The first section was, 'Change the channel, change your life.'" We talked about why we are where we are now: it's because of what we've been listening to, what we've been reading—the sound that we're allowing to come into our mind and our heart. So, how do I get into this most intimate of services, a connection with a pure devotee, Śrīla Prabhupāda, under whom I've taken shelter in this Krishna Consciousness Movement? How do I do it? How? It sounds okay—maybe it's for others, maybe not me. Page by page, reading Śrīla Prabhupāda's books every day is a prerequisite for knowing him and for advancing in spiritual life. So, we actually have to make voluntary life changes. We call this the VLCs. You are human, you can decide; you make the voluntary life change because you're the agent of your own improvement. Here are the two elements that are necessary: knowledge and practice, that will move you to your destination.

Remember that nobody—there's no soul that's permanently unqualified. Everyone can rise in due course of time. And remember, even if you're inept, even if you're not very good at it, at least show up, because there's magic in just being there for the reading. So here's one of the obstacles. After we've surveyed many devotees around the world and asked them, "What's the main obstacle?" The answer is, "I don't have time."

Here's breaking news for those of you who may be missing it: it's not time we lack, it's taste, and we only get a taste by taking time. This unlocks and disposes off this particular obstacle that "I don't have time." We already found out we all have 24 hours, at least the ones we interviewed. It may be different in Iceland or something, but we all get the same amount of time. So, it's not time; it's taste. Why do some people read more than others? Because they have a taste for it. How do you get a taste? You have to take the time. So you have to budget some time to start.

Another common thought is, "I can't understand Śrīla Prabhupāda's books." Śrīla Prabhupāda said he couldn't understand his guru when he first heard him, but he stayed. That's the reason Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta noticed him at his initiation. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta said, "I marked him. He likes to hear. He does not go away." So if you want to be recognized, you could stay there and listen.

There was a brāhmaṇa in South India that Caitanya Mahāprabhu met, who was every day reading the Bhagavad-gītā, but he couldn't read. He just did the best he could; he hacked away at it, and everyone was laughing at him. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw that this brāhmaṇa was crying when he was reading, and He asked him, "Why are you crying?" And he said, "My guru told me to read this every day, but I can't read." He said, "Then, why are you crying?" He said, "Because I think of Krishna when I'm doing this, that He drove the chariot for Arjuna, and He's so kind to His devotee, so I can't help but cry when I think of Krishna and holding this Gītā and trying to read it. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took that brāhmaṇa with Him. He said, "You've actually understood the Bhagavad-gītā." You don't have to be a great scholar or a Sanskritist. You just have to have a little sincerity and try to read Prabhupāda's books.

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To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/

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Add to your wisdom literature collection:

https://iskconsv.com/book-store/

https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/

https://thefourquestionsbook.com/

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