Vaniquotes - User contributions [en]

There is a Vedic version, yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavati (Mundaka Upanisad 1.3), which means that by knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything becomes known to the devotee

2025-11-21T05:18:33Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"There is a Vedic version, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati"|"Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3"|"which means that by knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything becomes known to the devotee"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-10-23T18:18:34Z}}
{{last|2020-10-23T18:18:34Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Mundaka Upanisad]]
[[Category:There Is]]
[[Category:Vedic Version]]
[[Category:Which Means]]
[[Category:That By]]
[[Category:Knowing God]]
[[Category:Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:Everything]]
[[Category:Becomes]]
[[Category:Known]]
[[Category:Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 12 Purports - Dhruva Maharaja Goes Back to Godhead]]
[[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">
There is a Vedic version, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3), which means that by knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything becomes known to the devotee. Similarly, by going to the planet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can know all the other planetary systems on the path to Vaikuṇṭha. We should remember that Dhruva Mahārāja's body was different from our bodies. While boarding the Vaikuṇṭha airplane, his body changed to a completely spiritual golden hue.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 4.12.34|SB 4.12.34, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
While Dhruva Mahārāja was passing through space, he gradually saw all the planets of the solar system, and on the path he saw all the demigods in their airplanes showering flowers upon him like rain.
</div>
<div class="text">
There is a Vedic version, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3), which means that by knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything becomes known to the devotee. Similarly, by going to the planet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can know all the other planetary systems on the path to Vaikuṇṭha. We should remember that Dhruva Mahārāja's body was different from our bodies. While boarding the Vaikuṇṭha airplane, his body changed to a completely spiritual golden hue. No one can surpass the higher planets in a material body, but when one gets a spiritual body he can travel not only to the higher planetary system of this material world, but even to the still higher planetary system known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka. It is well known that Nārada Muni travels everywhere, both in the spiritual and material worlds.

It should be noted also that while Sunīti was going to Vaikuṇṭhaloka she also changed her body into a spiritual form. Like Śrī Sunīti, every mother should train her child to become a devotee like Dhruva Mahārāja. Sunīti instructed her son, even at the age of five years, to be unattached to worldly affairs and to go to the forest to search out the Supreme Lord. She never desired that her son remain at home comfortably without ever undertaking austerities and penances to achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Every mother, like Sunīti, must take care of her son and train him to become a brahmacārī from the age of five years and to undergo austerities and penances for spiritual realization. The benefit will be that if her son becomes a strong devotee like Dhruva, certainly not only will he be transferred back home, back to Godhead, but she will also be transferred with him to the spiritual world, even though she may be unable to undergo austerities and penances in executing devotional service.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavati : knowledge received through the transcendental, causeless mercy of the Lord is so perfect that by that knowledge the devotee becomes acquainted with all the different manifestations of the Lord

2025-11-21T05:13:19Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavati"|"knowledge received through the transcendental, causeless mercy of the Lord is so perfect that by that knowledge the devotee becomes acquainted with all the different manifestations of the Lord"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-09-25T09:37:43Z}}
{{last|2020-09-25T09:37:43Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}

[[Category:Mundaka Upanisad]]
[[Category:Knowledge]]
[[Category:Receiving]]
[[Category:Through]]
[[Category:Transcendental]]
[[Category:God's Causeless Mercy]]
[[Category:God Is Lord]]
[[Category:Perfect]]
[[Category:Devotees of God Become]]
[[Category:Acquainted with God]]
[[Category:God's Different Manifestations]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 09 Purports - Dhruva Maharaja Returns Home]]
[[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">
Dhruva Mahārāja's understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete. In the Vedas it is said, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3): knowledge received through the transcendental, causeless mercy of the Lord is so perfect that by that knowledge the devotee becomes acquainted with all the different manifestations of the Lord.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 4.9.14|SB 4.9.14, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
My dear Lord, at the end of each millennium the Supreme Personality of Godhead Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu dissolves everything manifested within the universe into His belly. He lies down on the lap of Śeṣa Nāga, from His navel sprouts a golden lotus flower on a stem, and on that lotus Lord Brahmā is created. I can understand that You are the same Supreme Godhead. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
</div>
<div class="text">
Dhruva Mahārāja's understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete. In the Vedas it is said, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3): knowledge received through the transcendental, causeless mercy of the Lord is so perfect that by that knowledge the devotee becomes acquainted with all the different manifestations of the Lord. Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu was present before Dhruva Mahārāja, who could also understand the Lord's two other forms, namely Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kāraṇodakaśāyī (Mahā) Viṣṇu. Regarding Mahā-Viṣṇu, it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (BS 5.38):

<div class="quote_verse">
:yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya
:jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ
:viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo
:govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
</div>

At the end of each and every millennium, when all the material worlds are dissolved, everything enters the body of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who is lying on the lap of Śeṣa Nāga, another form of the Lord.

Those who are not devotees cannot understand the different forms of Viṣṇu and their positions in regard to the creation. Sometimes the atheists argue, "How can a flower stem sprout from the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu?" They consider all the statements of the śāstras to be stories. As a result of their inexperience in the Absolute Truth and their reluctance to accept authority, they become more and more atheistic; they cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But a devotee like Dhruva Mahārāja, by the grace of the Lord, knows all the manifestations of the Lord and their different positions. It is said that anyone who has even a little of the Lord's grace can understand His glories; others may go on speculating on the Absolute Truth, but they will always be unable to understand the Lord. In other words, unless one comes in contact with a devotee it is not possible to understand the transcendental form or the spiritual world and its transcendental activities.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja is one of the mahajana, authorities. How he has gotten this authority? Here it is said, so 'ham katham nu visrje tava bhrtya-sevam. So everyone must have his position by giving service to the spiritual master

2024-07-06T08:51:10Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājana, authorities. How he has gotten this authority? Here it is said, so 'haṁ kathaṁ nu visṛje tava bhṛtya-sevām. So everyone must have his position by giving service to the spiritual master"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2023-01-23T21:29:11Z}}
{{last|2023-01-23T21:29:11Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada is a Mahajana]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:One Of]]
[[Category:Mahajana Authority]]
[[Category:Have Got]]
[[Category:It Is Said]]
[[Category:Everyone]]
[[Category:Must Have]]
[[Category:Position]]
[[Category:Giving Personal Service to a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SOHAM]]
</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">
People in general, they cannot understand, but those who are preaching, they must be very sincere, the same way: rūpa-raghunātha pade, haibe ākuti. They should read the literatures, the instruction, just like Upadeśāmṛta, The Nectar of Instruction. We should follow, strictly follow. Then pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt (Upadeśāmṛta 1). Then you'll be able to preach and make disciples all over the world. This is the injunction. That is called gosvāmī. Don't be cheap preacher, cheap guru. No. That is not good. It is not possible. So Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājana, authorities. How he has gotten this authority? Here it is said, so 'haṁ kathaṁ nu visṛje tava bhṛtya-sevām. So everyone must have his position by giving service to the spiritual master. And who is spiritual master? Tava bhṛtya: who is a servant of Kṛṣṇa.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:760306 - Lecture SB 07.09.28 - Mayapur|760306 - Lecture SB 07.09.28 - Mayapur]]
</div>
<div class="text">
We should not jump over. There are so many literatures, they place Rādhārāṇī as ordinary baladar(?) woman because they do not understand. So therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī has forbidden strictly, that avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ pūtaṁ-hari-kathāmṛtam, śravaṇaṁ na kartavyam (Padma Purāṇa). "Don't hear from the professional men who are not situated in the Vaiṣṇava behavior." One must be, behavior in Vaiṣṇava. Sadācāra-sampannaḥ. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has warned that "Don't mix it with Vaiṣṇava who is not well trained up, well behaved." You can offer him respect. A Vaiṣṇava offers respect even to the ant. That is another thing. But he has warned, "Don't mix with them, these professional, so-called Vaiṣṇava, sahajiyās." This is warned. Avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ pūta-hari-kathāmṛtam, śravaṇaṁ na kartavyam: "You should not hear." "Eh? What is the wrong there? The Kṛṣṇa-kathā is there." No, Kṛṣṇa-kathā is there just like milk is there, but if it is touched by the lips of a serpent, it is no more to be taken. It has become poison. So unless one is situated as pure Vaiṣṇava in his dealing, in his behavior, inside and outside, he should not become a preacher because it will not be effective; neither one should hear from such person. But people in general, they cannot understand, but those who are preaching, they must be very sincere, the same way: rūpa-raghunātha pade, haibe ākuti. They should read the literatures, the instruction, just like Upadeśāmṛta, The Nectar of Instruction. We should follow, strictly follow. Then pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt (Upadeśāmṛta 1). Then you'll be able to preach and make disciples all over the world. This is the injunction. That is called gosvāmī. Don't be cheap preacher, cheap guru. No. That is not good. It is not possible.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājana, authorities. How he has gotten this authority? Here it is said, so 'haṁ kathaṁ nu visṛje tava bhṛtya-sevām. So everyone must have his position by giving service to the spiritual master. And who is spiritual master? Tava bhṛtya: who is a servant of Kṛṣṇa.

<div class="quote_verse">
:yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
:yasyāprasādād na gatiḥ kuto 'pi
:kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
</div>

Guru is described, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ: "By the mercy of guru one can achieve the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Yasya prasāda. Yasya aprasādāt: "If guru is not pleased, then he has no place." Na gatiḥ kuto 'pi.

<div class="quote_verse">
:sākṣād dharitvena samasta-śāstrair
:uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ
:kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
</div>

Why the spiritual master position is so great? Because he is very, very confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa; therefore his position is so great.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja is one of the mahajanas, authorized persons, authorized devotee. We should try to follow him

2024-07-06T08:19:36Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlada Maharaja is one of the mahajanas, authorized persons, authorized devotee. We should try to follow him"}}
{{1080 videos navigation|Always think like that, that as soon as you are chanting Hare Krsna, you must know that you are touching Krsna with your tongue|0458|Ultimately there is no difference, either sadhana-siddha or krpa-siddha or nitya-siddha, but we should always remember that Prahlada Maharaja is not ordinary devotee; he is nitya-siddha|0460}}
[[:Vanipedia:Category:Prabhupada 0459 - in all Languages|''' This page has been translated in many languages.''']]
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|05Sep13}}
{{last|05Sep13}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:One Of The]]
[[Category:Prahlada is a Mahajana]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:Authorized Persons]]
[[Category:Authorized Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Following Devotees of God]]
[[Category:We Should (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:We Are Trying To (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Following (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Follow the Acaryas]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in India, Mayapur]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Pages with Videos]]
[[Category:Acting in Proper Consciousness - videos]]
[[Category:Influence of a Devotee - videos]]
[[Category:Meditation on God - videos]]
[[Category:Freedom from Materialism - videos]]
</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="LectureonSB797MayapurFebruary271977_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="794" link="Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977" link_text="Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977">
<div class="heading">We should not try to imitate Prahlāda Mahārāja. That is not good. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ, I have already explained yesterday. Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas, authorized persons, authorized devotee. We should try to follow him. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ.
</div>
{{youtube_right|LvGjE9eGS-Q|Prahlada Maharaja Is One Of The Mahajanas, Authorized Persons <br/>- Prabhupāda 0459}}
<mp3player>https://s3.amazonaws.com/vanipedia/clip/770227SB-MAY_clip1.mp3</mp3player>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977|Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.) Translation: "Prahlāda Mahārāja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice."</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: </p>
:astauṣīd dharim ekāgra-
:manasā susamāhitaḥ
:prema-gadgadayā vācā
:tan-nyasta-hṛdayekṣanaḥ
:([[Vanisource:SB 7.9.7|SB 7.9.7]])
<p>So this is the process. This process you cannot expect immediately, but if you practice general process, very easily done, as it is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru ([[Vanisource:BG 18.65 (1972)|BG 18.65]]). You cannot get the position of Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately. That is not possible. The process is, first of all, sādhana-bhakti. This Prahlāda Mahārāja's position is different. He is mahā-bhāgavata. In many places we have seen already, he is nitya-siddha. There are two kinds of devotees..., three: nitya-siddha, sādhana-siddha, kṛpa-siddha. These things are described in The Nectar of Devotion. Nitya-siddha means they are eternally associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are called nitya-siddha. And sādhana-siddha means one is fallen in this material world, but by practice of devotional service according to the rules and regulation, injunction of the śāstra, direction of guru, in this way, one can reach also the same position as the nitya-siddha. This is sādhana-siddha. And there is another. That is kṛpa-siddha. Kṛpa-siddha means... Just like Nityānanda Prabhu, He wanted that these Jagāi-Mādhāi must be delivered. There was no sādhana. They never followed any rules and regulation. They were thieves and rogues, very fallen condition. But Nityānanda Prabhu wanted to show an example that "I shall deliver these two brothers. Never mind they are so fallen." That is called kṛpa-siddha. So we should always remember there are three categories: nitya-siddha, sādhana-siddha and kṛpa-siddha. But when they become siddha, perfect, by any process, they are on the same level. There is no distinction.</p>
<p>So Prahlāda Mahārāja's position is nitya-siddha. Gaurāṅgera saṅgi gane nitya-siddha boli māne. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He came... Not only He, but others also. Just like with Kṛṣṇa so many devotees, they descended, just like Arjuna. Arjuna is nitya-siddha, nitya-siddha friend. When Kṛṣṇa said that "I spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god," imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam ([[Vanisource:BG 4.1 (1972)|BG 4.1]]), that is so many millions of years ago. To clear the matter, Arjuna inquired that "Kṛṣṇa, You are of my age. How I can believe that You spoke this philosophy so many millions of years ago?" So what Kṛṣṇa replied, you know, that "My dear Arjuna, both you and Me, we appeared many, many times. The difference is that you have forgotten. That means you were also present at that time, because you are My nitya-siddha friend. Whenever I appear, you also appear. But you have forgotten; I have not forgotten." That is the difference between jīva and śiva(?), or Lord, that we are minute part and particle of the Supreme; therefore we may forget. But Kṛṣṇa does not forget. That is the difference. So nitya-siddha. Prahlāda Mahārāja is to be understood as nitya, mahā-bhāgavata, nitya-siddha. They appear to complete the līlā of Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>So we should not try to imitate Prahlāda Mahārāja. That is not good. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ, I have already explained yesterday. Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas, authorized persons, authorized devotee. We should try to follow him. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. So śrutayo vibhinnāḥ.</p>
:tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā
:nāsau munir yasya matam na bhinnam
:dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
:mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ
:([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.186|CC Madhya 17.186]])
<p>You cannot understand God by logic and arguments. It will never settle up. There are so many Māyāvādīs, they are going on perpetually: "What is God?" Neti neti: "This is not, this is not, this is not. What is Brahman?" So by that process you'll never be able to understand what is God. Jñāne prayāse udapāsya namanta eva. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has accepted this formula. By knowledge, by your erudite scholarship, if you want to understand—you may be very high-standard scholar—but that is not your qualification to understand God. That is not qualification. You have to give up your vanity that "I am rich," "I am very learned," "I am very beautiful," "I am very...," so on, so on. They are janmaiśvarya śruta śrī ([[Vanisource:SB 1.8.26|SB 1.8.26]]). These are not qualification. Kuntīdevī has said, akincana gocaraḥ: "Kṛṣṇa, You are akiñcana gocara." Akiñcana. Kiñcana means if somebody thinks that "I possess this; therefore I can purchase Kṛṣṇa," oh, no, that is not. That is not possible. You have to become blank, akiñcana-gocaraḥ.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja is one of the mahajanas, great authorities of this line, devotional line. To understand God and to understand our relationship with God, it is not to be done by mental speculation. It is not possible

2024-07-06T07:52:33Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlada Maharaja is one of the mahajanas, great authorities of this line, devotional line"|"To understand God and to understand our relationship with God, it is not to be done by mental speculation. It is not possible"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Serene|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|23Sep13}}
{{last|26Sep13}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:One Of The]]
[[Category:Prahlada is a Mahajana]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:Great Authorities]]
[[Category:Devotional Line]]
[[Category:Understanding God]]
[[Category:Relationship with God]]
[[Category:Better Not To]]
[[Category:Not Done]]
[[Category:Mental Speculation]]
[[Category:It Is Not Possible]]
</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="LectureonSB752230LondonSeptember81971_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="728" link="Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971" link_text="Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971">
<div class="heading">Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas, great authorities of this line, devotional line. To understand God and to understand our relationship with God, it is not to be done by mental speculation. It is not possible. God is not so cheap thing that one can understand by mental speculation. In the present age people are very much fond of mental speculation.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971|Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prahlāda Mahārāja at the age of five years only he was a great devotee. Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas, great authorities of this line, devotional line. (aside:) You can take your seats. To understand God and to understand our relationship with God, it is not to be done by mental speculation. It is not possible. God is not so cheap thing that one can understand by mental speculation. In the present age people are very much fond of mental speculation. In the śāstra it is said, tarko apratiṣṭhaḥ: ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.186|CC Madhya 17.186]]) "Simply by arguing you cannot come to the right conclusion." You may be very good arguer, but another arguer may defeat you by his argument. So in this way, simply by dry arguments it is not possible to come to the conclusion. Tarko 'pratiṣṭha śrutayo vibhinnāḥ. Scripture. There are different scriptures. If you simply... Scripture means Vedic, Vedas. There are four Vedas and many other also, corollaries. So by studying at home these books, that is also not possible to understand. And nāsau munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam. And if you follow philosophers, so one philosopher is differing from another philosopher. Just like our Śyāmasundara has brought one book, Ideas of Philosophers, different philosophers talking differently. So how you can take the conclusion? Even Aristotle, he is talking so many things nonsense. So mental speculators, philosophers. In this way you cannot.</p>
<p>Dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyām: "Actually, the purport of religion and God is very confidential." Therefore, to understand it, one has to follow the great authorities, mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.186|CC Madhya 17.186]]). Mahājana. So that mahājana, great authorities, are also mentioned, who are mahājanas. Authorities. So,</p>
:svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ
:kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ
:prahlādo janako bhīṣmo
:balir vaiyāsakir vayam
:([[Vanisource:SB 6.3.20-21|SB 6.3.20]])
<p>Everything is there in the śāstra. If you simply refer to śāstras for the right source of knowledge, then you get. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya. If you do things without reference to the śāstras, then Lord Kṛṣṇa says, na siddhiṁ sa avapnoti: "You will never get perfection." Na sukham: "Neither happiness."</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja is the practical example, and our duty is to follow the footprints of such person like Prahlada Maharaja. So Prahlada Maharaja, such an exalted personality, the authority, he is so humble

2024-07-06T07:37:44Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja is the practical example, and our duty is to follow the footprints of such person like Prahlāda Mahārāja"|"So Prahlāda Mahārāja, such an exalted personality, the authority, he is so humble"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Anurag}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-11-04T16:02:49Z}}
{{last|2022-11-04T16:02:49Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada is an Example]]
[[Category:Practical Example]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:Our Duty]]
[[Category:Follow]]
[[Category:Following in the Footsteps of Prahlada]]
[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Exalted]]
[[Category:Personalities]]
[[Category:Authority]]
[[Category:Humble]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - ANURAG]]
</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">
"My dear Arjuna, even if you feel some pain, this bodily pain, it comes and goes. Nothing is permanent, so don't care for these things. Go on with your duty." This is the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. Prahlāda Mahārāja is the practical example, and our duty is to follow the footprints of such person like Prahlāda Mahārāja. So Prahlāda Mahārāja, such an exalted personality, the authority, he is so humble, he says, kiṁ toṣṭum arhati sa me harir ugra-jāteḥ: "I am born in a very ferocious family.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:770228 - Lecture SB 07.09.08 - Mayapur|770228 - Lecture SB 07.09.08 - Mayapur]]
</div>
<div class="text">
So there are these snakelike persons, they are envious about our movement; they are opposing. That is the nature. Prahlāda Mahārāja also was opposed by his father, what to speak of others. These things will happen, but we should not be disappointed, as Prahlāda Mahārāja never became disappointed although he was teased in so many ways. He was also served with poison, he was thrown amongst the serpents and he was thrown from the hill, he was put under the feet of elephant. In so many ways put . . . Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed us that "Do not be disappointed. Kindly forbear." Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā ([[Vanisource:CC Adi 17.31|CC Adi 17.31]]): be tolerant more than the tree. I mean to say, one shall be meek and humble more than the grass. These things will happen. In one life if we execute our Kṛṣṇa consciousness attitude, even there is suffering little, don't mind. Go on with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't be disappointed or hopeless, even there is some trouble. That is encouraged by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā, āgamāpāyino 'nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata ([[Vanisource:BG 2.14 (1972)|BG 2.14]]): "My dear Arjuna, even if you feel some pain, this bodily pain, it comes and goes. Nothing is permanent, so don't care for these things. Go on with your duty." This is the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. Prahlāda Mahārāja is the practical example, and our duty is to follow the footprints of such person like Prahlāda Mahārāja.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja, such an exalted personality, the authority, he is so humble, he says, kiṁ toṣṭum arhati sa me harir ugra-jāteḥ: "I am born in a very ferocious family. Certainly I have inherited the quality of my father, my family, demonic family. And persons like Lord Brahmā and other demigods, they could not satisfy the Lord, and what I shall do?" A Vaiṣṇava thinks like that. Vaiṣṇava, Prahlāda Mahārāja, although he is transcendental, nitya-siddha, he's thinking, identifying himself with his family. Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Haridāsa Ṭhākura was not entering in the Jagannātha temple. The same thing, five hundred years ago, they did not allow anyone except Hindus in the Jagannātha temple. The same thing is still going on. But Haridāsa Ṭhākura never by force entered. He thought himself, "Yes, I am low-grade person, born in low-grade family. Why shall I disturb the pūjārīs and others who are directly engaged with Jagannātha? No, no." Sanātana Gosvāmī, he did not go near the temple gate. He thought himself, "By touching me, the pūjārīs will be impure. Better I shall not go." But Jagannātha Himself was coming to see him daily. This is the position of devotee. Devotee is very humble, but to prove the devotees' quality, the Lord takes care of them. Kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ([[Vanisource:BG 9.31 (1972)|BG 9.31]]).
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja, a great authority, says that one must take instruction from others. One must take instruction from a guru, a spiritual master. One should not take instruction from anyone unless one accepts him as a guru

2024-07-06T07:26:44Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlada Maharaja, a great authority, says that one must take instruction from others. One must take instruction from a guru, a spiritual master. One should not take instruction from anyone unless one accepts him as a guru"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-06-28T14:49:40Z}}
{{last|2022-06-28T14:49:40Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada Says]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:Great Authorities]]
[[Category:One Must]]
[[Category:Take]]
[[Category:Instruction From]]
[[Category:Others]]
[[Category:Instructions of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Guru]]
[[Category:One Should]]
[[Category:Anyone Else]]
[[Category:Unless]]
[[Category:Accepting a Guru]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness, The Topmost Yoga System Chapters 01 to 09]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, The Topmost Yoga System</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great authority, says that one must take instruction from others. One must take instruction from a guru, a spiritual master. One should not take instruction from anyone unless one accepts him as a guru. But even one who has a nice guru cannot remain Kṛṣṇa conscious if he is determined to remain in this material world.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:TYS 3 Beyond the Laws of Nature|Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, The Topmost Yoga System, 3]]
</div>
<div class="text">
In materialistic life we cannot control our senses and mind. The mind is dictating, "Enjoy your senses in this way," and we are enjoying our senses. Materialistic life means sense gratification. This sense gratification process is going on life after life. In the many varieties of life there are different standards of sense gratification. Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He has given us full liberty to gratify our senses.

We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa; we have small particles of all the desires of Kṛṣṇa. Our existence is a small particle of God's, just like a small particle of gold which has all the qualities of the original gold. Kṛṣṇa has the propensity for sense gratification. He is the original sense gratifier. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer. Our enjoying spirit exists because it exists originally in Kṛṣṇa.

The Vedānta-sūtra says that everything originates from Kṛṣṇa. Param Brahman, or the Absolute Truth, means that from which everything is generated. Therefore, our desire for sense gratification is coming from Kṛṣṇa. Here is the perfect sense gratification - Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī. Young boys and girls are similarly trying to enjoy their senses, but where is this propensity coming from? It is coming from Kṛṣṇa. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the quality of desire for sense gratification exists within us. But the difference is that we are trying to gratify our senses in the material world; therefore we are perverted. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness one gratifies his senses in association with Kṛṣṇa. Then it is perfect.

For example, if there is a nice sweetball or some nice foodstuff and the finger picks it up, it cannot enjoy. The foodstuff has to be given to the stomach, and then the finger can also enjoy. Similarly, we cannot gratify our senses directly. But when we join with Kṛṣṇa, when Kṛṣṇa enjoys, then we can enjoy. That is our position. The finger cannot eat anything independently; it cannot enjoy the nice sweetball. The finger can pick it up and put it in the stomach, and when the stomach enjoys, then the finger enjoys.

We have to purify the propensity of material sense gratification. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For Kṛṣṇa consciousness we have to be purified. What is that purification? We cannot enjoy anything directly, so we have to enjoy through Kṛṣṇa. For example, we take prasādam. The nice prasādam, the foodstuff that is prepared, is not taken directly - we take it through Kṛṣṇa. First of all, we offer to Kṛṣṇa, and then we take it.

What is the difficulty? There is no difficulty, but you become purified. The eating process is the same, but if you eat directly then you become materialistically encumbered. If you offer to Kṛṣṇa, however, and then take it, then you become freed from all contamination of material life. That is stated in Bhagavad-gītā. Devotees take prasādam after offering it to Kṛṣṇa. That is called sacrifice. Whatever you offer to Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu is called sacrifice. Whatever we do here, within this material world, is some sort of sinful activity, even if we do not know it. Killing is sinful activity, even if we do not kill willingly. When you walk down the street you are killing many animals. Whenever you drink water, you are also killing. Below a water pot there are many ants and microbes that are being killed. Whenever you light a fire, there are many small microbes that also burn in the fire. When you grind spices with a mortar and pestle, many small microbes are killed.

We are responsible for this. Willingly or unwillingly, we are becoming entangled in many sinful activities. Therefore, Bhagavad-gītā says that if you take the remnants of foodstuff after offering sacrifice, you become freed from all contamination. Otherwise, one who cooks to eat personally without offering to Kṛṣṇa is simply eating sinful reactions. This is our position. Therefore, it is stated that because people generally cannot control their senses, they engage in the materialistic way of life in which repeated birth and death in different species takes place.

