is best to chant on japa beads (available from the “KrishnaStore” link on
the bottom of any page of this website). This not only helps us fix our attention on the holy
name, but it also helps us count the number of times we chant the mantra daily. Each strand of
japa beads contains 108 small beads and one large bead, the head bead. Begin on a bead next to
the head bead and gently roll it between the thumb and middle finger of your right hand as you
chant the full Hare Krishna mantra. Then move to the next bead and repeat the process. In this
way, chant on each of the 108 beads until you reach the head bead again. This is one “round” of
japa. Then, without chanting on the head bead, reverse the beads and start your second round on
the last bead you chanted on.

Initiated devotees vow before the spiritual master to chant at least sixteen rounds of the Hare
Krishna mantra daily. But even if you can chant only one round a day, the principle is that once
you commit yourself to chanting that round, you should try to complete it every day without fail.
When you feel you can chant more, then increase the minimum number of rounds you chant each
day – but don’t fall below that number. You can chant more than your fixed number, but you
should maintain a set minimum each day. (Please note that the beads are sacred and therefore
should never touch the ground or be put in an unclean place. To keep your beads clean and
protected you can carry them in some type of bead bag, also available from the Krishna Store. If
your handy with a needle and thread you can make one yourself.)

Aside from chanting japa, you can also sing the Lord’s holy names in kirtana. While you can
perform kirtana individually, it is generally performed with others. A melodious kirtana with
family or friends is sure to enliven everyone. Krishna devotees use traditional melodies and
instruments, especially in the temple, but you can chant to any melody and use any musical
instruments to accompany your chanting. As Lord Caitanya said, “There are no hard and fast
rules for chanting Hare Krishna.” One thing you might want to do, however, is download some
kirtana and japa audio from the “Free Audio” tab on the top of this website.

Setting Up A Sacred Space or Altar

You will likely find that your japa and kirtana are especially effective when done before an altar.
Lord Krishna and His pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada are so kind and powerful that they can
accept our devotion and worship even through their pictures. That is the difference between a
conditioned soul / ordinary person and an advanced pure devotee. A fully liberated personality,
or the supreme being, Krishna, is not limited or different from their form or name or thought.
They are fully absolute and transcendental due to being fully liberated personalities. It is
something like mailing a letter: You cannot mail a letter by placing it in just any box; you must
use the mailbox authorized by the government. Similarly, we cannot imagine a picture of God
and worship that, but we can worship the authorized picture of God, and Krishna accepts our
worship through that picture or through his fully liberated pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada.

Setting up a sacred space or altar at home means inviting and receiving Krishna and His pure
devotee as your most honored guests. Where and how should you set up the altar? It is really a
offering of your own love and devotion, a sacred offering from your heart to them. that is the
mood you should try to let your self be guided by. You can ask your self how you would seat a
very exalted loved guest? An ideal place would be clean, and free from household disturbances.
A simple alter you can make your self can consist of pictures you can download from this
websites gallery and just place on a wall shelf, a mantelpiece, a corner table, or the top shelf of a
bookcase etc. Be creative and use your own nature and feelings of devotion. You can decorate it
with colorful cloth or flowers or some other beautiful things. Also you wouldn’t seat loved
guests in your home and then ignore them; you’d provide a place for yourself to sit, too, where
you could comfortably face them and enjoy their company. So don’t make your altar
inaccessible.

What do you need for an altar? Here are some basic ideas:

1. A picture of Srila Prabhupada.

2. A picture of Lord Caitanya and His associates.

3. A picture of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna.

In addition, if you like to get fancy, you may want an altar cloth, water cups (one for each
picture), candles with holders, a special plate for offering food, a small bell, incense, an incense
holder, and fresh flowers, which you may offer in vases or simply place before each picture. And
any other beautiful things you would like to decorate it with.

