(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 09 December 2011, Durban, South Africa, Morning Lecture)
Piety has diminished many generations ago. But the mercy of Lord Caitanya that has come into the sinful life of fallen people in a world where everything has gone astray. Sinful activities are covering the globe; this is the reality. Therefore this is not a time when we can just feel good about ourselves. It is not a time where we can stay in our temples where everything is very flowery and sweet. When we are concerned with ourselves only; that will not do. We cannot expect that we will be saved from the influence of the illusory energy which is all around us by staying on our little island in the middle of the ocean as even in the temple, material desires are very strong.
Devotees are finding that externally they accept spiritual life but internally they struggle. Internally, they feel the pushings of the mind and the senses to be very strong and some are cutting some edges! So how to overcome this… how to deal with this… how to control the mind? The question has been asked a thousand times over. Again and again, many times a day that question is asked, ‘How can we conquer the mind? How can we conquer lust? How we overcome material desires? How can I become humble? How can I become spiritual? How can I become saintly when I’m not?’
How??? The key is devotional service. To simply engage in devotional service so much so that there is no time to worry about the mind and the senses! Whenever there is time, the mind becomes agitated and then the answer is more service. When the mind gets agitated about having too much service; that is all right. That is good, otherwise the mind would be agitated about material things!
