Vaniquotes - User contributions [en]

To love Krsna we don't require anything. Ahaituky apratihata. It is open for everyone, but we should learn to sacrifice for Krsna. That is the sign of love

2022-09-11T18:23:26Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"to love Kṛṣṇa, we don't require anything. ''Ahaituky apratihatā''"|"It is open for everyone. But we should learn to sacrifice for Kṛṣṇa. That is the sign of love"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2015-11-25T17:06:42Z}}
{{last|2015-11-25T17:06:42Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Love for Krsna]]
[[Category:We Do Not Require (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Anything]]
[[Category:Open for Everyone]]
[[Category:We Should (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Should Learn]]
[[Category:Our Learning (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Sacrifice (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Sacrificing for Krsna]]
[[Category:Sign of Love]]
[[Category:Our Love (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1968]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, General]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in Canada, Montreal]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>General Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
To love Kṛṣṇa we don't require anything. Ahaituky apratihatā. It is open for everyone, but we should learn to sacrifice for Kṛṣṇa. That is the sign of love. Yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣ. You are eating. If you simply decide that "I shall not eat anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa," then Kṛṣṇa will understand, "Oh, here is a devotee.".
</div>

<mp3player>https://vanipedia.s3.amazonaws.com/clip/680823LE-MONTREAL_clip.mp3</mp3player>
<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:680823 - Lecture Excerpt - Montreal|680823 - Lecture Excerpt - Montreal]]:
</div>
<div class="text">
So to love Kṛṣṇa, we don't require anything. ''Ahaituky apratihatā'' ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.6|SB 1.2.6]]). It is open for everyone. But we should learn to sacrifice for Kṛṣṇa. That is the sign of love. ''Yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi'' ([[Vanisource:BG 9.27 (1972)|BG 9.27]]). If you . . . you are eating. If you simply decide that "I shall not eat anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa," then Kṛṣṇa will understand, "Oh, here is a devotee." "I shall not see anything except Kṛṣṇa's beauty," Kṛṣṇa can understand. "I shall not hear anything except Hare Kṛṣṇa and topics on Kṛṣṇa . . ." These things are there.

It does not require that you become very wealthy, very beautiful or very learned. You have to decide that "I shall not do this without Kṛṣṇa. I shall not do this without Kṛṣṇa. I shall not mix with any man who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious. I shall not talk anything which does not speak about Kṛṣṇa."

So your . . . "I shall not go anywhere except Kṛṣṇa's temple. I shall not engage my hands in anything except Kṛṣṇa's business." In this way, if you train your activities, then you love Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa is purchased—simply by your determination. Kṛṣṇa does not require anything from you. Simply He wants to know whether you have decided to love Kṛṣṇa. That's all.

''Ahaituky apratihatā. Ahaituky apratihatā'' means it is not dependent on anything. You can yourself automatically, by whatever asset you have got—thinking, feeling, walking, eating, sleeping—whatever you have got. By such things, by using those things in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you can purchase Kṛṣṇa. This is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

You haven't got to acquire something extra for loving Kṛṣṇa or purchasing Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa becomes purchased. Therefore . . . Kṛṣṇa cannot be purchased. His name is Ajita. He cannot be conquered, but His devotee can purchase Him, can conquer Him.

Just like you have seen the pictures in our ''Back to Godhead'' about Bhīṣma, that it was just joking, that he knew that "Arjuna cannot be killed, because he is very dear friend of Kṛṣṇa. So these people are requesting me to kill Arjuna. So I shall show my," I mean to say, "capacity of fighting." And actually Arjuna became perplexed.

Bhīṣma wanted to see that Kṛṣṇa shall have to break His promise for His devotee, "I know I shall not be able to kill Arjuna, but at least I shall see that Kṛṣṇa has broken His promise." So Kṛṣṇa actually did not break His promise. He did not accept any weapon, but He simply showed Bhīṣma that, "I have come to kill you with this wheel of the chariot." His ''sudarśana-cakra'' is different.

So these are the reciprocation. Kṛṣṇa can do anything for His devotee. Personally He may be very severe, but for devotee He can do anything. That means devotee can purchase by his devotion.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the third disciplic descendant from Sri Madhavendra Puri. The process of worship in the disciplic succession of Madhvacarya was full of ritualistic ceremonies, with hardly a sign of love of Godhead

2022-09-11T18:08:42Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the third disciplic descendant from Sri Madhavendra Puri. The process of worship in the disciplic succession of Madhvacarya was full of ritualistic ceremonies, with hardly a sign of love of Godhead"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-02-13T08:29:02Z}}
{{last|2021-02-13T08:29:02Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=1|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Caitanya and Madhavendra Puri]]
[[Category:Third]]
[[Category:Caitanya As a Disciple]]
[[Category:Descendants]]
[[Category:Process Of]]
[[Category:Worship]]
[[Category:Disciplic Succession]]
[[Category:Full of...]]
[[Category:Ritualistic Ceremony]]
[[Category:Hardly]]
[[Category:Sign of Love]]
[[Category:Love of Godhead]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila Chapter 09 Purports - The Desire Tree of Devotional Service]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila Purports]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Adi-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, also known as Śrī Mādhava Purī, belonged to the disciplic succession from Madhvācārya and was a greatly celebrated sannyāsī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the third disciplic descendant from Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. The process of worship in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya was full of ritualistic ceremonies, with hardly a sign of love of Godhead.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Adi 9.10|CC Adi 9.10, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
All glories to Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, the storehouse of all devotional service unto Kṛṣṇa! He is a desire tree of devotional service, and it is in him that the seed of devotional service first fructified.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, also known as Śrī Mādhava Purī, belonged to the disciplic succession from Madhvācārya and was a greatly celebrated sannyāsī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the third disciplic descendant from Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. The process of worship in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya was full of ritualistic ceremonies, with hardly a sign of love of Godhead. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was the first person in that disciplic succession to exhibit the symptoms of love of Godhead and the first to write a poem beginning with the words ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha, “O supremely merciful Personality of Godhead.” In that poem is the seed of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s cultivation of love of Godhead.

</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu thought, "This impudence is also a sign of pure love for Me. I have no other intimate friend like Damodara Pandita"

2022-09-11T18:00:08Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"This impudence is also a sign of pure love for Me. I have no other intimate friend like Dāmodara Paṇḍita"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MahaprabhuCaitanya}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2017-05-26T09:51:56Z}}
{{last|2017-05-26T09:51:56Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=1|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Caitanya's Thinking]]
[[Category:Impudence]]
[[Category:Sign of Love]]
[[Category:Pure Love]]
[[Category:Love for Caitanya]]
[[Category:Other]]
[[Category:Caitanya's Intimate Friends]]
[[Category:Caitanya and Damodara Pandita]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila Chapter 03 - The Glories of Srila Haridasa Thakura]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 20 Chapters]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Antya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
[Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thought:] “This impudence is also a sign of pure love for Me. I have no other intimate friend like Dāmodara Paṇḍita.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Antya 3.19|CC Antya 3.19, Translation]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
[Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thought:] “This impudence is also a sign of pure love for Me. I have no other intimate friend like Dāmodara Paṇḍita
</div>
</div>
</div>

In the worship of the sun, there is some sort of demand made by the worshiper, but in the case of devotional service to the Lord, there is no question of demand from either side. It is all a sign of pure love and affection between the Lord and the devotee

2022-09-11T17:56:59Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"In the worship of the sun, there is some sort of demand made by the worshiper, but in the case of devotional service to the Lord, there is no question of demand from either side. It is all a sign of pure love and affection between the Lord and the devotee"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2019-09-29T15:26:00Z}}
{{last|2019-09-29T15:26:00Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Worship]]
[[Category:Sun]]
[[Category:There Is]]
[[Category:Some]]
[[Category:Sort Of]]
[[Category:Demand]]
[[Category:Made By...]]
[[Category:Worshiper]]
[[Category:In The Case Of]]
[[Category:Devotional Service to Krsna]]
[[Category:There Is No Question]]
[[Category:Either]]
[[Category:Side]]
[[Category:Sign of Love]]
[[Category:Pure Love for Krsna]]
[[Category:Love and Affection Bind God and His Devotees]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Chapter 11 Purports - Lord Krsna's Entrance into Dvaraka]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 1</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
In the worship of the sun, there is some sort of demand made by the worshiper, but in the case of devotional service to the Lord, there is no question of demand from either side. It is all a sign of pure love and affection between the Lord and the devotee.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 1.11.4-5|SB 1.11.4-5, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The citizens arrived before the Lord with their respective presentations, offering them to the fully satisfied and self-sufficient one, who, by His own potency, incessantly supplies others. These presentations were like the offering of a lamp to the sun. Yet the citizens began to speak in ecstatic language to receive the Lord, just as wards welcome their guardian and father.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is described herein as ātmārāma. He is self-sufficient, and there is no need for Him to seek happiness from anything beyond Himself. He is self-sufficient because His very transcendental existence is total bliss. He is eternally existent; He is all-cognizant and all-blissful. Therefore, any presentation, however valuable it may be, is not needed by Him. But still, because He is the well-wisher for one and all, He accepts from everyone everything that is offered to Him in pure devotional service. It is not that He is in want for such things, because the things are themselves generated from His energy. The comparison is made herein that making offerings to the Lord is something like offering a lamp in the worship of the sun-god. Anything fiery and illuminating is but an emanation of the energy of the sun, and yet to worship the sun-god it is necessary to offer him a lamp. In the worship of the sun, there is some sort of demand made by the worshiper, but in the case of devotional service to the Lord, there is no question of demand from either side. It is all a sign of pure love and affection between the Lord and the devotee.

The Lord is the Supreme Father of all living beings, and therefore those who are conscious of this vital relation with God can make filial demands from the Father, and the Father is pleased to supply the demands of such obedient sons without bargaining. The Lord is just like the desire tree, and from Him everyone can have everything by the causeless mercy of the Lord. As the Supreme Father, the Lord, however, does not supply to a pure devotee what is considered to be a barrier to the discharge of devotional service. Those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord can rise to the position of unalloyed devotional service by His transcendental attraction.

</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

If one has no love of God, then what is the use of claiming that one's religion is the best? Where is the sign of love of Godhead? That is to be seen. Everyone will say, "My understanding is the best." But there must be practical proof

2022-09-11T17:55:02Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"If one has no love of God, then what is the use of claiming that one's religion is the best? Where is the sign of love of Godhead? That is to be seen. Everyone will say," | "My understanding is the best." | "But there must be practical proof"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-04-14T10:20:42Z}}
{{last|2022-04-14T10:20:42Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:If One]]
[[Category:No Love for Krsna]]
[[Category:No Love]]
[[Category:Love for God]]
[[Category:What Is the Use]]
[[Category:Claim]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Best]]
[[Category:Where Is]]
[[Category:Sign of Love]]
[[Category:Love of Godhead]]
[[Category:That Is]]
[[Category:Seen]]
[[Category:Everyone]]
[[Category:Say]]
[[Category:Understanding]]
[[Category:Best]]
[[Category:There Must Be]]
[[Category:Must Be Practical]]
[[Category:Practical Proof]]
[[Category:Civilization and Transcendence Chapters 01 to 14]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Civilization and Transcendence</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: But many people claim to have the best religion, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Śrīla Prabhupāda: But we have to look at the result. how will we decide what is real religion? Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ yato bhaktir adhokṣaje: (SB 1.2.6) by seeing whether the followers have learned how to love God. If one has no love of God, then what is the use of claiming that one's religion is the best? Where is the sign of love of Godhead? That is to be seen. Everyone will say, "My understanding is the best." But there must be practical proof.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CAT 12 How to Love God|Civilization and Transcendence, 1]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Next question, Śrīla Prabhupāda. "As the world is coming to be divided into just two classes - atheist and theist - is it not advisable for all religions to come together? And what positive steps can be taken in this direction?"

Śrīla Prabhupāda: The steps to be taken have already been explained - this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The atheist class and the theist class will always exist. This is the nature of the material world. Even at home - the father may be an atheist like Hiraṇyakaśipu, and the son a theist like Prahlāda. So atheists and theists will always exist - in the family, in the community, in the nation.

But the theists should follow the instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā and take shelter at Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, giving up other, so-called religious principles. That will bring religious unity. Religion without a clear conception of God is humbug, bogus. Religion means to accept the order of God. So if you have no clear conception of God, if you do not know who God is, there is no question of accepting His order. Find this verse in the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam ([[Vanisource:SB 6.3.19|SB 6.3.19]]).

Hari-sauri:

<div class="quote_verse">
:dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam
:na vai vidur ṛṣayo nāpi devāḥ
:na siddha-mukhyā asurā manuṣyāḥ
:kuto nu vidyādhara-cāraṇādayaḥ
</div>

"Real religious principles are enacted by . . ."

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Ah. "Real." Go on.

Hari-sauri: "Real religious principles are enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although fully situated in the mode of goodness, even the great sages who occupy the topmost planets cannot ascertain the real religious principles, nor can the demigods or the leaders of Siddhaloka, to say nothing of the demons, ordinary human beings, Vidyādharas, and Cāraṇas."

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Hm. Read the next verses also.

Hari-sauri: ([[Vanisource:SB 6.3.20-21|SB 6.3.20-21]])

<div class="quote_verse">
:svayambhūr nāradaḥ śaṁbhuḥ
:kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ
:prahlādo janako bhīṣmo
:balir vaiyāsakir vayam
</div>

:dvādaśaite vijānīmo

<div class="quote_verse">
:dharmaṁ bhāgavataṁ bhaṭāḥ
:guhyaṁ viśuddhaṁ durbodhaṁ
:yaj jñātvāmṛtam aśnute
</div>

"Lord Brahmā, Bhagavān Nārada, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras, Lord Kapila (the son of Devahūti), Svayāmbhuva Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Bhīṣmadeva, Bali Mahārāja, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and I myself (Yamarāja) know the real religious principle. My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhāgavata-dharma, or surrender unto the Supreme Lord and love for Him, is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. This transcendental religious principle is very confidential and difficult for ordinary human beings to understand, but if by chance one fortunately understands it, he is immediately liberated, and thus he returns home, back to Godhead."

Śrīla Prabhupāda: So these mahājanas-Brahmā, Nārada, Lord Śiva, and so on - they know what the principles of religion are. Religion means bhāgavata-dharma, understanding God and our relationship with God. That is religion. You may call it "Hindu religion" or "Muslim religion" or "Christian religion," but in any case, real religion is that which teaches how to love God. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje: ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.6|SB 1.2.6]]) if by following some religious system you come to the platform of loving God, then your religious system is perfect. Otherwise, it is simply a waste of time - bogus religion, without a clear conception of God. So we have to understand what God is and what He says, and we have to abide by His orders. Then there is real religion, there is real understanding of God, and everything is complete.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, one may ask why someone like Christ or Moses is not mentioned among the mahājanas.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: There are mahājanas among the Christian saints. They include Christ, and in addition to Christ, so many others - St. Matthew, St. Thomas, and so forth. These mahājanas are mentioned in the Bible. A mahājana is one who strictly follows the original religion and knows things as they are. And that means he must be coming in the paramparā, the system of disciplic succession.

For instance, Arjuna learned Bhagavad-gītā directly from Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Arjuna is a mahājana. So you should learn from Arjuna. You follow the way Arjuna acted and the way Arjuna understood Kṛṣṇa. Then mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ: (CC Madhya 17.186) you are following the mahājana - you are on the real path. Just as we are. In these verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a list of mahājanas, including Svāyambhu, or Lord Brahmā. So this sampradāya of ours is called the Brahma-sampradāya. Our sampradāya also includes Nārada, another mahājana. Sambhu, or Lord Siva, is still another mahājana. He has his own sampradāya, the Rudra-sampradāya. And similarly, Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, has the Śrī-sampradāya.

So we must belong to one these sampradāyas. Sampradāya-vihinā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ: if you do not belong to a bona fide sampradāya, originating from a mahājana, then your religious process is useless. You cannot concoct some religious system. So whether you follow the Christian mahājanas or the Vedic mahājanas, it doesn't matter. But you have to follow the mahājanas. If a Christian says, "I don't believe in St. Thomas," what kind of Christian is he? It doesn't matter which mahājana we are discussing. The real mahājana is he who is strictly following the principles enunciated by God. Then he is following a real religious system. Otherwise, there is no question of religion. The so-called follower is simply a mano-dharmī, a mental speculator. Mental speculation is not religion. Religion is the order of God, and one who follows that order - he is religious. That's all.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Then as far as I can understand, Śrīla Prabhupāda, you're saying that there's no need to maintain sectarian labels, that there's one religion in the world.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: One religion exists already: how to love God. This is the one religion. Will the Christians say, "No, we don't want to love God"? Will the Muhammadans say, "No, no, we don't want to love God"? So religion means how to love God, and any religion which teaches how to love God - that is perfect. It doesn't matter whether you are Christian or Muslim or Hindu.

Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: ([[Vanisource:SB 6.3.19|SB 6.3.19]]) "Real religion is directly enunciated by Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So, Bhagavān, Lord Kṛṣṇa, says, "surrender unto Me." Of course, you cannot surrender until you love. For instance, you are surrendered to me. Even though I am not from your country, because you have love for me, you surrender. If I say, "do this," you'll do it. Why? Because you love me. So when will there be surrender to God? When one loves God - when one reaches the platform where he thinks, "O Lord, I love You; I can sacrifice everything for You." That is the basic principle of religion.

Therefore, that religion is perfect which teaches its followers how to love God. So let everyone come to this platform of loving God. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are teaching nothing but how to love God, how to sacrifice everything for God. That is real religion. Otherwise, it is all a bogus waste of time, simply a following of ritualistic ceremonies. That is not religion. That is superfluous. As stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.8|1.2.8]]),

<div class="quote_verse">
:dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
:viṣvaksena kathāsu yaḥ
:notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
:śrama eva hi kevalam
</div>

"You are very good; you are following your religious principles very strictly. That's all right - but what about your love of God?" "Oh, that I do not know." So, the Bhāgavatam says, śrama eva hi kevalam: "Your religion is simply a waste of time - simply laboring. That's all. If you have not learned how to love God, then what is the meaning of your religion?"

But when you're actually on the platform of love of God, you understand your relationship with God: "I am part and parcel of God - and this dog is also part and parcel of God. And so is every other living entity." Then you'll extend your love to the animals also. If you actually love God, then your love for insects is also there, because you understand, "This insect has got a different kind of body, but he is also part and parcel of God - he is my brother." Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu: you look upon all living beings equally. Then you cannot maintain slaughterhouses. If you maintain slaughterhouses and disobey the order of Christ in the Bible - "Thou shall not kill" - and you proclaim yourself a Christian, your so-called religion is simply a waste of time. Śrama eva hi kevalam: ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.8|SB 1.2.8]]) your going to the church and everything is simply a waste of time, because you have no love for God. That foolishness is going on all over the world. People are stamping themselves with some sectarian label, but there is no real religion.

So if all people are to come together on one platform, they have to accept the principles of Bhagavad-gītā. The first principle is that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If you do not accept in the beginning that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, then try to understand this gradually. That is education. You can begin by accepting that there is somebody who is supreme.

Now, if I say, "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord," you may say, "Why is Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Lord? Kṛṣṇa is Indian." No. He is God. For example, the sun rises first over India, then over Europe. But that does not mean the European sun is different from the Indian sun. Similarly, although Kṛṣṇa appeared in India, now He has come to the Western countries through this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

So you should try to understand whether Kṛṣṇa is God or not. But He is God. There is no doubt about it. If you have the intelligence to understand what God is, then try to understand. But Kṛṣṇa is God, undoubtedly. So take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and abide by the order of Kṛṣṇa. Then everyone can come together on the same religious platform. One religion, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, sometimes in our preaching activities we meet people who claim to be very devout Christians or Muslims but at the same time blaspheme Kṛṣṇa. Is it possible that such persons can actually be associates of God?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. If one is serious about understanding what God is, then he will accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord. Once he knows what God is, he'll understand, "Here is God-Kṛṣṇa." If he remains in darkness and does not learn what God is, then how will he understand Kṛṣṇa? He'll understand Kṛṣṇa as one of us. That's all. But if he knows what God is, then he'll understand about Kṛṣṇa: "Yes, here is God."

For instance, if a person knows what gold is, then anywhere he comes upon gold, he'll understand, "Here is gold." He won't think gold is available in one shop only. And if a person knows what God is, what the meaning of "God" is, then in Kṛṣṇa he will find God in fullness. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: ([[Vanisource:SB 1.3.28|SB 1.3.28]]) "Kṛṣṇa Himself is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." The śāstra explains what Bhagavān, or God, is, and how Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān. You should understand and see from the activities of Kṛṣṇa whether He is or is not Bhagavān. It requires a good brain to understand. If I say, "Here is God," now it is up to you to test my statement. If you know what God is, then test my statement about Kṛṣṇa, and then you'll accept Him as God. If you do not know how to test my statement, then you may refuse to accept it. That is another thing. You may also accept iron as gold. That is your ignorance: you do not know what gold is. But if you actually know what God is, you will accept Kṛṣṇa as God. There is no doubt about it.

So this is the common platform - Bhagavad-gītā. Everyone, come and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Understand God and learn how to love Him, and your life will be perfect.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: But many people claim to have the best religion, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: But we have to look at the result. how will we decide what is real religion? Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ yato bhaktir adhokṣaje: ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.6|SB 1.2.6]]) by seeing whether the followers have learned how to love God. If one has no love of God, then what is the use of claiming that one's religion is the best? Where is the sign of love of Godhead? That is to be seen. Everyone will say, "My understanding is the best." But there must be practical proof.

If someone claims to have the best religion, we ask, "Tell us how to love God. What is your process of loving God? If you do not know your relationship with God and others' relationship with God, then how can you love God?" That process of loving God is lacking. Nobody can give a clear conception of God. If you have no understanding of what God is, where is the question of love? Love is not mere fantasy or imagination. You cannot love air. You love a person, a beautiful person. If you merely say, "I love the air, I love the sky," what question is there of love? There must be a person. So who is that person we want to love?

