The strangest thing happened this morning. While I was chanting my japa, I guess I was a little distracted because I was thinking about work, and the following verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam just popped into my head. I was trying to remember where this verse was…I was pretty sure it was in the First Canto…so I took the first canto off the shelf and just randomly opened it. And to my great surprise, it opened to the exact verse I was thinking about.
The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self. (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.6)
These original books by Srila Prabhupada are definitely transcendental.
Today we celebrate the Appearance of Lord Krishna (Janmastami) with a full day fast, untill midnight.Lord Krishna’s birth is commemorated at midnight with devotional songs (bhajans), followed bya small ekadasi vegetarian feast.
Janmashtami means the celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna, derived from the Sanskrit words “janma” (birth) and “ashtami” (the eighth day)
On this day we like to read from the Krsna Book, so we have included an excerpt from the Krsna book, chapter 5 entitled “Meeting of Nanda and Vasudeva”.
KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead
By His Divne Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Although Kṛṣṇa was the real son of Vasudeva and Devakī, because of Kaṁsa’s atrocious activities Vasudeva could not enjoy the birth ceremony of his son. But Nanda Mahārāja, the foster father, celebrated the birth ceremony of Kṛṣṇa very joyfully. The next day, it was declared that a male child was born of Yaśodā. According to Vedic custom, Nanda Mahārāja called for learned astrologers and brāhmaṇas to perform the birth ceremony. After the birth of a child, the astrologers calculate the moment of the birth and make a horoscope of the child’s future life. Another ceremony takes place after the birth of the child: the family members take baths, cleanse themselves and decorate themselves with ornaments and garlands; then they come before the child and the astrologer to hear of the future life of the child. Nanda Mahārāja and other members of the family dressed and sat down in front of the birth place. All the brāhmaṇas who were assembled there on this occasion chanted auspicious mantras, according to the rituals, while the astrologers performed the birth ceremony. All the demigods are also worshiped on this occasion, as well as the forefathers of the family. Nanda Mahārāja distributed 200,000 well decorated, dressed and ornamented cows to the brāhmaṇas. He not only gave cows in charity, but hills of grains, decorated with golden-bordered garments and many ornaments.
I have been going back and re-discovering some of the early articles in “Back to Godhead Magizine”. I am remembering how inspired I woud be each month, as another issue of BTG was released for distribution.
Lord Caitanya’s Mission and Precepts
Excerpted from ‘Back To Godhead’ Magazine, 1973 Vol. 1, No. 49 & 50a
As foretold in Vedic scriptures, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared on earth 500 years ago in the form of Lord Caitanya, who is God Himself playing the role of a devotee of Godhead. The eight verses entitled Sri Sri Siksastakam, which were the only written instructions of Lord Caitanya, reveal the essence of the Krsna consciousness movement.
Sri Sri Siksastakam by Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu
translated by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with purports by His Holiness Subaldasa Svami
Glory to the Sri Krsna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
Purport
The conditioned soul is covered from time immemorial by the dirt of the accumulated reactions of his sinful activities. Due to the reactions of his past sins, he becomes further engaged in sinful activities and becomes more and more forgetful of his constitutional position as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. Due to forgetfulness of his spiritual nature, he identifies himself with the temporary material body and its paraphernalia. Thus, rather than serving Krsna in loving devotion, he is forced to serve maya, the limited mundane potency of the Lord. The living being is never independent in any stage of existence, either conditioned or liberated, but when he is under the control of maya he suffers, and when he is under the control of Krsna he enjoys life in the association of the Lord and His devotees.
The Sri Krsna sankirtana, or the congregational chanting of the holy names of God, is able to immediately cleanse the heart of all the dirt that accumulates there for millions of years. This is the result of just the dim reflection of the holy name. During the night, there is fear of thieves, ghosts, murderers, etc. In the morning, before the sun even rises on the horizon, it dispels all such fears by its first rays of light. In the same way, before the holy name makes its full appearance, it dispels the darkness of material ignorance and clears away heaps of sinful activities which have not yet manifested themselves. Thus one is freed from karmic reaction and placed on the liberated platform of life. In this way, the door to devotional service is opened.
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.
Today marks the auspicious appearance of Lord Balaram. We honor it with a half day fast and followed by a nice vegetarian feast.
