In Heaven or in Hell, I love you Krishna

Death is certain in the material world. And, death is also a gateway with multiple paths. If we utilize the moment of death well, then we can skip the multiple options and either get liberated or obtain love of Krishna. Matter of fact you can obtain love of God even before death - a state called Jivan Mukta.

Srila Prabhupada, the greatest exponent of Krishna Consciousness in the modern times has said this time and again.

"Now these Christmas holidays you have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you'll observe nice festivals, festivities. Why? Where it began? God consciousness. Lord Christ he came to give you God consciousness, and in his relationship these festivities are going on. It may be degraded in another form. The beginning is God consciousness, but we have lost it. So people cannot be happy without reviving God consciousness. It may be named in a different way—'Krishna consciousness.' That means God consciousness. That is the necessity. He's trying to love somebody. That somebody's love will be perfected when he loves Krishna or God. We are teaching that. Try to love God, and if you love God, if you love Krishna, then automatically you love everybody. That is the perfection of love. The example is just like if you love your stomach, if you supply nice food to your stomach, that means you love all the parts of your body. If you supply foodstuff in the stomach, the energy is distributed in all parts of the body. That means you love all parts of the body. If you love the tree, you pour water on the root and the water is distributed to the branches, fruits, flowers, leaves, everywhere. So you try to love God and you'll see that you're loving even an ant. There are many examples I can cite in the history, how a man became universal lover."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, December 2, 1968)

"You love Krishna, and your love will go everywhere. You pay tax to the government, and the tax is distributed in so many departments. So it is not your business to go every department and pay tax. Pay to the treasury of the government; it will be distributed. This is intelligence. And if you say that 'Why shall I pay to the treasury house? I shall pay the this department, that department, that department, that department,' you can go on, but it will never be sufficient, neither complete. So you may love humanity, but because you do not love Krishna, therefore you do not love the cows; you send them to slaughterhouse. So your love will remain defective. It will never be complete. And if you love Krishna, then you will love even the small ant. You will be not interested even to kill even an ant. That is real love."

(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, Los Angeles, June 24, 1975)

"So when you love Krishna, automatically you love other thing. But at the present moment, we do not love Krishna, only the other things. But love is there. Just like to keep the tree quite fitness, you have to pour water in the root. But if you simply you give up the watering to the root, if you simply water the leaves, twigs and the branches, then what you will get? Naturally there will be declination of the tree, automatically. If you do not give food to the stomach and if you supply food to the eyes, to the ears, to the... then what will be your health? Similarly, so long we do not love Krishna, then whatever those so-called love we are showing to the society, friendship and love and country and community, they are all futile. Therefore, in spite of so much advancement of so-called civilization, there is no love between one another. You try to love Krishna, then everything will be perfect."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, January 11, 1974)

"In the material world, the friendship, it will exist for few years and then break. Therefore it is reflection. It is not real. If you make your friendship with Krishna, that will never break. If you make your master Krishna, you'll never be cheated. If you love Krishna as your son, He'll never die. Similarly, if you love Krishna as your lover or husband, He will be the best husband, the best lover. There will be no divorce. That is Krishna consciousness."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, August 1, 1966)

"If you pour water on the root of the tree, the water reaches to the branches, to the twigs, to the leaves, to the flowers, to the fruits automatically. You simply pour water on the root. That is the system. If you pour water on the every leaf, I think you'll have no time. 'Oh, there are millions of leaves. How we can...?' No. Take the root and pour water and it will reach. That is the way. Similarly, if you love your society, your friends, your country, your family, yourself, your dog, everything -- if you love Krishna, all love will be distributed. But if you don't love Krishna, if you simply love this, simply love that, simply that, it will be never be perfect. Therefore the whole world is confused. They do not know where to repose the love. That do not know. Therefore Krishna is canvassing: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). 'Come here! Love Me! Increase your attachment for Me. Everything will be all right.' Otherwise it is simply vague. ?rama eva hi kevalam. Simply waste of time."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Bombay, January 13, 1973)

"So this Krishna consciousness is a science. You have to take it scientifically, as they are described in the authoritative books, and test it by your reason and argument and knowledge, and follow it. It is science. It is not sentiment. Whatever we are doing here, the dancing, singing and everything, that is all scientific. Simply you have to understand it. Therefore j?ānī, only a person who is in knowledge, who is in knowledge of the science of Krishna, he can make an rapid advancement, and he is very dear to Krishna. Because slow but sure, he is making sure progress. It is no sentiment. So j?ānī. Priyo hi j?ānina? atyartham. Atyartham means very... Aham. Krishna is very dear to the person in knowledge, and that man is also very dear to Krishna. Reciprocal. If you love Krishna, then Krishna will love more than you. You can... What capacity you have got to love Krishna? But Krishna will love. He has got immense capacity. So that is a science."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, October 2, 1966)