Unfortunately, most people have no personal conception of God. Nor can they describe the Lord's personal beauty, knowledge, strength - His fullness in the six personal opulences. There is no such description. They have some conception of God, but actually they do not know what God is. But religion means you must know God and love Him. Love is something tangible. It is not merely fantasy or imagination. So we Kṛṣṇa conscious people accept Kṛṣṇa as God, and we are worshiping Kṛṣṇa, and we are making progress.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Recently a priest visited us and admitted that he didn't know what God looks like. He couldn't say anything about God, but he said he loved God.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Then? What kind of love is it?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Nor did he say his people were very enthusiastic about coming to church. He said, "At best they come once a week." He said that's all that is necessary.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Well, love does not mean that you come once a week to my house. Love means you come to my house every day, give me some present, and take something from me. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes the symptoms of love in his Upadeṣāmṛta (4);

<div class="quote_verse">
:dadāti pratigṛhṇāti
:guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
:bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva
:ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam
</div>

If you love somebody, you must give him something, and you must accept something from him. You must disclose your mind to him, and he should disclose his mind to you. And you should give him some eatable, and whatever eatable thing he offers, you accept. These six kinds of exchange develop love.

But if you do not even know the person, then where is the question of love? Suppose you love some boy or some girl, then you will give some present, and he or she gives you some present - that develops love. You give something to eat, and whatever he or she gives you to eat, you eat. You disclose your mind: "My dear such-and-such, I love you. This is my ambition." And he or she makes some disclosure. These are the exchanges of love.

But if there is no person-to-person meeting, where is the question of love? If I claim to love somebody, but I visit his house only once a week and ask,"Please give me such-and-such," where is the exchange of love? Love means there is some exchange. If you love somebody but you have not given anything to that person or taken anything from him, where is the love?

The conclusion is, religion means to love God, and that means you must know who God is. There is no alternative. You must know the person who is God. Then you can have loving exchanges with Him. That we are teaching. We are asking our disciples to rise early in the morning and offer maṅgala ārati, then bhoga ārati, to the Lord in His form as the Deity in the temple. Are we such fools and rascals that we are wasting time worshiping a "doll"? Sometimes people think like that. But that is not a fact. When you enter the temple, you know definitely, "Here is Kṛṣṇa. He is God, and we must love Him like this." That is the superexcellence of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We do everything definitely, on the positive platform. Is that clear? Does anyone have any further question?

Pradyumna: Śrīla Prabhupāda, you're saying we must know God before we can love Him. So that means devotional service is preceded by knowledge.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the process given in the Bhagavad-gītā. There are eighteen chapters, and the whole eighteen chapters are education - how to know God. When Arjuna at last comes to complete awareness, he accepts, "Kṛṣṇa, You are paraṁ brahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Then Arjuna surrendered, as Kṛṣṇa advised - sarva-dharmān parityajya ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66|BG 18.66]]). But unless you know God, how will you surrender? If some third-class man comes and says, "Surrender to me," will you do that? "Why should I surrender to you?" You must know, "Now, here is God. I must surrender." Eighteen chapters describe God and how to know God, and then Kṛṣṇa proposes, "Surrender unto Me." Then Arjuna does it: "Yes." So without knowing God, how can you surrender to Him? It is not possible.

So the Bhagavad-gītā is the science of how to know God. The preliminary science. If you want to know more, then read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And if you are in intense love with God, read Caitanya-caritāmṛta - how your love for God can be still more intensified. That is Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary book: to understand God and surrender. And from the surrendering point, further progress - that is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And when the love is intense, to make it more intensified - that is Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was mad after God. He cried, śūnyāyitam jagat sarvaṁ govinda viraheṇa me: "I find everything vacant without Kṛṣṇa." That is the supreme ecstasy.

So these things cannot happen without love. If you love somebody and he's not there, you find everything vacant. So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt this way about Kṛṣṇa - lover and beloved. Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda viraheṇa me: "I see everything vacant without Govinda." That is the supreme stage of love. Is that clear or not?

Pradyumna: There's just one more thing, Śrīla Prabhupāda. What's the minimum knowledge one must have to . . .

Śrīla Prabhupāda: God is great. That's all. God is great. Kṛṣṇa proved that He's great. Therefore He's God. Everyone says, "God is great." Allah-u-akbar, the Muslims say: "God is great." And Hindus say, paraṁ brahma: "You are the Supreme Spirit." So God is great. And when Kṛṣṇa was present, He proved that He is all-great. Therefore He's God. If you accept that God is great, and if you find somebody who is great in everything, then He is God. How can you deny it? You can see how great Kṛṣṇa is simply by considering His Bhagavad-gītā. Five thousand years have passed since Kṛṣṇa spoke Bhagavad-gītā, and still it is accepted as the greatest book of knowledge all over the world. Even people from other religions who are really learned accept it. That is proof of the greatness of Kṛṣṇa - this knowledge. Who can give such knowledge? That is the proof that He is God. Kṛṣṇa has all opulences in full, including knowledge. Other than here in Kṛṣṇa's words, where is such knowledge throughout the whole world? Every line is sublime knowledge. If you study Bhagavad-gītā scrutinizingly, you'll understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Dear daughter, don't be worried because Radharani is belching. I am about to offer a remedial measure for this symptom. This belching is not due to indigestion; it is a sign of ecstatic love for Krsna. I shall arrange to cure this belching symptom

2022-09-11T17:49:04Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"My dear daughter, don't be worried because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is belching. I am about to offer a remedial measure for this symptom. Do not cry so loudly. This belching is not due to indigestion; it is a sign of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. I shall arrange to cure this belching symptom immediately. Don't be worried"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2017-05-07T16:12:21Z}}
{{last|2017-05-07T16:12:21Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Dear]]
[[Category:Daughter]]
[[Category:Do Not Be]]
[[Category:Do Not Worry]]
[[Category:Because]]
[[Category:Radharani's Belching]]
[[Category:I Am]]
[[Category:About]]
[[Category:Offer]]
[[Category:Remedial Measures]]
[[Category:Radharani's Symptoms]]
[[Category:Due To]]
[[Category:Indigestion]]
[[Category:Sign of Love]]
[[Category:Symptoms of Ecstatic Love]]
[[Category:Ecstatic Love for Krsna]]
[[Category:Shall]]
[[Category:Arrange]]
[[Category:Curing Radharani]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 27 - Symptoms of Ecstatic Love]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapters 01 to 51]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Sometimes belching also becomes a symptom of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. There is evidence of this in Paurṇamāsī's address to one crying associate of Rādhārāṇī: "My dear daughter, don't be worried because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is belching. I am about to offer a remedial measure for this symptom. Do not cry so loudly. This belching is not due to indigestion; it is a sign of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. I shall arrange to cure this belching symptom immediately. Don't be worried." This statement of Paurṇamāsī is evidence that ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa is sometimes manifested through belching.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:NOD 27 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 27]]
</div>
<div class="text">
One gopī told her friend: "It appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of the demon Agha, has released from His mouth a whirlwind which is acting on your head and is gradually proceeding to do the same to the other lotus-eyed gopīs."

Belching

Sometimes belching also becomes a symptom of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. There is evidence of this in Paurṇamāsī's address to one crying associate of Rādhārāṇī: "My dear daughter, don't be worried because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is belching. I am about to offer a remedial measure for this symptom. Do not cry so loudly. This belching is not due to indigestion; it is a sign of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. I shall arrange to cure this belching symptom immediately. Don't be worried." This statement of Paurṇamāsī is evidence that ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa is sometimes manifested through belching.

Sometimes trembling of the whole body and hemorrhaging from some part of the body are also manifested in response to ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, but such symptoms are very rare, and therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī does not discuss any further on this point
</div>
</div>
</div>

The word pasu refers to the animal as well as to the human entity. Lord Siva is always interested in protecting the animals and the animalistic living entities, who are not very advanced in the spiritual sense

2022-08-08T15:20:02Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The word paśu refers to the animal as well as to the human entity"|"Lord Śiva is always interested in protecting the animals and the animalistic living entities, who are not very advanced in the spiritual sense"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-09-03T13:31:03Z}}
{{last|2020-09-03T13:31:03Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Words]]
[[Category:Refers to (Sanskrit)]]
[[Category:Animal]]
[[Category:As Well As]]
[[Category:Human]]
[[Category:Entities]]
[[Category:Lord]]
[[Category:Siva]]
[[Category:Is Always]]
[[Category:Interest]]
[[Category:Protection]]
[[Category:Animalistic]]
[[Category:Living Entities]]
[[Category:Who Are]]
[[Category:Are Not]]
[[Category:Not Very]]
[[Category:Advanced]]
[[Category:In the Spiritual Sense]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 07 Purports - The Sacrifice Performed by Daksa]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 4</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Lord Śiva is called paśupati because he protects the living entities in their developed consciousness so that they may follow the Vedic system of varṇa and āśrama. The word paśu refers to the animal as well as to the human entity. It is stated here that Lord Śiva is always interested in protecting the animals and the animalistic living entities, who are not very advanced in the spiritual sense.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 4.7.14|SB 4.7.14, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
My dear great and powerful Lord Śiva, you were created first from the mouth of Lord Brahmā in order to protect the brāhmaṇas in pursuing education, austerities, vows and self-realization. As protector of the brāhmaṇas, you always protect the regulative principles they follow, just as a cowherd boy keeps a stick in his hand to give protection to the cows.
</div>
<div class="text">
The specific function of a human being in society, irrespective of his social status, is to practice control of the mind and senses by observing the regulative principles enjoined in the Vedic śāstras. Lord Śiva is called paśupati because he protects the living entities in their developed consciousness so that they may follow the Vedic system of varṇa and āśrama. The word paśu refers to the animal as well as to the human entity. It is stated here that Lord Śiva is always interested in protecting the animals and the animalistic living entities, who are not very advanced in the spiritual sense. It is also stated that the brāhmaṇas are produced from the mouth of the Supreme Lord. We should always remember that Lord Śiva is being addressed as the representative of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu. In the Vedic literature it is described that the brāhmaṇas are born from the mouth of the universal form of Viṣṇu, the kṣatriyas are born from His arms, the vaiśyas from His abdomen or waist, and the śūdras from His legs. In the formation of a body, the head is the principal factor. The brāhmaṇas are born from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to accept charity for worship of Viṣṇu and to spread Vedic knowledge. Lord Śiva is known as paśupati, the protector of the brāhmaṇas and other living entities. He protects them from the attacks of non-brāhmaṇas, or uncultured persons who are against the self-realization process.

Another feature of this word is that persons who are simply attached to the ritualistic portion of the Vedas and do not understand the situation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not any more advanced than animals. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is confirmed that even though one performs the rituals of the Vedas, if he does not develop a sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all his labor in performing Vedic rituals is considered to be simply a waste of time. Lord Śiva's aim in destroying the Dakṣa yajña was to punish Dakṣa because by neglecting him (Lord Śiva), Dakṣa was committing a great offense. Lord Śiva's punishment was just like that of a cowherd boy, who keeps a stick to frighten his animals. It is commonly said that to give protection to animals, a stick is needed because animals cannot reason and argue. Their reasoning and argument is argumentum ad baculum; unless there is a rod, they do not obey. Force is required for the animalistic class of men, whereas those who are advanced are convinced by reasons, arguments and scriptural authority. Persons who are simply attached to Vedic rituals, without further advancement of devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, are almost like animals, and Lord Śiva is in charge of giving them protection and sometimes punishing them, as he punished Dakṣa.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Because we are doubtful, we are presenting Krsna in a different way. And there are so many commentators, so many swamis, they put Krsna in a different way. But Krsna is Krsna. Law of identity. You cannot comment on the Krsna's personality

2022-08-08T11:14:24Z

Radhika: Created page with "<div id="compilation"> <div id="facts"> {{terms|"Because we are doubtful, we are presenting Krsna in a different way. And there are so many commentators, so many swamis, they..."

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Because we are doubtful, we are presenting Krsna in a different way. And there are so many commentators, so many swamis, they put Krsna in a different way. But Krsna is Krsna. Law of identity. You cannot comment on the Krsna's personality"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Radhika}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-08-08T11:14:24Z}}
{{last|2022-08-08T11:14:24Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Because]]
[[Category:We Are]]
[[Category:Doubt]]
[[Category:Presenting Krsna]]
[[Category:Different Ways]]
[[Category:So Many]]
[[Category:Commentator]]
[[Category:Swami]]
[[Category:Putting Krsna]]
[[Category:Krsna Is]]
[[Category:Law of Identity]]
[[Category:You Cannot]]
[[Category:Commentaries]]
[[Category:Krsna's Personality]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - BHAV]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
You should not be doubtful. You should accept. Because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you should accept His word as it is. And because we are doubtful, we are presenting Kṛṣṇa in a different way. And there are so many commentators, so many svāmīs, they put Kṛṣṇa in a different way. But Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa. Law of identity. You cannot comment on the Kṛṣṇa's personality.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:710408 - Lecture BG 16.2-7 - Bombay|710408 - Lecture BG 16.2-7 - Bombay]]
</div>
<div class="text">
So here it is clearly stated, daivī sampad vimokṣāya. If you do not develop your godly qualities, then there is no question of liberation. It is not a fashion, that you do anything nonsense and simply take as vedānta and talk while smoking, and you become liberated. It is not so easy. It is not so easy. You have to form your vedānta character, then you can understand this philosophy.

<div class="quote_verse">
:yeṣāṁ anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
:janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
:te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
:bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
:([[Vanisource:BG 7.28 (1972)|BG 7.28]])
</div>

So those who come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are not ordinary persons, because Kṛṣṇa says personally who can come to Him: te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ. Dṛḍha-vrata means with firm conviction that simply by devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, simply by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, one becomes perfect in all respects. This is called faith. This is called faith. Yeṣāṁanta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām, te dvandva-moha-nirmuktāḥ. Duality.

Our position in this dual world is we are always doubtful. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66 (1972)|BG 18.66]]), but we are doubtful. That is material influence. "How it is that simply by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa I become free from all material contamination or sinful activities, results?" Doubt. But actually, you should not be doubtful. You should accept. Because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you should accept His word as it is. And because we are doubtful, we are presenting Kṛṣṇa in a different way. And there are so many commentators, so many svāmīs, they put Kṛṣṇa in a different way.

But Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa. Law of identity. You cannot comment on the Kṛṣṇa's personality. He says that, "I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya ([[Vanisource:BG 7.7 (1972)|BG 7.7]]): "There is no more superior authority than Me." We accept that. Then we can understand Bhagavad-gītā and take advantage of it, otherwise not possible.

And that requires daivī sampat, godly characteristics. So those godly characteristics are there. Either you practice yourself to come to the godly characteristics or there is simple method, if you take to devotional service, all the godly qualities automatically come. This is the process.

So in this age, to develop these godly qualities is very difficult. But if you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness by the simple method, by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, then automatically you develop all the godly qualities.
</div>
</div>
</div>

We have heard so many so-called Gods, that "He attained such perfection of mystic power. Now he has become God." That is also another maya. Nobody can become God. God is God; dog is dog. This is the law of identity

2022-08-08T10:44:47Z

Radhika: Created page with "<div id="compilation"> <div id="facts"> {{terms|"We have heard so many so-called Gods, that"|"He attained such perfection of mystic power. Now he has become God"|"That is also..."

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"We have heard so many so-called Gods, that"|"He attained such perfection of mystic power. Now he has become God"|"That is also another maya. Nobody can become God. God is God; dog is dog. This is the law of identity"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Radhika}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-08-08T10:44:47Z}}
{{last|2022-08-08T10:44:47Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:I Have Heard (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:So Many Gods]]
[[Category:So-called Gods]]
[[Category:Attain Perfection]]
[[Category:Mystic Power]]
[[Category:Become God]]
[[Category:That Is Maya]]
[[Category:Nobody Can]]
[[Category:God Is God]]
[[Category:Dog]]
[[Category:Law of Identity]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - BHAV]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The modern fashion is that they want to become God by meditation, by advancement of mystic power. But that kind of God is not Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa does not become God, He's God always. Others, they try to become God by mystic power. We have heard so many so-called Gods that, "He attained such perfection of mystic power. Now he has become God." That is also another māyā. Nobody can become God. God is God; dog is dog. This is the law of identity. A dog cannot become God, neither God becomes dog.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:721113 - Lecture SB 01.02.34 - Vrndavana|721113 - Lecture SB 01.02.34 - Vrndavana]]
</div>
<div class="text">
So the Supreme Personality of Godhead, līlāvatāra, incarnates in many forms, not only in the human society, but in the demigod society, or lower than human society, the animal society also, tree society. Because as we have forgotten our relationship with Kṛṣṇa, He's always anxious to get us back to home, back to Godhead, so He incarnates Himself in so many forms. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). He has got ananta-rūpa, unlimited forms. Advaitam acyutam anādi. But all those forms are in essence one. Advaita. That is not different.

Just like rāmādi-mūrtiṣu. The Lord appears as Lord Rāmacandra or as Lord Kṛṣṇa or as Lord Varāha. They are not different. In the material sense a varāha, a hog, is different from the man. Or the man is . . . one man is different from another man. But the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa, they are not different. The same thing.

Just like Kṛṣṇa, when He appeared, He, He's Kṛṣṇa when He was so-called three months old, and He was Kṛṣṇa when He was twenty years old. The same Kṛṣṇa. As we find difference that a . . . the same man, when he's three months old, he's different from the twenty years old. When his age is twenty years, he's different from his age when his age is three months.

The modern fashion is that they want to become God by meditation, by advancement of mystic power. But that kind of God is not Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa does not become God, He's God always. Others, they try to become God by mystic power. We have heard so many so-called Gods that, "He attained such perfection of mystic power. Now he has become God." That is also another māyā. Nobody can become God. God is God; dog is dog. This is the law of identity. A dog cannot become God, neither God becomes dog.

This is Māyāvāda theory, that at the end the Absolute Truth is void, or impersonal. The Buddhist theory is void and the Māyāvādī theory is impersonal. But our philosophy is that God is originally the Supreme Person. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.11|SB 1.2.11]]). We have discussed this point many times.

Now, here it is said, līlāvatārānurato deva-tiryaṅ-narādiṣu. God is always anxious to get us back, back to home, back to Godhead. So apart from His incarnations amongst the deva, demigods . . . just like Upendra, Lord Vāmanadeva, He appeared amongst the demigods. There are so many other incarnation, demigods. Tiryaṅ . . . Narādi . . . Tiryaṅ. God appeared as incarnation of boar, incarnation of horse, incarnation of tortoise.
</div>
</div>
</div>

The identity of the Supreme Lord is that He is the original person. Nonetheless, those who have but a poor fund of knowledge think that the Lord is formless. The Lord is formless in the material sense, but He has His transcendental form

2022-08-05T13:20:09Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The identity of the Supreme Lord is that He is the original person. Nonetheless, those who have but a poor fund of knowledge think that the Lord is formless. The Lord is formless in the material sense, but He has His transcendental form"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MadhuGopaldas}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|21May12}}
{{last|21May12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Identity]]
[[Category:Supreme God]]
[[Category:Is That]]
[[Category:Krsna Is]]
[[Category:Original Person]]
[[Category:Nonetheless]]
[[Category:Those Who]]
[[Category:Poor Fund of Knowledge]]
[[Category:Think]]
[[Category:Formless]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:Krsna Has]]
[[Category:God's Form]]
[[Category:God's Transcendental Form]]
</div>
<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="SB_Canto_9" class="sub_section" sec_index="9" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 9"><h3>SB Canto 9</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB9824_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_9" book="SB" index="294" link="SB 9.8.24" link_text="SB 9.8.24">
<div class="heading">The identity of the Supreme Lord is that He is the original person. Nonetheless, those who have but a poor fund of knowledge think that the Lord is formless. The Lord is formless in the material sense, but He has His transcendental form (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1)).
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 9.8.24|SB 9.8.24, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">O completely peaceful Lord, although material nature, fruitive activities and their consequent material names and forms are Your creation, You are unaffected by them. Therefore, Your transcendental name is different from material names, and Your form is different from material forms. You assume a form resembling a material body just to give us instructions like those of Bhagavad-gītā, but actually You are the supreme original person. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>Śrīla Yāmunācārya has recited this verse in his Stotra-ratna (43):</p>
:bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ
:praśānta-niḥśeṣa-manorathāntaraḥ
:kadāham aikāntika-nitya-kiṅkaraḥ
:praharṣayiṣyāmi sanātha-jīvitam
<p>"By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?"</p>
<p>Manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ: ([[Vanisource:SB 5.18.12|SB 5.18.12]]) one who acts on the mental platform must descend to material activities. Material contamination, however, is completely absent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His pure devotee. Therefore the Lord is addressed as praśānta, completely peaceful, free from the disturbances of material existence. The Supreme Lord has no material name or form; only the foolish think that the Lord's name and form are material (avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam ([[Vanisource:BG 9.11 (1972)|BG 9.11]])). The identity of the Supreme Lord is that He is the original person. Nonetheless, those who have but a poor fund of knowledge think that the Lord is formless. The Lord is formless in the material sense, but He has His transcendental form (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1)).</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

The analogy concerning the spiritual body of the Sat-Guru is acceptable, but not in the material sense. In the material world, the gold box and the gold plated box may be different in price, but in spiritual world there is no such distinction

2022-08-05T13:18:48Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The analogy concerning the spiritual body of the Sat-Guru is acceptable, but not in the material sense. In the material world, the gold box and the gold plated box may be different in price, but in spiritual world there is no such distinction"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MahabhavaS}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2014-11-21T10:35:15Z}}
{{last|2014-11-21T10:35:15Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Analogy]]
[[Category:Concern]]
[[Category:Spiritual Body]]
[[Category:Guru]]
[[Category:Acceptable]]
[[Category:Not Material]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:Material World (Prakrti)]]
[[Category:Gold]]
[[Category:Box]]
[[Category:Plated]]
[[Category:May Be]]
[[Category:Different]]
[[Category:Price]]
[[Category:In The Spiritual World There Is No...]]
[[Category:No Distinction]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>1968 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The analogy concerning the spiritual body of the Sat-Guru is acceptable, but not in the material sense. In the material world, the gold box and the gold plated box may be different in price, but in spiritual world there is no such distinction. There the gold box and the gold plated box are the same. In material world there is difference between a sweeper and a cooker; in the spiritual world a person who sweeps the Temple and a person who worships in the Temple are all the same. That is absolute knowledge.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:680201 - Letter to Madhusudana written from Los Angeles|680201 - Letter to Madhusudana written from Los Angeles]]
</div>
<div class="text">
February 01, 1968

New York

My Dear Madhusudana,

Please accept my blessings. You are always engaged in Krishna's service is the greatest pleasure for me, and I am feeling transcendental happiness. Actually bodily I am not getting much strength, but spiritually I am getting much strength because my spiritual children are growing in spiritual strength. That is my strength.

That prayer "Jagannatha Swami, nayana pathagami, bhava tu me." For the time being, the Jagannathas can be transferred there, chanting this prayer. But if you can wait until my arrival that is better. It is nice to hold a special ceremony for that purpose. I would like to do it when I go to N.Y.

