09 Mar 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Book Changes, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Guru & Disciple, Lectures
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, everyone of you become guru, gopis, incarnation, Kali, Krishna, Lecture by Srila Prabhupada, Lord Caitanya, spiritual knowledge, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Rupa Goswami
…If we simply keep Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu within our heart, then it will be very easy to understand what is Krsna, because if you understand Krsna, then your life is successful. Our Krsna consciousness movement means just try to understand Krsna; then your life is successful. Krsna says, “Anyone who understands Me, why I come here, what is My activities,” [Bg. 4.9], “he becomes liberated. After giving up this body, he does not accept any material body. In his own spiritual body he goes back to home, back to Godhead.” This is our Krsna consciousness..
…The mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is that you become, every one of you, you become a guru. How to become guru? You simply present what Krsna says as it is. Then every one of you will become a guru. Don’t adulterate — “I think,” “In my opinion.” These nonsense things should be given up. We should always be aware that we are insignificant creature. Our opinion and thinking has no value. This should be the first principle. Why should you give opinion on the words of Krsna? Are you more authoritative person than Krsna? This is foolishness, to try to become more than Krsna. There are so many rascals. They present that “Now we have advanced. We know more than Krsna.” So be saved from these rascals. Then you will understand Krsna, and through Caitanya Mahaprabhu you will understand what is the position of Krsna, what is your relationship with Krsna, what is the ultimate goal of life…
“Everyone Of You – Become Guru”
Lecture on Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 1.4
Given By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Mayapur, March 28, 1975
Nitai: “May that Lord, who is known as the son of Srimati Sacidevi, be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant spiritual knowledge of the mellow taste of His service.”
Prabhupada:
anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnata ujjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandana
[Cc. Adi 1.4]
This is the blessings of Srila Rupa Gosvami upon everyone.
sri-caitanya-mano-‘bhistam
sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam
dadati sva-padantikam
[When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?]
We should pray to Rupa Gosvami for his blessings so that we can understand what is the actual position of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most merciful incarnation to bestow upon us Krsna-prema. Srila Rupa Gosvami understood it, Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya understood it, and we should take their viewpoint of view, what they have studied about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So Srila Rupa Gosvami says… In the beginning Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was appreciated by Srila Rupa Gosvami as maha-vadanyavatara. There are many incarnations of Krsna, kesava dhrta-mina-sarira jaya jagadisa hare, kesava dhrta-nrsimha-rupa jaya jagadisa…, many incarnations. But this incarnation, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is anarpita-carim cirat. The mercy of this incarnation is unlimited. It was never given before. That is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. He distributed the most confidential part of love of Godhead. Although we are living in this fallen age, Kali-yuga, but He is giving the topmost platform of loving Krsna. Anarpita-carim cirat. Therefore He is supposed to be the most munificent incarnation. Namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te [Cc. Madhya 19.53]. He is giving directly Krsna-prema.
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07 Mar 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Chanting Hare Krishna, Festivals
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caitanya, chanting Hare Krishna, Gaura Purnima, golden avatara, Hare Krishna Mantra, Krishna, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, love of God, Maha Mantra, self realization, Sri Caitanya, Srila Prabhupada
The Appearance of Lord Caitanya
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, and He is teaching how to develop love of God by a very simple method…chanting the names of the Lord. Only five hundred years ago Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, prophesied that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra would resound throughout every town and village in the world. At a time when Western man was directing his exploratory spirit toward studying the physical universe and circumnavigating the globe, in India Śrī Caitanya was inaugurating and masterminding a revolution directed inward. His movement swept the subcontinent, gained millions of followers, and profoundly influenced the future of religious and philosophical thinking, both in India and the West. In the following talk, presented in November 1969 at London’s Conway Hall, Śrīla Prabhupāda describes the divine appearance of Śrī Caitanya.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the golden avatāra, appeared in India nearly five hundred years ago. It is the custom in India that when a child is born, an astrologer is called for. When Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared five thousand years ago, Gargamuni was called by His father, and he said, “This child formerly incarnated in three complexions, such as red and golden, and now He has appeared in blackish color.” Kṛṣṇa’s color is described in the scriptures as blackish, just like the color of a cloud. Lord Caitanya is understood to be Kṛṣṇa appearing in golden complexion.
There is much evidence in Vedic literature that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, and this is confirmed by scholars and devotees. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is confirmed that the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, or God, in this present age, Kali-yuga, will always engage in describing Kṛṣṇa. He is Kṛṣṇa, but as a devotee of Kṛṣṇa He describes Himself. And in this age His bodily complexion will not be blackish. This means that it may be white, it may be red, or it may be yellow, because these four colors—white, red, yellow, and black—are the colors assumed by the incarnations for the different ages. Therefore, since the red, white, and blackish colors were already taken by former incarnations, the remaining color, golden, is assumed by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. His complexion is not blackish, but He is Kṛṣṇa.