Lord Balarama is Krishna’s elder brother and His appearance day takes place on the full moon day (purnima), two weeks before Krishna Janmashtami. Krishna and Balarama were the darlings of Vrindavan/ Vraja. Together They would spend the day enjoying the company of the cowherd boys in the forests of Vraja. Their wonderful pastimes are related in the tenth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which Srila Prabhupada also translated as The Krishna Book. Lord Balarama is also considered the original spiritual master and His worship is therefore most important for Vaishnavas.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, along with Balarāma, played like a human being, and so masked He performed many superhuman acts. (Srimad Bhagavatam Canto One, Chapter 1, Text 20)
Balarāma means guru-tattva. Balarāma represents guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. If we want to understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu, if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must take shelter of Balarāma. Nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ. This bala-hinena labhyaḥ, this Vedic injunction, means “Without the mercy of Balarāma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual identification. So that Balarāma comes as Nityānanda Prabhu. Balarāma hailā nitāi. Therefore we must take shelter of Balarāma. (Lecture given by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Bhuvaneśvara, February 2, 1977)
Yesterday my wife read me this verse and purport from the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Cc. Madya-lila 16.186). It reminded me of the potency of the Holy Name of the Lord.
” ‘To say nothing of the spiritual advancement of persons who see the Supreme Person face to face, even a person born in a family of dog-eaters becomes immediately eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him.’ “
PURPORT
This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.6). According to this verse, it doesn’t matter what position a person holds. One may be the lowest of the low—a caṇḍāla, or dog-eater—but if he takes to chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord, he is immediately eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices. This is especially true in this age of Kali.
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
(Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa, 38.126)
A person born in a brāhmaṇa family cannot perform Vedic sacrifices until he is properly purified and has attained his sacred thread. However, according to this verse, it is understood that even a lowborn person can immediately perform sacrifices if he sincerely chants and hears the holy name of the Lord. Sometimes envious people ask how Europeans and Americans in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can become brāhmaṇas and perform sacrifices. They do not know that the Europeans and Americans have already been purified by chanting the holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. This is the proof. Śvādo ‘pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate. One may be born in a family of dog-eaters, but he can perform sacrifices simply by chanting the mahā-mantra.
Those who find fault in the Western Vaiṣṇavas should consider this statement from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the commentary on this verse by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. In this regard, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has stated that to become a brāhmaṇa, one has to wait for purification and undergo the sacred thread ceremony, but a chanter of the holy name does not have to wait for the sacred thread ceremony. We do not allow devotees to perform sacrifices until they are properly initiated in the sacred thread ceremony. Yet according to this verse, an offenseless chanter of the holy name is already fit to perform a fire ceremony, even though he is not doubly initiated by the sacred thread ceremony. This is the verdict given by Lord Kapiladeva in His instructions to His mother, Devahūti. It was Lord Kapiladeva who instructed Devahūti in pure Sāṅkhya philosophy.
And from the Srimad Bhagavatam full text and purport
We often say “Chant and be Happy”, but there are offences to be considered. If we want to feel the full ecastscy derived from chanting the Holy names, we need to avoid them.
Remember that even if one feels they are being offensive, there is no need to stop chanting. By trying to chant sincerely and serving the spiritual master, we may be purified of our offenses and may be able to chant purely.
There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Krsna one does not become ecstatic. ( Cc. Adi-lila 8.24) 1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord. 2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Shiva or Lord Brahma to be equal to or independent of the name of the Lord Vishnu. 3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master. 4) To blaspheme the vedic scriptures or scriptures in pursuance to the vedic version. 5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be an imagination. 6) To give some interpretations to the holy name of the Lord. 7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name. 8) To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna as one of the auspicious ritualistic activities which are offered in the Vedas as frutive activities (Karma kanda). 9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name
10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy name and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter. It is also an offense to be inattentive while chanting.
Every devotee who claims to be Vaishnava must guard against these offenses in order to quickly achieve the desired success Krishna Prema!!!
The sages at Naimisaranya: Were an assembly of 88,000 spiritual teachers, led by the prominent sage Shaunaka Rishi. who gathered in the sacred Naimisaranya forest in modern-day Uttar Pradesh, India.