I do not know what is my next life, but the next life will come. Before us there are many species of life; I can take birth in any one of them. I can become a demigod, I can become a cat, I can become a dog, I can become Brahmā - there are so many forms of life. In the next life I shall have to accept one of these forms, even if I do not want to. Suppose someone asks, "In your next life would you like to take the form of a dog or a hog?" I would not like it. But the law of nature says that after giving up this body, when I am not existing in this body any more, I will have to accept another body according to my karma. That is in the hands of nature. It is arranged by superior supervision. You cannot order, "Give me the body of Brahmā, give me the body of Indra or a king or something exalted." That is not in your hands or in my hands; that will be judged by the superior agency of God, Kṛṣṇa, and you will be given a body. Therefore, it is our duty to prepare a body which will help us go back to Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great authority, says that one must take instruction from others. One must take instruction from a guru, a spiritual master. One should not take instruction from anyone unless one accepts him as a guru. But even one who has a nice guru cannot remain Kṛṣṇa conscious if he is determined to remain in this material world. If my determination is to remain in this material world to enjoy material life, then for me Kṛṣṇa consciousness is impossible.

Everyone in the material world is engaged in all kinds of political, philanthropic and humanitarian activities to make material life happy and prosperous, but this is not possible. One should understand that in the material world, however one may try to make adjustments, he cannot be happy. To cite an example I have given many times, if you take a fish out of water, you can give it a very comfortable velvet bedstead, but still the fish cannot be happy; it will die. Because the fish is an animal of the water, it cannot be happy without water. Similarly, we are all spirit soul; unless we are in spiritual life or in the spiritual world, we cannot be happy. That is our position.

Everyone is trying for that spiritual realization. But we do not know. Therefore, we are trying to be happy here, in material conditions. We are becoming frustrated and confused. Therefore, we have to withdraw this understanding that we shall be very happy by making adjustments to this material world. Then Kṛṣṇa consciousness will be effective.

The boys and girls who are our students have been very scornful of the materialistic way of life. Their fathers and guardians are not poor. There is no scarcity of food or material enjoyments. Why are they being frustrated? You may say that because India is poverty-stricken the people are frustrated, but why have American boys and girls been frustrated? That is the proof that the materialistic way of life cannot make you happy. You may go on for some time trying to become happy, but happiness will never come from materialistic life. That is a fact. Those who are trying to be happy by making material adjustments cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Frustration and confusion with materialistic life is the qualification to come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. These boys and girls have a good qualification; they are coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is a verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which states that sometimes to show special favor to His devotees Kṛṣṇa takes away all one's material opulence. For example, the Pāṇḍavas were bereft of their kingdom, although Kṛṣṇa was present there. Kṛṣṇa was present as their friend, and still they were bereft of their kingdom. They lost their property, their wife was insulted, and they were driven away to the forest.

This question was posed by Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja to Kṛṣṇa. "How is it," he inquired indirectly, "that You are our friend and that we are put into such difficulty?" Kṛṣṇa replied to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, "This is My special favor." Sometimes we cannot understand the special favor of Kṛṣṇa.

So this frustration of the American and English boys with the materialistic way of life is a good sign for accepting Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of course, one does not need to become poor to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But if anyone has the desire to become spiritually advanced while at the same time enjoying material life, that is not possible. These are two contradictory aspirations. One must become determined to be happy in spiritual life. That is real happiness.

This human form is especially meant for coming to that standard of spiritual life by tapasya, by voluntarily rejecting the materialistic way of life. In the history of India there were many great kings like Bharata Mahārāja who even at a very young age practiced tapasya. Bharata Mahārāja at the age of only twenty-four years left his young wife, young children and the whole empire Bhāratavarṣa and went to the forest for meditation. There are many such instances. Prahlāda Mahārāja was questioned by his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, "Who has taught you this Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" A king's son does not mix with anyone else; he simply takes lessons from the appointed teachers. How is it then that this boy, who was only five years old, was so Kṛṣṇa conscious? His father was surprised, so he asked him, "How have you taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" The answer was, "My dear father, Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be achieved by a person like you, whose job is always simply to enjoy this material world." Hiraṇya means gold, and kaśipu means softly cushioned bed.

Materialistic life is spent chewing the chewed. Take, for instance, a father. A father knows that he has responsibilities, so he works hard to maintain his family. It is very difficult to keep the high standard of living in this age, so one must work very hard and engage one's son in the same way. In spite of very bad experience with materialistic life, still one engages his son in the same way. This happens again and again, so it is like chewing chewed things. Once I have chewed sugar cane and taken its juice, it is thrown out in the street, and if someone wants to taste it to see how sweet it is, he is chewing the chewed. Similarly, we don't have very good experience with this materialistic life, this hard struggle for life, but human beings, as it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are born of the quality of passion. There are three qualities in the material world: goodness, passion and ignorance. Because people are in the mode of passion, they love to work very hard. That hard work is considered happiness. In London you will see everyone engaged in hard work. In the morning, all the buses and trucks travel with great speed, and people go to the office or factory from morning until late at night. They work hard, and it is called advancement of civilization. Some of them are frustrated; they don't want it. There will be frustration - after all, it is hard work. Hogs, too, are working hard day and night, thinking, "Where is stool? Where is stool?"That is their business. Therefore, in one sense this kind of civilization is a hog and dog civilization. It is not human civilization. Human civilization means sobriety. One should be inquisitive. A human being should be inquisitive to know these things: Who am I? Why am I put into this condition of working very hard to get only a few grains? Why am I in this uncomfortable situation? Where did I come from? Where do I have to go? The Vedānta-sūtra begins by stating that a human being should be inquisitive to know who he is, where he comes from, and where he has to go. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is for those who have come to detest this material world. They are good candidates for developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They will inquire why these men are working so hard and what their goal in life is.

That is answered in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, people are working so hard because they do not actually know what the goal of life is. Everyone says that he is looking after his self-interest, but he does not know what his self-interest is. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇu. He should know that his real self-interest is to make progress toward Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They do not know this. Why don't they know it? Because they have hopes which are very difficult to fulfill. I may hope for something which is possible; that is good. But if I hope for something which is never possible, that is hope which will never be fulfilled.

We are a composition of the external and internal energies of God. The gross external energy is this gross material body, and the subtle external energy is the mind, ego and intelligence. Behind both energies - the gross external energy and the subtle external energy - is the soul, the internal energy. This body is made of earth, water, fire, air and ether. This is called gross external energy, and there is also a subtle external energy of mind, intelligence and false ego. And behind that, the soul is there.

I am the proprietor of this body. Just as one is covered by a shirt and coat which are external to his real body, similarly we are covered by this gross body made up of earth, water, fire, air and ether, which is the gross external energy of God, or Kṛṣṇa, and the mind, ego and intelligence, which are subtle. Thus we are covered.

I may think that simply by having a nice shirt and coat I can be happy, but is it possible? Unless you eat nicely, unless you sleep nicely, unless you have your sense gratification, will you be happy simply by putting on a costly shirt and coat? No. That is not possible. We want to be happy by adjustment of this external energy. That cannot be. You are spirit soul - you must have spiritual food, you must have a spiritual life, and then you can be happy. As you cannot be happy simply by having a nice shirt and coat, similarly simply by the materialistic way of life you cannot be happy. There is gross matter and subtle matter. Gross matter includes high skyscraper buildings, machines, factories, nice roads, good cars, etc. Subtle matter includes nice songs, poetry, philosophy, etc. People are trying to be happy with this gross and subtle material existence. That cannot be.

Why have people accepted this sort of civilization? Because they are led by blind leaders. We are conducting this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and very few are interested. But suppose we advertise some falsehood - "If you follow this path, within six months you will become God, and you will be all-powerful." Many people would come. This is actually one blind man leading other blind men. Suppose one blind man says, "All right, come, follow me. I shall help you crossing this busy Mulberry Street." He is blind, and the followers are also blind. The result will be that they will be hit by some car or truck and they will all die.

We do not know that we are bound by the stringent laws of material nature. How can we become free from this material bondage? We have to take instruction from those who are not blind, whose eyes are opened and who are liberated from this material bondage. One must take instruction from such persons, and then he will understand his self-interest. Otherwise, if one who is blind takes instruction from a blind man, it will not be possible for him to be liberated from material bondage.

What is self-interest? What is the interest of a child when it is crying? It is searching after the mother's breast. Anyone who knows this immediately brings the child to its mother - "Take care of your child; he is crying." The mother takes him to her breast, and the child is immediately happy. The child cannot express what he wants, so he simply cries. But one who knows what he is crying for helps him, and the child becomes happy. Similarly, because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are actually crying for Kṛṣṇa. But these false leaders, these blind leaders who do not know, are giving stone instead of bread.

How can one be happy? I have already explained the gross external energy and the subtle external energy. Those who are interested in this gross and subtle external energy will never have their ambition of life fulfilled. One who is interested in Viṣṇu and in showing the path of Viṣṇu is the real friend. One who is giving Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the real friend of the world. No others can give happiness to human society. That is the explanation given by Prahlāda Mahārāja.

You cannot manufacture a process of happiness by tackling this material energy. That is not possible because the material energy is not under your control. It is controlled by the Supreme. How can you overpower the material energy? It is not possible. That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. It is not possible to overcome the stringent laws of material nature. Kṛṣṇa says, "It is My energy; I am the controller. But one can surrender unto Me."

All the material activities of the cosmic manifestation are going on just to bring the rebellious souls back to Godhead. That is the situation. Māyā's stringent laws are there. Why? What is the purpose of the police force or the military force? The purpose is to keep the citizens obedient to the state. If a citizen is disobedient to the state law, he is immediately put into police custody. Similarly, anyone who has rebelled against the superiority of God is put under the stringent laws of material nature, and he must suffer. That is the position. Therefore, his self-interest is to seek out the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him. That will make him happy. Otherwise, if he simply tries to accept material things and become happy, that is not possible.

Prahlāda Mahārāja gives a hint as to how one can seek out the path of Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He says that we have created so many unnecessary things and become entangled by them. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that we should desire to get out of this unnecessary trouble and to be free from the problems which are created. This morning I saw a picture of Berlin which was sent by one of my disciples. I have been to Berlin and to Moscow, and both are very nice cities. Berlin is a very nice city and London is also a very nice city, but why do the people engage in fighting and bombing every other city? Why has this happened? Because they have lost their interest in Viṣṇu, God. Therefore, they are thinking, "You are my enemy; I am your enemy," and they fight like cats and dogs. But as soon as we come to the Viṣṇu understanding, the Kṛṣṇa understanding, these advanced cities, these advanced civilizations, can be maintained very nicely. You'll be happy, you'll eat nicely, dance nicely, live nicely and go back home, back to Godhead. Enjoy this life and the next life. That is our request.

Everyone should take the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously and try to understand it seriously. It is authorized on the Vedic principle; it is not something manufactured or unauthorized. We are opening centers in different parts of the world to give an opportunity for people to understand their real interest: Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa. That is our mission. Kindly help us and join us.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Human society should take advantage of this instruction - even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection - SB 7.6.1

2024-07-06T07:12:28Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Human society should take advantage of this instruction"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Angela}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-12-12T17:50:22Z}}
{{last|2020-12-12T17:50:22Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Human Society]]
[[Category:Should Take]]
[[Category:Taking Advantage of the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Instructions of the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Instructions of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Slight]]
[[Category:Amount]]
[[Category:Sincere]]
[[Category:Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:One]]
[[Category:Completely Perfect]]
[[Category:Perfection]]
[[Category:Verses of the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 06 Purports - Prahlada Instructs His Demoniac Schoolmates]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Purports]]
[[Category:Give]]
</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">
"One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life—in other words, from the tender age of childhood—to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection." Human society should take advantage of this instruction.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.6.10|SB 7.6.10, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Money is so dear that one conceives of money as being sweeter than honey. Therefore, who can give up the desire to accumulate money, especially in household life? Thieves, professional servants [soldiers] and merchants try to acquire money even by risking their very dear lives.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

How money can be dearer than life is indicated in this verse. Thieves may enter the house of a rich man to steal money at the risk of their lives. Because of trespassing, they may be killed by guns or attacked by watchdogs, but still they try to commit burglary. Why do they risk their lives? Only to get some money. Similarly, a professional soldier is recruited into the army, and he accepts such service, with the risk of dying on the battlefield, only for the sake of money. In the same way, merchants go from one country to another on boats at the risk of their lives, or they dive into the water of the sea to collect pearls and valuable gems. Thus it is practically proved—and everyone will admit—that money is sweeter than honey. One may risk everything to acquire money, and this is especially true of rich men who are too attached to household life. Formerly, of course, the members of the higher castes—the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas (everyone but the śūdras)—were trained in the guru-kula to adhere to a life of renunciation and sense control by practicing brahmacarya and mystic yoga. Then they were allowed to enter household life. There have consequently been many instances in which great kings and emperors have given up household life. Although they were extremely opulent and were the masters of kingdoms, they could give up all their possessions because they were trained early as brahmacārīs. Prahlāda Mahārāja's advice is therefore very appropriate:

<div class="quote_verse">
:kaumāra ācaret prājño
:dharmān bhāgavatān iha
:durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
:tad apy adhruvam arthadam
:([[Vanisource:SB 7.6.1|SB 7.6.1]])
</div>

"One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life—in other words, from the tender age of childhood—to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection." Human society should take advantage of this instruction.

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

Here (in SB 7.9.10) is a statement by Prahlada Maharaja, one of the twelve authorities, regarding the distinction between a devotee and a brahmana expert in karma-kanda, or Vedic ritualistic ceremonies

2024-07-06T06:46:10Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Here is a statement by Prahlāda Mahārāja, one of the twelve authorities, regarding the distinction between a devotee and a brāhmaṇa expert in karma-kāṇḍa, or Vedic ritualistic ceremonies"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-30T19:15:08Z}}
{{last|2020-11-30T19:15:08Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Herein the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam Says]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:One Of The]]
[[Category:Twelve Authorities]]
[[Category:Authority of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Authorized Statements]]
[[Category:Regarding]]
[[Category:Distinction Between Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Expert Brahmanas‎]]
[[Category:Karma-kanda]]
[[Category:Vedic Rituals]]
[[Category:Ritualistic Ceremony]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 09 Purports - Prahlada Pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with Prayers]]
[[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">
Here is a statement by Prahlāda Mahārāja, one of the twelve authorities, regarding the distinction between a devotee and a brāhmaṇa expert in karma-kāṇḍa, or Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. There are four varṇas and four āśramas, which divide human society, but the central principle is to become a first-class pure devotee. It is said in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya: "If one is born in a high family like that of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya but is not a devotee of the Lord, all his good qualifications as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya are null and void. Indeed, they are considered decorations of a dead body.".
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.9.10|SB 7.9.10, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
If a brāhmaṇa has all twelve of the brahminical qualifications [as they are stated in the book called Sanat-sujāta] but is not a devotee and is averse to the lotus feet of the Lord, he is certainly lower than a devotee who is a dog-eater but who has dedicated everything—mind, words, activities, wealth and life—to the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee is better than such a brāhmaṇa because the devotee can purify his whole family, whereas the so-called brāhmaṇa in a position of false prestige cannot purify even himself.
</div>
<div class="text">
Here is a statement by Prahlāda Mahārāja, one of the twelve authorities, regarding the distinction between a devotee and a brāhmaṇa expert in karma-kāṇḍa, or Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. There are four varṇas and four āśramas, which divide human society, but the central principle is to become a first-class pure devotee. It is said in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya:

<div class="quote_verse">
:bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya
:jātiḥ śāstraṁ japas tapaḥ
:aprāṇasyaiva dehasya
:maṇḍanaṁ loka-rañjanam
</div>

"If one is born in a high family like that of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya but is not a devotee of the Lord, all his good qualifications as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya are null and void. Indeed, they are considered decorations of a dead body."

In this verse Prahlāda Mahārāja speaks of the vipras, the learned brāhmaṇas. The learned brāhmaṇa is considered best among the divisions of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, but a devotee born in a low caṇḍāla family is better than such brāhmaṇas, not to speak of the kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and others. A devotee is better than anyone, for he is in the transcendental position on the Brahman platform.

<div class="quote_verse">
:māṁ ca yo vyabhicāreṇa
:bhakti-yogena sevate
:sa guṇān samatītyaitān
:brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
</div>

"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman." ([[Vanisource:BG 14.26 (1972)|BG 14.26]]) The twelve qualities of a first-class brāhmaṇa, as stated in the book called Sanat-sujāta, are as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:jñānaṁ ca satyaṁ ca damaḥ śrutaṁ ca
:hy amātsaryaṁ hrīs titikṣānasūyā
:yajñaś ca dānaṁ ca dhṛtiḥ śamaś ca
:mahā-vratā dvādaśa brāhmaṇasya
</div>

The European and American devotees in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are sometimes accepted as brāhmaṇas, but the so-called caste brāhmaṇas are very much envious of them. In answer to such envy, Prahlāda Mahārāja says that one who has been born in a brāhmaṇa family but is falsely proud of his prestigious position cannot even purify himself, not to speak of his family, whereas if a caṇḍāla, a lowborn person, is a devotee and has fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord, he can purify his entire family. We have had actual experience of how Americans and Europeans, because of their full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, have purified their whole families, so much so that a mother of a devotee, at the time of her death, inquired about Kṛṣṇa with her last breath. Therefore it is theoretically true and has been practically proven that a devotee can give the best service to his family, his community, his society and his nation. The foolish accuse a devotee of following the principle of escapism, but actually the fact is that a devotee is the right person to elevate his family. A devotee engages everything in the service of the Lord, and therefore he is always exalted.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Although Prahlada Maharaja was a grhastha ruling over the demons, he was a paramahamsa, the best of human beings, and thus he is our guru. In the list of gurus, or authorities, Prahlada Maharaja's name is therefore mentioned

2024-07-06T06:41:13Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a gṛhastha ruling over the demons, he was a paramahaṁsa, the best of human beings, and thus he is our guru. In the list of gurus, or authorities, Prahlāda Mahārāja's name is therefore mentioned"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-01-03T18:53:16Z}}
{{last|2021-01-03T18:53:16Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Although]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:Grhastha Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Ruling of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Demons]]
[[Category:Paramahamsa - Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Best]]
[[Category:Human Beings]]
[[Category:Guru]]
[[Category:List]]
[[Category:Authority of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Mentioned]]
[[Category:Therefore]]
[[Category:Name]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 13 Purports - The Behavior of a Perfect Person]]
[[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">
A guru, or spiritual master, can be anyone who is well conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a gṛhastha ruling over the demons, he was a paramahaṁsa, the best of human beings, and thus he is our guru. In the list of gurus, or authorities, Prahlāda Mahārāja's name is therefore mentioned.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.13.46|SB 7.13.46, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Nārada Muni continued: After Prahlāda Mahārāja, the King of the demons, heard these instructions from the saint, he understood the occupational duties of a perfect person [paramahaṁsa]. Thus he duly worshiped the saint, took his permission and then left for his own home.
</div>
<div class="text">
As quoted in Caitanya-caritāmṛta ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 8.128|CC Madhya 8.128]]), Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said:

<div class="quote_verse">
:kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya
:yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei 'guru' haya
</div>

A guru, or spiritual master, can be anyone who is well conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a gṛhastha ruling over the demons, he was a paramahaṁsa, the best of human beings, and thus he is our guru. In the list of gurus, or authorities, Prahlāda Mahārāja's name is therefore mentioned:

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

The conclusion is that a paramahaṁsa is an exalted devotee (bhagavat-priya). Such a paramahaṁsa may be in any stage of life—brahmacāri, gṛhastha, vānaprastha or sannyāsa—and be equally liberated and exalted.
</div>
</div>
</div>

According to Vedic version, there are twelve authorities, and one of them is Prahlada Maharaja

2024-07-06T06:40:19Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"According to Vedic version, there are twelve authorities, and one of them is Prahlāda Mahārāja"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2023-01-12T14:10:36Z}}
{{last|2023-01-12T14:10:36Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:According]]
[[Category:Vedic Version]]
[[Category:There Are]]
[[Category:Twelve Authorities]]
[[Category:One Of]]
[[Category:Prahlada is an Authority]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SOHAM]]
</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">
We simply fight, "Oh, I am Christian, you are Hindu," "I am Muhammadan," "I am this." Nobody tries to follow. You see? That is not the way. You have to follow. If you believe in certain personality . . . of course, not believe, not blind believing; he must be authority. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam they have indicated twelve authorities. According to Vedic version, there are twelve authorities, and one of them is Prahlāda Mahārāja.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:680709 - Lecture SB 07.09.10 - Montreal|680709 - Lecture SB 07.09.10 - Montreal]]
</div>
<div class="text">
The Vedas indicate therefore that mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.186|CC Madhya 17.186]]). If you want to understand the Absolute Truth, then you have to follow great personalities, great devotees. Just like in the Western world, Lord Jesus Christ, you have to follow his principles. That is all right, his Ten Commandments. But we do not follow. We simply fight, "Oh, I am Christian, you are Hindu," "I am Muhammadan," "I am this." Nobody tries to follow. You see? That is not the way. You have to follow. If you believe in certain personality . . . of course, not believe, not blind believing; he must be authority.

Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam they have indicated twelve authorities. According to Vedic version, there are twelve authorities, and one of them is Prahlāda Mahārāja. The twelve authorities are:

<div class="quote_verse">
:svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ
:kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ
:prahlādo janako bhīṣmo
:balir vaiyāsakir vayam
:([[Vanisource:SB 6.3.20-21|SB 6.3.20]])
</div>

This was explained by Yamarāja to his followers, that there are twelve authorities. So if one has to know the secret of spiritual realization, then one has to follow either of these twelve authorities.
</div>
</div>
</div>

As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Krsna consciousness, or bhagavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his instruction

2024-07-06T06:00:43Z

Rahul: Rahul moved page As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Krsna consciousness, or bhagavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his instruction to As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Krsna consciousness, or bhagavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his (Prahlada) instruction

#REDIRECT [[As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Krsna consciousness, or bhagavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his (Prahlada) instruction]]

As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Krsna consciousness, or bhagavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his (Prahlada) instruction

2024-07-06T06:00:43Z

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Krsna consciousness, or bhagavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his instruction"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Serene}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|14Jul13}}
{{last|14Jul13}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Beginning of Education]]
[[Category:Age - period of human life]]
[[Category:Five Years Old]]
[[Category:Similarly]]
[[Category:Krsna Conscious Education]]
[[Category:Bhagavata-dharma - Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Should Be]]
[[Category:Taught]]
[[Category:Children]]
[[Category:As Soon As]]
[[Category:Child]]
[[Category:Five Years Old]]
[[Category:That Is]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Instructing Krsna Consciousness]]
</div>
<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="General_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Lectures" text="General Lectures"><h3>General Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div id="LectureLondonJuly121972_0" class="quote" parent="General_Lectures" book="Lec" index="120" link="Lecture -- London, July 12, 1972" link_text="Lecture -- London, July 12, 1972">
<div class="heading">Boyhood means from the age of five years. As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or bhāgavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his instruction.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture -- London, July 12, 1972|Lecture -- London, July 12, 1972]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">So Prahlāda Mahārāja is preaching amongst his class fellows, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha.</p>
:kaumāra ācaret prājño
:dharmān bhāgavatān iha
:durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
:tad apy adhruvam arthadam
:([[Vanisource:SB 7.6.1|SB 7.6.1]])
<p>He says, "My dear friends..." Because the friends were born of atheist family. Prahlāda Mahārāja also, his father was atheist. So they were not agreeable to their friend's advice, Prahlāda Mahārāja. Prahlāda Mahārāja canvassing to his friends, little friends, "My dear friends, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." And they were replying, "Prahlāda, why you are insisting us to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? Let us play. We shall see Hare Kṛṣṇa at the time of death." But he was insisting, "My dear friends, no." Kaumāra ācaret prājño. "This Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be studied, should be understood from the very beginning of boyhood, kaumāra." Kaumāra means boyhood. From... Boyhood means from the age of five years. As education begins at the age of five years, similarly, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or bhāgavata-dharma, should be taught to the children as soon as the child is five years old. That is his instruction. "Why so early? We can understand about God later on." No. Prahlāda Mahārāja says, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. Durlabham, "very rarely." "My dear friends, you have got this human form of life after many, many births." The modern civilization, they do not know. The university education, they do not know. The scientists, they do not know. There is a false theory, Darwin's theory, about evolution of species. But that is not perfect knowledge. That is simply an idea taken from Purāṇas. In the Purāṇas, this Darwin's theory is not new to the Vedic knowledge. It is a theory only. But actual fact is different.</p>
<p>Actual fact is described in the Purāṇas, where it is described, aśītiṁ caturaś caiva lakṣāṁs tāñ jīva-jātiṣu. Jīva-jāti, different species of life. There are 8,400,000's of different species of life. Aśītiṁ catura. Aśītim means eighty, and catura means four. Eighty-four, lakṣāṁs, 100,000. Jīva-jātiṣu, there are different species of life. They are developing. Because after devastation, the whole universe is filled up with water. So in the water the first living beings are the fishes or the aquatics. Then that fish or aquatic means a living entity embodied by that fish body. Just like we are now, every one of us... I am also a soul, you are also a soul. We are embodied by this body, human form of body. Similarly, we had to accept the body of a fish. Because we are in this material world, when there is water only, where shall we go? We must live here in this material... Unless we are liberated, we must have to live... And according to the circumstances, we get different types of body. So from the aquatics, next promotion is trees, plants, then insects, then birds, then beasts. In this way, after millions, millions of years... You have seen that a tree is standing for thousands of years. If I get a body of a tree, then I'll have to stand in one place for many thousands of years. Therefore when you come by gradual evolution in the different species of life, by nature when you come to this point, to possess a human form of body, it is very, very rare. That is described: durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. Durlabham. Duḥ means difficult, and labha means gain. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam. Adhruvam. He said durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. Although it is also temporary. We shall not live forever with this body. The animals also, they'll also not live forever. The body will be finished after certain period of time. So he says, Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "My dear friend, this body, this human form of body, is very, very rarely we have obtained it. Although it is temporary, but there is a great gain." In the animal life, that is also temporary, and this human form of body is also temporary. But the animals cannot get that achievement which we can get. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. Arthadam means... Artha means meaningful or some material profit or spiritual profit.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

The SPG said: O King, you are indeed exalted because your present advisors are the brahmanas who are descendants of Bhrgu and because your instructor for your future life is your grandfather, the peaceful and venerable Prahlada Maharaja

2024-07-05T18:14:32Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O King, you are indeed exalted because your present advisors are the brāhmaṇas who are descendants of Bhṛgu and because your instructor for your future life is your grandfather, the peaceful and venerable Prahlāda Mahārāja"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2018-04-15T07:42:42Z}}
{{last|2018-04-15T07:42:42Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:Bali]]
[[Category:You Are]]
[[Category:Indeed]]
[[Category:Exalted]]
[[Category:Because]]
[[Category:Present - Time]]
[[Category:Advisor]]
[[Category:Brahmanas Give Advice‎]]
[[Category:Who Are]]
[[Category:Descendants]]
[[Category:Bhrgu Muni]]
[[Category:Instructor]]
[[Category:Siksa-guru]]
[[Category:Future Life]]
[[Category:Grandfather]]
[[Category:Peaceful]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Lord Vamana - Vaniquotes]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 08 Chapter 19 - Lord Vamanadeva Begs Charity from Bali Maharaja]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 01 to 09 - All Verse Translations]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 8</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O King, you are indeed exalted because your present advisors are the brāhmaṇas who are descendants of Bhṛgu and because your instructor for your future life is your grandfather, the peaceful and venerable Prahlāda Mahārāja.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 8.19.2|SB 8.19.2, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O King, you are indeed exalted because your present advisors are the brāhmaṇas who are descendants of Bhṛgu and because your instructor for your future life is your grandfather, the peaceful and venerable Prahlāda Mahārāja. Your statements are very true, and they completely agree with religious etiquette. They are in keeping with the behavior of your family, and they enhance your reputation.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

Prahlāda Mahārāja is a vivid example of a pure devotee. Someone might argue that since Prahlāda Mahārāja, even though very old, was attached to his family, and specifically to his grandson Bali Mahārāja, how could he be an ideal example? Therefore this verse uses the word praśāntaḥ. A devotee is always sober. He is never disturbed by any conditions. Even if a devotee remains in gṛhastha life and does not renounce material possessions, he should still be understood to be praśānta, sober, because of his pure devotion to the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore said:

<div class="quote_verse">
:kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya
:yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei 'guru' haya
</div>

"Whether one is a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra-regardless of what he is-he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa." ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 8.128|CC Madhya 8.128]]) Anyone completely aware of the science of Kṛṣṇa, regardless of his status in life, is a guru. Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja is a guru in all circumstances.

