31 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Shiva
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bg 9.25, bhagavad-gita, ghosts, ghosts and spirits, Halloween, halloween ghosts, nandi, SB 3.14.24, Shiva, Srimad Bhagavatam, witches
Shiva’s mount is the sacred bull Nandi, and is said to live on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas.
Although Halloween is not a Vaisnave holiday, it is being celebrated here in the West today. So we wanted to do a post from the pages of Srila Prabhupada’s books where there is mention of Ghosts and Witches etc. Actually Ghosts are a very real entity as the following texts from the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam imply.
Lord Śiva, or Rudra, is the king of the ghosts. Ghostly characters worship Lord Śiva to be gradually guided toward a path of self-realization. Māyāvādī philosophers are mostly worshipers of Lord Śiva…Ghosts are bereft of a physical body because of their grievously sinful acts, such as suicide. The last resort of the ghostly characters in human society is to take shelter of suicide, either material or spiritual. Material suicide causes loss of the physical body, and spiritual suicide causes loss of the individual identity. Lord Śiva, being very kind to the ghosts, sees that although they are condemned, they get physical bodies. ( from purport to SB 3.14.24)
Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me. (Bhagavad-gita 9.25)
Complete text and purports follow along with a definition of Halloween from Wikipedia More
30 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna Consciousness, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Damodarastakam
Tags: 1970 Edition, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, binding Lord Krishna, Damodara, Damodarastakam, kartik, Krishna's childhood pastimes, Krsna The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mother Yasoda, Mother Yasoda Binding Lord Krsna
…Mother Yaśodā chased Him to all corners, trying to capture the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is never approached even by the meditations of great yogīs. In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is never caught by the yogīs and speculators, was playing just like a little child for a great devotee like mother Yaśodā. Mother Yaśodā, however, could not easily catch the fast-running child because of her thin waist and heavy body. Still she tried to follow Him as fast as possible. Her hair loosened, and the flower in her hair fell to the ground. Although she was tired, she somehow reached her naughty child and captured Him. When He was caught, Kṛṣṇa was almost on the point of crying. He smeared His hands over His eyes, which were anointed with black eye cosmetics. The child saw His mother’s face while she stood over Him, and His eyes became restless from fear. Mother Yaśodā could understand that Kṛṣṇa was unnecessarily afraid, and for His benefit she wanted to allay His fears.
Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead 1970 Edition
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vol. 1, Chapter 9
Mother Yaśodā Binding Lord Kṛṣṇa
Once upon a time, seeing that her maidservant was engaged in different household duties, mother Yaśodā personally took charge of churning butter. And while she churned butter, she sang the childhood pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and enjoyed thinking of her son.
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29 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Damodarastakam, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
Tags: Damodara, Gokula, Kartika, namamisvarm, sac-cid-ananda-rupam, sloka, songbook, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, Sri Damodara, Sri Damodarastakam yasoda, Sri Satyavrata Muni, the supreme Lord, whipping stick
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…O Lord, the cheeks of Your blackish lotus face, which is encircled by locks of curling hair, have become reddened like bimba fruit due to Mother Yasoda’s kisses. What more can I describe than this? Millions of opulences are of no use to me, but may this vision constantly remain in my mind.
Sri Damodarastakam
By Sri Satyavrata Muni
From the original 1974 “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas” songbook
This eight sloka prayer is sung morning and evening during the month of Damodara, or Kartika and which begins today.
Full Song More
28 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Disciplic succession, Gaudiya Math, Guru & Disciple, Rupanuga das, Spiritual Master
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktivinode Thakur, disciples, Gaudiya Math, generals who could not be defeated, guru, Lord Caitianya Mahaprabhu, Rupanuga das, sankirtan, spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Prabhupada, viraha astaka
…whatever Krsna Consciousness exists outside of India is due to the humble efforts of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who openly challenged the scientific voidism and sectarian impersonalism dominating the world. Like Bhaktivinode Thakur and Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur, his predecessors in bringing Lord Caitanya’s causeless mercy of Harinama out of India, His Divine Grace remains undefeated, and is prepared to commission any and all of his followers to carry on the tradition of victory.
