22 May 2015
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Lectures
Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, Nectar of Devotion Lecture, photo by Gurudas, prabhupada, Pradyuma dasa, Vrndavana October 19 1972
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The Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vṛndāvana, October 19, 1972
Pradyumna: (reading) “…happiness immediately terminates with his body as long as his life, as soon as his life is over. Death is therefore taken as the representative of God for the atheistic class of men. The devotee realizes the presence of God by devotional service, whereas the atheist realizes the presence of God in the shape of death.”
Prabhupāda: Yes. This point we have discussed last night that everyone can see God. To see God is not very difficult job. There are so many points described in the Bhagavad-gītā. For the devotees, those who are serious about seeing God, they can see God. God is present everywhere. And God Himself, Kṛṣṇa, is describing, raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ [Bg. 7.8]. So everyone drinks water. Now Kṛṣṇa says, “The taste of the water, I am.” So who has not tasted the water? Everyone drinks water at least four times, five times. So as soon as you drink water, the taste of the water is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, “I am this.” Kṛṣṇa has described Himself in so many ways. “Amongst the trees, I am this. Amongst the aquatics, I am this. Amongst the nonmovable, I am this.” So why not see God in that way? The atheist class of men, they say, “Can you show me God?” So why don’t you see God? Why you close your eyes? If you have got eyes to see, you can see God everywhere.
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12 Dec 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Nectar of Devotion, Photos by Gurudas
Tags: Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, bona fide spiritual master, designations, Gosvami, Gurudas, how to see god, Krishna, Nectar of Devotion Lecture, personal sense gratification, photo by Gurudas, prabhupada, the maintainer of the gopīs, the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa
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…Now our point was that how to see Kṛṣṇa in everything?… By these blunt, material senses, we cannot appreciate, or we can see, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It has to be purified… One must be relieved from all designations. So long one thinks that “I am Hindu. I am Christian. I am Muhammadan. I am this. I am brāhmaṇa. I am śūdra. I am kṣatriya. I am man. I am woman. I am black. I am white.” These are all designations. One has to become free from all these designations. That is called sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam. If you see God, Kṛṣṇa, from the Hindu angle of vision, if you see God from Christian angle of vision, then you cannot see God. That is not seeing God. You have to become freed from all these designations. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us, nāhaṁ vipra na ca nara-patir na yatir vā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, “I am not a brāhmaṇa. I am not a kṣatriya. I am not a vaiśya. I am not a śūdra. I am not a sannyāsī. I am not a gṛhastha. I am not a brahmacārī.” Then “What You are?” Because within these eight categories, we are living. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, “I don’t belong to all these categories.” Then “What You are, Sir?”… “I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa, the maintainer of the gopīs.” (The Nectar of Devotion Lecture Vṛndāvana, October 18, 1972)
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29 Nov 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Conversation with Srila Prabhupada, George Harrison, Photos by Gurudas, Sriman George Harrison
Tags: George Harrison, Krsna Book, Mukunda, philosophy, photo by Gurudas, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada conversations with George Harrison, Srila Prabhupada's books
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Conversations with George Harrison
London, England – July 26, 1976
Srila Prabhupada: “Are you reading sometimes my books? Which one?”
George Harrison: “Mainly Krsna.”
Srila Prabhupada: “That is the main book.” [laughs)
George Harrison: “Mukunda gave me the new books, but there’s so much to read.”
Srila Prabhupada: “Philosophy.”
George Harrison: “I don’t know how anybody could have written it, it’s is difficult to read all that amount”
Srila Prabhupada: “Sometimes, they are surprised how one man can write so many books, but it is Krsna’ s grace. Otherwise, not possible. Human being, it is not possible.”
