Vaniquotes - User contributions [en]

This is the best welfare activity to the human society, to awaken them to Krsna consciousness so that they will again revive their original svaccha consciousness, and they will be santa

2024-03-09T03:09:38Z

Ronita:

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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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This is the best welfare activity to the human society, to awaken them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that they will again revive their original svaccha consciousness, and they will be śānta. Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce (CC Madhya 22.42). Just like Dhruva Mahārāja—he was pious, born in a very pious family, and by family quarrel he went to worship the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu in the forest, aspiring material opulence. He was a child. He thought that "My stepmother has insulted. I shall go to God and take from Him such opulence which is many, many millions' times better than my father's." That was his ambition.
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[[Vanisource:741231 - Lecture SB 03.26.22 - Bombay|741231 - Lecture SB 03.26.22 - Bombay]]
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This is the best welfare activity to the human society, to awaken them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that they will again revive their original svaccha consciousness, and they will be śānta. Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 22.42|CC Madhya 22.42]]). Just like Dhruva Mahārāja—he was pious, born in a very pious family, and by family quarrel he went to worship the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu in the forest, aspiring material opulence. He was a child. He thought that "My stepmother has insulted. I shall go to God and take from Him such opulence which is many, many millions' times better than my father's." That was his ambition. But when he actually saw Lord Viṣṇu standing . . . he was meditating Viṣṇu. All of a sudden he saw the Viṣṇu is missing within the heart. Then his meditation broke, and he saw Lord Viṣṇu is present before him. So this is not very difficult for Lord Viṣṇu. He is always within your heart, and if He likes, He can come outside and become visible by you. That is not very difficult. So when he saw Viṣṇu and Viṣṇu offered, "My dear boy, what do you want? Take benediction," so he said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce.

This is perfection, "I am fully satisfied." Svaccha, śānta, no demand. No demand. That is position: no demand. Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce. This is the highest perfection. That is called svacchatvam avikāritvaṁ śāntatvam. And this śāntatvam cannot be attained unless you become pure devotee and fully dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the standard of śāntatvam or vasudeva-śabditam. Svacchatvam śāntatvam. Everyone is hankering after śāntatvam, the whole world, because in the material world you cannot be on the platform of śāntatvam. Only on the spiritual platform. And when you are engaged in the service of the Lord, then you will get this position, svacchatvam avikāritvaṁ śāntatvam.
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Awaken their Krsna consciousness. - That is Krsna consciousness movement. It is the best welfare activities to the human society

2024-03-09T01:34:47Z

Ronita:

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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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We should learn how to do good to the people in general. They have forgotten their relationship with God. You should be sympathetic for them that, "They're suffering on account of their forgetfulness of God. Let us do some service to them. Invoke. Awaken them. Awaken their Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is the best welfare activities to the human society. Because he has got . . . he has forgotten Kṛṣṇa, he's suffering, and if you awaken his Kṛṣṇa consciousness then he will be happy. Just like a rich man's son, he has forgotten that his father is very rich, or his father has left immense property. But forgetting his real position, he's loitering in the street, hungry. You can call him, "All right, you take some food." That is not real benefit; that is temporary. But if you awaken his real consciousness, that he is the son of a very rich man, his father has got immense property,
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[[Vanisource:740329 - Lecture BG 04.09 - Bombay|740329 - Lecture BG 04.09 - Bombay]]
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We should learn how to do good to the people in general. They have forgotten their relationship with God. You should be sympathetic for them that, "They're suffering on account of their forgetfulness of God. Let us do some service to them. Invoke. Awaken them. Awaken their Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is the best welfare activities to the human society. Because he has got . . . he has forgotten Kṛṣṇa, he's suffering, and if you awaken his Kṛṣṇa consciousness then he will be happy. Just like a rich man's son, he has forgotten that his father is very rich, or his father has left immense property. But forgetting his real position, he's loitering in the street, hungry. You can call him, "All right, you take some food." That is not real benefit; that is temporary. But if you awaken his real consciousness, that he is the son of a very rich man, his father has got immense property, "Why don't you go back to your father and be happy?" that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That is stated here. Janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 4.9 (1972)|BG 4.9]]). One has to understand Kṛṣṇa tattvataḥ, in truth, not superficially. What is Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is the supreme leader. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13), supreme leader, perfect leader, without any mistake, without any illusion, without any cheating and without any imperfection of the senses. We have to take direction from such leader, then our life will be successful. And because we are taking direction from imperfect leaders, cheater leaders, therefore we are meeting with so many problems. Kṛṣṇa says that:

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:yadā yadā hi dharmasya
:glānir bhavati bhārata
:tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
:([[Vanisource:BG 4.7 (1972)|BG 4.7]])
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That I have already explained, what is that glāniḥ. The glāniḥ is when we forget Kṛṣṇa. Then our activities become polluted. Just like a servant: if he forgets that there is master, then he becomes polluted. He steals, he mismanages things, things become very disordered. But if he has got the sense that, "I have got my master. Everything belongs to my master," and if he acts accordingly, that is very nice.
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Those who are actually intelligent, they should not neglect this movement, KC movement. It is the greatest welfare movement for the whole human society to make people God conscious, KC, without which there will be so many troubles. It is already there

2024-03-09T01:20:44Z

Ronita:

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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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These are the symptoms of Kali-yuga mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And people will become so much harassed by these three things that they will voluntarily give up their hearth and home and go to the forest. Therefore those who are actually intelligent, they should not neglect this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is the greatest welfare movement for the whole human society to make people God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious, without which there will be so many troubles. It is already there.
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[[Vanisource:730924 - Lecture BG 13.01-2 - Bombay|730924 - Lecture BG 13.01-2 - Bombay]]
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In this age people are short-living. Their duration of life is very, very short, so much so that at the end of this age the duration of life will come down to twenty years to thirty years. A man of twenty-five years will be considered as very old man. These are stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And there will be scarcity of food. On account of this scarcity of food, people will not grow very healthy. It is already happening. Rice is selling seven rupees' kilo, nine rupees' kilo. How a poor man will eat? So the more the Kali-yuga will advance . . . now we are getting ten rupees' or twelve rupees' or nine rupees' kilo rice, but rice will not be available at all. That is also stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Because people are becoming godless, naturally the material nature will put them into suffering. That is the laws of nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā ([[Vanisource:BG 7.14 (1972)|BG 7.14]]).

Just like if you become criminal, the police department is there. The police department will give you pains, chastisement. Similarly, the more we become godless, the more we become careless to fulfill the mission of human life, the more nature will give us trouble. There will be no rain. Anāvṛṣṭi. Anāvṛṣṭi and durbhikṣa, scarcity of foodstuff, and taxation by the government. These are the symptoms of Kali-yuga mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And people will become so much harassed by these three things that they will voluntarily give up their hearth and home and go to the forest. Therefore those who are actually intelligent, they should not neglect this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is the greatest welfare movement for the whole human society to make people God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious, without which there will be so many troubles. It is already there.

So everyone is trying to enjoy the prakṛti, the material nature. Therefore the question is prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetrajñaṁ eva ca. This is material nature, and anyone who is trying to enjoy this material nature, he is called puruṣa. Purusa means enjoyer, and prakṛti means enjoyed. Just like in ordinary life we see a man is supposed to be enjoyer and the woman is supposed to be enjoyed; similarly, prakṛti is feminine gender and puruṣa is masculine gender. Anyone who is trying to enjoy, he is puruṣa. It doesn't matter, outwardly he's dressed as man or women; if he has got the desire to enjoy, that is called puruṣa. And his object that is enjoyed, that is called prakṛti.
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The Krsna consciousness movement is the only hope to save the world from such devastation. It is the most scientific and authorized movement for the actual welfare of the whole human society

2024-03-02T21:33:17Z

Ronita:

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<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
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<div id="SB_Canto_5" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 5"><h3>SB Canto 5</h3>
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<div id="SB521_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_5" book="SB" index="44" link="SB 5.2.1" link_text="SB 5.2.1">
<div class="heading">The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only hope to save the world from such devastation. It is the most scientific and authorized movement for the actual welfare of the whole human society.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 5.2.1|SB 5.2.1, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">Following the instruction of his father, Mahārāja Priyavrata, Mahārāja Āgnīdhra ruled the inhabitants of Jambūdvīpa according to religious principles. These principles are exactly contrary to the modern principles of faithlessness. As clearly stated here, the King protected the citizens the way a father protects his begotten children. How he ruled the citizens is also described here—dharmāvekṣamāṇaḥ, strictly according to religious principles. It is the duty of the executive head of a state to see that the citizens strictly follow religious principles. The Vedic religious principles begin with varṇāśrama-dharma, the duties of the four varṇas and four āśramas. Dharma refers to principles given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The first principle of dharma, or religion, is to observe the duties of the four orders as enjoined by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to people's qualities and activities, society should be divided into brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras and then again into brahmacārīs, gṛhasthas, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs. These are religious principles, and it is the duty of the head of state to see that his citizens strictly follow them. He should not merely act officially; he should be like a father who is always a well-wisher of his sons. Such a father strictly observes whether his sons are performing their duties, and sometimes he also punishes them.</p>
<p>Just contrary to the principles mentioned here, the presidents and chief executives in the age of Kali are simply tax collectors who do not care whether religious principles are observed. Indeed, the chief executives of the present day introduce all kinds of sinful activity, especially illicit sex, intoxication, animal killing and gambling. These sinful activities are now very prominently manifested in India. Although a hundred years ago these four principles of sinful life were strictly prohibited in the families of India, they have now been introduced into every Indian family; therefore they cannot follow religious principles. In contrast to the principles of the kings of old, the modern state is concerned only with propaganda for levying taxes and is no longer responsible for the spiritual welfare of the citizens. The state is now callous to religious principles. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam predicts that in Kali-yuga the government will be entrusted with dasyu-dharma, which means the occupational duty of rogues and thieves. Modern heads of state are rogues and thieves who plunder the citizens instead of giving them protection. Rogues and thieves plunder without regard for law, but in this age of Kali, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the lawmakers themselves plunder the citizens. The next prediction to be fulfilled, which is already coming to pass, is that because of the sinful activities of the citizens and the government, rain will become increasingly scarce. Gradually there will be complete drought and no production of food grains. People will be reduced to eating flesh and seeds, and many good, spiritually inclined people will have to forsake their homes because they will be too harassed by drought, taxation and famine. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only hope to save the world from such devastation. It is the most scientific and authorized movement for the actual welfare of the whole human society.</p>
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We invite, therefore, all kinds of serious men for the welfare of the human society to understand this great movement and if possible take part in it and cooperate with us. That will solve all the problems of the world

2024-03-02T21:09:02Z

Ronita:

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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1971_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="4" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1971 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1971 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="TemplePressConferenceAugust51971London_0" class="quote" parent="1971_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="15" link="Temple Press Conference -- August 5, 1971, London" link_text="Temple Press Conference -- August 5, 1971, London">
<div class="heading">Simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord we can immediately contact with the Lord, because the Lord as the person and His name and His quality are all absolute. So this is a great science. Unfortunately, there is no department of education for this science in any one of the so many universities. So we invite, therefore, all kinds of serious men for the welfare of the human society to understand this great movement and if possible take part in it and cooperate with us. That will solve all the problems of the world.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Temple Press Conference -- August 5, 1971, London|Temple Press Conference -- August 5, 1971, London]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: It's Kṛṣṇa's mission to awaken man's original consciousness. At the present moment we have got designated consciousness. I am thinking "I am Indian," you are thinking Englishman, another is thinking American. But actually we are neither American nor Indian nor any that sort of designation. We are part and parcel of God. That is our real identification. If we come to that consciousness, then all the problems of the world will be solved. Now, due to our designated consciousness, we are thinking, "You are different from me, I am different from you," but if we come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we shall know that we are one, the same spirit soul, maybe in different dress. That is the explanation given in Bhagavad-gītā. Just like we are all human beings, gentlemen, ladies. Maybe in different dress, but our aims and objects are the one and the same. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is purificatory process. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.170|CC Madhya 19.170]]). To make people free from all designations. Tat-paratvena nirmalam. And in Kṛṣṇa consciousness they become purified. And when they're purified their activities by purified senses make them perfect. That is the ideal perfection of human life. And our process is also very simple. There is no need of becoming a great philosopher, scientist, or thoughtful man. Simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord we can immediately contact with the Lord, because the Lord as the person and His name and His quality are all absolute. So this is a great science. Unfortunately, there is no department of education for this science in any one of the so many universities. So we invite, therefore, all kinds of serious men for the welfare of the human society to understand this great movement and if possible take part in it and cooperate with us. That will solve all the problems of the world. That is the verdict of Bhagavad-gītā. Very authoritative book of knowledge. Most of you may know the name Bhagavad-gītā. So our movement is based on this Bhagavad-gītā, the authorized book of knowledge, and approved by big ācāryas in India, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Lord Caitanya. So you are all responsible representatives of papers. Try to understand this movement and ventilate it as far as possible for the good of the whole human society. That's all.</p>
<p>Woman Interviewer: Yes, Your Grace, it seems to many people that there is probably more. There are probably more people in the world now who are seeking some kind of spiritual new light than probably ever before, or at least, there's more evidence of it. And I wonder if you agreed with that, and if so can you tell me why it is?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, That should be the natural hankering with us. Because we are spirit soul we cannot be happy in material atmosphere. Just like you take out the fish from the water, it cannot be happy on the land, similarly, if we are without spiritual consciousness we can never be happy. So people after advancement of scientific knowledge and economic development, they are not happy. They are becoming hippies. So the cause is that they're in search of spiritual life and this is the proper delivery, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness.</p>
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Great personalities of the material world are very eager to render welfare service to human society, but actually no one can render better service than one who distributes the knowledge of spiritual realization in relation with the Supreme Personality

2024-03-02T10:18:16Z

Ronita:

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<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
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<h3>SB Canto 4</h3>
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Great personalities of the material world are very eager to render welfare service to human society, but actually no one can render better service than one who distributes the knowledge of spiritual realization in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All living entities are within the clutches of the illusory energy. Forgetting their real identity, they hover in material existence, transmigrating from one body to another in search of a peaceful life.
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[[Vanisource:SB 4.22.47|SB 4.22.47, Translation and Purport]]
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Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: How can such persons, who have rendered unlimited service by explaining the path of self-realization in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and whose explanations are given for our enlightenment with complete conviction and Vedic evidence, be repaid except by folded palms containing water for their satisfaction? Such great personalities can be satisfied only by their own activities, which are distributed amongst human society out of their unlimited mercy.
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<div class="purport">

Great personalities of the material world are very eager to render welfare service to human society, but actually no one can render better service than one who distributes the knowledge of spiritual realization in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All living entities are within the clutches of the illusory energy. Forgetting their real identity, they hover in material existence, transmigrating from one body to another in search of a peaceful life. Since these living entities have very little knowledge of self-realization, they are not getting any relief, although they are very anxious to attain peace of mind and some substantial happiness. Saintly persons like the Kumāras, Nārada, Prahlāda, Janaka, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Kapiladeva, as well as the followers of such authorities as the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas and their servants, can render a valuable service to humanity by disseminating knowledge of the relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity. Such knowledge is the perfect benediction for humanity.

Knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is such a great gift that it is impossible to repay the benefactor. Therefore Pṛthu Mahārāja requested the Kumāras to be satisfied by their own benevolent activities in delivering souls from the clutches of māyā. The King saw that there was no other way to satisfy them for their exalted activities. The word vinoda-pātram can be divided into two words, vinā and uda-pātram, or can be understood as one word, vinoda-pātram, which means "joker." A joker's activities simply arouse laughter, and a person who tries to repay the spiritual master or teacher of the transcendental message of Kṛṣṇa becomes a laughingstock just like a joker because it is not possible to repay such a debt. The best friend and benefactor of all people is one who awakens humanity to its original Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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

A Vaisnava is personally tolerant for the benefit of others. When he does not show his prowess, this does not mean that he is lacking in strength; rather, it indicates that he is tolerant for the welfare of the entire human society

2024-03-02T10:13:21Z

Ronita:

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<div id="facts">
{{terms|"A Vaiṣṇava is personally tolerant for the benefit of others. When he does not show his prowess, this does not mean that he is lacking in strength; rather, it indicates that he is tolerant for the welfare of the entire human society"}}
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[[Category:Vaisnava - Devotees of God]]
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[[Category:Welfare of Human Society]]
[[Category:Entire Human Society]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 06 Purports - Brahma Satisfies Lord Siva]]
[[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">
Because it was desired by Kṛṣṇa that Parīkṣit Mahārāja agree to the punishment so that the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would thus be revealed to the world, Parīkṣit Mahārāja was advised not to take action. A Vaiṣṇava is personally tolerant for the benefit of others. When he does not show his prowess, this does not mean that he is lacking in strength; rather, it indicates that he is tolerant for the welfare of the entire human society.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 4.6.48|SB 4.6.48, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
My dear lord, if in some places materialists, who are already bewildered by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Godhead, sometimes commit offenses, a saintly person, with compassion, does not take this seriously. Knowing that they commit offenses because they are overpowered by the illusory energy, he does not show his prowess to counteract them.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

It is said that the beauty of a tapasvī, or saintly person, is forgiveness. There are many instances in the spiritual history of the world in which many saintly persons, although unnecessarily harassed, did not take action, although they could have done so. Parīkṣit Mahārāja, for example, was unnecessarily cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy, and this was very much regretted by the boy's father, but Parīkṣit Mahārāja accepted the curse and agreed to die within a week as the brāhmaṇa boy desired. Parīkṣit Mahārāja was the emperor and was full in power both spiritually and materially, but out of compassion and out of respect for the brāhmaṇa community, he did not counteract the action of the brāhmaṇa boy but agreed to die within seven days. Because it was desired by Kṛṣṇa that Parīkṣit Mahārāja agree to the punishment so that the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would thus be revealed to the world, Parīkṣit Mahārāja was advised not to take action. A Vaiṣṇava is personally tolerant for the benefit of others. When he does not show his prowess, this does not mean that he is lacking in strength; rather, it indicates that he is tolerant for the welfare of the entire human society.

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

Category:Welfare Activities for Human Society

2024-03-02T09:54:31Z

Ronita:

[[Category:Welfare]]
[[Category:Activities]]
[[Category:Welfare Activities]]
[[Category:Human]]
[[Category:Society]]
[[Category:Human Society]]
[[Category:Welfare of Human Society]]
[[Category:Human Beings and Society - Umbrella Category]]
[[Category:All Categories - Vaniquotes]]

In the beginning of the Treta-yuga the sun-god instructed devotional service to Manu, and Manu in his turn instructed it to Iksvaku for the welfare of the whole human society

2024-03-02T09:49:26Z

Ronita:

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<div id="facts">
{{terms|"In the beginning of the Tretā-yuga the sun-god instructed devotional service to Manu, and Manu in his turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku for the welfare of the whole human society"}}
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{{compiler|MahaprabhuCaitanya}}
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[[Category:In The Beginning]]
[[Category:Treta-yuga]]
[[Category:Sun-god]]
[[Category:Instructing Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Manu]]
[[Category:Turn]]
[[Category:Iksvaku]]
[[Category:Devotional Service to God Gives Welfare to the Whole Human Society]]
[[Category:Welfare of Human Society]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Chapter 12 Purports - Birth of Emperor Pariksit]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 01 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 1</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The Lord's incarnation Matsya (the gigantic fish) was advented during the beginning of Vaivasvata Manu's reign. He learned the principles of Bhagavad-gītā from his father, Vivasvān, the sun-god, and he reinstructed the same to his son Mahārāja Ikṣvāku. In the beginning of the Tretā-yuga the sun-god instructed devotional service to Manu, and Manu in his turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku for the welfare of the whole human society.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 1.12.19|SB 1.12.19, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The learned brāhmaṇas said: O son of Pṛthā, this child shall be exactly like King Ikṣvāku, son of Manu, in maintaining all those who are born. And as for following the brahminical principles, especially in being true to his promise, he shall be exactly like Rāma, the Personality of Godhead, the son of Mahārāja Daśaratha.
</div>
<div class="text">
The Manu mentioned in this verse as the father of Ikṣvāku is the seventh Manu, of the name Vaivasvata Manu, the son of sun-god Vivasvān, to whom Lord Kṛṣṇa instructed the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā prior to His teaching them to Arjuna. Mankind is the descendant of Manu. This Vaivasvata Manu had ten sons, named Ikṣvāku, Nabhaga, Dhṛṣṭa, Śaryāti, Nariṣyanta, Nābhāga, Diṣṭa, Karūṣa, Pṛṣadhra and Vasumān. The Lord's incarnation Matsya (the gigantic fish) was advented during the beginning of Vaivasvata Manu's reign. He learned the principles of Bhagavad-gītā from his father, Vivasvān, the sun-god, and he reinstructed the same to his son Mahārāja Ikṣvāku. In the beginning of the Tretā-yuga the sun-god instructed devotional service to Manu, and Manu in his turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku for the welfare of the whole human society.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Who can estimate the limit of Jagadananda Pandita's fortune? He himself is the example of his own great fortune

2024-02-25T05:41:48Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Who can estimate the limit of Jagadānanda Paṇḍita’s fortune? He himself is the example of his own great fortune"}}
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[[Category:Who Can]]
[[Category:Estimate]]
[[Category:Limitation]]
[[Category:Caitanya and Jagadananda Pandita]]
[[Category:Fortune]]
[[Category:Example]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila Chapter 12 - The Loving Dealings Between Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Jagadananda Pandita]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 20 Chapters]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Antya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Who can estimate the limit of Jagadānanda Paṇḍita’s fortune? He himself is the example of his own great fortune.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Antya 12.153|CC Antya 12.153, Translation]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Who can estimate the limit of Jagadānanda Paṇḍita’s fortune? He himself is the example of his own great fortune.
</div>
</div>
</div>

When Krsna and Balarama had been going from Vrndavana to Mathura, the inhabitants of Vrndavana had imagined the great fortune of the citizens of Mathura in being able to see the wonderful beauty of Krsna

2024-02-25T05:40:17Z

Ronita:

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<div id="facts">
{{terms|"When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had been going from Vṛndāvana to Mathurā, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana had imagined the great fortune of the citizens of Mathurā in being able to see the wonderful beauty of Kṛṣṇa"}}
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[[Category:When Krsna]]
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[[Category:Krsna in Vrndavana]]
[[Category:Krsna in Mathura]]
[[Category:Krsna and the Inhabitants of Vrndavana]]
[[Category:Imagination]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Krsna and the Inhabitants of Mathura]]
[[Category:Being]]
[[Category:Able To]]
[[Category:Seeing Krsna]]
[[Category:Krsna's Wonderfulness]]
[[Category:Krsna's Beauty]]
[[Category:Krsna Book Chapter 42 - The Breaking of the Bow in the Sacrificial Arena]]
[[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">
When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had been going from Vṛndāvana to Mathurā, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana had imagined the great fortune of the citizens of Mathurā in being able to see the wonderful beauty of Kṛṣṇa, who is worshiped by His pure devotees as well as the goddess of fortune. The fantasies of the residents of Vṛndāvana were now actually realized, for the citizens of Mathurā became fully satisfied by seeing Kṛṣṇa.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:KB 42|Krsna Book, 42]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Kṛṣṇa next inquired from the citizens as to the location of the place of sacrifice. Kaṁsa had arranged for the sacrifice called Dhanur-yajña, and to designate this particular sacrifice he had placed a big bow near the sacrificial altar. The bow was very big and wonderful and resembled a rainbow in the sky. Within the sacrificial arena, this bow was protected by many constables and watchmen engaged by King Kaṁsa. As Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma approached the bow, They were warned not to go nearer, but Kṛṣṇa ignored this warning. He forcibly went up and immediately took the big bow in His left hand. After stringing the bow in the presence of the crowd, He drew it and broke it at the middle into two parts, exactly as an elephant breaks sugarcane in the field. Everyone present appreciated Kṛṣṇa’s power. The sound of the bow cracking filled both sky and land and was heard by Kaṁsa. When Kaṁsa heard what had happened, he began to fear for his life. The caretakers of the bow, who were standing by watching, became very angry, and with their respective weapons in hand they rushed toward Kṛṣṇa, shouting, “Arrest Him! Arrest Him! Kill Him! Kill Him!” Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were surrounded. When They understood the sinister motives of the guards, They became angry, and taking up the two pieces of the broken bow, They began to beat down all of Kaṁsa’s caretakers. While this turmoil was going on, Kaṁsa sent a small group of troops to assist the caretakers, but Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma fought with them also and killed them.

After this, Kṛṣṇa did not proceed further into the sacrificial arena but went out the gate and proceeded toward Their resting camp. Along the way, He visited various places in Mathurā City with great delight. Seeing the activities and wonderful prowess of Kṛṣṇa, all the citizens of Mathurā began to consider the two brothers to be demigods who had come down to Mathurā, and they all looked upon Them with great astonishment. The two brothers strolled carefree in the street, not caring for the law and order of Kaṁsa.

As sunset approached, Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Their cowherd boyfriends went to the outskirts of the city, where all their carts were assembled. Thus Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma gave some preliminary hints of Their arrival to Kaṁsa, and he could understand what severe type of danger was awaiting him the next day in the sacrificial arena.

When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had been going from Vṛndāvana to Mathurā, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana had imagined the great fortune of the citizens of Mathurā in being able to see the wonderful beauty of Kṛṣṇa, who is worshiped by His pure devotees as well as the goddess of fortune. The fantasies of the residents of Vṛndāvana were now actually realized, for the citizens of Mathurā became fully satisfied by seeing Kṛṣṇa.

When Kṛṣṇa returned to His camp, He was taken care of by servants who washed His lotus feet, gave Him a nice seat and offered Him milk and palatable dishes. After taking supper and thinking of the next day’s program, He very peacefully took rest. Thus He passed the night there.

On the other side, when Kaṁsa came to understand about the breaking of his wonderful bow and the killing of the caretakers and soldiers by Kṛṣṇa, he could partially realize the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He could realize that the eighth son of Devakī had appeared and that now his death was imminent. Thinking of his imminent death, he was restless the entire night. He began to have many inauspicious visions, and he could understand that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, who had approached the precincts of the city, were his messengers of death. Kaṁsa saw various kinds of inauspicious signs while both awake and dreaming. When he looked in the mirror he could not see his head, although the head was actually present. He saw the luminaries in the sky in double, although there was only one set factually. He began to see holes in his shadow, and he heard a high buzzing sound within his ears. All the trees before him appeared to be made of gold, and he could not see his own footprints in dust or muddy clay. In dreams he saw various kinds of ghosts being carried in a carriage drawn by donkeys. He also dreamed that someone gave him poison and he was drinking it. He dreamed also that he was going naked with a garland of flowers and was smearing oil all over his body. Thus, as Kaṁsa saw various signs of death while both awake and sleeping, he could understand that death was certain, and thus in great anxiety he could not rest that night. Just after the night expired, he busily arranged for the wrestling match.
</div>
</div>
</div>

We can simply imagine the great fortune of the inhabitants of Vrndavana. It is impossible to describe how, after many, many births of pious activities, they have become so fortunate

2024-02-25T05:31:28Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"We can simply imagine the great fortune of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. It is impossible to describe how, after many, many births of pious activities, they have become so fortunate"}}
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[[Category:We Can]]
[[Category:Simply]]
[[Category:Imagination]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of Vrndavana]]
[[Category:Impossible]]
[[Category:Description]]
[[Category:Many, Many Births]]
[[Category:Pious Activities]]
[[Category:They Have]]
[[Category:Become]]
[[Category:Fortunate]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 10 Chapter 12 Purports - The Killing of the Demon Aghasura]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10 Purports - Chapters 01 to 13]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
We can simply imagine the great fortune of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. It is impossible to describe how, after many, many births of pious activities, they have become so fortunate.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 10.12.12|SB 10.12.12, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Yogīs may undergo severe austerities and penances for many births by practicing yama, niyama, āsana and prāṇāyāma, none of which are easily performed. Yet in due course of time, when these yogīs attain the perfection of controlling the mind, they will still be unable to taste even a particle of dust from the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What then can we describe about the great fortune of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana, with whom the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally lived and who saw the Lord face to face?
</div>
<div class="text">
We can simply imagine the great fortune of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. It is impossible to describe how, after many, many births of pious activities, they have become so fortunate.
</div>
</div>
</div>

To his great fortune, on that day Uddhava's reputation as a crazy fellow was firmly established

2024-02-25T05:30:44Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
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{{terms|"To his great fortune, on that day Uddhava's reputation as a crazy fellow was firmly established"}}
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[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Day]]
[[Category:Uddhava]]
[[Category:Reputation]]
[[Category:Craziness]]
[[Category:Fellow]]
[[Category:Firm]]
[[Category:Establish]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 38 - Indifference and Separation]]
[[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">
When Śrī Kṛṣṇa left the city of Dvārakā to seek out the Syamantaka jewel, He was late returning home. Uddhava became so afflicted that the symptoms of disease became manifest on his body. Actually, due to his excessive ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava became known in Dvārakā as crazy. To his great fortune, on that day Uddhava's reputation as a crazy fellow was firmly established. Uddhava's craziness was practically proved when he went to Raivataka Hill to minutely observe the congested black clouds. In his disturbed condition, he began to pray to these clouds, and he expressed his jubilation by bowing down before them.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:NOD 38 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 38]]
</div>
<div class="text">
King Yudhiṣṭhira once said, "Kṛṣṇa, the chariot driver of Arjuna, is the only relative of mine within the three worlds. Therefore, my mind is becoming maddened day and night with separation from His lotus feet, and I do not know how to situate myself or where I shall go to attain any steadiness of mind." This is another example of lack of sleep.

