Eligibility of Going back Home, back to Godhead

Going back Home, back to God is confirmed if you follow the five principles mentioned in the four essential verses of the Bhagavad Gita.

Connecting everything to God

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. (BG10.8)

Everything proceeds from God and finally enters in God. Since all belongs to God, everything must be seen in connection to Him. This is the first and preliminary qualification of going back home, back to Godhead.

Reading Scriptures in the Association of Devotees

mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā
bodhayantaḥparasparam
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ
tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca

The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. (BG10.9)

It is one thing to know that everything is connected to God and it is quite another thing to know ‘How’ everything is connected to God.

Only by reading the scriptures, in the association of devotees, can one begin to see what is the unique connection of each and everything in the world to God.

For example, Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says I am the taste of water, or I am the heat and light of fire, or I am the cheating of the cheat, or I am the piety of the pious etc. Everything has a unique connection with God and it needs a scrutinizing study of the scriptures to know and understand that connection.

Thus reading scriptures is the second qualification to go back home, back to Godhead.

Doing Relentless Service

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love,(BG10.10)

On properly understanding the unique relationship of everything in this world to God a devotee feels his/her duty to serve God.

Besides an obligation, a devotee feels a deep indebtedness for providing and maintaining the world just so that living entities can live peacefully and thus wish to serve one’s Lord relentlessly.

Thus relentless service forms the third qualification to go back home, back to Godhead.

Preaching

dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.(BG10.10)

To those who serve God relentlessly, He awards intelligence to serve Him.

The devotee in turn empties one’s heart and teaches others how to serve God just as God inspired him/her.

Preaching is therefore a natural consequence of a pure heart which wishes to share with everyone the graces it has received from God.

Risking life for God

teṣāmevānukampārtham
aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho
jñāna-dīpenabhāsvatā

To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.(BG 10.11)

To those who preach, God personally takes care of them by eradicating the ignorance and doubts in the philosophy and the deep rooted attachments to oneself so that they can help others in a much better way and preach effectively and risk their very lives for God, without any fear, and thus become rightfully qualified to go back home, back to Godhead.