…The Generals who could not be defeated have already provided the strategy, weapons, and knowledge, the spiritual strength, to guarantee ultimate victory. The Parampara Acaryas have chosen Srila Prabhupada-vani to lead the mission into this 21st Century…
Therefore, the wise shall accept the infallible guidance and protection of Srila Prabhupada and to best capacity help deliver, by His Divine Grace, the inconceivable benediction of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
The Generals Who Could Not Be Defeated
by Sriman Rupanuga das
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada once remarked to his disciples, “You must become a general like me. I cannot be defeated.” Srila Prabhupada was commissioned by another undefeated general, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur, who against all opposition established the legitimacy and influence of the Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta in India. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta met resistance from every quarter: professional gurus, prakrta-sahajiyas, caste goswamis, ecumenists, eclecticists, et al., but anyone who dared to sally forth and meet his challenge was ultimately trounced.
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28 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Prahlada Maharaja, Srimad Bhagavatam, Teachings of Pralada Maharaja
Tags: 9 types of devotional service, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, arcanam, atma-nivedanam, dasyam, devotional service, kirtanam, Narada Muni, nine processes of devotional service, pada-sevanam, Prahlada Maharaja, sakyam, sarvanam, smaranam, Srila Prabhupada, Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja, the science of God, vandanam, visnoh
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Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.
Full text and purport More
25 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Remembering Srila Prabhupada, Srimati Radharani, Tungabhadra devi
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, deities of Radha and Krishna, Krishna, Remembering Srila Prabhupada, Srimati Radharani, Tungabhadra devi, worship the deity forms of Krishna
Remembering Srila Prabhupada
Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magazine
by Tungabhadra Devi Dasi
Among many other things, Srila Prabhupada taught his disciples how to worship the Deity forms of Lord Krsna and His eternal consort Srimati Radharani. For instance, he told us that we should dress the Deities very opulently, which meant that we had to make special garments for Them. I was in Bombay in 1972 when I made my first attempt at sewing outfits.
When Srila Prabhupada walked into the temple one day to see the Deities, he smiled broadly. Even as he was prostrating himself before Radha and Krsna, he looked up at Them repeatedly and smiled. Then he arose, and he said to me, “Thank you very much. Make thousands of outfits like this. And always make Radharani more beautiful than Krsna, then Krsna will never leave.”
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25 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Maharaja Pariksit, Srimad Bhagavatam
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, enjoy life to the fullest, fast till death, Ganges, great emperor, kingdom, Maharaja Pariksit, pious king, power and opulence, retiring from life, SB 1.4.9-12, Srimad Bhagavatam
This morning I was reading about Maharaja Pariksit and of his qualities and position in life. He was in a position to enjoy life to the fullest extent,then why should he give up all these favorable circumstances and sit down on the bank of the Ganges, fasting till death? This is astonishing, and therefore all were eager to know the cause. He gave up everything to hear Sriman Bhagavatam from the lips of the pure devotee.
He was a great emperor and possessed all the opulences of his acquired kingdom. He was so exalted that he was increasing the prestige of the Pāṇḍu dynasty. Why did he give up everything to sit down on the bank of the Ganges and fast until death?
…There was nothing undesirable in his life. He was quite a young man and could enjoy life with power and opulence. So there was no question of retiring from active life. There was no difficulty in collecting the state taxes because he was so powerful and chivalrous that even his enemies would come to him and bow down at his feet and surrender all wealth for their own benefit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a pious king. He conquered his enemies, and therefore the kingdom was full of prosperity. There was enough milk, grains and metals, and all the rivers and mountains were full of potency. So materially everything was satisfactory. Therefore, there was no question of untimely giving up his kingdom and life. The sages were eager to hear about all this.