The first person we worship on the altar is the spiritual master. The spiritual master is not
Krishna/God. Only God is God. But because the spiritual master is His dearmost servant,
Krishna has empowered him, and Krishna accepts our offerings when we give them to the bona
fide spiritual master. The spiritual master therefore should be offered the same respect that we
like to give to Krishna because the spiritual master simply offers everything to Krishna. He links
the disciple with Krishna and teaches him the process of bhakti-yoga. He is Krishna’s
ambassador in the material world. When a president sends an ambassador to a foreign country,
the ambassador receives the same respect as that accorded the president, and the ambassador’s
words are as authoritative as the president’s. Similarly, we should respect the spiritual master as
we would Krishna, and revere his words as we would His.

There are many types and levels of spiritual masters. The main spiritual master or guru is a guru
like Srila Prabhupada, a fully self realized soul completely free from all defects of a mundane
conditioned living entity. Srila Prabhupada says in his introduction to the Bhagavad-gita: “A
person of the mundane world who is infected with four defects. A mundaner 1) is sure to commit
mistakes, 2) is invariably illusioned, 3) has the tendency to cheat others and 4) is limited by
imperfect senses. With these four imperfections, one cannot deliver perfect information of all-
pervading knowledge. Vedic knowledge is not imparted by such defective living entities.” So we
need to worship and give our offerings not to a conditioned soul that is imperfect like us, but to a
real guru like Srila Prabhupada who is not on the material platform at all and is completely free
from the 4 defects of the living entity as mentioned above. Such a real guru or spiritual master is
also worthy of taking shelter of and giving us initiation into the chanting of the Hare Krishna
Maha mantra. Srila Prabhupada defines the word initiation (or in Sanskrit the word is actually
“Diksa”). According to the Caitanya-Caritamrita Madhya lila 4.111 “Diksa actually means
initiating a disciple with transcendental knowledge by which he becomes freed from all material
contamination”. So for someone to offer our worship to Krishna or impart (or awaken) realized
transcendental knowledge in us they themselves must be fully on that transcendental platform of
spiritual existence. It is said if a person is bound hands and feet he needs to find a person that is
free to unbind him. So there are many types of guru’s that can help us on our path in spiritual life
such as a friend that reminds us to stay fixed on the Krishna path and may encourage us to chant
and follow all the rules and regulations of spiritual life. But the guru who’s picture is worthy of
placing on an alter and is qualified to accept our offerings and love on behalf of Krishna is the
one that is going to unbind us from our attachment to matter and our false ego and awaken in our
hearts eternal attachment and love of Krishna must be a fully liberated soul like Srila
Prabhupada. He can not be a conditioned soul like us, otherwise if he is also bound to material
nature how can he free us and give us pure love of Krishna? Thus we must take advantage of all
the books and audio that Srila Prabhupada has left for our study and to perfect our life! Simply
by becoming very serious to read the original transcendental books and words left by the fully
self realized guru’s like Srila Prabhupada then we will receive that Diksa (Divya-Jana) realized
divine spiritual knowledge. It is simply waiting for us in the pages of Srila Prabhupada’s books!

Anyone who takes up the process of bhakti-yoga as a result of coming in contact with
Prabhupada’s books or followers owes an immense debt of gratitude to Srila Prabhupada. Before
Srila Prabhupada left India in 1965 to spread Krishna consciousness abroad, almost no one
outside India knew anything about the practice of pure devotional service to Lord Krishna.
Therefore, everyone who has learned of the process through his books and his audio recordings,
or contact with his followers should offer respect to Srila Prabhupada. He is thus the main guru
of us all. And is qualified to be on our alters and bless us with pure love of Krishna!

As you progress in bhakti-yoga, and start to follow the regulative principles (see the section
below called “The Four Regulative Principles of Pure Devotional Life”), it is very helpful to
accept formal initiation from a fully self realized Guru like Srila Prabhupada and become a full
fledged disciple and devotee of Krishna.

The second picture on your altar should be one of the panca-tattva, Lord Caitanya and His four
leading associates (Pictures are available for free download in the “Free art” tab on this website).
Lord Caitanya is the incarnation of God for this age. He is Krishna Himself, descended in the
form of His own devotee to teach us how to surrender to Him, specifically by chanting His holy
names and performing other activities of bhakti-yoga. Lord Caitanya is the most merciful
incarnation, because He makes it easy for anyone to attain love of God through the chanting of
the Hare Krishna mantra.

