More Satsvarupa dasa Brahmacari 1966 Bhagwad-geeta Lecture Notes –

Krishna is teaching how to become Krishna conscious at every step.  When you drink water, the “juice” of it is Krishna.  It comes from God; you can’t drink gold.  That which you can’t produce by any human being, that is God.  And illumination is Krishna.  (As Swamiji spoke, a guy came to the front door with a loud, portable radio.  People in the storefront turned to see.  Swamiji said, “That’s all right.”)  The mantra omkara is God.  Whenever you hear some sound vibration, that is a reflection of spiritual sound.  Therefore you can remember God as the sun, as water, as mantra, and as any sound – where can’t you remember God?

The best way to associate with God is by hearing.  Our material contamination gets reduced by hearing.  As the sun can purify you, so association with Krishna takes away contamination.  (Swamiji said more how the sun cures disease.)

Try it, associate with Krishna.  There will be no problem.  Do it by sounds (Hare Krishna) and practice this consciousness, “The water is Krishna,” etc.  Our present stage is forgetfulness.  We have to revive.

Krishna is also desire without attraction.  How can this be: It is Krishna consciousness – I desire for Krishna’s benefit, not mine.  Lust that is not against religion – all other sex life is not religious.  Sex in marriage is religion.

Sometimes, when I come back to my apartment in the middle of the day, I feel peeved if I see a couple of guys crashed out on the mattress.  I think I’m working hard and they’re not.  But all in all, I wouldn’t trade my former “housekeeper’s solitude” for the association of Vaisnavas.

Swamiji likes it too, I think, that I share what I have.  He knows the devotees use my place (it’s not “my” place anymore.  It never was.)  It relieves Swamiji too, because now people don’t have to use his bathroom.  They come over here in the morning.

In the morning I don’t mind it.  It’s nice.  I chant japa sitting up straight in my space, and, one after another, the devotees come into the apartment and use the bathroom.  When they are waiting for the bathroom to get free, they sit with me and chant.  It’s a nice camaraderie.

I don’t expect Swamiji would ever come here, but it’s his place.  They call it an “extension” of the storefront.

Sometimes we have good talks here.  Acyutananda came over once and he said he is taking to Krishna consciousness because it is the best thing he has ever found.  He always wants the best thing.  Theoretically, he said, if there was something better than this, he would go to that.  But this is the best, the Absolute Truth, and Krishna is the original form as the all-attractive.

Rayarama encourages me about my parents’ rejecting me.  Hayagriva sometimes uses the place to do editing.  (He’s the one that also crashes out the most.)  Brahmananda and Gargamuni come too.  Everybody comes by.  The little French janitor curses under his breath when he sees the devotees.  He says the landlord didn’t rent this apartment to so many people.  But I don’t care.  We just walk past him.