Yes, when Jagannatha goes to sleep and when He rises up, to ring the bell is the custom. Ringing of bell is required even for offering prasadam. That is the system in all the Temples in Vrindaban. Your question; Does the Lord go to sleep so early and before everyone, and wake up so late, after everybody? The Lord is independent and complete. He has nothing to do with everyone. He is Lord. After He wakes up He is washed, not before.

Sri means opulence, auspicity. And therefore before remembering any friend or superior, the Sri word is prefixed in so many forms. The real word is Sri; the others are all different forms of Sri. Yes, Lord Jagannatha is in the Spiritual Sky; every form of Krishna is in the Spiritual Sky. Ekadasi is observed for increasing the strength of devotion.

Yes, the analogy concerning the spiritual body of the Sat-Guru is acceptable, but not in the material sense. In the material world, the gold box and the gold plated box may be different in price, but in spiritual world there is no such distinction. There the gold box and the gold plated box are the same. In material world there is difference between a sweeper and a cooker; in the spiritual world a person who sweeps the Temple and a person who worships in the Temple are all the same. That is absolute knowledge.

Yes, the verse concerning Arca Vigraha is like this: "arcasiladhir gurusu naramati vaisnave jati budhi." The meaning is that one should not think of the Deity as made of stone, wood, etc. Another verse is, "Archaiam Evam Paria Ja Pujan Sadraya Hatay." The meaning is that one who worships the Deity with great devotion but doesn't show any devotion to the devotees of the Lord, or doesn't preach Krishna Consciousness for the benefit of the general public, he is in the lower stage of devotional service.

Yes, Sanskrit is spoken not only on Krishna Loka but also in higher planets, of the demigods. It is called the language of God and the demigods. It was spoken also on this planet, when people were all godly, they used to speak in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the origin of all languages of the civilized peoples. It is most perfect, not only descriptive; the word "Sanskrit" means "the most perfect". Because not a single word you can pronounce without having a bona fide principle. It is not like the English language, "but, put" with irrational difference in pronunciation, no principles. Sanskrit isn't like that. Therefore it is perfect. It isn't whimsical. English poetry has one line one inch long, next line 600 inches long. Sanskrit is not like that. There are strict principles, and it is so beautiful. Therefore in Sanskrit language not an ordinary man can become a poet. No other language of the world can be compared with it. No other language of the world is so perfect as Sanskrit. Any language near to Sanskrit language (like Bengali) is nearer to perfection. Sanskrit is pronounced same way here or there, it is standard.

Yes you can sing prayers in Sanskrit, but prayers in English can be also pronounced because the Lord accepts the motive not the pronunciation of the language. He wants to see spiritual motive. Even if some effectiveness is lost in translation, if the motive is there, it will make no difference.

Regarding your question about Gopala; yes, Krishna can do anything, that is the principle.

Foodstuffs can be offered at any place but with devotion and formalities.

I thank you very much for your inquisitiveness, and Krishna will help you to understand the Truth from within and without. I am very pleased for your endeavor. Hope you are well.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

P.S. You wanted to to to India. Now there is opportunity. Acyutananda is opening a centre at Kanpur the third important city in India. Rayarama and Brahmananda will shortly start for India. You can also go with them. Ask your parents to pay for the expenses.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Since the living entities are also related to His (the Lord's) energies, there is nothing really different from the substance. At the same time, the energies are different from the substance. In the material sense, this conception is self-contradictory

2022-08-05T13:17:27Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Since the living entities are also related to His energies, there is nothing really different from the substance. At the same time, the energies are different from the substance. In the material sense, this conception is self-contradictory"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|vanisevadasa}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-09-10T13:39:49Z}}
{{last|2021-09-10T13:39:49Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Since]]
[[Category:Living Entities]]
[[Category:Relate To]]
[[Category:God's Energies]]
[[Category:There Is Nothing]]
[[Category:Really]]
[[Category:Different From]]
[[Category:Substance]]
[[Category:At the Same Time]]
[[Category:Energy]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:Conception]]
[[Category:Self]]
[[Category:Contradiction]]
[[Category:Teachings of Lord Caitanya 1975 Chapter 23 - Why Study the Vedanta-sutra]]
[[Category:Teachings of Lord Caitanya 1975 Chapters 01 to 32]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Teachings of Lord Caitanya</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The substance is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the relativities are the different forms of energy which emanate from Him. Since the living entities are also related to His energies, there is nothing really different from the substance. At the same time, the energies are different from the substance. In the material sense, this conception is self-contradictory, but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explicitly deals with this aspect of simultaneous oneness and difference.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:TLC 23 (1975)|Teachings of Lord Caitanya (1975), Chapter 23]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Knowledge is information gathered from the scriptures, and science is practical realization of that knowledge. Knowledge is scientific when it is gathered from the scriptures through the bona fide spiritual master, but when it is interpreted by speculation, it is mental concoction. By scientifically understanding the scriptural information through the bona fide spiritual master, one learns, by one's own realization, the actual situation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is different from material manifestations, and it is above the reactions of matter. Unless one scientifically understands the spiritual form of the Personality of Godhead, one becomes an impersonalist. The sunshine in itself is illumination, but that illumination is different from the sun. Yet the sun and the sunshine are not differently situated, for without the sun there can be no sunshine, and without sunshine there is no meaning to the word sun.

Unless one is freed from the influence of material energy, he cannot understand the Supreme Lord and His different energies. Nor can one who is captivated by the spell of material energy understand the spiritual form of the Supreme Lord. Unless there is realization of the transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no question of love of God. Unless one can realize the transcendental form of the Supreme Lord, he cannot actually attain love of God, and without love of God there is no perfection in human life. Just as the five gross elements of nature—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether—are both within and without all living beings in this world, the Supreme Lord is both inside and outside this existence, and those who are His devotees can realize this.

Pure devotees know that they are meant to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that all things that exist can be means by which one can serve the Supreme. Because a devotee has been blessed by the Supreme from within his heart, he can see the Supreme Lord wherever he looks. Indeed, he can see nothing else. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 11.2.55|SB 11.2.55]]) the relationship between the devotee and the Supreme Lord is confirmed as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:viṣṛjati hṛdayaṁ na yasya sākṣād
:dharir avaśābhihito 'py aghaugha-nāśaḥ
:praṇaya-raśanayā dhṛtāṅghri-padmaḥ
:sa bhavati bhāgavata-pradhāna uktaḥ
</div>

"If a person's heart is always tied to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord with the rope of love, the Lord does not leave him. Indeed, even if his remembrance is not perfect, he is to be considered a first class devotee." There is an example of this described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Daśa-skandha ([[Vanisource:SB 10.30.4|SB 10.30.4]]). When the gopīs assembled to join the rāsa dance with Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa left them. Consequently the gopīs began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and, being overwhelmed with madness, began to inquire about Kṛṣṇa from the flowers and the creepers in the forest. Kṛṣṇa is like the sky; He is situated everywhere.

By studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we can obtain information about our eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, understand the procedure by which the Lord can be attained and receive the ultimate realization, which is love of Godhead. In explaining to Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī how one can achieve the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotional service, Lord Caitanya quoted a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 11.14.21|SB 11.14.21]]) in which the Lord says that He can be realized only through devotional service executed with faith and love. Indeed, it is devotional service alone which purifies the heart of the devotee and elevates him to the ultimate realization by which he, established in faith, renders service unto the Supreme Lord. Even if one is born in a low family, like a family of caṇḍālas (dog-eaters), one can become filled with transcendental symptoms through realization of the supreme stage of love of Godhead. These transcendental symptoms are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 11.3.31|SB 11.3.31]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:smarantaḥ smārayantaś ca
:mitho 'ghaugha-haraṁ harim
:bhaktyā samjātayā bhaktyā
:bibhraty utpulakāṁ tanum
</div>

"When devotees discuss subjects dealing with the Supreme Lord, who can cleanse the heart of His devotee from all kinds of sinful reactions, they become overwhelmed with ecstasy and display different symptoms due to their devotional service." The Bhāgavatam further states: "Due to their spontaneous attachment for the Lord, when they chant His holy names they sometimes cry, sometimes laugh, dance, sing and so on, not caring for any social convention." ([[Vanisource:SB 11.2.40|SB 11.2.40]])

We should understand that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the real explanation of the Brahma-sūtra, and it is compiled by Vyāsadeva himself. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa it is said:

<div class="quote_verse">
:artho 'yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ
:bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ
:gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo 'sau
:vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ
:grantho 'ṣṭādaśa-sāhasraḥ
:śrīmad-bhāgavatābhidhaḥ
</div>

"The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the authorized explanation of Brahma-sūtra, and it is a further explanation of Mahābhārata. It is the expansion of the gāyatrī mantra and the essence of all Vedic knowledge. This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, containing eighteen thousand verses, is known as the explanation of all Vedic literature." In the very First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya asked Sūta Gosvāmī how one can know the essence of Vedic literature. In answer, Sūta Gosvāmī presented Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the essence of all the Vedas, histories and other Vedic literatures. Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 12.13.15|SB 12.13.15]]) it is clearly stated that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the essence of all Vedānta knowledge and that one who relishes the knowledge of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has no taste for studying any other literature. In the very beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the meaning and purpose of the gāyatrī mantra are also described: "I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Truth." This is the first introductory verse dealing with the Supreme Truth, which is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the source of creation, maintenance and destruction for the cosmic manifestation. Obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva (oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya), directly indicate Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa, who is the divine son of Vasudeva and Devakī. This fact is more explicitly presented later in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vyāsadeva asserts that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead and that all others are either His direct or indirect plenary portions or portions of those portions. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has later still more explicitly developed this subject in his Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha, and Brahmā, the original living being, has explained Śrī Kṛṣṇa substantially in his treatise Brahma-saṁhitā. The Sāma Veda also verifies the fact that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the divine son of Devakī.

In his prayer, the author of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam first proposes that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the primeval Lord and that if any transcendental nomenclature for the Absolute Personality of Godhead is to be accepted, it should be the name Kṛṣṇa, the all-attractive. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord has affirmed in many passages that He is the original Personality of Godhead, and this was also confirmed by Arjuna, who cited great sages like Nārada, Vyāsa and many others. In Padma Purāṇa it is also stated that of the innumerable names of the Lord, the name of Kṛṣṇa is the principal one. Although the name Vāsudeva indicates the plenary portion of the Personality of Godhead, and although all the different forms of the Lord are identical with Vāsudeva, in this text Vāsudeva principally indicates the divine son of Vasudeva and Devakī. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always meditated upon by the paramahaṁsas, those who are most perfect in the renounced order of life. Vāsudeva, or Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the cause of all causes, and everything that exists is an emanation from Him. How this is so is explained in later chapters of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu describes Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the spotless Purāṇa because it contains transcendental narrations of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The history of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also very glorious. It was compiled by Vyāsadeva, who drew from his mature experience of transcendental knowledge under the instruction of Śrī Nārada Muni, his spiritual master. Vyāsadeva compiled all the Vedic literatures—the four Vedas, the Vedānta-sūtra or Brahma-sūtras, the purāṇas and the Mahābhārata. Yet he was not satisfied until he wrote Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. His dissatisfaction was observed by his spiritual master, and consequently Nārada advised him to write on the transcendental activities of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa's transcendental activities are specifically described in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the canto which is considered to contain the substance of the whole work. One should not approach the Tenth Canto immediately but should approach it gradually by developing knowledge of the subject matters first presented.

Generally a philosophical mind is inquisitive to learn of the origin of all creations. When one who is philosophical sees the night sky, he naturally raises questions about the stars, how they are situated, who lives there, etc. All these inquiries are quite natural for a human being, for the human being has a greater developed consciousness than the animals. In answer to such an inquiry, the author of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that the Lord is the origin of all creations. He is not only the creator but the maintainer and annihilator as well. The manifested cosmic creation is created at a certain period by the will of the Lord, is maintained for some time and is finally annihilated by His will. Thus He is the supreme will behind all activities.

Of course there are atheists of various categories who do not believe in the creator, but that is due simply to their poor fund of knowledge. The modern scientist creates rockets, and by some arrangement or other they are thrown into outer space to fly for some time under the control of a scientist far away. All the universes and the innumerable planets within them are similar to such rockets, and they are all controlled by the Personality of Godhead.

In the Vedic literatures it is said that the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is the foremost amongst all living personalities. All living beings, from the first created being, Brahmā, down to the smallest ant, are individual living entities. Even above Brahmā there are many other living beings with individual capacities. The Personality of Godhead Himself is also a living being and is as much an individual as the other living beings. However, the Supreme Lord is the supreme living being, and He has the greatest mind and possesses the supermost inconceivable energies in great variety. If a man's mind can produce rockets and spaceships, it is conceivable that a mind higher than man's can produce superior things. A reasonable person will accept this argument but stubborn obstinate people will not.

Śrīla Vyāsadeva at once accepts the supreme mind as the parameśvara, the supreme controller. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā and all other scriptures written by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, that parameśvara is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. This is specifically validated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In Bhagavad-gītā also the Lord Himself says that there is no paratattva (summum bonum) superior to Himself. Therefore the author at once worships the paratattva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose transcendental activities are described in the Tenth Canto.

Unscrupulous people go at once to the Tenth Canto, especially to the five chapters which describe the Lord's rāsa dance. However, this portion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the most confidential part of that great literature. Unless one is thoroughly accomplished in the transcendental knowledge of the Lord, he is sure to misunderstand the Lord's worshipable transcendental pastimes in the rāsa dance and the Lord's love affairs with the gopīs. This subject matter is highly spiritual and technical, and only liberated personalities who have gradually attained the stage of paramahaṁsa can transcendentally relish the worshipable rāsa dance.

Therefore Śrīla Vyāsadeva gives the reader a chance to gradually develop in spiritual realization before actually relishing the essence of the pastimes of the Lord. Thus Vyāsadeva purposefully invokes the gāyatrī mantra: dhīmahi. This gāyatrī mantra is especially meant for spiritually advanced people. When one attains success in chanting gāyatrī mantra, he can enter into the transcendental position of the Lord. First, however, one must acquire the brahminical qualities and become perfectly situated in the mode of goodness in order to chant the gāyatrī mantra successfully. From that point one can begin to transcendentally realize the Lord, His name, His fame, His qualities, etc. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a narration dealing with the svarūpa (form) of the Lord, which is manifested by His internal potency. This potency is distinguished from the external potency, which has manifested the cosmic world within our experience. Śrīla Vyāsadeva makes a clear distinction between the internal and external potencies in the very first verse of the First Chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In that verse he says that the internal potency is factual reality, whereas the external manifested energy in the form of material existence is temporary and illusory, no more real than a mirage in the desert. Water may appear present in a mirage, but real water is somewhere else. Similarly, the manifested cosmic creation appears to be reality, but it is simply a reflection of the true reality which exists in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there are no mirages. Absolute Truth is there; it is not here in the material world. Here, everything is relative truth; one truth seems to depend upon another. This cosmic creation results from an interaction of the three modes of material nature. The temporary manifestations are so created as to present an illusion of reality to the bewildered mind of the conditioned soul. Thus there appear to be so many species of life, including the higher demigods like Brahmā, Indra, Candra, etc. In fact there is no reality in the manifested world, but there appears to be reality because the true reality exists in the spiritual world, where the Personality of Godhead eternally abides with His transcendental paraphernalia.

The chief engineer of a complicated construction does not personally take part in the construction itself, but it is he only who knows all the nooks and corners of the construction because everything is carried out under his instructions only. In other words, he knows everything about the construction directly and indirectly. Similarly, the Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme engineer of this cosmic creation, knows very well what is happening in every nook and corner of the cosmic creation, although activities appear to be performed by someone else. In actuality no one is independent in the material creation; the hand of the Supreme Lord is everywhere. All material elements, as well as all spiritual sparks, are but emanations from Him only. Whatever is created in this material world is created by the interaction of the two energies, material and spiritual. These energies belong to the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

A chemist can manufacture water in the laboratory by mixing hydrogen and oxygen, but in reality the living entity can only work under the direction of the Supreme Lord. Indeed, all materials used by a chemist are supplied by the Lord. The Lord knows everything directly and indirectly, and He is cognizant of all the minute details of everything. He is fully independent as well. He can be compared to a gold mine, and the cosmic creations can be compared to ornaments made from that gold, such as gold rings, necklaces, etc. The gold ring and necklace are qualitatively one with the gold in the mine, but quantitatively the gold in the mine and the gold in the earring or necklace are different. Lord Caitanya's philosophy of the Absolute Truth centers about the fact that the Supreme Lord is simultaneously one with and different from His creation. Nothing is absolutely equal to the Absolute Truth, but at the same time nothing is independent of it.

Conditioned souls, beginning from Brahmā, the engineer of this particular universe, down to an insignificant ant, are all creating something, but none of them are independent of the Supreme Lord. The materialist wrongly thinks that there is no creator outside his own good self, and this is called māyā, or illusion. Due to his poor fund of knowledge, the materialist cannot see beyond the purview of his imperfect senses; thus he thinks that matter automatically takes its own shape independent of a conscious background. This is refuted by Śrīla Vyāsadeva in the first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. As stated before, Vyāsadeva is a liberated soul, and he compiled this book of authority after attaining spiritual perfection. Since the complete whole, or the Absolute Truth, is the source of everything, nothing is independent of Him. Everything exists within the body of the Absolute Truth. Any action or reaction of a part of a body becomes a cognizable fact to the embodied whole. Similarly, if the creation abides in the body of the Absolute Truth, then nothing is unknown to the Absolute, directly or indirectly.

In the śruti-mantra it is stated that the absolute whole, or Brahman, is the ultimate source of everything. Everything emanates from Him, everything is maintained by Him, and at the end everything enters into Him again. That is the law of nature. This is also confirmed in the smṛti-mantra. There it is said that at the beginning of Brahma s millennium, the source from which everything emanates is the Absolute Truth, or Brahman, and at the end of that millennium the reservoir into which everything enters is that same Absolute Truth. Material scientists haphazardly take it for granted that the ultimate source of this planetary system is the sun, but they are unable to explain the source of the sun. In Vedic literatures the ultimate source is explained; Brahmā is the creator of this universe, but because he had to meditate in order to receive the inspiration for such a creation, he is not the ultimate creator. As stated in the first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Brahmā was taught Vedic knowledge by the Personality of Godhead. In the first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that the Supreme Lord inspired a secondary creator, Brahmā, and enabled him to carry out his creative functions. In this way the Supreme Lord is the supervising engineer; the real mind behind all creative agents is the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In Bhagavad-gītā Śrī Kṛṣṇa personally admits that it is He only who superintends the creative energy (prakṛti), the sum total of matter. Thus Śrī Vyāsadeva neither worships Brahmā nor the sun but the Supreme Lord, who guides both Brahmā and the sun in their creative activities.

The Sanskrit words abhijña and svarāṭ, appearing in the first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are significant. These two words distinguish the Lord from all other living entities. No living entity other than the supreme being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead is either abhijña or svarāṭ—that is, none of them are either fully cognizant or fully independent. Everyone has to learn from his superior about knowledge; even Brahmā, who is the first living being within this material world, has to meditate upon the Supreme Lord and take help from Him in order to create. If Brahmā or the sun cannot create anything without acquiring knowledge from a superior, then what is the situation with the material scientists who are fully dependent on so many things? Modern scientists like Jagadisha Chandra Bose, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, etc., may be very boastful of their respective creative energies, but all were dependent on the Supreme Lord for so many things. After all, the highly intelligent brains of these gentlemen were certainly not products of any human being. The brain is created by another agent. If brains like those of Einstein or Newton could have been manufactured by a human being, then mankind would produce many such brains instead of eulogizing their passing. If such scientists cannot even manufacture such brains, what to speak of foolish atheists who defy the authority of the Lord?

Even the Māyāvādī impersonalists who flatter themselves and believe that they have become the Lord themselves are not abhijñaḥ or svarāṭ, fully cognizant or fully independent. The Māyāvādī monists undergo a severe process of austerity and penance to acquire knowledge of becoming one with the Lord, but ultimately they become dependent on some rich follower who supplies them with requisite paraphernalia to construct great monasteries and temples. Atheists like Rāvaṇa and Hiraṇyakaśipu had to undergo severe penances before they could flout the authority of the Lord, but ultimately they were so helpless that they could not save themselves when the Lord appeared before them as cruel death. This is also applicable to the modern atheists who dare flout the authority of the Lord. Such atheists will be dealt the same awards as were given in the past to great atheists like Rāvaṇa and Hiraṇyakaśipu. History repeats itself, and what was occurring in the past will recur again and again when there is necessity. Whenever the authority of the Lord is neglected, the penalties dealt by the laws of nature are always there.

That the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is all—perfect is confirmed in all śruti-mantras. It is said in the śruti-mantras that the all-perfect Lord glanced over matter and thus created all living beings. The living beings are parts and parcels of the Lord, and He impregnates the vast material nature with the seeds of the spiritual sparks. Thus the creative energies are set in motion for so many wonderful creations. When one atheist argued that God is no more expert than the manufacturer of a subtle watch which has so many delicate parts, we had to reply that God is a greater mechanic than the watchmaker because He simply creates one machine in male and female forms, and the male and female forms go on producing innumerable similar machines without the further attention of God. If a man could manufacture a set of machines capable of producing other machines without the man giving the matter any further attention, then a man could be said to equal the intelligence of God. Of course this is not possible. Each and every one of man's imperfect machines has to be handled individually by a mechanic. Because no one can be equal in intelligence to God, another name for God is asamordhva, which indicates that no one is equal to or greater than Him. Everyone has his intellectual equal and superior, and no one can claim that he has neither. However, this is not the case with the Lord. The śruti-mantras indicate that before the creation of the material universe, the Lord was existing, and He was master of everyone. It was the Lord who instructed Brahmā in Vedic knowledge. That Personality of Godhead has to be obeyed in all respects. Anyone who wants to become freed from material entanglement must surrender unto Him, and this is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā.

Unless one surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, it is certain that one will be bewildered, even if he happens to be a great mind. Only when great minds surrender unto the lotus feet of Vāsudeva and know fully that Vāsudeva is the cause of all causes, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 7.19 (1972)|BG 7.19]]), can they become mahātmās, or truly broad-minded. However, such broad-minded mahātmās are rarely seen. Only they, however, can understand the Supreme Lord as the Absolute Personality of Godhead, the primeval cause of all creations. He is parama, ultimate truth, because all other truths are dependent on Him. Because He is the source of all knowledge, He is omniscient; there is no illusion for Him as there is for the relative knower.