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23 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Diksha, Disciplic succession, Guru & Disciple, Locanananda das, Spiritual Master
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, diksa, disciples, GBC, guru, initiations, Iskcon, July 9th Letter, Locanananda dasa, May 28th conversation, officiating acaryas, ritvik acarya, SB 1.13.15, spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Movement, Vidura
click on image to enlarge
This is a continuation from our previous post, The Spiritual Master a few days ago. This is a fascinating account by Sriman Locanananda Prabhu revealing his insights into the ‘guru issue’ in our ISKCON society today, from his own personal understanding, and his realizations of the instructions given by Srila Prabhupada shortly before his untimely departure. Our obeisances to him for sharing his personal recollections and realizations. [Note: some of the other comments were edited out so as not to distract from Locanananda Prabhu’s train of thought. You can follow the entire stream of comments by going to Prabhupada News
…Because the focus of every devotee’s efforts is to please Srila Prabhupada knowing him to be Krishna’s pure representative, we can understand that the officiating acarya’s function is to formalize the disciple’s connection with Srila Prabhupada and the disciplic succession by the giving of diksa.
… According to this correct understanding, the officiating acarya is not particularly empowered to take those he initiates back to Godhead. But if he is capable of acting as the transparent via medium to the founder acarya, he is certainly to be honored and shown great respect. However, so that Srila Prabhupada remains the central figure and worshipable spiritual master within the Hare Krishna movement, no other spiritual personality should become his competitor by exacting worship from disciples. It is the responsibility of the GBC to preserve this unique role as exclusively the position of Srila Prabhupada.
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22 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Nectar of Instruction, Practicing Krishna Consciousness at Home, The Nectar of Instruction
Tags: 6 kinds of devotional activities, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, accepting gifts, association of devotees, bhunkte bhojayate caiva, devotional activities, giving charity, honoring pradada, inquiring, love of God, openings one's mind
…Continuing with our series on the Nectar of Iststuction ( Upadeśāmṛta ). The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is conducted under the supervision of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, or Bengali Vaiṣṇavas, are mostly followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, of whom the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana are direct disciples. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī was the leader of all the Gosvāmīs, and to guide our activities he gave us this Upadeśāmṛta (The Nectar of Instruction) to follow.
“Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens.” Since Kṛṣṇa consciousness is inherent in every living entity, everyone should be given a chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa. Simply by hearing and chanting—śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam—one’s heart is directly purified, and one’s original Kṛṣṇa consciousness is immediately awakened. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not artificially imposed upon the heart, it is already there. When one chants the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the heart is cleansed of all mundane contamination.
The Nectar of Instruction
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Text 4
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21 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Book Distribution, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Free Downloads, Free eBooks, Prahlada-Nrsimha das
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, audio books, books by prabhupada, Facebook, free downloadable audio books, free downloads, free eBooks, free Krishna art, Krishna Path, Krishna Path Newsletter, Krsna The Reservoir of Pleasure, links
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Free downloadable Audio Books
From Krishna Path
Our friends over at Krishna Path have sent us their Newsletter with their new audio addition book for you to download for free! Krsna, the Reservoir of Pleasure.
You can go to their Free ebooks site and download a wide range of pre-1978 books by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. This is a very nice service.
They also have some new pages entitled Links and a Free Art Page
You can also visit them on Facebook
Check them out!
20 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Quotes by Srila Prabhupada, Vidura das
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Lord Caitanya, Prabhupada lectures, Prabhupada Letters, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada vani, vani, Vidura das
Śrīla Prabhupāda vāṇī
From Letters, Lectures, and Conversations
Submitted by Vidura Prabhu
“They say that you are all my disciples. So the guru is not on the scene. He has fled away and nobody knows where he is, but the Krishna consciousness program is going on. That was also going on during the time of Lord Caitanya. In South India He used to travel, and in a village He would meet some man and induce him to chant, and the man would become a devotee, and Lord Caitanya would go away, but still the man would continue to chant. So, I am not personally present, but still things are going on, and it is increasing. So the books are selling and we are expanding. This book distribution is the brihat mrdangam. It is the greater preaching.” (Letter to: Sri Govinda: — Bombay 6 December, 1974)
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18 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Diksha, Disciplic succession, Locanananda das, Siksa, Spiritual Master
Tags: devotional service, diksa, disciple, Founder Acarya, grand disciples, guru, Krishna's empowered emissary, Krishna's pure devotee, ritvik acarya, ritvik system of initiation, spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada
This is excerpted comment by Locanananda Prabhu at Prabhupada News on an article posted there by one of Srila Prabhupada’s personal servants, Gauridasa Pandita dasa, about the Ritvik order. Very nice comment.
