You Can't Have 2 Masters

ancient_paztriot · January 27, 2004

What is illusion? Technically, maya means to think that there is something which is not Krsna. For example let’s say a beautiful woman approaches. So naturally a man will think, Oh here is an opportunity to enjoy my senses. No, ignorant foo! Actually that so-called woman is actually Krsna’s energy. What is a woman? It’s a soul in a body. So what is the soul? Krsna’s superior energy. What is a body? Krsna’s inferior energy. So the whole package is Krsna. If a woman is there, a man’s normal tendency is to become lusty or to think how he can enjoy this woman. But if I see that’s Krsna’s energy, then how can I enjoy it? It’s Krsna’s enrgy. I can’t exploit God. You see? But if you don’t see Krsna there you’ll think, “Oh it’s an attractive woman. Here I go.” You don’t see God when you think I have to enjoy this thing. I mean what if God suddenly just appeared before you? Obviously you wouldn’t just ask Him to light your cigarette or ask for spare change. If God suddenly appeared before you, it would be an overwhelming glorious experience.

So the idea is when you see God everywhere, how can you be so mean and vulgar as to try grossly exploit God in a sensual way. It’s unthinkable. So when you see Krsna everywhere,you do not want material sense gratification. You want to render loving service to Krsna. And when you don’t see Krsna, the idea then pops into your little mind that I can independently enjoy.

The psychological prerequisite for material gratification is that you see something––not as part of God––that’s just out there. Like when they asked the guy that climbed Mount Everest, “Why did you climb?” and he said because it was there. So things are just out there, waiting to be claimed, to be conquered, to be taken. You see? Just like a foolish stupid man sees a so-called attractive woman and he’s thinking she’s just a lovely lady to be conquered. And then if he can conquer this woman he gets a big thrill. But the point is it’s not just a young girl out there. He’s just seeing the tip of the iceberg. What’s actually there is Krsna’s omnipotent illusory energy and he’s biting off alot more than he can chew. He thinks oh it’s just some (you know the old fainting in the park routine) helpless girl that just fainted in the park. What he doesn’t understand is that he’s just seeing the tip of the iceberg. There’s an all-powerful devastating illusory force behind that trim little figure there. In other words, it’s illusion. It’s exactly like bait. It’s maya’s bait. Just like the fish see a little bait dangling there and thinks, “Oh it’s just food.” You know, it’s lunch time. So he bites it. But what happens? He’s got a steel hook in his face. That’s exactly what happens to us. Isn’t it?

We think, “Oh look at that nice body out there. I think I can get her. I can conquer him.” Or “Look at this house. I can buy this house and enjoy it. It’s mine. This is my house, this is my car. This is my family, this is my land, this is my nation.” You know, it gets pretty feverish. But all this is bait. As soon as you bite it you get a steel hook in your face. And suddenly you’re empalled by a hook just like a miserable worm. Isn’t it? Because you’ve biten off Krsna’s ullusory energy, it is gonna bite you off because it’s alot bigger than you. It’s like the old trick where some big strong guy will send out their little kid brother out in the street to kick some guy in the shins. And when he pushes the kid, suddenly some gang shows up and tears him from limb to limb. It’s something like that. Trying to enjoy women, home, country and these material gratifications are just the bait of illusion. A wise fish doesn’t bite the bait. To give the example I once saw when I was a kid watching Abbot and Costello. Costello was convinced to open a box and a boxing glove on a spring came out and bong! …Hit him right in the face. So Costello was a little disturbed at that. Then they convinced him to open the box again. And the guy opened it like three or four times and every time he’s convinced this time I’m not going to get bonged. The point is every time we get bonged in this world we again think, “Well this time it’ll be alright, this time it’s different.” And every time we try to exploit this world, boom! That’s just the nature of this world. You end up suffering, dissapointed, frustrated, bewildered, beside yourself. And then Maya comes along and says, “Come on ass, here’s another one. This time it’s alright.” Just like it’s said that sometimes a carrot is hung in front of a donkey. So these donkeys can be so stupid that they are marching all day trying to get that carrot. So we’re something like those donkeys. You know we just keep trying to get that carrot of sex pleasure or social prestige or this or that. And we just spend like 60 or 70 years going for that carrot. Then death comes. And who’s satisfied at the time of death? No one’s satisfied! So that’s what’s going on here.

