06 Dec 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Radha Madhava, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, braja-jana-ranjana, giri-vara-dhari, gopi-jana-vallabha, Govardhana Hill, Krishna, kunja, Radha-Madhava, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, Sri Radha Madhava, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Prabhupada, Srimati Radharani, tira, vana
Jaya Radha Madhava
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
with Purport by Srila Prabhupada
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī
gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana
yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī
Translation
from the 1974 Edition of “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas”
Sri Rādhā-Mādhava have their loving pastimes in the groves (kuñja) of Vrndavana. Gopī-jana-vallabha means “one who attracts and reciprocates loving pastimes with the gopis. Giri-vara-dhārī is Krishna’s name in the pastime of lifting Goverdhana Hill. Yaśodā-nandana is the son of Yasoda (“nanda” means son and is also the name of Krishna’s father, so Krishna is also Nanda-nandana). Braja-jana-rañjana means the attractive darling of the inhabitants of Vrndavana. He is always playing in the groves (vana) on the bank (tira) of the Yamuna River, therefore Krishna is also known as Yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī.
Srila Prabhupada was very fond of this song and sang it just before his lectures. In Allahabad and Gorakhpur Srila Prabhupada fell into a trance after singing the first two lines, and after some time he came back into external consciousness and said, “Now just chant Hare Krsna.” Srila Prabhupada said that this song is “a picture of Vrndavana. Everything is there–Srimati Radharani, Vrndavana, Govardhana, Yasoda, and all the cowherd boys.”
Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada More
05 Dec 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krsna Consciousness, Practicing Krishna Consciousness at Home, The Hare Krishna Movement
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhakti yoga, devotees, Hare Krishna Movement, Krishna, Krishna consciousness, philosophy of the Hare Krishna Movement, science of devotional service. God, spiritual master, Srimad Bhagavatam, Srtila Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Movement
click on above image to buy Srila Prabhupada’s original books
A Short Statement of the Philosophy of the Hare Krishna Movement
The Hare Krishna Movement is a worldwide community of devotees practicing bhakti-yoga, the eternal science of loving service to God. The movement was founded in the western world in 1966 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a pure devotee of God representing an unbroken chain of spiritual masters originating with Lord Krsna Himself.
Although the Movement has changed in many ways since the physical departure of Srila Prabhupada, still the principles, and practice has remained the same. And Srila Prabhupada is still the Spiritual Master for the Hare Krishna Movement.
“As long as the Spiritual master is physically present , the disciple should serve the physical body of the Spiritual master, and when the spiritual master is no longer physically existing, the disciple should serve the instructions of the spiritual master.” (Srimad Bhagavatam Purport 4.28.47)
The following eight principles are the basis of the Krsna consciousness movement. More
03 Dec 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada vani
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, American boys and girls, distribute books, Krishna, Krishna consciousness, letter to Sudama das, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, New York city, Srila Prabhupada vani, Sudama das
Śrīla Prabhupāda vāṇī
Submitted by Vidura dasa
“When I was alone in your New York, I was thinking, who will listen to me in this horrible, sinful place? All right, I shall stay little longer, at least I can distribute a few of my books, that is something. But Krishna was all along preparing something I could not see, and He brought you to me one by one, sincere American boys and girls, to be trained-up for doing the work of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now I can see that it is a miracle. Otherwise, your city of New York, one single old man, with only a few books to sell for barely getting eatables, how he can survive, what to speak of introducing God-consciousness movement for saving the humankind? That is Krishna’s miracle. Now I can see it.” (Letter to: Sudama — Bombay 23 December, 1972)
for full letter More
02 Dec 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktivedanta purports, butter-smeared footprints, divine ecstasies, Krishna, Krsna as the butter thief, Mother Yasoda, Mother Yasoda Binds Lord Krsna, SB 10.9.3-10
Even from the material point of view, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami’s writing is extraordinarily beautiful. But from the spiritual perspective Srila Prabhupada’s translations and purports are like ecstatic transcendental windows to the Spiritual World.