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21 Nov 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Acaryopasanm, Quotes by Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada Conversations, Srila Prabhupada vani, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: Acaryopasanam, Alakananda das, photo by Gurudas, Syamananda das, vani quotes, Visnu Murti das
Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary; Acaryopasanam. I ran across this word the other day while reading and had to go to Vani Quotes to get a better understanding of the word. The following is some of data which came from the researched words: “acaryopasana” and “acaryopasanam”. Interesting that I have heard or read this word many times and never bothered to look it up. I think it was the previous post that must have sparked this sudden interest in acaryopasanam.
Acaryopasanam: one must approach the acarya for real knowledge. SB 7.15.56, Purport:
In Bhagavad-gita, Thirteenth Chapter, it is clearly stated that one should execute devotional service and advance on the path of spiritual knowledge by accepting the acarya. Acaryopasanam: one should worship an acarya, a spiritual master who knows things as they are. The spiritual master must be in the disciplic succession from Krsna. The predecessors of the spiritual master are his spiritual master, his grand spiritual master, his great-grand spiritual master and so on, who form the disciplic succession of acaryas. SB 3.29.17, Purport:
Don’t follow rascals and fools. Then it will be useless waste of time. Follow the great ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who is ācāryavān, who has accepted ācārya, he knows. Lecture on SB 1.2.19 — Calcutta, September 27, 1974:
Ācāryopāsanā. We have to worship the ācāryas. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, for making advancement in spiritual life, ācāryopāsanā. Lecture — San Francisco, June 28, 19
Ācāryopāsanam. Ācārya upāsanā is one of the process of making progress. Lecture — Bhuvanesvara, January 21, 1977:
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05 May 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krsna Consciousness, Lectures
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, barhavatamsam asitambuda, He played on His flute, Here is God, His color is blackish, Krishna consciousness, photo by Gurudas, SB 1.1.1, Srila Prabhupada, Vedas, Vedic statement, venum kvanantam
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Lecture
…So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice.. We present, “Here is God.” Here is God. Take His name. Take His address also. It is so perfect. They are searching after God. We are giving the name, address, activity, everything, quality, all. Nāma-rūpa-līlā-parikara-vaiśiṣṭhyam, everything. Nāma means name. Here is Kṛṣṇa, “He is engaged in enjoyment with Rādhārāṇī and playing on His flute.” Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ bar… [Bs. 5.30]. We are not imagining. Not that this artist imagines, the poet imagines. No. We don’t do that rascaldom. We don’t do that. We take information from the Vedas. Kṛṣṇa, when He was present personally, He played on His flute. The gopīs saw and the cowherds boys saw five thousand years ago. And the ācāryas took information. Even if you don’t believe in the history, then come to śāstra. The śāstra says veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣam: [Bs. 5.30] “Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always engaged in playing on His flute.” This is Vedic statement. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣam: [Bs. 5.30] “His eyes are just like lotus petals.” Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam: [Bs. 5.30] “He has got a peacock feather on His head.” These are the description in the Vedas. “He has got a peacock feather on His head.” Barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda: “His color is blackish.” What kind of blackish? Asitāmbuda: “Just like new cloud.” Asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam: “But don’t think because He is blackish, He is not beautiful. He is most beautiful.” How much beautiful? Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobham: [Bs. 5.30] “He is so beautiful that if you gather millions of Cupids, still He is more beautiful.” These descriptions are there.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very nice. You will be able to understand what is God, and you will be able to understand what is your relationship with God. And you will be able to understand how you can go back to home, back to Godhead.
Thank you very much. (end)
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18 Jul 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lectures, Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caitanya Caritamrta, Krsna, krsnera svarupa ananta, Lord Caitanya, Mad. 20.146-151, photo by Gurudas, prabhupada, Prabhupada lectures, transcendental forms of Krsna, Vedas, Vedic knowledge points to Krishna
“Vedic Knowledge Points To Krsna”
Lecture on Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 20.146-151
New York, December 3, 1966
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Prabhupada:
mukhya-gauna-vrtti, kimva anvaya-vyatireke
vedera pratijna kevala kahaye krsnake
So Lord Caitanya says, “You study Vedas in any way, directly, indirectly. In whatever way you like you study Vedas, but the ultimate objective is Krsna.”
