Last night I was having a discussion with a fellow vaisnava, and the following, important sloka, came up in the course of our conversation. I was reminded of a story that once Gurukrpa Swami asked Srila Prabhupada what was the most important sloka in our literature, and Srila Prabhupada responded:
yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)
I wanted to see how many times Srila Prabhupada used this sloka in his books and lectures so I went to Vani Quotes and did a search. It appears that this verse was used in:
Bhagavad-gita; 2 times Srimad Bhagavatam; 11 times Sri Caitanya-caritamrta; 12 times Lectures; 43 times Letters; 7 times Morning Walks and Conversations; 22 times Other books; twice
We share with you some of the the results of the Vani Quotes Research team, and thank Visnu Murti and Mayapur prabhu’s efforts.
Today I shall speak to you of the history of a boy devotee named Prahlāda Mahārāja. He was born in a family that was stubbornly atheistic. There are two kinds of men in this world: the demons and the demigods. What is the difference between them? The main difference is that the demigods, or godly persons, are devoted to the Supreme Lord, whereas the demons are atheistic. They do not believe in God because they are materialists. These two classes of men always exist in this world. At the present moment, due to the Age of Kali (Age of Quarrel), the number of demons has increased, but the classification has existed since the beginning of creation. The incident I am narrating to you occurred very, very long ago, a few million years after the time of creation.
Prahlāda Mahārāja was the son of the most atheistic person and the most materially powerful as well. Because the society was materialistic, this boy had no opportunity to glorify the Supreme Lord. The characteristic of a great soul is that he is very eager to broadcast glorification of the Supreme Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, for example, was very eager to broadcast the glorification of God, but demoniac people misunderstood him and crucified him.
This picture hangs in our temple room, not only is this one of my most favorite pictures from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, but this is one of the most nectarian chapters as well. I always marvel at how fortunate this Ramananda Raya is.
After embracing Rāmānanda Rāya, the Lord pacified him, informing him, “But for you, no one has ever seen this form.”
“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency [yogamāyā], and so they do not know Me, who am unborn and infallible.”
The Lord always reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone. The devotees, however, are always engaged in the service of the Lord, serving with the tongue by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and tasting mahā-prasāda. Gradually the sincere devotee pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Supreme Lord reveals Himself. One cannot see the Supreme Lord by making personal efforts. Rather, when the Lord is pleased by the service of a devotee, He reveals Himself.
This is a continuation from our previous post Drops of Nectar, and includes texts 279-289 from chapter eight of the Madhya-lila entitled “Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya”.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the personification of ecstatic love of Godhead. These two forms has combined as one in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This being the case, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed His real form to Rāmānanda Rāya.
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1975 Edition By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Madhya-līlā, Chapter 8, Text 279-289
One very important and enjoyable activity we can practice, is cooking and offering foodstuffs to Lord Krishna. The following are some instructions on cleanliness, ingredients, and prayers for offering. This is a nice way to practice Krishna Consciousness at home.
Prasadam How to Prepare and Offer Food
Food prepared for and offered to Krishna with love and devotion becomes completely spiritualized. Such food is called Krishna prasadam, which means “the mercy of Lord Krishna.”
Eating only food offered to Krishna is the perfection of vegetarianism. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna says that unless one eats only food that has been offered to Him in sacrifice, one will suffer the reactions of karma. He also states, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will accept it.”
We can offer Krishna foods prepared from milk products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains. Meat, fish and eggs are not offerable. And a few vegetarian items are also forbidden— garlic and onions, for example, which are in the mode of darkness. (Hing, or asafoetida, is a tasty substitute for them in cooking.) Nor can you offer Krishna coffee or tea.
In preparing food, cleanliness is the most important principle. Nothing impure should be offered to God, so keep your kitchen very clean. Always wash your hands thoroughly before entering the kitchen. While preparing food, do not taste it, for you are cooking the meal not for yourself but for the plea¬sure of Krishna. Arrange positions of the food on dinnerware kept especially for this purpose; no one but the Lord should eat from these dishes. The easiest way to offer food is simply to pray, “My dear Lord Krishna, please accept this food,” and to chant each of the following prayers three times while ringing a bell.