Some Māyāvādī scholars argue that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was not compiled by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, and some suggest that the book is a modern creation written by someone named Vopadeva. In order to refute this meaningless argument, Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī points out that there are many of the oldest purāṇas which make reference to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The first śloka, or verse, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam begins with the Gāyatrī mantra, and there is reference to this in the Matsya Purāṇa (the oldest Purāṇa). With reference to the context of Gāyatrī mantra in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in this Purāṇa it is said, "That which contains many narrations of spiritual instruction, begins with the Gāyatrī mantra and also contains the history of Vṛtrāsura, is known as the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Whoever makes a gift of this great work on a full moon day attains to the highest perfection of life and goes back to Godhead. There is also reference to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in other Purāṇas which even indicate that the work consists of Twelve Cantos and eighteen thousand ślokas. In Padma Purāṇa also there is reference about the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam during a conversation between Gautama and Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was advised to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly if he at all desired liberation from material bondage. Under these circumstances, there is no doubt regarding the authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. For the past five hundred years many scholars have made elaborate commentaries upon Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and have displayed unique scholarship. The serious student will do well to attempt to go through them in order to more happily relish the transcendental messages of the Bhāgavatam.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura specifically deals with original and pure sex psychology (ādi-rasa) devoid of all mundane inebriety. The entire material world turns due to the basic principle of sex life. In modern human civilization, sex is the central point of all activities; indeed, wherever we turn our face we see sex life prominent. Consequently sex life is not unreal; its true reality is experienced in the spiritual world. Material sex is but a perverted reflection of the original; the original is found in the Absolute Truth. This validates the fact that the Absolute Truth is personal, for the Absolute Truth cannot be impersonal and have a sense of pure sex life. The impersonal monist philosophy gives an indirect impetus to abominable mundane sex because it overly stresses the impersonality of the ultimate truth. The result is that men who lack knowledge have accepted the perverted material sex life as all in all because they have no information of the actual spiritual form of sex. There is a distinction between sex in the diseased condition of material life and sex in the spiritual existence. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gradually elevates the unbiased reader to the highest perfectional stage of transcendence above the three modes of material activities, fruitive actions, speculative philosophy and above worship of functional deities indicated in the Vedas. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the embodiment of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and is therefore situated in a position superior to other Vedic literatures.

Religion includes four primary subjects: (1) pious activities, (2) economic development, (3) satisfaction of the senses, and (4) liberation from material bondage. Religious life is distinguished from the irreligious life of barbarism. Indeed, it may be said that human life actually begins with religion. The four principles of animal life-eating, sleeping, defending and mating—are common both to the animals and human beings, but religion is the special concern of human beings. Since human life is no better than animal life without religion, in real human society there is some form of religion aiming at self-realization and referring to one's eternal relationship with God.

In the lower stage of human civilization there is always competition between men in their attempt to dominate material nature. In other words, there is continuous rivalry in an attempt to satisfy the senses. Thus driven by sense gratificatory consciousness, men enact religious rituals. Thus pious activities and religious functions are performed with an aim to acquire some material gain, and if such material gain is obtainable in another way, this so-called religion is neglected. This can be seen in modern human civilization. Since the economic desires of the people appear to be fulfilled in another way, no one is interested in religion now. The churches, mosques and temples are practically vacant, for people are more interested in factories, shops and cinemas. Thus they have deserted the religious places erected by their forefathers. This is evidence that religion is generally performed for the sake of economic development, and economic development is required for sense gratification. When one is baffled in his attempt to attain sense gratification, he takes to the cause of salvation in order to become one with the supreme whole. All these activities arise with the same aim in view—sense gratification.

In the Vedas, the four primary subjects mentioned above are prescribed in a regulative way so that there will not be undue competition for sense gratification. However, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental to all the sense gratifying activities of the material world. It is a pure transcendental literature, understandable by the devotees of the Lord who are above competition in sense gratification. In the material world there is keen competition between animals, men, communities and even nations in an attempt to gratify the senses, but the devotees of the Lord are above all this. Devotees have no need to compete with materialists because they are on the path back to Godhead, back home where everything is eternal, full and blissful. Such transcendentalists are a hundred percent nonenvious and are therefore pure in heart. Because everyone in the material world is envious, there is competition. The devotees of the Lord are not only free from all material envy, but they are also kind to everyone in an attempt to establish a competitionless society with God in the center.

The socialist's idea of a society devoid of competition is artificial because even in the socialist states there is competition for power. It is a fact that the principle of sense gratification is the basic principle of materialistic life, and this can be realized either from reading the Vedas or simply from observing common human activities. The Vedas recommend fruitive activities by which people can advance to higher planets, and they also recommend worship of the various demigods for the purpose of attaining their planets. Ultimately the Vedas recommend activities by which one can reach the Absolute Truth and realize His impersonal feature in order to become one with Him. However, the impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is not the last word. Above the impersonal feature is the Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, and above that is the Supreme Personality. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives information about the personal qualities of the Absolute Truth, qualities which are beyond the impersonal aspect. Topics concerning these qualities are greater than topics of impersonal philosophical speculation; consequently Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is given higher status than the jñāna-kāṇḍa portions of the Vedas. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also greater than the karma-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa portions as well because it recommends the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the divine son of Vasudeva. The karma-kāṇḍa portion of the Vedas is fraught with competition to reach heavenly planets for better sense gratification, and this competition is also seen in the jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa portions. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is above all of these because it aims only at the Supreme Truth, the substance or root of all categories.

In other words, from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we can know the substance as well as the relativities in their true sense and perspective. The substance is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the relativities are the different forms of energy which emanate from Him. Since the living entities are also related to His energies, there is nothing really different from the substance. At the same time, the energies are different from the substance. In the material sense, this conception is self-contradictory, but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explicitly deals with this aspect of simultaneous oneness and difference. This philosophy is also found in the Vedānta-sūtra beginning with the janmādy asya sūtra. Knowledge of the simultaneous oneness and difference found in the Absolute Truth is imparted for the well-being of everyone. Mental speculators mislead people by establishing the energy of the Lord as absolute, but when the truth of simultaneous oneness and difference is understood, the imperfect concepts of monism and dualism cease to satisfy. By understanding the Lord's simultaneous oneness with and difference from His creation, one can immediately attain freedom from the threefold miseries—miseries inflicted by the body and mind, by other living entities and by acts of nature.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam begins with the surrender of the living entity unto the Absolute Person. This surrender is made with clear consciousness and awareness of the devotee's oneness with the Absolute, and, at the same time, of his eternal position of servitorship. In the material conception, one thinks himself to be the Lord of all he surveys; consequently he is always troubled by the threefold miseries of life. As soon as one comes to know his real position in transcendental service, he at once becomes freed from all these miseries. The position of servitor is wasted in the material conception of life. In an attempt to dominate material nature, the living entity is forced to offer his service to relative material energy. When this service is transferred to the Lord in pure consciousness of spiritual identity, the living entity at once becomes free from the encumbrances of material affection.

Over and above this, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the personal commentary on Vedānta-sūtra made by Vyāsadeva when he had attained maturity in spiritual realization. He was able to write it by the help of Nārada's mercy. Vyāsadeva is also an incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead; therefore there is no question about his authority. Although he is the author of all Vedic literature, he specifically recommends the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In other purāṇas various methods for worshiping demigods are mentioned, but in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam only the Supreme Personality of Godhead is mentioned. The Supreme Lord is the total body, and the demigods are different parts of that body. Thus if one worships the Supreme Lord, he need not worship the demigods, for the Supreme Lord is in the hearts of all demigods. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu distinguished Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from all other purāṇas by recommending it as the spotless Purāṇa.

The method by which the transcendental message is received is the method of submissive hearing. A challenging attitude cannot help one receive or realize the transcendental message; therefore in the second verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the word śuśrūṣu is used. This word indicates that one should be anxious to hear the transcendental message. The desire to hear with interest is the primary qualification for assimilating transcendental knowledge. Unfortunately many people are not interested in patiently hearing the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The process is simple but the application difficult. Those who are unfortunate will find time to hear ordinary social and political topics, but when they are invited to attend an assembly to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they are reluctant to attend. Sometimes people indulge in hearing portions of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which they are not prepared to hear. Professional readers of the Bhāgavatam indulge in reading the confidential portions dealing with the pastimes of the Supreme Lord. These portions appear to read like sex literature. However, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant to be heard from the beginning, and those who are fit to assimilate the messages of Bhāgavatam are mentioned in the very beginning ([[Vanisource:SB 1.1.2|SB 1.1.2]]): A bona fide audience fit to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is generated after many pious deeds. An intellectual person can believe in the assurances of the great sage Vyāsadeva and patiently hear the messages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in order to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. One need not struggle through the different Vedic stages of realization, for one can be lifted to the position of paramahaṁsa simply by agreeing to hear the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with patience. The sages of Naimiṣāraṇya told Sūta Gosvāmī that they were intensely desirous of understanding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. They were hearing from Sūta Gosvāmī about Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they were never satiated by these discussions. People who are really attached to Kṛṣṇa never want to stop hearing about Him.

Lord Caitanya therefore advised Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī: "Always read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and try to understand each and every verse. Then you will actually understand Brahma-sūtra. You say that you are very anxious to study Vedānta-sūtra, but you cannot understand Vedānta-sūtra without understanding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam." He also advised Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī to always chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. "And, by doing so, you will very easily be liberated. After liberation you will be eligible to achieve the highest goal of life, love of Godhead."

The Lord then recited many verses from authoritative scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā and Nṛsiṁha-tāpanī. In particular, he quoted the following verse from Bhagavad-gītā.

<div class="quote_verse">
:brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
:na śocati na kāṅkṣati
:samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
:mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
</div>

"One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me." ([[Vanisource:BG 18.54 (1972)|BG 18.54]])

When a person reaches this brahma-bhūta ([[Vanisource:SB 4.30.20|SB 4.30.20]]) platform, he sees all living entities equally and becomes a pure devotee of the Supreme Lord. In the Nṛsiṁha-tāpanī (2.5.16) it is said that when a person is actually liberated he can understand the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Lord and thus engage in His devotional service. Lord Caitanya also quoted a verse from the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 2.1.9|SB 2.1.9]]) in which Śukadeva Gosvāmī admits that although he was elevated to the liberated stage and free from the clutches of māyā, he was still attracted by the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. Consequently he studied Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from his great father, Vyāsadeva.

Lord Caitanya also quoted another śloka from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 3.15.43|SB 3.15.43]]) dealing with the Kumāras. When the Kumāras entered the temple of the Lord, they were attracted by the aroma of flowers and tulasī leaves offered to the lotus feet of the Lord with pulp of sandalwood. Simply by smelling the aroma of these offerings, the minds of the Kumāras turned to the service of the Supreme Lord, despite the fact that the Kumāras were already liberated souls. It is stated elsewhere in [[Vanisource:SB 1.7.10|Bhāgavatam 1.7.10]] that even if one is a liberated soul and is actually free from material contamination, he can still, without cause, become attracted to the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Thus God is so attractive, and because He is so attractive, He is called Kṛṣṇa.

In this way Lord Caitanya discussed the Ātmārāma verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī. Lord Caitanya's admirer, the Mahārāṣṭrīya brāhmaṇa, related that the Lord explained this verse in sixty-one different ways. Everyone assembled was very eager to hear the different versions of the Ātmārāma śloka again, and since they were so eager, Lord Caitanya again explained the śloka in the same way that He had explained it to Sanātana Gosvāmī. Everyone who heard the explanations of the Ātmārāma śloka was amazed. Indeed, everyone considered Lord Caitanya to be none other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself.
</div>
</div>
</div>

It is experienced that Vaisnavas are not very opulent in the material sense. When a Vaisnava, pure devotee, tries to be materially opulent and at the same time desires to serve the Supreme Lord, his devotional service is checked

2022-08-05T13:13:08Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"it is experienced that Vaiṣṇavas are not very opulent in the material sense. When a Vaiṣṇava, pure devotee, tries to be materially opulent and at the same time desires to serve the Supreme Lord, his devotional service is checked"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Angela}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-09-25T18:02:52Z}}
{{last|2020-09-25T18:02:52Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Experience]]
[[Category:Vaisnava - Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Are Not]]
[[Category:Very]]
[[Category:Opulence of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:When]]
[[Category:Pure Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Try To]]
[[Category:Materially Opulent]]
[[Category:At the Same Time]]
[[Category:Desiring to Serve God]]
[[Category:Supreme Lord]]
[[Category:Devotional Service of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Checking Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 22 Purports - Prthu Maharaja's Meeting with the Four Kumaras]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 4</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
It is said by the Lord: yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ. The Lord told Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja that His special favor is shown to His devotee when He takes away all the devotee's material opulences. Generally, therefore, it is experienced that Vaiṣṇavas are not very opulent in the material sense. When a Vaiṣṇava, pure devotee, tries to be materially opulent and at the same time desires to serve the Supreme Lord, his devotional service is checked. The Lord, in order to show him a special favor, destroys his so-called economic development and material opulences.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 4.22.36|SB 4.22.36, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
We accept as blessings different states of higher life, distinguishing them from lower states of life, but we should know that such distinctions exist only in relation to the interchange of the modes of material nature. Actually these states of life have no permanent existence, for all of them will be destroyed by the supreme controller.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

In our material existence we accept a higher form of life as a blessing and a lower form as a curse. This distinction of "higher" and "lower" only exists as long as the different material qualities (guṇas) interact. In other words, by our good activities we are elevated to the higher planetary systems or to a higher standard of life (good education, beautiful body, etc.). These are the results of pious activities. Similarly, by impious activities we remain illiterate, get ugly bodies, a poor standard of living, etc. But all these different states of life are under the laws of material nature through the interaction of the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance. However, all these qualities will cease to act at the time of the dissolution of the entire cosmic manifestation. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 8.16 (1972)|BG 8.16]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
:punar āvartino 'rjuna
:mām upetya tu kaunteya
:punar janma na vidyate
</div>

Even though we elevate ourselves to the highest planetary system by the scientific advancement of knowledge or by the religious principles of life—great sacrifices and fruitive activities—at the time of dissolution these higher planetary systems and life on them will be destroyed. In this verse the words īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām indicate that all such blessings will be destroyed by the supreme controller. We will not be protected. Our bodies, either in this planet or in another planet, will be destroyed, and again we will have to remain for millions of years in an unconscious state within the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. And again, when the creation is manifested, we have to take birth in different species of life and begin our activities. Therefore we should not be satisfied simply by a promotion to the higher planetary systems. We should try to get out of the material cosmic manifestation, go to the spiritual world and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is our highest achievement. We should not be attracted by anything material, higher or lower, but should consider them all on the same level. Our real engagement should be in inquiring about the real purpose of life and rendering devotional service to the Lord. Thus we will be eternally blessed in our spiritual activities, full of knowledge and bliss.

Regulated human civilization promotes dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. In human society there must be religion. Without religion, human society is only animal society. Economic development and sense gratification must be based on religious principles. When religion, economic development and sense gratification are adjusted, liberation from this material birth, death, old age and disease is assured. In the present age of Kali, however, there is no question of religion and liberation. People have taken interest only in economic development and sense gratification. Therefore, despite sufficient economic development all over the world, dealings in human society have become almost animalistic. When everything becomes grossly animalistic, dissolution takes place. This dissolution is to be accepted as īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām. The Lord's so-called blessings of economic development and sense gratification will be conclusively dissolved by destruction. At the end of this Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as the incarnation of Kalki, and His only business will be to kill all human beings on the surface of the globe. After that killing, another golden age will begin. We should therefore know that our material activities are just like childish play. Children may play on the beach, and the father will sit and watch this childish play, the construction of buildings with sand, the construction of walls and so many things, but finally the father will ask the children to come home. Then everything is destroyed. Persons who are too much addicted to the childish activities of economic development and sense gratification are sometimes especially favored by the Lord when He destroys their construction of these things.

It is said by the Lord: yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ. The Lord told Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja that His special favor is shown to His devotee when He takes away all the devotee's material opulences. Generally, therefore, it is experienced that Vaiṣṇavas are not very opulent in the material sense. When a Vaiṣṇava, pure devotee, tries to be materially opulent and at the same time desires to serve the Supreme Lord, his devotional service is checked. The Lord, in order to show him a special favor, destroys his so-called economic development and material opulences. Thus the devotee, being frustrated in his repeated attempts at economic development, ultimately takes solid shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord. This kind of action may also be accepted as īśa-vidhvaṁ-sitāśiṣām, whereby the Lord destroys one's material opulences but enriches one in spiritual understanding. In the course of our preaching work, we sometimes see that materialistic persons come to us and offer their obeisances to take blessings, which means they want more and more material opulences. If such material opulences are checked, such persons are no longer interested in offering obeisances to the devotees. Such materialistic persons are always concerned about their economic development. They offer obeisances to saintly persons or the Supreme Lord and give something in charity for preaching work with a view that they will be rewarded with further economic development.

However, when one is sincere in his devotional service, the Lord obliges the devotee to give up his material development and completely surrender unto Him. Because the Lord does not give blessings of material opulence to His devotee, people are afraid of worshiping Lord Viṣṇu because they see that the Vaiṣṇavas, who are worshipers of Lord Viṣṇu, are poor in superficial material opulences. Such materialistic persons, however, get immense opportunity for economic development by worshiping Lord Śiva, for Lord Śiva is the husband of the goddess Durgā, the proprietor of this universe. By the grace of Lord Śiva, a devotee gets the opportunity to be blessed by the goddess Durgā. Rāvaṇa, for example, was a great worshiper and devotee of Lord Śiva, and in return he got all the blessings of goddess Durgā, so much so that his whole kingdom was constructed of golden buildings. In Brazil, in this present age, huge quantities of gold have been found, and from historical references in the Purāṇas, we can guess safely that this was Rāvaṇa's kingdom. This kingdom was, however, destroyed by Lord Rāmacandra.

By studying such incidents, we can understand the full meaning of īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām. The Lord does not bestow material blessings upon the devotees, for they may be entrapped again in this material world by continuous birth, death, old age and disease. Due to materialistic opulences, persons like Rāvaṇa become puffed up for sense gratification. Rāvaṇa even dared kidnap Sītā, who was both the wife of Lord Rāmacandra and the goddess of fortune, thinking that he would be able to enjoy the pleasure potency of the Lord. But actually, by such action, Rāvaṇa became vidhvaṁsita, or ruined. At the present moment human civilization is too much attached to economic development and sense gratification and is therefore nearing the path of ruination.

</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

In the realm of the Absolute, one plus one equals one, and one minus one equals one. Therefore one should not conceive of a fragment of the Supreme Lord in the material sense

2022-08-05T13:10:21Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"In the realm of the Absolute, one plus one equals one, and one minus one equals one. Therefore one should not conceive of a fragment of the Supreme Lord in the material sense"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Alankrutha}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-03-25T18:36:31Z}}
{{last|2021-03-25T18:36:31Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=1|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Absolute Realm]]
[[Category:God Is Absolute]]
[[Category:One]]
[[Category:Plus]]
[[Category:Equal]]
[[Category:Minus]]
[[Category:Therefore]]
[[Category:One Should Not]]
[[Category:Conceive]]
[[Category:God's Fragments]]
[[Category:God Is The Supreme Lord]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila Chapter 03 Purports - The External Reasons for the Appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila Purports]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Adi-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
In the realm of the Absolute, one plus one equals one, and one minus one equals one. Therefore one should not conceive of a fragment of the Supreme Lord in the material sense. In the spiritual world there is no influence of the material energy or material calculations of fragments.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Adi 3.71|CC Adi 3.71, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The word “aṅga” indeed refers to plenary portions. Such manifestations should never be considered products of material nature, for they are all transcendental, full of knowledge and full of bliss.
</div>
<div class="text">
In the material world, if a fragment is taken from an original object, the original object is reduced by the removal of that fragment. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not at all affected by the actions of māyā. The Īśopaniṣad says:

<div class="quote_verse">
:oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
:pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
:pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
:pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
</div>

“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the complete whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the complete whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” ([[Vanisource:ISO Invocation|Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Invocation]]) In the realm of the Absolute, one plus one equals one, and one minus one equals one. Therefore one should not conceive of a fragment of the Supreme Lord in the material sense. In the spiritual world there is no influence of the material energy or material calculations of fragments. In the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that the living entities are His parts and parcels. There are innumerable living entities throughout the material and spiritual universes, but still Lord Kṛṣṇa is full in Himself. To think that God has lost His personality because His many parts and parcels are distributed all over the universe is an illusion. That is a material calculation. Such calculations are possible only under the influence of the material energy, māyā. In the spiritual world the material energy is conspicuous only by its absence.

In the category of viṣṇu-tattva there is no loss of power from one expansion to the next, any more than there is a loss of illumination as one candle kindles another. Thousands of candles may be kindled by an original candle, and all will have the same candle power. In this way it is to be understood that although all the viṣṇu-tattvas, from Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya to Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha and so on, appear with different features in different ages, all are equally invested with supreme potency.

Demigods such as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva come in contact with the material energy, and their power and potency are therefore of different gradations. All the incarnations of Viṣṇu, however, are equal in potency, for the influence of māyā cannot even approach Them.
</div>
</div>
</div>

In the material sense, you cannot conceive that a thing is simultaneously positive and negative. That you cannot think of. That is inconceivable energy

2022-08-05T13:06:18Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"In the material sense, you cannot conceive that a thing is simultaneously positive and negative. That you cannot think of. That is inconceivable energy"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-04-18T10:38:01Z}}
{{last|2022-04-18T10:38:01Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:You Cannot]]
[[Category:Conceive]]
[[Category:Thing]]
[[Category:Simultaneously]]
[[Category:Positive]]
[[Category:Negative]]
[[Category:You Cannot]]
[[Category:Think]]
[[Category:Inconceivable]]
[[Category:Energy]]
[[Category:Perfect Questions Perfect Answers Chapters 01 to 09]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
You cannot say that sunshine is not the sun. But at the same time, it is not the sun. It is the sun and not the sun - both. That is our philosophy. Acintya-bhedābheda - inconceivable. In the material sense, you cannot conceive that a thing is simultaneously positive and negative. That you cannot think of. That is inconceivable energy. And because everything is Kṛṣṇa's energy, Kṛṣṇa can manifest Himself from any energy.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:PQPA 1 Krsna, the All-Attractive|Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, 1]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Bob: What is a scientist?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: One who knows things as they are.

Bob: He thinks he knows things as they are.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: What?