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07 Mar 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Chanting Hare Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya
Tags: Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Hare Krsna, Hare Rama, Hari, holy names of Krishna, Krishna consciousness, Lord Caitanya, love of God, self realization, spiritual madness, Srila Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Caitanya
The holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—is a transcendental vibration because it comes from the transcendental platform, the supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa. Because there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His name, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is as pure, perfect and liberated as Kṛṣṇa Himself.
“It is the transcendental nature of the holy names of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare to transport a man into spiritual madness. Anyone who sincerely chants this holy name very soon attains elevation to the platform of love of God and becomes mad after God. This madness arising from love of God is the first perfectional stage for a human being.”
Excerpted from; Teachings of Lord Caitanya
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Eighteen, The Conversations with Prakāśānanda
…In this age of logic, argument and disagreement, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is the only means for self-realization. Because this transcendental vibration alone can deliver the conditioned soul, it is considered to be the essence of the Vedānta-sūtra. According to the material conception, there is duality between the name, form, quality, emotions and activities of a person and the person himself, but as far as the transcendental vibration is concerned, there is no such limitation, for it descends from the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there is no difference between the name of the person and the quality of the person. Of course in the material world there is a difference. Because the Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand this, they cannot utter the transcendental vibration.
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03 Mar 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Books by Srila Prabhupada, Guru & Disciple, Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta, Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bramananda Swami, Caitanya Caritamrta, disciple, Godbrothers, guru, Guru Maharaja, Krishna, print books, Radhavallabha, Ramesvara, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta, Tamala Krishna Goswami
…”I have no personal qualification, but I simply try to satisfy my guru, that’s all. My Guru Maharaja asked me that, ‘If you get some money, you print books.’ So there was a private meeting, talking. Some of my important Godbrothers also were there–it was in Radha-kunda. So Guru Maharaja was speaking to me that, ‘Since we have got this Baghbazar marble temple, there has been so much dissension. And everyone thinking who will occupy this room or that room. I wish therefore to sell this temple and the marble and print some books.’ Yes, so I took up this from his mouth, that he is very fond of books. And he told me personally, ‘If you get some money, print books.’ Therefore I am stressing on this point–Where is book? Where is book? So kindly help me. That is my request. Print as many books as possible in as many languages as possible, and distribute throughout the whole world. Then the Krishna consciousness movement will automatically increase.”
The next morning, while walking on Venice Beach, Srila Prabhupada delivered an extraordinary ultimatum. Surrounded by devotees, he walked along, poking the sand softly with his cane. “These seventeen volumes unpublished,” he began, “are a great problem for our movement.”
“Yes, Prabhupada,” Ramesvara responded, attentive and concerned. The other devotees also nodded, commiserating. Something must be done.
“Yes,” Prabhupada continued, “they must be published immediately.”
“Yes, Prabhupada,” Ramesvara replied obediently.
“So I think they can be printed in two months,” Srila Prabhupada said conclusively.
Ramesvara wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. The Press had only just opened. The artists didn’t even have the lights in their room. Two months was illogical, impossible. Now was the moment to tell Srila Prabhupada the plan for increased production. Ramesvara stepped closer.
“Srila Prabhupada,” he began, “we’ve been meeting about this, and now that the Press is finally here and established, I think we can increase production four times. We think that now we can go from producing one book every four months to producing one of your books every month.” Now both Ramesvara and Radhavallabha were walking together beside Srila Prabhupada, with Tamala Krishna Goswami and Brahmananda Swami walking on his other side.
“One book every month,” Srila Prabhupada said, as if thinking out loud and considering it. “That means over one year. It is not fast enough.” The other devotees looked over at Ramesvara and Radhavallabha, who glanced at each other.
“You have to do all the books in two months’ time,” Srila Prabhupada said again. They had clearly heard it this time, and the two managers were stunned in disbelief.
“Srila Prabhupada,” Ramesvara said, “I think that’s impossible. Maybe we can go faster . . .”
Srila Prabhupada suddenly stopped walking. Planting his cane firmly in the sand, he turned to Ramesvara and said, without anger but very gravely, “Impossible is a word found in the fool’s dictionary.”
Suddenly Ramesvara realized his spiritual life was on the line. To say “impossible” now would mean he had no faith in Krishna’s representative, no faith in the power of God. He must throw away his material estimations and rational common sense.