Here His Lordship Vāmanadeva also teaches sannyāsīs and brahmacārīs that one should not ask more than necessary. He wanted only three paces of land, although Bali Mahārāja wanted to give Him anything He wanted.

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

We are discussing the instruction of Prahlada Maharaja because he happens to be one of the stalwart acaryas. And the names of such acaryas, authorized acaryas, are also mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam

2024-07-05T17:36:26Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"we are discussing the instruction of Prahlāda Mahārāja because he happens to be one of the stalwart ācāryas. And the names of such ācāryas, authorized ācāryas, are also mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-09-25T14:52:54Z}}
{{last|2022-09-25T14:52:54Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:My Discussions (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Discussing the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Because]]
[[Category:Happened To Be]]
[[Category:One Of The]]
[[Category:Stalwart Acaryas]]
[[Category:Name]]
[[Category:Authorized Acaryas]]
[[Category:Mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
</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">
Ācārya means the person whose behavior is to be followed. Not that as we follow somebody according to our taste. Not like that. That ācārya comes in the standard disciplic succession. So ācārya. So this Prahlāda Mahārāja . . . we are discussing the instruction of Prahlāda Mahārāja because he happens to be one of the stalwart ācāryas. And the names of such ācāryas, authorized ācāryas, are also mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:690409 - Lecture SB 07.06.01 - New York|690409 - Lecture SB 07.06.01 - New York]]
</div>
<div class="text">
None of us, either Kṛṣṇa or we or all living entities, they appear and disappear. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the battlefield, "My dear Arjuna, either you or Me or all the kings and soldiers who have assembled in this battlefield, don't think that they did not exist in the past and they'll not exist in the future." That means they existed in the past and they're existing at present and they would exist also in the future. That means eternal. Eternal. We are all eternal.

But this misunderstanding is . . . just like we are . . . because the passing phase is this body, and the body is changing, and the final change, when you transmigrate from one body to another, it is called death. Actually, there is no death. Na jāyate na mriyate kadācit ([[Vanisource:BG 2.20 (1972)|BG 2.20]]).

In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find that the living entity never is born, neither never dies. Na hanyamāne hanyate, hanyamāne śarīre. Then, "I see that he is dying." Oh, that is dying not; that is his finishing his this present body. The example is given, vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya ([[Vanisource:BG 2.22 (1972)|BG 2.22]]).

Just like one person changes his dress, similarly, when this dress, the present body, is unworkable . . .

Just like one man cannot see. What do you mean by "cannot see"? When the power of vision is no longer working or the spectacle is broken, therefore he cannot see. Similarly, when the all the senses will be broken or cannot work . . . just like eye cannot . . . the eyes cannot work, therefore it is blind, similarly, the hand cannot work, the leg cannot work, the tongue cannot work, because at the last stage when this mechanical arrangement of this body will stop to function, that is called death.

That you try to understand, that as . . . because I cannot see, it does not mean I am dead. Similarly, because these senses of the body cannot function does not mean that I am dead. It is to be understood with little intelligence and with cool head.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great devotee, he's in the line of disciplic succession. He's considered one of the great ācāryas, an authority, ācārya. And who is ācārya? Ācārya means one who knows the intricacies of Vedic knowledge, and he personally behaves in terms of that knowledge and teaches his disciple in terms of that knowledge.

Ācārya means the person whose behavior is to be followed. Not that as we follow somebody according to our taste. Not like that. That ācārya comes in the standard disciplic succession. So ācārya. So this Prahlāda Mahārāja . . . we are discussing the instruction of Prahlāda Mahārāja because he happens to be one of the stalwart ācāryas. And the names of such ācāryas, authorized ācāryas, are also mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

So who are they? Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 6.3.20-21|SB 6.3.20]]). Svayambhuḥ means Brahmā. Brahmā is supposed to be born without any material father and mother. Therefore he is called Svayambhuḥ. He is the only living creature within this universe who is born without the father and mother. How it is? Without the father and mother means this material father and mother.

But he has his father. His father is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. And he's born out of the lotus flower which is grown from the abdomen of Nārāyaṇa. Therefore he's called Svayambhuḥ. Svayambhuḥ means self-manifested. Because before him, there was no existence of material creation. Therefore he is called Svayambhuḥ.

And next is Nārada. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ. Nārada is born out of Brahmā. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ and śambhuḥ. Śambhuḥ is also born of Brahmā. Śambhuḥ means Lord Śiva. So he is also one of the ācāryas. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 6.3.20-21|SB 6.3.20]]). Kumāraḥ means . . .

These Kumāras, they are also sons of Brahmā, but they are called Kumāras, brahmacārīs. When they were born . . . because Brahmā wanted at that time to create living entities to fulfill the whole universe, so he wanted so many sons and grandsons. So he requested his four Kumāra sons, "My dear boys, you get yourself married and increase generation."

But the Kumāras, they said: "My dear father, we are not going to marry. We are not going to be entangled in this material way of life. We shall remain as brahmacārī and cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Oh, the father was very angry. "Oh, you are refusing my order?" So when he became angry . . . angry means that is Rudra. So from that anger Lord Śiva was born. Therefore he is called Rudra. And he was Rudra, his name was Rudra, because he was crying from the very beginning of his birth. So anyway, Rudra is also one of the authorities, Rudra, or Lord Śiva.

Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilaḥ. Kapila is the son of Devahūti, and He's also considered as the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kapilaḥ kumāraḥ manuḥ. And manuḥ, manuḥ means the father of the mankind. From manuḥ, the word man is derived, or, in Sanskrit word, manuṣya. So in Latin and Sanskrit, man, manuṣya, and manuḥ, they are almost on the same level.

So svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kapilo kumāraḥ manuḥ, then prahlādo janako bhīṣmaḥ. So now this Prahlāda's name comes. Prahlāda's name comes. Prahlāda and Janaka, the great king, Janaka, whose daughter was married to Lord Rāmacandra, Jānakī. Therefore, Sītā's name is Jānakī, daughter of Mahārāja Janaka. So he is also a great authority.

Prahlādo janako bhīṣmaḥ, and Bhīṣma, you have heard the name of Bhīṣma, the grandfather of Arjuna. He is also one of the authorities. And, prahlādo janako bhīṣmo balir, Mahārāja Bali, a king. He was a grandson of this Prahlāda Mahārāja. He became mahājana. All these persons, they became authorities by their exemplary character for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
</div>
</div>
</div>

We should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlada Maharaja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable that even simply by reciting this Prahlada Maharaja's stotra, This prayer of Prahlada Maharaja is very, very important

2024-07-05T17:28:40Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"we should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlāda Mahārāja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable that even simply by reciting this Prahlāda Mahārāja's stotra, this stotra . . . this prayer of Prahlāda Mahārāja is very, very important"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Anurag}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-11-04T16:21:39Z}}
{{last|2022-11-04T16:21:39Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:We Should]]
[[Category:Should Take]]
[[Category:Path of Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Follow]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Valuable]]
[[Category:Simply]]
[[Category:Recite]]
[[Category:Stotra]]
[[Category:Very Important]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - ANURAG]]
</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">
There is no difference, opinion, between the modern devotee and the old devotee—a devotee is devotee—as there is no difference between modern gold or old gold. Gold is gold. So we should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlāda Mahārāja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable that even simply by reciting this Prahlāda Mahārāja's stotra, this stotra . . . this prayer of Prahlāda Mahārāja is very, very important. You read it carefully and try to understand. Even the most wretched demon can become a great devotee.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:760220 - Lecture SB 07.09.13 - Mayapur|760220 - Lecture SB 07.09.13 - Mayapur]]
</div>
<div class="text">
So this avatāra, nāma-rūpe avatāra, there is no difference. Nāma-cintāmaṇiḥ-kṛṣṇaḥ caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.133|CC Madhya 17.133]]). The nāma is also vigraha, another form of the Lord, rasa-vigraha. So if we take shelter of this avatāra, rucy-avatāraiḥ . . . every avatāra, every incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, is very pleasing. Because Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, therefore His avatāra . . . just like Nṛsiṁha-deva, although He is very ferocious to asuras . . . they are disturbed. They are disturbing elements and they are disturbed. But Prahlāda Mahārāja is not disturbed. He's peaceful. So Lord's incarnation, either He is very ferocious or He's very kind, for the devotees there is no disturbance. Devotees are not disturbed, and the asuras are disturbed. So take shelter of the holy name of the Lord, then disturbing condition of this material world will not touch you.

Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]]). Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. There is a blazing fire. That is the duty, that is the business of . . . Vande guroḥ śrī caraṇāravindam. How to extinguish the blazing fire of this material world—that is the duty. Every devotee, every pure soul, duty is how to extinguish the blazing fire. And that can be done only by pushing on this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Otherwise, it is not possible. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam-bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇam . . . Śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā. The ultimate benefit of life is compared with the moon. So spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness means spreading the moonlight. Therefore we have named this temple Śrī Māyāpur-candrodaya. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Gaura-Hari, Māyāpur-cand . . . Caitanya-candra. Caitanya-candra anurāga. The Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, this, kurutānurāga. Caitanya-candra-caraṇe kurutānurāga. Caitanya-candra-caraṇe kurutānurāga. Sādhava sakalam eva vihāya durāt caitanya-candra-caraṇe kurutānurāgam. This is the instruction of Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, one of the great devotees of Lord Caitanya. So they are of the same, I mean, opinion. There is no difference, opinion, between the modern devotee and the old devotee—a devotee is devotee—as there is no difference between modern gold or old gold. Gold is gold. So we should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlāda Mahārāja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable that even simply by reciting this Prahlāda Mahārāja's stotra, this stotra . . . this prayer of Prahlāda Mahārāja is very, very important. You read it carefully and try to understand. Even the most wretched demon can become a great devotee.
</div>
</div>
</div>

You read Prahlada Maharaja's instruction very nicely and utilize it in your life. Your life will be successful

2024-07-05T17:25:33Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"you read Prahlada Maharaja's instruction very nicely and utilize it in your life. Your life will be successful"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|09Sep10}}
{{last|09Sep10}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Read]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Very Nicely]]
[[Category:Utilize]]
[[Category:Your Life]]
[[Category:Life Will Be Successful]]
</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="LectureonSB761VrndavanaDecember21975_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="742" link="Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Vrndavana, December 2, 1975" link_text="Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Vrndavana, December 2, 1975">
<div class="heading">Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means bhāgavata-dharma. So you read Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction very nicely and utilize it in your life. Your life will be successful.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Vrndavana, December 2, 1975|Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Vrndavana, December 2, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">If you remain Kṛṣṇa consciousness, fully dependent on Kṛṣṇa, then there will be no scarcity. I started this Kṛṣṇa business with forty rupees. Now we have got forty crores of rupees. Is there any businessman in the whole world within ten years with forty rupees he can increase forty crores? There is no example. And ten thousand men, they are eating prasādam daily. So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham ([[Vanisource:BG 9.22 (1972)|BG 9.22]]). As soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, you simply depend on Him and work sincerely and then Kṛṣṇa will supply everything. Everything.</p>
<p>So this is practically being manifested. State, example, in the Bombay, now the land is one crore of rupees' worth. And when I purchased this land I had, might be, three or four lakhs. So it was completely speculation because I was confident that "I shall be able to pay. Kṛṣṇa will give me." There was no money. That's a long history. I do not wish to discuss. But I have got now practical experience that you depend on Kṛṣṇa—there will be no scarcity. Whatever you want, it will be fulfilled. Teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānām. So be always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then everything will be fulfilled, any desire, if you have got.</p>
:akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
:mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
:tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
:yajeta paramaṁ puruṣaḥ
:([[Vanisource:SB 2.3.10|SB 2.3.10]])
<p>There are three classes of men: akāma... Akāma means devotee. He has no desire. He has no... Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Personally he has no desire. His only desire is how he would glorify Kṛṣṇa. That is the only desire. Akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo. He is akāma. And sarva-kāma means the karmīs. They are desiring, "Bring money, bring money, bring money, bring money." They are called karmīs, sarva-kāma. Their desire is never fulfilled. And akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma ([[Vanisource:SB 2.3.10|SB 2.3.10]]), the jñānīs. They want to become united, one with the Supreme, mokṣa-kāma. So Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the mokṣa-kāma Tara madhye mokṣa vāñchā. That is very inferior desire. And Śrīdhara Swami, he has commented on the Bhāgavata verse, atra mokṣa-vāñchā api nirasta. A devotee should not desire even for mokṣa. What is mokṣa? Mokṣa is very insignificant thing for a devotee. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura has explained, muktiḥ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān. "Mukti, she is standing on my door and flattering me, 'Sir, what can I do for you?' " This is mukti. So why a devotee shall aspire about mukti? No.</p>
:nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
:na kutaścana bibhyati
:svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
:api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ
:([[Vanisource:SB 6.17.28|SB 6.17.28]])
<p>Just like Nārada Muni. He is going to the hellish planet also for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So a devotee is not afraid of going anywhere for the service of the Lord. That is devotee. He has no personal desire, simply how to glorify. So this Prahlāda Mahārāja, he is our guru. Out of the twelve mahājanas, he is one of them. So he is advising, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha ([[Vanisource:SB 7.6.1|SB 7.6.1]]). Why so early, kaumāra? Prahlāda Mahārāja says, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma: "This human form of life is very, very rarely obtained in the process of evolution, 8,400,000's of different species of life." After that, we have got this durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. It should not be wasted, living like cats and dogs. Everyone should be trained up in this bhāgavata-dharma. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. And "Yes, it is important, that's all right. But let me live for hundred years. Then we shall talk about Kṛṣṇa." And Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "No." Adhruvam: "You do not know when you will die. At any moment you can die." Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām ([[Vanisource:SB 10.14.58|SB 10.14.58]]). Therefore, before your next death, you realize Kṛṣṇa. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam. But arthadam. Arthadam means even if you live for a few years and if you take the chance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, still, you are benefited. You are still benefited.</p>
<p>So this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is so important that you can think always that "Death is coming. Death is at my door. Let me finish my chanting. Let me finish my chanting." Always you should think like that, that "Death is already coming, so let me chant." So this is called bhāgavata-dharma, and Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means bhāgavata-dharma. So you read Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction very nicely and utilize it in your life. Your life will be successful. Thank you very much.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

These instructions of Prahlada Maharaja (in SB 7.6.26) stress the transcendental position of devotional service

2024-07-05T17:14:49Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"These instructions of Prahlāda Mahārāja stress the transcendental position of devotional service"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|vanisevadasa}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-12-15T16:53:04Z}}
{{last|2020-12-15T16:53:04Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:These]]
[[Category:Instructions of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Instructions of the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Stressed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Stressing Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Transcendental Position of Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 06 Purports - Prahlada Instructs His Demoniac Schoolmates]]
[[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">
"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman." One who fully engages in the devotional service of the Lord is immediately raised to the transcendental position, which is the brahma-bhūta stage (SB 4.30.20).
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.6.26|SB 7.6.26, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Religion, economic development and sense gratification—these are described in the Vedas as tri-varga, or three ways to salvation. Within these three categories are education and self-realization; ritualistic ceremonies performed according to Vedic injunction; logic; the science of law and order; and the various means of earning one's livelihood. These are the external subject matters of study in the Vedas, and therefore I consider them material. However, I consider surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu to be transcendental.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

These instructions of Prahlāda Mahārāja stress the transcendental position of devotional service. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 14.26 (1972)|BG 14.26]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
:bhakti-yogena sevate
:sa guṇān samatītyaitān
:brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
</div>

"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman." One who fully engages in the devotional service of the Lord is immediately raised to the transcendental position, which is the brahma-bhūta stage ([[Vanisource:SB 4.30.20|SB 4.30.20]]). Any education or activity not on the brahma-bhūta platform, the platform of self-realization, is considered to be material, and Prahlāda Mahārāja says that anything material cannot be the Absolute Truth, for the Absolute Truth is on the spiritual platform. This is also confirmed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 2.45|BG 2.45]]), where He says, traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna: "The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them." To act on the material platform, even if one's activities are sanctioned by the Vedas, is not the ultimate goal of life. The ultimate goal of life is to stay on the spiritual platform, fully surrendered to the parama-puruṣa, the supreme person. This is the object of the human mission. In summary, the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and injunctions are not to be discounted; they are means of being promoted to the spiritual platform. But if one does not come to the spiritual platform, the Vedic ceremonies are simply a waste of time. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.8|SB 1.2.8]]):

<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." If one very strictly performs the various duties of religion but does not ultimately come to the platform of surrendering to the Supreme Lord, his methods of attaining salvation or elevation are simply a waste of time and energy.

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

So we should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlada Maharaja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable

2024-07-05T17:13:53Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"So we should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlāda Mahārāja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Anurag}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-10-06T14:32:44Z}}
{{last|2022-10-06T14:32:44Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:We Should]]
[[Category:Take]]
[[Category:Path of Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Follow]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Valuable Instructions]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - ANURAG]]
</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">
So we should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlāda Mahārāja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable that even simply by reciting this Prahlāda Mahārāja's stotra, this stotra . . . this prayer of Prahlāda Mahārāja is very, very important. You read it carefully and try to understand.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:760220 - Lecture SB 07.09.13 - Mayapur|760220 - Lecture SB 07.09.13 - Mayapur]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]]). Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. There is a blazing fire. That is the duty, that is the business of . . . Vande guroḥ śrī caraṇāravindam. How to extinguish the blazing fire of this material world—that is the duty. Every devotee, every pure soul, duty is how to extinguish the blazing fire. And that can be done only by pushing on this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Otherwise, it is not possible. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam-bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇam . . . Śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā. The ultimate benefit of life is compared with the moon. So spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness means spreading the moonlight. Therefore we have named this temple Śrī Māyāpur-candrodaya. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Gaura-Hari, Māyāpur-cand . . . Caitanya-candra. Caitanya-candra anurāga. The Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, this, kurutānurāga. Caitanya-candra-caraṇe kurutānurāga. Caitanya-candra-caraṇe kurutānurāga. Sādhava sakalam eva vihāya durāt caitanya-candra-caraṇe kurutānurāgam. This is the instruction of Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, one of the great devotees of Lord Caitanya. So they are of the same, I mean, opinion. There is no difference, opinion, between the modern devotee and the old devotee—a devotee is devotee—as there is no difference between modern gold or old gold. Gold is gold. So we should take the path of devotional service, following Prahlāda Mahārāja, and his prayers, his instructions are so valuable that even simply by reciting this Prahlāda Mahārāja's stotra, this stotra . . . this prayer of Prahlāda Mahārāja is very, very important. You read it carefully and try to understand. Even the most wretched demon can become a great devotee.
</div>
</div>
</div>

So spiritual training should be given from the very beginning. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Prahlada Maharaja has instructed that spiritual consciousness or Krishna Consciousness should be taught to the children from the very beginning

2024-07-05T17:12:04Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"So spiritual training should be given from the very beginning. Kaumaram acaret prajna—In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Prahlada Maharaja has instructed that spiritual consciousness or Krishna Consciousness should be taught to the children from the very beginning"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Anurag}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-10-02T14:10:34Z}}
{{last|2022-10-02T14:10:34Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Spiritual Training]]
[[Category:Should Be]]
[[Category:Give]]
[[Category:From The Very Beginning]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana)]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Spiritual Consciousness]]
[[Category:Teaching Krsna Consciousness]]
[[Category:Children]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>1968 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
So spiritual training should be given from the very beginning. Kaumaram acaret prajna—In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Prahlada Maharaja has instructed that spiritual consciousness or Krishna Consciousness should be taught to the children from the very beginning as they are given education from early childhood.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:680824 - Letter to Dayananda and Nandarani written from Montreal|680824 - Letter to Dayananda and Nandarani written from Montreal]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Regarding your question: "What is the correct sexual etiquette for a strict Grhastha; and what is spiritual family planning?" Unless one wants to beget a child, there should not be any sex life. The best thing is to forget sex, but it is not possible immediately or all of a sudden, especially in the Western countries where sex life is so liberal. So under the circumstances, one should try to have sex life only for children, not for any other purpose. Spiritual family planning is that one should be determined to train up children in Krishna Consciousness. According to Bhagavata, the spiritual family planning is that one should not become a father or one should not become a mother, unless he is able to maintain their children to the extent of liberation. It is the duty of the parents to see that the children are growing luxuriantly not only materially, but spiritually also. So spiritual training should be given from the very beginning. Kaumaram acaret prajna—In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Prahlada Maharaja has instructed that spiritual consciousness or Krishna Consciousness should be taught to the children from the very beginning as they are given education from early childhood.

The next question, "will you please explain about the 28th mahayuga of this Manu, in which the treta and Dvapara yugas are reversed?" The 28th mahayuga means that in Brahma's one day, there are 14 Manus. And each Manu's life is the duration of 71 mahayugas. And one mahayuga means 4 yugas combined. The duration of Sattva yuga is about 18 hundred thousands of years. And the duration of Treta yuga is about 12 hundred thousands of years.
</div>
</div>
</div>

So if we actually want life, blissful life, then we must get out of this material existence. That is Prahlada Maharaja's instruction. Samudvigna-dhiyam. And if you remain in the material existence, you must suffer some anxiety. There is no excuse

2024-07-05T17:09:36Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"So if we actually want life, blissful life, then we must get out of this material existence. That is Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction. Samudvigna-dhiyām. And if you remain in the material existence, you must suffer some anxiety. There is no excuse"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Anurag}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-09-07T15:20:20Z}}
{{last|2022-09-07T15:20:20Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:If We]]
[[Category:Actually]]
[[Category:Want]]
[[Category:Life]]
[[Category:Blissful Life]]
[[Category:Must]]
[[Category:Get Out]]
[[Category:Material Existence]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Remain]]
[[Category:You Must]]
[[Category:Suffering]]
[[Category:Some]]
[[Category:Anxiety]]
[[Category:There Is No]]
[[Category:No Excuse]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - ANURAG]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Festival Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
That is Vedic injunction also. Asato mā sad gamaya: "Don't live in this asat, in this material condition." Sad gamaya: "Go to real existence." That real existence means spiritual life. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So if we actually want life, blissful life, then we must get out of this material existence. That is Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction. Samudvigna-dhiyām. And if you remain in the material existence, you must suffer some anxiety. There is no excuse.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:770202 - Lecture Festival Appearance Day - Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Avirbhava - Bhuvanesvara|770202 - Lecture Festival Appearance Day - Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Avirbhava - Bhuvanesvara]]
</div>
<div class="text">
That is Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction. He was asked by his father, "My dear son, what you have learned, the best thing from your teachers?" So he replied, "My dear father . . ." He never said "My dear father"; He said "My dear best of the asuras," asura-varya. Tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehinām. Tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.5|SB 7.5.5]]). The whole human society is suffering, at least suffering from one disease—anxiety. Ask anybody. Take one small ant and take the big elephant; take the President of United States or take one street beggar. Ask him, "Whether you are free from anxiety?" Nobody will say, "No." "I am full of anxiety." That's a fact. So why they are anxiety, in full of anxiety? That Prahlāda Mahārāja had replied, sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt. Because we have taken asad-vastu, that will not exist . . . Everything, whatever you have got . . . Our, this body will not exist. And this is the main platform of our existence. In the material world, so long the body is there, you exist. So Prahlāda Mahārāja said that "Real solution of problems of life is to get out of this material condition. That is best thing in my opinion." Sadā samadvigna-dhiyām asad . . . That is Vedic injunction also. Asato mā sad gamaya: "Don't live in this asat, in this material condition." Sad gamaya: "Go to real existence." That real existence means spiritual life. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ([[Vanisource:BG 2.20 (1972)|BG 2.20]]). So if we actually want life, blissful life, then we must get out of this material existence. That is Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction. Samudvigna-dhiyām. And if you remain in the material existence, you must suffer some anxiety. There is no excuse.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja advises that hitvātma-ghātam gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanam gato yad dharim āśrayeta ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.5|SB 7.5.5]]). If you . . . Real problem is anxiety. And this anxiety will continue so long you are material existent. Therefore the real life is to get out of this material . . . Hitvātma-ghātam. Ātma-ghāṭam. Ātma-ghātam means killing the soul. This material civilization is killing the soul. That . . . They have no information of the soul. They do not know how to become peaceful, how to become blissful. They are trying to be peaceful, bahir-artha-māninaḥ, by external material energy. They are thinking by constructing big, big buildings, just like in Bhuvaneśvara they are doing, and having good, very big, big roads and motorcars, that is advancement of civilization. No. That is not advancement. That is increasing their anxiety. There is no solution of the anxiety. There is . . . Formerly that I was speaking. There was no university. The university was in the cottage—Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva was writing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and all the Purāṇas in a cottage. So university was there. Who can produce such literature as Vyāsadeva has given? From any angle of vision, from literary point of view, from philosophical point of view—everything, so perfect, every literature, Mahābhārata, Purāṇas and Vedānta—Veda-vyāsa, he has given. So there was no need of university. It required clear brain. That was to be done by the brahminical qualifications: śamo damo titikṣā ārjava, jñānaṁ-vijñānam āstikyam brahma-karma svabhāva . . . ([[Vanisource:BG 18.42 (1972)|BG 18.42]]). Where is that education? This education, technical education, how you can very nicely hammer, this will not solve the problem. So if we want real solution of the problems, then our duty is first of all to take the shelter of nitāi-pada-kamala. Then we'll be happy, and we'll get moonshine, and our all fatigueness will be subsided.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja, the spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, advised that this bhagavata-dharma be instructed to students from the very beginning of their education (kaumara acaret prajno dharman bhagavatan iha) - SB 7.6.1

