perfection of life | The Hare Krishna Movement

The Essence of All Advice

25 Jan 2014 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Nectar of Instruction, Rupa Goswami Tags: 24 hours a day, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, chanting, chanting Hare Krishna, hearing and chanting, Nectar of Instruction, perfection of life, prabhupada, qualities and eternal pastimes of the lord, remembering the Lords name, Rupa Goswami, transcendental form, Upadesamrta

Continuing with our series on the Nectar of Iststuction (Upadeśāmṛta), we are posting Text 8, the very important instructions given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī on how one should utilize one’s full time—twenty-four hours a day—in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord’s divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes.

The Nectar of Instruction
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Text Eight

Perfect Segue

02 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Maharaja Pariksit, Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada's Books, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Goswami Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, at time of death, hear chant and remember, Maharaja Pariksit, perfection of life, segue, self realization, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Goswami

This morning I was marveling at how beautifully Srila Prabhupada segues [def: an uninterrupted transition from one song to another. 2. go on without a pause.] from the First Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam into the Second Canto. This Srimad Bhagavatam, is truly one of the most amazing books in existence today!

You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die. (SB 1.19.37)

Please let me know what a man should hear, chant, remember and worship, and also what he should not do. Please explain all this to me. (SB 1.19.38)

Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: The King thus spoke and questioned the sage, using sweet language. Then the great and powerful personality, the son of Vyāsadeva, who knew the principles of religion, began his reply… (SB 1.19.40) [End of First Canto]

[Start of Second Canto]…Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. The answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists. (SB 2.1.1)

…That very Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam I shall recite before you because you are the most sincere devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. One who gives full attention and respect to hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam achieves unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord, the giver of salvation. (SB 2.1.10)

Unless one is perfectly anxious to inquire about the way of perfection, there is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not a kind of decoration for a householder. Generally a fashionable materialist engages a so-called spiritual master without any profit. The pseudo spiritual master flatters the so-called disciple, and thereby both the master and his ward go to hell without a doubt. Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the right type of disciple because he puts forward questions vital to the interest of all men, particularly for the dying men. The question put forward by Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the basic principle of the complete thesis of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Now let us see how intelligently the great master replies. (from purport to SB 1.19.37)

Full translation and purports More

The Spell of Illusion (Maya)

01 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Bhagavad-gita, Maya Tags: 29, Bg 5, bhagavad-gita, external energy of Krsna, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, illusion, Krishna, maya, perfection of life, perfeection of yoga

The sense of a separated existence from Kṛṣṇa is called māyā (mā-not, yā-this).

People in general, especially in this age of Kali, are enamored by the external energy of Kṛṣṇa, and they wrongly think that by advancement of material comforts every man will be happy. They have no knowledge that the material or external nature is very strong, for everyone is strongly bound by the stringent laws of material nature. A living entity is happily the part and parcel of the Lord, and thus his natural function is to render immediate service to the Lord. By the spell of illusion one tries to be happy by serving his personal sense gratification in different forms which will never make him happy. Instead of satisfying his own personal material senses, he has to satisfy the senses of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of life. The Lord wants this, and He demands it. One has to understand this central point of Bhagavad-gītā. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching the whole world this central point, and because we are not polluting the theme of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, anyone seriously interested in deriving benefit by studying the Bhagavad-gītā must take help from the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for practical understanding of Bhagavad-gītā under the direct guidance of the Lord. We hope, therefore, that people will derive the greatest benefit by studying Bhagavad-gītā As It Is as we have presented it here, and if even one man becomes a pure devotee of the Lord we shall consider our attempt a success.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is essential in human society, for it offers the highest perfection of life. How this is so is explained fully in the Bhagavad-gītā. Unfortunately, mundane wranglers have taken advantage of Bhagavad-gītā to push forward their demonic propensities and mislead people regarding right understanding of the simple principles of life. Everyone should know how God or Kṛṣṇa is great, and everyone should know the factual position of the living entities. Everyone should know that a living entity is eternally a servant and that unless one serves Kṛṣṇa one has to serve illusion in different varieties of the three modes of material nature, and thus perpetually one has to wander within the cycle of birth and death; even the so-called liberated Māyāvādī speculator has to undergo this process. This knowledge constitutes a great science, and each and every living being has to hear it for his own interest. (From the preface to the Bhagavad-gita As It Is)