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29 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Astrology, Patita Pavana das, Pradyuma das, Quotes by Srila Prabhupada, Remembering Srila Prabhupada
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, astrology, Indian astrology, Panditji, Patita Pavana das, Prabhupada Memories, Pradyumna das, Sampradaya sun, Siddhanta das, Srila Prabhupada
‘Whatever may come by Your mercy, let it come.’ That’s our philosophy. That’s our siddhanta. But if you know it’s going to rain, it’s better to take an umbrella.”
Srila Prabhupada on Astrology
By Patita Pavana das
Feb 28, 2012 — FRANCE (SUN) — From:
‘Memories of Shrila Prabhupada, Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint’.
Shrila Prabhupada often called Pradyumna das Adhikary his “Panditji.” Beginning from 1968 Pradyumna was the first among the Western disciples to learn Sanskrit. Under the guidance of his spiritual master, he lent his expertise into all of Prabhupada’s literary projects. A natural scholar, Pt. Pradyumna Prabhu traveled the world with Shrila Prabhupada carrying any number of weighty tomes with him. He assisted with the Bhagavatam project right until the last days of the pure devotee’s earthly manifest appearance.
The following conversation with Pradyumna was recorded several years ago by the innovator of the Memories series, Shriman Siddhanta das.
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26 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Remembering Srila Prabhupada, Spiritual Life, Srila Prabhupada
Tags: Bahushiras das, Krishna, Memories-Anecedotes of a Modern-day Saint, Remembering Srila Prabhupada, Siddhanta das, Srila Prabhupada, When Lord Krishna Garlanded Prabhupada
When Lord Krishna Garlanded Prabhupada
Bahushiras Das Adhikary
The following narration is from the visionary Memories series of Shriman Siddhanta das Adhikary. It is the remembrance of Shriman Bahushiras das Adhikary given in DVD 44 and in vol. 3, p. 334 of the book Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint.
After Shrila Prabhupada’s disappearance, [Patita Pavana das] asked if I’d like to assist Satswarupa’s Lilamrita project by interviewing people in India who had known Shrila Prabhupada. One of them was Acharya Prabhakar Misra, Prabhupada’s first disciple. Acharya Prabhakar Misra was clean-cut, well-behaved and articulate. His demeanor impressed me. He held a MA and PhD and was a very cultured Sanskrit scholar and teacher. In Jhansi, Prabhupada had told Acharya Prabhakar. “I met you because I saw you in a dream and I knew that I was supposed to come here.” Prabhupada and he would do bhajan together. They’d hold Rathayatra festivals and they’d have programme in villages in the area.
Acharya Prabhakar said that on Shri Krishna Janmashtami in 1954, he had to go to Delhi. When he returned to Jhansi, he took a little rest, woke up at 1:00 am and heard Shrila Prabhupada ecstatically playing mridanga in the temple room. Prabhupada was chanting in total bliss. Acharya Prabhakar went upstairs and saw Shrila Prabhupada bouncing around the temple room performing kirtan. Prabhupada was wearing a kadamba flower garland that went all the way down to his feet. Kadamba flowers are very rare in Jhansi and when they are available they are usually the size of a golf ball. But the ones Prabhupada was wearing were big, the size of tennis balls. And he said that the atmosphere right down to the atoms in the room was not material, aprakrita. The place was surcharged with the fragrance of the heavenly planets. Acharya Prabhakar wanted to ask Shrila Prabhupada, “Where did this garland come from? It is not available from the market.” But Shrila Prabhupada would not answer. His Divine Grace just kept on performing kirtan, bouncing round the room and chanting. The next morning Acharya Prabhakar asked Shrila Prabhupada, “Where did you get the garland, why did it have such a rich fragrance, and why were you feeling so blissful?”
Shrila Prabhupada told him, “I was chanting to Krishna and feeling some love for Him. And He appeared and gave me this garland. I went to touch His feet and He disappeared. Because of that I was dancing around the temple room.” Shrila Prabhupada was crying.
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24 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Devotee's, Diksha, Guru & Disciple, Siksa, Vyasasan das
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, disciple, guru, Gurus and Godbrothers, Iskcon, Krsna, spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Movement, Vyasasan das
Gurus and Godbrothers
By Vyasasan das
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my most humble obeisances, and kindly forgive my offences. In my last letter to you, which I titled “Return to the Hare Krishna Movement”, I was addressing some of the changes I witnessed to your movement since my return in 2006. I expressed some of my disappointments and concerns, and yet I still have faith in this mission of yours.
It was interesting to see which of my older God brothers was still practicing their Krsna Consciousness within the framework of ISKCON, who had remained and who had left. I read one very sad statistic the other day on the Internet, and am sorry to report that 95% of your initiated disciples are no longer practicing their KRSNA Consciousness within the structure of ISKCON. I was very alarmed by this, because it indicates to me there is a fatal flaw in the way the society is being managed.
