The Following is an excerpt from “Our Family Business”
By His Grace Vaisesika Dasa,
In ISKCON we hear devotees say “Books are the basis.” Śrīla Prabhupāda himself used this phrase in a letter to Maṇḍali Bhadra Dāsa dated January 20, 1972: “My first concern is that my books shall be published and distributed profusely all over the world. Practically, books are the basis of our movement. Without them our preaching has no effect.” He uses it again in a letter to Tuṣṭa Kṛṣṇa Swami (January 9, 1976): “Books are the basis of our movement. Whatever appreciation we are getting on account of our books, it is because we are following the path chalked out by exalted devotees.”
So what does it mean that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books are the foundation – the basis – of ISKCON? We can begin to understand by reading the letter Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote to Dāmodara Dāsa on December 3, 1971:
I’m especially pleased to hear that your distribution of our books and magazines has increased. Go on in this way, increasing more and more. Each time someone reads some solid information about Kṛṣṇa his life becomes changed in some way. These literatures are the solid ground upon which our preaching stands, so I want that they should be available to everyone, as many as possible. So please try for this.
Well today is my birthday. 72 years ago on this day I was in a small baby’s body, but today I am in an old man’s body. But I’m still the same person, although it seems like I have lived many different lives, as a child, as a student, as a devotee, as a husband and father, grandfather, and retired woodworker. Lived and traveled to so many places, had so many different life experiences, and so it seems, I have lived many lives.
I am reminded of some of the famous important verses from the Bhagavad-gita:
As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change. (Bg 2.13)
For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. (Bg 2.20)
Full texts and purports will follow at end of post, but I wanted to mention some well known persons who I share a birthday with.
On this day in 1978, Dhani Harrison appeared, who we all know as the son of George and Olivia Harrison, turns 48 today.
And one of my favorite musicians Jerry Garcia was born on August 1, 1942, in San Francisco, California. He was the co-founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of the Grateful Dead.
Jerry Garcia and Srila Prabhupada intersected through 1960’s counterculture, notably via the Grateful Dead playing at the 1967 Mantra-Rock concert. The Grateful Dead performed alongside Big Brother and the Holding Company and Allen Ginsberg at the historic San Francisco Avalon Ballroom benefit concert, which helped introduce A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and the Hare Krishna Movement to the West coast.
I saw this posted on Facebook, and thought we would share it here with all of you. In this article by Locan Ananda Prabhu, he again makes the argument for Arsa-prayoga, or no change.
Srila Prabhupada was recognized as a great Sanskrit scholar. His depth of knowledge was unfathomable. Not a single word of his should have been changed. That policy is called arsa-prayoga, and it guarantees that the spiritual head of our institution should never be dishonored by changing his words.
THE ROD OF CHASTISEMENT IS GONE!!!
by Locan Ananda Dasa
One of my favorite verses in the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
was once found in Chapter 10, verse 38:
“Among punishments I am the rod of chastisement, and of those who seek victory, I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am wisdom.” (B.g. 10.38, original)
Chapter 10 is entitled, “The Opulence of the Absolute” wherein Krishna enumerates some of His extraordinarily splendorous manifestations. On August 12, 1976, Srila Prabhupada was having an evening darshan in Tehran, the capital and largest city in Iran. He was talking about how ordinary people know little about the greatness of God. “They say, ‘God is great,’ but how great? That they do not know.” Srila Prabhupada then asked his secretary at the time, Harikesa dasa, to read selected verses from the Bhagavad-Gita, beginning with Chapter 10, verse 20:
“I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.” (B.g. 10.20)
Harikesa prabhu continued to read through the verses that followed, the chapter ending with verse 42:
“But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge. With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.” (B.g. 10.42)
When he finished the reading, Srila Prabhupada said, “That’s it. This is greatness. So we should not simply be satisfied ‘God is great.’ We must try to know how great He is. Then our God consciousness will be fixed up. It’s all right?”
Regarding your last question about the importance of chanting; this chanting process is the only way of attaining full Krishna Consciousness in this age of kali yuga. Lord Caitanya stressed upon this point, and we may take it from His authority that no other method will prove to be successful in this matter. (Letter to Sivananda, January 23 1969, Los Angeles)
‘Beyond Birth and Death’ is one of my favorite small books written by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. The first chapter is a good introduction to the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness. We have included the entire first chapter for those interested.
