(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 August 2009, Lecture)
Transcribed by Madhumati dd
The four regulative principles, as Srila Prabhupada explained, is where human life begins. Anyone who does not follow the four regulative principles is an animal… sorry to say it! I mean, there may be some in the room, such animals may be here (crowd laughter), but it is possible to come to the human form of life very quickly by accepting the four regulative principles because as long as we are not, we are simply on the animal platform.
The four regulative principles are nothing spiritually exalted; it is just where human life begins. It is not even an expression of bhakti – no meat, fish or eggs, no intoxication, no gambling and no illicit sex does not mean that we have reached the platform of devotional service yet. It just means that we have stopped being an animal, that’s all! It just means we have just become human but we have not done anything for Krsna yet! Then from the human platform, we have to begin to do some service, roll up our sleeves and let us get into it… let us do something now!