This morning I was thinking about our eternal nature, as spirit souls. People talk about the soul, but what really is the soul. It is our eternal life. So we are really Eternal Spirit Souls, trapped in a Temporary Material body. Kinda like a fish out of water. Srila Prabhupada uses this example many times. So I decided to cite a few examples.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: The Vedic injunction is that people are searching after knowledge, and that when one understands the Absolute Truth, he understands everything. People are trying to approach an objective, but they do not know that the final objective is Krsna. They are simply trying to make adjustments with so many materialistic revolutions. They have no knowledge that they are spiritual beings and that unless they go back to the spiritual world and associate with the Supreme Spirit, God, there is no question of happiness. We are like fish out of water. Just as a fish cannot be happy unless he is in the water, we cannot be happy apart from the spiritual world. We are part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, Krsna, but we have left His association and fallen from the spiritual world because of our desire to enjoy this material world. So unless we reawaken the understanding of our spiritual position and go back home to the spiritual world, we can never be happy. We can go on theorizing for many lifetimes, but we will only see one revolution after another. The old order changes, yielding its place to the new. Or in other words, history repeats itself. (from the “Journey of Self Discovery” chapter 7)
To cite an example I have given many times, if you take a fish out of water, you can give it a very comfortable velvet bedstead, but still the fish cannot be happy; it will die. Because the fish is an animal of the water, it cannot be happy without water. Similarly, we are all spirit soul; unless we are in spiritual life or in the spiritual world, we cannot be happy. That is our position. (“Krsna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga”)
Lord Krsna appears in every millennium, in various incarnations, to annihilate the demons, protect the devotees and reestablish the principles of religion. From upper left-hand corner: Lord Matsya, the fish incarnation; Lord Kurma, the tortoise incarnation; Lord Varaha, the boar incarnation; Lord Nrsimhadeva, the man-lion incarnation; Lord Vamana, the dwarf-brahmana incarnation; Lord Parasurama, the warrior incarnation; Lord Ramacandra; Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama; Lord Buddha; and Lord Kalki, who destroys all demons at the end of the millennium.
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium. (Bhagavada-gita As It Is 4.8)
I am so saddened by the news coming out of California. Such a tragic loss for so many. Beautiful homes and forests, lives lost, lives disrupted. Our hearts go out to all who have been affected by the utter devastation.
This morning as I was singing the morning prayers:
“The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as the cloud pours water on the forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master.” (Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam, Verse 1)
I was again reminded of the California Fires and how this material world is often compared to a forest fire in Srila Prabhupada’s books. From the small paperback book entitled “Elevation to Krsna Consciousness” we read:
This material world is often compared to a forest fire which takes place automatically. No one wants a forest fire, but there is often lightning, or carelessness, or friction, or whatever, and the fire immediately takes place. Similarly, this material world is beset with a blazing fire of problems. Everyone wants to live here peacefully, but situations develop in such a way that this is not possible for anyone. We struggle very hard to adjust things in so many ways, but nature’s laws are so cruel and dangerous that in spite of our hopes and plans the blazing fire of the problems of material existence continues.
Sri-Guru-Carana-Padma by Narottama dasa Thakura From Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
śrī-guru-caraṇa-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma, bando muñi sāvadhāna mate jāhāra prasāde bhāi, e bhava toriyā jāi, kṛṣṇa-prāpti hoy jāhā ha’te
The lotus feet of our spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I bow to his lotus feet with great awe and reverence. By his grace one can cross the ocean of material suffering and obtain the mercy of Krsna.
guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriya aikya, ār nā koriho mane āśā śrī-guru-caraṇe rati, ei se uttama-gati, je prasāde pūre sarva āśā
My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires.
He opens my darkened eyes and fills my heart with transcendental knowledge. He is my Lord birth after birth. From him ecstatic prema emanates; by him ignorance is destroyed. The Vedic scriptures sing of his character.
śrī-guru karuṇā-sindhu, adhama janāra bandhu, lokanāth lokera jīvana hā hā prabhu koro doyā, deho more pada-chāyā, ebe jaśa ghuṣuk tribhuvana
Our spiritual master is the ocean of mercy, the friend of the poor, and the lord and master of the devotees. O master! Be merciful unto me. Give me the shade of your lotus feet. Your fame is spread all over the three worlds.
I have been reading the Krsna Book lately, and just yesterday we were reading chapter 14 “Prayers Offered by Lord Brahma to Lord Krsna”, and I was reminded this was the last chapter Srila Prabhupada was working on in the Srimad Bhagavatam series before his passing. So I had another look at the Tenth Canto, part 3, and thought it a good idea to share it with all our readers.