Bob: He hopes he knows things as they are.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, he is supposed to know. We approach the scientist because he is supposed to know things correctly. A scientist means one who knows things as they are. Kṛṣṇa means "all-attractive."

Bob: All-attractive.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. So unless God is all-attractive, how can He be God? A man is important when he is attractive. Is it not?

Bob: It is so.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: So, God must be attractive and attractive for all. Therefore, if God has any name, or if you want to give any name to God, only "Kṛṣṇa" can be given.

Bob: But why only the name Kṛṣṇa?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Because He's all-attractive. Kṛṣṇa means"all-attractive."

Bob: Oh, I see.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. God has no name, but by His qualities we give Him names. If a man is very beautiful, we call him "beautiful." If a man is very intelligent, we call him "wise.' So the name is given according to the quality. Because God is all-attractive, the name Kṛṣṇa can be applied only to Him. Kṛṣṇa means "all-attractive." It includes everything.

Bob: But what about a name meaning "all-powerful"?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes.... Unless you are powerful, how can you be all-attractive?

Śyāmasundara: (an American devotee, Śrīla Prabhupāda's secretary) It includes everything.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Everything. He must be very beautiful, He must be very wise, He must be very powerful, He must be very famous...

Bob: Is Kṛṣṇa attractive to rascals?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Oh, yes! He was the greatest rascal also.

Bob: How is that?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: (laughing) Because He was always teasing the gopīs.

Śyāmasundara: Teasing?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Sometimes when Rādhārāṇī would go out, Kṛṣṇa would attack Her, and when She would fall down - "Kṛṣṇa, don't torture Me in that way" - They would fall down, and Kṛṣṇa would take the opportunity and kiss Her. (He laughs.) So, Rādhārāṇī was very pleased, but superficially Kṛṣṇa was the greatest rascal. So unless rascaldom is in Kṛṣṇa, how could rascaldom be existent in the world? Our formula of God is that He is the source of everything. Unless rascaldom is in Kṛṣṇa, how can it be manifest... because He is the source of everything. But His rascaldom is so nice that everyone worships His rascaldom.

Bob: What about the rascals who are not so nice?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, rascaldom is not nice, but Kṛṣṇa is absolute. He is God. Therefore His rascaldom is also good. Kṛṣṇa is all-good. God is good.

Bob: Yes.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Therefore, when He becomes a rascal, that is also good. That is Kṛṣṇa. Rascaldom is not good, but when it is practiced by Kṛṣṇa, because He is absolutely good, that rascaldom is also good. This one has to understand.

Bob: Are there some people who do not find Kṛṣṇa attractive?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. All people will find Him attractive. Who is not attracted? just give an example: "This man or this living entity is not attracted to Kṛṣṇa."Just find such a person.

Bob: Somebody who wishes to do things in life that he may feel are wrong but who wishes to gain power or prestige or money...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bob:... may find God unattractive. He may not find God attractive, because God gives him guilt.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, not God. His attraction is to become powerful. A man wants to become powerful or rich - is it not? But nobody is richer than Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is attractive to him.

Bob: If a person who wants to become rich prays to Kṛṣṇa, will he become rich?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Oh, yes!

Bob: He can become rich through this means?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Because Kṛṣṇa is all-powerful, if you pray to Kṛṣṇa to become rich, Kṛṣṇa will make you rich.

Bob: If somebody lives an evil life but prays to become rich, he may still become rich?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Praying to Kṛṣṇa is not evil.

Bob: Oh, yes.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: (chuckling) Somehow or other he prays to Kṛṣṇa, so you cannot say that he is evil.

Bob: Yes.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā, api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk ([[Vanisource:BG 9.30|BG 9.30]]). Have you read it?

Bob: Yes. The Sanskrit I don't know, but the English I do.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Hm-m.

Bob: "Even if the most evil man prays to Me..."

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bob: "... He will be elevated."

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. As soon as he begins to pray to Kṛṣṇa, that is not evil. Therefore He is all-attractive. It is said in the Vedas that the Absolute Truth, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the reservoir of all pleasure - raso vai saḥ. (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1) Everyone is hankering after someone because he realizes some mellow in it.

Bob: Excuse me?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Some mellow. Suppose a man is drinking. Why is he drinking? He is getting some mellow out of that drinking. A man is hankering after money because by possessing money he gets a mellow out of it.

Bob: What does mellow mean?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: (to Śyāmasundara) How do they define mellow?

Śyāmasundara: Taste, pleasure.

Bob: OK.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Pleasing taste. So the Vedas say, raso vai saḥ. The exact translation of mellow is rasa. (Mālatī, Śyāmasundara's wife, enters with a tray of food) What is that?

Mālatī: Eggplant, fried.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Oh! All-attractive! All-attractive! (Laughter.)

Śyāmasundara: How is Kṛṣṇa the greatest scientist?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Because He knows everything. A scientist is one who knows a subject matter thoroughly. He is a scientist. Kṛṣṇa - He knows everything.

Bob: I am presently a science teacher.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, teaching. But, unless you have perfect knowledge, how can you teach? That is our question.

Bob: Without perfect knowledge, though, you can teach -

Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is cheating; that is not teaching. That is cheating. Just like the scientists say, "There was a chunk... and the creation took place. Perhaps. Maybe..." What is this? Simply cheating! It is not teaching; it is cheating.

Bob: Let me repeat what you said this morning - that was interesting. I asked about miracles, and you said that only a fool would believe in miracles because - let us say you are a child and an adult lifts this table. That's a miracle. Or you're a chemist and you combine acid and base and you make smoke, an explosion or whatever. To somebody ignorant, that's a miracle. But for everything there is a process, and so when you see a miracle, it's just ignorance of the process. So that only a fool would believe in miracles, and - you correct me if I say wrong...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Bob: You said when Jesus came the people then were somewhat more ignorant and needed miracles as aid. I wasn't sure if that's quite what you said.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Miracles are for the ignorant.

Bob: I had asked this in relation to all the miracle men you hear about in India.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is the highest miracle man.

Bob: Yes.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is stated by Kuntī...

Bob: Without perfect knowledge, can I not teach some things? For example, I may -

Śrīla Prabhupāda: You can teach up to the point you know.

Bob: Yes, but I should not claim to teach more than I know.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, that is cheating.

Śyāmasundara: In other words, he can't teach the truth with partial knowledge.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. That is not possible for any human being. A human being has imperfect senses. So how can he teach perfect knowledge? Suppose you see the sun as a disc. You have no means to approach the sun. If you say that we can see the sun by telescope and this and that, they are also made by you, and you are imperfect. So how can your machine be perfect? Therefore, your knowledge of the sun is imperfect. So don't teach about the sun unless you have perfect knowledge. That is cheating.

Bob: But what about to teach that it is supposed that the sun is 93,000,000 miles away?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: As soon as you say "it is supposed," it is not scientific.

Bob: But I think that almost all science, then, is not scientific.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is the point!

Bob: All science is based on, you know, suppositions of this or that.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. They are teaching imperfectly. Just like they are advertising so much about the moon. Do you think their knowledge is perfect?

Bob: No.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Then?

Bob: What is the proper duty of the teacher in society? Let us say a science teacher. What should he be doing in the classroom?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Classroom? You should simply teach about Kṛṣṇa.

Bob: He should not teach about...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. That will include everything. His aim should be to know Kṛṣṇa.

Bob: Can a scientist teach the science of combining acid and alkaline, and this kind of science, with Kṛṣṇa as its object?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: How can it be?

Bob: If you - when one studies science, one finds general tendencies of nature, and these general tendencies of nature point to a controlling force....

Śrīla Prabhupāda: That I was explaining the other day. I asked one chemist whether, according to chemical formulas, hydrogen and oxygen linked together become water. Do they not?

Bob: It's true.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Now, there is a vast amount of water in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. What quantity of chemicals was required?

Bob: How much?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. How many tons?

Bob: Many!

Śrīla Prabhupāda: So who supplied it?

Bob: This was supplied by God.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Somebody must have supplied it.

Bob: Yes.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: So that is science. You can teach like that.

Bob: Should one bother teaching that if you combine acid and alkaline they form a neutral?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: The same thing. There are so many effervescents. So, who is performing it? Who is supplying the acid and alkaline? (There is a long pause.)

Bob: So this comes from the same source as the water.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. You cannot manufacture water unless you have hydrogen and oxygen. So, here is a vast - not only this Atlantic or Pacific: there are millions of planets, and there are millions of Atlantic and Pacific oceans. So who created this water with hydrogen and oxygen, and how was it supplied? That is our question. Somebody must have supplied it, otherwise how has it come into existence?

Bob: But should it also be taught how you make water from hydrogen and oxygen? The procedure of burning them together - should this also be taught? That is, you burn hydrogen and oxygen together...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is secondary. That is not very difficult. Just like Mālatī made this puri (a kind of bread). So, there is flour, and there is ghee (clarified butter), and she made a puri. But unless there is ghee and flour, where is the chance of making a puri? In the Bhagavad-gītā there is this statement: "Water, earth, air, fire - they are My energies." What is your body? This external body - that is your energy. Do you know that? Your body is made out of your energy. For example, I am eating...

Bob: Yes.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: So I am creating some energy, and therefore my body is maintained.

Bob: Oh, I see.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: So therefore your body is made out of your energy.

Bob: But when you eat the food, there is energy from the sun in the food.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: So, I am giving an example. I am creating some energy by digesting the food, and that is maintaining my body. If your energy supply is not proper, then your body becomes weak or unhealthy. Your body is made out of your own energy. Similarly, this gigantic cosmic body - the universe - is made of Kṛṣṇa's energy. How can you deny it? As your body is made out of your energy, similarly the universal body must be made by somebody's energy. That is Kṛṣṇa. (There is a long pause.)

Bob: I'll have to think about it to follow that.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: What is to follow? It is a fact. (He laughs.) Your hair is growing daily. Why? Because you have some energy.

Bob: The energy I obtain from my food.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Somehow or other you have obtained that energy! And through that energy your hair is growing. So if your body is manufactured by your energy, similarly the whole gigantic manifestation is made of God's energy. It is a fact! It is not your energy.

Bob: Yes. Oh, I see that.

A devotee: Just like - aren't the planets in this universe the sun's energy - a product of the sun's energy?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, but who produced the sun? That is Kṛṣṇa's energy. Because it is heat, and Kṛṣṇa says, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ: ([[Vanisource:BG 7.4|BG 7.4]]) "Heat - that is My energy." The sun is the representation of the heating energy of Kṛṣṇa. It is not your energy. You cannot say, "The sun is made by me." But somebody must have made it, and Kṛṣṇa says that He did. So, we believe Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we are Kṛṣṇa-ites.

Bob: Kṛṣṇa-ites?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Our knowledge is perfect. If I say that heat is the energy of Kṛṣṇa, you cannot deny it, because it is not your energy. In your body there is some certain amount of heat. Similarly, heat is someone's energy. And who is that person? That is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, "Yes, it is My energy." So my knowledge is perfect. Because I take the version of the greatest scientist, I am the greatest scientist. I may be a fool personally, but because I take knowledge from the greatest scientist, I am the greatest scientist. I have no difficulty.

Bob: Excuse me?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: I have no difficulty in becoming the greatest scientist because I take the knowledge from the greatest scientist. (There is a long pause.) "This earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego - they are My eight separated energies."

Bob: They are separated energies?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like this milk. What is this milk? The separated energy of the cow. (Śyāmasundara and Bob, stunned, laugh in realization.) Is it not? It is the manifestation of the separated energy of the cow.

Śyāmasundara: Is it like a by-product?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bob: So, what is the significance of this energy's being separated from Kṛṣṇa?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: "Separated" means that this is made out of the body of the cow but it is not the cow. That is separation.

Bob: So, this earth and all is made out of Kṛṣṇa but it is not Kṛṣṇa?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: It is not Kṛṣṇa. Or, you can say, Kṛṣṇa and not Kṛṣṇa simultaneously. That is our philosophy. One and different. You cannot say that these things are different from Kṛṣṇa, because without Kṛṣṇa they have no existence. At the same time, you cannot say, "Then let me worship water. Why Kṛṣṇa? The pantheists say that because everything is God, whatever we do is God worship. This is Māyāvāda philosophy - that because everything is made of God, therefore everything is God. But our philosophy is that everything is God but also not God.

Bob: So what on earth is God? Is there anything on earth that is God?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Because everything is made out of the energy of God. But that does not mean that by worshiping anything you are worshiping God.

Bob: So what is on earth that is not māyā (illusion)? It is...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Māyā means "energy."

Bob: It means energy?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Māyā - and another meaning is "illusion." So foolish persons accept the energy as the energetic. That is māyā. Just like sunshine. Sunshine enters your room. Sunshine is the energy of the sun. But because the sunshine enters your room, you cannot say that the sun has entered. If the sun enters your room, then your room and yourself - everything - will be finished. Immediately. You will not have the leisure to understand that the sun has entered. Is it not?

Bob: It is so.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: But you cannot say that sunshine is not the sun. Without the sun, where is the sunshine? So you cannot say that sunshine is not the sun. But at the same time, it is not the sun. It is the sun and not the sun - both. That is our philosophy. Acintya-bhedābheda - inconceivable. In the material sense, you cannot conceive that a thing is simultaneously positive and negative. That you cannot think of. That is inconceivable energy. And because everything is Kṛṣṇa's energy, Kṛṣṇa can manifest Himself from any energy. Therefore, when we worship Kṛṣṇa in a form made of something - of earth, water or something like that - that is Kṛṣṇa. You cannot say that it is not Kṛṣṇa. When we worship this metal form of Kṛṣṇa (the Deity form in the temple), that is Kṛṣṇa. That's a fact, because metal is an energy of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, it is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is so powerful that He can present Himself fully in His energy. So this Deity worship is not heathenism. It is actually worship of God, provided you know the process.

Bob: If you know the process, then the Deity becomes Kṛṣṇa?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Not becomes - it is Kṛṣṇa.

Bob: The Deity is Kṛṣṇa, but only if you know the process?

Śrīla Prabhupāda:Yes. just like this electric wire - it is electricity. One who knows the process, he can derive electricity out of it.

Śyāmasundara: Otherwise it's just wire.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Just wire.

Bob: So if I build a statue of Kṛṣṇa, it is not Kṛṣṇa unless...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: It is Kṛṣṇa. But you have to know the process of understanding that it is Kṛṣṇa. It is Kṛṣṇa.

Bob: It is not just earth and mud.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. Earth has no separate existence without Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, "My energy." You cannot separate the energy from the energetic. It is not possible. You cannot separate heat from fire. But fire is different from the heat, and heat is different from the fire. You are taking heat; that does not mean you are touching fire. Fire, in spite of emanating heat, keeps its identity. Similarly, although Kṛṣṇa, by His different energies, is creating everything, He remains Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophers think that if Kṛṣṇa is everything, then Kṛṣṇa's separate identity is lost. That is material thinking. For example, by drinking this milk, little by little, when I finish, there is no more milk; it has gone to my belly. Kṛṣṇa is not like that. He is omnipotent. We are utilizing His energy continually; still He is there, present. Just like a man begetting children unlimitedly, but the man is there. A crude example. It's not that because he has produced hundreds of children, he is finished. So, similarly, God or Kṛṣṇa, in spite of His unlimited number of children, is there. ([[Vanisource:ISO Invocation|Īśo Invocation]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
:pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
</div>

"Because He is the complete whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance."

This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa is never finished. Kṛṣṇa is so powerful. Therefore He is all-attractive. This is one side of the display of Kṛṣṇa's energy. Similarly, He has unlimited energies. This study of Kṛṣṇa's energy is only one side, or a portion only. So in this way, if you go on studying Kṛṣṇa, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not a bogus thing - "maybe," "perhaps not." Absolutely! It is!

Śyāmasundara: And the study itself is never finished.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. How can it be? Kṛṣṇa has unlimited energy.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Foolish people do not know that association is the cause of acquiring qualities. Association with fire makes an object hot, even in the material sense. Therefore, association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead makes one qualified like the Lord

2022-08-05T13:03:54Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Foolish people do not know that association is the cause of acquiring qualities. Association with fire makes an object hot, even in the material sense. Therefore, association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead makes one qualified like the Lord"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Mayapur}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|15Oct12}}
{{last|15Oct12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Foolish People]]
[[Category:People Do Not Know...]]
[[Category:Association with God]]
[[Category:Cause of...]]
[[Category:Acquire]]
[[Category:Qualities]]
[[Category:With]]
[[Category:Fire]]
[[Category:Make]]
[[Category:Object]]
[[Category:Hot]]
[[Category:Even In]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:Therefore]]
[[Category:God Is The Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:One (as in someone)]]
[[Category:Qualified like God]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Chapter 12 Purports - Birth of Emperor Pariksit]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="SB_Canto_1" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 1"><h3>SB Canto 1</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB11224_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_1" book="SB" index="459" link="SB 1.12.24" link_text="SB 1.12.24">
<div class="heading">Foolish people do not know that association is the cause of acquiring qualities. Association with fire makes an object hot, even in the material sense. Therefore, association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead makes one qualified like the Lord.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 1.12.24|SB 1.12.24, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">This child will be almost as good as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa by following in His footsteps. In magnanimity he will become as great as King Rantideva. And in religion he will be like Mahārāja Yayāti.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>The last instruction of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā is that one should give up everything and should follow in the footsteps of the Lord alone. Less intelligent persons do not agree to this great instruction of the Lord, as ill luck would have it, but one who is actually intelligent catches up this sublime instruction and is immensely benefited. Foolish people do not know that association is the cause of acquiring qualities. Association with fire makes an object hot, even in the material sense. Therefore, association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead makes one qualified like the Lord. As we have discussed previously, one can achieve seventy-eight percent of the godly qualities by the Lord's intimate association. To follow the instructions of the Lord is to associate with the Lord. The Lord is not a material object whose presence one has to feel for such association. The Lord is present everywhere and at all times. It is quite possible to have His association simply by following His instruction because the Lord and His instruction and the Lord and His name, fame, attributes and paraphernalia are all identical with Him, being absolute knowledge. Mahārāja Parīkṣit associated with the Lord even from the womb of his mother up to the last day of his valuable life, and thus he acquired all the essential good qualities of the Lord in all perfection.</p>
<p>Rantideva: An ancient king prior to the Mahābhārata period, referred to by Nārada Muni while instructing Sañjaya, as mentioned in Mahābhārata (Droṇa-parva 67). He was a great king, liberal for hospitality and distribution of foodstuff. Even Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa praised his acts of charity and hospitality. He was blessed by the great Vasiṣṭha Muni for supplying him cold water, and thus he achieved the heavenly planet. He used to supply fruits, roots and leaves to the ṛṣis, and thus he was blessed by them with fulfillment of his desires. Although a kṣatriya by birth, he never ate flesh in his life. He was especially hospitable to Vasiṣṭha Muni, and by his blessings only he attained the higher planetary residence. He is one of those pious kings whose names are remembered in the morning and evening.</p>
<p>Yayāti: The great emperor of the world and the original forefather of all great nations of the world who belong to the Āryan and Indo-European stock. He is the son of Mahārāja Nahuṣa, and he became the emperor of the world due to his elder brother's becoming a great and liberated saintly mystic. He ruled over the world for several thousands of years and performed many sacrifices and pious activities recorded in history, although his early youth was very lustful and full of romantic stories. He fell in love with Devayānī, the most beloved daughter of Śukrācārya. Devayānī wished to marry him, but at first he refused to accept her because of her being a daughter of a brāhmaṇa. According to śāstras, a brāhmaṇa could marry the daughter of a kṣatriya but a kṣatriya could not marry the daughter of a brāhmaṇa. They were very much cautious about varṇa-saṅkara population in the world. Śukrācārya amended this law of forbidden marriage and induced Emperor Yayāti to accept Devayānī. Devayānī had a girl friend named Śarmiṣṭhā, who also fell in love with the emperor and thus went with her friend Devayānī. Śukrācārya forbade Emperor Yayāti to call Śarmiṣṭhā into his bedroom, but Yayāti could not strictly follow his instruction. He secretly married Śarmiṣṭhā also and begot sons by her. When this was known by Devayānī, she went to her father and lodged a complaint. Yayāti was much attached to Devayānī, and when he went to his father-in-law's place to call her, Śukrācārya was angry with him and cursed him to become impotent. Yayāti begged his father-in-law to withdraw his curse, but the sage asked Yayāti to ask youthfulness from his sons and let them become old as the condition of his becoming potent. He had five sons, two from Devayānī and three from Śarmiṣṭhā. From his five sons, namely (1) Yadu, (2) Turvasu, (3) Druhyu, (4) Anu and (5) Pūru, five famous dynasties, namely (1) the Yadu dynasty, (2) the Yavana (Turk) dynasty, (3) the Bhoja dynasty, (4) the Mleccha dynasty (Greek) and (5) the Paurava dynasty, all emanated to spread all over the world. He reached the heavenly planets by dint of his pious acts, but he fell down from there because of his self-advertisement and criticizing other great souls. After his fall, his daughter and grandson bestowed upon him their accumulated virtues, and by the help of his grandson and friend Śibi, he was again promoted to the heavenly kingdom, becoming one of the assembly members of Yamarāja, with whom he is staying as a devotee. He performed more than one thousand different sacrifices, gave in charity very liberally and was a very influential king. His majestic power was felt all over the world. His youngest son agreed to award him his youthfulness when he was troubled with lustful desires, even for one thousand years. Finally he became detached from worldly life and returned the youthfulness again to his son Pūru. He wanted to hand over the kingdom to Pūru, but his noblemen and the subjects did not agree. But when he explained to his subjects the greatness of Pūru, they agreed to accept Pūru as the King, and thus Emperor Yayāti retired from family life and left home for the forest.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Atma, in the material sense, means the body or the mind, but when referring to one whose mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, atmarama means "one who is fixed in spiritual activities in relationship with the Supreme Soul

2022-08-05T12:06:30Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Ātmā, in the material sense, means the body or the mind, but when referring to one whose mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, ātmārāma means "one who is fixed in spiritual activities in relationship with the Supreme Soul"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Angela}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-08-19T19:06:17Z}}
{{last|2020-08-19T19:06:17Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Atma]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:Means]]
[[Category:Body and Mind]]
[[Category:When]]
[[Category:Refer]]
[[Category:One]]
[[Category:Whose]]
[[Category:Fix the Mind]]
[[Category:God's Lotus Feet]]
[[Category:Supreme Lord]]
[[Category:Atmarama]]
[[Category:One Who Is]]
[[Category:Fixed]]
[[Category:Spiritual Activities]]
[[Category:Relationship with God]]
[[Category:Supreme Soul]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Chapter 27 Purports - Understanding Material Nature]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 3</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Lord Kapila says that mayi mānasam, a devotee whose mind is always fixed upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is called ātmārāma or vidita-tattva. Ātmārāma means "one who rejoices in the self," or "one who enjoys in the spiritual atmosphere." Ātmā, in the material sense, means the body or the mind, but when referring to one whose mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, ātmārāma means "one who is fixed in spiritual activities in relationship with the Supreme Soul.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 3.27.26|SB 3.27.26, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The influence of material nature cannot harm an enlightened soul, even though he engages in material activities, because he knows the truth of the Absolute, and his mind is fixed on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

Lord Kapila says that mayi mānasam, a devotee whose mind is always fixed upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is called ātmārāma or vidita-tattva. Ātmārāma means "one who rejoices in the self," or "one who enjoys in the spiritual atmosphere." Ātmā, in the material sense, means the body or the mind, but when referring to one whose mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, ātmārāma means "one who is fixed in spiritual activities in relationship with the Supreme Soul." The Supreme Soul is the Personality of Godhead, and the individual soul is the living entity. When they engage in reciprocation of service and benediction, the living entity is said to be in the ātmārāma position. This ātmārāma position can be attained by one who knows the truth as it is. The truth is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the enjoyer and that the living entities are meant for His service and enjoyment. One who knows this truth, and who tries to engage all resources in the service of the Lord, escapes all material reactions and influences of the modes of material nature.