Some of the cowherd friends of Kṛṣṇa said, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, O enemy of the Mura demon, just think of Your personal servant Raktaka. Simply because he saw a peacock feather he is now closing his eyes and is no longer attentive to pasturing the cows. Rather, he has left them in a faraway pasture and has not even bothered to use his stick to control them." This is an instance of mental imbalance due to separation from Kṛṣṇa.

When Lord Kṛṣṇa went to the capital of King Yudhiṣṭhira, Uddhava was so afflicted by the fire of separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa that the perspiring water from his enflamed body and the tears from his eyes poured from him, and in this way he became completely stunned.

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa left the city of Dvārakā to seek out the Syamantaka jewel, He was late returning home. Uddhava became so afflicted that the symptoms of disease became manifest on his body. Actually, due to his excessive ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava became known in Dvārakā as crazy. To his great fortune, on that day Uddhava's reputation as a crazy fellow was firmly established. Uddhava's craziness was practically proved when he went to Raivataka Hill to minutely observe the congested black clouds. In his disturbed condition, he began to pray to these clouds, and he expressed his jubilation by bowing down before them.

Uddhava informed Kṛṣṇa, "My dear leader of the Yadu dynasty, Your servants in Vṛndāvana cannot sleep at night thinking of You, so now they are all lying down on the bank of the Yamunā almost paralyzed. And it appears that they are almost dead because their breathing is very slow." This is an instance of becoming unconscious due to separation from Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa was once informed, "You are the life and soul of all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. So because You have left Vṛndāvana, all of the servitors of Your lotus feet there are suffering. It is as if the lakes filled with lotus flowers have dried up from the scorching heat of separation from You." In the example given here, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana are compared to lakes filled with lotus flowers, and because of the scorching heat of separation from Kṛṣṇa, the lakes—along with the lotus flowers of their lives—are being burned up. And the swans in the lakes, who are compared to the vitality of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, are no longer desiring to live in that lake. In other words, because of the scorching heat, the swans are leaving the lakes. This metaphor is used to describe the condition of the devotees separated from Kṛṣṇa.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Thus I have explained the meaning intended by mother Sarasvati, the goddess of learning. It is your great fortune that you have described Lord Jagannatha and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in that way

2024-02-25T05:29:47Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Thus I have explained the meaning intended by mother Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning. It is your great fortune that you have described Lord Jagannātha and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in that way"}}
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[[Category:Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami]]
[[Category:Explain]]
[[Category:Meaning Of...]]
[[Category:Mother Sarasvati]]
[[Category:Goddess of Learning]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Svarupa Damodara Gosvami]]
[[Category:Describing Caitanya]]
[[Category:Caitanya and Lord Jagannatha]]
[[Category:Way]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila Chapter 05 - How Pradyumna Misra Received Instructions from Ramananda Raya]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 20 Chapters]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Antya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Thus I have explained the meaning intended by mother Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning. It is your great fortune that you have described Lord Jagannātha and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in that way.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Antya 5.154|CC Antya 5.154, Translation]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Thus I have explained the meaning intended by mother Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning. It is your great fortune that you have described Lord Jagannātha and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in that way
</div>
</div>
</div>

This is His special mercy upon me and I always think about this with gratitude to this exalted personality coming directly from Vaikuntha World and we had the great fortune to meet Him

2024-02-25T05:28:50Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"this is His special mercy upon me and I always think about this with gratitude to this exalted personality coming directly from Vaikuntha World and we had the great fortune to meet Him"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Visnu Murti|Surabhi}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|19Nov10}}
{{last|28Mar12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=1}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:This Is]]
[[Category:Bhaktisiddhanta]]
[[Category:Special]]
[[Category:Mercy]]
[[Category:Me (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:I Think (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:I Always (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:About]]
[[Category:My Gratitude (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Exalted Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Comes Directly]]
[[Category:Vaikuntha Planets]]
[[Category:I Had (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Meet]]
[[Category:Prabhupada and Bhaktisiddhanta]]
</div>
<div id="Correspondence" class="section" sec_index="6" parent="compilation" text="Correspondence"><h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="1970_Correspondence" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Correspondence" text="1970 Correspondence"><h3>1970 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div id="LettertoHayagrivaLosAngeles14January1970_0" class="quote" parent="1970_Correspondence" book="Let" index="22" link="Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 14 January, 1970" link_text="Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 14 January, 1970">
<div class="heading">I was obliged to carry out His order by His arrangement only. This means although I was not very enthusiastic to carry out His order He forced me circumstantially to accept it. So this is His special mercy upon me and I always think about this with gratitude to this exalted personality coming directly from Vaikuntha World and we had the great fortune to meet Him. I think that is the only credit on our part that we happened to meet Him by some "ajnata sukriti" or unknown auspicious activities.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 14 January, 1970|Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 14 January, 1970]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">I beg to acknowledge receipt of your two letters dated January 5 and 8 1970 respectively, and I am so much moved from your kind sentiments that you have expressed for my humble activities. Actually I am not worthy of any one of the words spoken by you but all of them are due to my Spiritual Master Who was so kind to me. In fact I am a worthless person because my Spiritual Master ordered me to take up this work in 1922 but I did not carry his order until 1958, when I was obliged to carry out His order by His arrangement only. This means although I was not very enthusiastic to carry out His order He forced me circumstantially to accept it. So this is His special mercy upon me and I always think about this with gratitude to this exalted personality coming directly from Vaikuntha World and we had the great fortune to meet Him. I think that is the only credit on our part that we happened to meet Him by some "ajnata sukriti" or unknown auspicious activities. He is so kind upon me that when I came to your country, where I was completely unknown, He sent to me some good souls like you unsolicited. So I accept you all as assistants or representatives of my Guru Maharaja Who is still helping me because I am so feeble and unworthy. Anyway, the business which we have taken to work together is neither your business nor my business as far we are personally concerned, but it is the business of Lord Caitanya and His bona fide servants like my Guru Maharaja. Therefore it is the duty of all of us to execute it as nicely as far as possible within our capacity. In other words, we shall just try to discharge our responsible duties faithfully and seriously, then all facilities will come for our help.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Thinking Herself very unfortunate, Radharani addressed Her very dear friend Visakha, My dear friend, if I could see Krsna in My dreams, I would certainly be glorified for My great fortune. But what can I do? Sleep also plays mischievously with Me

2024-02-25T05:27:22Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Thinking Herself very unfortunate, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī addressed Her very dear friend Viśākhā"|"My dear friend, if I could see Kṛṣṇa in My dreams, I would certainly be glorified for My great fortune. But what can I do"|"Sleep also plays mischievously with Me"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-05-16T12:23:43Z}}
{{last|2021-05-16T12:23:43Z}}
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[[Category:Thinking]]
[[Category:Herself (Radharani)]]
[[Category:Very Unfortunate]]
[[Category:Radharani's Addressing]]
[[Category:Her (Radharani)]]
[[Category:Very Dear]]
[[Category:Dear to Radharani]]
[[Category:Radharani's Friends]]
[[Category:Radharani and Visakha]]
[[Category:My Dear]]
[[Category:Friend]]
[[Category:Could]]
[[Category:Radharani's Seeing Krsna]]
[[Category:Radharani's Dreams]]
[[Category:Dreaming of Krsna]]
[[Category:Would]]
[[Category:Certainly]]
[[Category:Glorifying Radharani]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:What Can]]
[[Category:Sleep]]
[[Category:Play]]
[[Category:Mischief]]
[[Category:With Radharani]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila Chapter 14 Purports - Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Feelings of Separation from Krsna]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila Purports]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Antya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Thinking Herself very unfortunate, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī addressed Her very dear friend Viśākhā, “My dear friend, if I could see Kṛṣṇa in My dreams, I would certainly be glorified for My great fortune. But what can I do? Sleep also plays mischievously with Me. Indeed, it has become My enemy. Therefore I have not slept since the departure of Kṛṣṇa.”.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Antya 14.53|CC Antya 14.53, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
“The ten bodily transformations resulting from separation from Kṛṣṇa are anxiety, wakefulness, mental agitation, thinness, uncleanliness, talking like a madman, disease, madness, illusion and death.”
</div>
<div class="text">
This verse is part of a description of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s different traits from Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Vipralambha-prakaraṇa 153), by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. In this book, he elaborately explains the ten symptoms as follows.

Cintā, anxiety. As stated in the Haṁsa-dūta (2):

<div class="quote_verse">
:yadā yāto gopī-hṛdaya-madano nanda-sadanān
:mukundo gāndinyās tanayam anurundhan madhu-purīm
:tadāmāṅkṣīc cintā-sariti ghana-ghūrṇāparicayair
:agādhāyāṁ bādhāmaya-payasi rādhā virahiṇī
</div>

“At Akrūra’s request, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma left the house of Nanda Mahārāja for Mathurā. At that time the mind of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was disrupted, and She became almost mad because of extreme separation from Kṛṣṇa. She experienced great mental pain and agitation, which caused Her to drown in mental speculation in the river of anxiety. She thought, ‘Now I am going to die, and when I die, Kṛṣṇa will surely come back to see Me again. But when He hears of My death from the people of Vṛndāvana, He will certainly be very unhappy. Therefore I shall not die.’” This is the explanation of the word cintā.

Jāgara, wakefulness. As stated in the Padyāvalī (326):

<div class="quote_verse">
:yāḥ paśyanti priyaṁ svapne dhanyās tāḥ sakhi yoṣitaḥ
:asmākaṁ tu gate kṛṣṇe gatā nidrāpi vairiṇī
</div>

Thinking Herself very unfortunate, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī addressed Her very dear friend Viśākhā, “My dear friend, if I could see Kṛṣṇa in My dreams, I would certainly be glorified for My great fortune. But what can I do? Sleep also plays mischievously with Me. Indeed, it has become My enemy. Therefore I have not slept since the departure of Kṛṣṇa.” Udvega, mental agitation. This word is explained in the Haṁsa-dūta (104) as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:mano me hā kaṣṭaṁ jvalati kim ahaṁ hanta karavai
:na pāraṁ nāvāraṁ su-mukhi kalayāmy asya jaladheḥ
:iyaṁ vande mūrdhnā sapadi tam upāyaṁ kathaya me
:parāmṛśye yasmād dhṛti-kaṇikayāpi kṣaṇikayā
</div>

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī addressed Lalitā, “My dear beautiful-faced Lalitā, I cannot express how My heart is burning. It is a great, unfathomable ocean of anxiety. Still, I wish to offer My obeisances at your lotus feet. What shall I do? Please consider My condition and advise Me how I can become peaceful, even for a moment. That is My desire.” Tānava, thinness, is described as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:udañcad-vaktrāmbhoruha-vikṛtir antaḥ-kulaṣitā
:sadāhārābhāva-glapita-kuca-kokā yadu-pate
:viśuṣyantī rādhā tava viraha-tāpād anu-dinaṁ
:nidāghe kuly eva kraśima-paripākaṁ prathayati
</div>

When Uddhava returned to Mathurā after visiting Vṛndāvana, Lord Kṛṣṇa inquired from him about Rādhārāṇī and Viśākhā. Uddhava replied as follows: “Consider the condition of the gopīs! Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī especially is in a very painful condition because of separation from You. She has grown skinny, and Her bodily luster is almost gone. Her heart is immersed in pain, and because She has given up eating, Her breasts have become black, as if diseased. Because of separation from You, all the gopīs, especially Rādhārāṇī, appear like dried-up water holes under the scorching heat of the sun.” Malina-aṅgatā, uncleanliness, is described as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:hima-visara-viśīrṇāmbhoja-tulyānana-śrīḥ
:khara-marud-aparajyad-bandhu-jīvopamauṣṭhī
:agha-hara śarad-arkottāpitendīvarākṣī
:tava viraha-vipatti-mlāpitāsīd viśākhā
</div>

Uddhava said to Kṛṣṇa, “O most auspicious Kṛṣṇa, please hear me. The tribulation caused by Your absence has made Viśākhā languid. Her lips tremble like trees in a strong wind. Her beautiful face is like a lotus flower that has withered under the snow, and her eyes are like lotus petals scorched by the heat of the autumn sun.” Pralāpa, mad talking, is explained in the Lalita-mādhava as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:kva nanda-kula-candramāḥ kva śikhi-candra-kālaṅkṛtiḥ
:kva mandra-muralī-ravaḥ kva nu surendra-nīla-dyutiḥ
:kva rāsa-rasa-tāṇḍavī kva sakhi jīva-rakṣauṣadhir
:nidhir mama suhṛttamaḥ kva tava hanta hā dhig vidhiḥ
</div>

This is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s lamentation for Her beloved Kṛṣṇa, who was away from home. A woman whose husband has left home and gone to a foreign land is called proṣita-bhartṛkā. Lamenting for Kṛṣṇa in the same way that such a woman laments for her husband, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī said, “My dear friend, where is the glory of the family of Mahārāja Nanda, who wears a half-moon ornament on His head? Where is Kṛṣṇa, whose hue is like that of the indranīla jewel and who plays so nicely on His flute? Where is your friend, the best of all men, so expert in dancing in the circle of the rāsa dance? Where is He who is the real medicine to save Me from dying of heart disease? I must condemn Providence, for he has caused Me so many tribulations by separating Me from Kṛṣṇa.” Vyādhi, disease, is also described in the Lalita-mādhava:

<div class="quote_verse">
:uttāpī puṭa-pākato ‘pi garala-grāmād api kṣobhaṇo
:dambholer api duḥsahaḥ kaṭur alaṁ hṛn-magna-śūlyād api
:tīvraḥ prauḍha-visūcikāni cayato ‘py uccair mamāyaṁ balī
:marmāṇy adya bhinatti gokula-pater viśleṣa-janmā jvaraḥ
</div>

Being greatly afflicted by the pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī said, “My dear Lalitā, kindly hear Me. I cannot bear suffering the fever of separation from Kṛṣṇa, nor can I explain it to you. It is something like gold melting in an earthen box. This fever produces more distress than poison, and it is more piercing than a thunderbolt. I suffer exactly like someone almost dead from cholera. To be giving Me so much pain, this fever must be very strong indeed.” Unmāda, madness, is explained as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:bhramati bhavana-garbhe nirnimittaṁ hasantī
:prathayati tava vārtāṁ cetanācetaneṣu
:luṭhati ca bhuvi rādhā kampitāṅgī murāre
:viṣama-viraha-khedodgāri-vibhrānta-cittā
</div>

Uddhava said to Kṛṣṇa, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, all the gopīs are so afflicted by Your absence that they have become almost mad. O Murāri, at home Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī laughs unnecessarily and, like a madwoman, inquires about You from every entity without distinction, even from the stones. She rolls on the ground, unable to bear the agony of Your absence.” Moha, illusion, is explained as follows:

<div class="quote_verse">
:nirundhe dainyābdhiṁ harati guru-cintā paribhavaṁ
:vilumpaty unmādaṁ sthagayati balād bāṣpa-laharīm
:idānīṁ kaṁsāre kuvalaya-dṛśaḥ kevalam idaṁ
:vidhatte sācivyaṁ tava viraha-mūrcchā-sahacarī
</div>

