He lives forever by his divine instructions, and the follower lives with him.
These are not ordinary books. It is recorded chanting. Anyone who reads, he is hearing. (Letter to Rupanuga Das, 19/10/74)
Regarding parampara system, there is nothing to wonder for big gaps. […]We have to pick up the prominent acaryas and follow from him. (Letter to Dayananda, 12/4/68)
My wife shared this with me from Facebook. It is a very nice compilation of quotes answering the question: Does the Guru have to be physically present?
Srila Prabhupada on Vapu and Vani
Physical presence is immaterial. Presence of the transcendental sound received from the Spiritual Master should be the guidance of life. That will make our spiritual life successful. If you feel very strongly about my absence you may place my pictures on my sitting places and this will be source of inspiration for you. (Letter to Brahmananda and other students, 19/1/67)
But always remember that I am always with you. As you are always thinking of me, I am always thinking of you also. Although physically we are not together, we are not separated spiritually. So we should be concerned only with this spiritual connection.(Letter to Gaurasundara, 13/11/69)
Recently, I ran across this song “Gopi Gita”, which is a 19-verse devotional song Composed by Sage Vyasa as part of the Bhagavata Purana. Turns out it is basically verses 1-19 from the Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10, chapter 31. I don’t know if it is a bonafide song, as it is not in our “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas” songbook. And Srila Prabhupada didn’t get to Canto 10, Chapter 31, in his translations before his passing. He did however Give us “KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead“, sowe have the entire song in one beautiful chapter.
KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead – 1970 Edition
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Songs by the Gopis
Chapter 31
One gopī said, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, ever since You took Your birth in this land of Vrajabhūmi, everything appears to be glorious. The land of Vṛndāvana has become glorious, and it is as if the goddess of fortune is personally always existing here. But it is only we who are very unhappy, because we are searching for You, but cannot see You with our greatest effort. Our life is completely dependent upon You; therefore we request that You again come to us.”
I have been thinking about this for some time now, that we mostly think of ‘Lust’, in sexual terms. But, there are many forms of lust. Lust for money, lust for power, lust for violence and hatered, lust for material possessions, etc. But in all these forms of Lust, Love is missing.
Srila Prabhupada uses this word ‘lust’ in many references, through out his lectures, conversations, letters, and his many books.
Just out of curiosity, I went toVanipediaand typed in the word lust in search bar, and 1,532 records came up.
In the Bhagavad-gita Arjuna asked this very important question of Krishna:
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vrsni, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force? (Bg 3.36)
And Krishna replied:
The Blessed Lord said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world. (Bg 3.37)
Srila Prabhupada referred to lust as “the disease of the heart”.
Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krsna By: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness
On September 13, 1965, Srila Prabhupada wrote the following prayer on board the Jaladuta steamship bound for America.
I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krsna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.
Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, who is very dear to Lord Gauranga, the son of mother Saci, is unparalleled in his service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. He is that great saintly spiritual master who bestows intense devotion to Krsna at different places throughout the world.
By his strong desire, the holy name of Lord Gauranga will spread throughout all the countries of the Western world. In all the cities, towns and villages on the earth, from all the oceans, seas, rivers and streams, everyone will chant the holy name of Krsna.
As the vast mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu conquers all directions, a flood of transcendental ecstacy will certainly cover the land. When all the sinful, miserable living entities become happy, the Vaisnava’s desire is then fulfilled.
Although my Guru Maharaja ordered me to accomplish this mission, I am not worthy or fit to do it. I am very fallen and insignificant. Therefore, O Lord, now I am begging for Your mercy so that I may become worthy, for You are the wisest and most experienced of all.
If You bestow Your power, by serving the spiritual master one attains the Absolute Truth — one’s life becomes successful. If that service is obtained, then one becomes happy and gets Your association due to good fortune.
evam janam nipatitam prabhavahikupe kamabhikamam anu yah prapatan prasangat krtvatmasat surarsina bhagavan grhitah so ‘ham katham nu visrje tava bhrtya-sevam
“My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Narada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instucted me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service?” (Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nrsimhadeva, Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.9.28)
O Lord Krsna, You are my eternal companion. Forgetting You, I have suffered the kicks of maya birth after birth. If today the chance to meet You occurs again, then I will surely be able to rejoin You.
O dear friend, in Your company I will experience great joy once again. In the early morning I will wander about the cowherd pastures and fields. Running and frolicking in the many forests of Vraja, I will roll on the ground in spiritual ecstacy. O when will that day be mine?