An example may be cited in this connection. Just as a materialist engages in constructing a big skyscraper, a devotee engages in constructing a big temple for Viṣṇu. Superficially, the skyscraper constructor and temple constructor are on the same level, for both are collecting wood, stone, iron and other building materials. But the person who constructs a skyscraper is a materialist, and the person who constructs a temple of Viṣṇu is ātmārāma. The materialist tries to satisfy himself in relation to his body by constructing a skyscraper, but the devotee tries to satisfy the Superself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by constructing the temple. Although both are engaged in the association of material activities, the devotee is liberated, and the materialist is conditioned. This is because the devotee, who is constructing the temple, has fixed his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the nondevotee, who is constructing the skyscraper, has his mind fixed in sense gratification. If, while performing any activity, even in material existence, one's mind is fixed upon the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, one will not be entangled or conditioned. The worker in devotional service, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is always independent of the influence of material nature.

</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Anything that is beautiful and opulent in the material sense is enjoyed by those living entities who are like crows

2022-08-05T12:02:16Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Anything that is beautiful and opulent in the material sense is enjoyed by those living entities who are like crows"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MadhuGopaldas}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|28Aug12}}
{{last|28Aug12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Anything]]
[[Category:That Is]]
[[Category:Beautiful]]
[[Category:Opulence]]
[[Category:In the Material Sense]]
[[Category:Enjoy]]
[[Category:Living Entities]]
[[Category:Those Who Are]]
[[Category:Likeness]]
[[Category:Crow]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Chapter 09 Purports - Brahma's Prayers for Creative Energy]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="SB_Canto_3" class="sub_section" sec_index="3" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 3"><h3>SB Canto 3</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB391_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_3" book="SB" index="310" link="SB 3.9.1" link_text="SB 3.9.1">
<div class="heading">Foolish human beings who do not endeavor to investigate the supreme beauty and opulence of the Lord are here condemned by Brahmā. It is imperative that every human being try for such knowledge, and if anyone does not do so, his life is spoiled. Anything that is beautiful and opulent in the material sense is enjoyed by those living entities who are like crows. Crows always engage in picking at rejected garbage, whereas the white ducks do not mix with the crows. Rather, they take pleasure in transparent lakes with lotus flowers, surrounded by beautiful orchards.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 3.9.1|SB 3.9.1, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">Lord Brahmā said: O my Lord, today, after many, many years of penance, I have come to know about You. Oh, how unfortunate the embodied living entities are that they are unable to know Your personality! My Lord, You are the only knowable object because there is nothing supreme beyond You. If there is anything supposedly superior to You, it is not the Absolute. You exist as the Supreme by exhibiting the creative energy of matter.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>The highest peak of the ignorance of the living entities who are conditioned by material bodies is that they are unaware of the supreme cause of the cosmic manifestation. Different people have different theories regarding the supreme cause, but none of them are genuine. The only supreme cause is Viṣṇu, and the intervening impediment is the illusory energy of the Lord. The Lord has employed His wonderful material energy in manifesting many, many wonderful distractions in the material world, and the conditioned souls, illusioned by the same energy, are thus unable to know the supreme cause. The most stalwart scientists and philosophers, therefore, cannot be accepted as wonderful. They only appear wonderful because they are instruments in the hands of the illusory energy of the Lord. Under illusion, the general mass of people deny the existence of the Supreme Lord and accept the foolish products of illusory energy as supreme.</p>
<p>One can know the supreme cause, the Personality of Godhead, by the causeless mercy of the Lord, which is bestowed upon the Lord's pure devotees like Brahmā and those in his disciplic succession. By acts of penance only was Lord Brahmā able to see the Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and by realization only could he understand the Lord as He is. Brahmā was extremely satisfied upon observing the magnificent beauty and opulence of the Lord, and he admitted that nothing can be comparable to Him. Only by penance can one appreciate the beauty and opulence of the Lord, and when one is acquainted with that beauty and opulence, he is no longer attracted by any other. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59): paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate.</p>
<p>Foolish human beings who do not endeavor to investigate the supreme beauty and opulence of the Lord are here condemned by Brahmā. It is imperative that every human being try for such knowledge, and if anyone does not do so, his life is spoiled. Anything that is beautiful and opulent in the material sense is enjoyed by those living entities who are like crows. Crows always engage in picking at rejected garbage, whereas the white ducks do not mix with the crows. Rather, they take pleasure in transparent lakes with lotus flowers, surrounded by beautiful orchards. Both crows and ducks are undoubtedly birds by birth, but they are not of the same feather.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

You are a very sincere girl and that is the first qualification for developing love for Krishna. Now increase that sincerity more by engaging yourself whole-heartedly and with great enthusiasm for serving Krishna and love of Godhead will fructify

2022-08-01T18:53:12Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"you are a very sincere girl and that is the first qualification for developing love for Krishna. Now increase that sincerity more and more by engaging yourself whole-heartedly and with great enthusiasm for serving Krishna and very soon love of Godhead will fructify"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Ratnavali}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2015-12-10T10:43:46Z}}
{{last|2015-12-10T10:43:46Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:We Are (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Very Sincere]]
[[Category:Our Girls (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:That Is]]
[[Category:First]]
[[Category:Our Qualifications (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Development (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Developing Love for Krsna]]
[[Category:Increase]]
[[Category:Our Sincerity (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:More]]
[[Category:Our Engagements (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Ourself (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Wholeheartedly]]
[[Category:With]]
[[Category:Great]]
[[Category:Our Enthusiasm (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Serving Krsna]]
[[Category:Love of Godhead]]
[[Category:Fructify]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>1971 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
I can understand that you are a very sincere girl and that is the first qualification for developing love for Krishna. Now increase that sincerity more and more by engaging yourself whole-heartedly and with great enthusiasm for serving Krishna and very soon love of Godhead will fructify. You will become more and more happy in this life and in the end go back to home, back to Krishna, to enjoy eternal life, full of bliss and knowledge and in association with the supreme lovable object, Krishna.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:711106 - Letter to Ksama (Lynn Edwards) written from Calcutta|711106 - Letter to Ksama (Lynn Edwards) written from Calcutta]]
</div>
<div class="text">
November 06, 1971

Amsterdam

My Dear Ksama Devi Dasi (Lynn Edwards),

Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your your kind letter requesting initiation and, at the recommendation of Dhananjaya Prabhu, I have gladly consented to accept you as my duly initiated disciple. I have given you the spiritual name Ksama Devi Dasi, Ksama means forgiveness. Your beads have also been duly chanted and they are enclosed herewith.

I can understand that you are a very sincere girl and that is the first qualification for developing love for Krishna. Now increase that sincerity more and more by engaging yourself whole-heartedly and with great enthusiasm for serving Krishna and very soon love of Godhead will fructify. You will become more and more happy in this life and in the end go back to home, back to Krishna, to enjoy eternal life, full of bliss and knowledge and in association with the supreme lovable object, Krishna. And our process for obtaining to such a wonderful existence is not at all difficult. Following the regulative principles strictly, chant at least 16 rounds of beads daily and always think of Krishna

[TEXT UNCLEAR]

life and your future will be very bright.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/adb
</div>
</div>
</div>

Try your best to develop an ideal society there to set a perfect example for the human society of how one can live very simply, chanting Hare Krishna and developing love for Krishna

2022-08-01T18:51:33Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Try your best to develop an ideal society there to set a perfect example for the human society of how one can live very simply, chanting Hare Krishna and developing love for Krishna"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|04Jan14}}
{{last|04Jan14}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:We Are Trying To (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Trying Our Best (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Development (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Ideal (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Society]]
[[Category:Ideal Society]]
[[Category:Set the Example]]
[[Category:Our Perfection (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Example (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Human Society]]
[[Category:We Can (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Life (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Simplicity (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Chanting Hare Krsna (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:How to Love Krsna]]
[[Category:Developing Love for Krsna]]

</div>
<div id="Correspondence" class="section" sec_index="6" parent="compilation" text="Correspondence"><h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="1975_Correspondence" class="sub_section" sec_index="10" parent="Correspondence" text="1975 Correspondence"><h3>1975 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div id="LettertoTustaKrsnaHonolulu2February1975_0" class="quote" parent="1975_Correspondence" book="Let" index="111" link="Letter to Tusta Krsna -- Honolulu 2 February, 1975" link_text="Letter to Tusta Krsna -- Honolulu 2 February, 1975">
<div class="heading">Try your best to develop an ideal society there to set a perfect example for the human society of how one can live very simply, chanting Hare Krishna and developing love for Krishna. Make sure that you keep the whole program pure by carefully following all of the rules and regulations that I have given, rising early, attending mangala arati and holding classes, chanting 16 rounds daily, observing the four basic principles, no intoxication, meat-eating, etc.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Letter to Tusta Krsna -- Honolulu 2 February, 1975|Letter to Tusta Krsna -- Honolulu 2 February, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Auckland, New Zealand</p>
<p>My dear Tusta Krishna Svami,</p>
<p>Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 12, 1975 and have noted the contents carefully. Thank you for the 1,000 dollars (in checks). I am very happy to hear your report. Krishna is giving you facility there to develop a very nice varna-asrama society in New Zealand. Try your best to develop an ideal society there to set a perfect example for the human society of how one can live very simply, chanting Hare Krishna and developing love for Krishna. Make sure that you keep the whole program pure by carefully following all of the rules and regulations that I have given, rising early, attending mangala arati and holding classes, chanting 16 rounds daily, observing the four basic principles, no intoxication, meat-eating, etc. Then everything will be a great success. You are an intelligent boy, so, I think you can understand how to manage things very nicely there. I hope to be seeing you in Mayapur this year. The festival begins about the 25th of March.</p>
<p>I hope this meets you in good health.</p>
<p>Your ever well-wisher,</p>
<p>A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami</p>
<p>Sriman Siddhasvarupa Maharaja is with me here. I met Sudama Vipra _ acarya at Hong Kong</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

I am so glad to learn that you have developed so much love for Krishna. This is the way of developing Krishna Consciousness; and wherever you will be rigid in your Krishna Consciousness, the triumph will be yours

2022-08-01T18:47:46Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"I am so glad to learn that you have developed so much love for Krishna. This is the way of developing Krishna Consciousness; and wherever you will be rigid in your Krishna Consciousness, the triumph will be yours"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2015-11-21T11:10:58Z}}
{{last|2015-11-21T11:10:58Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:I Am So Glad to Learn (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:We Have (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Development (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:So Much]]
[[Category:Developing Love for Krsna]]
[[Category:Our Love (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:That Is The Way]]
[[Category:Developing Krsna Consciousness]]
[[Category:Wherever]]
[[Category:We Will Be (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Rigidity (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Strictness (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Krsna Consciousness (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Triumph]]
[[Category:Our (Disciples of SP)]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>1968 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The incidence in connection with Krishna's sitting on your lap is very interesting. I am so glad to learn that you have developed so much love for Krishna. This is the way of developing Krishna Consciousness; and wherever you will be rigid in your Krishna Consciousness, the triumph will be yours.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:680421 - Letter to Malati written from New York|680421 - Letter to Malati written from New York]]
</div>
<div class="text">
April 21, 1968

My Dear Malati,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 19th April, 1968, and the incidence in connection with Krishna's sitting on your lap is very interesting. I am so glad to learn that you have developed so much love for Krishna. This is the way of developing Krishna Consciousness; and wherever you will be rigid in your Krishna Consciousness, the triumph will be yours.

Yes, here everything is very joyous, because so many nice boys and girls have joined the society, and they are joyfully dancing and chanting. You can let Syamasundara know that the calculation of Rathayatra was made one month ahead. The actual date is the 28th of June; beginning of Rathayatra is on the 28th, and it will continue till 8 days, and the general festival may be observed on the 7th of July, Sunday (because Saturday is Ekadasi).

Hoping you are all well.

Your ever well-wisher,

P.S. I thank you very much for the beautiful picture of Krishna which you have drawn and sent to me. Please paint many such nice pictures of Krishna, and we shall use them in all our temples.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Material elevation to life as a brahmana, demigod, rsi and so on are not causes for developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the Lord, his Krsna consciousness is complete

2022-08-01T18:39:39Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Material elevation to life as a brāhmaṇa, demigod, ṛṣi and so on are not causes for developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the Lord, his Kṛṣṇa consciousness is complete"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|vanisevadasa}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-27T22:09:36Z}}
{{last|2020-11-27T22:09:36Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Material]]
[[Category:Elevation]]
[[Category:Life of a Brahmana]]
[[Category:Demigods]]
[[Category:And So On]]
[[Category:Are Not]]
[[Category:Cause]]
[[Category:Developing Love of God]]
[[Category:If One]]
[[Category:Sincere Service]]
[[Category:Engaging in God's Service]]
[[Category:Complete in Krsna Consciousness]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 07 Purports - What Prahlada Learned in the Womb]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 7</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Prahlāda Mahārāja concludes that one can become perfect by serving the Supreme Lord sincerely by all means. Material elevation to life as a brāhmaṇa, demigod, ṛṣi and so on are not causes for developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the Lord, his Kṛṣṇa consciousness is complete. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 9.30): "Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated.".
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.7.51-52|SB 7.7.51-52, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
My dear friends, O sons of the demons, you cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming perfect brāhmaṇas, demigods or great saints or by becoming perfectly good in etiquette or vast learning. None of these qualifications can awaken the pleasure of the Lord. Nor by charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness or vows can one satisfy the Lord. The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show.
</div>
<div class="text">
Prahlāda Mahārāja concludes that one can become perfect by serving the Supreme Lord sincerely by all means. Material elevation to life as a brāhmaṇa, demigod, ṛṣi and so on are not causes for developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the Lord, his Kṛṣṇa consciousness is complete. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 9.30 (1972)|BG 9.30]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:api cet su-durācāro
:bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
:sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ
:samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
</div>

"Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated." To develop unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa is the perfection of life. Other processes may be helpful, but if one does not develop his love for Kṛṣṇa, these other processes are simply a waste of time.

<div class="quote_verse">
:dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
:viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
:notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
:śrama eva hi kevalam
</div>

"Duties [dharma] executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord." ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.8|SB 1.2.8]]) The test of perfection is one's unalloyed devotion to the Lord.
</div>
</div>
</div>

His (Krsna's) exceptional joking abilities, exhibited sometimes by His pretending to be a royal prince, or even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also give impetus to devotees developing love for Krsna in friendship

2022-08-01T14:55:05Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"His exceptional joking abilities, exhibited sometimes by His pretending to be a royal prince, or even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also give impetus to devotees developing love for Kṛṣṇa in friendship"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MahaprabhuCaitanya}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2017-05-10T03:13:57Z}}
{{last|2017-05-10T03:13:57Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Exceptional]]
[[Category:Krsna's Joking]]
[[Category:Krsna's Ability]]
[[Category:Krsna's Exhibiting]]
[[Category:Sometimes]]
[[Category:Krsna's Pretending]]
[[Category:Krsna's Royalness]]
[[Category:Krsna's Princesses]]
[[Category:Krsna Is The Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:Krsna's Giving]]
[[Category:Impetus]]
[[Category:Krsna and His Devotees]]
[[Category:Developing Love for Krsna]]
[[Category:Friendship with Krsna]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 42 - Fraternal Loving Affairs]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapters 01 to 51]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Kṛṣṇa's age, His beauty, His bugle, His flute, His conchshell and His pleasing attitude all provoke love in friendship for Him. His exceptional joking abilities, exhibited sometimes by His pretending to be a royal prince, or even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also give impetus to devotees developing love for Kṛṣṇa in friendship.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:NOD 41 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 41]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Kṛṣṇa's age, His beauty, His bugle, His flute, His conchshell and His pleasing attitude all provoke love in friendship for Him. His exceptional joking abilities, exhibited sometimes by His pretending to be a royal prince, or even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also give impetus to devotees developing love for Kṛṣṇa in friendship.

Learned scholars have divided Kṛṣṇa's age into three periods: the age up to five years is called kaumāra, the age from the sixth to the tenth year is called paugaṇḍa, and the age from the eleventh to fifteenth year is called kaiśora. While Kṛṣṇa is spending His days as a cowherd boy, He is in the kaumāra and paugaṇḍa ages. In the kaiśora age, when Kṛṣṇa appeared at Gokula, He acted as a cowherd boy, and then, when He was sixteen, He went to Mathurā to kill Kaṁsa.

The kaumāra age is just suitable for reciprocating the love of a child with Mother Yaśodā. In the [[Vanisource:SB 10.13.11|Tenth Canto, 13th Chapter, 9th verse]] of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells King Parīkṣit: "My dear King, although Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer and the beneficiary of all kinds of sacrificial ceremonies, He still used to eat with His cowherd boy friends. This is because at that time He accepted the pastimes of an ordinary boy, keeping His flute under His arm and His bugle on the right side in His belt, along with His cane. In His left hand He would hold a lump of rice paste with yogurt, and in His fingers would be pīlu, the king of fruits. When He would thus sit amongst His friends, it would appear that He was the whorl of a lotus flower and that the friends surrounding Him were petals. As they thus enjoyed joking amongst themselves, the denizens of heaven would become struck with wonder and would only stare at the scene."

Kṛṣṇa's paugaṇḍa age can be further divided into three periods—namely, the beginning, middle and end. In the beginning of the paugaṇḍa age there is a very nice reddish luster on His lips, His abdomen is very thin, and on His neck are circles like those on a conchshell. Sometimes, some outside visitors would return to Vṛndāvana to see Kṛṣṇa and, upon seeing Him again, would exclaim, "My dear Mukunda, Your beauty is gradually increasing, just like the leaf on a banyan tree! My dear lotus-eyed one, Your neck is gradually manifesting circles like the conchshell. And in the shining moonlight Your teeth and cheeks are competing with the padmarāga jewels in their beautiful arrangement. I am sure that Your beautiful bodily development is now giving much pleasure to Your friends."