Lalitā wrote Kṛṣṇa the following letter on Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s behalf: “My dear Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has fallen unconscious on the ground, Her mind greatly agitated by Her separation from You. O enemy of Kaṁsa, You have now become a first-class politician, and therefore You can supposedly give relief to everyone. Therefore please consider the plight of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, or very soon You will hear of Her death. Maybe at that time You will lament, although now You are jubilant.” Mṛtyu, death, is explained in the Haṁsa-dūta (96):

<div class="quote_verse">
:aye rāsa-krīḍā-rasika mama sakhyaṁ nava-navā
:purā baddhā yena praṇaya-laharī hanta gahanā
:sa cen muktāpekṣas tvam asi dhig imāṁ tūla-śakalaṁ
:yad etasyā nāsā-nihitam idam adyāpi calati
</div>

In the following letter, Lalitā chastised Kṛṣṇa for staying in Mathurā: “Simply by dancing in the circle of the rāsa dance, You attracted Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s love. Why are You now so indifferent to my dear friend Rādhārāṇī? She is lying nearly unconscious, thinking of Your pastimes. I shall determine whether She is alive by putting a cotton swab under Her nostrils, and if She is still living, I shall chastise Her.”
</div>
</div>
</div>

There are innumerable hellish engagements in the modern so-called civilization, and by the grace of the Lord's illusory energy people think these hellish engagements are a great fortune

2024-02-25T04:45:43Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"There are innumerable hellish engagements in the modern so-called civilization, and by the grace of the Lord's illusory energy people think these hellish engagements are a great fortune"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nabakumar}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2021-12-19T14:44:40Z}}
{{last|2021-12-19T14:44:40Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
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{{toc right}}
[[Category:There Are]]
[[Category:Hellish]]
[[Category:Engagement]]
[[Category:Modern]]
[[Category:So-called Civilization]]
[[Category:God's Grace]]
[[Category:God's Illusory Energies]]
[[Category:Thoughts of People]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Mukunda-mala-stotra Chapters 01 to 06]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
There are innumerable hellish engagements in the modern so-called civilization, and by the grace of the Lord's illusory energy people think these hellish engagements are a great fortune. Modern industrial factories fully equipped with up-to-date machines are so many Kumbhīpāka hells, and the organizers of these enterprises regard them as indispensable for the advancement of economic welfare.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:MM 4|Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 4, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
O Lord Hari, it is not to be saved from the dualities of material existence or the grim tribulations of the Kumbhīpāka hell that I pray to Your lotus feet. Nor is my purpose to enjoy the soft-skinned beautiful women who reside in the gardens of heaven. I pray to Your lotus feet only so that I may remember You alone in the core of my heart, birth after birth.
</div>
<div class="text">
There are two classes of men: the atheists and the theists. The atheists have no faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, while the theists have various degrees of faith in Him.

The atheists are faithless on account of their many misdeeds in their present and past lives. They fall into four categories: (1) the gross materialists, (2) the immoral sinners, (3) the number-one fools, and (4) those who are bewildered by māyā despite their mundane erudition. No one among these four classes of atheist ever believes in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, what to speak of offering prayers unto His lotus feet.

The theists, on the other hand, have faith in the Lord and pray to Him with various motives. One attains such a theistic life not by chance but as a result of performing many pious acts in both the present life and the past life. Such pious men also belong to four categories: (1) the needy, (2) those who have fallen into difficulty, (3) those who are inquisitive about the transcendental science, and (4) the genuine philosophers. The philosophers and those who are inquisitive are better than those in categories (1) and (2). But a pure devotee is far above these four classes of pious men, for he is in the transcendental position.

The needy pious man prays to God for a better standard of life, and the pious man who has fallen into material difficulty prays in order to get rid of his trouble. But the inquisitive man and the philosopher do not pray to God for amelioration of mundane problems. They pray for the ability to know Him as He is, and they try to reach Him through science and logic. Such pious men are generally known as theosophists.

Needy pious men pray to God to improve their economic condition because all they know is sense gratification, while those in difficulty ask Him to free them from a hellish life of tribulations. Such ignorant people do not know the value of human life. This life is meant to prepare one to return to the absolute world, the kingdom of God.

A pure devotee is neither a needy man, a man fallen into difficulty, nor an empiric philosopher who tries to approach the Divinity on the strength his own imperfect knowledge. A pure devotee receives knowledge of the Divinity from the right source — the disciplic succession of realized souls who have followed strictly the disciplinary method of devotional service under the guidance of bona fide spiritual masters. It is not possible to know the transcendental nature of the Divinity by dint of one's imperfect sense perception, but the Divinity reveals Himself to a pure devotee in proportion to the transcendental service rendered unto Him.

King Kulaśekhara is a pure devotee, and as such he is not eager to improve himself by the standards of the empiric philosophers, distressed men, or fruitive workers of this world. Pious acts may lead a mundane creature toward the path of spiritual realization, but practical activity in the domain of devotional service to the Lord need not wait for the reactions of pious acts. A pure devotee does not think in terms of his personal gain or loss because he is fully surrendered to the Lord. He is concerned only with the service of the Lord and always engages in that service, and for this reason his heart is the Lord's home. The Lord being absolute, there is no difference between Him and His service. A pure devotee's heart is always filled with ideas about executing the Lord's service, which is bestowed upon the pure devotee through the transparent medium of the spiritual master.

The spiritual master in the authoritative line of disciplic succession is the "son of God," or in other words the Lord's bona fide representative. The proof that he is bona fide is his invincible faith in God, which protects him from the calamity of impersonalism. An impersonalist cannot be a bona fide spiritual master, for such a spiritual master's only purpose in life must be to render service to the Lord. He preaches the message of Godhead as the Lord's appointed agent and has nothing to do with sense gratification or the mundane wrangling of the impersonalists. No one can render devotional service to an impersonal entity because such service implies a reciprocal personal relationship between the servant and the master. In the impersonal school the so-called devotee is supposed to merge with the Lord and lose his separate existence.

Pure devotees like King Kulaśekhara are particularly careful to avoid a process that will end in their becoming one with the existence of the Lord, a state known as advandva, nonduality. This is simply spiritual suicide. Out of the five kinds of salvation, advandva is the most abominable for a devotee. A pure devotee denounces such oneness with the Lord as worse than going to hell.

As His separated expansions, the living beings are part and parcel of the Lord. The Lord expands Himself into plenary parts and separated parts to enjoy transcendental pastimes, and if a living being refuses to engage in these transcendental blissful pastimes, he is at liberty to merge into the Absolute. This is something like a son's committing suicide instead of living with his father according to the rules the father sets down. By committing suicide, the son thus sacrifices the happiness he could have enjoyed by engaging in a filial loving relationship with his father and enjoying his father's estate. A pure devotee persistently avoids such a criminal policy, and King Kulaśekhara is guiding us to avoid this pitfall.

The king also says that the reason he is praying to the Lord is not to be saved from the Kumbhīpāka hell. Laborers in gigantic iron and steel mills suffer tribulations similar to those in the Kumbhīpāka hell. Kumbhī means "pot," and pāka means "boiling." So if a person were put into a pot of oil and the pot were set to boiling, he would have some idea of the suffering in Kumbhīpāka hell.

There are innumerable hellish engagements in the modern so-called civilization, and by the grace of the Lord's illusory energy people think these hellish engagements are a great fortune. Modern industrial factories fully equipped with up-to-date machines are so many Kumbhīpāka hells, and the organizers of these enterprises regard them as indispensable for the advancement of economic welfare. The mass of laborers exploited by the organizers directly experience the "welfare" conditions in these factories, but what the organizers do not know is that by the law of karma they will in due time become laborers in similar Kumbhīpāka hells.

Intelligent persons certainly want to be saved from such Kumbhīpāka hells, and they pray to God for this benediction. But a pure devotee does not pray in this way. A pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa looks equally upon the happiness enjoyed in heaven, the transcendental bliss of becoming one with the Lord, and the tribulations experienced in the Kumbhīpāka hell. He is not concerned with any of them because he is always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. By the grace of the Lord, even in the Kumbhīpāka hell a pure devotee can adjust the situation and turn it into Vaikuṇṭha.

The Bhagavad-gītā and all other revealed scriptures say that the Lord accompanies every living being in His localized aspect of Paramātmā, the Supersoul. Therefore even a living being destined to reside in the Kumbhīpāka hell is accompanied by his eternal companion, the Lord. But by His inconceivable power the Lord remains aloof from these hellish circumstances, just as the sky remains separate from the air although seemingly mixed with it.

Similarly, the pure devotee of the Lord does not live anywhere in this material world, although He appears to live among mundane creatures. Actually, the devotee lives in Vaikuṇṭha. In this way the Supreme Lord bestows upon His pure devotee the inconceivable power that allows him to stay aloof from all mundane circumstances and reside eternally in the spiritual world. The devotee does not want this power consciously or unconsciously, but the Lord is careful about His devotee, just as a mother is always careful about her little child, who is completely dependent on her care.

A pure devotee like King Kulaśekhara refuses to associate with beautiful soft-skinned women. There are different grades of women on different planets in the universe. Even on the earth there are different types of women who are enjoyed by different types of men. But on higher planets there are women many, many millions of times more beautiful than the women on this planet, and there are also many pleasure abodes where they can be enjoyed. The best of all of these is the Nandana Gardens on Svargaloka. In the Nandana Gardens — a "Garden of Eden" — those who are qualified can enjoy varieties of beautiful women called Apsarās. The demigods generally enjoy the company of the Apsarās in the same way that the great Mogul kings and nawabs enjoyed their harems. But these kings and nawabs are like straw before the demigods of Svargaloka, which lies in the third stratum of the universe.

The inner tendency to enjoy is in the core of every living being's heart. But in the diseased state of material existence the living being misuses that tendency. The more he increases this diseased, conditioned state, the longer he extends his period of material existence. The śāstras advise, therefore, that a living entity should accept only those sense-enjoyable objects necessary for the upkeep of the material body and reject those that are just for sense gratification. In this way he will reduce the tendency for sense enjoyment. This restraint cannot be imposed by force; it must be voluntary.

Such restraint automatically develops in the course of one's executing devotional service. Thus one who is already engaged in devotional service need not restrain his senses artificially. A pure devotee like King Kulaśekhara, therefore, neither desires sense enjoyment nor exerts himself to restrain his senses; rather, he tries only to engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, without any stop.
</div>
</div>
</div>

The Lord said again and again, "Only by great fortune may one come by a particle of the remnants of food offered to the Lord." The servants of the Jagannatha temple inquired, "What is the meaning of this"

2024-02-24T21:24:50Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"The Lord said again and again, “Only by great fortune may one come by a particle of the remnants of food offered to the Lord.” The servants of the Jagannātha temple inquired, “What is the meaning of this"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|HanumanIC}}
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[[Category:Caitanya Says]]
[[Category:Again and Again]]
[[Category:Only By]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:May (Might)]]
[[Category:One]]
[[Category:Come]]
[[Category:Particle]]
[[Category:Remnants of Food]]
[[Category:Offering Food to Krsna]]
[[Category:Offering Food to God]]
[[Category:God's Servants]]
[[Category:God Is Lord Jagannatha]]
[[Category:Inquiring from Caitanya]]
[[Category:What Is The Meaning Of...]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila Chapter 16 - Lord Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Tastes Nectar from the Lips of Lord Sri Krsna]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 20 Chapters]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Antya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
The Lord said again and again, “Only by great fortune may one come by a particle of the remnants of food offered to the Lord.” The servants of the Jagannātha temple inquired, “What is the meaning of this?”
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Antya 16.96|CC Antya 16.96, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The Lord said again and again, “Only by great fortune may one come by a particle of the remnants of food offered to the Lord.” The servants of the Jagannātha temple inquired, “What is the meaning of this?”
</div>
<div class="text">
The remnants of Kṛṣṇa’s food are mixed with His saliva. In the Mahābhārata and the Skanda Purāṇa it is stated:

<div class="quote_verse">
:mahā-prasāde govinde nāma-brahmaṇi vaiṣṇave
:sv-alpa-puṇyavatāṁ rājan viśvāso naiva jāyate
</div>

“Persons who are not very highly elevated in pious activities cannot believe in the remnants of food [prasādam] of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor in Govinda, the holy name of the Lord, nor in the Vaiṣṇavas.”
</div>
</div>
</div>

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then humbly submitted, "I am just like an ignorant boy and am like your disciple. It is My great fortune that you are instructing Me"

2024-02-24T21:23:07Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then humbly submitted, “I am just like an ignorant boy and am like your disciple. It is My great fortune that you are instructing Me"}}
{{notes|}}
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[[Category:Caitanya Then]]
[[Category:Caitanya's Humility]]
[[Category:Caitanya's Submitting]]
[[Category:Caitanya Is]]
[[Category:Just Like]]
[[Category:Ignorance]]
[[Category:Caitanya As a Boy]]
[[Category:Caitanya As a Disciple]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Instructing Caitanya]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila Chapter 08 - Ramacandra Puri Criticizes the Lord]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 20 Chapters]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Antya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then humbly submitted, “I am just like an ignorant boy and am like your disciple. It is My great fortune that you are instructing Me.”
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Antya 8.69|CC Antya 8.69, Translation]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then humbly submitted, “I am just like an ignorant boy and am like your disciple. It is My great fortune that you are instructing Me.”
</div>
</div>
</div>

Sometimes Sridama used to address Krsna, "Oh, You are so cruel that You left us alone on the bank of Yamuna, and we were all mad from not seeing You there! Now it is our great fortune that we are able to see You here"

2024-02-24T21:21:48Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Sometimes Śrīdāmā used to address Kṛṣṇa"|"Oh, You are so cruel that You left us alone on the bank of Yamunā, and we were all mad from not seeing You there! Now it is our great fortune that we are able to see You here"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MahaprabhuCaitanya}}
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[[Category:Sometimes]]
[[Category:Krsna and Sridama]]
[[Category:Addressing Krsna]]
[[Category:Krsna's Cruelty]]
[[Category:Krsna's Leaving]]
[[Category:Alone]]
[[Category:Banks]]
[[Category:Krsna and the Yamuna River]]
[[Category:Made]]
[[Category:Seeing Krsna]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Able]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 41 - Fraternal Devotion]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapters 01 to 51]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Sometimes Śrīdāmā used to address Kṛṣṇa: "Oh, You are so cruel that You left us alone on the bank of Yamunā, and we were all mad from not seeing You there! Now it is our great fortune that we are able to see You here. If You want to pacify us, You must embrace each one of us with Your arms. But believe me, my dear friend, a moment's absence from You creates great havoc, not only for us but for the cows also. Everything becomes disarranged, and we become mad after You.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:NOD 41 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 41]]
</div>
<div class="text">
The behavior of these confidential friends is described by a friend of Rādhārāṇī, who told Rādhārāṇī: "My dear graceful Rādhārāṇī, Your intimate friend, Kṛṣṇa, is also served by His intimate boy friends. Some of them cut jokes with Him in mild voices and please Him very much by this." For example, Kṛṣṇa had one brāhmaṇa friend whose name was Madhumaṅgala. This boy would joke by playing the part of a greedy brāhmaṇa. Whenever the friends ate, he would eat more than all others, especially lāḍḍus, of which he was very fond. Then after eating more lāḍḍus than anyone else, Madhumaṅgala would still not be satisfied, and he would say to Kṛṣṇa, "If You give me one more lāḍḍu, then I shall be pleased to give You my blessings so that Your friend Rādhārāṇī will be very much pleased with You." The brāhmaṇas are supposed to give blessings to the vaiśyas (farming and merchant caste), and Kṛṣṇa presented Himself as the son of Mahārāj Nanda, a vaiśya; so the brāhmaṇa boy was right in giving blessings to Kṛṣṇa. Thus Kṛṣṇa was very pleased by His friend's blessings, and He would supply him with more and more lāḍḍus.