This is not to say that they are not still practicing their Krsna Consciousness, for “once a devotee always a devotee”, or as is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.19, 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, but sadly most are not practicing their faith within the structure of ISKCON.
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12 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Diksha, Guru & Disciple, Locanananda das, Siksa
Tags: GBC, guru and disciple, initation, interview with Locananda das, Iskcon, July 9th Letter, Locanananda das, officiating acaryas, rittik, ritvik, Srila Prabhupada
And the most definitive direction on this subject is found in the purport of the Srimad Bhagavatam: “One should take initiation from a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, who is authorized by his predecessor spiritual master. This is called diksha-vidhana.” (SB 4.8.54)
Initiation Protocols
Interview with Sriman Locanananda Prabhu
Interviewer: The issue of initiations in ISKCON has divided devotees for several decades and appears to have evolved into a schism. What is your personal perspective on this issue?
Locanananda dasa: When I was President of the Amsterdam temple in 1977, I received a copy of the Summary Report of the GBC meetings held in Vrndavana that year from the 27th through the 29th of May. In that report, two of the three questions Srila Prabhupada answered on May 28th were included, but the answer to the question about future initiations was not. A few weeks later, I received a copy of the July 9th letter explaining the new initiation protocols. It didn’t seem as if much had changed. Initiations would resume despite Srila Prabhupada’s ongoing illness. The letter also addressed the selection of “rittik” representatives of the acarya and referred to the May 28th meeting with Srila Prabhupada, but there was no detailed explanation as to how the two were connected. We were really left in the dark for years as to what instructions Srila Prabhupada had actually given the GBC as a mandate for future initiations.
Interviewer: Would you say it was a cover-up and hijacking of the movement?
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12 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Srila Prabhupada
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, captain of the ship, dedication, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Iskcon, SB 1.1.22, Srila Prabhupada
Dedication to
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
tvaṁ naḥ sandarśito dhātrā
dustaraṁ nistitīrṣatām
kaliṁ sattva-haraṁ puṁsāṁ
karṇa-dhāra ivārṇavam
We think that we have met Your Goodness by the will of providence, just so that we may accept you as captain of the ship for those who desire to cross the difficult ocean of Kali, which deteriorates all the good qualities of a human being.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.22)
On the order of his spiritual master, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda began translating and writing Vedic literature in the English language to bring the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa to the Western countries. After decades of struggle in India, he came to the West and started the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Later on he created the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, to publish his writings and recordings of his lectures, conversations, etc. The VedaBase has been created so that this great treasurehouse of knowledge may be preserved and propagated and so that all may take advantage of the wisdom and association of the pure devotee of Lord Krishna.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda appeared in this world in 1896 in Calcutta, India. He first met his spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī, in Calcutta in 1922. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, a prominent religious scholar and the founder of sixty-four Gauḍīya Maṭhas (Vedic institutes), liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge. Śrīla Prabhupāda became his student, and eleven years later (1933) at Allahabad he became his formally initiated disciple.
At their first meeting, in 1922, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura requested Śrīla Prabhupāda to broadcast Vedic knowledge through the English language. In the years that followed, Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā, assisted the Gauḍīya Maṭha in its work and, in 1944, started Back to Godhead, an English fortnightly magazine. Maintaining the publication was a struggle. Single-handedly, Śrīla Prabhupāda edited it, typed the manuscripts, checked the galley proofs, and even distributed the individual copies. Once begun, the magazine never stopped; it is now being continued by his disciples in the West and is published in over thirty languages.
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11 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Lectures
Tags: disappearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Guru Maharaja, Lecture by His Divine Grace, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Prabhupada
Today marks the disappearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, the Spiritual Master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. We honor this occasion by posting a lecture given by His Divine Grace on the disappearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in 1968.
His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda’s
Disappearance Day, Lecture Los Angeles, December 9, 1968
(Prabhupāda leads kīrtana)
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Come on. I was thinking of “Where is Jayānanda?” now immediately he has come. (someone brings some kind of offering and Śrīla Prabhupāda says to give it to his Guru Mahārāja) Take care it may not fall down.
(pause) All right.