At this age Kṛṣṇa was garlanded with various kinds of flowers. He used to put on a silk dress, colored with various kinds of dye. Such beautiful decorations are considered cosmetics for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa would wear this dress when He used to go into the forest to tend the cows. Sometimes He would wrestle there with His different friends, and sometimes they would dance all together in the forest. These are some of the specific activities of the paugaṇḍa age.
</div>
</div>
</div>

This movement is approved method for reviving God consciousness. So let the leaders take this movement more seriously and it will actually relieve the suffering humanity and specially the youths who are out to search out something spiritual

2022-07-28T09:25:11Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"this movement is approved method for reviving God consciousness. So let the leaders take this movement more seriously and it will actually relieve the suffering humanity and specially the youths who are out to search out something spiritual"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Krsnadas}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|07Aug12}}
{{last|07Aug12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is...]]
[[Category:Approval]]
[[Category:Method]]
[[Category:Revive]]
[[Category:God Consciousness]]
[[Category:let]]
[[Category:Leaders]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:More]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is A Serious Movement]]
[[Category:Actually]]
[[Category:Relief]]
[[Category:Suffering Humanity]]
[[Category:Especially]]
[[Category:Youth]]
[[Category:who Are]]
[[Category:out]]
[[Category:Searching]]
[[Category:something]]
[[Category:spiritual]]
</div>
<div id="Correspondence" class="section" sec_index="6" parent="compilation" text="Correspondence"><h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="1967_Correspondence" class="sub_section" sec_index="2" parent="Correspondence" text="1967 Correspondence"><h3>1967 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div id="LettertoRavindraSvarupaNewYork21May1967_0" class="quote" parent="1967_Correspondence" book="Let" index="88" link="Letter to Ravindra Svarupa -- New York 21 May, 1967" link_text="Letter to Ravindra Svarupa -- New York 21 May, 1967">
<div class="heading">The basic principle of disease is Godlessness and this movement is approved method for reviving God consciousness. So let the leaders take this movement more seriously and it will actually relieve the suffering humanity and specially the youths who are out to search out something spiritual.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Letter to Ravindra Svarupa -- New York 21 May, 1967|Letter to Ravindra Svarupa -- New York 21 May, 1967]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">My Dear Ravindra Svarupa,</p>
<p>Please accept my blessings. I am very glad to learn that you are doing your best and your good wife is helping you nicely. I have received her letter but I am sorry that I could not reply this good girl. I very much appreciate her feelings and specially the hand writing. So you have very nice qualified girl as your life's companion and I bless you all that you peacefully carry out the message of Krishna Consciousness to the needy men of the world. I am glad to learn that you are in touch with the council for A summer of Love. Please try to convince them that this movement of Krishna Consciousness is the only remedy for treatment for the diseased condition of human society. The basic principle of disease is Godlessness and this movement is approved method for reviving God consciousness. So let the leaders take this movement more seriously and it will actually relieve the suffering humanity and specially the youths who are out to search out something spiritual. The youth of America who are so searching I am very much sympathetic with them and their qualification of detachment to the material advancement of civilization will alone help them to advance in Krishna or God consciousness. If they patiently hear me I am sure they will be convinced as you have been. So before my arrival you may make some arrangement so that I can speak to the greatest number of people and I am sure they will appreciate my presentation. Hope this will find you all well. Please convey my blessing to Sriman Devakinandana Brahmacari and others.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

The leaders of the Krsna consciousness movement should very seriously take this opportunity to be kind to the fallen souls by delivering them from the misunderstanding of materialistic life

2022-07-28T09:14:49Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The leaders of the Krsna consciousness movement should very seriously take this opportunity to be kind to the fallen souls by delivering them from the misunderstanding of materialistic life"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|14Jul11}}
{{last|14Jul11}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:My Leaders (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Devotees in the Krsna Consciousness Movement]]
[[Category:We Should (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Our Seriousness (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is A Serious Movement]]
[[Category:Our Opportunities (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Kind to Everyone]]
[[Category:Delivering Fallen Souls]]
[[Category:Misunderstanding]]
[[Category:Materialistic Way of Life]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 08 Chapter 05 Purports - The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 08 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="SB_Canto_8" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 8"><h3>SB Canto 8</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB8523_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_8" book="SB" index="125" link="SB 8.5.23" link_text="SB 8.5.23">
<div class="heading">To cleanse the core of the heart, which is full of misunderstanding, is possible only through śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. The leaders of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should very seriously take this opportunity to be kind to the fallen souls by delivering them from the misunderstanding of materialistic life.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 8.5.23|SB 8.5.23, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">Now is the time to invoke the mode of goodness of the living entities who have accepted material bodies. The mode of goodness is meant to establish the Supreme Lord's rule, which will maintain the existence of the creation. Therefore, this is the opportune moment to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because He is naturally very kind and dear to the demigods, He will certainly bestow good fortune upon us.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>The material world is conducted by the three modes of nature, namely sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. By rajo-guṇa everything material is created, by sattva-guṇa everything material is maintained properly, and by tamo-guṇa, when the creation is improperly situated, everything is destroyed.</p>
<p>From this verse we can understand the situation of Kali-yuga, through which we are now passing. Just before the beginning of Kali-yuga—or, in other words, at the end of Dvāpara-yuga—Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared and left His instructions in the form of Bhagavad-gītā, in which He asked all living entities to surrender unto Him. Since the beginning of Kali-yuga, however, people have practically been unable to surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore, after some five thousand years, Kṛṣṇa came again as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu just to teach the entire world how to surrender unto Him, unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and thus be purified.</p>
<p>Surrendering unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa means achieving complete purification. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):</p>
:sarva-dharmān parityajya
:mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
:ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
:mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
<p>"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." Thus as soon as one surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, one certainly becomes free from all contamination.</p>
<p>Kali-yuga is full of contamination. This is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.51):</p>
:kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
:asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
:kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
:mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
<p>This age of Kali is full of unlimited faults. Indeed, it is just like an ocean of faults (doṣa-nidhi). But there is one chance, one opportunity. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet: simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one can be freed from the contamination of Kali-yuga and, in his original spiritual body, can return home, back to Godhead. This is the opportunity of Kali-yuga.</p>
<p>When Kṛṣṇa appeared, He gave His orders, and when Kṛṣṇa Himself appeared as a devotee, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He showed us the path by which to cross the ocean of Kali-yuga. That is the path of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared, He ushered in the era for the saṅkīrtana movement. It is also said that for ten thousand years this era will continue. This means that simply by accepting the saṅkīrtana movement and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, the fallen souls of this Kali-yuga will be delivered. After the Battle of Kurukṣetra, at which Bhagavad-gītā was spoken, Kali-yuga continues for 432,000 years, of which only 5,000 years have passed. Thus there is still a balance of 427,000 years to come. Of these 427,000 years, the 10,000 years of the saṅkīrtana movement inaugurated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu 500 years ago provide the opportunity for the fallen souls of Kali-yuga to take to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and thus be delivered from the clutches of material existence and return home, back to Godhead.</p>
<p>Chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is potent always, but it is especially potent in this age of Kali. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī, while instructing Mahārāja Parīkṣit, stressed this chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.</p>
:kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
:asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
:kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
:mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
<p>"My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." ([[Vanisource:SB 12.3.51|SB 12.3.51]]) Those who have accepted the task of spreading the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness should take this opportunity to deliver people very easily from the clutches of material existence. Our duty, therefore, is to follow the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and preach the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world very sincerely. This is the best welfare activity for the peace and prosperity of human society.</p>
<p>Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement consists of spreading kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam: "All glories to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana!" Why is it so glorious? This has also been explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam: ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]]) by the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one's heart is cleansed. The whole difficulty is that in this age of Kali there is no sattva-guṇa and no clearance of the heart, and therefore people are making the mistake of identifying with their bodies. Even the big philosophers and scientists with whom we deal are practically all under the impression that they are their bodies. The other day we were discussing a prominent philosopher, Thomas Huxley, who was proud of being an Englishman. This means that he was in the bodily conception of life. Everywhere we find this same misunderstanding. As soon as one is in the bodily conception of life, one is nothing but an animal like a cat or a dog (sa eva go-kharaḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 10.84.13|SB 10.84.13]])). Thus the most dangerous of the dirty things within our hearts is this misidentification of the body as the self. Under the influence of this misunderstanding, one thinks, "I am this body. I am an Englishman. I am an Indian. I am an American. I am Hindu. I am Muslim." This misconception is the strongest impediment, and it must be removed. That is the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā and of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Indeed, Bhagavad-gītā begins with this instruction:</p>
:dehino 'smin yathā dehe
:kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
:tathā dehāntara-prāptir
:dhīras tatra na muhyati
<p>"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." ([[Vanisource:BG 2.13 (1972)|BG 2.13]]) Although the soul is within the body, nevertheless, because of misunderstanding and animal propensities one accepts the body as the self. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]]). To cleanse the core of the heart, which is full of misunderstanding, is possible only through śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. The leaders of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should very seriously take this opportunity to be kind to the fallen souls by delivering them from the misunderstanding of materialistic life.</p>
<p>One cannot be happy in any way within this material world. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16):</p>
:ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
:punar āvartino 'rjuna
<p>"From the highest planet in this material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place." Therefore, not to speak of going to the moon, even if one is promoted to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, there cannot be any happiness in this material world. If one actually wants happiness, one must go to the spiritual world. The material world is characterized by a struggle for existence, and survival of the fittest is a well-known principle, but the poor souls of this material world do not know what is survival and who is fit. Survival does not mean that one should die; survival means that one should not die, but should enjoy an everlastingly blissful life of knowledge. This is survival. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to make every person fit for survival. Indeed, it is meant to stop the struggle for existence. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā give definite directions on how to stop the struggle for existence and how to survive in eternal life. The saṅkīrtana movement, therefore, is a great opportunity. Simply by hearing Bhagavad-gītā and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one becomes completely purified. Thus the struggle for existence ceases, and one goes back home, back to Godhead.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

The followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu may take this movement (Krsna consciousness movement) seriously and broadcast it throughout the world, from village to village and from town to town, just as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself did

2022-07-28T09:09:52Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu may therefore take this movement seriously and broadcast it throughout the world, from village to village and from town to town, just as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself did"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-05-13T13:43:30Z}}
{{last|2021-05-13T13:43:30Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=1|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Followers]]
[[Category:Following Caitanya]]
[[Category:May (Might)]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Broadcast]]
[[Category:Throughout The World]]
[[Category:Village]]
[[Category:Town]]
[[Category:Just As]]
[[Category:Caitanya Himself]]
[[Category:Caitanya's Doing]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Chapter 25 Purports - How All the Residents of Varanasi Became Vaisnavas]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Purports]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Madhya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Indeed, our books are extensively distributed in the Western countries, especially in America and Europe. Even the ecclesiastical orders in these countries are appreciating the value of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and are ready to unite for the highest benefit of human society. The followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu may therefore take this movement seriously and broadcast it throughout the world, from village to village and from town to town, just as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself did.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Madhya 25.264|CC Madhya 25.264, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
To deliver all fallen souls, the Lord traveled from country to country. He personally tasted the transcendental pleasure of devotional service, and He simultaneously spread the cult of devotion everywhere.
</div>
<div class="text">
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally traveled to different regions of India to spread the bhakti cult throughout the country. He also personally relished transcendental activities. By His personal behavior He has given an example for devotees to follow. That is, one should broadcast the cult of devotional service. He specifically instructed His devotees to enjoin all Indians to broadcast this message throughout the world because at that time the Lord could not personally travel to other parts of the world. In this regard, He has left two instructions:

<div class="quote_verse">
:bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra
:janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra
</div>

“All Indians should seriously take up the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and should perfect their lives by adopting the process of devotional service. After perfecting their lives, they should broadcast this message all over the world for the welfare of all human beings [para-upakāra].” ([[Vanisource:CC Adi 9.41|CC Adi 9.41]]) A Vaiṣṇava is especially interested in para-upakāra, doing good to others. Prahlāda Mahārāja was also interested in this. He did not want to be delivered alone; rather, he wanted to deliver all fallen souls, who are bereft of knowledge of bhakti and who misuse their intelligence for the temporary benefit of the material body. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also wanted His mission spread all over the world.

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma “In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.” (Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya 4.126) Following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, we are trying to broadcast His message throughout the world. By His mercy, people are taking this movement very seriously. Indeed, our books are extensively distributed in the Western countries, especially in America and Europe. Even the ecclesiastical orders in these countries are appreciating the value of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and are ready to unite for the highest benefit of human society. The followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu may therefore take this movement seriously and broadcast it throughout the world, from village to village and from town to town, just as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself did.
</div>
</div>
</div>

I am pleased to know that you are working hard in the service of Krsna and feeling settled in your engagement. Please take this movement very seriously

2022-07-27T08:26:00Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"I am pleased to know that you are working hard in the service of Krsna and feeling settled in your engagement. Please take this movement very seriously"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Ratnavali}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2015-12-28T16:24:25Z}}
{{last|2015-12-28T16:24:25Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:I Am Very Pleased (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:To Know]]
[[Category:You Are]]
[[Category:Working for Krsna]]
[[Category:Service to Krsna]]
[[Category:Feeling]]
[[Category:Settle]]
[[Category:Engagement]]
[[Category:Please (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is A Serious Movement]]
[[Category:Very Seriously]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>1976 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
I am pleased to know that you are working hard in the service of Krsna and feeling settled in your engagement. Please take this movement very seriously.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:761024 - Letter to Bhurijana written from Vrndavana|761024 - Letter to Bhurijana written from Vrndavana]]
</div>
<div class="text">
October 24, 1976

My Dear Bhurijana,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Oct. 11, 1976 and also the letter from your good wife. Thank you for the traveler's checks in the amount of $100.

I am pleased to know that you are working hard in the service of Krsna and feeling settled in your engagement. Please take this movement very seriously.

Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/jda
</div>
</div>
</div>

I wanted a rajarsi to take up this movement seriously, but I could not get till now

2022-07-27T08:15:09Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"I wanted a rajarsi to take up this movement seriously, but I could not get till now"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|15Nov10}}
{{last|15Nov10}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=1|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:I Want (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Rajarsi]]
[[Category:Take Up]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is A Serious Movement]]
[[Category:I Could Not (Prabhupada)]]
</div>
<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
</div>
<div id="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1975 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1975 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
</div>
<div id="RoomConversationAugust211975Bombay_0" class="quote" parent="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="174" link="Room Conversation -- August 21, 1975, Bombay" link_text="Room Conversation -- August 21, 1975, Bombay">
<div class="heading">I wanted a rājarṣi to take up this movement seriously, but I could not get till now. If she becomes, it will be benefit for me, for the world, for her, everyone. Because I have no power, I have no money, but if one rājarṣi who has got strength, money, intelligence, if she takes, then it will be very quickly successful.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Room Conversation -- August 21, 1975, Bombay|Room Conversation -- August 21, 1975, Bombay]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Should we say "Miss Lalitā Bose" or just "Miss Lalitā"?</p>
<p>Lalitā: No, Lalitā will... That's all. She knows me.</p>
<p>Brahmānanda: "When I was in Toronto, Canada, Śrīmatī Lalitā Devi, who is just like my daughter, sent me one intimation that she approached you for a meeting with me and you, and I have come here, postponing all my engagements. I am preaching this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world on the basis of Kṛṣṇa's instructions in Bhagavad-gītā. Actually this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is called the saṅkīrtana movement and sometimes called the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, which was inaugurated by Lord Caitanya in Bengal and throughout all India. His mission is that everyone should become a guru and preach all over the world the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. So we are doing this very faithfully, and it is becoming effective. I think in India also, if some vigorous activity is done for awakening the Kṛṣṇa consciousness of the people under your leadership, it will be very effective. So we have already eight branches in India, and all development is being done by foreign exchange. It can be continued if I get encouragement by the government. So I shall be very much pleased to see you in this connection. I have written about fifty books of four hundred pages each, such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, and these books are very popular in foreign countries such as Europe and America. By the sales proceeds I am bringing foreign exchange." "Yours sincerely?"</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: "Yours sincerely" all right, or "Your well-wisher"?</p>
<p>Lalitā: "Well-wisher."</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: "Your well-wisher." (Bengali) Word is already there. Sādhu śāstra guru vākya, tinete karīyā aikya. (Bengali) So immediately type it and give it to her.</p>
<p>Jayapatāka: Where it says that "I am bringing foreign exchange," in the end, "by selling my books I am bringing foreign exchange," it's for India's development?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: For developing my scheme here.</p>
<p>Jayapatāka: And Gopāla Kṛṣṇa mentioned the point that... We're bringing foreign exchange. Whether there should be any word that also signifies that we have local support also?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Local support, that is understood. (Bengali) So our "books popular in foreign countries as well as in India." We are getting money also by these books.</p>
<p>Brahmānanda: We have quotations from professors in America and also India.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Lalitā: And which we will take, this one and the professor Kajal.(?) (Bengali) You will give one Gītā, your writing to... You will present Gītā. And you lead your life according to this teachings. But she is great (Bengali) She is full of bhakti. But she needs good guidance. Anandamaya Ma is doing, but she can't come to her. So guidance, practical guidance also.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: (Bengali) So I shall personally teach Bhagavad-gītā. Her and her most confidential associates or who is governing. That I can do. (Bengali) Imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 4.2 (1972)|BG 4.2]]). I wanted a rājarṣi to take up this movement seriously, but I could not get till now. If she becomes, it will be benefit for me, for the world, for her, everyone. Because I have no power, I have no money, but if one rājarṣi who has got strength, money, intelligence, if she takes, then it will be very quickly successful. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, His movement became very successful when Mahārāja Pratāparudra of Orissa took it. Gautama Buddha's movement was successful when Aśoka, Mahārāja Aśoka took it. It requires. And Kṛṣṇa says, rājarṣayo viduḥ.</p>
<p>Lalitā: (Bengali) She is very cunning.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: (Bengali) She is spiritually inclined. She goes to so many spiritual men, but they cannot give her guidance. That means she has some inclination. That I can understand. Just like these for..., American boys, they are after spiritual enlightenment and all the swamis and yogis who went there simply exploited them because they have no knowledge, neither they are prepared to take knowledge from the authority, Kṛṣṇa. That is their defect. That is their defect.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Just like you saw these boys and girls. I have not imported them from India, but they have taken this movement very seriously, and they will take it, because it appeals to the soul directly

2022-07-27T07:38:55Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Just like you saw these boys and girls. I have not imported them from India, but they have taken this movement very seriously, and they will take it, because it appeals to the soul directly"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Alakananda}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|25Nov10}}
{{last|25Nov10}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Just Like]]
[[Category:See]]
[[Category:These]]
[[Category:Boys and Girls (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:I Have Not (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Imported]]
[[Category:Us (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:India]]
[[Category:We Have (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Take]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is A Serious Movement]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Our Seriousness (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:We Will (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Because]]
[[Category:Appealing]]
[[Category:Spirit Soul]]
[[Category:Directly]]
</div>
<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="0" parent="Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div id="LectureonBG71GainesvilleJuly291971UniversityofFlorida_0" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="231" link="Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Gainesville, July 29, 1971 University of Florida" link_text="Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Gainesville, July 29, 1971 University of Florida">
<div class="heading">Just like you saw these boys and girls. I have not imported them from India, but they have taken this movement very seriously, and they will take it, because it appeals to the soul directly. We have got different status of our life. Bodily concept of life, mental concept of life, intellectual concept of life and spiritual concept of life. So actually we are concerned with the spiritual concept of life, athāto brahma jijñāsā.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Gainesville, July 29, 1971 University of Florida|Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Gainesville, July 29, 1971 University of Florida]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">So in pursuance of the order of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, following His footsteps, we are trying to introduce this saṅkīrtana movement, Hare Kṛṣṇa, and it is coming out very successful. Everywhere. I am especially preaching in the foreign countries. All over Europe, America, Japan, Canada, Australia, I am traveling. Malaysia. And anywhere I have introduced this saṅkīrtana movement—we have got different centers, about sixty centers—they have been received with great pleasure. Just like you saw these boys and girls. I have not imported them from India, but they have taken this movement very seriously, and they will take it, because it appeals to the soul directly. We have got different status of our life. Bodily concept of life, mental concept of life, intellectual concept of life and spiritual concept of life. So actually we are concerned with the spiritual concept of life, athāto brahma jijñāsā. If you are allured by the bodily concept of life, then we are no better than these dogs and..., cats and dogs. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke ([[Vanisource:SB 10.84.13|SB 10.84.13]]). If we accept that "I am this body," then we are no better than the cats and dogs, because their concept of life is like that.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Krsna Consciousness Movement is meant for defying both classes of men; namely the karmis and the jnanis or yogis. That is our mission. Now among our students those who are advanced should take up this matter more seriously

2022-07-27T07:35:29Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Krsna Consciousness Movement is meant for defying both classes of men; namely the karmis and the jnanis or yogis. That is our mission. Now among our students those who are advanced should take up this matter more seriously"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MadhuGopaldas}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|26Jun13}}
{{last|27Jun13}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is Meant For...]]
[[Category:Defy]]
[[Category:Both]]
[[Category:Class of Men]]
[[Category:Namely]]
[[Category:Karmi]]
[[Category:Jnani]]
[[Category:Yogi]]
[[Category:That Is Our Mission]]
[[Category:Among]]
[[Category:That Is Our Mission]]
[[Category:Amongst Ourselves (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:My Students (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:We Who Are (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Advancement (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Advanced in Krsna Consciousness]]
[[Category:Should Take]]
[[Category:Take Up]]
[[Category:This Matter]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is A Mission]]
</div>
<div id="Correspondence" class="section" sec_index="6" parent="compilation" text="Correspondence"><h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="1970_Correspondence" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Correspondence" text="1970 Correspondence"><h3>1970 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div id="LettertoHayagrivaLosAngeles22May1970_0" class="quote" parent="1970_Correspondence" book="Let" index="318" link="Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 22 May, 1970" link_text="Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 22 May, 1970">
<div class="heading">So Krsna Consciousness Movement is meant for defying both classes of men; namely the karmis and the jnanis or yogis. That is our mission. Now among our students those who are advanced should take up this matter more seriously, and the Movement which you have started may not be stopped for want of adequate preachers—that is my request to you all.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 22 May, 1970|Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 22 May, 1970]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 16th May, 1970. I am very glad you are coming here by the 6th of June next, and it will be a great opportunity to discuss at that time about New Vrndavana, and other affairs.</p>
<p>Your remark on the student demonstration is quite appropriate. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura said that materialistic knowledge is another expansion of the influence of Maya. The result of material education is that the living entity forgets his own identification and takes to the business of a particular type of body which is given to him by the grace of Maya. The Vedic education means one has to understand his real identity as brahman or the spirit soul. Unfortunately the modern educational system is so defective that everyone is educated to accept this body as self. At the present moment they have no clear idea of identification, so much so that even a person who is partially advanced about the importance of the soul does also improperly identify himself with the Supreme Brahma.</p>
<p>So Krsna Consciousness Movement is meant for defying both classes of men; namely the karmis and the jnanis or yogis. That is our mission. Now among our students those who are advanced should take up this matter more seriously, and the Movement which you have started may not be stopped for want of adequate preachers—that is my request to you all. I am very glad to know that Kirtanananda Maharaja has now taken up this matter seriously and is preaching. Similarly I expect our advanced students like you, Rupanuga, Bhagavan das, Brahmananda, etc., may be seriously engaged now for preaching this cult.</p>
<p>Yes, I have received the tape as well as your "Chant" booklet. I am sorry they were not acknowledged earlier. I have asked Boston to send you the KRSNA tapes for part II. They are already edited, and it is nice, still you can have a final glance over it. After your final editing is the work retyped by Syama dasi.</p>
<p>If I go to Vrndavana, I will go during Janmastami festival there to see how Kirtanananda Maharaja has arranged. We have to make program that the Janmastami ceremony is held in New Vrndavana with great pomp—as much as the Rathayatra festival is to be performed in San Francisco. Similarly I propose to have great festival in Honolulu which is now New Navadvipa. This festival is to be observed during the Advent of Lord Caitanya's birthday. In this way the students should meet in these different important places at least 3 to 4 times in a year so that the work in different centers may go on uniformly.</p>
<p>Hope this will meet you in good health.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

My sincere request is that you take up this movement seriously and spread all over the world. Join with us

2022-07-27T07:32:33Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"My sincere request is that you take up this movement seriously and spread all over the world. Join with us"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|11Dec08}}
{{last|03Sep10}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:I Request (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:My Sincerity (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Take Up]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Spreading the Krsna Consciousness Movement]]
[[Category:All Over the World]]
[[Category:Joining the Krsna Consciousness Movement]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1972]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in India, Visakhapatnam]]
</div>
<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Lectures" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures"><h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div id="LectureonSB125VisakhapatnamFebruary201972AtLadiesClub_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="25" link="Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Visakhapatnam, February 20, 1972, At Ladies Club" link_text="Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Visakhapatnam, February 20, 1972, At Ladies Club">
<div class="heading">So my request is that your South Indian people are very intelligent men, and you are benedicted by the blessings of all ācāryas. My sincere request is that you take up this movement seriously and spread all over the world. Join with us.
</div>

<mp3player>https://vanipedia.s3.amazonaws.com/clip/720220SB-VISAKHAPATNAM_clip04.mp3</mp3player>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Visakhapatnam, February 20, 1972, At Ladies Club|Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Visakhapatnam, February 20, 1972, At Ladies Club]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directly giving this ''bhakti'' platform, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, in the form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is distributing Kṛṣṇa immediately, because in this age people are so fallen, ''mandaḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ'' ([[Vanisource:SB 1.1.10|SB 1.1.10]]). ''Alpayu'': they're living for a short time; and ''mandaḥ, mandaḥ'' means very slow or inferior quality of human being. Not superior. Inferior quality means in this age there is practically no ''brāhmin''; all ''śūdras''. ''Kalau śūdra sambhavaḥ''. Actually also it is so, because people in this age, if he gets one nice service, master, he is satisfied. One wife, one service, then his life is ''dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba bharaṇam'' ([[Vanisource:SB 12.2.6|SB 12.2.6]]).