Today that remembrance of You came to me in a very nice way. Because I have a great longing I called to You. I am Your eternal servant and therefore I desire Your association so much. O Lord Krsna, except for You there is no other means of success.
Today as I was driving home from the hospital, (I had some blood drawn), this question popped into my mind: “What is life?”. I saw some patients there, which appeared on the verge of death. I thought of my own mortality, we are born, live for sometime, and eventually die. So what is this life?
Just for fun I asked Google this question ‘what is life’ and got this ridiculous answer: “Life is the quality or condition that distinguishes living organisms (plants, animals, humans, and microorganisms) from inorganic matter and dead bodies. (Google search) I almost laughed out loud. Oh ya, that really tells me everything.
Then I remembered a book “Life comes from Life” that was published by the BBT back in 1979, based on morning walks by Srila Prabhupada.
“…This book is based on taped morning-walk conversations that Śrīla Prabhupāda had with some of his disciples during 1973, in the Los Angeles area. On those mornings when he focused on science, Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke mainly with his disciple Thoudam D. Singh, Ph.D. An organic chemist, Dr. Singh had directed the Bhaktivedanta Institute, an international center for advanced study and research in science, philosophy and theology.” (from forward)
I never really read that book, because my mind was not scientifically inclined. But from the Bhagavad-gita I learned these verses:
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)
“Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one can be freed from all undesirable habits. This is the means of awakening all good fortune and initiating the flow of waves of love for Kṛṣṇa. (Cc Antya 20.11)
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most recent incarnation of Krsna. He appeared 500 years ago in Bengal, in the form of Krsna’s devotee, in the mood of Srimati Radharani. He left only eight slokas (verses) of His instructions in writing. They describe the glories of the holy names of the Lord and the mood one must have to chant and to be a devotee.
The Sri Siksastakam is a collection of eight sanskrit verses written by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1535), the founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. In Sanskrit, śikṣā means “instruction” and aṣṭaka means “consisting of eight parts”.
These verses represent the primary written teachings left by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and focus heavily on the practice, philosophy, and spiritual effects of the congregational chanting (sankirtana) of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
What I found interesting, when reading these verses from the Caitanya-caritamrta, is how the wording is different from the way we all learned it from “The Songs of the Vaisnava Acharya” songbook. The same but different.
“Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step. (Cc Antya 20.12)
Purport
This is the first verse of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Śikṣāṣṭaka. The other seven verses are found in texts 16, 21, 29, 32, 36, 39 and 47.
“My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as Kṛṣṇa and Govinda, by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting. (Cc Antya 20.16)
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord. (Cc Antya 20.21)
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord. (Cc Antya 20.29)
“Oh, My Lord, O Kṛṣṇa, son of Mahārāja Nanda, I am Your eternal servant, but because of My own fruitive acts, I have fallen in this horrible ocean of nescience. Now please be causelessly merciful to Me. Consider Me a particle of dust at Your lotus feet. (Cc Antya 20.32)
“My dear Lord, when will My eyes be beautified by filling with tears that constantly glide down as I chant Your holy name? When will My voice falter and all the hairs on My body stand erect in transcendental happiness as I chant Your holy name? (Cc Antya 20.36)
“My Lord Govinda, because of separation from You, I consider even a moment a great millennium. Tears flow from My eyes like torrents of rain, and I see the entire world as void. (Cc Antya 20.39)
“Let Kṛṣṇa tightly embrace this maidservant, who has fallen at His lotus feet. Let Him trample Me or break My heart by never being visible to Me. He is a debauchee, after all, and can do whatever He likes, but He is still no one other than the worshipable Lord of My heart. (Cc Antya 20.47)
Commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda: Lecture Excerpt — Bombay, November 7, 1970
“Love of Godhead is the ultimate benediction for all human beings.”
…The laws of material nature are so strong that none of our material possessions can save us from the cruel hands of death.
…one who is actually advancing must always consider the four principles of miserable life, namely, birth, death, old age and disease. One cannot be saved from all these miseries unless he takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore the only shelter for all conditioned souls. An intelligent person, therefore, does not put his faith in any material possessions, but completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. (from purport Adi-lila 7.1)
I have always enjoyed this pastime of Srimati Radharani’s talks with the Bumblebee. Every time I see a bumblebee in my garden I am reminded of these talks.
The pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are uncommonly full of transcendental potency. It is a characteristic of such pastimes that they do not fall within the jurisdiction of experimental logic and arguments. (Cc. Antya 19.103)
When transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa awakens in one’s heart, even a learned scholar cannot comprehend one’s activities. (Cc. Antya 19.104)
“The activities and symptoms of that exalted personality in whose heart love of Godhead has awakened cannot be understood even by the most learned scholar.” (Cc. Antya 19.105)
The evidence of the truth of these talks is found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There, in the section of the Tenth Canto known as the Bhramara-gītā, “the Song to the Bumblebee,” Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī speaks insanely in ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. (Cc. Antya 19.107)
Just try to hear these topics with faith, for there is great pleasure even in hearing them. That hearing will destroy all miseries pertaining to the body, mind and other living entities, and the unhappiness of false arguments as well. (Cc. Antya 19.110)
The Song to the Bumblebee
When Uddhava arrived from Mathurā carrying a message for the gopīs, the gopīs began talking about Kṛṣṇa and crying. Then one important gopī saw a bumblebee and began speaking to it like someone mad, thinking that the bee was a messenger of Uddhava’s or was someone very dear to him and Kṛṣṇa. The verses are as follows:
“My dear bumblebee, you are a very cunning friend of Uddhava and Kṛṣṇa. You are very expert in touching people’s feet, but I am not going to be misled by this. You appear to have sat on the breasts of one of Kṛṣṇa’s friends, for I see that you have kuṅkuma dust on your mustache. Kṛṣṇa is now engaged in flattering all His young girl friends in Mathurā. Therefore, now that He can be called a friend of the residents of Mathurā, He does not need the help of the residents of Vṛndāvana. He has no reason to satisfy us gopīs. Since you are the messenger of such a person as He, what is the use of your presence here? Certainly Kṛṣṇa would be ashamed of your presence in this assembly.”
How has Kṛṣṇa offended the gopīs so that they want to reject Him from their minds? The answer is given as follows:
Today we celebrate the Appearance of Lord Vamanadeva, the fifteenth Incarnation, wherin Krsna assumed the form of a dwarf brahmana.
“In the fifteenth incarnation, the Lord assumed the form of a dwarf-brāhmaṇa [Vāmana]…” (SB 1.19.19)
The following is a chapter summary from Srimad Bhagavatam, eight canto, chapter 18, entitled “Lord Vāmanadeva, the Dwarf Incarnation”, describing the Lord’s appearance and activities, and a verse from the First Canto.
Srimad-Bhagavatam By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Canto One, Chapter 19, Text 19
pañcadaśam—the fifteenth in the line; vāmanakam—the dwarf brāhmaṇa; kṛtvā—by assumption of; agāt—went; adhvaram—arena of sacrifice; baleḥ—of King Bali; pada-trayam—three steps only; yācamānaḥ—begging; pratyāditsuḥ—willing at heart to return; tri-piṣṭapam—the kingdom of the three planetary systems.
TRANSLATION
In the fifteenth incarnation, the Lord assumed the form of a dwarf-brāhmaṇa [Vāmana] and visited the arena of sacrifice arranged by Mahārāja Bali. Although at heart He was willing to regain the kingdom of the three planetary systems, He simply asked for a donation of three steps of land.
PURPORT
The Almighty God can bestow upon anyone the kingdom of the universe from a very small beginning, and similarly, He can take away the kingdom of the universe on the plea of begging a small piece of land.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Canto 8, Chapter 18
Lord Vāmanadeva, the Dwarf Incarnation
This chapter describes how Lord Vāmanadeva appeared and how He went to the sacrificial arena of Mahārāja Bali, who received Him well and fulfilled His desire by offering Him benedictions.
Today is the Apperancee Day of Our Beloved Spiritual Master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. We offer our profound gratitude and respectful obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Vyasa-Puja: The Most Blessed Event
Dear Srila Prabhupada
So today, on this Most Blessed day, Your Appearance day celebration, Please accept my humble obeisances again and again, and kindly forgive my offenses.
On this auspicious day I have come with this offering just to worship you. On this day, and every day, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and wonder. I cannot even imagine where my life would be today, if you had not appeared and blessed us all with your divine mercy.
The fact that you have always resided in my heart, and have been my most constant friend and ever well-wisher, even without your physical presence, proves our eternal relationship with you. So many friends and family have come and gone, but you Srila Prabhupada, have remained in my life as the one constant in my life, I could always turn to.
