TRANSCRIPT Time Stamp – 2:04:50-2:10:36
Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura explains, there is a food for soul and a food for body. Food for soul that is called krishna-katha. Your soul is crying. You listen or not? You are not listening. Baby is crying inside the room. Mother she is a little bit outside. So for this regard mother is not listening her baby crying. That means is what? Your soul, atma, jivatma, is crying. Jivatma is hungry. Jivatma is saying, ‘Give me food! Give me food!’ What the food for soul? Krishna-katha. Try to understand. Little bit you listen. Your atma is crying or not? Touch your chest! Then you’ll see. Your atma is crying and crying and crying. If there is no soul in this body, what is the meaning of the body? Useless.
And food for body is that what you are eating: rice, dal, chapati, sabji. And food for soul is krishna-katha.
Srimad-Bhagavatam gives an example. One person brought one cage from the market. At the same time he also bought one bird. He put the bird inside the cage. Everyday he also cleaned the cage. Painting and cleaning. But he’s not giving food for the bird. The bird will be alive or not? No. One day that bird will die. So what is the meaning of the cage? Useless. If the bird is not inside the cage then what is the meaning of the cage.
So in the same way this body is like a cage. And atma, soul, that is like the bird. So you have to give the food for your soul. What is the food for the soul? Krishna-katha
If you’re not giving krishna-katha, then slowly, slowly the bird of your soul will become very weak. So listen to krishna-katha.
Jivatmas’ spontaneous nature is,
jīvera svarūpa haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’
kṛṣṇera taṭasthā-śakti ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa’
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 20.108)
[It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Krishna because he is the marginal energy of Krishna and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord.]
The servants duty is to listen to his masters order, masters advice, everything. So it is the atma‘s duty to serve to Krishna. Listen to krishna-katha.
But conditioned souls they have no idea what is the soul, what is the nature of the soul. They know only this body.
are vā atma draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyaḥ mantavyah nididhyāsitavyah
Brihad-aranyaka-upanishad (4.5.6)
[One should see, hear about, think of, and meditate on the Supreme Absolute Truth.]
Upanishads are saying. Try to realise about your soul. Try to meditate about yourself. Atma-dhyana. You are not this body. You are soul. Understand? Everyday you give food to your baby or not? If you not give food for your baby, baby will cry. In the same way, soul is crying. Soul’s nature is to listen to krishna-katha. For this regard saying this way,
nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād
bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-’bhirāmāt
ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt
pumān virajyeta vinā paśughnāt
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.1.4)
[Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the parampara system, that is, it is conveyed from the spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?]
Always speak krishna-katha. Always listen to krishna-katha.
Shrotavyah. Shravana means listen, smartavyah means always remembrance, smarana. This is the thing. Krishna-nama, krishna-katha.