…Kṛṣṇa, at that time, was sitting on an upside-down wooden mortar for grinding spices and was distributing milk preparations such as yogurt and butter to the monkeys as He liked. Because of having stolen, He was looking all around with great anxiety, suspecting that He might be chastised by His mother. Mother Yaśodā, upon seeing Him, very cautiously approached Him from behind.(Bhaktivedanta Translation)
…Mother Yaśodā was able to trace Kṛṣṇa by following His butter-smeared footprints. She saw that Kṛṣṇa was stealing butter, and thus she smiled. (From the Bhaktivedanta Purports)
More
14 Nov 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Govardhana-puja, Krsna Consciousness, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, demigods, Devastating Rainfall in Vrndavan, Govardhana Hill, Govardhana-puja, Indra, Krishna, Krishna consciousness, Krsna Book, Krsna The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Swami Prabhupada
click on image to enlarge
On this very auspicious day, Govardhana-puja, we are reminded of Krsna’s lifting of Govardhana Hill, as told by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in chapter 25 of the Krsna Book.
…Kṛṣṇa has declared in the Bhagavad-gītā that the worshipers of the demigods are not very intelligent. He has also declared that one has to give up all kinds of worship and simply concentrate on Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa’s invoking the anger of Indra and later on chastising him is a clear indication to His devotee that those who are engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness have no need to worship any demigod, even if it is found that the demigod has become angry. Kṛṣṇa gives His devotees all protection, and they should completely depend on His mercy.
Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter 25
Devastating Rainfall in Vṛndāvana
When Indra understood that the sacrifice offered by the cowherd men in Vṛndāvana was stopped by Kṛṣṇa, he became angry, and he vented his anger upon the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who were headed by Nanda Mahārāja, although Indra knew perfectly well that Kṛṣṇa was personally protecting them. As the director of different kinds of clouds, Indra called for the Sāṁvartaka. This cloud is invited when there is a need to devastate the whole cosmic manifestation. The Sāṁvartaka was ordered by Indra to go over Vṛndāvana and inundate the whole area with an extensive flood. Demonically, Indra thought himself to be the all-powerful supreme personality. When demons become very powerful, they defy the supreme controller, Personality of Godhead. Indra, though not a demon, was puffed up by his material position, and he wanted to challenge the supreme controller. He thought himself, at least for the time being, as powerful as Kṛṣṇa. Indra said, “Just see the impudence of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana! They are simply inhabitants of the forest, but being infatuated with their friend Kṛṣṇa, who is nothing but an ordinary human being, they have dared to defy the demigods.”
More
08 Nov 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Devotional Service, Krishna Consciousness, Spiritual World
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, all-beautiful face, Brahma, cintamani, cintamani-dhama, devotees, goddesses of fortune, Krishna, lotus face of the Lord, lotus feet of the Lord, Spiritual world, Srila Rupa Goswami, touchstone
click on image to enlarge
…The essence of everything is the Supreme Lord: He is called the sāram. And those who sing and talk about Him are called the sāraṅgas, or the pure devotees. The pure devotees are always hankering after the lotus feet of the Lord. The lotus has a kind of honey which is transcendentally relished by the devotees. They are like the bees who are always after the honey. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the great devotee ācārya of the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, has sung a song about this lotus honey, comparing himself to the bee: “O my Lord Kṛṣṇa, I beg to offer my prayers unto You. My mind is like the bee, and it is after some honey. Kindly, therefore, give my bee-mind a place at Your lotus feet, which are the resources for all transcendental honey. I know that even big demigods like Brahmā do not see the rays of the nails of Your lotus feet, even though they are engaged in deep meditation for years together. Still, O infallible one, my ambition is such, for You are very merciful to your surrendered devotees. O Mādhava, I know also that I have no genuine devotion for the service of Your lotus feet, but because Your Lordship is inconceivably powerful, You can do what is impossible to be done. Your lotus feet can deride even the nectar of the heavenly kingdom, and therefore I am very much attracted by them. O supreme eternal, please, therefore, let my mind be fixed at Your lotus feet so that eternally I may be able to relish the taste of Your transcendental service.”