In this age if one can maintain his wife and few children, ah, he is very expert. He is to be considered as ''dākṣa'', very expert. He hasn't got to make any sacrifice. Simply if he is somehow or other able to maintain a wife, that is . . . that has also become impossible. The social system is coming to such degraded position. In Europe and America I have seen, very few men are family men, you see, because it is botheration. They think it is botheration, or it is very heavy task. Actually, in their country it is very heavy task by so many laws and so many conventions. So they avoid marriage.

So therefore, in the symptoms of Kali-yuga it has been stated, ''dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharanam. Kuṭumba'' means family. If one can maintain his family, he is to be considered as very successful. No, he hasn't got to make ''dākṣa-yajña'' or ''naradeva-yajña'' or so many ''yajña''. No. That he has not got means. This is the position. ''Mandaḥ sumanda-matayo'' ([[Vanisource:SB 1.1.10|SB 1.1.10]]). And if anyone wants to accept something for spiritual, that is ''sumanda-matayo'', something bogus. He will accept something bogus which has no spiritual, I mean to say, reference. He will accept. "I have . . . I have got this religion." ''Mandaḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā''. Because they're all unfortunate, and ''upadrutāḥ'', and always disturbed and anxious by so many external affairs.

Therefore, in this age Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given us very shortcut method—not manufactured by Him. No saintly ''ācārya'' will manufacture his way. He must refer to the Vedic literature. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu picked up the Vedic instruction:

:''harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam''
:''kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā''
:([[Vanisource:CC Adi 17.21|CC Adi 17.21]])

From Bṛhad ''Nāradīya Purāṇa''. In the ''Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam'' also it is said:

:''kaler doṣa-nidhe rājan''
:''asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ''
:''kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya''
:''mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet''
:([[Vanisource:SB 12.3.51|SB 12.3.51]])

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu picked up these Vedic instruction and introduced it to the world five hundred years ago. And He predicted that this mission should be spread all over the world, and specially the task was entrusted with Indians. He said specifically that:

:''bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra''
:''janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra''
:([[Vanisource:CC Adi 9.41|CC Adi 9.41]])

Those who have taken birth as human being in India, they should take this task of distributing Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, for doing well to others. (applause)

So I request that we have made a background only for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and this movement has a great demand all over the world. They are confused with this materialistic way of life. They are not satisfied. Many thousands and thousands of young men, they are confused. They do not know what to do, but they do not like to live like their fathers or grandfathers.

So this is an opportunity for spreading this mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa consciousness and Kṛṣṇa, amongst the scholars, amongst the religionists, amongst the philosophers, even amongst people in general. This Kṛṣṇa book, ''Bhagavad-gītā'', is very well known, so take this opportunity, both ladies and gentlemen in India, and present Kṛṣṇa consciousness without any adulteration. Don't do this misservice, that adding something rascaldom in ''Bhagavad-gītā''. In ''Bhagavad-gītā'' it is simply mentioned, and it is described, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ''Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya'' ([[Vanisource:BG 7.7 (1972)|BG 7.7]]). There is no greater authority than Kṛṣṇa.

:''ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo''
:''mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate''
:''iti matvā bhajante māṁ''
:''budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ''
:([[Vanisource:BG 10.8 (1972)|BG 10.8]])

These things are there. So my request is that your South Indian people are very intelligent men, and you are benedicted by the blessings of all ''ācāryas''. My sincere request is that you take up this movement seriously and spread all over the world. Join with us.

Thank you very much.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Philosophers, religionists, and people in general must take to this (Hare Krsna) movement very seriously, for man-made plans and devices will not help bring peace on earth. The transcendental sound Hare Krsna is not different from the person Krsna

2022-07-27T07:19:21Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Philosophers, religionists, and people in general must take to this movement very seriously, for man-made plans and devices will not help bring peace on earth. The transcendental sound Hare Kṛṣṇa is not different from the person Kṛṣṇa"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Alankrutha}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-01-31T17:02:00Z}}
{{last|2021-01-31T17:02:00Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Philosophers]]
[[Category:Religionist]]
[[Category:People in General]]
[[Category:Must Take]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Man-made]]
[[Category:Plan]]
[[Category:Devices]]
[[Category:Will Not]]
[[Category:Help]]
[[Category:Bring]]
[[Category:Peace]]
[[Category:Earth - Our Planet]]
[[Category:Hare Krsna Is Transcendental Sound]]
[[Category:Not Difficult for Krsna]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 10 Chapter 01 Purports - The Advent of Lord Krsna: Introduction]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10 Purports - Chapters 01 to 13]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Therefore Kṛṣṇa has appeared by His name, in the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, which will certainly diminish the burden of the world. Philosophers, religionists, and people in general must take to this movement very seriously, for man-made plans and devices will not help bring peace on earth. The transcendental sound Hare Kṛṣṇa is not different from the person Kṛṣṇa.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 10.1.22|SB 10.1.22, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Lord Brahmā informed the demigods: Before we submitted our petition to the Lord, He was already aware of the distress on earth. Consequently, for as long as the Lord moves on earth to diminish its burden by His own potency in the form of time, all of you demigods should appear through plenary portions as sons and grandsons in the family of the Yadus.
</div>
<div class="text">
As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (BS 5.38):

<div class="quote_verse">
:rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan
:nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu
:kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo
:govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
</div>

"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha and many sub-incarnations as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead, known as Kṛṣṇa, and who incarnates personally also."

In this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we find the words puraiva puṁsāvadhṛto dharā jvaraḥ. The word puṁsā refers to Kṛṣṇa, who was already aware of how the whole world was suffering because of the increase of demons. Without reference to the supreme power of the Personality of Godhead, demons assert themselves to be independent kings and presidents, and thus they create a disturbance by increasing their military power. When such disturbances are very prominent, Kṛṣṇa appears. At present also, various demoniac states all over the world are increasing their military power in many ways, and the whole situation has become distressful. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has appeared by His name, in the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, which will certainly diminish the burden of the world. Philosophers, religionists, and people in general must take to this movement very seriously, for man-made plans and devices will not help bring peace on earth. The transcendental sound Hare Kṛṣṇa is not different from the person Kṛṣṇa.

<div class="quote_verse">
:nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś
:caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
:pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto
:'bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ
:([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.133|CC Madhya 17.133]]), (Padma Purāṇa)
</div>

There is no difference between the sound Hare Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa the person.
</div>
</div>
</div>

If we simply surrender unto Krsna’s lotus feet and take this Krsna consciousness movement seriously, we can be freed from the karma incurred by sin

2022-07-27T06:54:06Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"If we simply surrender unto Krsna’s lotus feet and take this Krsna consciousness movement seriously, we can be freed from the karma incurred by sin"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-04-21T06:53:21Z}}
{{last|2021-04-21T06:53:21Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=1|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Simply]]
[[Category:Surrendering to Krsna]]
[[Category:Krsna's Lotus Feet]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Can Be]]
[[Category:Free From...]]
[[Category:Karma]]
[[Category:Incuring Sins]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Chapter 24 Purports - The Sixty-One Explanations of the Atmarama Verse]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Purports]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Madhya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
If we simply surrender unto Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet and take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously, we can be freed from the karma incurred by sin. If we are intelligent enough, we shall engage in the loving service of the Lord. Then our lives will be successful, and we shall not have to suffer like the hunter life after life.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Madhya 24.252|CC Madhya 24.252, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
“In this way, through the association of the great sage Nārada Muni, the hunter was a little convinced of his sinful activity. He therefore became somewhat afraid due to his offenses.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

This is the effect of associating with a pure devotee. Our preachers who are preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world should follow in the footsteps of Nārada Muni and become purified by following the four principles and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This will make them fit to become Vaiṣṇavas. Then, when they speak to sinful people about the teachings of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, people will be affected and take the instructions. We receive instructions in devotional service through the disciplic succession. Nārada Muni is our original guru because he is the spiritual master of Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva is the spiritual master of our disciplic succession; therefore we should follow in the footsteps of Nārada Muni and become pure Vaiṣṇavas. A pure Vaiṣṇava is one who has no ulterior motive. He has totally dedicated himself to the service of the Lord. He does not have material desires, and he is not interested in so-called learning and philanthropic work. The so-called learned scholars and philanthropists are actually karmīs and jñānīs, and some are actually misers engaged in sinful activity. All are condemned because they are not devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Everyone has a chance to become purified by associating with this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and strictly following the rules and regulations. By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from all contamination, especially contamination brought about by the killing of animals. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself requests:

<div class="quote_verse">
:sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
:ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
</div>

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66 (1972)|BG 18.66]])We should take this instruction from Kṛṣṇa and follow in the footsteps of Nārada Muni in the disciplic succession. If we simply surrender unto Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet and take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously, we can be freed from the karma incurred by sin. If we are intelligent enough, we shall engage in the loving service of the Lord. Then our lives will be successful, and we shall not have to suffer like the hunter life after life. By killing animals, not only will we be bereft of the human form but we will have to take an animal form and somehow or other be killed by the same type of animal we have killed. This is the law of nature. The Sanskrit word māṁsa means “meat.” It is said, māṁ saḥ khadati iti māṁsaḥ. That is, “I am now eating the flesh of an animal who will some day in the future be eating my flesh.”

</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

It (the sankirtana movement) is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vrndavana. Narottama dasa Thakura laments that mundane people do not take this sankirtana movement seriously

2022-07-27T06:45:38Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"It is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura laments that mundane people do not take this saṅkīrtana movement seriously"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nabakumar}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-05-12T23:51:49Z}}
{{last|2021-05-12T23:51:49Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=1|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Sankirtana Movement]]
[[Category:Import]]
[[Category:Spiritual World]]
[[Category:Goloka Vrndavana - Krsnaloka]]
[[Category:Narottama dasa Thakura]]
[[Category:Lamentation of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Mundane]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Do Not]]
[[Category:Does Not Take]]
[[Category:Sankirtana Movement]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Chapter 08 Purports - Talks Between Ari Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Purports]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Madhya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung: golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, rati na janmila kene tāya. This states that the saṅkīrtana movement has nothing to do with this material world. It is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura laments that mundane people do not take this saṅkīrtana movement seriously. Considering the position of devotional service and the saṅkīrtana movement, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu deemed the system of varṇāśrama-dharma to be material, although it aims at elevation to the spiritual platform.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Madhya 8.60|CC Madhya 8.60, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “‘My dear son of Kuntī, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whatever austerities you perform, all the results of such activities should be offered to Me, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’”
</div>
<div class="text">
The Lord has said that the varṇāśrama-dharma is not properly executed in this Age of Kali; therefore He ordered Rāmānanda Rāya to go further into the matter. Rāmānanda replied with this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 9.27 (1972)|BG 9.27]]), which instructs that while remaining in the system of varṇāśrama-dharma one may offer the results of his activities to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in loving service. Naturally Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asking Rāmānanda Rāya about the execution of devotional service. Rāmānanda Rāya first enunciated the principle of varṇāśrama-dharma in consideration of materialistic people. However, this conception is not transcendental. As long as one is in the material world, he must follow the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, but devotional service is transcendental. The system of varṇāśrama-dharma refers to the three modes of material nature, but transcendental devotional service is on the absolute platform.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu belongs to the spiritual world, and His methods for propagating the saṅkīrtana movement are also imported from the spiritual world. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung: golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, rati na janmila kene tāya. This states that the saṅkīrtana movement has nothing to do with this material world. It is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura laments that mundane people do not take this saṅkīrtana movement seriously. Considering the position of devotional service and the saṅkīrtana movement, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu deemed the system of varṇāśrama-dharma to be material, although it aims at elevation to the spiritual platform. However, the saṅkīrtana movement can raise one immediately to the spiritual platform. Consequently it is said that varṇāśrama-dharma is external, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested Rāmānanda Rāya to proceed deeper into the matter and uncover the spiritual platform.

Sometimes materialists consider Lord Viṣṇu a material conception. Impersonalists think that above Lord Viṣṇu is the impersonal Brahman. The impersonalists misunderstand the worship of Lord Viṣṇu. They worship Lord Viṣṇu to merge into His body. In order that viṣṇu-ārādhana not be misunderstood, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya proceed further and clear up the issue. Rāmānanda Rāya quoted the verse from the Bhagavad-gītā stating that the results of one’s occupational duty may be offered to Lord Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.8|SB 1.2.8]]) it is also said:

<div class="quote_verse">
:dharmaḥ sv-anuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
:notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam
</div>

“If one executes the occupational duties of varṇāśrama-dharma but does not cultivate his dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his activities are futile. His occupation simply becomes unnecessary labor.”
</div>
</div>
</div>

If people take to it (the Krsna consciousness movement) seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments

2022-07-27T06:06:37Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nabakumar}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-03-07T01:29:58Z}}
{{last|2021-03-07T01:29:58Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=1|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:If People...]]
[[Category:Take To]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Discharge of Duties]]
[[Category:Duties in Krsna Consciousness]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness Movement Is A Scientific Movement]]
[[Category:Caitanya's Orders]]
[[Category:World]]
[[Category:See]]
[[Category:Peace]]
[[Category:Prosperity]]
[[Category:Instead Of]]
[[Category:Being]]
[[Category:Confusion]]
[[Category:Hopelessness]]
[[Category:Under]]
[[Category:Useless]]
[[Category:Government]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila Chapter 17 Purports - The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Youth]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila Purports]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Adi-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Adi 17.141|CC Adi 17.141, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The loud sound of the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra certainly made the Kazi very much afraid, and he hid himself within his room. Hearing the people thus protesting, murmuring in great anger, the Kazi would not come out of his home.
</div>
<div class="text">
The Kazi’s order not to perform saṅkīrtana could stand only as long as there was no civil disobedience. Under the leadership of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the chanters, increasing in number, disobeyed the order of the Kazi. Thousands assembled together and formed parties, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and making a tumultuous sound of protest. Thus the Kazi was very much afraid, as naturally one should be under such circumstances.

In the present day also, people all over the world may join together in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and protest against the present degraded governments of the world’s godless societies, which are based on all kinds of sinful activities. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that in the Age of Kali, thieves, rogues and fourth-class people who have neither education nor culture capture the seats of governments to exploit the citizens. This is a symptom of Kali-yuga that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and government ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do anything good for society. The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the saṅkīrtana movement under the banner of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and protest against the sinful activities of all the world’s governments.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business. Thus the entire society becomes a hell unfit for gentlemen to live in. There is an immediate need for a good government—a government by the people, with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless the masses of people become Kṛṣṇa conscious, they cannot be good men. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra still has its potency. Therefore people should understand it seriously and scientifically and spread it all over the world.

The saṅkīrtana movement started by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Twenty-third Chapter, beginning with verse 241, which states, “My dear Lord, let my mind be fixed at Your lotus feet.” Following Lord Caitanya’s chanting, all the devotees reproduced the same sound He chanted. In this way the Lord proceeded, leading the entire party on the strand roads by the bank of the Ganges. When the Lord came to His own ghāṭa, or bathing place, He danced more and more. Then He proceeded to Mādhāi’s ghāṭa. In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Lord, who was known as Viśvambhara, danced all over the banks of the Ganges. Then He proceeded to Bārakoṇā-ghāṭa, then Nāgariyā-ghāṭa, and, traveling through Gaṅgānagara, reached Simuliyā, a quarter at one end of the town. All these places surround Śrī Māyāpur. After reaching Simuliyā, the Lord proceeded toward the Kazi’s house, and in this way He reached the door of Chand Kazi.
</div>
</div>
</div>

At present there are droughts throughout Europe & America, & people are suffering, but if people take this KC movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities & chant Hare Krsna maha-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty

2022-07-27T05:45:56Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"At present there are droughts throughout Europe and America, and people are suffering, but if people take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Alankrutha}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-01-08T11:14:32Z}}
{{last|2021-01-08T11:14:32Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Present - Time]]
[[Category:There Are]]
[[Category:Drought]]
[[Category:Throughout]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:America]]
[[Category:People Are Suffering]]
[[Category:If People...]]
[[Category:Take This Krsna Consciousness Movement Seriously]]
[[Category:Stop]]
[[Category:Their]]
[[Category:Sinful Activities]]
[[Category:Chanting Hare Krsna]]
[[Category:Hare Krsna Mantra]]
[[Category:Maha-mantra]]
[[Category:Problem]]
[[Category:Will Be]]
[[Category:Solve]]
[[Category:Without Difficulty]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 09 Chapter 01 Purports - King Sudyumna Becomes a Woman]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 09 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 9</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
In these days of drought, people can gain relief from scarcity of rain and food by the simple method of the Hare Kṛṣṇa yajña. Indeed, this can relieve all of human society. At present there are droughts throughout Europe and America, and people are suffering, but if people take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 9.1.17|SB 9.1.17, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
My lord, all of you are expert in chanting the Vedic mantras. How then has the result been opposite to the one desired? This is a matter for lamentation. There should not have been such a reversal of the results of the Vedic mantras.
</div>
<div class="text">
In this age, the performance of yajña has been forbidden because no one can properly chant the Vedic mantras. If Vedic mantras are chanted properly, the desire for which a sacrifice is performed must be successful. Therefore the Hare Kṛṣṇa chant is called the mahā-mantra, the great, exalted mantra above all other Vedic mantras, because simply chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra brings so many beneficial effects. As explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (Śikṣāṣṭaka 1):

ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁ sarvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]]) "Glory to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This saṅkīrtana 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."

Therefore, the best performance of yajña given to us is the saṅkīrtana-yajña. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 11.5.32|SB 11.5.32]]). Those who are intelligent take advantage of the greatest yajña in this age by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in congregation. When the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is chanted by many men together, the chanting is called saṅkīrtana, and as a result of such a yajña there will be clouds in the sky (yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 3.14|BG 3.14]])). In these days of drought, people can gain relief from scarcity of rain and food by the simple method of the Hare Kṛṣṇa yajña. Indeed, this can relieve all of human society. At present there are droughts throughout Europe and America, and people are suffering, but if people take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty. In other processes of yajña there are difficulties because there are no learned scholars who can chant the mantras perfectly well, nor is it possible to secure the ingredients to perform the yajña. Because human society is poverty-stricken and men are devoid of Vedic knowledge and the power to chant the Vedic mantras, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the only shelter. People should be intelligent enough to chant it. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 11.5.32|SB 11.5.32]]). Those whose brains are dull cannot understand this chanting, nor can they take to it.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Krsna did not come to establish the so-called Hindu religion or Muslim religion or Christian religion. No. He came to establish real religion. Real religion means we have to submit, surrender to the real person

2022-07-25T14:46:16Z

Radhika:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Krsna did not come to establish the so-called Hindu religion or Muslim religion or Christian religion. No. He came to establish real religion. Real religion means we have to submit, surrender to the real person"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Krsnadas|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|28Sep12}}
{{last|27Apr13}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Krsna Does Not]]
[[Category:Does Not Come]]
[[Category:come To]]
[[Category:establish]]
[[Category:so-called Religion]]
[[Category:hindu]]
[[Category:muslim]]
[[Category:christianity]]
[[Category:Krsna's Coming]]
[[Category:Real Religion]]
[[Category:Religion Means...]]
[[Category:We Have To]]
[[Category:submit]]
[[Category:surrender]]
[[Category:Real Person]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1974]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, Bhagavad-gita As It Is]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in India, Bombay]]
</div>
<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="0" parent="Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div id="LectureonBG47BombayMarch271974_0" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="145" link="Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974" link_text="Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974">
<div class="heading">Kṛṣṇa did not come to establish the so-called Hindu religion or Muslim religion or Christian religion. No. He came to establish real religion. Real religion means we have to submit, surrender to the real person. That is real religion. We are surrendering. Everyone has got some idea. He has surrendered there.
</div>
<mp3player>https://s3.amazonaws.com/vanipedia/clip/740327BG.BOM_clip3.mp3</mp3player>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974|Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">We are surrendering, but we are not surrendering to Kṛṣṇa. This is the disease. This is the disease. And Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to cure this disease. Cure this disease. Kṛṣṇa comes also. He says, yadā yadā hi dharmasya ([[Vanisource:BG 4.7 (1972)|BG 4.7]]). The dharmasya glāniḥ, discrepancies in the matter of execution religion, when there is discrepancies, Kṛṣṇa says, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham. And abhyutthānam adharmasya. Two things are there. When people does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, they manufacture so many Kṛṣṇas. So many rascals to surrender there. That is adharmasya. Dharma means to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, but instead of surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, they want to surrender to cats, dogs, this, that, so many things. That is adharma.</p>
<p>Kṛṣṇa did not come to establish the so-called Hindu religion or Muslim religion or Christian religion. No. He came to establish real religion. Real religion means we have to submit, surrender to the real person. That is real religion. We are surrendering. Everyone has got some idea. He has surrendered there. Either political, social, economical, religious, anything. Everyone has got some idea. And the leader of that ideal is also there. So our business is to surrender. That is a fact. But we do not know where to surrender. That is the difficulty. And because the surrender is mistaken or misplaced, therefore the whole world is chaotic condition.</p>
<p>We are changing this surrender to that surrender. No more Congress Party. Now Communist Party." Again, "No more Communist Party. This... This party, that party." What is the use of changing party? Because this party or that party, they are not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. So unless you come to the point of surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, there cannot be any peace. That is the point. Simply by changing from frying pan to the fire will not save you. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's last instruction is</p>
:sarva-dharmān parityajya
:mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
:ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
:mokṣayiṣyāmi...
:([[Vanisource:BG 18.66 (1972)|BG 18.66]])
<p>So the discrepancy of religion means... This is also stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ. First class or superior dharma. Paraḥ means superior, transcendental. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.6|SB 1.2.6]]). When we surrender to the Adhokṣaja... Adhokṣaja means the supreme transcendence, or Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa's another name is Adhokṣaja. Ahaituky apratihatā. Ahaitukī means without any cause. Without any cause. Not that "Kṛṣṇa is such and such, therefore I surrender." No. Without any cause. Ahaituky apratihatā. And it cannot be checked. Nobody can check. If you want to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, there is no checking, there is no hindrance. You can do it in any position. You can do it. Ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati. Then you will, ātmā, your ātmā, your soul, your mind, your body, will be satisfied. This is the process.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>