And of course your altar should have a picture of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri
Krishna, with His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani. Srimati Radharani is Krishna’s spiritual
potency. She is devotional service personified, and devotees always take shelter of Her to learn
how to serve Krishna.
You can arrange the pictures in a triangle, with the picture of Srila Prabhupada on the left, the
picture of Lord Caitanya and His associates on the right, and the picture of Radha and Krishna,
which, if possible, should be slightly larger than the others, on a small raised platform behind
and in the center. Or you can hang the picture of Radha and Krishna on the wall above.

Cleanliness is essential in Deity worship. Remember, you wouldn’t neglect to clean the room of
an important guest, and when you establish an altar you invite Krishna and His pure devotees to
reside as the most exalted guests in your home. So that space should be kept clean. If you have
water cups, rinse them out and fill them with fresh water often. Then place them conveniently
close to the pictures. It is nice to offer fresh incense and flowers regularly, or any other nice
gesture of love that you can think which you feel will be pleasing to the guru and Krishna.

Please try the things we’ve suggested so far. It’s very simple, really: If you try to love God,
you’ll gradually realize how much He loves you. That’s the essence of bhakti-yoga.

Prasadam: How to Eat Spiritually

By His immense transcendental energies, Krishna can actually convert matter into spirit. If we
place an iron rod in a fire, before long the rod becomes red hot and acts just like fire. In the same
way, food prepared for and offered to Krishna with love and devotion becomes completely
spiritualized. Such food is called Krishna prasadam, which means “the mercy of Lord Krishna.”

Eating prasadam is a fundamental practice of bhakti-yoga. In other forms of yoga one must
artificially repress the senses, but the bhakti-yogi can engage his or her senses in a variety of
pleasing spiritual activities, such as tasting delicious food offered to Lord Krishna. In this way
the senses gradually become spiritualized and bring the devotee more and more transcendental
pleasure by being engaged in devotional service. Such spiritual pleasure far surpasses any
material experience.

Lord Caitanya said of prasadam, “Everyone has tasted these foods before. However, now that
they have been prepared for Krishna and offered to Him with devotion, these foods have
acquired extraordinary tastes and uncommon fragrances. Just taste them and see the difference in
the experience! Apart from the taste, even the fragrance pleases the mind and makes one forget
any other fragrance. Therefore, it should be understood that the spiritual nectar of Krishna’s lips
must have touched these ordinary foods and imparted to them all their transcendental qualities.”

Eating only food offered to Krishna is above vegetarianism. In itself, being a vegetarian is not
enough; after all, even pigeons and monkeys are vegetarians. But when we go beyond
vegetarianism to a diet of prasadam, our eating becomes helpful in achieving the goal of human
life-reawakening the soul’s original relationship with God. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna
says that unless one eats only food that has been offered to Him in devotion, one will suffer the
reactions of karma (even vegetarians).

How to Prepare and Offer Prasadam

As you walk down the supermarket aisles selecting the foods you will offer to Krishna, you need
to know what is offerable and what is not. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna states, “If one
offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will accept it.” From this
verse it is understood that we can offer Krishna foods prepared from milk products, vegetables,
fruits, nuts, and grains. (there are many Hare Krishna cookbooks in the “KrishnaStore” on the
bottom of any page on this website) Meat, fish, and eggs are not offerable. And a few vegetarian
items are also to be avoided – garlic and onions, for example, which are in the mode of darkness.
(Hing, or asafetida, is a tasty substitute for them in cooking and is available at most Indian
groceries or health food stores.) Nor can you offer to Krishna coffee, tea or energy drinks that
contain caffeine. If you like these beverages, purchase them in their caffeine-free form.