Once, in a holy place in the forest of Naimiṣāraṇya, great sages headed by the sage Śaunaka assembled to perform a great thousand-year sacrifice for the satisfaction of the Lord and His devotees. (SB 1.1.4 )
The Arrival of Suta Goswami: While conducting their rituals, the storyteller and sage Suta Goswami arrived at the assembly and was warmly welcomed and given a high seat of honor (Vyasasana).
O expert and thoughtful men, relish Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls. (SB. 1. 1. 3 )
The Six Questions: Recognizing Suta Goswami’s pure character and deep scriptural knowledge, the sages asked him six fundamental questions regarding spiritual truth, which form the foundational framework of the
What is the absolute, ultimate benefit for all mankind?
What is the core essence hidden within all Vedic scriptures?
Why did the Supreme Lord take birth from Mother Devaki?
How do the secondary forms of the Lord (like Brahma and Rudra) create, maintain, and destroy the universe?
What are the complete activities and pastimes of Lord Hari’s various incarnations?
Where has true religion or spiritual shelter gone now that Lord Krishna has departed?
In the first chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavatam, the sages ask Suta Goswami six questions. These questions are not only asked for the sage’s own sake. They are concerned about the situation of people who will be living in the age of Kali, and they want to get from Suta Goswami some knowledge that can help them find their way out of all the darkness and illusion of this age.
( Note; These six questions are asked in chapter one, and the answers are given in chapters two and three. These chapters are thus intimately connected.)
The Following is an excerpt from “Our Family Business”
By His Grace Vaisesika Dasa,
In ISKCON we hear devotees say “Books are the basis.” Śrīla Prabhupāda himself used this phrase in a letter to Maṇḍali Bhadra Dāsa dated January 20, 1972: “My first concern is that my books shall be published and distributed profusely all over the world. Practically, books are the basis of our movement. Without them our preaching has no effect.” He uses it again in a letter to Tuṣṭa Kṛṣṇa Swami (January 9, 1976): “Books are the basis of our movement. Whatever appreciation we are getting on account of our books, it is because we are following the path chalked out by exalted devotees.”
So what does it mean that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books are the foundation – the basis – of ISKCON? We can begin to understand by reading the letter Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote to Dāmodara Dāsa on December 3, 1971:
I’m especially pleased to hear that your distribution of our books and magazines has increased. Go on in this way, increasing more and more. Each time someone reads some solid information about Kṛṣṇa his life becomes changed in some way. These literatures are the solid ground upon which our preaching stands, so I want that they should be available to everyone, as many as possible. So please try for this.
Well today is my birthday. 72 years ago on this day I was in a small baby’s body, but today I am in an old man’s body. But I’m still the same person, although it seems like I have lived many different lives, as a child, as a student, as a devotee, as a husband and father, grandfather, and retired woodworker. Lived and traveled to so many places, had so many different life experiences, and so it seems, I have lived many lives.
I am reminded of some of the famous important verses from the Bhagavad-gita:
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)
Full texts and purports will follow at end of post, but I wanted to mention some well known persons who I share a birthday with.
On this day in 1978, Dhani Harrison appeared, who we all know as the son of George and Olivia Harrison, turns 48 today.
And one of my favorite musicians Jerry Garcia was born on August 1, 1942, in San Francisco, California. He was the co-founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of the Grateful Dead.
Jerry Garcia and Srila Prabhupada intersected through 1960’s counterculture, notably via the Grateful Dead playing at the 1967 Mantra-Rock concert. The Grateful Dead performed alongside Big Brother and the Holding Company and Allen Ginsberg at the historic San Francisco Avalon Ballroom benefit concert, which helped introduce A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and the Hare Krishna Movement to the West coast.
‘Beyond Birth and Death’ is one of my favorite small books written by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. The first chapter is a good introduction to the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness. We have included the entire first chapter for those interested.
We Are Not These Bodies
(Chapter One from Beyond Birth & Death)
The very first step in self-realization is realizing one’s identity as separate from the body. “I am not this body but am spirit soul” is an essential realization for anyone who wants to transcend death and enter into the spiritual world beyond. It is not simply a matter of saying “I am not this body,” but of actually realizing it. This is not as simple as it may seem at first. Although we are not these bodies but are pure consciousness, somehow or other we have become encased within the bodily dress. If we actually want the happiness and independence that transcend death, we have to establish ourselves and remain in our constitutional position as pure consciousness.
