humility | The Hare Krishna Movement

George Harrison Speaks About Srila Prabhupada

25 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chanting Hare Krishna, George Harrison, humble, Krsna Consciousness, Sriman George Harrison, Uncategorized Tags: Chanting Hare Krishna, faith, George Harrison, God, Hare Krishna, humility, India, Krishna, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada

George Harrison:

“I liked Prabhupada’s humbleness. I always liked his humility and his simplicity. The servant of the servant of the servant is really what it is, you know. None of us are God—just His servants. He just made me feel so comfortable. I always felt very relaxed with him, and I felt more like a friend. I felt that he was a good friend. Even though he was at the time seventy-nine years old, working practically all through the night, day after day, with very little sleep, he still didn’t come through to me as though he was a very highly educated intellectual being, because he had a sort of childlike simplicity. Which is great, fantastic. Even though he was the greatest Sanskrit scholar and a saint, I appreciated the fact that he never made me feel uncomfortable. In fact, he always went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I always thought of him as sort of a lovely friend, really, and now he’s still a lovely friend.

“That was the thing about Prabhupada, you see. He didn’t just talk about loving Krishna and getting out of this place, but he was the perfect example. He talked about always chanting, and he was always chanting. I think that that in itself was perhaps the most encouraging thing for me. It was enough to make me try harder, to be just a little bit better. He was a perfect example of everything he preached.

In A Humble State of Mind

09 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caaitanya-caritamrta, humble, Uncategorized Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Caitanya Caritamrta, Hare Krishna, humble, humility, India, Krishna, more-tolerant-than-a-tree, spirituality

“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.

(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 17.26-31)

Everyone Should Be Very Humble

20 Jan 2017 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Lectures, Uncategorized Tags: 2017 Presidental inauguration, A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Ascot England, everyone should be humble, humility, Srila Prabhupada lectures, Tittenhurst Park

With today being the 2017 Presidential Inauguration, this instruction by Srila Prabhupada, “Everyone should be very humble”

seems like timely advice.

… Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others. The material conception of life makes us very eager to receive honor from others, but from the point of view of a man in perfect knowledge-who knows that he is not this body-anything, honor or dishonor, pertaining to this body is useless. One should not be hankering after this material deception. People are very anxious to be famous for their religion, and consequently sometimes it is found that without understanding the principles of religion, one enters into some group, which is not actually following religious principles, and then wants to advertise himself as a religious mentor. As for actual advancement in spiritual science, one should have a test to see how far he is progressing. He can judge by these items. (from purport Bhagavad-gita As It Is 13.8-12)

Knowledge

12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, Absolute Truth, approaching a fona fide spiritual master, Bg 13.8-12, bhagavad-gita, cleanliness, humility, knowledge, nonviolence, pridelessness, renunciation, self-control, sense gratification, simplicity, steadiness, tolerance

Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth-all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.

Full text and purport More

Srila Prabhupada: Epitome of Humility

23 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Devotee's, Quotes by Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada, Virupaksha das Tags: commander in chief of Lord Chatanya's army, humility, pure spiritual master, spiritual master of the whole world, Srila Prabhupada Epitome of Humility, Virupaksha dasa

Srila Prabhupada: Epitome of Humility
By: Excerpts from the teachings of Srila Prabhupada Compiled by Virupaksha Dasa

The manner in which Srila Prabhupada exhibited the opulence of modesty and humility is beyond compare. In spite of being the spiritual master of the whole world, the confidential associate of the Supreme Lord Krishna, the greatest personality on the surface of the earth, commander-in-chief of Lord Chaitanya’s army, and so much more… still Srila Prabhupada always showed us how humble a pure spiritual master is, even though he controls the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. As an acharya Srila Prabhupada taught everything by his own example.

As Srila Prabhupada says, “The symptoms of a devotee are meekness and humility. Although spiritually very advanced, he will always remain meek and humble, as Kaviraja Gosvami and all the other Vaishnavas have taught us by personal example.” Prabhupada also says in another place, “The more one advances spiritually, the more humble one becomes.” The spiritual master is the most advanced devotee and thus the most humble.
The following is a collection of Srila Prabhupada’s expressions on humility.

My dear Lord Krishna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me. ”But I guess You have some business here, otherwise why would You bring me to this terrible place?… But I know Your causeless mercy can make everything possible because You are the most expert mystic. How will they understand the mellows of devotional service? O Lord, I am simply praying for Your mercy so that I will be able to convince them about Your message.
(Markine Bhagavat-dharma)