We Are Not These Bodies
(Chapter One from Beyond Birth & Death)
The very first step in self-realization is realizing one’s identity as separate from the body. “I am not this body but am spirit soul” is an essential realization for anyone who wants to transcend death and enter into the spiritual world beyond. It is not simply a matter of saying “I am not this body,” but of actually realizing it. This is not as simple as it may seem at first. Although we are not these bodies but are pure consciousness, somehow or other we have become encased within the bodily dress. If we actually want the happiness and independence that transcend death, we have to establish ourselves and remain in our constitutional position as pure consciousness.
“O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.30)
Living in the bodily conception, our idea of happiness is like that of a man in delirium. Some philosophers claim that this delirious condition of bodily identification should be cured by abstaining from all action. Because these material activities have been a source of distress for us, they claim that we should actually stop these activities. Their culmination of perfection is in a kind of Buddhistic nirvāṇa, in which no activities are performed. Buddha maintained that due to a combination of material elements, this body has come into existence, and that somehow or other if these material elements are separated or dismantled, the cause of suffering is removed. If the tax collectors give us too much difficulty because we happen to possess a large house, one simple solution is to destroy the house. However, Bhagavad-gītā indicates that this material body is not all in all. Beyond this combination of material elements, there is spirit, and the symptom of that spirit is consciousness.
…One issue that many find shocking is the extent to which Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is was edited without having been authorized by His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada. He was never a fan of extensive editing of any of his published works. What’s more, the over-edited edition published in 1983 removed thirty-two color pages that Srila Prabhupada insisted be included in his great opus. Three of those eliminated color pages were of the predecessor acaryas, namely Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji Maharaja and Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode.
Even the pocket Gita printed in India included all of the color plates found in the Macmillan edition.
If you are just hearing about this for the first time, please contact the GBC representative in your area and humbly request that this offense be rectified with the next printing. Doing so will attract Srila Prabhupada’s blessings. Do not fear when the cause is just.
A CRISIS IN LEADERSHIP
by Locan Ananda dasa
Many followers of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings have been calling for the worldwide reformation of the leadership of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The charge being made is that leaders and managers need to adhere more closely to the specific instructions of our Founder Acarya. There should be greater vigilance and the immediate correction of inappropriate behavior on the part of errant leaders.
Everyone wants Happiness and wants to avoid Distress, this is a fact. This Krishna Consciousness Movement is meant to deliver all of suffering humanity from the threefold miseries of material existence.
The attempt in this material world to maximize happiness and minimize distress is called the struggle for existence.
…This material world is the world of duality, and we cannot understand happiness without distress or distress without happiness. This is therefore called the relative world. Spiritual happiness is above these dualities, and that spiritual happiness is the perfection of yoga. Yoga ādhyātmikaḥ. Yoga is the happiness of the soul, and the individual soul can be happy when it is with the Supersoul, the Supreme Soul.Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). There is the Supreme Soul, or the supreme living being, and there are many individual souls, individual beings. We are many, but the principal living being is one, Kṛṣṇa. He is the fire, and we are the sparks from that fire. The sparks are illuminated when they are with the original fire, but if the sparks no longer associate with the original fire, they are extinguished. Similarly, our real happiness is in enjoying with the Supreme Being. Happiness is being in His company. Kṛṣṇa is not alone, but is always with His friends, either the gopīs or the cowherd boys, or with His mother and father. We never find Kṛṣṇa alone. He may be with Rādhārāṇī or with His devotees. He is like a king or president. When one says that the king or president is coming, it is understood that he is not coming alone. He comes with His secretaries, ministers and many others. (Teachings of Lord Kapila)
…Everyone is trying to get out of material distress and gain some happiness. In any case, when something is material, there is only so-called happiness and so-called distress. For instance, there may be fireworks going on, and this may be happiness for someone but distress for us. Some people are thinking that these fireworks are very enjoyable, and we are thinking that they are very inconvenient. That is the material world. On one side there is happiness, and on the other side there is distress. Both happiness and distress are actually illusions. In summer, water is happiness, but in winter it is distress. The water is the same, but at one time it brings happiness and at another time it brings distress. When a son is born, he brings happiness, but when he dies, he brings distress. In either case, the son is the same. (Teachings of Lord Kapila)
Today marks the disappearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. We honor it with a half day fast followed by a nice vegetarian feast. We share with you one of my favorite songs composed by Srila Bhaktivinoda.
Kabe Ha’be Bolo (Invocation of the Holy Name) by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
When, oh when, will that day be mine? When my offenses ceasing, taste for the name increasing, when in my heart will your mercy shine? When, oh when will that day be mine?
Lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree. When will my mind attain this quality? Respectful to all, not expecting their honour, then shall I taste the name’s nectar sublime. When oh when will that day be mine?
The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon others’ property as though it were one’s own and thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature.