So today is the disappearance day of my Guru Mahārāja. As I told you that sādhavo jīva vā mara vā. There was a nice story the other day I told you that a sage is giving different kinds of blessings to different types of persons. So to a king’s son, a prince, he blessed, rāja-putra ciraṁ jīva: “You are a king’s son, a prince. You live forever.” And muni-putra, the son of a saintly person, he blessed him, mā jīva mā jīva: “You don’t live.” Rāja-putra ciraṁ muni-putra mā jīva. And sādhu, devotees, he blessed him, jīva vā mara vā: “Either you live or you die, as you like.” And there was a butcher, he blessed him, mā jīva mā mara: “You don’t die, don’t live.” So these words are very significant. That I have already explained, still I am explaining. A prince, he’s enjoying sense, that’s all. He has got enough facility for sense enjoyment. So his next life is hellish. Because if you indulge in sex life, then Kṛṣṇa will give you facility to have sex life three times in an hour, just like the pigeons, the monkeys, the sparrows, they are very sexually strong. You have seen it. So the facility is given. So princely order, they are after sense enjoyment. So he’s blessed that “Better you live forever, because after your death, you do not know what is going to happen to you. You are going to get a hellish life. Better you live for some time. Go on with your enjoyment.” And muni-putra mā jīva. Brahmacārī, working under the guidance under strict disciplinary guidance, of a spiritual master, he is blessed, mā jīva, “You better die. Because you are so trained to enter into the kingdom of God, so why should you take so much trouble? Better you die and go back to Godhead.” Ma jīva. And a devotee he blessed, jīva va maro va: “My dear devotee, either you live or die, the same thing.” And the butcher, he blessed him, ma jīva ma mara: “You don’t live, don’t die.” What he’s to do? His living condition is so abominable. From the morning, he has to slaughter so many animals, see the bloodstain, the ghastly scene. That is his livelihood. So what a horrible life this is. So “Don’t live. And don’t die also.” Because after death, oh, he is going to be in so much hellish condition, nobody can describe. So both lives, living condition and death, after death, his condition is very horrible.
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08 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Disciplic succession, Raja-Vidya
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhagavad-gita, Brahma, disciplic succession, Indra, Parampara, Raja-Vidya, Srila Prabhupada, the king of knowledge
click on image to enlarge
At one time, Indra, the king of heaven, committed an offense at the feet of his spiritual master, and his spiritual master cursed him to take the birth of a hog. Thus the throne of the heavenly kingdom became empty as Indra went to earth to become a hog. Seeing the situation, Brahmā came to earth and addressed the hog: “My dear sir, you have become a hog on this planet earth. I have come to deliver you. Come with me at once.” But the hog replied:. “Oh I cannot go with you. I have so many responsibilities—my children, wife and this nice hog society.” Even though Brahmā promised to take him back to heaven, Indra, in the form of a hog, refused. This is called forgetfulness. Similarly, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa comes and says to us, “What are you doing in this material world? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Come to Me, and I’ll give you all protection.” But we say, “I don’t believe You Sir. I have more important business here.” This is the position of the conditioned soul—forgetfulness. This forgetfulness is quickly dissipated by following in the path of disciplic succession.
Raja-vidya: The King of Knowledge
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 5
Parampara: Knowledge Through Disciplic Succession
śrī bhagavān uvāca
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt
“The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.” (Bg. 4.1)
Many ages ago Kṛṣṇa imparted the divine knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā to Vivasvān, the god of the sun. To the best of our knowledge, the sun is a very hot place, and we do not consider it possible for anyone to live there. It is not even possible to approach the sun very closely with these bodies. However, from the Vedic literatures we can understand that the sun is a planet just like this one but that everything there is composed of fire. Just as this planet is predominately composed of earth, there are other planets which are predominately composed of fire, water and air.
The living entities on these various planets acquire bodies composed of elements in accordance with the predominating element on the planet; therefore those beings who live on the sun have bodies which are composed of fire. Of all beings on the sun, the principal personality is a god by the name of Vivasvān. He is known as the sun-god (sūrya-nārāyaṇa). On all planets there are principal personalities, just as in the United States the chief person is the President. From the history called the Mahābhārata we understand that formerly there was only one king on this planet by the name of Mahārāja Bharata. He ruled some 5,000 years ago, and the planet was named after him. Subsequently the earth has become divided into so many different countries. In this way there is usually one and sometimes many controllers of the various planets in the universe.
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07 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Hansadutta das, Srila Prabhupada
Tags: hansadutta das, Iskcon, Krishna, philosophy, prabhupada, science of self reasization, Srila Prabhupada, Varnashrama Dharma
Prabhupada, Man of God
By Sriman Hansadutta Prabhu
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is respectfully called “Srila Prabhupada”, or “spiritual master at whose feet all others bow down”. Who was he really? What did he accomplish?
Five thousand years ago, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, descended to re-establish the principles of religion. At that time, Vedic culture was dying all around the world, being ruled by demonic kings. After Krishna left this world, a rapid decline in the principles of Varnashrama Dharma ensued.
Before the appearance of Srila Prabhupada, Vedic culture existed only in very small pockets in India. We must truly understand what Srila Prabhupada actually achieved in the span of about 10 years. He took THE highest spiritual culture, THE highest philosophy and THE highest science of self-realization, and successfully brought it to the West, which had no spiritual culture, no philosophy and no science of the soul. He started a worldwide revolution in religion by humbly teaching tens of thousands of fallen, sinful, lusty and degraded persons the essence of Vedic culture: pure love of God.
