There are 84 lacs species and thus, there are so many different types of bodies in this material world and as per our desire at the time of our death and as per the different activities that a living entity engages in while being alive, he or she obtains the body of that type. The Paramatma or the Supersoul is such a dear friend that he always follows the living entity no matter whichever species this entity goes into. The Paramatma still never leaves the living entity alone in this material world. Generally, we see in this material world during a difficult time even the most dear friend turns away from helping the other friend. But the Paramatma is such a dear friend that he does never hesitates to follow the living entity even in the lower species like dog, cat or other animals, etc.

The Human Life is so important that if in the human form one utilizes his human body as per the scriptures then the Paramatma makes sure that his next life is definitely in the higher form or in the higher planets, even return to the original home, Back to Godhead.

The Paramatma thus observes everything and on the basis of the desire of the living entity he guides. So if a human being develops to be in the Spiritual Path, then the Paramatma does brings him to the Spiritual Path. On the other side, if the living entity wants to enjoy in the material world and become forgetful of the Supreme Lord, The Paramatma also makes sure that the living entity is able to forget Him.

First is chanting but you should do both. Chanting is most important. But reading is also important. Reading is as necessary as chanting but chanting is more important. One of the biggest problems these days in our congregation devotees is that they don’t read. These books are so sweet. It is said that Bhagavatam became doubly sweet when Sukadeva Goswami recited it and I say that Bhagavatam became triply sweet with Prabhupada’s purports. If we don’t read, we won’t make much advancement, we will just hang in but your surrender will be very restricted. And if that is restricted you won’t get much taste. If you want to develop higher taste you should find time to read.

I request all of you and obviously those who come to ISKCON temples are generally devotees who are interested in bhakti-yoga.  There is no shortage of places of worship; there is no shortage of temples.  We have plenty of temples everywhere. But in ISKCON temples, the environment is such that it promotes the essence of Lord’s teachings which is bhakti-yoga.  The conclusion of Bhagavad-gita is devotional service. Devotional service in essence means that we engage our body, mind and senses in the service of Lord and when we engage in the service of the Lord, we get purified. Many times we hear this and we keep saying, “Yes, I will take to the spiritual life tomorrow”.  And that tomorrow does not come. Our spiritual master gave us a story. There was once a man in Jagannatha Puri. He would bring water every day to the temple, leave it at the gate and go home.  He would say, “Oh! So many people are coming from other places to take darsana. I like Lord Jagannatha. I live here so I can have darsana any time”.  He went on postponing this way and one day he died before he could have darsana.  So we keep postponing our surrender. Surrendering to the Lord is not bitter, it is sweet.

Happiness in goodness is bitter in the beginning and sweet in the end. In the beginning, you have to sacrifice some material thought in favor of finding time to chant; you may have to sacrifice some other activity in favor of finding time to readBhagavad-gita; but spiritual association will give you the strength to develop determination which is the key ingredient to succeed spiritually. So we humbly want to request all of you – the regular devotees and visitors & occasional visitors to please take Krsna consciousness very seriously. This path is open to entire humanity. It is a proven path and it guarantees you full satisfaction if you take on the process seriously.  By chanting Hare Krsna, reading Bhagavad-gita, associating with devotees, observing festivals to worship the Lord in any way that you can, worshipping the Deity and by staying where you are, you will be able to perfect your life.  This chanting of the holy name is the most important activity. Many times I travel around the world and devotees ask me, “What service can I do?”  So I tell everyone that the most wonderful service that you can do is to chant the holy name.  When you chant the holy name, it cleanses the heart and frees it from hatred, lamentation etc. and enables you to experience a higher taste.  So please take to it very seriously and do not waste a minute. A minute wasted cannot be acquired by the wealth of the whole world.  So time is of essence and time and tide as you know, wait for no one.  Use every second in the service of Lord and that would guarantee you real happiness.

There are mainly eight types of mystic perfection one can possibly realize but Rupa Gosvami points out that a devotee is not interested in any of the eight types of mystic perfection because for a devotee all the mystic perfections are temporary.

Prabhupada struggled for years to establish ISKCON. He could have just used a siddhi to establish ISKCON. A devotee does not want to use the siddhis rather he wants to struggle for Krsna. Once when Prabhupada was coming down the lift in New York, the devotees were telling him, “Prabhupada! Please take rest, you are not feeling well.” Prabhupada’s health was not so good at that time. Prabhupada looked at them and said, “Please don’t take away my privilege to struggle for Krsna.” Struggling for Krsna is actually a privilege. When you do some seva for Krsna, you have to struggle. A devotee does not want an easy shortcut. He is willing to struggle for Krsna because, unlike material struggle which results in ulcers, the spiritual struggle results in determination to execute devotional service. You can attain spiritual bliss only by executing devotional service.