for full verse and purport More
08 Nov 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Guru & Disciple, Letters by Srila Prabhupada
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, devotees, Krishna, Krishna consciousness philosophy, Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Master Krishna, Servant Krishna, spiritual master
click on image to enlarge
Letter by Srila Prabhupada
“Lately there has been some misunderstanding amongst our devotees about our Krishna Consciousness philosophy. Particularly there has been some confusion about the relationship between the Spiritual Master and Krishna.
The Vedas say that there is a Master Krishna. This Servant Krishna is the Spiritual Master and this is the conclusion. The Spiritual Master is the Mercy Representative of the Supreme Lord and as such He is given honor as good as Krishna, but He is never identical with Krishna.
Perhaps you know the picture of Madhvacarya, one of the great Acaryas in our line, who is holding two fingers up to indicate Krishna and jiva. The impersonalists hold up one finger because their idea is that everything is one. So if we make the Spiritual Master identical with Krishna, then we will also become impersonalists.
If we say that our Spiritual Master is Krishna, then the conclusion is that if we become Spiritual Master some day, then we will also become Krishna. Please try to understand how dangerous this kind of reasoning is.
In my books I have tried to explain clearly this simultaneously one and different philosophy acinta beda beda tattva propounded by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But sometimes it happens that this philosophy is given a self-interested interpretation. As soon as personal motivation comes in it is not possible for one to understand our Krishna Consciousness philosophy.” (From Letter to Isana and Vibhavati, 21 September, 1970, Calcutta)
Full Letter 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.”
More
28 Sep 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Chanting Hare Krishna, Japa, Practicing Krishna Consciousness at Home
Tags: chanting, chanting Hare Krishna, God, Hare, Hare Krishna, Holy Names of the Lord, japa, kirtana, Krishna, Maha Mantra, practicing krishna consciousness at home, Rama
It has been requested that we do a post on Japa Meditation, so on this auspicious day of the appearance of Haridasa Thakura, we share with you some instructions on the chanting of Japa.
…Since God is all-powerful and all-merciful, He has kindly made it very easy for us to chant His names, and He has also invested all His powers in them. Therefore the names of God and God Himself are identical. This means that when we chant the holy names of Krishna and Rama we are directly associating with God and being purified. Therefore we should always try to chant with devotion and reverence. The Vedic literature states that Lord Krishna is personally dancing on your tongue when you chant His holy name.
More
24 Sep 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Yosomatinandana das
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead Magazine, Krishna, Krishna philosophy, Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yasomatinandana
click to enlarge
Back to Godhead Magazine
Letters, Volume-01 Number-55, 1973
My dear Yasomatinandana,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter, and I am so much pleased to read it. Your letter is so nice that I am advising that it be published in Back to Godhead. In the meantime you can immediately begin translating all our books into the Gujarati language. All these translations will be published in series in our Gujarati BTG, and if you are serious about it, you can be the Editor. So immediately begin translating and regularly produce books in Gujarati, and it will be a great service for you. The more you render service, the more you will be enlightened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thank you once more for understanding our philosophy very nicely.
Hoping this will meet you in good health,
Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Full letter by Yasomatinandana dasa More
21 Sep 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna Consciousness, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Srimati Radharani
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bumblebee, Goloka Vrndavana, gopis, inhabitants of Vrndavana, Krishna, Krsna, Nanda Maharaja, Radha, Radhastami, Srimati Radharani, srimati radharani appearance day, Uddhava, Yasoda
On this eve of Srimati Radharani’s appearance day (Radhastami) celebration I am reminded of one of my favorite KRSNA Book stories; Delivery of the Message of Kṛṣṇa to the Gopīs. We share the entire chapter with you here.
