The Hare Krishna Movement

I had to laugh, this came up on my Whats Up App. I followed this with some quotes from Srila Prabhupada on the definition of Paramahamsa.

“We are such lucky souls! Prabhupada was giving class and began to define Paramahamsa and their qualities: swanlike men who are so spiritually exalted that they appear like swans among the ravens and crow-like men. Then he looked at the devotees sitting in front of him and smiled his smile and he said, “And who knows, among you there may be some Paramahamsa’s. And, then he gave an even bigger smile that included all of us and said, “And, the rest of you are just lucky ducks.”

The word paramahaṁsa mentioned here means “the supreme swan.” It is said that the swan can draw milk from a mixture of milk and water; it can take only the milk portion and reject the watery portion. Similarly, a person who can draw out the spiritual portion from this material world and who can live alone, depending only on the Supreme Spirit, not on the material world, is called a paramahaṁsa. When one achieves the paramahaṁsa platform, he is no longer under the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions. A paramahaṁsa accepts only the association of pure devotees and rejects others, who are too much materially addicted. In other words, those who are materially addicted cannot understand the value of the paramahaṁsa, but those who are fortunate—who are advanced in a spiritual sense—take shelter of the paramahaṁsa and successfully complete the mission of human life. (Krsna Book Chapter 85)

So paramahaṁsa means one who has taken the essence of the existence, Absolute Truth, he is called paramahaṁsa. (1975 Morning Walk Conversation)

Prabhupāda: One who has come to this conclusion, he is called paramahaṁsa. Haṁsa means swan. A swan, it has got a quality that if you give the swan to drink milk mixed with water, she will drink the milk and reject the water. She has got the capacity. So paramahaṁsa means one who has taken the essence of the existence, Absolute Truth, he is called paramahaṁsa. (Conversation with Professor Hopkins July 13, 1975, Philadelphia)

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness society is the swans, paramahaṁsa. Haṁsa. Haṁsa means swan. Haṁsa, this example is given because the swan knows the technique how to take milk out of water. You give the swan milk and water, it will take the milk portion and give it up the water portion. Similarly a swan, a haṁsa, paramahaṁsa, means in this human form of life, one who takes the spiritual portion of life and rejects the material portion of life, he is called haṁsa, paramahaṁsa. (Purport to Bhajahu Re Mana Los Angeles May 27, 1972)