"You love Krishna, and Krishna loves you. Krishna loves you, even without your love. Otherwise, how you are eating? You cannot live even for a moment without Krishna's mercy. That's a fact. Eko bahūnā? yo vidadhāti kāmān."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Vrindavan, October 24, 1972)

"We should not love Krishna for some material gain. It is not that 'Krishna, give us our daily bread, then I love You. Krishna, give me this, then I love You.' There is no such mercantile exchange. That is wanted. Krishna wants that kind of love."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, April 23, 1973)

"Actual love is possible with Krishna. That is actual love. Once you love Krishna, it cannot be broken at any time. It cannot be broken, any, any circumstances. So therefore somehow or other we have to... Yena tena prakāre?a mana? k???e nive?ayet (Bhakti-rasām?ta-sindhu 1.2.4). Somehow or other you just engage yourself in loving Krishna. That is the success of life."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Stockholm, September 10, 1973)

"Outside devotees, the devotees who are outside V?ndāvana, they are studying the inhabitants of the V?ndāvana, how great they are. But the inhabitants of V?ndāvana, they don't care to know how great is Krishna. That is the difference. So our business is simply to love Krishna. The more you love Krishna, the more you become perfect. It is not that it is necessary to understand Krishna, how He has created. The things are mentioned there. Krishna is explaining Himself in the Bhagavad-gīta so much. Don't bother very much to know Krishna. That is not possible. Simply increase your unalloyed love for Krishna. That is perfection of life."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, April 23, 1973)

Guest: What is the highest devotion, the highest bhakti, please?

Prabhupada: To love Krishna. If you become expert how to love Krishna... The idea of loving is not unknown to you. You love somebody. You love your wife. You love your children. You love your country. You love your society. There are so many loving aspect. But when you love Krishna, then your life is perfect. That we have to...

? sa vai pu?sā? paro dharmo

? yato bhaktir adhok?aje

? ahaituky apratihatā

? yenātmā samprasīdati

? (SB 1.2.6)

That is the perfection of life, perfection of religious life, if one learns how to love Krishna, and without any motive, ahaituki. Just like here in this world there is no love because within this so-called love there is a motive. I love a beautiful girl because she is beautiful. A girl loves a man because he has got money. So this is the meaning of this material love. But that, not that kind of love. Here there is a motive. So ahaituki, without any motive; apratihatā, without being debtor, without any obstacle. Love of God cannot be checked by any material impediments. You cannot say that 'I am very poor. Oh, how can I love God?' You cannot say, 'I am very rich,' or 'I am black,' 'I am white,' 'I am this,' 'I am that.' No. These material impediments has nothing to do for loving God. In any condition you can love God. Ahaituky aprati..., yenātmā samprasīdati. And if you attain that stage, then you become completely happy. Svāmin k?tārtho 'smi vara? na yāce (CC Madhya 22.42): 'I have no more want.' That is perfection of life."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Melbourne, April 22, 1976)

"Because you do not love Krishna cent percent, therefore material desires. The balance is filled up by material desires. Just like in a glass there is some ink, and if you fill up with water, the full glass, the ink will vanish; there will be no more ink. It will be all, all white. This is the way. Bhakti? pare?ānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). To love Krishna means you have no more material desire. The percentage you are lacking Krishna love, the percentage material desires are there. Ye yathā mā? prapadyante (BG 4.11). If you love Krishna ten percent, then ninety percent material desires. And if you love Krishna ninety percent, ten percent material desires. And if you love Krishna cent percent, there is no material desire. This is the way. So if you love Krishna twenty-four hours, cent percent, simply thinking of Krishna and offering obeisances, worshiping, then where is the possibility of material desires? There is no possibility."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New Mayapur, August 3, 1976)

"Everyone worships Krishna as the Supreme. So sometime Krishna becomes disgusted, that 'Everyone is coming, simply offering Me respectful obeisances. Nobody comes to chastise Me.' So who can chastise Krishna? His devotee. Therefore a devotee who comes to the position of chastising Krishna, he is more liked by Krishna. That is Krishna's position."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, January 11, 1974)

"Just like you love your child and your child is away from your side. You find the shoes of your child. 'Oh, this is the shoe of my child.' Do you love that shoe? No, you love that child. Similarly as soon as see the energy of Krishna manifested in a different way, that means you love that entity because you love Krishna. Therefore, if you love Krishna, then your universal love is counted. Otherwise it is nonsense. You cannot love. That is not possible. If you love Krishna, then the word love, universal love, so many things as it is very much advertised. And if you don't love Krishna, then you’ll see 'Here is my American brother, and the cow is my food.' Because you do not love the cow. The cow is American and my brother is American. 'My brother is good, and the cow is food. This is my universal love.' Why? But a Krishna conscious person, he sees, 'Oh, here is a cow. Here is a dog. He's a part and parcel of Krishna. By someway or other he has got a different body than me. That does not mean he's not my brother. So how can I kill my brother?' That is Krishna's love, due to Krishna's love. So Krishna love is so nice. All perfection. If there is no Krishna love, there is no question of love, it is all nonsense. There cannot be any love without Krishna consciousness."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, February 19, 1969)