…One of the gopīs, namely Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, was so much absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa by dint of Her personal touch with Him that She actually began to talk with a bumblebee which was flying there and trying to touch Her lotus feet. While another gopī was talking with Kṛṣṇa’s messenger Uddhava, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī took that bumblebee to be a messenger from Kṛṣṇa and began to talk with it as follows. “Bumblebee, you are accustomed to drinking honey from the flowers, and therefore you have preferred to be a messenger of Kṛṣṇa, who is of the same nature as you. I have seen on your moustaches the red powder of kuṅkuma, which was smeared on the flower garland of Kṛṣṇa while He was pressing the breast of some other girl who is My competitor. You are feeling very proud by touching that flower, and your moustaches have become reddish. You have come here carrying a message for Me. You are anxious to touch My feet. But My dear bumblebee, let me warn you–don’t touch Me! I don’t want any messages from your unreliable master. You are the unreliable servant of an unreliable master.” It may be that Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī purposely addressed that bumblebee sarcastically in order to criticize the messenger Uddhava. Indirectly, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī saw Uddhava as not only resembling Kṛṣṇa’s bodily features but as being equal to Kṛṣṇa. In this way She indicated that Uddhava was as unreliable as Kṛṣṇa Himself. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī wanted to give specific reasons why She was dissatisfied with Kṛṣṇa and His messengers.
She addressed the bumblebee, “Your master Kṛṣṇa is exactly of your quality. You sit down on a flower, and after taking a little honey you immediately fly away and sit in another flower and taste. You’re just like your master Kṛṣṇa. He gave us the chance of tasting the touch of His lips and then left altogether. I know also that the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, who is always in the midst of the lotus flower, is constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. But I do not know why she has become so captivated by Kṛṣṇa. She is attached to Him, although she knows His actual character. As far as we are concerned, we are more intelligent than that goddess of fortune. We are not going to be cheated anymore by Kṛṣṇa or His messengers…”
Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 46
Delivery of the Message of Kṛṣṇa to the Gopīs More
18 Sep 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Health, Practicing Krishna Consciousness at Home, Prasadam, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian Recipies, Vegetarianism
Tags: hare krishna cookbook, hare krishna cooking, health consciousness, Krishna, prabhupada, practicing krishna consciousness at home, Srila Prabhupada, standard devotee diet, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipies, vegetarianism
Once when Srila Prabhupada saw what was being served to the devotees, lavishly prepared multi-course lunches, he told the managers that it was too opulent. He said we should eat simply during the week with rice, dhal, chapatis and a little subji and once a week on the Sunday love feasts we could be more lavish. Today with more of us becoming Health Conscious, it is good to remember the very simple devotee diet that was recommended to us so long ago.
Standard Devotee Diet
Srila Prabhupada recommended a standard diet for the devotees, and instructed that all of the temples should follow it every day. That menu follows:
BREAKFAST:
Simple farina cereal with nuts and raisins
Milk (steaming hot), or yogurt in the summertime
Chick peas (raw, soaked overnight)
Ginger root (raw)
Oranges, apples and/or bananas
LUNCH:
Rice
Chapatis
Dal made with freshly ground ginger root and freshly ground spices
Subji made with ghee, freshly ground ginger root and freshly ground spices
BEFORE TAKING REST:
Milk (steaming hot)
Bananas
For a free download of the Hare Krishna Cookbook on pdf More
16 Sep 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Free Downloads, Free eBooks, Sri Isopanisad
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, God realization, impersonal Brahman, invocation, ISKCON Books, KBI, Krishna, Krishna Path, Paramatma, prabhupada purports, Sri Isopanisad, supreme absolute truth, Supreme Personality of Godhead, the complete whole, The Hare Krishna Movement
This begins a new series on the Sri Isopanisad (The knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna). It begins with the Invocation and is followed by eighteen mantras and purports by Srila Prabhupada. To purchase the book you can visit The Hare Krishna Movement or to download free pdf you can click on link at bottom of post or visit Krishna Path for free downloads and epub’s.