Now, Caitanya, Lord Caitanya, is describing about the various forms of Krsna. This is very important subject. How Krsna is all-pervading, He is describing.
krsnera svarupa-ananta, vaibhava-apara
cic-chakti, maya-sakti, jiva-sakti ara
Krsnera svarupa ananta. The transcendental forms of Krsna, innumerable, vaibhava, and His opulence, that is also innumerable. Nobody can estimate. How many forms are there of Krsna or how much opulent He is, nobody can estimate; nobody can measure. This is inconceivable. The first proposition. Cic-chakti maya-sakti jiva-sakti ara. And His potencies are also unlimited, out of which, three potencies are generally accepted: cit-sakti, spiritual potency; material potency; and marginal potency. These three potencies I have described many times. Cit-sakti, the spiritual potency, is a manifestation of the spiritual world, and material potency is a manifestation of this material world, and the marginal potency, we are, we living entities. We are marginal potency. Why it is marginal? Because although we belong to the spiritual potency, but we have got tendency to come into contact of this material potency. Therefore it is called marginal, “this way or that way.” That a slight independence which is there in every living entity, he can use that, and he may select either to live in the spiritual potency or in the material potency. Therefore the living entities are called marginal potency. So parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. Although the energies of the Supreme Lord are innumerable — nobody can count or measure — but they are divided into three.
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11 Jul 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, Lectures, Spiritual Life
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BTG Magazine, Gurudas, krsna consciousness, Lecture by Srila Prabhupada, photo by Gurudas, religious system, Spiritual Life, spiritual understanding
…So if we are serious, if we actually want to be happy, we must take to the cultivation of spiritual understanding, an understanding of Krsna consciousness. Of course, in every country of the world there is some religious system, some system for understanding spiritual life. But unfortunately, almost nobody is interested in spiritual life because people have been induced to become addicted to material, or sensual, activities. They are going further and further away from spiritual life and becoming more and more confused. Disappointment is rising all over the world.
So to mitigate this disappointment and confusion, one has to take to Krsna consciousness. Try to understand the philosophy of Krsna consciousness, and act accordingly. Then you will be happy.
A Call to Spiritual Life
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
An address given in September 1973 (upon arriving for his first visit in Stockholm).
Thank you very much for kindly receiving me on this first visit of mine to your country.
The Krsna consciousness movement is gradually spreading all over the world, but it is a little difficult to understand the purport of this movement because it is completely on the spiritual platform. Generally, people do not understand what the spiritual platform is. But it is quite simple. Every one of us every living being is a combination of two things: matter and spirit. Matter we can understand, but on account of our long association with matter we cannot understand what spirit is.
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27 Dec 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Devotee's, Guru das, People
Tags: By His Example, Govinda, Govinda adi purasham, Gurudas, Hare Krishna, photo by Gurudas, prabhupada, Radha and Krishna, Srila Prabhupada, Sriman George Harrison, Swamiji, The Hare Krishna Movement, Yamuna
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Yamuna
By Gurudas
I am saddened by my feeling of separation from you, that I will not see you again on this planet, yet I still feel close to you. Our relationship transcends material boundaries and You are in my, and many peoples hearts.
Let us all pray for your continued spiritual journey, which makes me happy, as you are not in pain anymore, and with our beloved Spiritual Master, and Radha and Krishna.
I fell in love with you upon viewing your powerful presence.
I fell in Love with you, little did I know what A great path you carved out and offered to me, for you introduced me to Prabhupad.
I noted your great qualities, spiritual beauty, perseverance, a great confidant and friend. Steadfast, curious, sweet, meticulous, detail oriented, and expert in anything you were interested in. Your smile lit up many rooms and hearts.