“O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.30)
Living in the bodily conception, our idea of happiness is like that of a man in delirium. Some philosophers claim that this delirious condition of bodily identification should be cured by abstaining from all action. Because these material activities have been a source of distress for us, they claim that we should actually stop these activities. Their culmination of perfection is in a kind of Buddhistic nirvāṇa, in which no activities are performed. Buddha maintained that due to a combination of material elements, this body has come into existence, and that somehow or other if these material elements are separated or dismantled, the cause of suffering is removed. If the tax collectors give us too much difficulty because we happen to possess a large house, one simple solution is to destroy the house. However, Bhagavad-gītā indicates that this material body is not all in all. Beyond this combination of material elements, there is spirit, and the symptom of that spirit is consciousness.
Everyone wants Happiness and wants to avoid Distress, this is a fact. This Krishna Consciousness Movement is meant to deliver all of suffering humanity from the threefold miseries of material existence.
The attempt in this material world to maximize happiness and minimize distress is called the struggle for existence.
…This material world is the world of duality, and we cannot understand happiness without distress or distress without happiness. This is therefore called the relative world. Spiritual happiness is above these dualities, and that spiritual happiness is the perfection of yoga. Yoga ādhyātmikaḥ. Yoga is the happiness of the soul, and the individual soul can be happy when it is with the Supersoul, the Supreme Soul.Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). There is the Supreme Soul, or the supreme living being, and there are many individual souls, individual beings. We are many, but the principal living being is one, Kṛṣṇa. He is the fire, and we are the sparks from that fire. The sparks are illuminated when they are with the original fire, but if the sparks no longer associate with the original fire, they are extinguished. Similarly, our real happiness is in enjoying with the Supreme Being. Happiness is being in His company. Kṛṣṇa is not alone, but is always with His friends, either the gopīs or the cowherd boys, or with His mother and father. We never find Kṛṣṇa alone. He may be with Rādhārāṇī or with His devotees. He is like a king or president. When one says that the king or president is coming, it is understood that he is not coming alone. He comes with His secretaries, ministers and many others. (Teachings of Lord Kapila)
…Everyone is trying to get out of material distress and gain some happiness. In any case, when something is material, there is only so-called happiness and so-called distress. For instance, there may be fireworks going on, and this may be happiness for someone but distress for us. Some people are thinking that these fireworks are very enjoyable, and we are thinking that they are very inconvenient. That is the material world. On one side there is happiness, and on the other side there is distress. Both happiness and distress are actually illusions. In summer, water is happiness, but in winter it is distress. The water is the same, but at one time it brings happiness and at another time it brings distress. When a son is born, he brings happiness, but when he dies, he brings distress. In either case, the son is the same. (Teachings of Lord Kapila)
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.
Yesterday we shared with you the first printing of Srila Prabhupada’s epic translations of the Srimad Bhagavatam, and today we share with you his last.
For a Free PDF download of this special volume click on following link; SB-10-03-1980
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Tenth Canto, Part Three
Foward
This is the final Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam volume translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is smaller than the earlier volumes because it ends where the renowned author stopped translating just before his departure from this mortal world on November 14, 1977, at the Krsna-Balarama Mandira in Vrndavana, India.
The first part of this volume was produced in the usual fashion. Srila Prabhupada would sit and read silently from the Sanskrit text and then speak the translation and commentary into his dictaphone. Later, due to illness, it became necessary for his disciples to assist him personally.
In these last days Srila Prabhupada was gravely ill. Unable to eat for weeks, his health had deteriorated, making even the slightest movement excruciatingly painful.
As he lay still, a devotee would softly read the Sanskrit to him. Another disciple, sitting on his bed, held the microphone to him, nearly touching his mouth. And then Srila Prabhupada would speak, voice sometimes barely audible.
These recordings, made in his quarters at the temple, constitute the balance of this book.
In these final moments, the physician attending His Divine Grace confided that an ordinary man in such critical condition would have been crying out from the intense pain. Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were awestruck as they watched their spiritual master work quietly, undisturbed.