The Spiritual Master
by Locanananda dasa
Srila Prabhupada is the eternal spiritual master of his followers and of all generations of followers still to come. His Divine Grace likened initiation to the admissions procedure at school. He said it was more or less a formality. He surely never wanted this initiation issue to divide his followers into different camps.
The essence of the process of devotional service is to surrender to the spiritual master. A disciple accepts the discipline taught by Krishna’s pure representative. He does not manufacture his own way. In that sense, followers are disciples, and Srila Prabhupada will deliver them to Krishna.
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18 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bob Cohen, Krsna Consciousness, Perfect Answers Perfect Questions
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bob Cohen, Hare Krishna Movement, perfect questions perfect answers, soul, spirit soul, spiritual development, Srila Prabhupada, the real goal of life
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Continuing with our series of a True account entitled Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers… A search for meaning carries Bob Cohen, a young American Peace Corps worker halfway around the world, to an ancient village in the midst of West Bengal. There, in a small bamboo hut, he finds a teacher who is able to tell him everything he ever wanted to know.
Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Three
The Real Goal of life
February 28, 1972 (continued)
Śrīla Prabhupāda: This movement is especially meant to enable a human being to reach the real goal of life.
Bob: The real goal… ?
Śrīla Prabhupāda: The real goal of life.
Bob: Is the real goal of life to know God?
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. To go back home, back to Godhead. That is the real goal of life. The water that comes from the sea forms clouds, the clouds fall down as rain, and the actual goal is to flow down the river and again enter the sea. So, we have come from God, and now we are embarrassed by material life. Therefore, our aim should be to get out of this embarrassing situation and go back home, back to Godhead. This is the real goal of life.
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17 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Braja Sevaki devi, Panca-Tattva
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Braja Sevaki devi, Deity, Mayapur, Panca-tattva, Pancha Tattva, scripuural guidelines, South Indian deity carvers
Precious Cargo
by Braja Sevaki Devi Dasi
Descendents of a long line of South Indian deity carvers cast the Panca-tattva deities according to strict scriptural guidelines.
As this year slid slowly into February and the cold mornings blurred into soft-sun days, winter began to shed its skin in Mayapur. The residents breathed a sigh of relief; weary from long months of heat and thick monsoon rain, they had welcomed the cold weather, but were now just as anxious for some sun-filled days with warm breezes. On a morning that woke lazily under a blanket of fog, an electric charge filled the atmosphere as word spread: “Sri Panca-tattva are coming today!”
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17 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Book Changes, Book Distribution, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Prahlada-Nrsimha das
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, book changes, Book Distribution, Facebook, Prahlada-Nrsimha das, Srila Prabhupada's original books
Below is a link that has been suggested we include from our site. We are strong proponents of making the Original Writings(books) of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada available again, and are urging the printing and distributing of all of Srila Prabhupada’s great original works, throughout the world. So with great pleasure we submit the following Facebook link.
https://www.facebook.com/Original.Books.of.Srila.Prabhupada
16 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Deena Bandhu das, Festivals, Kartika
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Damodar lila, Deena Bandhu das, Kartika, Kartika Parikrama schedule, month of Damodar, parikrama, Radharani, spiritual advancement, Sri Braja Dham, Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir, Srila Prabhupada, Vrindavan
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Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir Kartika Parikrama Schedule
by Deena Bandhu das
Kartika is glorified in the Puranas as very special for making spiritual advancement and the best place to be in Kartika is Sri Braja Dham. In fact this month is known as Damodar, since in the middle of this month, the Lord performed His very enchanting Damodar Lila. Kartika month also represents Radharani, and devotees perform special austerities to gain Her favor.