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04 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krishna Consciousness
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, consciousness, human body, human form of life, Leonardo da Vinci, Srila Prabhupada, we are not this body
“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.” (from Beyond Birth and Death)
THE HUMAN FORM OF LIFE
Srila Prabhupada would often pose the question: ‘what is the difference between a live body and a dead one?’ He would point out that if we are nothing but chemicals, then these chemicals are also present in the dead body. What is it that distinguishes a living form from a non-living form? The answer, Srila Prabhupada taught, is consciousness, or awareness. All living forms display this symptom of consciousness to one degree or another. That is why we call them living rather than dead. Even the small microbial germ or the common houseplant shows signs of consciousness, whereas our dining table and chairs do not.
Srila Prabhupada would stress that although different forms of life display different degrees and levels of consciousness, it is in the human form that we find the highest development of consciousness. He taught that since humans had the highest level of self-awareness it was a complete waste if he simply engaged in the same activities as the animals.
But what is it about our consciousness that makes it so different from that of the insect, the bird, the beast, or even the monkey? These creatures eat and we also eat; they sleep and we also sleep; they reproduce and we reproduce; they defend themselves and so do we. That we can perform these functions with greater sophistication may be one indicator that we possess higher consciousness, but it does not fully explain our excellence above all other forms of life.
Srila Prabhupada explained that the real difference is found in our ability to question our existence, reflect upon our selves, and inquire into our own nature and the nature of God. We can create languages, ponder the meaning of life, and puzzle in wonderment over the night sky. Such an endowment is not present in any other form of life.
The Vedas therefore advise that in this human form of life we should be inquisitive to know who we are, what the universe is, what God is, and what the relationship is between ourselves, the universe, and God.
We should inquire about the solution to the ultimate problems of life, namely birth, death, old age, and disease. Such questions cannot be asked by the cats and dogs, but they must arise in the heart of a real human being.
YOU ARE NOT THIS BODY
Without exception, all material phenomena have a beginning and an end. A prominent idea of modem culture is that consciousness is another such material phenomenon. Thus it is believed that consciousness (or the self) also ends with the death of the material body. This point of view, however, remains only an assumption. It has not been proven true by any scientific observation or experiment. Srila Prabhupada was highly critical of Western culture’s strong identification of the self with the material body as he explains in the second canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam:
“The whole materialistic world, based on the conception of the material body as the self, is ignorant of the science of God. The materialist is always busy working for the welfare of the material body, not only his own but also those of his children, kinsmen, communitymen, countrymen, etc. The materialists have many branches of philanthropic and altruistic activities from a political, national and international angle of vision, but none of the field work can go beyond the jurisdiction of the misconception of identifying the material body with the spirit soul. Unless, therefore, one is saved from the wrong conception of the body and the soul, there is no knowledge of Godhead, and unless there is knowledge of God, all advancement of material civilization, however dazzling, should be considered a failure.”
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02 Feb 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krishna, Teachings of Queen Kunti
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, asuras, Krsna, Nrsimha, Putana, Rama, residents of Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam, Teachings of Queen Kunti, Varaha
…Krishna is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by such authoritative personalities as Vyāsa, Devala, Asita, Nārada, Madhva, Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, and all other authorities of the line. He Himself has declared as much in many places of the authentic literatures. And yet there is a class of men with demoniac mentality who are always reluctant to accept the Lord as the Supreme Absolute Truth. This is partially due to their poor fund of knowledge and partially due to their stubborn obstinacy, which results from various misdeeds in the past and present. Such persons could not recognize Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa even when He was present before them.
Teachings of Queen Kunti
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 2, Beyond the Senses
māyā-javanikācchannam
ajñādhokṣajam avyayam
na lakṣyase mūḍha-dṛśā
nato nāṭya-dharo yathā
Being beyond the range of limited sense perception, You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of deluding energy. You are invisible to the foolish observer, exactly as an actor dressed as a player is not recognized. —Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.19
In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa affirms that less intelligent persons mistake Him to be an ordinary man like us, and thus they deride Him. The same is confirmed herein by Queen Kuntī.
The less intelligent persons are those who rebel against the authority of the Lord. Such persons are known as asuras. The asuras cannot recognize the Lord’s authority. When the Lord Himself appears among us, as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, or in His original form as Kṛṣṇa, He performs many wonderful acts which are humanly impossible. As we shall find in the Tenth Canto of this great literature, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa exhibited His humanly impossible activities even from the days of His lying on the lap of His mother. He killed the Pūtanā witch, although she smeared her breast with poison just to kill the Lord. The Lord sucked her breast like a natural baby, and He sucked out her very life also. Similarly, He lifted the Govardhana Hill, just as a boy picks up a frog’s umbrella, and stood several days continuously just to give protection to the residents of Vṛndāvana.