In the last part of the book we find Srila Prabhupada’s usual clarity of thought, constant scriptural references, scrupulous attention to detail, and rigorous philosophical exposition fully intact, just as they were in the preceding twenty-nine volumes of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Srila Prabhpada’s last days and this translation will stands an inspiring reminder that even the severest material circumstances cannot impede the activities of a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Srimad Bhagwatam By Tridani Goswami A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami
These were the books Srila Prabhupada brought with him from India. The first three volumes of the Srimad Bhagavatam that he had printed in Delhi between 1960 and 1965. We are fortunate to have a set of these in our home, however, I am afraid to handle them very much because they are so precious. I think they actually belong in a museum.
We share with you a free scanned pdf you can download to your computer
For a free download of these Original Srimad Bhagwatam’s please click on following links
These Srimad Bhagwatams are among the most valuable memorabilia one can have of Srila Prabhupada. The timing of their publication coincides directly with Srila Prabhupada’s departure for the Western world. He left India a very short time after the last volume was printed, and it seems obvious that the completion of this task signaled the time for his departure.
When one reads these original Bhagwatams, perhaps more than any of Srila Prabhupada’s other writings, you can feel the Vrindaban mood. Srila Prabhupada was there alone writing his purports, whereas the other Bhagavatams were translated and written while he was surrounded by many followers and his ISKCON movement was rapidly growing. This was quite a contrast to the circumstances surrounding his first books.
Although these books were not edited as the later ones were, and thus contain some typos and English imperfections, there is absolutely no less spiritual potency. In fact, whether its sentiment or realization,to my mind these early editions are preferable, and represent one of the strongest arguments for not making any changes or ‘improvements’ to the Srila Prabhupada’s books after his departure.
Every newcomer to Krsna Consciousness should have the opportunity to read these original Bhagwatams so they can get to know Srila Prabhupada in a more intimate way.
I was looking through my notebooks the other day, and I happened to find my very first devotee journal. I had written that there are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service. And six activities that can spoil ones devotional service.This was a good reminder.
There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service:
(1) being enthusiastic,
(2) endeavoring with confidence,
(3) being patient,
(4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam (SB 7.5.23) — hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa],
(5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and
(6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas.
These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.
And the six activities that can spoil ones devotional service:
(1) Overeating or collecting more than needed
(2) Over endeavoring for mundane things
(3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters
(4) Practicing the spiritual rules and regulations only for the sake of following them, or rejecting them and acting whimsically
(5) Associating with worldly minded persons who are not interested in Krsna consciousness
(6) Being greedy for mundane achievements
These were taken from The Nectar of Instruction and The Narada Bhakti Sutra
I find it interesting, how one morning, I will wake up and find it very easy and pleasing to chant Hare Krishna and preform my devotional activities, and the next day I find it difficult? I realized that it due to the influence of the three modes of material nature.
…Everyone should know that a living entity is eternally a servant and that unless one serves Krsna one has to serve illusion in different varieties of the three modes of material nature. (from Preface to Bhagavad-gita As It Is)
…In the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly explained that there are three kinds of activities according to the different modes of nature: the activities of goodness, of passion and of ignorance. (from Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is)
The three modes of material nature is an important topic, so much so , that there is an entire chapter dedicated to it in the Bhagavad-gita.
Material nature consists of the three modes—goodness, passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes. (Bg. 14.5)
PURPORT
The living entity, because he is transcendental, has nothing to do with this material nature. Still, because he has become conditioned by the material world, he is acting under the spell of the three modes of material nature. Because living entities have different kinds of bodies, in terms of the different aspects of nature, they are induced to act according to that nature. This is the cause of the varieties of happiness and distress.
This tells me, that I am not yet transcendental to the three modes, and I still have plenty of work to do.
We share with you a description of the three modes as outlined in chapter 14 of the Bhagavad-gita.
This morning I came downstairs and I saw on the kitchen counter, a small note left by my wife. It simply said “Happy Fathers Day”, and there was this quote by Srila Prabhupada:
“Please continue to engage yourself in Krishna’s service very sincerely and I am sure Krishna will help you in all ways to advance more and more. I am always praying that Krishna will give you strength to continue”. (Srila Prabhupada)
This small Fathers Day note got me thinking about Fathers. There is my biological father, then there is my Spiritual Father, Srila Prabhupada, and then there is the Supreme Father of us all, Krishna.