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, before his untimely departure. We share it with you as a free PDF download. You can click on the above link to view the complete volume or save it to your computer.
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.
I remember on the morning of my initiation, 48+ years ago, my mind was completely disturbed. Srila Prabhupada was in New York for the big 1976 Rathayathra Festival, and I was there with the Radha Damodara Traveling Sankirtan Party. I had been traveling with the RDTSKP for the last year doing festivals and book distribution, and today right after the morning program I was about to get my first initiation. Like I said, my mind was disturbed. I was in total anxiety, never felt such terrible anxiety and doubt before. I wasn’t sure I could go through with it, wasn’t sure I could make such a serious promise. “I promise to chant 16 rounds and follow all 4 regulative principles.” I mean, I’m pretty sure I can follow some of the regulative principles, and chant some of my rounds every day, but 4 regs. and 16 rounds every day for the rest of my days, I don’t know?
“To chant the holy name always, one should be humbler than the grass in the street and devoid of all desire for personal honor, but one should offer others all respectful obeisances.
“A devotee engaged in chanting the holy name of the Lord should practice forbearance like that of a tree. Even if rebuked or chastised, he should not say anything to others to retaliate.
“For even if one cuts a tree, it never protests, and even if it is drying up and dying it does not ask anyone for water.
PURPORT
This practice of forbearance (tṛṇād api sunicena) is very difficult, but when one actually engages in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the quality of forbearance automatically develops. A person advanced in spiritual consciousness through the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra need not practice to develop it separately, for a devotee develops all good qualities simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra regularly.
“Thus a Vaisnava should not ask anything from anyone else. If someone gives him something without being asked, he should accept it, but if nothing comes, a Vaisnava should be satisfied to eat whatever vegetables and fruits are easily available.
“One should strictly follow the principle of always chanting the holy name, and one should be satisfied with whatever he gets easily. Such devotional behavior solidly maintains one’s devotional service.
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”
PURPORT
The grass is specifically mentioned in this verse because everyone tramples upon it yet the grass never protests. This example indicates that a spiritual master or leader should not be proud of his position; being always humbler than an ordinary common man, he should go on preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.
Sometime back I created this site https://prabhupadagita.com/ where I put the original Bhagavad-gita As It Is online. Anyone can quickly access this great book from their phone or laptop. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I had to laugh when I saw this posted on Facebook. But it is both beautiful and practical, and is good for the planet and the garden.
Horse-driven cart New Vrindaban
Can be used both for carrying goods and passengers…………
The carriage board should be balanced on the wheel beam and then it will be weightless for the horse who can then very swiftly draw the whole load without any difficulty. By this at least half ton of load or 10 passengers can be easily drawn.”
I have always enjoyed SrilaPrabhupada’s sense of humor.
Prabhupada: ”Krsna has got accountant. [laughter] He keeps nice account of the activities of His devotees.”……
Prabhupada: So one thing is guaranteed. If you engage in Krsna consciousness, and suppose you do not become perfectly mature, some way or other you fall down… We should not fall down. Because if we have got enthusiasm and patience, we shall not fall down. But suppose we fall down. There is nothing inauspicious, because whatever you have done sincerely, that is recorded in the book, in the Krsna’s book. Krsna has got accountant. [laughter] He keeps nice account of the activities of His devotees. That’s a fact. Just like the non devotees’ accounts are kept by Yamaraja for punishment, similarly, devotees’ accounts are kept by Krsna, personally. Unless He keeps account, how He says, “I respond to the devotee to the proportionate surrender”? The real business is surrender to Krsna. If we surrender immediately, cent percent, then Krsna also gives you the result immediately, cent percent. ( The Nectar of Devotion Lecture , October 20, 1972, Vrndavana)
Happy New Year! My first post of the New Year, an issue very dear to my heart, Cow Protection.
…The Srimad-Bhagavatam says the cow is an offenseless living being. It’s Krsna’s arrangement that the cow takes so little and gives so much. From her milk you can make hundreds of delicious preparations. She simply performs her service very peacefully without any bother to anyone.