While shopping, be aware that you may find meat, fish, and egg products mixed with other
foods; so try to read labels carefully. For instance, some brands of yogurt and sour cream contain
gelatin, a substance made from the horns, hooves, and bones of slaughtered animals. Also, make
sure the cheese you buy contains no animal rennet, an enzyme extracted from the stomach tissues
of slaughtered calves. Many hard cheese sold in America contains rennet, so be careful about any
cheese you can’t verify is vegetarian having no animal rennet.

Also, if possible, avoid foods cooked by nondevotees. According to the subtle laws of nature, the
consciousness of the cook saturates the food that they prepare. This is why we like eating food
offered to us by persons that love or care for us and was cooked in good consciousness and when
we eat food prepared by disturbed or miserable persons we feel disturbed and unhappy. Food
thus becomes an agent for subtle influences on your consciousness. The principle is the same as
that at work with a painting: a painting is not simply a collection of strokes on a canvas but an
expression of the artist’s state of mind, which affects the viewer. So if you eat food cooked by
nondevotees – employees working in a factory, for example – then you’re sure to absorb a dose
of materialism and karma. So as far as possible use only fresh, natural, raw ingredients.

In preparing food, cleanliness is a very important principle. Nothing impure should be offered to
God; so keep your kitchen clean. While preparing food, do not taste it, for you are cooking the
meal not for yourself but for the pleasure of Krishna. If possible get a unused new plate and cup
that will be used for all your food offerings and arrange portions of the food on this special plate.
No one but the Lord should use this plate and cup. The easiest way to offer food is simply to
pray, “My dear Lord Krishna, please accept this food” and to chant each of the following prayers
three times while ringing a bell (if time is short due to a heavy work schedule etc. then simply
chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra a few times with love and devotion):

1. Prayer to Srila Prabhupada:

nama om visnu-padaya Krishna-presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
who is very dear to Lord Krishna on this Earth, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. Our
respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the
Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.”

2. Prayer to Lord Caitanya:

namo maha-vadanyaya Krishna-prema-pradaya te

Krishnaya Krishna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvise namah

“O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely
distributing pure love of Krishna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”

3. Prayer to Lord Krishna:

namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca

jagad-dhitaya Krishnaya govindaya namo namah

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Krishna, who is the worshipable Deity for all
brahmanas, the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and the benefactor of the whole
world. I offer my repeated obeisances to the Personality of Godhead, known as Krishna and
Govinda.”

Remember that the real purpose of preparing and offering food to the Lord is to show your
devotion and gratitude to Him. Krishna accepts your devotion, not just the physical offering
itself, your love and devotion is the most important ingredient. Lord Krishna is complete in
Himself – He doesn’t need anything – but out of His immense kindness He allows us to offer
food to Him so that we can develop our love for Him.

If possible after, placing the offering of food before your alter, wait at least five minutes for Him
to partake of the preparations and your devotion/bhakti. Then you should transfer the food from
the special offering plates and wash the dishes and utensils you used for the offering. Now you
and any guests may eat the prasadam or spiritualized food. While you eat, try to appreciate the
spiritual value of the food. Remember that because Krishna has accepted it, it is nondifferent
from Him, and therefore by eating it you will become purified or krishnafied.

Everything you offer on your altar becomes prasadam, the mercy of the Lord. Flowers, incense,
the water, the food – everything you offer for the Lord’s pleasure becomes spiritualized. You can
even offer new clothing you get to Krishna and Prabhupada. You can offer pretty much anything
as long as it is clean and new. The Lord blesses the offerings, and thus they become nondifferent
from Him. They cary the transcendental Krishna vibration and so the more you offer to Krishna
the more the whorl becomes transcendental this is the whole reason why we do devotional
service – so that we fully enter into the spiritual relm. Even if we get something for someone else
we can first offer it to Krishna in our minds or actually bringing it home and placing it before our
alter and chanting the above mantras. Then when we distribute it to others they will become
purified by receiving this prasadam whether they know it or not. Distribution of prasadam will
act weather the receiver knows it is prasadam or not.