2024-07-05T16:48:52Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja, the spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, advised that this bhāgavata-dharma be instructed to students from the very beginning of their education (kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-12-15T19:18:41Z}}
{{last|2020-12-15T19:18:41Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada's Advice]]
[[Category:Disciplic Succession of Spiritual Masters]]
[[Category:Advice from a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Bhagavata-dharma - Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Instructions of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Students of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:From The Very Beginning]]
[[Category:Beginning of Education]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 10 Purports - Prahlada, the Best Among Exalted Devotees]]
[[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">
When one is well conversant with all these principles, he becomes a devotee and performs bhāgavata-dharma. Prahlāda Mahārāja, the spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, advised that this bhāgavata-dharma be instructed to students from the very beginning of their education (kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1)).
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.10.45|SB 7.10.45, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The principles of religion by which one can actually understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are called bhāgavata-dharma. In this narration, therefore, which deals with these principles, actual transcendence is properly described.
</div>
<div class="text">
Through the principles of religion, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Brahman (the impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord) and Paramātmā (the localized aspect of the Lord). When one is well conversant with all these principles, he becomes a devotee and performs bhāgavata-dharma. Prahlāda Mahārāja, the spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, advised that this bhāgavata-dharma be instructed to students from the very beginning of their education (kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha ([[Vanisource:SB 7.6.1|SB 7.6.1]])). To understand the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the real purpose of education. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23). One must simply hear about and describe Lord Viṣṇu and His various incarnations. This narration concerning Prahlāda Mahārāja and Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, therefore, has properly described spiritual, transcendental subjects.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada, who was truly the supreme learned person, then addressed his class friends in very sweet language. Smiling, he began to teach them about the uselessness of the materialistic way of life. Being very kind to them, he instructed them as follows

2024-07-05T16:37:21Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was truly the supreme learned person, then addressed his class friends in very sweet language. Smiling, he began to teach them about the uselessness of the materialistic way of life. Being very kind to them, he instructed them as follows"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2018-09-09T09:07:06Z}}
{{last|2018-09-09T09:07:06Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Who Was]]
[[Category:Truly]]
[[Category:Supreme]]
[[Category:Learned Person]]
[[Category:Addressed]]
[[Category:Class]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Friends]]
[[Category:Very Sweet]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Smiling]]
[[Category:Began]]
[[Category:Teaching]]
[[Category:About]]
[[Category:Useless]]
[[Category:Materialistic Way of Life]]
[[Category:Being]]
[[Category:Very Kind]]
[[Category:As Follows]]
[[Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Narada Muni - Vaniquotes]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 05 - Prahlada Maharaja, the Saintly Son of Hiranyakasipu]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 01 to 09 - All Verse Translations]]
</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, who was truly the supreme learned person, then addressed his class friends in very sweet language. Smiling, he began to teach them about the uselessness of the materialistic way of life. Being very kind to them, he instructed them as follows.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.5.55|SB 7.5.55, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was truly the supreme learned person, then addressed his class friends in very sweet language. Smiling, he began to teach them about the uselessness of the materialistic way of life. Being very kind to them, he instructed them as follows.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

Prahlāda Mahārāja's smiling is very significant. The other students were very much advanced in enjoying materialistic life through religion, economic development and sense gratification, but Prahlāda Mahārāja laughed at them, knowing that this was not actual happiness, for real happiness is advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The duty of those who follow in the footsteps of Prahlāda Mahārāja is to teach the entire world how to be Kṛṣṇa conscious and thus be really happy. Materialistic persons take to so-called religion to get some blessings so that they can improve their economic position and enjoy the material world through sense gratification. But devotees like Prahlāda Mahārāja laugh at how foolish they are to be busy in a temporary life without knowledge of the soul's transmigration from one body to another. Materialistic persons are engaged in striving for temporary benefits, whereas persons advanced in spiritual knowledge, such as Prahlāda Mahārāja, are not interested in the materialistic way of life. Instead, they want to be elevated to an eternal life of knowledge and bliss. Therefore, as Kṛṣṇa is always compassionate to the fallen souls, His servants, the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, are also interested in educating the entire populace in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The mistake of materialistic life is understood by devotees, and therefore they smile upon it, considering it insignificant. Out of compassion, however, such devotees preach the gospel of Bhagavad-gītā all over the world.

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

Prahlada, while instructing his childhood friends at school, stated that hearing of the Lord, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying, serving, making friends with Krsna, and offering everything to Him constituted the highest spiritual knowledge

2024-07-05T16:28:33Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja, while instructing his childhood friends at school, also stated that hearing of the Lord, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying, serving, making friends with Kṛṣṇa, and offering everything to Him constituted the highest spiritual knowledge"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-06-02T11:17:04Z}}
{{last|2022-06-02T11:17:04Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:While (Period of Time)]]
[[Category:Instructions of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Childhood]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Friends]]
[[Category:School]]
[[Category:Stated That]]
[[Category:Hearing about Krsna]]
[[Category:Chanting about Krsna]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Chanting]]
[[Category:Remembering Krsna]]
[[Category:Krsna Is Worshipable]]
[[Category:Praying to Krsna]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Devotional Service to Krsna]]
[[Category:Making Friendship with Krsna]]
[[Category:Offering to Krsna]]
[[Category:Everything for Krsna]]
[[Category:Constitute]]
[[Category:Highest Knowledge]]
[[Category:Spiritual Knowledge]]
[[Category:Teachings of Lord Caitanya 1975 Chapter 31 - The Supreme Perfection]]
[[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">
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 4.29.50) it is stated that that work which pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest work, and that science or knowledge which places one in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest knowledge. Similarly, Prahlāda Mahārāja, while instructing his childhood friends at school, also stated that hearing of the Lord, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying, serving, making friends with Kṛṣṇa, and offering everything to Him constituted the highest spiritual knowledge.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:TLC 31 (1975)|Teachings of Lord Caitanya (1975), Chapter 31]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Whatever position one may have, if he is fully conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can become a bona fide spiritual master, initiator or teacher of the science. In other words, one can become a bona fide spiritual master if he has sufficient knowledge of the science of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The position does not depend on a particular position in society or on birth. This is the conclusion of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is in accordance with the Vedic injunctions. On the strength of this conclusion, Lord Caitanya, previously known as Viśvambhara, accepted a spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, who was a sannyāsī. Similarly, Lord Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Ācārya also accepted another sannyāsī as their spiritual master, Mādhavendra Purī. This Mādhavendra Purī is also known as Lakṣmīpati Tīrtha. Similarly, another great ācārya, Śrī Rasikānanda, accepted Śrī Śyāmānanda as his spiritual master, although he was not born of a brāhmaṇa family. So also Gaṅgānārāyaṇa Cakravartī accepted Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura as spiritual master. In ancient days there was even a hunter named Dharma, who became a spiritual master for many people. There are clear instructions in Mahābhārata and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 7.11.32|SB 7.11.32]]) stating that a person—be he brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra—should be accepted by his personal qualifications and not by birth.

One's position should be established by personal qualifications and not by birth. For example, if a man is born in a brāhmaṇa family but his personal qualifications are those of a śūdra, he should be accepted as a śūdra. Similarly, if a person is born in a śūdra family but has the qualifications of a brāhmaṇa, he should be accepted as a brāhmaṇa. All śāstric injunctions, as well as the versions of great sages and authorities, establish that a bona fide spiritual master is not necessarily a brāhmaṇa. The only qualification is that he be conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That alone makes one perfectly eligible to become a spiritual master. This is the conclusion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His discussions with Rāmānanda Rāya.

In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa it is stated that if one bona fide spiritual master is born in a brāhmaṇa family and another, who is also qualified, is born in a śūdra family, one should accept the one who is born in a brāhmaṇa family. This statement serves as a social compromise, but it has nothing to do with spiritual understanding. This injunction is only applicable for those who consider social status more important than spiritual status. It is not for people who are spiritually serious. A serious person would accept Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instruction that anyone—regardless of his position—conversant with Kṛṣṇa science must be accepted as the spiritual master. There are many injunctions in the Padma Purāṇa which state that a highly elevated spiritually advanced devotee of the Lord is always a first-class devotee and is therefore a spiritual master, but a highly elevated person born in a brāhmaṇa family cannot be a spiritual master unless he is a devotee of the Lord. A person born in a brāhmaṇa family may be conversant with all of the rituals of the Vedic scriptures but if he is not a pure devotee, he cannot be a spiritual master. In all śāstras the chief qualification of a bona fide spiritual master is that he be conversant in the science of Kṛṣṇa.

Lord Caitanya therefore requested Rāmānanda Rāya to go on teaching Him without hesitation, not considering Lord Caitanya's position as a sannyāsī. Thus Lord Caitanya urged him to continue speaking on the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

"Because You are asking me to speak of the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa," Rāmānanda Rāya humbly submitted, "I will obey Your order. I will speak in whatever way You like." Thus Rāmānanda Rāya humbly submitted himself as a puppet before Lord Caitanya, the puppet master. He only wanted to dance according to the will of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He compared his tongue to a stringed instrument, saying, "You are the player of that instrument." Thus as Lord Caitanya would play, Rāmānanda Rāya would vibrate the sound.

He said that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations and the cause of all causes. There are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets, innumerable incarnations, expansions of the Supreme Lord, and innumerable universes also, and of all these existences the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is the only source. His transcendental body is composed of eternity, bliss and knowledge, and He is known as the son of Mahārāja Nanda and the inhabitant of Goloka Vṛndāvana. He is full with six opulences—all wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. In Brahma-saṁhitā (5.1) it is confirmed that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, the Lord of all lords, and His transcendental body is sac-cid-ānanda. No one is the source of Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is the source of everyone. He is the supreme cause of all causes and the resident of Vṛndāvana. He is also very attractive, just like Cupid. One can worship Him by kāma-gāyatrī mantra.

In Brahma-saṁhitā the transcendental land of Vṛndāvana is described as being always spiritual. That spiritual land is populated by goddesses of fortune, who are known as gopīs. These are all beloved of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the only lover of all those gopīs. The trees of that land are kalpa-vṛkṣa, wish fulfilling trees, and one can have anything he wants from them. The land is made of touchstone and the water of nectar. In that land all speech is song, and all walking is dancing, and one's constant companion is the flute. Everything is self-luminous, just like the sun in this material world. The human form of life is meant for understanding this transcendental land of Vṛndāvana, and one who is fortunate should cultivate knowledge of Vṛndāvana and its residents. In that supreme abode are surabhi cows that overflood the land with milk. Since not even a moment there is misused, there is no past, present or future. An expansion of this Vṛndāvana, which is the supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa, is also present on this earth, and superior devotees worship it as the supreme abode. However, no one can appreciate Vṛndāvana without being highly elevated in spiritual knowledge, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to ordinary experience, Vṛndāvana appears to be just like an ordinary village, but in the eyes of a highly elevated devotee, it is as good as the original Vṛndāvana. A great saintly ācārya has sung: "When will my mind be cleared of all contamination so I will be able to see Vṛndāvana as it is? And when will I be able to understand the literatures left by the Gosvāmīs so that I will be able to know of the transcendental pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa?"

The loving affairs between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs in Vṛndāvana are also transcendental. They appear as ordinary lusty affairs of this material world, but there is a gulf of difference. In the material world there may be the temporary awakening of lust, but it disappears after so-called satisfaction. In the spiritual world the love between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa is constantly increasing. That is the difference between transcendental love and material lust. The lust, or so-called love, arising out of this body is as temporary as the body itself, but the love arising from the eternal soul in the spiritual world is on the spiritual platform, and that love is also eternal. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is addressed as the ever green Cupid.

Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by the gāyatrī mantra, and the specific mantra by which He is worshiped is called kāma-gāyatrī. Vedic literatures explain that that sound vibration which can elevate one from mental concoction is called gāyatrī. The kāma-gāyatrī mantra is composed of 24 1/2 syllables thus:

<div class="quote_verse">
:klīṁ kāma-devāya vidmahe
:puṣpa-bāṇāya dhīmahi
:tanno 'naṅgaḥ pracodayāt
</div>

This kāma-gāyatrī is received from the spiritual master when the disciple is advanced in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. In other words, this kāma-gāyatrī mantra and saṁskāra, or reformation of a perfect brāhmaṇa, are offered by the spiritual master when he sees that his disciple is advanced in spiritual knowledge. Even then, the kāma-gāyatrī is not uttered under certain circumstances. In any case, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is sufficient to elevate one to the highest spiritual platform.

In Brahma-saṁhitā a nice description of the flute of Kṛṣṇa is given: "When Kṛṣṇa began to play on His flute, the sound vibration entered into the ear of Brahmā as the Vedic mantra oṁ" This oṁ is composed of three letters—A, U, and M—and it describes our relationship with the Supreme Lord, our activities by which we can achieve the highest perfection of love and the actual position of love on the spiritual platform. When the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa's flute is expressed through the mouth of Brahmā, it becomes gāyatrī. Thus by being influenced by the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa's flute, Brahmā, the supreme creature and first living entity of this material world, was initiated as a brāhmaṇa. That Brahmā was initiated as a brāhmaṇa by the flute of Kṛṣṇa is confirmed by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. When Brahmā was enlightened by the gāyatrī mantra through Kṛṣṇa's flute, he attained all Vedic knowledge. Acknowledging the benediction offered to him by Kṛṣṇa, he became the original spiritual master of all living entities.

The word klīm added to the gāyatrī mantra is explained in Brahma-saṁhitā as the transcendental seed of love of Godhead, or the seed of the kāma-gāyatrī. The object is Kṛṣṇa, who is the ever green Cupid, and by utterance of klīm mantra Kṛṣṇa is worshiped. It is also stated in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad that when Kṛṣṇa is spoken of as Cupid, one should not think of Him as the Cupid of this material world. As already explained, Vṛndāvana is the spiritual abode of Kṛṣṇa, and the word Cupid is also spiritual and transcendental. One should not take the material Cupid and Kṛṣṇa to be on the same level. The material Cupid represents the attraction of the external flesh and body, but the spiritual Cupid is the attraction by which the Supersoul attracts the individual soul. Actually lust and sex are there in spiritual life, but when the spirit soul is embodied in material elements, that spiritual urge is expressed through the material body and is therefore pervertedly reflected. When one actually becomes conversant in the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can understand that his material desire for sex is abominable, whereas spiritual sex is desirable.

Spiritual sex is of two kinds: one in accordance with the constitutional position of the self and the other in accordance with the object. When one understands the truth about this life but is not completely cleansed of material contamination, he is not factually situated in the transcendental abode, Vṛndāvana, although he may understand spiritual life. When, however, one becomes free from the sex urges of the material body, he can actually attain the supreme abode of Vṛndāvana. When one is so situated, he can utter the kāma-gāyatrī and kāma-bīja mantra.

Rāmānanda Rāya then explained that Kṛṣṇa is attractive both for men and women, for the movable and the immovable—indeed, for all living entities. For this reason He is called the transcendental Cupid. Rāmānanda Rāya then quoted a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 10.32.2|SB 10.32.2]]) stating that when the Lord appeared before the damsels of Vraja smiling and playing on His flute, He appeared just like Cupid.

There are different kinds of devotees who have different aptitudes and relationships with the Supreme Lord. Any one relationship with the Lord is as good as any other because the central point is Kṛṣṇa. As stated in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: "Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasures, and He is always attracting the gopīs by the spiritual luster of His body. He especially attracts Tārakā, Pāli, Śyāmā, and Lalitā. Kṛṣṇa is very dear to Rādhārāṇī, the foremost gopī." Like Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs are glorified by Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. There are different kinds of relationships with Kṛṣṇa, and anyone who is attracted to Kṛṣṇa by a particular relationship is glorified.

Kṛṣṇa is so beautiful, transcendental and attractive that He sometimes attracts even Himself. The following verse appears in Gīta-govinda (1.11):

<div class="quote_verse">
:viśveṣām anurañjanena janayann ānandam indīvara-
:śreṇī-śyāmala-komalair upanayann aṅgair anaṅgotsavam
:svacchandaṁ vraja-sundarībhir abhitaḥ pratyaṅgam āliṅgitaḥ
:śṛṅgāraḥ sakhi mūrtimān iva madhau mugdho hariḥ krīḍati
</div>

"My dear friend, just see how Kṛṣṇa is enjoying His transcendental pastimes in the spring by expanding the beauty of His personal body. His soft legs and hands, just like the most beautiful moon, are used on the bodies of the gopīs. When He embraces different parts of their bodies, He is so beautiful. Kṛṣṇa is so beautiful that He attracts even Nārāyaṇa, as well as the goddess of fortune who associates with Nārāyaṇa."

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 10.89.58|SB 10.89.58]]) the Bhūmā-puruṣa (Mahā-Viṣṇu) told Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, I have taken the brāhmaṇa's sons just to see You." Arjuna attempted to save some youths who had died untimely at Dvārakā, and when he failed to save them, Kṛṣṇa took him to the Bhūmā-puruṣa, and when the Bhūmā-puruṣa brought forth those dead bodies as living entities, He said, "Both of you appear to preserve religious principles in the world and to annihilate the demons." In other words, the Bhūmā-puruṣa was also attracted by the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, and He concocted this pastime just as a pretext to see Kṛṣṇa. It is recorded in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 10.16.36|SB 10.16.36]]) that after the serpent Kāliya was punished by Kṛṣṇa, one of Kāliya's wives told Kṛṣṇa, "Dear Lord, we cannot understand how this fallen serpent got the opportunity of being kicked by Your lotus feet when even the goddess of fortune underwent austerities for several years just to see You."

How Kṛṣṇa is attracted by His own beauty is described in Lalita-mādhava (8.34). Upon seeing His own picture, Kṛṣṇa lamented, "How glorious this picture is! It is attracting Me just as it attracts Rādhārāṇī."

After giving a summary of the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, Rāmānanda Rāya began to speak of the spiritual energy of Kṛṣṇa, which is headed by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Kṛṣṇa has immense energetic expansions. Three energies are predominant: the internal energy, external energy and marginal energy. This is confirmed in the Sixth Chapter of Viṣṇu Purāṇa where it is said that Viṣṇu has one energy, which is called spiritual energy, and it is manifested in three ways. When spiritual energy is overwhelmed by ignorance, it is called marginal energy. As far as spiritual energy itself is concerned, it is exhibited in three forms because Kṛṣṇa is a combination of eternity, bliss and knowledge. As far as His bliss is concerned, His spiritual energy is manifested as the pleasure giving potency. His eternity is manifested as energy, and His knowledge is manifested as spiritual perfection. As confirmed in Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.12.69): "The pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa gives Kṛṣṇa transcendental pleasure and bliss." Thus when Kṛṣṇa wants to enjoy pleasure, He exhibits His own spiritual potency known as hlādinī.

In His spiritual form, Kṛṣṇa enjoys His spiritual energy, and that is the sum and substance of the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa pastimes. These pastimes can only be understood by elevated devotees. One should not try to understand the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa potencies and pastimes from the mundane platform. Generally people misunderstand these as being material.

When the pleasure potency is further condensed, it is called mahābhāva. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the eternal consort of Kṛṣṇa, is the personification of that mahābhāva. In this regard, in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (4.3) Rūpa Gosvāmī states that there are two competitors in love with Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī and Candrāvalī. When they are compared, it appears that Rādhārāṇī is superior, for She possesses mahābhāva-svarūpa. Mahābhāva-svarūpa, the personification of mahābhāva, is applicable to Rādhārāṇī only. Mahābhāva is full of the pleasure potency, and it is an exhibition of the highest love for Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī is therefore known throughout the world as the most beloved of Kṛṣṇa, and Her name is always associated with Kṛṣṇa as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

Brahma-saṁhitā (5.37) also confirms that Kṛṣṇa expands Himself by His pleasure potency in the spiritual world and that these potencies are all nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Although Kṛṣṇa is always enjoying the company of His pleasure potency expansions, He is all-pervading. Thus Brahmā offers his respectful obeisances to Govinda, the cause of all causes.

As Kṛṣṇa is the highest emblem of spiritual perfection, so Rādhārāṇī is the highest emblem of that spiritual pleasure potency by which Kṛṣṇa is satisfied. Since Kṛṣṇa is unlimited, in order to satisfy Him Rādhārāṇī is also unlimited. Kṛṣṇa is satisfied just by seeing Rādhārāṇī, but Rādhārāṇī expands Herself in such a way that Kṛṣṇa desires to enjoy Her more. Because Kṛṣṇa was unable to estimate the pleasure potency of Rādhārāṇī, He decided to accept the role of Rādhārāṇī, and that combination is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Rāmānanda Rāya then began to explain Rādhārāṇī as the supreme emblem of Kṛṣṇa's pleasure potency. Rādhārāṇī expands Herself in different forms, known as Lalitā, Viśākhā and Her other confidential associates. In his book Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, Rūpa Gosvāmī explains the characteristics of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. He points out that the body of Rādhārāṇī is in itself an actual evolution of transcendental pleasure. That body is decorated with flowers and fragrant aromas and is complete with transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa. That is the personification of His pleasure potency. That transcendental body takes bath three times: first in the water of mercy, second in the water of youthful beauty, and third in the water of youthful luster. After taking bath three times in that way, Her body is covered with shining garments and decorated with Kṛṣṇa's personal beauty, which is compared to cosmetics. Thus Her beauty constitutes the highest artistry. Her body is also decorated with the ornaments of spiritual ecstasy—trembling tears, petrification, perspiration, choking, cessation of all bodily functions due to transcendental pleasure, stumbling, high blood pressure and madness.

The decorative transcendental pleasure potency manifests nine symptoms. Five of these are manifested by the expansion of Her personal beauty, which is adorned with garlands of flowers. Her patient calmness is compared with a covering of cloths which have been cleansed by camphor. Her confidential agony for Kṛṣṇa is the knot in Her hair, and the mark of tilaka on Her forehead is Her fortune. Rādhārāṇī's sense of hearing is eternally fixed on Kṛṣṇa's name and fame. One's lips become red from chewing betel nuts. Similarly, the borders of Rādhārāṇī's eyes are blackened due to Her complete attachment to Kṛṣṇa. This darkness might be compared to ointment used by nature when nature jokes with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī's smile is just like the taste of camphor. The garland of separation moves on Her body when She lies down on the bed of pride within the room of aroma. Out of ecstatic affection for Kṛṣṇa, Her breast is covered by the blouse of anger. Reputed as the best of all Kṛṣṇa's girl friends, She plays a stringed instrument. When Kṛṣṇa stands in His youthful posture, She puts Her hand on His shoulder. Although She possesses so many transcendental qualities, She is always engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is decorated with sūddīpta-sāttvika emotions, which sometimes include tribulation and sometimes pacification. All the transcendental ecstasies are manifested in the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Sūddīpta-sāttvika emotions are manifest when a lover is overwhelmed with certain feelings which he or she cannot check. Rādhārāṇī has another emotion called kilakiñcita, which is manifest in twenty different ways. These emotions are manifested partly due to body, mind and habit. As far as the bodily emotions are concerned, they are manifested in posture and movement. As far as the emotions of the mind are concerned, they are manifested as beauty, luster, complexion, flavor, talking, magnanimity and patience. As far as habitual emotions are concerned, they are manifested as pastimes, enjoyment, preparation and forgetfulness.

The tilaka of fortune is on the forehead of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and She also has a locket of prema-vaicittya. Prema-vaicittya is manifest when a lover and beloved meet and fear separation.

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is fifteen days younger than Kṛṣṇa. She always keeps Her hand on the shoulders of Her friends, and She always talks and thinks of pastimes with Kṛṣṇa. She always offers Kṛṣṇa a kind of intoxication by Her sweet talks, and She is always prepared to fulfill His desires. In other words, She supplies all the demands of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and She possesses unique and uncommon qualities for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction.

In Govinda-līlāmṛta there is a verse which states: "Who is the breeding ground for Kṛṣṇa's affection? The answer is that it is only Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Who is Kṛṣṇa's most lovable object? The answer is that it is only Śrīmatī Rādhikā and no one else." Sheen in the hair, moisture in the eyes and firmness in the breasts are all qualities present in Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Only Śrīmatī Rādhikā is able to fulfill all the desires of Kṛṣṇa. No one else can do so.

Satyabhāmā is another competitor of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, but she always desires to come to the standard of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Rādhārāṇī is so expert in all affairs that all the damsels of Vraja come to learn arts from Her. She is so extraordinarily beautiful that even the goddess of fortune and Pārvatī, the wife of Lord Śiva, desire elevation to Her standard of beauty. Arundhatī, who is known as the most chaste lady in the universe, desires to learn the standard of chastity from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Since even Lord Kṛṣṇa cannot estimate Rādhārāṇī's highly transcendental qualities, it is not possible for an ordinary man to estimate them.

After hearing Rāmānanda Rāya speak of the qualities of Rādhā Kṛṣṇa, Lord Caitanya desired to hear from him about the reciprocation of love between Them. Rāmānanda Rāya described Kṛṣṇa as dhīra-lalita, a word which describes a person who is very cunning and youthful, who is always expert in joking, who is without anxiety and who is always subservient to his girl friend. Kṛṣṇa is always engaged in love affairs with Rādhārāṇī, and He takes to the bushes of Vṛndāvana to enjoy His lusty activities with Her. Thus He successfully carries out His lusty instincts. In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu it is stated:. "By His impudent and daring talks about sex indulgence, Kṛṣṇa obliged Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to close Her eyes, and taking advantage of this, Kṛṣṇa painted many pictures on Her breasts. These pictures served as subject matter for Rādhārāṇī's friends to joke about. Thus Kṛṣṇa was always engaged in lusty activities, and thus He made His youthful life successful."

Upon hearing of these transcendental activities, Lord Caitanya said, "My dear Rāmānanda, what you have explained regarding the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is perfectly correct, yet there is something more I would like to hear from you."