Cow Protection – Practical Necessity for a Peaceful Society
(excerpted from Back to Godhead Magazine January 1976 Vol. 11, No. 1)
by Visakha-devi dasi
Speaking on the troubled condition of our modern world, the late historian Arnold Toynbee once said, “The cause of it [the world’s malady] is spiritual. We are suffering from having sold our souls to the pursuit of an objective which is both spiritually wrong and practically unobtainable. We have to reconsider our objective and change it. And until we do this, we shall not have peace, either amongst ourselves or within each of us.”
The conditions of our urbanized, technology-oriented society that prompted Dr. Toynbee’s remarks are no mystery to us. Especially in the West, and increasingly in the rest of the world, the mad quest for artificial luxuries has created a chaotic atmosphere pervaded by greed and power-seeking.
Today we honor His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s disappearance day. We are observing today with a half day fast, with beautiful offerings, a Pushpanjali (an offering of flowers) followed by a feast
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day homage by Vyasasan das
Dear Srila Prabhupada
Please accept my fallen obeisance’s, and my love, on this auspicious day of your disappearance. With your arrival on the shores of America, you brought with you the shinning lamp of knowledge; the wisdom on India and the Supreme Absolute Truth. You appeared on the shores of America the way the sun appears on the Eastern Horizon. Slowly revealing itself at first, then dominating the sky with its blazing effulgence. Illuminating the entire world with its golden light. Where there is light there is no darkness. And wherever your words are being sung and repeated, there is a glimmer of hope for the materially conditioned souls.
Your words and instructions are the very life and soul of a genuine disciple. It is said that the best process of understanding Krishna is to hear about Him, either from Krishna Himself as given in statements from the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, or from the self realized pure devotee. One does not even need to change his worldly position; he simply has to hear the message of Krishna.
It is from you only, Srila Prabhupada, that I know anything at all about Krishna or the spiritual world. By your grace only, the knowledge is revealed, and you become revealed to your disciples and listeners. Anyone who submissively hears from you, either by reading your books, or hearing your lectures, can attain the highest perfectional platform. Just as there is the sun and the sunshine, so, there is Krishna and Krishna’s pure representative. When we feel the sunshine, we know the sun is there, and when we hear from you, we know that Krishna is there.
(All glories to the ācārya Oṁ Viṣṇu-pāda 108 Tridaṇḍī Gosvāmī A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who travels everywhere, preaching the glories of Hari, and who is situated on the highest platform of sannyāsa.)
(All glories to the ācārya Oṁ Viṣṇu-pāda 108 Tridaṇḍī Gosvāmī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda, who travels across the earth, preaching the glories of Hari, and who is situated on the highest platform of sannyāsa.)
ananta-kotivaishnava-vrinda—kī jaya.
(All glories to the unlimited millions of devotees of Lord Krishna.)
nāmācārya śrīla haridāsa ṭhākura—kī jaya.
(All glories to the Nāmācārya Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura.)
Today we are in Toronto celebrating the Appearance day of Srimati Radharani, and the 51st anniversary of the installation of Sri Sri Radha Ksira-chora Gopinatha. We share with you a few words from the “Nectar of Devotion” by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
The Beauty of Srimati Radharani
In describing Srimati Radharani, it is also said in the Vidagdha-madhava by Rupa Gosvami, “The beauty of Srimati Radharani’s eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold in a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening Vrindavana.”
“Although the effulgence of the moon is brilliant initially at night, in the daytime it fades away. Similarly, although the lotus is beautiful during the daytime, at night it closes. But, O My friend, the face of My most dear Srimati Radharani is always bright and beautiful, both day and night. Therefore, to what can Her face be compared””
“When Srimati Radharani smiles, waves of joy overtake Her cheeks, and Her arched eyebrows dance like the bow of Cupid. Her glance is so enchanting that it is like a dancing bumblebee, moving unsteadily due to intoxication. That bee has bitten the whorl of My heart.”
So today we honor Lord Sri Krishna’s appearance day with a full day fast, followed by a small feast after His appearance at midnight. We will try to increase our remembrance of Him by additional chanting and reading ,and singing His glories.
The following is the entire third chapter from the Krsna Book entitled “The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa”.
…As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that His appearance, birth, and activities, are all transcendental, and one who understands them factually becomes immediately eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord’s appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds. The Lord’s appearance is explained in the Second Chapter: He appears out of His own sweet pleasure. When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the star known as Rohiṇī was also predominant because this star is considered to be very auspicious. Rohiṇī is under the direct supervision of Brahmā. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious. ( from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Chapter 3)