You showed love for Prabhupad from the very beginning.
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28 Oct 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Devotee's, Giriraja Swami, Remembering Srila Prabhupada
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Giriraja Swami, photo by Gurudas, Sarasvati, Srila Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada with little Sarasvati
…Srila Prabhupada’s grave voice broke the silence. “Sarasvati, where is Krsna?”
Sarasvati began again to look anxiously all over the room, but still she could not find Him.
Then a devotee said, “Sarasvati, where is Krsna? Who has Krsna?” Sarasvati’s mind awakened with a realization. She opened her eyes wide, raised her eyebrows, and exclaimed,
“Prabhupada has Krsna!” She immediately turned to Srila Prabhupada and rushed to his lotus feet. “Prabhupada has Krsna!”…
Remembering Srila Prabhupada
A Personal Recollection
By Giriraja Swami
In December of 1971, I arranged a speaking program for Srila Prabhupada in Madras, India. Thousands of people came to hear him, and the leading newspaper carried a summary of his lecture every day. Then the Chief Justice of Madras invited him to speak before a large gathering of High Court judges, advocates, and other leading citizens. Srila Prabhupada appealed to the audience to follow the examples of Sri Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami, who in the sixteenth century had given up their exalted posts as prime minister and finance minister in the Bengal government to help Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu spread the Krsna consciousness movement.
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24 Oct 2011
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Devotee's, Hayagriva das, Srila Prabhupada
Tags: disciples of Srila Prabhupada, Hayagriva dasa, holy river Yamuna, India, Karttika, Karttika pilgrims, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, photo by Gurudas, Radha-Damodara Temple, Srila Prabhupada, Vrndavan
“We should try to make Krsna happy like the gopis of Vrndavana. In Vrndavana everyone is trying to please Krsna—the birds, trees, cows, the river and all His associates. It is not that Vrndavana is only here. We can have Vrndavana everywhere. Krsna is not limited. We should not think that Krsna is far away in Goloka Vrndavana and cannot accept food from us. If you offer food with love, Krsna eats. Krsna does not leave Goloka Vrndavana, but His expansion goes and accepts food. This Vrndavana, which so happens to appear in India, is as worshipable as Krsna. As Krsna is worshipable, His dhama [residence] is also worshipable. So we cannot offend His dhama. If we live in Vrndavana, we are living with Krsna, for Vrndavana is nondifferent from Krsna. There is no difference between the original Vrndavana and this Vrndavana. Vrndavana is so powerful.”
With Srila Prabhupada in Vrndavana
By Hayagriva Dasa
Vrndavana, India, the land of Krsna five thousand years after the disappearance of the Supreme Person, is invaded by eighty American and European disciples of Srila Prabhupada. The white and saffron robed pilgrims arrive in Vrndavana for Karttika, a celebration of Krsna’s rasa dance with the cowherd girls (gopis) of Vrndavana. Yearly, Vrndavana is crowded with Karttika pilgrims from October 15th to November 15th, the best time of year for Vrndavana, a month of clear, pleasant days and cool nights.
Vrndavana is approached by train from Delhi to Mathura, about ninety miles to the Southeast of Delhi. From Mathura, one takes a bus some eight miles to the village of Vrndavana bordered on three sides by the holy River Yamuna. As a cowherd boy, Krsna sported in the Yamuna, and Vaisnavas consider its waters more purifying than the Ganges itself. In Krsna’s time, Vrndavana was a forest, as its name indicates. Today it is a congested holy-town forgotten by the tourist maps, a town of crumbling temples, memories, chanting devotees, filth and poverty-stricken masses. Tourists whiz by it on the Delhi-Agra Express, unaware of passing Krsna’s old abode. Vrndavana was rediscovered by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His disciples Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami in the early 16th Century. Many magnificent temples were built in honor of Lord Krsna, but despite the sanctity of the place, it has not been kept up.
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