"It is very difficult for me to express anything beyond this," Rāmānanda Rāya replied. "I can only say that there is an emotional activity called prema-vilāsa-vivarta, which I may try to explain but I do not know whether You will be happy to hear it." In prema-vilāsa there are two kinds of emotional activities—separation and meeting. That transcendental separation is so acute that it is actually more ecstatic than meeting. Rāmānanda Rāya was expert in understanding these highly elevated dealings between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and he composed a nice song which he narrated to the Lord. The purport of the song is that the lover and the beloved, before meeting, generate a kind of emotion by the exchange of their transcendental activities. That emotion is called rāga, or attraction. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī expressed Her willingness that "this attraction and affection between Us rise to the highest extent," but the cause of this attraction is Rādhārāṇī Herself. "Whatever the cause may be," Rādhārāṇī said, "that affection between You and Me has mixed Us in oneness. Now that it is the time of separation, I cannot see the history of the evolution of this love. There was no cause or mediator in Our love save Our meeting itself and the visionary exchange of feelings."

This exchange of feelings between Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī is very difficult to understand unless one is elevated to the platform of pure goodness. Such transcendental reciprocation is not even possible to understand from the platform of material goodness. One has to actually transcend material goodness in order to understand. This is because the exchange of feelings between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is not a subject matter of this material world. Even the greatest mental speculator cannot understand this, directly or indirectly. Material activities are manifested either for the gross body or the subtle mind, but this exchange of feelings between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is beyond such manifestations and beyond intellectual mental speculation. It can only be understood by purified senses freed from all the designations of the material world. Those who have purified senses can understand these transcendental features and exchanges, but those who are impersonalists and who have no knowledge of spiritual senses can only discriminate within the scope of the material senses and thus cannot understand spiritual exchanges or spiritual-sensual activities. Those who are elevated by virtue of experimental knowledge can only satisfy their blunt material senses either by gross bodily activities or by mental speculation. Everything generated from the body or the mind is always imperfect and perishable, but transcendental spiritual activities are always bright and wonderful. Pure love on the transcendental platform is the paragon of purity devoid of material affection and completely spiritual. Affection for matter is perishable, as indicated by the inebriety of sex in the material world, but there is no such inebriety in the spiritual world. Hindrances on the path of sense satisfaction cause material distress, but one cannot compare that with spiritual separation. In spiritual separation there is neither inebriety nor ineffectiveness, as one finds with material separation.

Lord Caitanya admitted that this is the highest position of transcendental loving reciprocation, and He told Rāmānanda Rāya, "By your grace only have I been able to understand such a high transcendental position. Such a position cannot be attained without the performance of transcendental activities. So will you kindly explain to Me how I can raise Myself to this platform?"

"It is similarly difficult for me to make You understand," Rāmānanda replied. "As far as I am concerned, I can only speak what You wish me to. No one can escape Your supreme will. Indeed, there is no one in the world who can surpass Your supreme will, and although I appear to be speaking, I am actually not the speaker. You are speaking. Therefore You are both the speaker and the audience. Thus let me speak only as You will me to speak about the performance required to attain this highest transcendental position."

Rāmānanda Rāya then began to relate the confidential and transcendental activities of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. These activities cannot be understood in the emotional relationship with the Supreme Lord as master and servant, friend and friend or parent and son. This confidential subject matter can be understood only in the association of the damsels of Vraja, for the confidential activities have arisen from the feelings and emotions of those damsels. Without the association of the damsels of Vraja, one cannot nourish or cherish such transcendental understanding. In other words, these confidential pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa have expanded through the mercy of the damsels. Without their mercy, they cannot be understood. One has to follow in the footsteps of the damsels of Vraja in order to understand.

When one is actually situated in that understanding, he becomes eligible to enter into the confidential pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. There is no alternative to understand Their confidential pastimes. This is confirmed in Govinda-līlāmṛta (10.17): "Although manifest, happy, expanded and unlimited, the emotional exchanges between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa can only be understood by the damsels of Vraja or by their followers." Just as no one can understand the expansion of the spiritual energy of the Supreme Lord without His causeless mercy, no one can understand the transcendental sex life between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa without following in the footsteps of the damsels of Vraja. The personal associates of Rādhārāṇī are called sakhīs, and Her near assistants are called mañjarīs. It is very difficult to express their dealings with Kṛṣṇa because they have no desire to mix with Kṛṣṇa or to enjoy Him personally. Rather, they are always ready to help Rādhārāṇī associate with Kṛṣṇa. Their affection for Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī is so pure that they are simply satisfied when Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are together. Indeed, their transcendental pleasure is in seeing Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa united. The actual form of Rādhārāṇī is just like a creeper embracing the tree of Kṛṣṇa, and the damsels of Vraja, the associates of Rādhārāṇī, are just like the leaves and flowers of that creeper. When a creeper embraces a tree, the leaves and flowers as well as the creeper automatically embrace it. Govinda-līlāmṛta (10.16) confirms that Rādhārāṇī is the expansion of the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa and is compared with a creeper, and Her associates, the damsels of Vraja, are compared to the flowers and leaves of that creeper. When Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa enjoy Themselves, the damsels of Vraja relish the pleasure more than Rādhārāṇī Herself.

Although the associates of Rādhārāṇī do not expect any personal attention from Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī is so pleased with them that She arranges individual meetings between Kṛṣṇa and the damsels of Vraja. Indeed, Rādhārāṇī tries to combine or unite Her associates with Kṛṣṇa by many transcendental maneuvers, and She takes more pleasure in these meetings than in Her own meetings with Him. When Kṛṣṇa sees that both Rādhārāṇī and Her associates are pleased by His association, He becomes more satisfied. Such association and loving reciprocation have nothing to do with material lust, although it resembles the material union between man and woman. It is only because that similarity is there that such reciprocation is sometimes called, in transcendental language, transcendental lust. As explained in Gautamīya-tantra (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.285): "Lust means attachment to one's personal sense gratification. But as far as Rādhārāṇī and Her associates are concerned, they did not desire personal sense gratification. They only wanted to satisfy Kṛṣṇa." This is further confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 10.31.19|SB 10.31.19]]) in one of the speeches of the gopīs:

<div class="quote_verse">
:yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṁ staneṣu
:bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu
:tenātavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṁ svit
:kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṁ naḥ
</div>

"My dear friend Kṛṣṇa, You are now roaming in the forest with Your bare feet, which You sometimes keep on our breasts. When Your feet are on our breasts, we think that our breasts are too hard for Your soft feet. Now You are wandering in the forest and walking over stones, and we do not know how You are feeling. Since You are our life and soul, the displeasure You undergo in traveling over rough stones is giving us great distress." Such feelings expressed by the damsels of Vraja constitute the highest Kṛṣṇa conscious emotions. Anyone who actually becomes captivated by Kṛṣṇa consciousness approaches this level of the gopīs. There are sixty-four categories of devotional service by performance of which one can rise to the gopīs' stage of unconditional devotion. Affection for Kṛṣṇa on the level of the gopīs is called rāgānuga, spontaneous love. When one enters into a spontaneous loving affair with Kṛṣṇa, there is no need to follow the Vedic rules and regulations.

There are various kinds of personal devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the transcendental abode. For example, there are servants of Kṛṣṇa like Raktaka and Patraka and friends of Kṛṣṇa just like Śrīdāmā and Sudāmā. There are also parents of Kṛṣṇa, just like Nanda and Yaśodā, who are also engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa according to their respective transcendental emotions. One who desires to enter into the supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa can take shelter of one of such transcendental servitors. Then, through the execution of loving service, one can attain transcendental affection for Kṛṣṇa. In other words, the devotee in this material world who executes loving service in pursuance of the activities of those eternal associates with Kṛṣṇa also attains the same post when he is perfected.

The sages mentioned in the Upaniṣads and in śruti also desire the post of the gopīs, and they also follow in the footsteps of the gopīs in order to attain that highest goal of life. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 10.87.23|SB 10.87.23]]) when it is said that the sages practice prāṇāyāma (trance) by controlling the breathing process, mind and senses through the mystic yoga practice. Thus they try to merge into the Supreme Brahman. This same goal is attained by atheists who deny the existence of God. If such atheists are killed by an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they also merge into the Brahman existence of the Supreme Lord. However, when the damsels of Vṛndāvana worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa, it is as though they have been bitten by a snake, for Kṛṣṇa's body is compared with the body of a snake. A snake's body is never straight; it is always curling. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa often stands in a three curved posture, and He has bitten the gopīs with transcendental love. The gopīs are certainly better situated than all mystic yogīs and others who desire to merge into the Supreme Brahman. The sages of Daṇḍakāraṇya also follow in the footsteps of the damsels of Vraja in order to attain a similar position. One cannot attain that position simply by following the regulative principles. Rather, one must seriously follow the principles of the gopīs. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 10.9.21|SB 10.9.21]]) wherein it is stated that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Śrīmatī Yaśodā, is not easily available to those following the principles of mental speculation but is easily available to all kinds of living beings who follow the path of devotional service.

There are many pseudo-devotees, claiming to belong to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's sect, who artificially dress themselves as the damsels of Vraja, and this is not approved by advanced spiritualists or advanced students of devotional service. Such people dress the outward material body because they foolishly confuse the body with the soul. They are mistaken when they think that the spiritual bodies of Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī and Their associates, the damsels of Vraja, are composed of material nature. One should know perfectly well that all such manifestations are expansions of eternal bliss and knowledge in the transcendental world. They have nothing to do with these material bodies; thus the bodies, dresses, decorations and activities of the damsels of Vṛndāvana are not of this material cosmic manifestation. The damsels of Vṛndāvana are not a subject for the attraction of those in the material world; they are transcendental attractions for the all-attractive Kṛṣṇa. Because the Lord is all-attractive, He is called Kṛṣṇa, but the damsels of Vṛndāvana are attractive even to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they are not of this material world.

If one wrongly thinks that the material body is as perfect as the spiritual body and begins to imitate the damsels of Vṛndāvana, he becomes infested with the Māyāvādī impersonal philosophy. The impersonalists recommend a process of ahaṁ grahopāsanā by which one worships his own body as the Supreme. Thinking in this way, such pseudo-transcendentalists dress themselves as the damsels of Vraja. Such activities are not acceptable in devotional service. Even Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the most authoritative ācārya in the Gauḍīya sampradāya, has condemned these imitators. The process of transcendental realization is to follow in the footsteps of the associates of the Supreme Lord; therefore if one thinks himself to be a direct associate of the Supreme Lord, he is condemned. According to authorized Vaiṣṇava principles, one should follow a particular devotee, and not think of himself as Kṛṣṇa's associate.

In this way Rāmānanda Rāya explained that one should accept the mood of the damsels of Vraja. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is clearly said that one should accept the emotional activities and not imitate the dress of the associates of Kṛṣṇa. One should also always meditate upon the affairs between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in the transcendental world. One should think of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day and eternally engage in Their service. One need not externally change his dress. By following the mood of the associates and friends of Rādhārāṇī, one can ultimately achieve the perfectional stage and be transferred to Goloka Vṛndāvana, the transcendental abode of Kṛṣṇa.

The mood of the gopīs' emotional pursuit is called siddha-deha. This word indicates the pure spiritual body which is beyond the senses, mind and intelligence. Siddha-deha is the purified soul who is just suitable to serve the Supreme Lord. No one can serve the Supreme Lord as His associate without being situated in his pure spiritual identity. That identity is completely free from all material contamination. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, a materially contaminated person transmigrates to another material body by material consciousness. At the time of death he thinks materially and is therefore transferred into another material body. Similarly, when one is situated in his pure spiritual identity and thinks of the spiritual loving service rendered to the Supreme Lord, he is transferred to the spiritual kingdom to enter into the association of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, by attaining one's spiritual identity and thinking of Kṛṣṇa's associates, one can become qualified to transfer to the spiritual kingdom. No one can contemplate or think of the activities of the spiritual kingdom without being situated in his pure, spiritual identity (siddha). Thus Rāmānanda Rāya said that without attaining siddha-deha, one can neither become an associate of the damsels nor render service directly to the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and His eternal consort Rādhārāṇī. In this regard, Rāmānanda quoted Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 10.47.60|SB 10.47.60]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:nāyaṁ śriyo 'ṅga u nitāntarateḥ prasādaḥ
:svar-yoṣitāṁ nalina-gandha-rucāṁ kuto 'nyāḥ
:rāsotsave 'sya bhujadaṇḍa-gṛhīta-kaṇṭha-
:labdhāśiṣāṁ ya udagād vraja-vallavīnām
</div>

"Neither the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, nor even the damsels of the heavenly kingdom can attain the facilities of the damsels of Vrajabhūmi—and what to speak of others."

Lord Caitanya was very satisfied to hear these statements from Rāmānanda Rāya, and He embraced him. Then both of them began to cry in the ecstasy of transcendental realization. Thus the Lord and Rāmānanda Rāya discussed the transcendental pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa throughout the night, and in the morning they separated. Rāmānanda left to go to his place, and the Lord went to take His bath.

At the time of separation, Rāmānanda fell at the feet of Lord Caitanya and prayed: "My dear Lord, You have come just to deliver me from this mire of nescience. Therefore I request that You remain here for at least ten days to purify my mind of this material contamination. There is no one else who can deliver such transcendental love of God."

"I have come to you to purify Myself by hearing from you the transcendental pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa," the Lord replied. "I am so fortunate, for you are the only teacher of such transcendental pastimes. I can find no one else in the world who can realize the transcendental loving reciprocation between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. You are asking Me to stay here for ten days, but I feel like remaining with you for the rest of My life. Please come to Jagannātha Purī, My headquarters, and we will remain together for the rest of our lives. Thus I can pass My remaining days in understanding Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā by your association."

Śrīman Rāmānanda Rāya came again to see the Lord the next evening, and there were further discourses on this transcendental subject matter.

"What is the highest standard of education?" Lord Caitanya began His inquiry, and Rāmānanda Rāya immediately replied that the highest standard of education is knowledge of the science of Kṛṣṇa. The standard of material education is sense gratification, but the highest standard of spiritual education is knowledge of the science of Kṛṣṇa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 4.29.50|SB 4.29.50]]) it is stated that that work which pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest work, and that science or knowledge which places one in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest knowledge. Similarly, Prahlāda Mahārāja, while instructing his childhood friends at school, also stated that hearing of the Lord, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying, serving, making friends with Kṛṣṇa, and offering everything to Him constituted the highest spiritual knowledge.

"And what is the greatest reputation one can have?" Lord Caitanya asked Rāmānanda Rāya, and Rāmānanda immediately replied that a person reputed to be Kṛṣṇa conscious should be considered the most famous man in the world.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Narada Muni continued: All the sons of the demons appreciated the transcendental instructions of Prahlada Maharaja and took them very seriously. They rejected the materialistic instructions given by their teachers, Sanda and Amarka

2024-07-04T06:58:54Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Narada Muni continued: All the sons of the demons appreciated the transcendental instructions of Prahlada Maharaja and took them very seriously. They rejected the materialistic instructions given by their teachers, Sanda and Amarka"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2018-09-14T06:44:51Z}}
{{last|2018-09-14T06:44:51Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Narada Says]]
[[Category:Continue]]
[[Category:Son Of...]]
[[Category:Demons]]
[[Category:Appreciation]]
[[Category:Transcendental]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Take]]
[[Category:Very Seriously]]
[[Category:Rejection]]
[[Category:Materialistic]]
[[Category:Given By]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Teachers]]
[[Category:Sanda]]
[[Category:Amarka]]
[[Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Narada Muni - Vaniquotes]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 08 - Lord Nrsimhadeva Slays the King of the Demons]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 01 to 09 - All Verse Translations]]
</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">
Narada Muni continued: All the sons of the demons appreciated the transcendental instructions of Prahlada Maharaja and took them very seriously. They rejected the materialistic instructions given by their teachers, Sanda and Amarka.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.8.1|SB 7.8.1, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Narada Muni continued: All the sons of the demons appreciated the transcendental instructions of Prahlada Maharaja and took them very seriously. They rejected the materialistic instructions given by their teachers, Sanda and Amarka.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

This is the effect of the preaching of a pure devotee like Prahlāda Mahārāja. If a devotee is qualified, sincere and serious about Kṛṣṇa consciousness and if he follows the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master, as Prahlāda Mahārāja did when preaching the instructions he had received from Nārada Muni, his preaching is effective. As it is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 3.25.25|SB 3.25.25]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido
:bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ
</div>

If one tries to understand the discourses given by the sat, or pure devotees, those instructions will be very pleasing to the ear and appealing to the heart. Thus if one is inspired to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and if one practices the process in his life, he is surely successful in returning home, back to Godhead. By the grace of Prahlāda Mahārāja, all his class friends, the sons of the demons, became Vaiṣṇavas. They did not like hearing from their so-called teachers Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, who were interested only in teaching them about diplomacy, politics, economic development and similar topics meant exclusively for sense gratification.

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

It is the instruction of Prahlada Maharaja also that if one is seeking peace of mind he should free himself from all contamination of family life and take shelter of the Supreme Godhead by going to the forest

2024-07-04T06:49:14Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"It is the instruction of Prahlada Maharaja also that if one is seeking peace of mind he should free himself from all contamination of family life and take shelter of the Supreme Godhead by going to the forest"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Serene}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|18May13}}
{{last|18May13}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:That If]]
[[Category:One Is]]
[[Category:Seek]]
[[Category:Peace of Mind]]
[[Category:One Should]]
[[Category:Free From...]]
[[Category:Himself]]
[[Category:Contamination]]
[[Category:Family Life]]
[[Category:Taking Shelter of God]]
[[Category:Supreme God]]
[[Category:Go To the Forest]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 08 Purports - Dhruva Maharaja Leaves Home for the Forest]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 04 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_4" class="sub_section" sec_index="4" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 4"><h3>SB Canto 4</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB4824_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_4" book="SB" index="312" link="SB 4.8.24" link_text="SB 4.8.24">
<div class="heading">It is the instruction of Prahlāda Mahārāja also that if one is seeking peace of mind he should free himself from all contamination of family life and take shelter of the Supreme Godhead by going to the forest.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 4.8.24|SB 4.8.24, Translation and Purport]]:
</span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">The great sage Maitreya continued: The instruction of Dhruva Mahārāja's mother, Sunīti, was actually meant for fulfilling his desired objective. Therefore, after deliberate consideration and with intelligence and fixed determination, he left his father's house.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>Both the mother and the son were lamenting Dhruva Mahārāja's having been insulted by his stepmother and his father's not having taken any step on this issue. But mere lamentation is useless—one should find out the means to mitigate one's lamentation. Thus both mother and son decided to take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord because that is the only solution to all material problems. It is indicated in this connection that Dhruva Mahārāja left his father's capital city to go to a secluded place to search out the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the instruction of Prahlāda Mahārāja also that if one is seeking peace of mind he should free himself from all contamination of family life and take shelter of the Supreme Godhead by going to the forest. To the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava this forest is the forest of Vṛndā, or Vṛndāvana. If one takes shelter of Vṛndāvana under Vṛndāvaneśvarī, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, certainly all the problems of his life are solved very easily.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Although Prahlada was only five years old, by advancement in knowledge he was imparting perfect instructions to his classmates. Some may find these instructions unpalatable

2024-07-04T06:26:38Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"although Prahlāda was only five years old, by advancement in knowledge he was imparting perfect instructions to his classmates. Some may find these instructions unpalatable"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nabakumar}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-03-22T03:07:55Z}}
{{last|2022-03-22T03:07:55Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Although]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Instructions]]
[[Category:Only]]
[[Category:Five Years Old]]
[[Category:Advanced in Knowledge]]
[[Category:Impart]]
[[Category:Perfect Instruction]]
[[Category:Instructions of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Class]]
[[Category:Some]]
[[Category:May (Might)]]
[[Category:Find]]
[[Category:These]]
[[Category:Unpalatable]]
[[Category:Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja Chapters 01 to 06]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Transcendental Teachings of Prahlāda Mahārāja</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
So although Prahlāda was only five years old, by advancement in knowledge he was imparting perfect instructions to his classmates. Some may find these instructions unpalatable. Suppose a man is already married and Prahlāda says, "Take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness." He will think, "Oh, how can I leave my wife? We talk so nicely together, sit together and enjoy. How can I leave?" Family attraction is very strong.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:TTP 3 Family Illusion|Transcendental Teachings of Prahlāda Mahārāja, 3]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Prahlāda Mahārāja told his friends, "You have to begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness immediately." All the boys were born of atheistic, materialistic families, but fortunately they had the association of Prahlāda, who was a great devotee of the Lord from his birth. Whenever he found an opportunity, when the teacher was out of the classroom, he used to say, "My dear friends, let's chant Hare Kṛṣṇa; this is the time to begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness."

Now, as we have stated, some boy might have said, "But we are just boys. Let us play. We are not going to die immediately. Let us have some enjoyment, and later we shall begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness." People do not know that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest enjoyment. They think that the boys and girls who have joined this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are foolish. "By Prabhupāda's influence they have joined Kṛṣṇa consciousness and left everything enjoyable." But actually this is not so. They are all intelligent, educated boys and girls, coming from very respectable families; they are not fools. In our Society they are actually enjoying life; otherwise they would not have sacrificed their valuable time for this movement.

Actually there is joyful life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but people do not know of it. They say, "What use is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" When one grows up entangled in the sense gratification process, it is very difficult to get out of it. Therefore, according to Vedic regulations, in student life, beginning from five years of age, boys are taught about spiritual life. That is called brahmacarya. A brahmacārī dedicates his life to attaining supreme consciousness - Kṛṣṇa consciousness or Brahman consciousness.

Brahmacarya has many rules and regulations. For example, however rich one's father may be, the brahmacārī surrenders himself to be trained under the guidance of a spiritual master and works in the ashram of the spiritual master just like a menial servant. How is this possible? We are getting actual experience that very nice boys coming from very respectable families do not hesitate to do any kind of work here. They are washing dishes, cleansing floors - everything. One student's mother was astonished at her boy when he visited home. Before, he would not even go to the store, and now he is engaged twenty-four hours a day. Unless one feels pleasure, how is it possible that he can engage himself in such a process as Kṛṣṇa consciousness? This is due only to the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is our single asset - the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. One can be very jolly simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually, it is a joyful life. But unless one is trained, one cannot live it.

Prahlāda Mahārāja says that everyone is attached to family affection. If one is attached to family affairs, he cannot control his senses. Naturally, everyone wants to love someone. Society, friendship, and love are needed. They are demands of the spirit soul, but they are being pervertedly reflected. I have seen that many ladies and gentlemen in your country have no family life, but they have placed their love in cats and dogs. Because they want to love someone but do not see anyone suitable, they place their valuable love in cats and dogs. Our concern is to transfer this love - which has to be placed somewhere - to Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you transfer your love to Kṛṣṇa, that is perfection. But now, because people are being frustrated and cheated, they do not know where to place their love, and at last they place their love in cats and dogs.

Everyone is entangled by material love. It is very difficult to develop spiritual life when one is advanced in material love, because this bondage of love is very strong. Therefore Prahlāda proposes that one should learn Kṛṣṇa consciousness from childhood. When a child is five or six years old - as soon as his consciousness is developed - he should be sent to school to be trained, and Prahlāda Mahārāja says that his education should be Kṛṣṇa conscious from the very beginning. The period from five to fifteen years is a very valuable time; you can train any child in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he will become perfect.

If a child is not trained in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and instead becomes advanced in materialism, it is difficult for him to develop spiritual life. What is materialism? Materialism means that all of us in this material world, although we are spirit souls, somehow or other want to enjoy this material world. The spirit of enjoyment is present in its pure form in the spiritual world, in relation to Kṛṣṇa, but we have come here to partake of contaminated enjoyment, just as a man on the Bowery thinks he can enjoy by drinking some liquor. The basic principle of material enjoyment is sex. Therefore, you will find sex not only in human society but in cat society, dog society, bird society - everywhere. During the daytime, a pigeon has sex at least twenty times. This is his enjoyment.

The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam confirms that material enjoyment is based upon nothing more than the sexual combination of man and woman. In the beginning a boy thinks, "Oh, that girl is nice," and the girl says, "That boy is nice." When they meet, that material contamination becomes more prominent. And when they actually enjoy sex, they become more attached, completely attached. How? As soon as a boy and girl are married, they want an apartment. Then they have children. And when they have children, they want social recognition - society, friendship, and love. In this way their material attachment goes on increasing. And all of this requires money. A man who is too materialistic will cheat anyone, kill anyone, beg, borrow, or steal - anything to bring money. He knows that his buildings, his family, his wife and children cannot continue to exist perpetually. They are just like bubbles in the ocean: they have come into existence, and after a little while they will be gone. But he is too much attached. He will sacrifice his spiritual advancement for the pursuit of money to maintain them. His perverted consciousness - "I am this body. I belong to this material world. I belong to this country. I belong to this community. I belong to this religion. I belong to this family." - becomes greater and greater.

Where is his Kṛṣṇa consciousness? He becomes so entangled that money becomes more valuable to him than his own life. In other words, he can risk his life for money. The householder, the laborer, the merchant, the thief, the dacoit, the rogue - everyone is after money. This is illusion. One loses himself in the midst of this entanglement.

Prahlāda Mahārāja says that in this state, when you are too much implicated in materialism, you cannot cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore one should practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness from early childhood. Of course, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so kind that He says, "Better late than never. Even though you missed the opportunity to begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness from childhood, begin now, in whatever position you are." That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. He never said, "Because you did not begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness from your childhood, you cannot make progress." No. He is very kind. He has given us this nice process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Whether you are young or old - no matter what you are - just begin. You do not know when your life will be finished. If you chant sincerely, even for a moment, it will have great effect. It will save you from the greatest danger - becoming an animal in your next life.

Although only five years old, Prahlāda Mahārāja speaks just like a very experienced and educated man because he received knowledge from his spiritual master, Nārada Muni. That is disclosed in the next chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.7). Wisdom does not depend on age, but on knowledge received from a superior source. One cannot become a wise man simply by advancement of age. No. That is not possible. Knowledge has to be received from a superior source; then one can become wise. It doesn't matter whether one is a five-year-old boy or a fifty-year-old man. As it is said, "By wisdom one becomes an old man, even without advanced age."

So although Prahlāda was only five years old, by advancement in knowledge he was imparting perfect instructions to his classmates. Some may find these instructions unpalatable. Suppose a man is already married and Prahlāda says, "Take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness." He will think, "Oh, how can I leave my wife? We talk so nicely together, sit together and enjoy. How can I leave?" Family attraction is very strong.