You are present in your vani; your books and instructions. You are present still in your pictures and murti’s. You live in the hearts of your sincere devotees. You have touched us all so deeply; we cannot help but remember you. Srila Prabhupa, I am most unworthy to have received your mercy, and because of knowing my insignificance, it has caused me to be even more grateful and appreciative of your blessings.
“Indeed, I am just like a dwarf who wants to capture the moon. Although I am completely unfit, a desire to receive Your mercy is awakening within my mind.”
In writing this homage, I am reminded of a dream I had recently. In my dream you were reclining on your right side, propped up on your elbow and I was kneeling down in front of you. I said “Srila Prabhupada, my Krsna Consciousness is still very child-like”. Your face lit up and your Lotus eyes became very large.“Oh!” You said. “Sometimes when I see your picture, I began to cry” I replied. You leaned forward and very gravely but kindly said, “Yes, it is alright to have love and affection for your Spiritual Master”. I awoke from the dream and offered my obeisances thinking of your extraordinary magnanimity and kindness and your ability to ease our suffering and allow us to love you even more.
So on this Most Blessed day, Your Appearance day celebration, Please accept my humble obeisance again and again, kindly forgive my offenses, and continue to guide me as my captain with your books as maps, to steer me through the rough waters of this dangerous age of Kali
Begging to remain your eternal servant Vyasasan das
It is interesting how the “Back to Godhead Magazine”, has changed and evolved over the years, since its early conception to the present day. We are going to explore some of these changes.
Back to Godhead
The Magazine of The Hare Krishna Movement
Back to Godhead magazine (BTG) was Srila Prabhupada’s first step towards fulfilling his Guru’s (Bhaktisiddhanta) order to preach Krishna consciousness in English. In February 1944 His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada published the first issue of BACK TO GODHEAD magazine. At his home in Calcutta, he wrote the articles, typed the manuscripts, and designed a logo essentially the same logo used on the covers of BACK TO GODHEAD today: an effulgent Lord Caitanya, shining light upon the souls of this world.
“From his front room at 6 Sita Kanta Banerjee, Abhay (as Srila Prabhupada was known) conceived, wrote, edited, and typed the manuscript for His magazine. He designed a logo, arranged in the style of a banner across the top of the page. In the upper left-hand corner was Lord Chaitanya, effulgent with rays of light, like rays from the sun. In the lower right were silhouettes of a crowd of people, in darkness but groping to receive light from Lord Chaitanya. And between Lord Chaitanya and the people, the title “BACK TO GODHEAD” appeared. In the lower right corner was a picture of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati seated at his writing, looking up thoughtfully as he composed. Above the logo ran the motto ‘Godhead is Light, Nescience is darkness. Where there is Godhead there is no Nescience.'”
Srila Prabhupada’s design for his Back to Godhead magazine
Although the logo went through several changes over the years, today it still matches Srila Prabhupada’s original idea. New color artwork of Lord Chaitanya and the people facing him replaced the original black and white design. The only difference is that by the desire of his disciples Srila Prabhupada, rather than his spiritual master (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati), now sits across from Lord Chaitanya.
Everyday when I offer my obeisances and prayers,I recite them in Sanskrit. However, I don’t dream in Sanskrit, and I don’t think in Sanskrit. I think or contemplate, meditate in English. So I often say the prayers or obeisances in English in my mind, while I recite the Sanskrit.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupalda, who is very dear to Lord Krsna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
“I offer me respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other incarnation, even Krsna Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given – pure love of Krsna”
“I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Absolute Truth, Krsna, who is the well-wisher of the cows and brahmanas, as well as the living entities in general. I offer my repeated obeisances to Govinda, who is the pleasure reservoir for all the senses”
I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.
O my dear Krsna, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherdsmen and the lover of the gopis, especially Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You”.
“I offer my respects unto Srimati Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krsna”.
“All Glories to LordSri Krishna Chaitanya,Lord Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Sri Gadadhara, Sri Srivas, and all the vaisnava devotes of the Lord“
“O Srimati Radharani, O all attractive reservoir of pleasure, Lord Sri Krsna, please engage me in your loving devotional service “
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
These are some of the prayers I ‘try’ to say daily, for the full prayers with the full Roman Transliteration please go to:
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?”
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
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?
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.