Śrī Īśopaniṣad
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Original text found in first edition published by ISKCON BOOKS in 1969
INVOCATION
oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
oṁ—the Complete Whole; pūrṇam—perfectly complete; adaḥ—that; pūrṇam—perfectly complete; idam—this phenomenal world; pūrṇāt—from the all-perfect; pūrṇam—complete unit; udacyate—is produced; pūrṇasya—of the Complete Whole; pūrṇam—completely, all; ādāya—having been taken away; pūrṇam—the complete balance; eva—even; avaśiṣyate—is remaining.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.
PURPORT
The Complete Whole, or the Supreme Absolute Truth, is the complete Personality of Godhead. Realization of impersonal Brahman or of Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is incomplete realization of the Absolute Complete. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. Realization of impersonal Brahman is realization of His sat feature, or His aspect of eternity, and Paramātmā realization is realization of His sat and cit features, His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But realization of the Personality of Godhead is realization of all the transcendental features-sat, cit and ānanda, bliss. When one realizes the Supreme Person, he realizes these aspects of the Absolute Truth in their completeness. Vigraha means “form.” Thus the Complete Whole is not formless. If He were formless, or if He were less than His creation in any other way, He could not be complete. The Complete Whole must contain everything both within and beyond our experience; otherwise He cannot be complete.
More
15 Sep 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, Krsna Consciousness, Spiritual Life
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead Magazine, gopis, Krishna, Krsna, material world, materialistic enjoyment, Spiritual Life, tri-bhanga form
…The gopis are another example of great eagerness to see Krsna. The gopis came to Krsna, being captivated by His beautiful features.
The first thing Krsna is looking for is how eager you are to see Him. Krsna will respond. If you are actually eager to see Krsna …your efforts will be successful. But you must desire Krsna only. In this connection, Rupa Gosvami has written a verse:
smeram bhangi-traya-paricitam saci-vistirna-drstim
vamsi-nyastadhara-kisalayam ujjvalam candrakena
govindakhyam hari-tanum itah kesi-tirthopakanthe
ma preksisthas tava yadi sakhe bandhu-sange ‘sti rangah
The idea is that one gopi is advising another gopi, “My dear friend, there is one boy His name is Govinda. He is standing on the bank of the Yamuna near the Kesi-ghata, and He is playing on His flute. He is so beautiful, especially during this full-moon night. If you have any intention to enjoy in this material world with your children, husband, or other family members, then please do not go there.” Bhangi-traya: Krsna always stands in a three-curved way with His flute. That is Krsna’s tri-bhanga form, bending in three places. So the one gopi says to the other, “If you think that you’ll enjoy your life more in this material world, then do not go to see Krsna. Do not go there.” The idea is that if you once see Krsna, then you’ll forget all this nonsensical materialistic enjoyment. That is seeing Krsna.
More
13 Sep 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krsna Consciousness, Lectures
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, anyabilasita-sunyam, Bhagavad-gita lecture, Brahma-samhita, Krishna, krsna-prema, Lecture by Srila Prabhupada, love of God, namo maha-vadanyaya, no material desire, pure devotee
Click on image to enlarge
Pure devotee means he has no other desire, no material desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam, zero.
…And if it is mixed up, anyābhi…, with material desire or spiritual emancipation or fruitive activities, then it is not pure devotee.