So when you practice Krsna Conscious you do an about face. You start moving in the right direction. Everything that exists is the energy, the potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, where is the question of exploiting anything? There’s nothing to exploit. Everything belongs to God. It’s just like if you’re going to look for an apartment and they say there’s nothing for rent. That’s it, you know. There’s nothing for rent, it’s all taken. Isn’t it? Or you’re going to buy a house and they got the little sold sign on it. It’s already sold.

Guest: They put a sold tag on it.

Hridy: Yea, and it’s got a sold tag on it. Forget it. What are you gonna do, just steal one of ‘em? So in the same way, in this world everything has a sold tag on it. Everything belongs to Krsna or God. There’s nothing available because everything belongs to God. So what’s your position? You also belong to God and you’re meant to serve him. So it’s simply due to ignorance and foolishness that we’re not serving God. It’s just thick-headed ignorance that makes us think we have anything else to do in this life except serve Krsna. That’s the point.

Because what is this world? It’s Krsna’s energy. What is this book? What is this couch? Everything is Krsna’s energy. So when you’re seeing that everything belongs to Krsna and you’re using everything for Krsna, then what does it even mean that you’re in the material world? You’re not into anything. Just like last night was Saturday night. So what did we do on Saturday night? The same thing we do on Wednesday night. We just do our Krsna Consciousness. Otherwise Saturday night in the material world has this image where if you don’t really score big in some way on Saturday night, you’re a social failure and maybe even homely. I mean it’s like in America every weekend you gotta go out there and earn your wings again.

Guest: ???

Hridy: Yes, but it’s ridiculous. You see? Everything has a certain atmosphere, doesn’t it? We don’t feel that. We don’t feel that vibration, that mood that it’s Friday, it’s Saturday. Just everyday is for serving Krnsa and it’s wonderful, it’s ecstatic. So when you care what Krsna thinks, then you don’t care what other people think. When you care what other people think, you forget about what Krsna wants. You can’t have two masters. It’s like a wife that marries John but also marries Fred. So it’s something like that. Of course, nowadys people find that to be a fascists idea that a wife serves her husband. Anyway, the idea is that we can not have two masters.

So God is our master. So the point is if you’re working for God, if you care about what God thinks, then why would you care about what other people think? Why would you care? Let’s say for example that you’re a a scientists and all the other scientists praise you and respect you. But let’s say the plumbers union doesn’t care about you. You see? Why would you care about the plumbers? You’re a scientist, you have respect from your peers. People that you admire, admire you. Isn’t it? And so the point is that if you care about what Krsna thinks, what God thinks then that’s who you want to please. That’s who you want to make a good impression with.

It’s not that you have to make a good impression on this neighbor or that person… you know the gallop poll. You have to make a good impression on God. Therefore you don’t go crazy trying to please the public which every year has got a whole new idea about everything. Why be a slave of the so-called public? What is that? What do you think you’ll get for your service? If we want to structure our life to please the public, what do you get for it? After seventy years, a Mickey Mouse watch and a coffin? What is the public actually gonna give you? Is the public gonna give you eternal life? Is the public going to actually satisfy your heart? Never. So why are you serving them? Why are you serving a bad master? Or why serve your senses? My senses want this, my senses want that. You serve your body and then what do you get at the end? You get a rotten, miserable body full of pain and disease. When you get old, if you sneeze too hard you break your ribs. Isn’t it? If you just trip and fall you break your hip. How many times a day does a child fall and get up? In an older person, they fall one time and break their hip and never recover. Isn’t it? So what do you get for serving the body? What’s your reward? People talk about slavery. This is slavery. Isn’t it unintelligent to serve at a job where you don’t get paid? People are serving the body, serving the body for what? What do you get? You get a dead body. But when you serve Krsna you get just the opposite; an eternal life of bliss and knowledge. So if you see Krsna everywhere, what’s the problem? This is Krsna’s world. It’s ignorance to think this world is not Krsna. It is the world in which people are allowed to delude themselves in that way. It’s made like that.

Streetstraw · January 27, 2004

Many devotees have 2 or more gurus. Many people work 2 jobs. Many people hold dual citizenship. Many men have 2 wives. Many children have 2 parents. Many parents have 2 children.