We are witnessing a world in turmoil right now, with nations at war with each other. And I am reminded of the peace formula that Srila Prabhupada has given us. He first presented the peace formula in an early edition of Back to Godhead Magazine, then in the Bhagavad-gita, and it appeared in many small books and pamphlets. We share with you today, a sampling of the peace formula in some of the early small books.
“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.” (Bhagavad-gita 5.29)
The politicians and diplomats are trying to establish peace in the world. We have the United Nations and many other organizations. They are working to establish real peace and tranquillity, to eliminate misunderstanding between man and man and nation and nation. But that is not happening. The defect is that the root is wrong. Everyone is thinking, “It is my country,” “It is my family,” “It is my society,” “It is my property.” This “my” is illusion. This “I-and-my” philosophy is māyā-illusion.
“My dear friend, there is one boy – His name is Govinda. He is standing on the bank of the Yamunā near the Keśi-ghāṭa, and He is playing on His flute. He is so beautiful, especially during this full-moon night. If you have any intentions to enjoy in this material world with your children, husband, or other family members, then please do not go there.”
The Vedic literature is unique among all the world’s scriptures because it details a practical process by which anyone can purify his or her consciousness and see God face to face. In a lecture, delivered in Los Angeles on August 15, 1972, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, “One must actually be very eager to see God…. One must be very serious and think, ‘Yes, I have been informed about God. So if there is a God, I must see Him.'”
Excerpts from Lecture Los Angeles on August 15, 1972
jaya–all glories to: rādhā-mādhava–Rādhā and the Lord of sweetness; kuñja-bihārī–He who enjoys loving pastimes in the groves of Vṛndāvana; gopī-jana-vallabha–the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja; giri-vara-dhārī–the holder of the great hill named Govardhana;
Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana.
yaśodā-nandana–the beloved son of mother Yaśodā; vraja-jana-rañjana–the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja; yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī–who wanders in the forests along the banks of the river Yamunā
He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja, and He wanders in the forests along the banks of the River Yamuna!
Purport to Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava New York, July 20, 1971
Prabhupāda: So you know this song Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava?
Devotees: Jaya!
Prabhupāda: So you can follow me?
Devotees: Jaya! Haribol! (Śrīla Prabhupāda leads singing of Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava)
Prabhupāda: So this is the original nature of Kṛṣṇa, original nature of Kṛṣṇa. He is Rādhā-Mādhava. He is the lover of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And kuñja-vihārī, always enjoying the company of the gopīs within the bushes of Vrndavana forest. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī. So He’s not only lover of Rādhārāṇī, but braja-jana-vallabha. The whole residents of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa. They do not know anything else. They do not know whether Kṛṣṇa is God, or not; neither they are very much harassed, that “I shall love Kṛṣṇa if He is God.” “He may be God or He may be whatever He is. It doesn’t matter, but we love God, Kṛṣṇa.” That’s all. That is called unalloyed love.
Two hundred years ago, Americans fought the War of Independence to assure life, liberty, and happiness in a fledgling nation. In a conversation with the BACK TO GODHEAD staff, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that Americans can actually achieve these things only by maintaining a God conscious society, with God conscious leaders.
BTG: Thomas Jefferson put the basic philosophy of the American Revolution into the Declaration of Independence. The important men of the day who signed this document agreed that there are certain very obvious or self-evident truths; the first of which is that all men are created equal. By this they meant that all men are equal before the law and have an equal opportunity to be protected by the law.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, in that sense men are, as you say, created equal.
BTG: Another point in the Declaration of Independence is that all men are endowed by God with certain natural rights that cannot be taken away from them. These are the rights of life, liberty, and
Srila Prabhupada: But animals also have the right to life. Why don’t animals also have the right to live? The rabbits, for instance, are living in their own way in the forest. Why does the government allow hunters to go and shoot them?
Yesterday we shared with you the first printing of Srila Prabhupada’s epic translations of the Srimad Bhagavatam, and today we share with you his last.
For a Free PDF download of this special volume click on following link; SB-10-03-1980
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Tenth Canto, Part Three
Foward
This is the final Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam volume translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is smaller than the earlier volumes because it ends where the renowned author stopped translating just before his departure from this mortal world on November 14, 1977, at the Krsna-Balarama Mandira in Vrndavana, India.
The first part of this volume was produced in the usual fashion. Srila Prabhupada would sit and read silently from the Sanskrit text and then speak the translation and commentary into his dictaphone. Later, due to illness, it became necessary for his disciples to assist him personally.
In these last days Srila Prabhupada was gravely ill. Unable to eat for weeks, his health had deteriorated, making even the slightest movement excruciatingly painful.