"Just like we individual soul, we want to enjoy our senses. Similarly, God has also senses, He also wants to enjoy. Just like here, we see a young boy, a young girl is united. Similarly, you have seen our pictures, Krishna, Rādhā and Krishna, They are also united. There is also love, but that love is real. Here, the same thing, a reflection, is shadow. It is not real. The real love is there. There is no separation of that love. Here in this material world, because it is shadow, it is false, therefore there is separation. Love without separation is in God. Relationship between friend and friend, here it is breakable. As soon as there is some dissatisfaction, the friends separate. But if you make friendship with God, that is never separated. If you love Krishna, that is never separated. If you accept Krishna as your son, that son will never die. So these are the conception of God."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Delhi, November 10, 1971)

"If you love these material things, then you should know that you are not in love with God. If you are in love with God, then you'll forget material love. That is the test. Bhakti? pare?ānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). Bhakti, love of Godhead, the symptom is that he's no more in love with material things. That is the test. You cannot... Just like you cannot love two persons. That is divided. One love concentrated, that is perfect love. Similarly, another example is given that we are all hankering after love. Because we do not find whom to love, therefore we place our love even cats and dogs. We love a dog. Anyone who has no other object to love -- no children, no family, no wife—all right, keep a cat, keep a dog. But love is there.

So that love is deserved for Krishna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So more we learn how to love the Supreme Lord, that is perfection of life. Sa vai pu?sā? paro dharma?. And what kind of love? Ahaituky apratihatā: that love is not motivated, that 'I want this thing; therefore I shall love.' Here in this material world the so-called love, lust, is motivated: 'I'll get so much sense gratification; therefore I love a boy or a girl.' That is not love; that is lust. Love means without any motive. Without any motive. Ahaitukī. And that, that love cannot be checked by any material impediments. Ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā samprasīdati (SB 1.2.6). If you can reach that love of Godhead, then you'll feel, 'Oh, I am so fortunate.' Otherwise we remain unfortunate. So love is there everywhere. Even in cats' and dogs' love there is love. But the perfection is when you actually find out the person to love and you actually do it, that is perfection."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Honolulu, January 20, 1974)

"Unless you love Krishna, why you should be interested to make others Krishna conscious? Let them go to hell. Why you should be so much working hard to make them Krishna conscious, unless you love Krishna? This is the sign of love. 'I love Krishna, but I do nothing for Krishna,' that is nonsense. That is nonsense."

(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, Los Angeles, January 11, 1974)

"You love Krishna. Therefore you are taking so much labor for pushing on. And that is self-realization. If anyone tries to establish that Krishna is the Supreme Lord, that is self-realization."

(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, Atlanta, March 2, 1975)

"If you love Krishna, then you can love with everyone. Just like we are spreading this Krishna consciousness movement. It is out of love for Krishna. Otherwise we would have sat down at home and loved Krishna. Why you are trying to spread this love exchange to others? Because I know or we know that here in this material world, the so-called love exchange is frustrating, and people are being frustrated. So let him love Krishna, then we'll be successful. This is our mission. Everyone has got loving propensity. So this child has now love for his mother, or the mother has got... But as soon as the child will grow, the love will finish; he will love somebody else. When he becomes young man, his love is transferred to somebody else. So here the so-called love is not permanent, but when you love Krishna it is permanent exchange of loving humor or mellow. So that is required. Sai. It is called sai-bhava. Sai means permanent; it will never vanquish. You'll relish loving mellows eternally."

(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, New York, July 13, 1976)

"So in this material world the love is like that. It is never perfect. It cannot be perfect. So Lord Caitanya, taking compassion on these poor fellows, He taught love of Godhead. If you love Krishna, then you will feel pleasure. ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). In the Vedānta-sūtra it is said that 'Every living creature is searching after pleasure, pleasure.' Therefore we have presented this small booklet, that Krishna is the Reservoir of Pleasure. If you can love Krishna, then you will get pleasure. Otherwise, there is no pleasure. You will be frustrated. This is a fact. If you take it, it is nice. If you don't take it, then that is your misfortune."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, December 24, 1966)

"Krishna is within you. He is sitting within your heart as a friend, not as an enemy. Krishna is always your friend. Suh?da? sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). You are searching out friends to talk with, to joke with, to love. Krishna is sitting there for that purpose. If you love Krishna, if you make friendship with Krishna, if you love Krishna, then your life will be successful. You haven't got to search out any other friend. The friend is already there. Either you are a boy or a girl, you will find a nice friend within yourself. That is yoga system, when you realize this friend. So this friend is so nice, as soon as you become little inclined to hear about Him, ???vatā? sva-kathā?—about Krishna, not any other nonsense talks, simply about Krishna—then Krishna will be so pleased."

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New Vrindavan, June 7, 1969)

References:

1. https://www.prabhupadaconnect.com/Love-Krishna.html