So if you can approach such pure devotee… As it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, adurlabham ātma-bhaktau. This is ātma-bhaktau, a pure devotee. He can deliver you Kṛṣṇa. “Take Kṛṣṇa. Here is Kṛṣṇa.” Kṛṣṇa-prema… That is…
The symbolic representation is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He’s described by Rūpa Gosvāmī:
namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ [Madhya 19.53]
When Rūpa Gosvāmī… He was minister in the government of Nawab Hussain Shah. At that time, very exalted personality. He could understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mission. Therefore when he first met Him at Allahabad, Prayāga, he offered his respect with these words: namo mahā-vadānyāya, the most munificent incarnation. Why? Kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te. “You are distributing kṛṣṇa-prema. It is very difficult to understand Kṛṣṇa, but You are so kind that You are immediately delivering love of Kṛṣṇa.”
You can know one person. But to develop love for him, that is another transaction. So people cannot understand even Kṛṣṇa, and what is the saying of Kṛṣṇa’s love? But Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so kind that He’s immediately giving kṛṣṇa-prema, love of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He is described as the most munificent incarnation. Kṛṣṇa Himself could not deliver Himself. He wanted. “First of all you surrender.” Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66] But Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so kind. Simply through this chanting and dancing, He is distributing love of Kṛṣṇa.
You can see practically. These boys from European and American countries, means all over the world, why they are chanting and dancing in this way? Do you think they have become mad? And one says, “Yes, they have become mad.” Why? For love of Kṛṣṇa. Now they have began they have become lover of Kṛṣṇa. So kṛṣṇa-prema is like that. That is through the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the symbolic representation of devotee. Bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ namāmi bhakta-śaktikam. Namāmi bhakta-śaktikam. He can give the strength to the devotee so that he can develop his dormant love of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that adurlabham ātma-bhaktau. If one is pure devotee, for him, Kṛṣṇa is available very easy. He says in the Bhagavad-gītā. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ [Bg. 18.55] “One can understand Me in truth…” Yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. “Which is very, very difficult.”
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ [Bg. 7.3]
To understand Kṛṣṇa as He is, it is difficult. But if you take to this process of devotional service…
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam [SB 7.5.23]
Either of these process. All the process or either of these. You become successful to develop your dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and then your life becomes successful. Thank you very much. (end)
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27 Aug 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krsna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System, Yoga
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhagavad-gita, bhakti yoga, goal of yoga, Krishna, krsna consciousness, The Topmost Yoga System, yoga
…Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the great necessity of human society. Learn it and appreciate it, comprehend it and assimilate it—and teach it. It is very simple. If you offenselessly chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, everything will be revealed from within because Kṛṣṇa is sitting within you. If you are strong and have faith and conviction in Kṛṣṇa, as well as in the spiritual master, the transparent via medium to Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa is there. The Vedas say that if you have implicit faith in God and implicit faith in your bona fide guru, who teaches you Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the result will be that all the Vedic scriptures will be revealed authoritatively.(Srila Prabhupada)
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25 Aug 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, books by Srila Prabhupada, hearing and chanting, Krishna, Krsna, Lord Brahma, Lord Krsna, Purusottama, Purusottama month, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
During the Purusottama Month, it is important to Hear and Chant more. With this in mind we are posting the 14th Chapter of Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, with Lord Brahma praising the Glories of Krishna (Purusottama) The Supreme Personality.
“My dear Lord, there are many instances in the history of human society where a person, after failing to achieve the transcendental platform, engaged himself in devotional service with his body, mind and words and thus attained the highest perfectional state of entering into Your abode. The processes of understanding You by speculation or mystic meditation are all useless without devotional service. One should therefore engage himself in Your devotional service even in his worldly activities, and one should always keep himself near You by the process of hearing and chanting Your transcendental glories. Simply by being attached to hearing and chanting Your glories, one can attain the highest perfectional stage and enter into Your kingdom. If a person, therefore, always keeps in touch with You by hearing and chanting Your glories and offers the results of his work for Your satisfaction only, he very easily and happily attains entrance into Your supreme abode. You are realizable by persons who have cleansed their hearts of all contamination. This cleansing of the heart is made possible by chanting and hearing the glories of Your Lordship.”