I found a few quotes From Srila Prabhupada’s books on our Surpreme Father Krishna:
Kṛṣṇa is very much anxious to take us back home, back to Godhead, but we are stubborn and do not wish to go. Therefore He is always looking for the opportunity to take us back home. He is just like an affectionate father.When a son who is a rascal leaves his father and goes loitering in the street, with no food and no shelter, and suffers very much, the father is always anxious to bring the boy back home. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father, and all the living entities within this material world are exactly like misled children of a wealthy man who have left home to loiter in the street. Therefore the greatest benefit one can bestow upon one’s fellow human being is to give him Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No kind of material profit will satisfy the living entity, but if he is given Kṛṣṇa consciousness he will actually be satisfied. A bewildered boy loitering in the street may be reminded, “My dear boy, why are you suffering so much? You are the son of a very rich man who has so much property. Why are you loitering in the street?” And if he comes to understand, “Yes, I am the son of this important man. Why shall I loiter in the street?” he may then return home. Therefore the best service is to inform those who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, “You are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. You are the son of Kṛṣṇa, who is full in all opulence. Why are you rotting in this material world?” This is the greatest service. Māyā, illusion, is very strong, but it is the duty of every devotee of Kṛṣṇa to try to enlighten everyone to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kuntīdevī, for example, first said that although Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, is within and without, to rascals and fools He is invisible. Therefore she points out, “Here is the Lord – Kṛṣṇa.” ( “Teachings of Queen Kunti”)
Having just attended the Ratha-yatra Festival in New York, my wife was reading to me from the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta some of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. And there is this one very poignant sentence:
…By the Lord’s mercy one gets the association of a bona fide guru, and by the mercy of the guru, one gets a chance to render devotional service. Devotional service, the science of bhakti-yoga, carries one from this material world to the spiritual world. (from purport Madya-lila 13.18)
This sums up the benefits and results of devotional service or (bhakti-yoga).
While the Lord was being carried from the throne to the car, King Prataparudra personally engaged in the Lord’s service by cleansing the road with a broom that had a golden handle. (Madhya-lila 13.15)
The King sprinkled the road with sandalwood-scented water. Although he was the owner of the royal throne, he engaged in menial service for the sake of Lord Jagannatha. (Madhya-lila 13.16)
Although the King was the most exalted respectable person, still he accepted menial service for the Lord; he, therefore, became a suitable candidate for receiving the Lord’s mercy. (Madhya-lila 13.17)
Upon seeing the King engaged in such menial service, Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very happy. Simply by rendering this service, the King received the mercy of the Lord. Madhya-lila 13.18)
I’m an old man now. Sometimes when I reminisce about my past, my life seems like a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, happiness and distress, gains and losses. Its the losses I remember the most, when I lost property, the house I built by hand, my wife and children, jobs, friends and loved one’s. Mostly is was my own undoing, I really can’t blame anyone but myself, because Srila Prabhupada has given us a rightous path to follow, if only I had stayed on the path.
I remember one day when it seemed I had lost everything again, and was helpless all around. I went over to my collection of Srila Prabhupada’s books, I closed my eyes and just randomly picked a book from the shelf. It was the First Canto Vol.1 of the Srimad Bhagavatam. I just blindly opened it and began to read from it. To my utter suprise, this is the verse and purport that was presented for me to read:
“My dear Vyāsa, even though a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes falls down somehow or other, he certainly does not undergo material existence like others [fruitive workers, etc.] because a person who has once relished the taste of the lotus feet of the Lord can do nothing but remember that ecstasy again and again.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.19)
A devotee of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes imitates the fruitive workers… Such foolish devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action, the bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and so he comes to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set right to execute his devotional service. (from Purport)
Reading this Text and Purport saved me. And I remembered the ecstasy of coming to Krishna Consciousness, and chanting Hare Krishna, seeing the deities in the temple for the first time, going on Sankirtan, and meeting Srila Prabhupada. I was reminded of the love I have for him and my good fortune in receiving this knowledge, and it gave me the courage to again take to the path of devotion. Miracles can happen. Krishna sent me a boat, and I got in it again. Hare Krishna! -V
The Hare Krishna Movement 