Prabhupada, New York, December 12, 1966: […] Now, suppose a poor man, he wants to offer something to God. Then what he has to offer? He… Here is a prescription given by the Lord Himself which can be offered even by the poorest man. What is that? Patram puspam phalam toyam. A little bit of tulasi leaves or any leaf, puspam, a little bit of flower, patram puspam phalam, a small fruit, and toyam, a little water.
Now, patram puspam phalam toyam, these four things can be available universally. Nobody is so poor that he cannot collect a leaf of a tree or a small fruit or a small flower and little water. It is universal, nothing expensive. So anyone, in any country, in any place, he can offer Krishna these four things.
There is no bar. Patram puspam phalam toyam. Four things: a small leaf… You can have any. There are so many trees. If you take one leaf, even if you are forbidden, if you ask that “I am going to offer this leaf to God,” anyone will offer you. Patram puspam, a little flower, and a small fruit and little water. So Lord says, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati.
The real thing is love. “Anyone who is offering Me these four things in love,” tad aham bhakty-upahrtam, “because he has brought these four things with love and devotion,” then God says, Lord says, tad aham asnami, “I eat. I eat,” bhaktya prayatatmanah, “because with devotion, with faith, and with love, he has brought.”
God is full. We should not think that “God is depending upon my this little flower or fruit. He is very hungry. When I shall offer this fruit and He’ll satisfy His hunger.” No. He’s purnam. But the qualification is that offering should be in love, in devotion. That He accepts. He accepts your devotion and love.
So patram puspam. So anybody can worship Krishna. This is universal. Patram puspam… These four things can be… But one thing you should remember that if we want to cheat Krishna—“Oh, Krishna wants only patram puspam phalam toyam, so let Him have this patram puspam phalam toyam, and for myself, let me eat very sumptuously, the best thing”—that is cheating. Krishna can understand.
This is for the poorest man. But if you have got very nice things to offer to Krishna, just offer. Any… Your love means you should offer to Krishna the nicest, the choicest, the best thing. Because everything belongs to Krishna. So when you offer something best, choicest, that is your love only. Suppose you offer a fruit to Krishna.
Can you manufacture fruit? Oh, it is manufactured by Krishna. It is God’s gift. But if you place before Him some choicest fruit, some choicest flower, some choicest, I mean to say, thing, then that is your token of love that you think… In this material world…
Suppose there is a very nice rose flower. Somebody takes it: “Oh, it is very nice rose flower. Oh, I shall take it and offer my girlfriend or boyfriend.” That is sense gratification. That is sense gratification. The same flower, if you take it and think, “Oh, it is very nice flower. I shall offer to Krishna,” that is your service to the Lord.
The flower is there. Simply change of consciousness… This is called Krishna consciousness. The flower is there. You are there. The consciousness is there. This offering is there.
Simply you have to change. That’s all. You have to change. If you utilize things for sense gratification, then you go to the darkest region of this material atmosphere. And the same thing, if you offer to Krishna, it becomes spiritual.
Now, after offering Krishna, Krishna is not taking it away. You are… You are taking the prasadam. That means the whole thing becomes spiritualized. So in this way we can spiritualize the whole world, whole world, simply by changing our consciousness.
We are… We are anxious for peace. This is the process of peace; you change your consciousness. Don’t accept anything for your sense gratification. Everything is there. It is supplied by the Supreme Lord.
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