I am an old man - seventy-two years old. I have been away from my family during the last fourteen years. Yet sometimes I also think of my wife and children. This is quite natural. But that does not mean I have to go back. This is knowledge. When the mind wanders to thoughts of sense gratification, one should at once understand, "This is illusion."

According to the Vedic system, one has to forcibly give up family life at the age of fifty. One must go. There is no alternative. The first twenty-five years are for student life. From age five to age twenty-five, one should be educated very nicely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The basic principle of one's education should be Kṛṣṇa consciousness, nothing else. Then life will be pleasing and successful, both in this world and in the next. A Kṛṣṇa conscious education means one is trained to give up material consciousness altogether. That is perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

But if the student is unable to capture the essence of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he is allowed to marry a good wife and live a peaceful householder life. And because he has been trained in the basic principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he will not entangle himself in the material world. One who lives simply - plain living and high thinking - can make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness even within family life.

So family life is not condemned. But if a man forgets his spiritual identity and simply becomes entangled in material affairs, then he is lost. His life's mission is lost. If one thinks, "I cannot protect myself from the attack of sex desire," then let him be married. That is prescribed. But don't have illicit sex. If you want a girl, if you want a boy, get married and live in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

A person who is trained in Kṛṣṇa consciousness from childhood naturally becomes disinclined toward the material way of life, and at the age of fifty he gives it up. How does he start giving it up? The husband and wife leave home and travel together on pilgrimage. If from twenty-five to fifty one remains in family life, one should have some grown-up children. So at age fifty the husband entrusts the family affairs to some of his sons who are family men, and he and his wife go on pilgrimage to the holy places in order to forget family attachments. When the gentleman is completely matured in detachment, he asks his wife to go home to their children, and he remains alone. That is the Vedic system. We have to give ourselves a chance to progress in spiritual life, step by step. Otherwise, if we remain attached to material consciousness throughout all our days, we will not perfect our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and we shall miss the opportunity of this human form of life.

So-called happy family life means that we have a very loving wife and loving children. Thus we enjoy life. But we do not know that this enjoyment is false, that it is resting on a false platform. At once, in the twinkling of an eye, we may have to give up this enjoyment. Death is not under our control. From the Bhagavad-gītā we learn that if one dies while too much attached to one's wife, the result will be that in his next life he will have the body of a woman. And if the wife is very attached to her husband, she will get a man's body in her next life. Similarly, if you are not a family man but are attached to a cat or dog, then your next life will be as a cat or dog. These are the laws of karma, or material nature.

The whole point is that one should begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness immediately. Suppose one thinks, "After finishing my sporting life, when I am old and there is nothing else to do, then I shall go to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness Society and hear something." Certainly at that time one can take up spiritual life, but what is the assurance that one will live to an old age? One may die at any time; so postponing one's spiritual life is very risky. Therefore one should take the opportunity now to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the purpose of this Society: to give everyone a chance to begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness at any stage of life. And by the process of chanting

<div class="quote_verse">
:Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
:Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
</div>

advancement is very quick. There is an immediate result.

We request all the ladies and gentlemen who are very kindly attending our lectures or reading our literature to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa during your leisure hours at home, and to read our books. That is our request. We are sure that you will find this process very pleasing and very effective.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja was a pure devotee. Therefore he does not make any business with God that, "I offer You my prayer to take something from You." We shall discuss these prayers of Prahlada Maharaja one after another

2024-07-03T17:40:58Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlada Maharaja was a pure devotee. Therefore he does not make any business with God that"|"I offer You my prayer to take something from You"|"We shall discuss these prayers of Prahlada Maharaja one after another"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2023-03-09T06:41:41Z}}
{{last|2023-03-09T06:41:41Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Was a Pure Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Therefore]]
[[Category:Does Not Matter]]
[[Category:Business with God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:Take]]
[[Category:Something]]
[[Category:We Shall (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Discuss]]
[[Category:These]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:One after Another]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
</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">
Prahlāda Mahārāja was a pure devotee. Therefore he does not make any business with God that, "I offer You my prayer to take something from You." We shall discuss these prayers of Prahlāda Mahārāja one after another, and in none of the paragraph you will find that Prahlāda Mahārāja is asking something, "Give me this for my sense gratification." No. This is the sign of pure devotion.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:680820 - Lecture SB 07.09.12-13 - Montreal|680820 - Lecture SB 07.09.12-13 - Montreal]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Suppose I am a poor man, and if a rich man says: "Swāmījī, whatever millions of dollars you want, you can ask from me," then I shall put my claim—a big, very big amount, "Oh, here is a great opportunity." But Prahlāda Mahārāja refused. Prahlāda Mahārāja said: "My dear Lord, it is my duty to render service unto You not in exchange of something, gain. Oh, I am not a merchant that I am doing this." Vanik-vṛtti. So the Lord was very satisfied.

That is the way of pure devotion. That was taught by Lord Caitanya. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye (CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4): "My dear Lord, I do not ask from You any amount of wealth," na dhanaṁ na janam, "neither any number of followers." Because every one of us, we want to be the richest man in the world, the greatest leader of the world, and to have a very beautiful wife . . . this is our heart's desire in the material world, to control over a vast mass of people—I want to be prime minister, president or political leader, Hitler or Gandhi, like that—and to amass vast amount . . . amounts of wealth.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "No, no, no. I don't want all these things." This is prayer. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye. "Then what for You have come to Me?" Mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: "My dear Lord, I pray that birth after birth I may have unconditional, causeless devotion unto You."

Not devotion for some purpose. That is not pure devotee. If you have got some purpose to . . . that is, of course, accepted in the Bhagavad-gītā, that if anyone goes to Lord to pray something with purpose, that is also good. But that is not pure. Pure devotee never asks anything from the Lord. That is pure devotion.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja was a pure devotee. Therefore he does not make any business with God that, "I offer You my prayer to take something from You." We shall discuss these prayers of Prahlāda Mahārāja one after another, and in none of the paragraph you will find that Prahlāda Mahārāja is asking something, "Give me this for my sense gratification." No. This is the sign of pure devotion.

So he says, mahi gṛṇāmi, "I shall simply . . ." You can pray. Anyone can pray. It does not require any education. If you simply feel, "Oh, God is so great. Oh, He has created the sun. He has created this moon. Oh, He has created this ocean. He has created this air. He has created so many fruits, so many flowers." Go on. You don't require any education. Simply try to understand how great God is.

There is no other education required. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 7.8 (1972)|BG 7.8]]). He says that "I am the taste in the water." Who does not take water? Water is our life. So when you take water, quench your thirst, you can immediately thank God, because that taste is God. So immediately you can remember, "O my dear Lord, You have created so nice thing, water. Oh, I am so thirsty. It is quenching my thirst. Thank You." Is it very difficult?

But the nonsense, they will not do even this. They'll say: "Oh, God is dead." Therefore we are suffering. We are so ungrateful that we even do not give thanks. In the ordinary way, if somebody gives me a glass of water when I am thirsty—it is etiquette—I say, "Thank you." And the God has given us so vast mass of water in the ocean, in the sea, in the sky—without water we cannot live—there is no thanksgiving.

There is no thanksgiving. Rather, we say: "God is dead." There are so much profuse light. For this electric light you are paying bill to the electric company; and God is supplying so much light, in the night as moon, in the daytime as sun. Prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 7.8 (1972)|BG 7.8]]). Śaśi means moon, and sūrya means sun. So He is supplying so much light, everything, whatever we require, and there is no thanksgiving.

So only one has to become grateful. Prahlāda Mahārāja says that, "I don't require to be very educated or a learned scholar in Sanskrit or any other language, and very poetic so that I have to offer my prayers in a beautiful language and God may be pleased by the poetic idea." Just like some mundane poet thinks that they imagine some poetic ideas, and thereby God is pleased. No. Bhaktyā tutoṣa bhagavān gaja-yūtha-pāya ([[Vanisource:SB 7.9.9|SB 7.9.9]]): "The God can be pleased only by the feelings of your love." That is required.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja is submitting that, "I do not require to be highly elevated to offer my prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Nobody requires any material acquisition to approach God. We have been discussing this point for the last few days

2024-07-03T17:30:30Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja is submitting that, "I do not require to be highly elevated to offer my prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Nobody requires any material acquisition to approach God. We have been discussing this point for the last few days"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2023-08-28T14:10:17.000Z}}
{{last|2023-08-28T14:10:17.000Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Submitting to God]]
[[Category:Do Not]]
[[Category:Not Require]]
[[Category:Highly]]
[[Category:Elevated]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:God Is The Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:Nobody]]
[[Category:Material Acquisitions]]
[[Category:Approaching God]]
[[Category:We Have (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Have Been]]
[[Category:Discussing this Point]]
[[Category:Last]]
[[Category:Few Days]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SOHAM]]
</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">
Prahlāda Mahārāja is submitting that, "I do not require to be highly elevated to offer my prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Nobody requires any material acquisition to approach God. We have been discussing this point for the last few days. Simply bhaktyā tutoṣa gaja-yūtha-pāya (SB 7.9.9). Even an elephant or any other animal can also satisfy the Lord. How? Bhaktyā, simply by feelings of love, that's all. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, he is offering his prayers to the Lord, haha prabhu nanda-suta, vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta (Iṣṭa-deve Vijṣapti 4): "My dear Lord, the son of King Nanda . . ." Kṛṣṇa's foster father's name was Nanda Mahārāja. So He is very much pleased when He is addressed as "the son of Nanda.".
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:680820 - Lecture SB 07.09.12-13 - Montreal|680820 - Lecture SB 07.09.12-13 - Montreal]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Prahlāda Mahārāja is submitting that, "I do not require to be highly elevated to offer my prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Nobody requires any material acquisition to approach God. We have been discussing this point for the last few days. Simply bhaktyā tutoṣa gaja-yūtha-pāya ([[Vanisource:SB 7.9.9|SB 7.9.9]]). Even an elephant or any other animal can also satisfy the Lord. How? Bhaktyā, simply by feelings of love, that's all. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, he is offering his prayers to the Lord, haha prabhu nanda-suta, vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta (Iṣṭa-deve Vijṣapti 4): "My dear Lord, the son of King Nanda . . ." Kṛṣṇa's foster father's name was Nanda Mahārāja. So He is very much pleased when He is addressed as "the son of Nanda."

(break) He is the original person. He has no father. But He accepts His devotee as His father. He accepts His devotee as mother. He is full in Himself, but still, He awaits the affection of father and mother. This is the beauty of Kṛṣṇa. So He takes pleasure when He is addressed as Nanda-suta, as Rādhā-ramana, like that.

So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura is addressing, "My dear Lord, the son of Nanda," and vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta, "and present with the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu . . ." Rādhārāṇī's father was Vṛṣabhānu. He was also a king. So Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā is combined, and the devotees addressing, "My dear son of Nanda, You are now united with the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu." Karunā karaha ei bāra: "Now You bestow Your mercy upon this fallen soul." Narottama dāsa kahe.

This prayer is offered by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. He is saying for himself, "My dear Lord, don't kick me away." Narottama dāsa kahe, nā ṭheliho rāṅgā pāya: "Don't kick me away. Accept me in the service of Your lotus feet." Tomā bina ke āche āmāra: "I have no other shelter than Yourself."
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nrsimhadeva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice

2024-07-03T17:27:30Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlada Maharaja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nrsimhadeva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2018-09-17T15:12:28Z}}
{{last|2018-09-17T15:12:28Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:God and Prahlada]]
[[Category:Fixing the Mind on God]]
[[Category:Sight of God]]
[[Category:Upon God]]
[[Category:God Is Lord Nrsimhadeva]]
[[Category:Full Attention]]
[[Category:Attention on God]]
[[Category:Complete]]
[[Category:Trance on God]]
[[Category:Began]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Love for God]]
[[Category:Faltering Voice]]
[[Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Narada Muni - Vaniquotes]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 09 - Prahlada Pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with Prayers]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 01 to 09 - All Verse Translations]]
</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">
Prahlada Maharaja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nrsimhadeva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.9.7|SB 7.9.7, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Prahlada Maharaja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nrsimhadeva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

The word susamāhitaḥ means "very attentive" or "fully fixed." The ability to fix the mind in this way is a result of yoga-siddhi, mystic perfection. As it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 12.13.1|SB 12.13.1]]), dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ. One attains yogic perfection when he is freed from all material diversions and his mind is fixed upon the lotus feet of the Lord. This is called samādhi or trance. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained that stage beyond the senses. Because he was engaged in service, he felt transcendentally situated, and naturally his mind and attention became saturated in transcendence. In that condition, he began to offer his prayers as follows.

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

Prahlada Maharaja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position

2024-07-03T17:26:14Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|vanisevadasa}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-30T20:59:04Z}}
{{last|2020-11-30T20:59:04Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Decide]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Without Consideration]]
[[Category:Material Position of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Position of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 09 Purports - Prahlada Pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with Prayers]]
[[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">
As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 18.55): "One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.9.12|SB 7.9.12, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Therefore, although I was born in a demoniac family, I may without a doubt offer prayers to the Lord with full endeavor, as far as my intelligence allows. Anyone who has been forced by ignorance to enter the material world may be purified of material life if he offers prayers to the Lord and hears the Lord's glories.
</div>
<div class="text">
It is clearly understood that a devotee does not need to be born in a very high family, to be rich, to be aristocratic or to be very beautiful. None of these qualifications will engage one in devotional service. With devotion one should feel, "God is great, and I am very small. Therefore my duty is to offer my prayers to the Lord." Only on this basis can one understand and render service to the Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 18.55 (1972)|BG 18.55]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
:yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
:tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
:viśate tad-anantaram
</div>

"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Maharaj Prahlada offers the following prayers to the Lord, "My dear Lord Nrsimha, if I can be elevated to the position of Your servant, then it will be possible for me to hear about Your activities"

2024-07-03T17:11:59Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"My dear Lord Nṛsiṁha, if I can be elevated to the position of Your servant, then it will be possible for me to hear about Your activities"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|HanumanIC}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2017-05-04T08:09:17Z}}
{{last|2017-05-04T08:09:17Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:God and Prahlada]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:My Dear God]]
[[Category:God Is Lord Nrsimhadeva]]
[[Category:Can Be]]
[[Category:God Elevates‏]]
[[Category:Position]]
[[Category:God's Servants]]
[[Category:Will Be]]
[[Category:Possible]]
[[Category:Hearing about God's Activities]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Hearing]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 09 - Further Considerations of Devotional Principles]]
[[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">
Mahārāj Prahlāda offers the following prayers to the Lord: "My dear Lord Nṛsiṁha, if I can be elevated to the position of Your servant, then it will be possible for me to hear about Your activities. You are the supreme friend, the supreme worshipable Deity. Your pastimes are transcendental, and simply by hearing of them one can counteract all his sinful activities.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:NOD 9 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 9]]
</div>
<div class="text">
In the Liṅga Purāṇa there is a statement about glorifying and singing about the Lord. It is said there: "A brāhmaṇa who is constantly engaged in singing the glories of the Lord is surely elevated to the same planet as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa appreciates this singing even more than the prayers offered by Lord Śiva."

When a person loudly chants the glories of the Lord's activities, qualities, form, etc., it is called saṅkīrtana. Saṅkīrtana also refers to the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

In the Viṣṇu-dharma there is a statement glorifying this process of congregational chanting: "My dear King, this word 'Kṛṣṇa' is so auspicious that anyone who chants this holy name immediately gets rid of the resultant actions of sinful activities from many, many births." That is a fact. There is the following statement in Caitanya-Caritāmṛta: "A person who chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa once can counteract the resultant actions of more sinful activities than he is able to perform." A sinful man can perform many, many sinful activities, but he is unable to perform so many that they cannot be wiped out by one single uttering of "Kṛṣṇa."

In the Seventh Canto, [[Vanisource:SB 7.9.18|9th Chapter, 17th verse]], of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Mahārāj Prahlāda offers the following prayers to the Lord: "My dear Lord Nṛsiṁha, if I can be elevated to the position of Your servant, then it will be possible for me to hear about Your activities. You are the supreme friend, the supreme worshipable Deity. Your pastimes are transcendental, and simply by hearing of them one can counteract all his sinful activities. Therefore, I shall not care for all those sinful activities because simply by hearing about Your pastimes I shall get out of all the contamination of material attachment."

There are many songs about the Lord's activities. For example, there is the Brahma-saṁhitā, sung by Lord Brahmā, Nārada-pañcarātra, sung by Nārada Muni, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sung by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. If these songs are heard by any person, he can easily get out of the clutches of material contamination. There should be no difficulty in hearing these songs of God. They are coming down from many, many millions of years ago, and people are still taking advantage of them. So why, at this time, should one not take full advantage and thus become liberated?

Glorifying the Lord's Transcendental Activities

In the [[Vanisource:SB 1.5.22|First Canto, 5th Chapter, 22nd verse]], of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nārada Muni tells his disciple, Vyāsadeva, "My dear Vyāsa, you should know that persons who are engaged in executing austerities and penances, studying the Vedas, performing big sacrifices, chanting the hymns of the Vedas, speculating on transcendental knowledge and performing charitable functions have for all their auspicious activities simply to gain a place in the association of devotees and to chant the glories of the Lord." It is indicated here that chanting and glorifying the Lord is the ultimate activity of the living entity.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Because he (Prahlada Maharaja) was engaged in service, he felt transcendentally situated, and naturally his mind and attention became saturated in transcendence. In that condition, he began to offer his prayers

2024-07-03T17:01:05Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Because he was engaged in service, he felt transcendentally situated, and naturally his mind and attention became saturated in transcendence. In that condition, he began to offer his prayers as follows"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|vanisevadasa}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-30T18:41:46Z}}
{{last|2020-11-30T18:41:46Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Because Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Engaging in God's Service]]
[[Category:Transcendentally Situated Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Naturally]]
[[Category:Mind of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Attention of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Saturated Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Transcendence]]
[[Category:Condition]]
[[Category:Began]]
[[Category:Devotees Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 09 Purports - Prahlada Pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with Prayers]]
[[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">
One attains yogic perfection when he is freed from all material diversions and his mind is fixed upon the lotus feet of the Lord. This is called samādhi or trance. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained that stage beyond the senses. Because he was engaged in service, he felt transcendentally situated, and naturally his mind and attention became saturated in transcendence. In that condition, he began to offer his prayers as follows.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.9.7|SB 7.9.7, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Prahlāda Mahārāja fixed his mind and sight upon Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with full attention in complete trance. With a fixed mind, he began to offer prayers in love with a faltering voice.
</div>
<div class="text">
The word susamāhitaḥ means "very attentive" or "fully fixed." The ability to fix the mind in this way is a result of yoga-siddhi, mystic perfection. As it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 12.13.1|SB 12.13.1]]), dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ. One attains yogic perfection when he is freed from all material diversions and his mind is fixed upon the lotus feet of the Lord. This is called samādhi or trance. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained that stage beyond the senses. Because he was engaged in service, he felt transcendentally situated, and naturally his mind and attention became saturated in transcendence. In that condition, he began to offer his prayers as follows.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nrsimha-deva as Prahlada Maharaja did in this verse

2024-07-03T16:56:00Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nrsimha-deva as Prahlada Maharaja did in this verse"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Mayapur}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|12May12}}
{{last|12May12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Any Devotee of God Aspiring To Be Free from Material Desire Should Offer Their Respectful Prayers to Nrsimha-deva]]
[[Category:Aspire]]
[[Category:Free From Material Desire]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Did]]
[[Category:In This]]
[[Category:Verses of the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
</div>
<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="SB_Canto_5" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 5"><h3>SB Canto 5</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB5188_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_5" book="SB" index="433" link="SB 5.18.8" link_text="SB 5.18.8">
<div class="heading">Materialistic persons always desire to make the body comfortable, and for this they require huge amounts of gold. Thus Hiraṇyakaśipu was the perfect representative of materialistic life. He was therefore the cause of great disturbance to the topmost devotee, Prahlāda Mahārāja, until Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva killed him. Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nṛsiṁha-deva as Prahlāda Mahārāja did in this verse.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 5.18.8|SB 5.18.8, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possess nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.22.39) Sanat-kumāra speaks the following words to Mahārāja Pṛthu:</p>
:yat-pāda-paṅkaja-palāśa-vilāsa-bhaktyā
:karmāśayaṁ grathitam udgrathayanti santaḥ
:tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo 'pi ruddha-
:srotogaṇās tam araṇaṁ bhaja vāsudevam
<p>"Devotees always engaged in the service of the toes of the Lord's lotus feet can very easily become free from hard-knotted desires for fruitive activities. Because this is very difficult, the nondevotees—the jñānīs and yogīs—cannot stop the waves of sense gratification, although they try to do so. Therefore you are advised to engage in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva."</p>
<p>Every living being within this material world has a strong desire to enjoy matter to his fullest satisfaction. For this purpose, the conditioned soul must accept one body after another, and thus his strongly fixed fruitive desires continue. One cannot stop the repetition of birth and death without being completely desireless. Therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes pure bhakti (devotional service) as follows:</p>
:anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
:jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
:ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
:śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
:([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.167|CC Madhya 19.167]])
<p>"One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." Unless one is completely freed of all material desires, which are caused by the dense darkness of ignorance, one cannot fully engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Therefore we should always offer our prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, who killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, the personification of material desire. Hiraṇya means "gold," and kaśipu means "a soft cushion or bed." Materialistic persons always desire to make the body comfortable, and for this they require huge amounts of gold. Thus Hiraṇyakaśipu was the perfect representative of materialistic life. He was therefore the cause of great disturbance to the topmost devotee, Prahlāda Mahārāja, until Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva killed him. Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nṛsiṁha-deva as Prahlāda Mahārāja did in this verse.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Although Prahlada Maharaja was a pure, exalted Vaisnava, he thought himself most unqualified to offer prayers to the Supreme Lord. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah (CC Madhya 17.186). Every pure Vaisnava should think like this

2024-07-03T16:52:12Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a pure, exalted Vaiṣṇava, he thought himself most unqualified to offer prayers to the Supreme Lord. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ"|"Every pure Vaiṣṇava should think like this"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|vanisevadasa}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-30T18:55:09Z}}
{{last|2020-11-30T18:55:09Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Although]]
[[Category:Pure Vaisnava - Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Maharaja is an Exalted Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Thinking]]
[[Category:Thoughts of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Himself]]
[[Category:Most]]
[[Category:Unqualified Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Devotees Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Supreme Lord]]
[[Category:Every]]
[[Category:Devotees of God Should]]
[[Category:Thinking of Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Like This]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 09 Purports - Prahlada Pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with Prayers]]
[[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">
He (Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami) considers himself unqualified, lower than the worms in stool, and more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi. A pure Vaiṣṇava actually thinks of himself in this way. Similarly, although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a pure, exalted Vaiṣṇava, he thought himself most unqualified to offer prayers to the Supreme Lord. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Every pure Vaiṣṇava should think like this. One should not be falsely proud of his Vaiṣṇava qualifications.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.9.8|SB 7.9.8, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Prahlāda Mahārāja prayed: How is it possible for me, who have been born in a family of asuras, to offer suitable prayers to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Even until now, all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, and all the saintly persons could not satisfy the Lord by streams of excellent words, although such persons are very qualified, being in the mode of goodness. Then what is to be said of me? I am not at all qualified.
</div>
<div class="text">
A Vaiṣṇava who is fully qualified to serve the Lord still thinks himself extremely low while offering prayers to the Lord. For example, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, says:

<div class="quote_verse">
:jagāi mādhāi haite muñi se pāpiṣṭha
:purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha
:([[Vanisource:CC Adi 5.205|CC Adi 5.205]])
</div>

Thus he considers himself unqualified, lower than the worms in stool, and more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi. A pure Vaiṣṇava actually thinks of himself in this way. Similarly, although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a pure, exalted Vaiṣṇava, he thought himself most unqualified to offer prayers to the Supreme Lord. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.186|CC Madhya 17.186]]). Every pure Vaiṣṇava should think like this. One should not be falsely proud of his Vaiṣṇava qualifications. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has therefore instructed us:

<div class="quote_verse">
:tṛṇād api sunīcena
:taror iva sahiṣṇunā
:amāninā mānadena
:kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
:([[Vanisource:CC Adi 17.31|CC Adi 17.31]])
</div>

"One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly." Unless one is meek and humble, to make progress in spiritual life is very difficult.
</div>
</div>
</div>

O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires

2024-07-03T16:33:54Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2018-09-21T06:27:07Z}}
{{last|2018-09-21T06:27:07Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Best Of All]]
[[Category:God Gives Benedictions]]
[[Category:God Wants]]
[[Category:God's Bestowing]]
[[Category:Desirable]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Praying to God]]
[[Category:From God]]
[[Category:Within the Heart]]
[[Category:Core of the Heart]]
[[Category:There Be]]
[[Category:No Material Desires]]
[[Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Prahlada Maharaja - Vaniquotes]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 10 - Prahlada, the Best Among Exalted Devotees]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 01 to 09 - All Verse Translations]]
</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">
O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.10.7|SB 7.10.7, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us how to pray for benedictions from the Lord. He said:

<div class="quote_verse">
:na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
:kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye
:mama janmani janmanīśvare
:bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi
:([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.29|CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]])
</div>

"O my Lord, I do not want from You any amount of wealth, nor many followers, nor a beautiful wife, for these are all materialistic desires. But if I have to ask You for any benediction, I pray that in whatever forms of life I may take my birth, under any circumstances, I will not be bereft of Your transcendental devotional service." Devotees are always on the positive platform, in contrast to the Māyāvādīs, who want to make everything impersonal or void. One cannot remain void (śūnyavādī); rather, one must possess something. Therefore, the devotee, on the positive side, wants to possess something, and this possession is very nicely described by Prahlāda Mahārāja, who says, "If I must take some benediction from You, I pray that within the core of my heart there may be no material desires." The desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not at all material.