“In the Upaniṣads it is stated that the Supreme Brahman is as effulgent as the sun and is the origin of everything, and anyone who can understand that original person becomes liberated from the material conditional life. Anyone who can simply be attached to You by devotional service can know Your actual position, Your birth, appearance, disappearance and activities. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, simply by understanding Your constitutional position, appearance and disappearance, one can be immediately elevated to the spiritual kingdom after quitting this present body. Therefore to cross over the ocean of material nescience, an intelligent person takes shelter of Your lotus feet and is easily transferred to the spiritual world.”
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21 Aug 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Guru & Disciple, Srila Prabhupada Conversations, Sriman George Harrison
Tags: conversations with Srila Prabhupada, Krishna, Sila Prabhupada conversations, Son of Hari, Sriman George Harrison
click on image to slightly enlarge
George Harrison: “Son of Hari”
Aug 20, 2012 — CANADA (SUN)
I recently saw this link to the “Son of Hari” website on Facebok and this morning I saw it posted on the Sampradaya Sun With appreciation we are re-posting it here.
The “Son of Hari” website is home to a collection of audio files, some recently released in original form by the Bhaktivedanta Archives, of recorded conversations between Srila Prabhupada and George Harrison.
Srila Prabhupada’s conversations with George on three dates are available: August 22, 1973, August 27, 1973, and July 26, 1976. Each conversation is broken down into multiple parts due to the length of the conversations. Text transcripts are also provided for the conversations.
click on link to visit site and hear conversations or read text; Son of Hari
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17 Aug 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Uncategorized
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Arjuna, as it is, bhagavad-gita, Bhagavan, Iksvaku, imam vivasvate yogam, Krishna, Macmillan Edition, Manu, Original 1972 Macmillan, science of yoga, the blessed Lord said, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, transcendental knowledge, Vivasvan, yoga
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter 4
Transcendental Knowledge
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16 Aug 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krsna Consciousness the Matchless Gift, The Hare Krishna Movement, The Matchless Gift
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, books of Srila Prabhupada, eternal well-wisher, glories of Bhagavad-gita, great philosopher, great scientist, Hare Krishna, illusion, Krishna, Krishna consciousness movement, Krsna Consciousness The Matchless Gift, material world, maya, original consciousness, The Hare Krishna Movement, trancendental knowledge, Vaisnava poet, wisdom
…The best and ultimate authority is Kṛṣṇa, for He is our eternal well-wisher, and He always speaks for our benefit. Since we have to accept some authority, why not accept His? Simply by hearing of His glories from Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and by chanting His names: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, we can swiftly perfect our lives.
Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, the Matchless Gift
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter One
Spiritual Knowledge Through Kṛṣṇa
The aim of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to bring all living entities back to their original consciousness. All living entities within the material world are, to varying degrees, afflicted with a type of madness. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement aims at curing man of his material disease and reestablishing his original consciousness. In a Bengali poem a great Vaiṣṇava poet has written, “When a man is haunted by ghosts, he can only speak nonsense. Similarly, anyone who is under the influence of material nature should be considered haunted, and whatever he speaks should be considered nonsense.” One may be considered a great philosopher or great scientist, but if he is haunted by the ghost of māyā, illusion, whatever he theorizes and whatever he speaks is more or less nonsensical. Today we are given the example of a psychiatrist who, when requested to examine a murderer, proclaimed that since all the patients with whom he had come in contact were more or less crazy, the court could excuse the murderer on those grounds if it so desired. The point is that in the material world it is very difficult to find a sane living entity. The prevailing atmosphere of insanity in this world is all caused by the infection of material consciousness.
The purpose of this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is to bring man back to his original consciousness, which is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, clear consciousness. When water falls from the clouds, it is uncontaminated like distilled water, but as soon as it touches the ground it becomes muddy and discolored. Similarly, we are originally pure spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore our original constitutional position is as pure as God’s. In Bhagavad-gītā Sri Kṛṣṇa says:
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