As he lay still, a devotee would softly read the Sanskrit to him. Another disciple, sitting on his bed, held the microphone to him, nearly touching his mouth. And then Srila Prabhupada would speak, voice sometimes barely audible.
These recordings, made in his quarters at the temple, constitute the balance of this book.
In these final moments, the physician attending His Divine Grace confided that an ordinary man in such critical condition would have been crying out from the intense pain. Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were awestruck as they watched their spiritual master work quietly, undisturbed.
In the last part of the book we find Srila Prabhupada’s usual clarity of thought, constant scriptural references, scrupulous attention to detail, and rigorous philosophical exposition fully intact, just as they were in the preceding twenty-nine volumes of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Srila Prabhpada’s last days and this translation will stands an inspiring reminder that even the severest material circumstances cannot impede the activities of a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Srimad Bhagwatam By Tridani Goswami A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami
These were the books Srila Prabhupada brought with him from India. The first three volumes of the Srimad Bhagavatam that he had printed in Delhi between 1960 and 1965. We are fortunate to have a set of these in our home, however, I am afraid to handle them very much because they are so precious. I think they actually belong in a museum.
We share with you a free scanned pdf you can download to your computer
For a free download of these Original Srimad Bhagwatam’s please click on following links
These Srimad Bhagwatams are among the most valuable memorabilia one can have of Srila Prabhupada. The timing of their publication coincides directly with Srila Prabhupada’s departure for the Western world. He left India a very short time after the last volume was printed, and it seems obvious that the completion of this task signaled the time for his departure.
When one reads these original Bhagwatams, perhaps more than any of Srila Prabhupada’s other writings, you can feel the Vrindaban mood. Srila Prabhupada was there alone writing his purports, whereas the other Bhagavatams were translated and written while he was surrounded by many followers and his ISKCON movement was rapidly growing. This was quite a contrast to the circumstances surrounding his first books.
Although these books were not edited as the later ones were, and thus contain some typos and English imperfections, there is absolutely no less spiritual potency. In fact, whether its sentiment or realization,to my mind these early editions are preferable, and represent one of the strongest arguments for not making any changes or ‘improvements’ to the Srila Prabhupada’s books after his departure.
Every newcomer to Krsna Consciousness should have the opportunity to read these original Bhagwatams so they can get to know Srila Prabhupada in a more intimate way.
People often view this Krishna Consciousness Movement as a Hindu Religion. But it is not. Although it is attracting people of the Hindu faith, it is also attracting people from the all of the worlds faiths. It is the philosophy and science of God.
The Krishna consciousness movement has nothing to do with the Hindu religion or any system of religion.
“The ultimate goal of this movement is to educate people in how to love God. Caitanya Mahaprabhu approves the conclusion that the highest perfection of human life is to learn how to love God. The Krishna consciousness movement has nothing to do with the Hindu religion or any system of religion. No Christian gentleman will be interested in changing his faith from Christian to Hindu. Similarly, no Hindu gentleman of culture will be ready to change to the Christian faith. Such changing is for men who have no particular social status. But everyone will be interested in understanding the philosophy and science of God and taking it seriously. One should clearly understand that the Krishna consciousness movement is not preaching the so-called Hindu religion. We are giving a spiritual culture that can solve all the problems of life, and therefore it is being accepted all over the world.״ (Srila Prabhupada from Science of Self Realization.)
Our mission is to promote spiritual culture, not to protect Hindu dharma.
I was looking through my notebooks the other day, and I happened to find my very first devotee journal. I had written that there are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service. And six activities that can spoil ones devotional service.This was a good reminder.
There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service:
(1) being enthusiastic,
(2) endeavoring with confidence,
(3) being patient,
(4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam (SB 7.5.23) — hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa],
(5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and
(6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas.
These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.
And the six activities that can spoil ones devotional service:
(1) Overeating or collecting more than needed
(2) Over endeavoring for mundane things
(3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters
(4) Practicing the spiritual rules and regulations only for the sake of following them, or rejecting them and acting whimsically
(5) Associating with worldly minded persons who are not interested in Krsna consciousness
(6) Being greedy for mundane achievements
These were taken from The Nectar of Instruction and The Narada Bhakti Sutra
Harsarani: I remember us cooking kachoris. Remember how we used to cook kachoris and his eyes would get really big? He’d make us roll them a certain way.
Govinda: He showed us how to cook them in that apartment.