With great happiness in our hearts, we invite everyone to join in the auspicious Kartika Festival in Vrindavan. We have organized a wonderful variety of parikramas to the Holy Places of Krishna’s pastimes in Braja for all of you.
Almost daily, we will be going by bus leaving in the morning and returning in time for lunch around 3 PM, unless otherwise noted. Sometimes we will also join up with Lokanatha Swami’s Braja Mandala Parikrama and enjoy the association of the many devotees who will be wandering around Braja on foot. Tickets will be available from the newly renovated Welcome Center next to the temple, and all of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and accompanied family members are free!
The 17th of November is the Holy Disappearance Day Festival of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and we extend a warm invitation to all to come and commemorate this sacred occasion with us in Sri Vrindavan, where His Divine Grace is sitting in Samadhi. Leading up to this day, every evening, senior disciples will be relating their memories of Srila Prabhupada. One day before, we will take Srila Prabhupada in the very same palanquin from 1977 for a grand Sankirtan Procession past all the Goswami temples in Vrindavan.
Parikrama Schedule More
15 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in 108 Bhagavad-gita slokas, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Atmatattva das, Bhagavad-gita, Slokas
Tags: 108 bhagavad-gita slokas, 1972 MacMillian, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Atmatattva das, bhagavad-gita, bhakti sastri study guide, bhakti-sastri, Bhaktivedanta Academy, important slokas, original slokas., original translations, sloka
This is the list of 108 of the most important slokas from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is (1972 Macmillan Edition) by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The index to these verses was taken from the Bhakti-sastri Study Guide compiled by Atmatattva dasa as used by the Bhaktivedanta Academy in Mayapur. [*Note for this collection of slokas, we are using the Original Translations rather than the later re-vised Translations. These were the Translations that Srila Prabhupada approved and which were memorized by heart, by all of the early disciples of His Divine Grace.]
These are important verses for memorizing. Srila Prabhupada has said, that when you quote a verse, your argument becomes authoritative.
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15 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Book Changes, Book Distribution, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Free Downloads, Free eBooks, Srila Prabhupada's Books
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, causeless mercy, erregularly composed, free eBooks, krishna .org, Krishna Path, original Srimad Bhagavatam, Prabhupada books, pre-1978 edition, SB 1.5.11, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam. free download, tad-vag-bisargo, The Hare Krishna Movement, thoroughly honest men, transcendental literatures
Excerpted form Preface to Srimad Bhagavatam
I must admit my frailties in presenting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but still I am hopeful of its good reception by the thinkers and leaders of society on the strength of the following statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.11):
tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api
nāmāny anantasya yaśo ‘ṅkitāni yac
chṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ
“On the other hand, that literature which is full with descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, form and pastimes of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a transcendental creation meant to bring about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though irregularly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.”
Oṁ tat sat
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Dated at Delhi
December 15, 1962
To read online or for free download More
13 Oct 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhakti-latā-bīja, Devotional Service, Vaisnava-aparadha
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Autum, bhakti-latā-bīja, bija, devotional service, garden in autumn, gardener, hearing and chanting, kirtana, seed, seed of devotional service, sowing the seed in his heart, sravana
“When a person receives the seed of devotional service, he should take care of it by becoming a gardener and sowing the seed in his heart. If he waters the seed gradually by the process of śravaṇa and kīrtana [hearing and chanting], the seed will begin to sprout.
“As one waters the bhakti-latā-bīja, the seed sprouts, and the creeper gradually increases to the point where it penetrates the walls of this universe and goes beyond the Virajā River between the spiritual world and the material world. It attains brahma-loka, the Brahman effulgence, and, penetrating through that stratum, it reaches the spiritual sky and the spiritual planet Goloka Vṛndāvana.”
“Being situated in one’s heart and being watered by śravaṇa-kīrtana, the bhakti creeper grows more and more. In this way it attains the shelter of the desire tree of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally situated in the planet known as Goloka Vṛndāvana in the topmost region of the spiritual sky.”
“The creeper greatly expands in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet, and there it produces the fruit of love for Kṛṣṇa. Although remaining in the material world, the gardener regularly sprinkles the creeper with the water of hearing and chanting.
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