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

Your appearance is for the protection of these demigods. They are not disturbing to You. - In this way he (Prahlada) begins his prayer, very nice, simple, a child, although there is no question of Vedanta philosophy. The simple truth

2024-07-02T10:39:45Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Your appearance is for the protection of these demigods. They are not disturbing to You." | "In this way he begins his prayer, very nice, simple, a child, although there is no question of Vedānta philosophy. The simple truth"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2024-03-02T02:05:15.000Z}}
{{last|2024-03-02T02:05:15.000Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:God's Appearance]]
[[Category:God Protects His Devotees]]
[[Category:Demigods]]
[[Category:They Are Not]]
[[Category:Not Disturbed]]
[[Category:Disturbing God]]
[[Category:In This Way]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Very Nice]]
[[Category:Simple]]
[[Category:Child]]
[[Category:Although]]
[[Category:There Is No Question]]
[[Category:Vedanta Philosophy]]
[[Category:Simple Truth]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SOHAM]]
</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">
Prahlāda Mahārāja first appeals to Him, "My dear Lord, there is no need of any more groaning. You become satisfied, because Your appearance is for the protection of these demigods. They are not disturbing to You." In this way he begins his prayer, very nice, simple, a child, although there is no question of Vedānta philosophy. The simple truth.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:690324 - Lecture SB 07.09.11-13 - Hawaii|690324 - Lecture SB 07.09.11-13 - Hawaii]]
</div>
<div class="text">
There are two classes of men in this world. Sometimes the number, or the proportion, may be greater, this side or that . . . but in this material world there is never . . . the proportion of the demigods, or Vaiṣṇavas, is never greater. They are very few, always. You cannot expect that the whole world, whole population of the world, will become Vaiṣṇava. That is not possible.

Mostly they are demons, atheistic. So Prahlāda Mahārāja first of all appeals to the Lord that, "My dear Lord, Nṛsiṁhadeva, Your appearance is for their protection. Now You have killed the demon, my father. Now Your business is finished. Now You become pacified, satisfied, because You have no other . . . no other cause for being angry."

Because Nṛsiṁhadeva was groaning in anger, and the demigods are afraid to approach Him, so Prahlāda Mahārāja first appeals to Him, "My dear Lord, there is no need of any more groaning. You become satisfied, because Your appearance is for the protection of these demigods. They are not disturbing to You." In this way he begins his prayer, very nice, simple, a child, although there is no question of Vedānta philosophy. The simple truth. The simple truth. But it is very nice.
</div>
</div>
</div>

When Prahlada Maharaja offered prayers to Krsna as Nrsimha-deva, he said, - My dear Lord, one should not think that because a child has a father and mother he has full protection

2024-07-02T10:30:10Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"When Prahlāda Mahārāja offered prayers to Kṛṣṇa as Nṛsiṁha-deva, he said," | "My dear Lord, one should not think that because a child has a father and mother he has full protection"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-12-04T13:46:51Z}}
{{last|2022-12-04T13:46:51Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Krsna and Prahlada]]
[[Category:Krsna Is Lord Nrsimhadeva]]
[[Category:Saying to Krsna]]
[[Category:Prahlada Says]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:My Dear Krsna]]
[[Category:One Should Not Think]]
[[Category:Because]]
[[Category:Child]]
[[Category:Father And Mother]]
[[Category:Full]]
[[Category:Protection]]
[[Category:Teachings of Queen Kunti Chapter 20 - Full Surrender]]
[[Category:Teachings of Queen Kunti Chapters 03 to 26]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Teachings of Queen Kunti</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
When Prahlāda Mahārāja offered prayers to Kṛṣṇa as Nṛsiṁha-deva, he said, "My dear Lord, one should not think that because a child has a father and mother he has full protection." If Kṛṣṇa did not protect a child, the child could not be protected, even if he were to have thousands of fathers and mothers.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:TQK 20 Full Surrender|Teachings of Queen Kunti, 20]]
</div>
<div class="text">
The Pāṇḍavas are most fortunate because with all good luck they were entirely dependent on the mercy of the Lord. In the material world, to be dependent on the mercy of someone else is the utmost sign of misfortune, but in the case of our transcendental relation with the Lord, it is the most fortunate case when we can live completely dependent on Him. The material disease is due to thinking of becoming independent of everything. But the cruel material nature does not allow us to become independent. The false attempt to become independent of the stringent laws of nature is known as material advancement of experimental knowledge. The whole material world is moving on this false attempt at becoming independent of the laws of nature. Beginning from Rāvaṇa, who wanted to prepare a direct staircase to the planets of heaven, down to the present age, they are trying to overcome the laws of nature. They are trying now to approach distant planetary systems by electronic mechanical power. But the highest goal of human civilization is to work hard under the guidance of the Lord and become completely dependent on Him. The highest achievement of perfect civilization is to work with valor but at the same time depend completely on the Lord. The Pāṇḍavas were the ideal executors of this standard of civilization. Undoubtedly they were completely dependent on the good will of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but they were not idle parasites of the Lord. They were all highly qualified both by personal character and by physical activities. Still they always looked for the mercy of the Lord because they knew that every living being is dependent by constitutional position. The perfection of life is, therefore, to become dependent on the will of the Lord, instead of becoming falsely independent in the material world. Those who try to become falsely independent of the Lord are called anātha, or without any guardian, whereas those who are completely dependent on the will of the Lord are called sanātha, or those having someone to protect them. Therefore we must try to be sanātha, so that we can always be protected from the unfavorable condition of material existence. By the deluding power of the external, material nature we forget that the material condition of life is the most undesirable perplexity. The Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 7.19|7.19]]) therefore directs us that after many, many births one fortunate person becomes aware of the fact that Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is all in all and that the best way of leading one's life is to surrender unto Him completely. That is the sign of a mahātmā. All the members of the Pāṇḍava family were mahātmās in household life. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the head of these mahātmās, and Queen Kuntīdevī was the mother. The lessons of the Bhagavad-gītā and all the Purāṇas, specifically the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, are therefore inevitably connected with the history of the Pāṇḍava mahātmās. For them, separation from the Lord was just like the separation of a fish from water. Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī, therefore, felt such separation like a thunderbolt, and the whole prayer of the Queen is to try to persuade the Lord to stay with them. After the Battle of Kurukṣetra, although the inimical kings were killed, their sons and grandsons were still there to deal with the Pāṇḍavas. It is not only the Pāṇḍavas who were put into the condition of enmity; all of us are always in such a condition, and the best way of living is to become completely dependent on the will of the Lord and thereby overcome all difficulties of material existence.

After the Battle of Kurukṣetra ended and the Pāṇḍavas were established in their kingdom, Kṛṣṇa, before going back home to Dvārakā, was taking leave of His aunt and bidding her farewell. It was at that time that Kuntī offered this prayer. Now she directly asks, "Is it a fact that after finishing Your duty You are going away and leaving us alone?" This is the devotee' s position. Kuntīdevī says, yeṣāṁ na cānyad bha vataḥ padāmbujāt: "We have no means of protection other than Your lotus feet." This is full surrender.

In the process of surrender (śaraṇāgati) there are six items. The first is that one should completely depend on Kṛṣṇa, and the next is that one should accept everything favorable for Kṛṣṇa's service (ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ). Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā: ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.167|CC Madhya 19.167]]) a symptom of first-class bhakti, devotional service, is that one accepts everything favorable for that service. Another item of surrender is prātikūlyasya-vivarjanam, rejecting everything unfavorable to the procedures of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes the spiritual master says, "Don't do this," forbidding something unfavorable, and he also recommends that which is favorable: "Do this. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." Full surrender, therefore, entails giving up unfavorable things and accepting that which is favorable (ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyayasya-vivarjanam). Furthermore, one should believe with full faith, "Kṛṣṇa will give me protection," and one should count oneself as one of the servants of Kṛṣṇa. These are some of the items of śaraṇāgati, full surrender.

Now Kuntīdevī says, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, if You think that we are well established now that we have our kingdom back, and if You therefore want to leave us, that is not a very good proposal. We are not free yet. Because we have killed so many kings, all their friends and relatives are planning to come fight with us again. So don't think that we are free from all dangers. We are not. And we have no protection other than Your lotus feet. That is our position." Thus she indirectly says to Kṛṣṇa, "Do not leave us. Don't think that we are now safe. Without Your protection, we are always unsafe."

This should be the position of a devotee. We should know that we are actually in danger in this material world. Māyā, illusion, may catch us at any time, as soon as we are a little inattentive, thinking, "Now I have done my duty. Let me take a little rest." No, there is no rest. We must be always alert.

There is a verse in which Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says, avyartha-kālatvam: ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 23.18-19|CC Madhya 23.18-19]]) a devotee should be very much careful to see whether his time is being spent unnecessarily. He should ask himself, "Am I now engaged in māyā's service or Kṛṣṇa's service?" This is a symptom of an advanced devotee. Nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ: such a devotee is never tired of chanting, singing, or dancing. The word sadā means "always," and ruci means "taste." A devotee always has a taste for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa: "Oh, very nice. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare." This is taste. Of course, this taste takes time to awaken, but when Rūpa Gosvāmī was chanting he was thinking, "I have only one tongue and two ears. What can I appreciate of chanting? If I could have millions of tongues and trillions of ears, then I could relish something by chanting and hearing." Of course, we should not imitate him, but the devotees of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must at least be very careful to complete their sixteen rounds, their minimum amount of prescribed chanting. Nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ: we have to increase our taste for singing and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Furthermore, we should also increase our inclination to live in a place where Kṛṣṇa lives (prītis tad-vasati-sthale). In the vision of higher devotees, Kṛṣṇa actually lives everywhere, but because we are in a lower condition, we should know that for us Kṛṣṇa lives in the temple. Because we do not see Kṛṣṇa everywhere, we should come to the temple to see Kṛṣṇa, who kindly appears there, by His mercy, in a manner in which we can see Him.

Kṛṣṇa has a completely spiritual body (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1)), but we do not have the eyes to see what that spiritual body is. We are accustomed to seeing material, gross things (jaḍa). We can see stone, metal, wood, and other elements, and because Kṛṣṇa is everything, to be visible to our imperfect eyes He appears in a form of these elements. It is not that Kṛṣṇa is stone or that we are worshiping stone. We are worshiping Kṛṣṇa, but because we cannot see anything except material elements like stone, Kṛṣṇa kindly appears in a form carved from stone. Therefore one should be very much inclined to live within the circle of a temple environment in which the form of Kṛṣṇa is worshiped.

Moreover, one should always think oneself dependent on Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One should always think, "Without Kṛṣṇa my life is useless, and I am in danger." Therefore, while offering her prayers to Kṛṣṇa, Kuntī says, "Kṛṣṇa, You are thinking that now we are safe, but I don't think we are safe. We are always in danger. If You think we are safe, who will give us protection? We have no protection other than Your lotus feet. We are encircled by so many enemies because the sons of those who have died in the fight are now preparing to fight with us."

Now, although Kṛṣṇa had come to Kuntīdevī to take the dust of the feet of His superior, His aunt, Kuntīdevī addresses Him as Prabhu, the Lord, not as her beloved nephew. She knows, "Although Kṛṣṇa is playing the part of my nephew, my brother's son, He is still the supreme master."

The symptoms of a really Kṛṣṇa conscious person are that he knows that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme master, he always thinks himself in danger without Kṛṣṇa, and by taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet he always feels safe. Kṛṣṇa says, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: "You may declare to the world that My devotee is never vanquished." ([[Vanisource:BG 9.31|BG 9.31]]) If one becomes a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, there is no question of danger. Of course, Kṛṣṇa gives protection to everyone, for without His protection no one can live even for a single moment. But one should not think, "If Kṛṣṇa is giving protection to everyone, what is the use of becoming a devotee?" A king gives protection to every one of his citizens, for that is his duty, but he especially protects his own circle of men. This is not unnatural. If one directly engages in the service of the President, when one is in some difficulty he is especially protected. Although the President gives protection to all the citizens, those who personally associate with him, giving him service, receive special consideration. That is not actually partiality. That is natural. When a gentleman loves all children but has special love for his own children, no one will say, "Oh, why are you loving your own children more than others?" No, that is natural. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā, samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu: ([[Vanisource:BG 9.29|BG 9.29]]) "I am equal to everyone." Kṛṣṇa, being God, loves everyone because everyone is part of Him. Nonetheless, He takes special care of His devotees. Therefore He says, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: ([[Vanisource:BG 9.31|BG 9.31]]) "My devotee will never be vanquished."

Kṛṣṇa always sees to the comforts of His devotees, and the devotees are always busy seeing that Kṛṣṇa is satisfied. The devotees dress Kṛṣṇa, supply Him food, and always engage in serving Him, and similarly Kṛṣṇa always sees to the happiness of His devotees. This is the intimate relationship between the devotee and Kṛṣṇa. Every living entity has a relationship with Kṛṣṇa, but when one becomes a devotee the relationship becomes intimate. Therefore Kuntīdevī says to Kṛṣṇa, "How can You leave us? We are Your intimate friends. We are simply living by Your care, by Your mercy. Don't think that we are safe and that You can therefore leave us. Our life is always under Your mercy, for we have no shelter other than Your lotus feet. Kindly don't leave us." This is Kuntī's prayer. Similarly, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings:

<div class="quote_verse">
:hā hā prabhu nanda-suta, vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta
:karuṇā karaha ei-bāra
</div>

"Kṛṣṇa, Nanda-suta, You are present with Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu. Now I fully surrender unto You. Please show me Your mercy."

Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness one thinks, "I shall protect myself, or my society, community, or state will give me protection. I have so many protectors. Why should I care for God? Why shall I go to Kṛṣṇa? Those rascals who have no protection can go to Kṛṣṇa." But the fact is that unless Kṛṣṇa gives one protection one cannot be protected. This is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ([[Vanisource:SB 7.9.19|7.9.19]]): bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha. When Prahlāda Mahārāja offered prayers to Kṛṣṇa as Nṛsiṁha-deva, he said, "My dear Lord, one should not think that because a child has a father and mother he has full protection." If Kṛṣṇa did not protect a child, the child could not be protected, even if he were to have thousands of fathers and mothers. Prahlāda also says, nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ: "It is not that a good physician or good medicine can protect one from disease." Suppose a rich man is suffering from some disease and he hires a first-class physician and takes first-class medicine. Does it mean that his life is guaranteed? No. If Kṛṣṇa does not give him protection, despite good medical treatment and a good supply of medicine he will die. "Similarly," Prahlāda continues, "one may have a good boat, but this does not guarantee that he will not drown in the ocean. If You do not protect him he may drown at any moment." Nature offers so many difficulties, and although scientists may try to invent something to check these difficulties in the struggle for existence, unless Kṛṣṇa gives one protection one's inventions will be of no use.

Kuntīdevī knows this, and therefore although she is the mother of the great warriors Arjuna and Bhīma, she still thinks, "Although my sons are great warriors, they are not sufficient to give us protection. Nothing can give us protection but Your lotus feet." This verse illustrates the position of a surrendered soul seeking the protection of Kṛṣṇa. If we remain in this position, knowing that our only protector is Kṛṣṇa and that our only duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful.
</div>
</div>
</div>

When Prahlada Maharaja chants om namo bhagavate narasimhaya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaisnava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification

2024-07-02T10:29:01Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"When Prahlāda Mahārāja chants oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaiṣṇava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-07T16:31:45Z}}
{{last|2020-11-07T16:31:45Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:When Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Wants]]
[[Category:Chanting of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Chanting]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:God Gives Benedictions]]
[[Category:Because Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Maharaja is an Exalted Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Vaisnava - Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Wants of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Nothing]]
[[Category:Personal Sense Gratification]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Chapter 18 Purports - The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambudvipa]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 5</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
When Prahlāda Mahārāja chants oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaiṣṇava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification. The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu viśvasya: "Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe." Prahlāda Mahārāja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 5.18.9|SB 5.18.9, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.
</div>
<div class="text">
The following verse describes a Vaiṣṇava:

<div class="quote_verse">
:vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
:kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
:patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
:vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
</div>

Just like a desire tree, a Vaiṣṇava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet. Prahlāda Mahārāja is a typical Vaiṣṇava. He prays not for himself, but for all living entities—the gentle, the envious and the mischievous. He always thought of the welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Prahlāda Mahārāja did not ask for anything for himself; rather, he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demoniac father. This is the attitude of a Vaiṣṇava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhāgavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsarāṇām). Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays in this verse, khalaḥ prasīdatām: "May all the envious persons be pacified." The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others' welfare. Anyone who takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord cleanses his mind of all envy (manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje). Therefore we should pray to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva to sit in our hearts. We should pray, bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁhaḥ: "Let Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world."

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niṣkāma) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka:

<div class="quote_verse">
:ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
:patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
:kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
:sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
:([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.32|CC Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5]])
</div>

"O son of Mahārāja Nanda [Kṛṣṇa], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet." In another prayer Lord Caitanya says, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.29|CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]]) "Life after life, kindly let Me have unalloyed love and devotion at Your Lordship's lotus feet." When Prahlāda Mahārāja chants oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaiṣṇava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification. The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu viśvasya: "Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe." Prahlāda Mahārāja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person. According to Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiraṇyakaśipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son. Hiraṇyakaśipu was envious of his little son Prahlāda, but Prahlāda Mahārāja asked a benediction for the benefit of his father. Hiraṇyakaśipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlāda wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees (khalaḥ prasīdatām). The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalakena nivāryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.

If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Kṛṣṇa everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays, śivaṁ mitho dhiyā. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (bhajatād adhokṣaje). As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 9.4.18-20|SB 9.4.18]])) and as advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 18.65 (1972)|BG 18.65]]), man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then one's mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]])). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that the Lord's mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Kṛṣṇa always, everything will be all right. Some people argue that if everyone thought of Kṛṣṇa in that way, the whole universe would be vacated because everyone would go back home, back to Godhead. However, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that this is impossible because the living entities are innumerable. If one set of living entities is actually delivered by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, another set will fill the entire universe.
</div>
</div>
</div>

When one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." Thus Prahlada Maharaja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position

2024-07-02T10:22:11Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Mayapur}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|17May12}}
{{last|17May12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:When One]]
[[Category:Full Krsna Consciousness]]
[[Category:God Consciousness]]
[[Category:God Is The Supreme Lord]]
[[Category:Devotion to God]]
[[Category:Entering Into the Kingdom of God]]
[[Category:God and Prahlada]]
[[Category:Decide]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Without Consideration]]
[[Category:Material Position]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 09 Purports - Prahlada Pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with Prayers]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 07 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_7" class="sub_section" sec_index="7" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 7"><h3>SB Canto 7</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB7912_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_7" book="SB" index="370" link="SB 7.9.12" link_text="SB 7.9.12">
<div class="heading">"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 7.9.12|SB 7.9.12, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">Therefore, although I was born in a demoniac family, I may without a doubt offer prayers to the Lord with full endeavor, as far as my intelligence allows. Anyone who has been forced by ignorance to enter the material world may be purified of material life if he offers prayers to the Lord and hears the Lord's glories.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>It is clearly understood that a devotee does not need to be born in a very high family, to be rich, to be aristocratic or to be very beautiful. None of these qualifications will engage one in devotional service. With devotion one should feel, "God is great, and I am very small. Therefore my duty is to offer my prayers to the Lord." Only on this basis can one understand and render service to the Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55):</p>
:bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
:yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
:tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
:viśate tad-anantaram
<p>"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

We have fallen into this horrible whirlpool of the tossing waves of life, & thus, my Lord, I (Prahlada) pray at Your lotus feet to call me back to Your eternal abode as one of Your servitors. This is the summit liberation of this materialistic way of life

2024-07-02T10:18:07Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"We have fallen into this horrible whirlpool of the tossing waves of life, and thus, my Lord, I pray at Your lotus feet to call me back to Your eternal abode as one of Your servitors. This is the summit liberation of this materialistic way of life"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|09Apr12}}
{{last|09Apr12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Fall]]
[[Category:Horrible]]
[[Category:Whirlpool]]
[[Category:Toss]]
[[Category:Waves]]
[[Category:Life]]
[[Category:Krsna and Prahlada]]
[[Category:Saying to Krsna]]
[[Category:Praying to Krsna]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Krsna Is Lord Nrsimhadeva]]
[[Category:Krsna's Lotus Feet]]
[[Category:Call]]
[[Category:Back]]
[[Category:Krsna's Eternal Abode]]
[[Category:One Of]]
[[Category:Servitor]]
[[Category:This Is]]
[[Category:Summit]]
[[Category:Liberation]]
[[Category:Materialistic Way of Life]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Chapter 19 Purports - The Appearance of Sukadeva Gosvami]]
[[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="SB11920_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_1" book="SB" index="759" link="SB 1.19.20" link_text="SB 1.19.20">
<div class="heading">Prahlāda Mahārāja prays: We have fallen into this horrible whirlpool of the tossing waves of life, and thus, my Lord, I pray at Your lotus feet to call me back to Your eternal abode as one of Your servitors. This is the summit liberation of this materialistic way of life. I have very bitter experience of the materialistic way of life.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 1.19.20|SB 1.19.20, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">(The sages said:) O chief of all the saintly kings of the Pāṇḍu dynasty who are strictly in the line of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa! It is not at all astonishing that you give up your throne, which is decorated with the helmets of many kings, to achieve eternal association with the Personality of Godhead.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>Foolish politicians who hold political administrative posts think that the temporary posts they occupy are the highest material gain of life, and therefore they stick to those posts even up to the last moment of life, without knowing that achievement of liberation as one of the associates of the Lord in His eternal abode is the highest gain of life. The human life is meant for achieving this end. The Lord has assured us in the Bhagavad-gītā many times that going back to Godhead, His eternal abode, is the highest achievement. Prahlāda Mahārāja, while praying to Lord Nṛsiṁha, said, "O my Lord, I am very much afraid of the materialistic way of life, and I am not the least afraid of Your present ghastly ferocious feature as Nṛsiṁhadeva. This materialistic way of life is something like a grinding stone, and we are being crushed by it. We have fallen into this horrible whirlpool of the tossing waves of life, and thus, my Lord, I pray at Your lotus feet to call me back to Your eternal abode as one of Your servitors. This is the summit liberation of this materialistic way of life. I have very bitter experience of the materialistic way of life. In whichever species of life I have taken birth, compelled by the force of my own activities, I have very painfully experienced two things, namely separation from my beloved and meeting with what is not wanted. And to counteract them, the remedies which I undertook were more dangerous than the disease itself. So I drift from one point to another birth after birth, and I pray to You therefore to give me a shelter at Your lotus feet."</p>
<p>The Pāṇḍava kings, who are more than many saints of the world, knew the bitter results of the materialistic way of life. They were never captivated by the glare of the imperial throne they occupied, and they sought always the opportunity of being called by the Lord to associate with Him eternally. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the worthy grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira gave up the imperial throne to his grandson, and similarly Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, gave up the imperial throne to his son Janamejaya. That is the way of all the kings in the dynasty because they are all strictly in the line of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus the devotees of the Lord are never enchanted by the glare of materialistic life, and they live impartially, unattached to the objects of the false, illusory materialistic way of life.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

The nine great learned sages were there, and also devotees like Prahlada and Narada and the eight Vasus. All were engaged in offering prayers to the Lord (Maha-Visnu) with clean hearts and pure words

2024-07-02T10:09:16Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The nine great learned sages were there, and also devotees like Prahlāda and Nārada and the eight Vasus. All were engaged in offering prayers to the Lord with clean hearts and pure words"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MahaprabhuCaitanya}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2017-04-23T08:43:26Z}}
{{last|2017-04-23T08:43:26Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Nine]]
[[Category:Narada is a Great Sage]]
[[Category:Learned]]
[[Category:Engagements of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Offerings of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Heart of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Words of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Narada's Praying]]
[[Category:Eight Vasus]]
[[Category:Engage]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to Krsna]]
[[Category:Karanodakasayi Visnu - Maha-Visnu]]
[[Category:Cleanliness]]
[[Category:Heart]]
[[Category:Pure]]
[[Category:Words]]
[[Category:Krsna Book Chapter 39 - Akrura's Return Journey and His Vision of Visnuloka Within the Yamuna River]]
[[Category:Krsna Book Chapters 01 to 90]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The nine great learned sages were there, and also devotees like Prahlāda and Nārada and the eight Vasus. All were engaged in offering prayers to the Lord with clean hearts and pure words. After seeing the transcendental Personality of Godhead, Akrūra immediately became overwhelmed with joy and great devotion, and all over his body there was transcendental shivering. Although for the moment he was bewildered, he retained his clear consciousness and bowed down his head before the Lord. With folded hands and faltering voice, he began to offer prayers to the Lord.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:KB 39|Krsna Book, 39]]
</div>
<div class="text">
In other words, after returning to the Yamunā, Akrūra saw Balarāma turned into Śeṣa Nāga and Kṛṣṇa turned into Mahā-Viṣṇu. He saw the four-handed Supreme Personality of Godhead, smiling very beautifully. He was very pleasing to all and was looking toward everyone with a merciful glance. He appeared beautiful with His raised nose, broad forehead, attractive ears and reddish lips. His arms, reaching to the knees, were very strongly built. His shoulders were high, His chest was very broad, and His neck was shaped like a conchshell. His navel was very deep, and His abdomen was marked with three lines. His hips were broad and big, resembling those of a woman, and His thighs resembled the trunks of elephants. The other parts of His legs, the joints and lower extremities, were all very beautiful, the nails of His feet were dazzling, and His toes were as beautiful as the petals of the lotus flower. His helmet was decorated with very valuable jewels. There was a nice belt around His waist, and He wore a sacred thread across His broad chest. Bangles were on His hands, and armlets on the upper portion of His arms. He wore bells on His ankles. He possessed dazzling beauty, and His palms were like lotus flowers. He was further beautified by the different emblems of the viṣṇu-mūrti—the conchshell, club, disc and lotus flower—which He held in His four hands. His chest was marked with the particular signs of Viṣṇu, and He wore fresh flower garlands. All in all, He was very beautiful to look at. Akrūra also saw His Lordship surrounded by intimate associates like the four Kumāras—Sanaka, Sanātana, Sananda and Sanat-kumāra—and other associates like Sunanda and Nanda, as well as demigods like Brahmā and Lord Śiva. The nine great learned sages were there, and also devotees like Prahlāda and Nārada and the eight Vasus. All were engaged in offering prayers to the Lord with clean hearts and pure words. After seeing the transcendental Personality of Godhead, Akrūra immediately became overwhelmed with joy and great devotion, and all over his body there was transcendental shivering. Although for the moment he was bewildered, he retained his clear consciousness and bowed down his head before the Lord. With folded hands and faltering voice, he began to offer prayers to the Lord.
</div>
</div>
</div>

The energy in which the Lord's all-pervasiveness is not realized is called material. Otherwise, everything is spiritual. Therefore Prahlada prays, ekas tvam eva jagad etam: "You are everything"

2024-07-02T09:59:45Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The energy in which the Lord's all-pervasiveness is not realized is called material. Otherwise, everything is spiritual. Therefore Prahlāda prays, ekas tvam eva jagad etam"|"You are everything"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-12-05T11:41:33Z}}
{{last|2020-12-05T11:41:33Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:God's Energies]]
[[Category:In Which]]
[[Category:God Is All-pervading]]
[[Category:Realizing God]]
[[Category:Is Called...]]
[[Category:Material Energy]]
[[Category:Otherwise]]
[[Category:Everything Is Spiritual]]
[[Category:Therefore]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:God Is Everything]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 07 Chapter 09 Purports - Prahlada Pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with Prayers]]
[[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">
The difference between the material and spiritual worlds is that His external energy is manifested in the material world whereas His spiritual energy exists in the spiritual world. Both energies, however, belong to the Supreme Lord, and therefore in a higher sense there is no exhibition of material energy because everything is spiritual energy. The energy in which the Lord's all-pervasiveness is not realized is called material. Otherwise, everything is spiritual. Therefore Prahlāda prays, ekas tvam eva jagad etam: "You are everything.".
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 7.9.30|SB 7.9.30, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
My dear Lord, You alone manifest Yourself as the entire cosmic manifestation, for You existed before the creation, You exist after the annihilation, and You are the maintainer between the beginning and the end. All this is done by Your external energy through actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature. Therefore whatever exists—externally and internally—is You alone.
</div>
<div class="text">
As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (BS 5.38):

<div class="quote_verse">
:eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁ
:yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ
:aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ
:govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
</div>

"I worship the Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who, by one of His plenary portions, enters the existence of every universe and every atomic particle and thus unlimitedly manifests His infinite energy all over the material creation." To create this cosmic manifestation, Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expands His external energy and thus enters everything in the universe, including the atomic particles. In this way He exists in the entire cosmic manifestation. Therefore the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in maintaining His devotees are transcendental, not material. He exists in everything as the cause and effect, yet He is separate, existing beyond this cosmic manifestation. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 9.4 (1972)|BG 9.4]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ
:jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
:mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
:na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ
</div>

The entire cosmic manifestation is but an expansion of the Lord's energy; everything rests in Him, yet He exists separately, beyond creation, maintenance and annihilation. The varieties of creation are performed by His external energy. Because the energy and energetic are one, everything is one (sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma). Therefore without Kṛṣṇa, the Parabrahman, nothing can exist. The difference between the material and spiritual worlds is that His external energy is manifested in the material world whereas His spiritual energy exists in the spiritual world. Both energies, however, belong to the Supreme Lord, and therefore in a higher sense there is no exhibition of material energy because everything is spiritual energy. The energy in which the Lord's all-pervasiveness is not realized is called material. Otherwise, everything is spiritual. Therefore Prahlāda prays, ekas tvam eva jagad etam: "You are everything."
</div>
</div>
</div>

Srimad-Bhagavatam and bhagavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsaranam). Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays in this verse (SB 5.18.9), khalah prasidatam: "May all the envious persons be pacified"

2024-07-02T08:55:19Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhāgavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsarāṇām). Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays in this verse, khalaḥ prasīdatām"|"May all the envious persons be pacified"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-07T16:19:15Z}}
{{last|2020-11-07T16:19:15Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Bhagavata-dharma - Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam Is Meant For]]
[[Category:Persons]]
[[Category:Who Are]]
[[Category:Completely Free From]]
[[Category:Envy]]
[[Category:Therefore]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:In This]]
[[Category:Verses of the Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:May (Might)]]
[[Category:Envious Persons]]
[[Category:Pacify]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Chapter 18 Purports - The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambudvipa]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 5</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhāgavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsarāṇām). Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays in this verse, khalaḥ prasīdatām: "May all the envious persons be pacified." The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others' welfare.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 5.18.9|SB 5.18.9, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.
</div>
<div class="text">
The following verse describes a Vaiṣṇava:

<div class="quote_verse">
:vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
:kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
:patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
:vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
</div>

Just like a desire tree, a Vaiṣṇava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet. Prahlāda Mahārāja is a typical Vaiṣṇava. He prays not for himself, but for all living entities—the gentle, the envious and the mischievous. He always thought of the welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Prahlāda Mahārāja did not ask for anything for himself; rather, he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demoniac father. This is the attitude of a Vaiṣṇava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhāgavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsarāṇām). Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays in this verse, khalaḥ prasīdatām: "May all the envious persons be pacified." The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others' welfare. Anyone who takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord cleanses his mind of all envy (manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje). Therefore we should pray to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva to sit in our hearts. We should pray, bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁhaḥ: "Let Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world."