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30 Jan 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Krishna, Nectar of Devotion
Tags: Krishna, Krsna's exquisite beauty, Krsna's Transcendental qualities, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam
The Nectar of Devotion 1970 Edition
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 22 Qualities of Krsna Further Explained
Krsna’s Exquisite Beauty
In the Third Canto 2nd Chapter, 12th verse, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Uddhava tells Vidura, “My dear sir, Kṛṣṇa’s form was most wonderful when He appeared on this planet and exhibited the potency of His internal energy. His wonderfully attractive form was present during His pastimes on this planet, and by His internal potency He exhibited His opulences, which are striking to everyone. His personal beauty was so great that there was no necessity for His wearing ornaments on His body. In fact, instead of the ornaments’ beautifying Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s beauty enhanced the ornaments.”
Regarding the attractiveness of Kṛṣṇa’s bodily beauty and the sound vibration of His flute, in the Tenth Canto, 29th Chapter, 37th verse, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the gopīs address Kṛṣṇa as follows: “Although our attitude towards You resembles loving affairs with a paramour, we cannot but wonder at how no woman can maintain her chastity upon hearing the vibration from Your flute. And not only women, but even stronghearted men are subject to falling down from their position at the sound of Your flute. In fact, we have seen that in Vṛndāvana even the cows, the deer, the birds, the trees-everyone-has been enchanted by the sweet vibration of Your flute and the fascinating beauty of Your person.”
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26 Jan 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Devotee's, Diksha, Guru & Disciple, Gurukrpa das, Siksa
Tags: Bhakta dasa, disciple, guru and disciple, Gurukrpa, Initiation, spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, Tamal Krishna Goswami, The Hare Krishna Movement
This is an older post that originally surfaced on the Sampradaya Sun some years ago, however, for those of you who have not seen this recorded interview, or those of you who like to hear and remember some of the truth that transpired after the departure of Srila Prabhupada in 1977, we again share this important recollection from a senior member of The Hare Krishna Movement.
Gurukrpa: What Really Happened in 1977-78
By Bhakta dasa
Feb 04, INDIA (SUN)
Dear Prabhus: Gurukrpa is here with me and on his behalf I am writing here.
Question: What happened the final months of Srila Prabhupada’s appearance in connection with the process of initiating new devotees?
Gurukrpa: Nothing happened. In the beginning Srila Prabhupada did the diksa, the yajna and the name giving. As the numbers increased, he authorized GBC, and senior sannyasis to pick names and chant on the beads, etc. In 1977 during the months of May, June, July 1977 I was in Vrindaban with Srila Prabhupada, giving him his massage in his bed between 1 AM and mangala aratik. During the day, many letters would arrive. Satsvarupa Swami was the secretary and we decided that only letters that would give joy to Srila Prabhupada would be read. Like numbers of books sold, etc. A maximum of five letters daily were read to Srila Prabhupada.
After some weeks like this, there were stacks and stacks of letters, all relating to initiation. Hundreds of people were panicking that Srila Prabhupada would leave the planet before they were given initiation. At this time, this situation was brought before Srila Prabhupada in his room by Satsvarupa, Tamal, myself, and maybe some others.
Up until this time it was a very simple matter that we were doing the initiations, but we first had to ask permission. Srila Prabhupada NEVER refused any recommendation from his senior men. And personally, I would sometimes argue with some GBC that they were giving it too easily.
At this meeting, Srila Prabhupada basically said, “From here on, if you feel they are ready, then you may give the initiation on my behalf.” I understood this for what it was, simply extending the authority a little further than it had been. Tamal Krsna Swami, began to say, “But who will do it?. Which devotees will do this?” Srila Prabhupada said, “The nearest one will do it. Whoever is closest.” Tamal said, “Can Bhavananda do? Can Jayapataka do?” Thus these eleven names came out.
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22 Jan 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Books by Srila Prabhupada, Krishna Consciousness, The Path of Perfection
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhakti yoga, Durga, Krishna Consciousness Society, Krsna, lotus feet, O son of Maharaja Nanda, Radha and Krsna, Srila Prabhupada, The Path of Perfection, yoga
Thanks to Sudarshan das for submitting this picture
…We have formed this International Society for Krishna Consciousness in order to teach people what they have forgotten. In this material world, we have forgotten the service of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa; therefore we have become servants of māyā, the senses. Therefore, in this Society we are saying, “You are serving your senses. Now just turn your service to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and you will be happy. You have to render service—either to māyā [illusion], the senses, or to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.”