The Four Regulative Principles of A Pure Devotional Life

For those very very serious about progressing in Krishna consciousness one should try to avoid
the following four sinful activities as best as one can:

1. Eating meat, fish, or eggs.

These foods are saturated with the bad Karma of killing and the modes of passion and ignorance.
Therefore they cannot be offered to the Lord. A person who eats these foods participates in a
conspiracy of violence against helpless animals and thus stops his spiritual progress dead in its
tracks.

2. Gambling.
Gambling invariably puts one into anxiety and fuels greed, envy, and anger.

3. The use of intoxicants.

Drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, as well as any drinks or foods containing caffeine, cloud the mind,
overstimulate the senses, and make it dificult to understand or follow the principles of bhakti-
yoga.

4. Illicit sex.
This is sex outside of marriage or sex in marriage for any purpose other than procreation. Sex for
bodily/sensual pleasure makes one identify more with the body, and become more lusty and
materialistic. In this lusty, sensual, bodily consciousness it is difficult to stay on the pure spiritual
platform of selfless love of Krishna. The scriptures teach that sex is the most powerful force
binding us to the material world. For most people this principal is the hardest to give up because
it is such a natural impulse and a way we have learned to express our love for our partner. But
we must remember that since we are not our bodies and real happiness comes from within, if we
really want that happiness that does not go away or have any end then it must come from another
platform then that relating to the body which is temporary. Real pleasure is of the soul. But since
we have to be who we are and not make a show, many people are not able to completely give
this up right away. The process to do this is by experiencing a higher taste (yes there is pleasure
that is much greater then that derived from sexual union from a loved one). We will get a higher
taste by our sincerely chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra and following these principals as best as
we can. Gradually, as one develops a higher taste, one will naturally give up the inferior
pleasures to embrace the higher more fulfilling pleasures on the transcendental platform.

Engaging in Practical Devotional Service

Everyone must do some kind of work, but if you work only for yourself you must accept the
karmic reactions of that work. As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita Chapter 3 text 9,
“Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu [Krishna] has to be performed. Otherwise work binds one to
the material world.”
You needn’t change your occupation, except if you’re now engaged in a sinful job such as
working as a butcher or bartender. If you’re a writer, write for Krishna; if you’re an artist, create
for Krishna; if you’re a secretary, type for Krishna. You may also directly help in a Krishna
temple in your spare time, and you should sacrifice some of the fruits of your work by
contributing a portion of your earnings to help propagate Krishna consciousness to others. You
can contact Vedaguhya das (the head of KBI) at [email protected] and find out about
ordering wholesale books and distribute them to your friends or in your community. Or you can
simply download the ebook versions on this web site and email them to others. There is also a
wide network of devotees who gather in each other’s homes for chanting, worship, and study.

Additional Devotional Principles

There are many more devotional practices that can help you become Krishna conscious. Here are
two vital ones:

Studying Srila Prabhupada’s books. Srila Prabhupada dedicated much of his time to
translating books such as the Bhagavad-Gita and many other important sanskrit text into english
for the betterment of the world. Hearing the words or reading the writings of a realized spiritual
master is an essential spiritual practice. So try to set aside some time every day to read Srila
Prabhupada’s books. We have made all of Srila Prabhupada’s original books available for free
download on this website and we also have a store where you can buy hard copies of these books
and more.

Associating with devotees. Srila Prabhupada established the Hare Krishna movement to give
people in general the chance to associate with devotees of the Lord. This is the best way to gain
faith in the process of Krishna consciousness and become enthusiastic in devotional service.
Conversely, maintaining intimate connections with nondevotees slows one’s spiritual progress.
So try to visit a Hare Krishna center nearest you as often as possible.

In Closing

The beauty of Krishna consciousness is that you can take as much as you’re ready for. Krishna
Himself promises in the Bhagavad-gita chapter 2 text 40 “There is no loss or diminution in this
endeavor, and even a little advancement on this path protects one from the most fearful type of
danger.” So bring Krishna into your daily life, and we guarantee you’ll feel the benefit.

Hare Krishna!