## Chapter XIV Preaching Method (How to Preach) ### 1. The preachings of a sādhu: A devotee travels all over the country, from door to door, preaching, "Be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Be a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Don't spoil your life in simply furfilling your animal propensities. Human life is meant for self-realization or Kṛṣṇa consciousness." These are the preachings of a *sādhu.* *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/3/25/21|3.25.21]]* ### 2. What a preacher should preach: > bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim rcchati (*Bg*. [[bg/5/29|5.29]]) One is expected to understand these three formulas of knowledge concerning the Supreme Lord—that He is the supreme enjoyer, that He is the proprietor of everything, and that He is the best well-wisher and friend of everyone. A preacher should personally understand these truths and preach them to everyone. Then there will be peace and tranquility all over the world. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/7/6/24|7.6.24]]* ### 3. One has to preach following the clear advice given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: yāre dekha, tāre kāha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa [Cc Madhya [[cc/madhya/7/128|7.128]]] **"Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land." Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further advised the brāhmaṇa Kūrma, "If you follow this instruction, your materialistic life at home will not obstruct your spiritual advancement. Indeed, if you follow these regulative principles, we will again meet here, or, rather, you will never lose My company." At whosoever's house Śrī Caitanya accepted His alms by taking prasāda, He would convert the dwellers to His saṅkīrtana movement and advise them just as He advised the brāhmaṇa named Kūrma.** This is the sublime mission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Many people come and inquire whether they have to give up family life to join the Society, but that is not our mission. One can remain comfortably in his residence. We simply request everyone to chant the *mahā-mantra: *Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. If one is a little literate and can read *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is *and *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, *that is so much the better. These works are now available in an English translation and are done very authoritatively to appeal to all classes of men. Instead of living engrossed in material activities, people throughout the world should take advantage of this movement and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra *at home with their families. One should also refrain from sinful activities—illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication.... The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to elevate human society to the perfection of life by pursuing the method described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His advice to the *brāhmaṇa *Kūrma. That is, one should stay at home, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra *and preach the instructions of Kṛṣṇa as they are given in *Bhagavad-gītā *and *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.* *— Cc.* Madhya *[[cc/madhya/7/128|7.128-130]]* ### 4. Preaching by humble persuasion: ... the original purpose of the Māyāvādī *sannyāsīs *of Benares in meeting Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to defeat His personal conception of God. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, as a preacher, turned the minds of the Māyāvādī *sannyāsīs. *They were melted by the sweet words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and thus became friendly and spoke to Him also in sweet words. Similarly, all preachers will have to meet opponents, but they should not make them more inimical. They are already enemies, and if we talk with them harshly or impolitely their enmity will merely increase. We should therefore follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu as far as possible and try to convince the opposition by quoting from the *śāstras *and presenting the conclusion of the *ācāryas. *It is in this way that we should try to defeat all the enemies of the Lord. *— Cc. Ā*di *[[cc/adi/7/99|7.99]]* ### 5. A preacher's duty is to induce the offenders to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches us that those whom preachers meet are almost all offenders who are opposed to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but it is a preacher's duty to convince them of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and then induce them to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra. *Our propagation of the *saṅkīrtana *movement is continuing, despite many opponents, and people are taking this chanting process even in remote parts of the world like Africa. By inducing the offenders to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra, *Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu exemplified the success of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We should follow very respectfully in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya, and there is no doubt that we shall be successful in our attempts. *— Cc. Ā*di *[[cc/adi/7/150|7.150]]* ### 6. Devotees must chant the Pañca-tattva mahā-mantra before every preaching function: We must strictly follow the principle of offering our respects to the Pañca-tattva, as summarized in the *mantra—śrī-kṛsṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. *At the beginning of every function in preaching, especially before chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra ... *we must chant the Pañca-tattva's names and offer our respects to them. *— Cc. Ā*di *[[cc/adi/8/4|8.4]]*