Yesterday I was reading from the Srimad Bhagavatam, and there was something from the purport that caught my attention, and had me read and re-read the purport many times.
As a cow, bound through the nose by a long rope, is conditioned, so also human beings are bound by different Vedic injunctions and are conditioned to obey the orders of the Supreme. (SB 1.13.42)
Every living being, whether a man or an animal or a bird, thinks that he is free by himself, but actually no one is free from the severe laws of the Lord. The laws of the Lord are severe because they cannot be disobeyed in any circumstance. The man-made laws may be evaded by cunning outlaws, but in the codes of the supreme lawmaker there is not the slightest possibility of neglecting the laws…
… The statutory laws of the state are imperfect imitation replicas of religious codes. The secular state, or the godless state, allows the citizens to break the laws of God, but restricts them from disobeying the laws of the state; the result is that the people in general suffer more by breaking the laws of God than by obeying the imperfect laws made by man…
…The factual position of the living being is, however, that he is the eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord…
…But in the conditioned material world, every living being wants to be the Lord of other living beings, and thus by the illusion of māyā this mentality of lording it over becomes a cause of further extension of conditional life. (from Purport)
I think of the sad state of the world today, where Gods laws are being broken. There are slaughter houses for animals, where billions of living creatures are cruelly murdered every day, there is mass genocide taking place in the Middle East and other parts of the world where humans are killed or left homeless. Where people are controlled by dictators, warlords, and unscrupulous leaders. Again I am reminded of “Mans inhumanity to man and beast”. Breaking the laws of God, can only result in more suffering for the living conditioned souls.
…God is available. and we can associate with Him according to our choice. The ability to choose, or our conscience, is given to us in the human form so we can utilize it. All the ingredients are there for us to cross the ocean of birth and death. This human body is a very nice boat, and we have a very good navigator, the spiritual master. We also have a very favorable wind the instructions of God. So we should take our chance and cross the ocean of birth and death. We can say, “Now here is an opportunity. Take it and be saved from birth, old age, disease, and death.” but if you don’t take advantage, what can we do?
…Man is the architect of his own destiny. In other words, our future destiny depends on our present action. This life is an opportunity to improve our next life, back to Godhead.
A Choice of Destinies
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada speaks with Jon Nordheimer of the New York Times in a conversation recorded in September 1972 at New Vrindaban.
Full conversation
Srila Prabhupada: When we speak of Krsna, we mean God. Everyone has some vague idea of God, hut no clear idea. Therefore God descends to show what He is. If we speculate on God, someone will think one thing and another person will think another. This is the result of speculation. But if God Himself comes and shows Himself as He is and speaks about Himself, that is perfect knowledge. This Krsna consciousness movement is spreading that message.
In Bhagavad-gita, God Himself is speaking about Himself: I am like this; My form is like this; My activities are like this; My address is this and that. If you like, you can come back to Me. There is no restriction-everyone can come to Me.” All this information is there in Bhagavad-gita, where God speaks about Himself and presents Himself as He is. We have simply to take that information; then we can understand Him. And when we understand God. Krsna, we can go back to Him. It is a very simple thing. Krsna says.
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so ‘rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My .appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body. take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode. O Arjuna.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.9]
So God is there; that’s a fact. Anyone can go back to Him and live an eternal life full of bliss and knowledge simply by knowing about it. When God Himself comes, all great acaryas, stalwart men, accept Him: “Yes, He is God.” If we simply understand God, we make a solution to all our problems.
I have often pondered this question that Arjuna asks Krishna:
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force? (Bg. 3.36)
And Krishna answers:
The Blessed Lord said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world. (Bg. 3.37)
A living entity, as part and parcel of the Supreme, is originally spiritual, pure, and free from all material contaminations. Therefore, by nature he is not subjected to the sins of the material world. But when he is in contact with the material nature, he acts in many sinful ways without hesitation, and sometimes even against his will. As such, Arjuna’s question to Kṛṣṇa is very sanguine, as to the perverted nature of the living entities. Although the living entity sometimes does not want to act in sin, he is still forced to act. Sinful actions are not, however, impelled by the Supersoul within, but are due to another cause, as the Lord explains in the next verse. (from purport)
further explained:
…When a living entity comes in contact with the material creation, his eternal love for Kṛṣṇa is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion.
…Therefore, lust is the greatest enemy of the living entity, and it is lust only which induces the pure living entity to remain entangled in the material world.