In this world, everyone is serving the senses, but people are not satisfied. No one can be satisfied, because the senses are always demanding more gratification, and this means that we are constantly having to serve the senses. In any case, our position as servant remains the same. It is a question of whether we want to be happy in our service. It is the verdict of Bhagavad-gītā and the other Vedic scriptures that we will never be happy trying to serve our senses, for they are only sources of misery. Therefore Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu prays to be situated in Kṛṣṇa’s service. He also prays,
ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
“O son of Mahārāja Nanda [Kṛṣṇa], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.” (Śikṣāṣṭaka 5) This is another way of asking Kṛṣṇa to engage us in His service…
The Path of Perfection
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 8
Failure and Success in Yoga
full chapter More
21 Jan 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, Poetry of Srila Prabhupada
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Poetry of Srila Prabhupada, Prabhupada's arrival in USA, spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada
Poem by Srila Prabhupada on His First Arrival in the USA
The spiritual master and founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is now engaging thousands of men and women in America and throughout the world in the science of bhakti-yoga, transcendental loving service to God. Prabhupada had no personal motive in first beginning ISKCON; he so vigorously preaches the philosophy of God consciousness simply because he has been ordered to do so by his own spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada first arrived in the United States in 1965 with seven dollars, a letter of introduction to an Indian family in Pennsylvania, and a suitcase with some volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the following poem, written in Bengali on the day of his arrival in the USA, Srila Prabhupada addresses the Supreme Lord Krsna, asking Him His purpose in sending His servant to America. The translation from Bengali was done by Srila Prabhupada himself.
As Follows; More
18 Jan 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Guru & Disciple, Srila Prabhupada
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, books of His Divine Grace, guru, guru's life, guru's teachings, prabhupada, spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada
Among the naive, of course, one may pass for a spiritual master by wearing robes and a beard, bearing a twinkle in one’s eye, performing some magic tricks, or speaking riddles. But intelligent people won’t settle for these outer trappings
Since we are all servants of the Supreme Lord, a bona fide guru must be a devotee of the Supreme Lord and teach others how to become His devotees. In fact, unless the guru is a devotee of Lord Krsna, he cannot understand transcendental knowledge—what to speak of imparting it to others.
Establishing the Proof: Who Is a Real Guru?
Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magazine 1977, Vol.12, No. 8
A recent Gallup poll revealed that more than nineteen million American adults are now practicing some form of yoga, meditation, or other “self-renewal” process. To meet this great demand, many “gurus” have appeared on the scene, each teaching his version of spiritual truth. Some have attracted large followings, and every disciple undoubtedly feels that his guru is the best. But for the serious seeker of truth, choosing a spiritual master cannot be a matter of mere sentiment. Spiritual life is factual and scientific, and we have to test the qualifications of any spiritual teacher by referring to the standard authority. This authority is scripture, especially the Sanskrit Vedic scriptures, which throughout history have provided the philosophical basis for the guru-disciple relationship. By referring to Vedic scriptures we can know the criteria for a bona fide spiritual master. Then we can easily see who is actually a spiritual master, and who is a fraud.
Examining the Guru’s Teachings
The first criterion, according to the Vedic scriptures, is the quality of the words the teacher speaks. (Even a fool may be highly esteemed—until he speaks.) In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Sri Krsna, the original spiritual master, tells his disciple Arjuna, “The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” In other words, a genuine guru must have realized the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, and he must be able to impart this truth to his disciple, thus freeing him (or her) from repeated birth and death.
We should therefore immediately reject as outright charlatans those so-called gurus who pretend to have some spiritual knowledge, but who teach their disciples only how to gain some material advantage—a slimmer body, better sex life, success in business, and so on. Real spiritual life means getting free from the agony of birth and death. How can a common man, unable to distinguish spirit from matter—and thus himself caught in the cycle of birth and death—claim to be a spiritual master? Such cheaters generally take up the “guru business” just to earn a living. But the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the essence of all Vedic scriptures, sternly warns, “No one should become a guru unless he can free his disciple from birth and death.”
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16 Jan 2012
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Books by Srila Prabhupada, Free Downloads, Free eBooks, Prahlada-Nrsimha das
Tags: books by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, books online, free download, free eBooks, Krishna Path, Srila Prabhupada, the philosophy of devotion
The other day I was asked “Where can I find Srila Prabhupada’s Original Books online to download to my laptop?” I thought for a moment and remembered this fine web site to reccomend; Krishna Path This is a very nice site! And we encourage all our readers to visit it, and download one of Srila Prabhupada’s Original books to their home or laptop computer.
http://www.krishnapath.org/
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