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niṣkāma) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka:

<div class="quote_verse">
:ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
:patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
:kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
:sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
:([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.32|CC Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5]])
</div>

"O son of Mahārāja Nanda [Kṛṣṇa], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet." In another prayer Lord Caitanya says, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.29|CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]]) "Life after life, kindly let Me have unalloyed love and devotion at Your Lordship's lotus feet." When Prahlāda Mahārāja chants oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaiṣṇava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification. The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu viśvasya: "Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe." Prahlāda Mahārāja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person. According to Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiraṇyakaśipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son. Hiraṇyakaśipu was envious of his little son Prahlāda, but Prahlāda Mahārāja asked a benediction for the benefit of his father. Hiraṇyakaśipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlāda wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees (khalaḥ prasīdatām). The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalakena nivāryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.

If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Kṛṣṇa everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays, śivaṁ mitho dhiyā. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (bhajatād adhokṣaje). As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 9.4.18-20|SB 9.4.18]])) and as advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 18.65 (1972)|BG 18.65]]), man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then one's mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]])). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that the Lord's mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Kṛṣṇa always, everything will be all right. Some people argue that if everyone thought of Kṛṣṇa in that way, the whole universe would be vacated because everyone would go back home, back to Godhead. However, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that this is impossible because the living entities are innumerable. If one set of living entities is actually delivered by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, another set will fill the entire universe.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlad Maharaj prayed I am not satisfied to go back to the kingdom of God alone, but I must bring back with me all these poor fools who have no alternative ultimately than to surrender to You

2024-07-02T08:50:16Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlad Maharaj prayed I am not satisfied to go back to the kingdom of God alone, but I must bring back with me all these poor fools who have no alternative ultimately than to surrender to You"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Soham}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2023-01-17T04:33:44Z}}
{{last|2023-01-17T04:33:44Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Praying to God]]
[[Category:Not Satisfied]]
[[Category:Back to the Kingdom of God]]
[[Category:Go Back]]
[[Category:Alone]]
[[Category:Must]]
[[Category:Bring]]
[[Category:Poor]]
[[Category:Fool]]
[[Category:Have No]]
[[Category:Alternative]]
[[Category:Ultimately]]
[[Category:Surrendering to God]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>1974 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Prahlad Maharaj prayed I am not satisfied to go back to the kingdom of God alone, but I must bring back with me all these poor fools who have no alternative ultimately than to surrender to You. This form of worship called gostananandi is more superior than the gostananandi or the holy man who lives alone in meditation of the Lord within the heart. This is the estimation of the scripture.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:740625 - Letter to Yadunandana written from Melbourne|740625 - Letter to Yadunandana written from Melbourne]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Tridandi GoswamiA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiFounder-Acharya:International Society for Krishna Consciousness

DATEJune 25, 1974CENTER 14 Burnett St. St. Kilda, Victoria Melbourne, Australia

My dear Jadunandan,Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of May 26th and have noted the contents.Yes there are example of Krsna Conscious persons whose worship was solitary life, and the greatest example is Haridas Thakur. Haridas Thakur used to live only in a cave sometimes and would spend his whole time chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra. Similarly Gour Keshore das Babaji the spiritual master of my guru maharaj would chant alone in a solitary place so as not to be bothered by anyone in his meditation on Krsna. But these great personalities are not to be imitated. If we artificially imitate, out of some negative feeling or out of desire for adoration as a saintly person, it will not be very beneficial. On the authority of Lord Caitanya and my spiritual master, I am requesting my disciples to always stay in the association of devotees and to propagate the sankirtan movement all over the world, so that others may get a chance also to become liberated from the material condition. Prahlad Maharaj prayed I am not satisfied to go back to the kingdom of God alone, but I must bring back with me all these poor fools who have no alternative ultimately than to surrender to You. This form of worship called gostananandi is more superior than the gostananandi or the holy man who lives alone in meditation of the Lord within the heart. This is the estimation of the scripture.It is very encouraging that you are feeling convinced of the genuineness of the Hare Krsna movement and the disciples as at New Vrindaban. Although you feel you must leave their company sometimes you should pray to Krsna to give you the intelligence to seek out the association of genuine Vaisnavas more and more. That will insure your own genuineness, if you always engage in chanting Hare Krishna, avoid the four sinful prohibitions, then it does not matter where you are, you can attain to perfect love of Krsna.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/sdgJohn Tekiner1155 Marine St.no. 312Boulder, Colorado
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada said, "I am not proud of being able to offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I simply take shelter of the mercy of the Lord, for without devotion one cannot appease Him"

2024-07-02T08:44:53Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"I am not proud of being able to offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I simply take shelter of the mercy of the Lord, for without devotion one cannot appease Him"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Krsnadas}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|20Jun12}}
{{last|20Jun12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:God and Prahlada]]
[[Category:Prahlada Says]]
[[Category:I Am]]
[[Category:Proud]]
[[Category:being]]
[[Category:able To]]
[[Category:Prahlada Offering Prayers]]
[[Category:Offering Prayers to God]]
[[Category:God Is The Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:simply]]
[[Category:Taking Shelter of God]]
[[Category:God's Mercy]]
[[Category:Without]]
[[Category:devotion to God]]
[[Category:One Cannot]]
[[Category:Appeasing God]]
</div>
<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="SB_Canto_7" class="sub_section" sec_index="7" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 7"><h3>SB Canto 7</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB79Summary_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_7" book="SB" index="358" link="SB 7.9 Summary" link_text="SB 7.9 Summary">
<div class="heading">Prahlāda said, "I am not proud of being able to offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I simply take shelter of the mercy of the Lord, for without devotion one cannot appease Him. One cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by dint of high parentage or great opulence, learning, austerity, penance or mystic power. Indeed, these are never pleasing to the Supreme Lord, for nothing can please Him but pure devotional service."
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 7.9 Summary|SB 7.9 Summary]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">As related in this chapter, Prahlāda Mahārāja, following the order of Lord Brahmā, pacified the Lord when the Lord was extremely angry after having killed Hiraṇyakaśipu.</p>
<p>After Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed, the Lord continued to be very angry, and the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, could not pacify Him. Even mother Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, the constant companion of Nārāyaṇa, could not dare come before Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. Then Lord Brahmā asked Prahlāda Mahārāja to go forward and pacify the Lord's anger. Prahlāda Mahārāja, being confident of the affection of his master, Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, was not afraid at all. He very gravely appeared before the Lord's lotus feet and offered Him respectful obeisances. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, being very much affectionate toward Prahlāda Mahārāja, put His hand on Prahlāda's head, and because of being personally touched by the Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately achieved brahma-jñāna, spiritual knowledge. Thus he offered his prayers to the Lord in full spiritual knowledge and full devotional ecstasy. The instructions given by Prahlāda Mahārāja in the form of his prayers are as follows.</p>
<p>Prahlāda said, "I am not proud of being able to offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I simply take shelter of the mercy of the Lord, for without devotion one cannot appease Him. One cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by dint of high parentage or great opulence, learning, austerity, penance or mystic power. Indeed, these are never pleasing to the Supreme Lord, for nothing can please Him but pure devotional service. Even if a nondevotee is a brāhmaṇa qualified with the twelve brahminical symptoms, he cannot be very dear to the Lord, whereas if a person born in a family of dog-eaters is a devotee, the Lord can accept his prayers. The Lord does not need anyone's prayers, but if a devotee offers his prayers to the Lord, the devotee benefits greatly. Ignorant persons born in low families, therefore, can sincerely offer heartfelt prayers to the Lord, and the Lord will accept them. As soon as one offers his prayers to the Lord, he is immediately situated on the Brahman platform.</p>
<p>Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared for the benefit of all human society, not only for Prahlāda's personal benefit. The fierce form of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva may appear most awful to a nondevotee, but to the devotee the Lord is always affectionate as He is in other forms. Conditioned life in the material world is actually extremely fearful; indeed, a devotee is not afraid of anything else. Fear of material existence is due to false ego. Therefore the ultimate goal of life for every living entity is to attain the position of being servant of the servant of the Lord ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 13.80|CC Madhya 13.80]]). The miserable condition of the living entities in the material world can be remedied only by the mercy of the Lord. Although there are so-called material protectors like Lord Brahmā and the other demigods, or even one's own father, they are unable to do anything if one is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, one who has fully taken shelter of the Lord's lotus feet can be saved from the onslaught of material nature. Therefore every living entity should be unattracted by material so-called happiness and should take shelter of the Lord by all means. That is the mission of human life. To be attracted by sense gratification is simply foolish. Whether one is a devotee of the Lord or is a nondevotee does not depend upon one's birth in a high or low family. Even Lord Brahmā and the goddess of fortune cannot achieve the full favor of the Lord, whereas a devotee can very easily attain such devotional service. The Lord's mercy is bestowed equally upon everyone, regardless of whether one is high or low. Because Prahlāda Mahārāja was blessed by Nārada Muni, Prahlāda became a great devotee. The Lord always saves the devotee from impersonalists and voidists. The Lord is present in everyone's heart as the Supersoul to give the living being protection and all benefits. Thus the Lord acts sometimes as the killer and sometimes as the protector. One should not accuse the Lord for any discrepancies. It is His plan that we see varieties of life within this material world. All of them are ultimately His mercy.</p>
<p>Although the entire cosmic manifestation is nondifferent, the material world is nonetheless different from the spiritual world. Only by the mercy of the Supreme Lord can one understand how the wonderful material nature acts. For example, although Lord Brahmā appeared from the lotus seat that had grown from the abdomen of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, he could not understand what to do after his appearance. He was attacked by two demons, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, who took away Vedic knowledge, but the Lord killed them and entrusted to Lord Brahmā the Vedic knowledge. Thus the Lord appears in every millennium in the societies of demigods, human beings, animals, saints and aquatics. All such incarnations are meant to protect the devotees and kill the demons, but this killing and protecting does not reflect any sense of partiality on the part of the Supreme Lord. The conditioned soul is always attracted by the external energy. Therefore he is subjected to lust and greed, and he suffers under the conditions of material nature. The Lord's causeless mercy toward His devotee is the only means by which to get out of material existence. Anyone engaged in glorifying the Lord's activities is always unafraid of this material world, whereas one who cannot glorify the Lord in that way is subjected to all lamentation.</p>
<p>Those interested in silently worshiping the Lord in solitary places may be eligible for liberation themselves, but a pure devotee is always aggrieved to see others suffering. Therefore, not caring for his own liberation, he always engages in preaching by glorifying the Lord. Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, had tried to deliver his class friends by preaching and had never remained silent. Although being silent, observing austerities and penances, learning the Vedic literature, undergoing ritualistic ceremonies, living in a solitary place and performing japa and transcendental meditation are approved means of liberation, they are meant for nondevotees or for cheaters who want to live at the expense of others. A pure devotee, however, being freed from all such deceptive activities, is able to see the Lord face to face.</p>
<p>The atomic theory of the composition of the cosmic manifestation is not factual. The Lord is the cause of everything, and therefore He is the cause of this creation. One should therefore always engage in devotional service by offering respectful obeisances to the Lord, offering prayers, working for the Lord, worshiping the Lord in the temple, always remembering the Lord and always hearing about His transcendental activities. Without these six kinds of activity, one cannot attain to devotional service.</p>
<p>Prahlāda Mahārāja thus offered his prayers to the Supreme Lord, begging His mercy at every step. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva was pacified by Prahlāda Mahārāja's prayers and wanted to give him benedictions by which Prahlāda could procure all kinds of material facilities. Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, was not misled by material facilities. Rather, he wanted to remain always a servant of the servant of the Lord ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 13.80|CC Madhya 13.80]]).</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja prays to the Personality of Godhead that he may avoid the association of nondevotees attached to the materialistic way of life. If he must be attached to someone, he prays to be attached only to a devotee

2024-07-02T07:23:10Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja also prays to the Personality of Godhead that he may avoid the association of nondevotees attached to the materialistic way of life. If he must be attached to someone, he prays to be attached only to a devotee"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Alakananda}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|19Jan11}}
{{last|19Jan11}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Praying to Krsna]]
[[Category:Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:May Be]]
[[Category:Avoid]]
[[Category:Avoiding the Association of Nondevotees of God]]
[[Category:Association of Nondevotees of God]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Attachments]]
[[Category:Materialistic Way of Life]]
[[Category:Must Be]]
[[Category:Someone]]
[[Category:Only]]
[[Category:Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Chapter 18 Purports - The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambudvipa]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 05 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_5" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 5"><h3>SB Canto 5</h3>
</div>
<div id="SB51810_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_5" book="SB" index="435" link="SB 5.18.10" link_text="SB 5.18.10">
<div class="heading">The first business of a Vaiṣṇava is to give up the association of persons who are not devotees of Kṛṣṇa and who are too attached to material things—wife, children, bank balance and so on. Prahlāda Mahārāja also prays to the Personality of Godhead that he may avoid the association of nondevotees attached to the materialistic way of life. If he must be attached to someone, he prays to be attached only to a devotee.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 5.18.10|SB 5.18.10, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">My dear Lord, we pray that we may never feel attraction for the prison of family life, consisting of home, wife, children, friends, bank balance, relatives and so on. If we do have some attachment, let it be for devotees, whose only dear friend is Kṛṣṇa. A person who is actually self-realized and who has controlled his mind is perfectly satisfied with the bare necessities of life. He does not try to gratify his senses. Such a person quickly advances in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereas others, who are too attached to material things, find advancement very difficult.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>When Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu was requested to explain the duty of a Vaiṣṇava, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, He immediately said, asat-saṅga-tyāga-ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 22.87|CC Madhya 22.87]]). The first business of a Vaiṣṇava is to give up the association of persons who are not devotees of Kṛṣṇa and who are too attached to material things—wife, children, bank balance and so on. Prahlāda Mahārāja also prays to the Personality of Godhead that he may avoid the association of nondevotees attached to the materialistic way of life. If he must be attached to someone, he prays to be attached only to a devotee.</p>
<p>A devotee is not interested in unnecessarily increasing the demands of the senses for gratification. Of course, as long as one is in this material world, one must have a material body, and it must be maintained for executing devotional service. The body can be maintained very easily by eating kṛṣṇa-prasāda. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):</p>
:patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
:yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
:tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
:aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
<p>"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." Why should the menu be unnecessarily increased for the satisfaction of the tongue? Devotees should eat as simply as possible. Otherwise, attachment for material things will gradually increase, and the senses, being very strong, will soon require more and more material enjoyment. Then the real business of life—to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness—will stop.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Krsna - bhajatad adhoksaje

2024-07-02T07:11:51Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (bhajatād adhokṣaje)"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-08T06:18:18Z}}
{{last|2020-11-08T06:18:18Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Everyone]]
[[Category:Mind]]
[[Category:May (Might)]]
[[Category:Become]]
[[Category:Gentle]]
[[Category:Being]]
[[Category:Fixed]]
[[Category:Krsna's Lotus Feet]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Chapter 18 Purports - The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambudvipa]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 5</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (bhajatād adhokṣaje). As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18)) and as advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 18.65), man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then one's mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12)).
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 5.18.9|SB 5.18.9, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.
</div>
<div class="text">
The following verse describes a Vaiṣṇava:

<div class="quote_verse">
:vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
:kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
:patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
:vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
</div>

Just like a desire tree, a Vaiṣṇava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet. Prahlāda Mahārāja is a typical Vaiṣṇava. He prays not for himself, but for all living entities—the gentle, the envious and the mischievous. He always thought of the welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Prahlāda Mahārāja did not ask for anything for himself; rather, he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demoniac father. This is the attitude of a Vaiṣṇava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhāgavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsarāṇām). Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays in this verse, khalaḥ prasīdatām: "May all the envious persons be pacified." The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others' welfare. Anyone who takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord cleanses his mind of all envy (manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje). Therefore we should pray to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva to sit in our hearts. We should pray, bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁhaḥ: "Let Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world."

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niṣkāma) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka:

<div class="quote_verse">
:ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
:patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
:kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
:sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
:([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.32|CC Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5]])
</div>

"O son of Mahārāja Nanda [Kṛṣṇa], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet." In another prayer Lord Caitanya says, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.29|CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]]) "Life after life, kindly let Me have unalloyed love and devotion at Your Lordship's lotus feet." When Prahlāda Mahārāja chants oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaiṣṇava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification. The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu viśvasya: "Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe." Prahlāda Mahārāja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person. According to Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiraṇyakaśipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son. Hiraṇyakaśipu was envious of his little son Prahlāda, but Prahlāda Mahārāja asked a benediction for the benefit of his father. Hiraṇyakaśipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlāda wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees (khalaḥ prasīdatām). The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalakena nivāryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.

If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Kṛṣṇa everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays, śivaṁ mitho dhiyā. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (bhajatād adhokṣaje). As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 9.4.18-20|SB 9.4.18]])) and as advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 18.65 (1972)|BG 18.65]]), man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then one's mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]])). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that the Lord's mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Kṛṣṇa always, everything will be all right. Some people argue that if everyone thought of Kṛṣṇa in that way, the whole universe would be vacated because everyone would go back home, back to Godhead. However, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that this is impossible because the living entities are innumerable. If one set of living entities is actually delivered by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, another set will fill the entire universe.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Prahlada Maharaja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others

2024-07-02T07:09:10Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nirmal}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2020-11-08T06:07:56Z}}
{{last|2020-11-08T06:07:56Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=1|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Prayers of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Envious Persons]]
[[Category:May (Might)]]
[[Category:Undergo]]
[[Category:Change of Heart]]
[[Category:Think]]
[[Category:Welfare]]
[[Category:Others]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Chapter 18 Purports - The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambudvipa]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 5</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalakena nivāryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 5.18.9|SB 5.18.9, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.
</div>
<div class="text">
The following verse describes a Vaiṣṇava:

<div class="quote_verse">
:vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
:kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
:patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
:vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
</div>

Just like a desire tree, a Vaiṣṇava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet. Prahlāda Mahārāja is a typical Vaiṣṇava. He prays not for himself, but for all living entities—the gentle, the envious and the mischievous. He always thought of the welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Prahlāda Mahārāja did not ask for anything for himself; rather, he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demoniac father. This is the attitude of a Vaiṣṇava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhāgavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsarāṇām). Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays in this verse, khalaḥ prasīdatām: "May all the envious persons be pacified." The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others' welfare. Anyone who takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord cleanses his mind of all envy (manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje). Therefore we should pray to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva to sit in our hearts. We should pray, bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁhaḥ: "Let Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world."

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niṣkāma) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka:

<div class="quote_verse">
:ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
:patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
:kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
:sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
:([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.32|CC Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5]])
</div>

"O son of Mahārāja Nanda [Kṛṣṇa], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet." In another prayer Lord Caitanya says, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.29|CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]]) "Life after life, kindly let Me have unalloyed love and devotion at Your Lordship's lotus feet." When Prahlāda Mahārāja chants oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaiṣṇava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification. The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu viśvasya: "Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe." Prahlāda Mahārāja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person. According to Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiraṇyakaśipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son. Hiraṇyakaśipu was envious of his little son Prahlāda, but Prahlāda Mahārāja asked a benediction for the benefit of his father. Hiraṇyakaśipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlāda wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees (khalaḥ prasīdatām). The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalakena nivāryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.

If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Kṛṣṇa everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays, śivaṁ mitho dhiyā. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (bhajatād adhokṣaje). As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 9.4.18-20|SB 9.4.18]])) and as advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 18.65 (1972)|BG 18.65]]), man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then one's mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]])). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that the Lord's mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Kṛṣṇa always, everything will be all right. Some people argue that if everyone thought of Kṛṣṇa in that way, the whole universe would be vacated because everyone would go back home, back to Godhead. However, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that this is impossible because the living entities are innumerable. If one set of living entities is actually delivered by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, another set will fill the entire universe.
</div>
</div>
</div>

In the SB (7.5.23), Prahlada Maharaja very clearly states what the essential activities of devotional service are: Devotional service consists of (4) serving and meditating upon His lotus feet, (5) worshiping Him, (6) praying to Him

2024-07-02T06:32:35Z

Rahul:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam"|"Prahlāda Mahārāja very clearly states what the essential activities of devotional service are"|"(4) serving and meditating upon His lotus feet, (5) worshiping Him, (6) praying to Him"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nabakumar}}
{{complete|}}
{{goal|0}}
{{first|2022-01-04T05:18:57Z}}
{{last|2022-01-04T05:18:57Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam Says]]
[[Category:Very]]
[[Category:Clearly Stated]]
[[Category:Statements of a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Statements about Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:What]]
[[Category:Essential Practices of Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Activities in Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Consisting]]
[[Category:Serving the Lotus Feet of God]]
[[Category:Meditating on God]]
[[Category:God's Lotus Feet]]
[[Category:Worshiping God]]
[[Category:Prahlada's Praying]]
[[Category:Praying to God]]
[[Category:Narada Bhakti Sutra Chapters 01 to 8 & 11 to 15]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Narada-bhakti-sutra (sutras 1 to 8 only)</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 7.5.23), Prahlāda Mahārāja very clearly states what the essential activities of devotional service are: "Devotional service consists of (1) hearing about the Lord, (2) chanting His glories, (3) remembering Him, (4) serving and meditating upon His lotus feet, (5) worshiping Him, (6) praying to Him, (7) thinking oneself His eternal servant, (8) becoming His friend, and (9) surrendering everything to Him."
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:NBS 15|Narada Bhakti Sutra 15, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Now the characteristics of devotional service will be described according to various authoritative opinions.
</div>
<div class="text">
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 7.5.23), Prahlāda Mahārāja very clearly states what the essential activities of devotional service are:

<div class="quote_verse">
:śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
:arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
</div>

"Devotional service consists of (1) hearing about the Lord, (2) chanting His glories, (3) remembering Him, (4) serving and meditating upon His lotus feet, (5) worshiping Him, (6) praying to Him, (7) thinking oneself His eternal servant, (8) becoming His friend, and (9) surrendering everything to Him."

One should surrender to the Lord as much as an animal purchased from the market surrenders to its master. Such an animal never thinks of his maintenance because he knows that his master will look after him. A soul totally surrendered to the Supreme Lord is similarly never anxious for his maintenance. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī gives further symptoms of full surrender in his Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (11.676):

<div class="quote_verse">
:ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasya varjanam
:rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso goptṛtve varaṇaṁ tathā
:ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye ṣaḍ-vidhā śaraṇāgatiḥ:
</div>

"The six divisions of surrender are: accepting those things favorable to devotional service, rejecting unfavorable things, the conviction that Kṛṣṇa will give protection, accepting the Lord as one's guardian or master, full self-surrender, and humility." Nārada will gradually explain these principles of devotion in the remaining sūtras.
</div>
</div>
</div>