Harsarani: He was so intent on having them the way he wanted. He’d come in and make us make them a certain way and fill them just with so much filling. Fill them up just so, cook them just so long. Then he’d go back and sit down and wait for them like a kid. Then they’d come in. They’d have to be all the way blown up and drop then. His eyes would get really big. If they were really good and big his eyes would get really big. And we used to say, “How many can you eat?” He’d say, “I can eat as many as you can make.”
I find it interesting, how one morning, I will wake up and find it very easy and pleasing to chant Hare Krishna and preform my devotional activities, and the next day I find it difficult? I realized that it due to the influence of the three modes of material nature.
…Everyone should know that a living entity is eternally a servant and that unless one serves Krsna one has to serve illusion in different varieties of the three modes of material nature. (from Preface to Bhagavad-gita As It Is)
…In the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly explained that there are three kinds of activities according to the different modes of nature: the activities of goodness, of passion and of ignorance. (from Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is)
The three modes of material nature is an important topic, so much so , that there is an entire chapter dedicated to it in the Bhagavad-gita.
Material nature consists of the three modes—goodness, passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes. (Bg. 14.5)
PURPORT
The living entity, because he is transcendental, has nothing to do with this material nature. Still, because he has become conditioned by the material world, he is acting under the spell of the three modes of material nature. Because living entities have different kinds of bodies, in terms of the different aspects of nature, they are induced to act according to that nature. This is the cause of the varieties of happiness and distress.
This tells me, that I am not yet transcendental to the three modes, and I still have plenty of work to do.
We share with you a description of the three modes as outlined in chapter 14 of the Bhagavad-gita.
This morning I came downstairs and I saw on the kitchen counter, a small note left by my wife. It simply said “Happy Fathers Day”, and there was this quote by Srila Prabhupada:
“Please continue to engage yourself in Krishna’s service very sincerely and I am sure Krishna will help you in all ways to advance more and more. I am always praying that Krishna will give you strength to continue”. (Srila Prabhupada)
This small Fathers Day note got me thinking about Fathers. There is my biological father, then there is my Spiritual Father, Srila Prabhupada, and then there is the Supreme Father of us all, Krishna.
I found a few quotes From Srila Prabhupada’s books on our Surpreme Father Krishna:
Kṛṣṇa is very much anxious to take us back home, back to Godhead, but we are stubborn and do not wish to go. Therefore He is always looking for the opportunity to take us back home. He is just like an affectionate father.When a son who is a rascal leaves his father and goes loitering in the street, with no food and no shelter, and suffers very much, the father is always anxious to bring the boy back home. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father, and all the living entities within this material world are exactly like misled children of a wealthy man who have left home to loiter in the street. Therefore the greatest benefit one can bestow upon one’s fellow human being is to give him Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No kind of material profit will satisfy the living entity, but if he is given Kṛṣṇa consciousness he will actually be satisfied. A bewildered boy loitering in the street may be reminded, “My dear boy, why are you suffering so much? You are the son of a very rich man who has so much property. Why are you loitering in the street?” And if he comes to understand, “Yes, I am the son of this important man. Why shall I loiter in the street?” he may then return home. Therefore the best service is to inform those who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, “You are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. You are the son of Kṛṣṇa, who is full in all opulence. Why are you rotting in this material world?” This is the greatest service. Māyā, illusion, is very strong, but it is the duty of every devotee of Kṛṣṇa to try to enlighten everyone to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kuntīdevī, for example, first said that although Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, is within and without, to rascals and fools He is invisible. Therefore she points out, “Here is the Lord – Kṛṣṇa.” ( “Teachings of Queen Kunti”)
Having just attended the Ratha-yatra Festival in New York, my wife was reading to me from the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta some of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. And there is this one very poignant sentence:
…By the Lord’s mercy one gets the association of a bona fide guru, and by the mercy of the guru, one gets a chance to render devotional service. Devotional service, the science of bhakti-yoga, carries one from this material world to the spiritual world. (from purport Madya-lila 13.18)
This sums up the benefits and results of devotional service or (bhakti-yoga).
While the Lord was being carried from the throne to the car, King Prataparudra personally engaged in the Lord’s service by cleansing the road with a broom that had a golden handle. (Madhya-lila 13.15)
The King sprinkled the road with sandalwood-scented water. Although he was the owner of the royal throne, he engaged in menial service for the sake of Lord Jagannatha. (Madhya-lila 13.16)
Although the King was the most exalted respectable person, still he accepted menial service for the Lord; he, therefore, became a suitable candidate for receiving the Lord’s mercy. (Madhya-lila 13.17)
Upon seeing the King engaged in such menial service, Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very happy. Simply by rendering this service, the King received the mercy of the Lord. Madhya-lila 13.18)
The Hare Krishna Movement 