Sometimes a confidential friend would come before Kṛṣṇa and embrace Him with great affection and love. Another friend would then come up from the rear and cover Kṛṣṇa's eyes with his hands. Kṛṣṇa would always feel very happy by such dealings with His confidential friends.

Out of all these confidential friends, Śrīdāmā is considered to be the chief. Śrīdāmā used to put on a yellow-colored dress. He would carry a buffalo horn, and his turban was of reddish, copper color. His bodily complexion was blackish, and around his neck there was a nice garland. He would always challenge Kṛṣṇa in joking friendship. Let us pray to Śrīdāmā to bestow his mercy upon us!

Sometimes Śrīdāmā used to address Kṛṣṇa: "Oh, You are so cruel that You left us alone on the bank of Yamunā, and we were all mad from not seeing You there! Now it is our great fortune that we are able to see You here. If You want to pacify us, You must embrace each one of us with Your arms. But believe me, my dear friend, a moment's absence from You creates great havoc, not only for us but for the cows also. Everything becomes disarranged, and we become mad after You."

There are other friends who are still more confidential. They are called priya-narmā, or intimate friends. Counted among the priya-narmā friends are Subala, Arjuna, Gandharva, Vasanta and Ujjvala. There was talk among the friends of Rādhārāṇī, the gopīs, about these most intimate friends. One gopī addressed Rādhārāṇī thusly: "My dear Kṛśāṅgī (delicate one), just see how Subala is whispering Your message into Kṛṣṇa's ear, how he is delivering the confidential letter of Śyāmādāsī silently into Kṛṣṇa's hand, how he is delivering the betel nuts prepared by Pālikā into Kṛṣṇa's mouth, and how he is decorating Kṛṣṇa with the garland prepared by Tārakā. Did you know, my dear friend, that all these most intimate friends of Kṛṣṇa are always engaged in His service in this way?" Out of the many intimate priya-narmās, Subala and Ujjvala are considered to be the most prominent.

Subala's body is described as follows. His complexion is just like molten gold. He is very, very dear to Kṛṣṇa. He always has a garland around his neck, and he wears yellow clothing. His eyes are just like lotus flower petals, and he is so intelligent that by his talking and his moral instructions, all the other friends take the highest pleasure. Let us all offer our respectful obeisances unto Kṛṣṇa's friend Subala!

The degree of intimacy shared by Kṛṣṇa and Subala can be understood by the fact that the talks between them were so confidential that no one else could understand what they were saying.

The description of Ujjvala, another intimate friend, is given as follows. Ujjvala always wears some garment of orange color, and the movements of his eyes are always very restless. He likes to decorate himself with all kinds of flowers, his bodily hue is almost like Kṛṣṇa's, and on his neck there is always a necklace of pearls. He is always very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Let us all worship Ujjvala, the most intimate friend of Kṛṣṇa!

About the confidential service of Ujjvala, this statement is to be found, addressed by Rādhārāṇī to one of Her friends: "My dear friend, it is impossible for Me to keep My prestige! I wanted to avoid talking to Kṛṣṇa anymore—but just see! There again is His friend, Ujjvala, coming to Me with his canvassing work. His entreaties are so powerful that it is very difficult for a gopī to resist her love for Kṛṣṇa, even though she may be very bashful, devoted to her family duties and most faithful to her husband."

The following is a statement by Ujjvala, showing his jubilant nature: "My dear Kṛṣṇa, O killer of Aghāsura, You have extended Your loving affairs so much that You can be compared to the great ocean, which is without limitations. At the same time, the young girls of the world who are all searching after the perfect lover have become just like rivers running into this ocean. Under the circumstances, all these rivers of young girls may try to divert their courses to some other place, but at the end they must come unto You."

Amongst the groups of different friends of Kṛṣṇa, some are well-known from various scriptures, and some are well-known by popular tradition. There are three divisions amongst Kṛṣṇa's friends: some are eternally in friendship with Kṛṣṇa, some are elevated demigods, and some are perfected devotees. In all of these groups there are some who by nature are fixed in Kṛṣṇa's service and are always engaged in giving counsel; some of them are very fond of joking and naturally cause Kṛṣṇa to smile by their words; some of them are by nature very simple, and by their simplicity they please Lord Kṛṣṇa; some of them create wonderful situations by their activities, apparently against Kṛṣṇa; some of them are very talkative, always arguing with Kṛṣṇa and creating a debating atmosphere; and some of them are very gentle and give pleasure to Kṛṣṇa by their sweet words. All of these friends are very intimate with Kṛṣṇa, and they show expertise in their different activities, their aim always being to please Kṛṣṇa.
</div>
</div>
</div>

O killer of the enemy, you have somehow or other come here. This is certainly great fortune for me. I wish all auspicious things for you. You have a great desire to satisfy your senses

2024-02-24T21:20:15Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"O killer of the enemy, you have somehow or other come here. This is certainly great fortune for me. I wish all auspicious things for you. You have a great desire to satisfy your senses"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Iswaraj}}
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[[Category:Puranjana]]
[[Category:Somehow or Other]]
[[Category:Come Here]]
[[Category:This Is]]
[[Category:Certainly]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Wish]]
[[Category:All auspicious]]
[[Category:Auspicious Things]]
[[Category:Great]]
[[Category:Desire]]
[[Category:Satisfaction]]
[[Category:Senses]]
[[Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by the Beautiful Woman Seen by Puranjana - Vaniquotes]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 25 - The Descriptions of the Characteristics of King Puranjana]]
[[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 4</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
O killer of the enemy, you have somehow or other come here. This is certainly great fortune for me. I wish all auspicious things for you. You have a great desire to satisfy your senses, and all my friends and I shall try our best in all respects to fulfill your desires.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 4.25.36|SB 4.25.36, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
O killer of the enemy, you have somehow or other come here. This is certainly great fortune for me. I wish all auspicious things for you. You have a great desire to satisfy your senses, and all my friends and I shall try our best in all respects to fulfill your desires.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

The living entity comes down into this material world for sense gratification, and his intelligence, represented by the woman, gives him the proper direction by which he can satisfy his senses to their best capacity. In actuality, however, intelligence comes from the Supersoul, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He gives full facility to the living entity who has come down to this material world. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 2.41 (1972)|BG 2.41]]):

<div class="quote_verse">
:vyavasāyātmikā buddhir
:ekeha kuru-nandana
:bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca
:buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām
</div>

"Those who are on the spiritual path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched."

When a devotee is advancing toward spiritual realization, his only aim is the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He does not care for any other material or spiritual activity. King Purañjana represents the ordinary living entity, and the woman represents the ordinary living entity's intelligence. Combined, the living entity enjoys his material senses, and the intelligence supplies all paraphernalia for his enjoyment. As soon as he enters the human form, the living entity is entrapped by a family tradition, nationality, customs, etc. These are all supplied by the māyā of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus the living entity, under the bodily conception of life, utilizes his intelligence to his best capacity in order to satisfy his senses.

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

Narada said, "Your (Krsna's) appearance, therefore, is not forced by any other agency. By Your sweet will only, You agree to appear and disappear. It is my great fortune that I have been able to see Your lotus feet today"

2024-02-24T21:14:40Z

Ronita:

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{{terms|"Your appearance, therefore, is not forced by any other agency. By Your sweet will only, You agree to appear and disappear. It is my great fortune that I have been able to see Your lotus feet today"}}
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[[Category:Any Other]]
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[[Category:By Krsna]]
[[Category:Krsna's Sweetness]]
[[Category:Krsna's Will]]
[[Category:Sweet Will]]
[[Category:Only]]
[[Category:Krsna's Agreeing]]
[[Category:Krsna's Disappearance]]
[[Category:My]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:I Have]]
[[Category:Have Been]]
[[Category:Able To]]
[[Category:Narada's Seeing]]
[[Category:Seeing Krsna]]
[[Category:Narada's Seeing]]
[[Category:Krsna's Lotus Feet]]
[[Category:Today]]
[[Category:Krsna Book Chapter 69 - The Great Sage Narada Visits the Different Homes of Lord Krsna]]
[[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">
Your appearance, therefore, is not forced by any other agency. By Your sweet will only, You agree to appear and disappear. It is my great fortune that I have been able to see Your lotus feet today. Anyone who becomes attached to Your lotus feet is elevated to the supreme position of neutrality and is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. My Lord, You are unlimited—there is no limit to Your opulences.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:KB 69|Krsna Book, 69]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Brahmaṇya means one who fully possesses the brahminical qualifications, which are said to be as follows: truthfulness, self-control, purity, mastery of the senses, simplicity, full knowledge by practical application, and engagement in devotional service. Lord Kṛṣṇa possesses all these qualities, and He is worshiped by persons who themselves possess such qualities. There are thousands and millions of names of Lord Kṛṣṇa—Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma—and all of them are given to Him because of His transcendental qualities.

Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā enjoyed the pastimes of a perfect human being. Therefore, when He washed the feet of the sage Nārada and took the water on His head, Nārada did not object, knowing well that the Lord did so to teach everyone how to respect saintly persons. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is the original Nārāyaṇa and eternal friend of all living entities, thus worshiped the sage Nārada according to Vedic regulative principles. Welcoming him with sweet, nectarean words, He addressed Nārada as bhagavān, or one who is self-sufficient, possessing all knowledge, renunciation, strength, fame, beauty and other, similar opulences. He particularly asked Nārada, “What can I do in your service?”

Nārada replied, “My dear Lord, this kind of behavior by Your Lordship is not at all astonishing, for You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and master of all species of living entities. You are the supreme friend of all living entities, but at the same time You are the supreme chastiser of the miscreants and the envious. I know that Your Lordship has descended to this earth for the proper maintenance of the whole universe. Your appearance, therefore, is not forced by any other agency. By Your sweet will only, You agree to appear and disappear. It is my great fortune that I have been able to see Your lotus feet today. Anyone who becomes attached to Your lotus feet is elevated to the supreme position of neutrality and is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. My Lord, You are unlimited—there is no limit to Your opulences. Great demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are always busy placing You within their hearts and meditating upon You. The conditioned souls, who have now been put into the blind well of material existence, can get out of this eternal captivity only by accepting Your lotus feet. Thus, You are the only shelter of all conditioned souls. My dear Lord, You have very kindly asked what You can do for me. In answer to this I simply request that I may not forget Your lotus feet at any time. I do not care where I may be, but I pray that I constantly be allowed to remember Your lotus feet.”

By asking this benediction from the Lord, the sage Nārada showed the ideal prayer of all pure devotees. A pure devotee never asks for any kind of material or spiritual benediction from the Lord; his only prayer is that he may not forget the lotus feet of the Lord in any condition of life. A pure devotee does not care whether he is put into heaven or hell; he is satisfied anywhere, provided he can constantly remember the lotus feet of the Lord. Lord Caitanya taught this same process of prayer in His Śikṣāṣṭaka, in which He clearly stated that all He wanted was devotional service, birth after birth. A pure devotee does not even want to stop the repetition of birth and death. To a pure devotee, it does not matter whether he has to take birth again in the various species of life. His only ambition is that he not forget the lotus feet of the Lord in any condition of life.

After departing from the palace of Rukmiṇī, Nāradajī wanted to see further activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency, yogamāyā; thus he entered the palace of another queen. There he saw Lord Kṛṣṇa engaged in playing chess with His dear wife and Uddhava. The Lord immediately got up from His personal seat and invited Nārada Muni to sit there. The Lord again worshiped him with as much paraphernalia for reception as He had used in the palace of Rukmiṇī. After worshiping him properly, Lord Kṛṣṇa acted as if He did not know what had happened in the palace of Rukmiṇī. He therefore told Nārada, “My dear sage, when Your Holiness comes here, you are full in yourself. Although We are householders and are always in need, you don’t require anyone’s help, for you are self-satisfied. Under the circumstances, what reception can We offer you, and what can We possibly give you? Yet, since Your Holiness is a brāhmaṇa, it is Our duty to offer you something as far as possible. Therefore, I beg you to please order Me. What can I do for you?”

Nāradajī knew everything about the pastimes of the Lord, so without further discussion he simply left the palace silently, in great astonishment over the Lord’s activities. He then entered another palace. This time Nāradajī saw that Lord Kṛṣṇa was engaged as an affectionate father petting His small children. From there he entered another palace and saw Lord Kṛṣṇa preparing to take His bath. In this way, Saint Nārada entered each and every one of the sixteen thousand residential palaces of the queens of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and in each of them he found Kṛṣṇa engaged in different ways.
</div>
</div>
</div>

My dear Lord, there is no limit to my (Kurma brahmana's) great fortune. It cannot be described. Today my family, birth and riches have all been glorified

2024-02-24T21:11:38Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"My dear Lord, there is no limit to my great fortune. It cannot be described. Today my family, birth and riches have all been glorified"}}
{{notes|}}
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[[Category:There Is No]]
[[Category:No Limit]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Cannot Be]]
[[Category:Cannot Describe]]
[[Category:Described in the Caitanya-caritamrta]]
[[Category:Today]]
[[Category:Family]]
[[Category:Birth]]
[[Category:Rich]]
[[Category:Have Been]]
[[Category:Glorification]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Chapter 07 - The Lord Begins His Tour of South India]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters]]
[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 25 Chapters]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Madhya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
“My dear Lord, there is no limit to my great fortune. It cannot be described. Today my family, birth and riches have all been glorified.”.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Madhya 7.125|CC Madhya 7.125, Translation]]
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<div class="quote_translation">
“My dear Lord, there is no limit to my great fortune. It cannot be described. Today my family, birth and riches have all been glorified.”
</div>
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</div>

It is your great fortune to be chanting Hare Krishna Mantra. This is the special purpose of human life

2024-02-24T21:01:43Z

Ronita:

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<div id="Correspondence" class="section" sec_index="6" parent="compilation" text="Correspondence"><h2>Correspondence</h2>
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<div id="1976_Correspondence" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Correspondence" text="1976 Correspondence"><h3>1976 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div id="LettertoElaineMayapur1February1976_0" class="quote" parent="1976_Correspondence" book="Let" index="95" link="Letter to Elaine -- Mayapur 1 February, 1976" link_text="Letter to Elaine -- Mayapur 1 February, 1976">
<div class="heading">It is your great fortune to be chanting Hare Krishna Mantra. This is the special purpose of human life. In the other forms of life like the animals, this opportunity is not available.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Letter to Elaine -- Mayapur 1 February, 1976|Letter to Elaine -- Mayapur 1 February, 1976]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">It is your great fortune to be chanting Hare Krishna Mantra. This is the special purpose of human life. In the other forms of life like the animals, this opportunity is not available. So make your life perfect by becoming Krishna Conscious.</p>
<p>Spiritual life means to become pure, and chanting Hare Krishna will automatically make you pure. But just as when a physician prescribes a certain medicine, he also describes the conditions under which the medicine will be most effective. Similarly, the chanting will have the most effect if you can abide by the principles of purified living: First, no eating of meat, fish, or eggs. Second, no gambling. Third, no taking of any kinds of intoxicants such as drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, coffee or tea. And fourth, no illicit sex life, which means sex life only within marriage and then only for the purpose of procreating Krishna Conscious children. If you can follow these principles and chant Hare Krishna, you will make great spiritual advancement. The best thing is for you to associate with the devotees at the Dallas Temple, then it will be much easier.</p>
<p>I hope this letter finds you well.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

If, by great fortune, one gets an opportunity to come to Radha-kunda and bathe even once, he can develop his transcendental love for Krsna, exactly as the gopis did

2024-02-24T20:55:50Z

Ronita:

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[[Category:The Nectar of Instruction - Text 11]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Instruction Texts 01 to 11]]
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<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Nectar of Instruction</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
If, by great fortune, one gets an opportunity to come to Rādhā-kuṇḍa and bathe even once, he can develop his transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa, exactly as the gopīs did. It is also recommended that one should live on the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa and should be absorbed in the loving service of the Lord. One should bathe there regularly and give up all material conceptions, taking shelter of Śrī Rādhā and Her assistant gopīs.
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<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:NOI 11|Nectar of Instruction 11, Translation and Purport]]
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<div class="quote_translation">
Of the many objects of favored delight and of all the lovable damsels of Vrajabhūmi, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is certainly the most treasured object of Kṛṣṇa's love. And, in every respect, Her divine kuṇḍa is described by great sages as similarly dear to Him. Undoubtedly Rādhā-kuṇḍa is very rarely attained even by the great devotees; therefore it is even more difficult for ordinary devotees to attain. If one simply bathes once within those holy waters, one's pure love of Kṛṣṇa is fully aroused.
</div>
<div class="text">
'''PURPORT'''<div class="purport">

Why is Rādhā-kuṇḍa so exalted? The lake is so exalted because it belongs to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the most beloved object of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Among all the gopīs, She is the most beloved. Similarly, Her lake, Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa, is also described by great sages as the lake that is as dear to Kṛṣṇa as Rādhā Herself. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa's love for Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the same in all respects. Rādhā-kuṇḍa is very rarely attained, even by great personalities fully engaged in devotional service, not to speak of ordinary devotees who are only engaged in the practice of vaidhī bhakti.

It is stated that a devotee will at once develop pure love of Kṛṣṇa in the wake of the gopīs if he once takes a bath in Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends that even if one cannot live permanently on the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa, he should at least take a bath in the lake as many times as possible. This is a most important item in the execution of devotional service. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes in this connection that Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa is the most select place for those interested in advancing their devotional service in the wake of the lady friends (sakhīs) and confidential serving maids (mañjarīs) of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Living entities who are eager to return home to the transcendental kingdom of God, Goloka Vṛndāvana, by means of attaining their spiritual bodies (siddha-deha) should live at Rādhā-kuṇḍa, take shelter of the confidential serving maids of Śrī Rādhā and under their direction engage constantly in Her service. This is the most exalted method for those engaged in devotional service under the protection of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In this connection Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes that even great sages and great devotees like Nārada and Sanaka do not get an opportunity to come to Rādhā-kuṇḍa to take their baths. What, then, to speak of ordinary devotees? If, by great fortune, one gets an opportunity to come to Rādhā-kuṇḍa and bathe even once, he can develop his transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa, exactly as the gopīs did. It is also recommended that one should live on the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa and should be absorbed in the loving service of the Lord. One should bathe there regularly and give up all material conceptions, taking shelter of Śrī Rādhā and Her assistant gopīs. If one is thus constantly engaged during his lifetime, after giving up the body he will return back to Godhead to serve Śrī Rādhā in the same way as he contemplated during his life on the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa. The conclusion is that to live on the banks of the Rādhā-kuṇḍa and to bathe there daily constitute the highest perfection of devotional service. It is a difficult position to attain, even for great sages and devotees like Nārada. Thus there is no limit to the glory of Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa. By serving Rādhā-kuṇḍa, one can get an opportunity to become an assistant of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī under the eternal guidance of the gopīs.

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It is a great fortune for me to offer You food. You are the Supreme Lord, and being in the transcendental position, You are not restricted in any way

2024-02-24T20:31:00Z

Ronita:

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</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>CC Madhya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
"It is a great fortune for me to offer You food. You are the Supreme Lord, and being in the transcendental position, You are not restricted in any way."
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.182|CC Madhya 17.182, Translation]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
"It is a great fortune for me to offer You food. You are the Supreme Lord, and being in the transcendental position, You are not restricted in any way."
</div>
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</div>

I am very glad to understand that you have at least relished some of the transcendental bliss of Krishna Consciousness. It is a great fortune for you

2024-02-24T12:21:47Z

Ronita:

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<div id="Correspondence" class="section" sec_index="6" parent="compilation" text="Correspondence"><h2>Correspondence</h2>
</div>
<div id="1969_Correspondence" class="sub_section" sec_index="4" parent="Correspondence" text="1969 Correspondence"><h3>1969 Correspondence</h3>
</div>
<div id="LettertoGirirajaLosAngeles5July1969_0" class="quote" parent="1969_Correspondence" book="Let" index="420" link="Letter to Giriraja -- Los Angeles 5 July, 1969" link_text="Letter to Giriraja -- Los Angeles 5 July, 1969">
<div class="heading">I am very glad to understand that you have at least relished some of the transcendental bliss of Krishna Consciousness. It is a great fortune for you. Living entities are roaming within the universes in different species of life and in different planetary systems enjoying or suffering the reaction of pious or impious activities.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Letter to Giriraja -- Los Angeles 5 July, 1969|Letter to Giriraja -- Los Angeles 5 July, 1969]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 2, 1969, sent along with your beads. I have chanted on them and your initiated name is Giriraja. Giriraja is the name of the Govardhana Hill on which Krishna used to tend His cows. In Vrindaban the Govardhana Hill is worshiped as a representation of Krishna. Sometimes devotees take stone from Govardhana Hill and keep it at home as a representation of Krishna, and they worship in this way. I am very glad to understand that you have at least relished some of the transcendental bliss of Krishna Consciousness. It is a great fortune for you. Living entities are roaming within the universes in different species of life and in different planetary systems enjoying or suffering the reaction of pious or impious activities. But they have no information how to get out of this entanglement of repetition of birth and death. Due to the darkness of ignorance, most living entities have no idea about the values of life. Therefore, one who understands the importance of Krishna Consciousness must be a very fortunate soul. So I marked it in your person when I was in Boston, and I prayed to Krishna that this good soul may be aware of the importance of Krishna Consciousness. With my blessings I am sending herewith your beads, duly chanted upon by me. You should avoid the ten offenses as far as possible, and follow the four regulative principles as Satsvarupa will instruct you. I know your good Godbrother, Satsvarupa, will always help you in this connection.</p>
<p>Regarding your $2,000 which you promised to send me within three weeks, I beg to thank you for this.* Actually, a brahmacari should contribute whatever he has got to Krishna, through the Spiritual Master. The Spiritual Master does not accept anything for his personal use, but he employs everything for Krishna's service. Therefore the Spiritual Master is accepted in the renounced order of life. So far as householders are concerned, they may contribute at least half of their income to Krishna. Then life is sublime. After all, everything belongs to Krishna, and the sooner we return whatever we have got to Krishna, the better it is. That is our normal life. Regarding your stocks, you can keep it for yourself for the time being, and if need be I may ask you to deliver this in the future. Your engagements there are nice, so continue to follow rigidly. You may inform Satsvarupa that I have sent the Krishna tape, #13, so he may transcribe it and send me a copy. I will be sending further tapes henceforward, because my Nectar of Devotion is now finished, and I shall concentrate on the Krishna tapes.</p>
<p>I hope this will meet you in very good health.</p>
<p>Your ever well-wisher,</p>
<p>A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami</p>
<p>* you can directly transfer this amount to my a/c No 12410 with the Equitable Savings & Loan Association Fairfax, Los Angeles, California.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Her (Radharani's) transcendental anger toward Krsna is embodied as the arrangement of the hair on Her head, and the tilaka of Her great fortune shines on Her beautiful forehead

2024-02-24T12:18:35Z

Ronita:

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[[Category:Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 62 Chapters, All Purports]]
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<div id="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" class="section" sec_index="2" parent="compilation" text="Sri Caitanya-caritamrta"><h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
</div>
<div id="CC_Madhya-lila" class="sub_section" sec_index="2" parent="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" text="CC Madhya-lila"><h3>CC Madhya-lila</h3>
</div>
<div id="CCMadhya8166_0" class="quote" parent="CC_Madhya-lila" book="CC" index="1571" link="CC Madhya 8.166" link_text="CC Madhya 8.166">
<div class="heading">The ecstasy of love for Kṛṣṇa is known as dhīrā and adhīrā, sober and restless. Such ecstasy constitutes the covering of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s body, and it is adorned by camphor. Her transcendental anger toward Kṛṣṇa is embodied as the arrangement of the hair on Her head, and the tilaka of Her great fortune shines on Her beautiful forehead.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:CC Madhya 8.166|CC Madhya 8.166, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">“Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s transcendental body is brilliant in luster and full of all transcendental fragrances. Lord Kṛṣṇa's affection for Her is like a perfumed massage.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>Sugandhi udvartana refers to a paste made of several perfumes and fragrant oils. This paste is massaged all over the body, and in this way the body's dirt and perspiration are removed. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s body is automatically perfumed, but when Her body is massaged with the scented paste of Lord Kṛṣṇa's affection, Her entire body is doubly perfumed and made brilliant and lustrous. This is the beginning of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s description of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s transcendental body. This description (found in verses 165–181) is based on a book by Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī known as Premāmbhoja-maranda. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's translation of the original Sanskrit reads as follows:</p>
<p>“The love of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa is full of transcendental ecstasy. It appears to be a brilliant jewel, and enlightened by such a transcendental jewel, Rādhārāṇī’s body is further perfumed and decorated with kuṅkuma. In the morning Her body is bathed in the nectar of compassion, in the afternoon in the nectar of youth, and in the evening in the nectar of luster itself. In this way the bathing is performed, and Her body becomes as brilliant as the cintāmaṇi jewel. She is dressed in various kinds of silken garments, one of which is Her natural shyness.</p>
<p>“Her beauty is more and more enhanced, being decorated with the red kuṅkuma of beauty itself and the blackish musk of conjugal love. Thus Her body is decorated with different colors. Her ornaments embody the natural symptoms of ecstasy—trembling, tears, jubilation, stunning, perspiration, faltering of the voice, bodily redness, madness and dullness. In this way Her entire body is bedecked with these nine different jewels. Over and above this, the beauty of Her body is enhanced by Her transcendental qualities, which constitute the flower garland hanging on Her body. The ecstasy of love for Kṛṣṇa is known as dhīrā and adhīrā, sober and restless. Such ecstasy constitutes the covering of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s body, and it is adorned by camphor. Her transcendental anger toward Kṛṣṇa is embodied as the arrangement of the hair on Her head, and the tilaka of Her great fortune shines on Her beautiful forehead. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s earrings are the holy names of Kṛṣṇa, as well as the hearing of His name and fame. Her lips are always reddish due to the betel nut of ecstatic affection for Kṛṣṇa. The black ointment around Her eyes is Her tricky behavior with Kṛṣṇa brought about by love. Her joking with Kṛṣṇa and gentle smiling constitute the camphor with which She is perfumed. She sleeps in Her room with the aroma of pride, and when She lies down in Her bed, the transcendental variety of Her loving ecstasies is like a jeweled locket in the midst of Her necklace of separation. Her transcendental breasts are covered by Her sari in the form of affection and anger toward Kṛṣṇa. She has a stringed instrument known as a kacchapī-vīṇā, which is the fame and fortune that actually dries up the faces and breasts of the other gopīs. She always keeps Her hands on the shoulder of Her gopī friend, who represents Her youthful beauty, and although She is highly qualified with so many spiritual assets, She is nonetheless affected by the Cupid known as Kṛṣṇa. Thus She is defeated. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī offers his respectful obeisances to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, taking a straw in his mouth. Indeed, he prays, "O Gāndharvikā, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, just as Lord Kṛṣṇa never rejects a surrendered soul, please don"t reject me.’” This is a summary translation of the Premāmbhoja-maranda, which Kavirāja Gosvāmī quotes.</p>
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Haridasa Thakura was not only the topmost devotee of the Lord but also a great and learned scholar. It was his great fortune that he passed away before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

2024-02-24T12:10:43Z

Ronita:

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{{terms|"Haridasa Thakura was not only the topmost devotee of the Lord but also a great and learned scholar. It was his great fortune that he passed away before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu"}}
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<div id="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" class="section" sec_index="2" parent="compilation" text="Sri Caitanya-caritamrta"><h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
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<div id="CC_Antya-lila" class="sub_section" sec_index="3" parent="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" text="CC Antya-lila"><h3>CC Antya-lila</h3>
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<div id="CCAntya11105_0" class="quote" parent="CC_Antya-lila" book="CC" index="2067" link="CC Antya 11.105" link_text="CC Antya 11.105">
<div class="heading">Haridāsa Ṭhākura was not only the topmost devotee of the Lord but also a great and learned scholar. It was his great fortune that he passed away before Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:CC Antya 11.105|CC Antya 11.105, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">Haridāsa Ṭhākura was not only the topmost devotee of the Lord but also a great and learned scholar. It was his great fortune that he passed away before Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>Haridāsa Ṭhākura is mentioned here as the most learned scholar, parama-vidvān. Actually, the most important science to know is the science of getting out of the clutches of material existence. Anyone who knows this science must be considered the greatest learned person. Anyone who knows the temporary situation of this material world and is expert in achieving a permanent situation in the spiritual world, who knows that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond the jurisdiction of our experimental knowledge, is understood to be the most learned scholar. Haridāsa Ṭhākura knew this science perfectly. Therefore, he is described in this connection as parama-vidvān. He personally preached the importance of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, which is approved by the revealed scriptures. As stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.24):</p>
:iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā
:kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye ‘dhītam uttamam
<p>There are nine different processes of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, the most important being śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.23-24|SB 7.5.23]])—hearing and chanting. Haridāsa Ṭhākura knew this science very well, and he can therefore be called, technically, sarva-śāstrādhītī. Anyone who has learned the essence of all the Vedic scriptures is to be known as a first-class educated person, with full knowledge of all śāstra.</p>
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Hare Krsna. Bhakta-sane bas. Such a great opportunity. You are all pure devotees. To live with you and to die while you are chanting, such a great fortune. So there is no question of being afraid of death

2024-02-24T12:06:41Z

Ronita:

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{{terms|"Hare Kṛṣṇa. ''Bhakta-sane bās''. Such a great opportunity. You are all pure devotees. To live with you and to die while you are chanting, such a great fortune. So there is no question of being afraid of death"}}
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[[Category:My Fear (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Room Conversations, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Room Conversations, 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in India, Vrndavana‎]]
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<div id="section">
<h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>1977 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Hare Kṛṣṇa. Bhakta-sane bās. Such a great opportunity. You are all pure devotees. To live with you and to die while you are chanting, such a great fortune. So there is no question of being afraid of death.
</div>

<mp3player>https://vanipedia.s3.amazonaws.com/clip/770528VG_VRNDAVAN_clip.mp3</mp3player>
<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:770528 - Conversation C - Vrndavana|Conversation -- May 28, 1977, Vrndavana]]:
</div>
<div class="text">
Jayapatākā: And everyone appreciates your work, Śrīla Prabhupāda. What you've done for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, no one has done.

Bhavānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, that same group of GBC that met with you yesterday . . .

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Bhavānanda: The GBC men that met with you yesterday, they'd like to see you again. They have one more resolution.

Prabhupāda: All right. (break)

Jayatīrtha: You're feeling a little stronger today, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Jayatīrtha: Something.

Prabhupāda: Little improvement there is.

Jayatīrtha: Good medicine.

Prabhupāda: Yes. No, I am very much confident of this medicine, because nobody is prepared to die, but I am prepared to die. That much strength I have got. Generally people do not like to die. But I will be very glad to die if Kṛṣṇa wants. This is . . . And I shall stay with you. I have no objection either way. But I am not afraid of death. That much strength I have got. Why shall I be afraid? There is no cause of . . . (devotees enter and offer obeisances)

Jayatīrtha: ''Jaya''.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. ''Bhakta-sane bās''. Such a great opportunity. You are all pure devotees. To live with you and to die while you are chanting, such a great fortune. So there is no question of being afraid of death. (break) Hmm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Of course, we have our preference.

Prabhupāda: I have no objection. I have no . . . (break) Whatever His desire is, I . . . (break) (end).
</div>
</div>
</div>

Caitanya Mahaprabhu, recently advented in the Age of Kali to propagate this message. By the great fortune of all Bengalis, He appeared in Bengal and blessed the Bengali race. Thus Bengalis can preach His mission and instructions to the entire human race

2024-02-24T11:59:54Z

Ronita:

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[[Category:Caitanya's Instructions]]
[[Category:Entire Human Society]]
[[Category:Human Race]]
</div>
<div id="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" class="section" sec_index="3" parent="compilation" text="Other Books by Srila Prabhupada"><h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="Renunciation_Through_Wisdom" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Renunciation Through Wisdom"><h3>Renunciation Through Wisdom</h3>
</div>
<div id="RTW212_0" class="quote" parent="Renunciation_Through_Wisdom" book="OB" index="24" link="RTW 2.12" link_text="Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.12">
<div class="heading">The most munificent incarnation of Godhead, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, recently advented in the Age of Kali to propagate this message. By the great fortune of all Bengalis, He appeared in Bengal and blessed the Bengali race. Thus Bengalis can preach His mission and instructions to the entire human race and deliver the people of the planet and themselves. The presentation of this knowledge in a systematic and scientific manner will bring about universal sublime peace. Yet the shocking fact is that thirteen unauthorized cults have mushroomed into prominence and are fast expanding their illegitimate fold with naive disciples. What one fails to comprehend is how the leaders of these cults, who have never accept discipleship and tutelage from any bona fide spiritual master, can suddenly rise to the position of spiritual master themselves. The subject matter that needs to be promulgated among the people is not some cheap, sentimental concoction meant to deceive them; it is in fact a deeply profound and esoteric theology. The words of Lord Caitanya can never be disseminated by unscrupulous self-styled "gurus" who fake spiritual sentiments to impress the ignorant mass of people. All saintly persons beware!
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:RTW 2.12|Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.12]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">The so-called progressive modern civilization has produced reprobate human beings, whose sins have been accumulating over many lifetimes. Yet if they surrender to Lord Kṛṣṇa, even they will have all their sins eradicated forever. The process of devotional service and remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa will gradually dissipate unwanted, base desires from within their hearts. And those hearts, which previously sheltered immoral yearnings will become fully cleansed and auspicious.</p>
<p>The sinful and the destitute can understand their mistakes and misfortune only by Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Once they begin to repent for their sins and surrender to the Lord, they are saved; they become purified and start manifesting saintly characteristics. And if even after a person takes to the devotional process some vestige of immorality remains in his character, that also will soon be eradicated by the Lord's grace. The single-minded devotee who never offends the Supreme Lord or His devotees is to be considered a saintly soul. Even if it seems that such a saint is not yet rid of all sinful propensities, he will never be destroyed, as are the yogīs and karmīs in a similar situation. This the Supreme Lord Himself has declared.</p>
<p>The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam's account of the deliverance of Ajāmila conclusively proves this fact. Once undeviating faith in devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa penetrates a person's heart, the process of purification is firmly underway, even though his external activities may show residues of sin. Lord Kṛṣṇa has boldly broadcast in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.31) His promise that His surrendered devotees can never be vanquished: kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati. That Lord Kṛṣṇa will always protect His devotees is proved in this verse, especially since the Lord, instead of declaring the promise Himself, asks the valiant prince Arjuna to do so on His behalf. The Lord may break His own promise, but because He is favorable to His devotees, He will always try to uphold their promises. By breaking His own promise and keeping Bhīṣmadeva's on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, the Lord has proved beyond a doubt that He favors His surrendered devotees .</p>
<p>A brāhmaṇa or someone of noble birth endowed with beauty, wealth, and learning may fallaciously conclude that elimination of degraded habits still visible in a devotee can occur only in the case of a brāhmaṇa like Ajāmila. Ajāmila was a brāhmaṇa by birth, but on account of sinful activities caused by bad reactions from his past life, he began performing abominable activities. At the end of his life, however, his remembrance of the Supreme Lord absolved him of all sins. But deliverance is possible for everyone, not just those of high birth. Even the lowest people, who are naturally given to base activities, can reach the spiritual abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa if they simply surrender at His lotus feet. As He says in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.32):</p>
:māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya
:ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
:striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās
:te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim
<p>O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas (merchants), and śūdras (workers)—will attain the supreme destination.</p>
<p>When the lowest of human beings can attain the supreme destination by surrendering to Lord Kṛṣṇa, then what to speak of high-born brāhmaṇas? Those who follow the path of devotional service to the Supreme Lord are not hounded by caste and colour discrimination. Monotheism—one religion and one creed—is possible only under the shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, and not in any other way.</p>
<p>The illusory potency, māyā, constantly terrorizes and shackles the people in the present Age of Quarrel, Kali-yuga. Due to forgetting their real identity as spirit souls, they bring disaster to the world. Under such a siege, modern-day thinkers and philosophers are desperately trying to bring purity and unity into society. They are conducting in-depth research into this problem. But Lord Kṛṣṇa long ago gave the solution to our modern problems in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.34):</p>
:man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
:mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
:mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
:ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ
<p>Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.</p>
<p>O people of the world! Please try to translate the Gītā's message into action and channel your thoughts toward Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. Serve Him with your mind and body. If you dovetail all your energy in the Lord's service, then not only will you feel intense exhilaration in this lifetime, but you will be immersed in eternal bliss in the spiritual world, perpetually serving Him. The most munificent incarnation of Godhead, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, recently advented in the Age of Kali to propagate this message. By the great fortune of all Bengalis, He appeared in Bengal and blessed the Bengali race. Thus Bengalis can preach His mission and instructions to the entire human race and deliver the people of the planet and themselves. The presentation of this knowledge in a systematic and scientific manner will bring about universal sublime peace. Yet the shocking fact is that thirteen unauthorized cults have mushroomed into prominence and are fast expanding their illegitimate fold with naive disciples. What one fails to comprehend is how the leaders of these cults, who have never accept discipleship and tutelage from any bona fide spiritual master, can suddenly rise to the position of spiritual master themselves. The subject matter that needs to be promulgated among the people is not some cheap, sentimental concoction meant to deceive them; it is in fact a deeply profound and esoteric theology. The words of Lord Caitanya can never be disseminated by unscrupulous self-styled "gurus" who fake spiritual sentiments to impress the ignorant mass of people. All saintly persons beware!</p>
<p>Our general experience is that impersonalists, given as they are to speculation and sophistry, hesitate to accept Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Godhead. Thus they will always be frustrated in their endeavors to know the Supreme Absolute Truth by dint of their own intelligence. They cannot perceive this shortcoming in themselves, and even if it is pointed out to them by persons who know the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they cannot grasp it. Such polluted consciousness is a result of not surrendering to Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Lord's name, form, qualities, pastimes, and paraphernalia are all transcendental and extraordinary; hence blunt material senses cannot perceive them. The sun becomes visible only by the help of sunlight; similarly, the Supreme Lord reveals Himself only to those engaged in His devotional service.</p>
<p>The facilities available to us in our material condition are many. One facility in the mode of goodness is intelligence, which gives us the ability to distinguish subtle elements and to discriminate between matter and spirit, and in this way to avoid coming under illusion. Also in the mode of goodness are tolerance, truthfulness, control of the senses, equanimity, and other such qualities. Added to the list are qualities in the mode of passion, such as strong desire, fearlessness, and unwavering determination, as well as qualities in the mode of ignorance, such as fear, madness, and distress over birth, death, old age, and disease. All these facilities are products of the Lord's external, material energy. Since māyā is under the Supreme Lord's control, all the above-mentioned qualities also emanate from Kṛṣṇa Himself. But Lord Kṛṣṇa is beyond the periphery of our sensual experience, and therefore simply cultivating the nobler qualities—those in the mode of goodness—is not sufficient spiritual practice to elevate us to the Lord's lotus feet. The only way to overcome māyā is to take complete shelter at the Lord's lotus feet. Kṛṣṇa states in the Gītā (7.14) that those who surrender to Him can easily cross beyond māyā. Once māyā is surmounted, one's endeavor is crowned with the realization that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As Lord Brahmā says in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.1):</p>
:īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
:sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
:anādir ādir govindaḥ
:sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
<p>Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other oridin and He is the prime cause of all causes.</p>
<p>Only when one is free from the influences of māyā can one perceive the transcendental opulence, power, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation of the Supreme Lord. With this transcendental realization one can fathom the Supreme Lord's own words in the Bhagavad-gītā (10. 8-10):</p>
<p>I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in my devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me."</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

As the wife of a great sage and the daughter of a great Prajapati, Daksa, she (Diti) knew that being killed by the Personality of Godhead is a great fortune

2024-02-24T11:57:02Z

Ronita:

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[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Chapter 14 Purports - Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Purports]]
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<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 3</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Diti was very aggrieved to learn that because of her untimely pregnancy her sons would be demons and would fight with the Lord. But when she heard that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her two sons would be killed by the Lord, she was very satisfied. As the wife of a great sage and the daughter of a great Prajāpati, Dakṣa, she knew that being killed by the Personality of Godhead is a great fortune.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 3.14.51|SB 3.14.51, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
The sage Maitreya said: Hearing that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her sons would be killed by Kṛṣṇa, Diti was highly pleased in mind.
</div>
<div class="text">
Diti was very aggrieved to learn that because of her untimely pregnancy her sons would be demons and would fight with the Lord. But when she heard that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her two sons would be killed by the Lord, she was very satisfied. As the wife of a great sage and the daughter of a great Prajāpati, Dakṣa, she knew that being killed by the Personality of Godhead is a great fortune. Since the Lord is absolute, His acts of violence and nonviolence are both on the absolute platform. There is no difference in such acts of the Lord. Mundane violence and nonviolence have nothing to do with the Lord's acts. A demon killed by Him attains the same result as one who attains liberation after many, many births of penance and austerity. The word bhṛśam is significant herein because it indicates that Diti was pleased beyond her expectations.
</div>
</div>
</div>

All the Pracetas began to address the great sage Narada: O great sage, O brahmana, we hope you met with no disturbances while coming here. It is due to our great fortune that we are now able to see you

2024-02-24T11:20:45Z

Ronita:

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[[Category:Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by the Pracetas - Vaniquotes]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 31 - Narada Instructs the Pracetas]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 01 to 09 - All Verse Translations]]
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<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
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<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 4</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
All the Pracetas began to address the great sage Narada: O great sage, O brahmana, we hope you met with no disturbances while coming here. It is due to our great fortune that we are now able to see you.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 4.31.5|SB 4.31.5, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
All the Pracetās began to address the great sage Nārada: O great sage, O brāhmaṇa, we hope you met with no disturbances while coming here. It is due to our great fortune that we are now able to see you. By the traveling of the sun, people are relieved from the fear of the darkness of night—a fear brought about by thieves and rogues. Similarly, your traveling is like the sun's, for you drive away all kinds of fear.
</div>
<div class="text">
Because of the night's darkness, everyone is afraid of rogues and thieves, especially in great cities. People are often afraid to go out on the streets, and we understand that even in a great city like New York people do not like to go out at night. More or less, when it is night everyone is afraid, either in the city or in the village. However, as soon as the sun rises, everyone is relieved. Similarly, this material world is dark by nature. Everyone is afraid of danger at every moment, but when one sees a devotee like Nārada, all fear is relieved. Just as the sun disperses darkness, the appearance of a great sage like Nārada disperses ignorance. When one meets Nārada or his representative, a spiritual master, one is freed from all anxiety brought about by ignorance.
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</div>

Akrura thought, "That Supreme Personality of Godhead (Krsna) has now come just like an ordinary human being, and it is my great fortune to be able to see Him face to face"

2024-02-24T11:00:28Z

Ronita:

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[[Category:Krsna Acting Like an Ordinary Human Being]]
[[Category:My]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Able To]]
[[Category:Seeing Krsna Face to Face]]
[[Category:Krsna Book Chapter 38 - Akrura's Arrival in Vrndavana]]
[[Category:Krsna Book Chapters 01 to 90]]
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<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">
“That Supreme Personality of Godhead has now come just like an ordinary human being, and it is my great fortune to be able to see Him face to face,” Akrūra thought. He was thrilled with expectations of seeing the very lotus feet which are worshiped by great demigods like Brahmā, Nārada and Lord Śiva, which traverse the ground of Vṛndāvana, and which touch the breasts of the gopīs, covered with tinges of kuṅkuma.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:KB 38|Krsna Book, 38]]
</div>
<div class="text">
He did not know what sort of pious activities he must have performed to gain an opportunity to go see Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma in Vṛndāvana on that day. A pure Vaiṣṇava always thinks himself unfit to serve Kṛṣṇa. So Akrūra began to think within himself that he was unfit for gaining the transcendental opportunity of seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He considered himself as unfit for seeing Kṛṣṇa as a materialistic person is for understanding the science of God or as a fourth-class person (a śūdra) is for studying the Vedas. But then Akrūra began to think, “By the grace of Kṛṣṇa everything is possible, and thus if He likes, I will be able to see Him. Just as a blade of grass floating on the waves of a river may by chance come near the shore and gain shelter, a conditioned soul carried away by the waves of material existence may sometimes be saved by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.” Akrūra thus thought that if Kṛṣṇa willed, he would be able to see Him. Akrūra considered himself most fortunate that he was going to see Kṛṣṇa, whom great mystic yogīs desire to see. He was confident that on that day all the sinful reactions of his past life would be finished and his fortunate human form of life would be successful. Akrūra also considered that he was very much favored by Kaṁsa, who was sending him to bring back Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and thus enabling him to see the Lord. Akrūra continued to consider that formerly great sages and saintly persons were liberated from the material world simply by seeing the shining nails of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

“That Supreme Personality of Godhead has now come just like an ordinary human being, and it is my great fortune to be able to see Him face to face,” Akrūra thought. He was thrilled with expectations of seeing the very lotus feet which are worshiped by great demigods like Brahmā, Nārada and Lord Śiva, which traverse the ground of Vṛndāvana, and which touch the breasts of the gopīs, covered with tinges of kuṅkuma. He thought, “I am so fortunate that I will be able to see those very lotus feet on this day, and certainly I shall be able to see the beautiful face of Kṛṣṇa, which is marked on the forehead and the nose with tilaka. And I shall also see His smile and His curling black hair. I can be sure of this opportunity because I see that today the deer are passing on my right side. Today it will be possible for me to actually see the beauty of the spiritual kingdom of Viṣṇuloka because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Viṣṇu and He has advented Himself out of His own good will. He is the reservoir of all beauty; therefore today my eyes will achieve perfection.”

Akrūra knew beyond a doubt that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu glances over the material energy, and thus the cosmic manifestation comes into being. And although Lord Viṣṇu is the creator of this material world, He is free, by His own energy, from the influence of the material energy. By His internal potency He can pierce the darkness of the material energy. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa, the original Viṣṇu, by expanding His internal potency, created the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is confirmed that the paraphernalia and the abode of Kṛṣṇa are expansions of His internal potency. The same internal potency Kṛṣṇa exhibits in Goloka Vṛndāvana is exhibited in the earthly Vṛndāvana, where He enjoys Himself with His parents and in the company of His friends, the cowherd boys and gopīs. By the statement of Akrūra it is clear that, since Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to the modes of material nature, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who are always engaged in loving service to the Lord, are also transcendental.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Category:Attraction for Krsna Consciousness in Association with Pure Devotees of God is the Sign of Great Fortune

2024-02-24T10:55:34Z

Ronita:

[[Category:Attraction for Krsna]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness]]
[[Category:Association of Pure Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Sign Of]]
[[Category:Great Fortune]]
[[Category:Krsna Consciousness - Umbrella Category]]
[[Category:Devotees of God - Umbrella Category]]
[[Category:Pure Devotees of God - Umbrella Category]]
[[Category:Benefits for Devotees of God - Umbrella Category]]
[[Category:Association with Devotees of God - Umbrella Category]]
[[Category:All Categories - Vaniquotes]]

Our spiritual master (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura), who also took his birth in a Vaisnava family, got all inspirations from his great Vaisnava father, Thakura Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaisnava families

2024-02-24T10:26:41Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Our spiritual master, who also took his birth in a Vaiṣṇava family, got all inspirations from his great Vaiṣṇava father, Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaiṣṇava families"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Angela}}
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[[Category:Our]]
[[Category:His Divine Grace - Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati]]
[[Category:Take]]
[[Category:Birth]]
[[Category:Vaisnava Family - Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Got]]
[[Category:Inspiration of a Devotee of God]]
[[Category:Great]]
[[Category:Vaisnava - Devotees of God]]
[[Category:Father]]
[[Category:Bhaktivinoda Thakura]]
[[Category:That Is The Way]]
[[Category:Lucky]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 02 Chapter 03 Purports - Pure Devotional Service: The Change in Heart]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 02 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 2</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Children who appear in such families fortunately generally imitate such worship of the Deities, even in the way of childhood play. By the grace of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, we had the chance of being born in a Vaiṣṇava family, and in our childhood we imitated the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitating our father. Our father encouraged us in all respects to observe all functions such as the Ratha-yātrā and Dola-yātrā ceremonies, and he used to spend money liberally for distributing prasāda to us children and our friends. Our spiritual master, who also took his birth in a Vaiṣṇava family, got all inspirations from his great Vaiṣṇava father, Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaiṣṇava families. The celebrated Mīrā Bāī was a staunch devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the great lifter of Govardhana Hill.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 2.3.15|SB 2.3.15, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of the Pāṇḍavas, was from his very childhood a great devotee of the Lord. Even while playing with dolls, he used to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitating the worship of the family Deity.
</div>
<div class="text">
<div class="purport">

In the Bhagavad-gītā ([[Vanisource:BG 6.41 (1972)|BG 6.41]]) it is stated that even a person who has failed in the proper discharge of yoga practice is given a chance to take birth in the house of devout brāhmaṇas or in the houses of rich men like kṣatriya kings or rich merchants. But Mahārāja Parīkṣit was more than that because he had been a great devotee of the Lord since his previous birth, and as such he took his birth in an imperial family of the Kurus, and especially that of the Pāṇḍavas. So from the very beginning of his childhood he had the chance to know intimately the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa in his own family. The Pāṇḍavas, all being devotees of the Lord, certainly venerated family Deities in the royal palace for worship. Children who appear in such families fortunately generally imitate such worship of the Deities, even in the way of childhood play. By the grace of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, we had the chance of being born in a Vaiṣṇava family, and in our childhood we imitated the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitating our father. Our father encouraged us in all respects to observe all functions such as the Ratha-yātrā and Dola-yātrā ceremonies, and he used to spend money liberally for distributing prasāda to us children and our friends. Our spiritual master, who also took his birth in a Vaiṣṇava family, got all inspirations from his great Vaiṣṇava father, Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaiṣṇava families. The celebrated Mīrā Bāī was a staunch devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the great lifter of Govardhana Hill.

The life history of many such devotees is almost the same because there is always symmetry between the early lives of all great devotees of the Lord. According to Jīva Gosvāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit must have heard about the childhood pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa at Vṛndāvana, for he used to imitate the pastimes with his young playmates. According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit used to imitate the worship of the family Deity by elderly members. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī also confirms the viewpoint of Jīva Gosvāmī. So accepting either of them, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was naturally inclined to Lord Kṛṣṇa from his very childhood. He might have imitated either of the above-mentioned activities, and all of them establish his great devotion from his very childhood, a symptom of a mahā-bhāgavata. Such mahā-bhāgavatas are called nitya-siddhas, or souls liberated from birth. But there are also others, who may not be liberated from birth but who develop a tendency for devotional service by association, and they are called sādhana-siddhas. There is no difference between the two in the ultimate issue, and so the conclusion is that everyone can become a sādhana-siddha, a devotee of the Lord, simply by association with the pure devotees. The concrete example is our great spiritual master Śrī Nārada Muni. In his previous life he was simply a boy of a maidservant, but through association with great devotees he became a devotee of the Lord of his own standard, unique in the history of devotional service.

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

Manu said that since he was advised and instructed by Kardama Muni, he was very much favored. He considered himself lucky to receive the message by aural reception

2024-02-24T10:23:55Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Manu said that since he was advised and instructed by Kardama Muni, he was very much favored. He considered himself lucky to receive the message by aural reception"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|JahnaviCandrika}}
{{complete|ALL}}
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[[Category:Manu]]
[[Category:Say]]
[[Category:Since]]
[[Category:Advise]]
[[Category:Instruct]]
[[Category:Kardama Muni]]
[[Category:Very Much]]
[[Category:Favor]]
[[Category:Consider]]
[[Category:Himself]]
[[Category:Lucky]]
[[Category:Receiving]]
[[Category:Message]]
[[Category:Aural Reception]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Chapter 22 Purports - The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahuti]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 03 Purports]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>SB Canto 3</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
Manu said that since he was advised and instructed by Kardama Muni, he was very much favored. He considered himself lucky to receive the message by aural reception. It is especially mentioned here that one should be very inquisitive to hear with open ears from the authorized source of the bona fide spiritual master. How is one to receive? One should receive the transcendental message by aural reception.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:SB 3.22.7|SB 3.22.7, Translation and Purport]]
</div>
<div class="quote_translation">
I have fortunately been instructed by you, and thus great favor has been bestowed upon me. I thank God that I have listened with open ears to your pure words.
</div>
<div class="text">
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has given directions, in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, on how to accept a bona fide spiritual master and how to deal with him. First, the desiring candidate must find a bona fide spiritual master, and then he must very eagerly receive instructions from him and execute them. This is reciprocal service. A bona fide spiritual master or saintly person always desires to elevate a common man who comes to him. Because everyone is under the delusion of māyā and is forgetful of his prime duty, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, a saintly person always desires that everyone become a saintly person. It is the function of a saintly person to invoke Kṛṣṇa consciousness in every forgetful common man.

Manu said that since he was advised and instructed by Kardama Muni, he was very much favored. He considered himself lucky to receive the message by aural reception. It is especially mentioned here that one should be very inquisitive to hear with open ears from the authorized source of the bona fide spiritual master. How is one to receive? One should receive the transcendental message by aural reception. The word karṇa-randhraiḥ means "through the holes of the ears." The favor of the spiritual master is not received through any other part of the body but the ears. This does not mean, however, that the spiritual master gives a particular type of mantra through the ears in exchange for some dollars and if the man meditates on that he achieves perfection and becomes God within six months. Such reception through the ears is bogus. The real fact is that a bona fide spiritual master knows the nature of a particular man and what sort of duties he can perform in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he instructs him in that way. He instructs him through the ear, not privately, but publicly. "You are fit for such and such work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You can act in this way." One person is advised to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by working in the Deities' room, another is advised to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by performing editorial work, another is advised to do preaching work, and another is advised to carry out Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the cooking department. There are different departments of activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and a spiritual master, knowing the particular ability of a particular man, trains him in such a way that by his tendency to act he becomes perfect. Bhagavad-gītā makes it clear that one can attain the highest perfection of spiritual life simply by offering service according to his ability, just as Arjuna served Kṛṣṇa by his ability in the military art. Arjuna offered his service fully as a military man, and he became perfect. Similarly, an artist can attain perfection simply by performing artistic work under the direction of the spiritual master. If one is a literary man, he can write articles and poetry for the service of the Lord under the direction of the spiritual master. One has to receive the message of the spiritual master regarding how to act in one's capacity, for the spiritual master is expert in giving such instructions.

This combination, the instruction of the spiritual master and the faithful execution of the instruction by the disciple, makes the entire process perfect. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura describes in his explanation of the verse in Bhagavad-gītā, vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ, that one who wants to be certain to achieve spiritual success must take the instruction from the spiritual master as to what his particular function is. He should faithfully try to execute that particular instruction and should consider that his life and soul. The faithful execution of the instruction which he receives from the spiritual master is the only duty of a disciple, and that will bring him perfection. One should be very careful to receive the message from the spiritual master through the ears and execute it faithfully. That will make one's life successful.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Krsna is unlimited and has full knowledge, full power, full wealth, full beauty, full fame and full renunciation. Shouldn't we consider ourselves lucky to go to such a father and enjoy His property

2024-02-24T10:21:06Z

Ronita:

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Kṛṣṇa is unlimited and has full knowledge, full power, full wealth, full beauty, full fame and full renunciation. Shouldn't we consider ourselves lucky to go to such a father and enjoy His property"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Nabakumar}}
{{complete|ALL}}
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[[Category:Krsna Is The Ultimate]]
[[Category:Krsna Is Full of Knowledge]]
[[Category:Krsna Is Powerful]]
[[Category:Krsna's Wealth]]
[[Category:Krsna's Beauty]]
[[Category:Krsna's Fame]]
[[Category:Krsna's Renunciation]]
[[Category:Should Not]]
[[Category:Consider]]
[[Category:Ourself]]
[[Category:Lucky]]
[[Category:Going To]]
[[Category:Such A]]
[[Category:Krsna As a Father]]
[[Category:Enjoy]]
[[Category:Krsna's Property]]
[[Category:Questions Posed by Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:On the Way to Krsna Chapters 01 to 05]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>On the Way to Kṛṣṇa</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
There may be some difficulty in surrendering to the father of this body, for he has limited knowledge and power, but Kṛṣṇa is not like an ordinary father. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited and has full knowledge, full power, full wealth, full beauty, full fame and full renunciation. Shouldn't we consider ourselves lucky to go to such a father and enjoy His property? Yet no one seems to care about this, and now everyone is making propaganda that there is no God. Why do people not seek Him out? The answer is given in the next verse of Bhagavad-gītā: "Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me." (Bg. 7.15).
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:OWK 4 The Roads of the Foolish and the Wise|On the Way to Kṛṣṇa, 4]]
</div>
<div class="text">
Kṛṣṇa is thus explaining Himself as He is. Yet we are not attracted to Him. Why is this? The reason is given by Kṛṣṇa Himself:

<div class="quote_verse">
:daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
:mama māyā duratyayā
:mām eva ye prapadyante
:māyām etāṁ taranti te
</div>

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." ([[Vanisource:BG 7.14|Bg. 7.14]])

The material world is pervaded by the three qualities of material nature. All living entities are influenced by these qualities. If they are primarily influenced by the mode of goodness, they are called brāhmaṇas, and if they are influenced by the mode of passion, they are called kṣatriyas. If they are influenced by the modes of passion and ignorance, they are vaiśyas, and if they are influenced by ignorance, they are śūdras. This is not an artificial imposition due to birth or social status but is according to guṇa, or the mode of nature under which one is operating.

<div class="quote_verse">
:cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
:guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
:tasya kartāram api māṁ
:viddhy akartāram avyayam
</div>

"According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable." ([[Vanisource:BG 4.13|Bg. 4.13]])

It is not that this system refers to the perverted caste system in India. Śrī Kṛṣṇa specifically states: guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: men are classified according to the guṇa or the mode under which they are operating, and this applies to men all over the universe. When Kṛṣṇa speaks, we must understand that whatever He says is not limited but is universally true. He claims to be the father of all living entities - even the animals, the aquatics, the trees, plants, worms, birds and bees are all claimed to be His sons. Śrī Kṛṣṇa asserts that the entire universe is illusioned by the interactions of the three qualities of material nature, and we are under the spell of that illusion; therefore we cannot understand what God is.

What is the nature of this illusion, and how can it be overcome? That is also explained in Bhagavad-gītā:

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etaṁ taranti te

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered to Me can easily cross beyond it." ([[Vanisource:BG 7.14|Bg. 7.14]])

No one can get rid of the entanglement of the three qualities of material nature by mental speculation. The three guṇas are very strong and hard to overcome. Can't we feel how we are in the grip of material nature? The word guṇa (mode) also means rope. When someone is bound by three strong ropes, he is certainly very tightly secured. Our hands and legs are all bound by the strong ropes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Are we therefore to abandon hope? No, for here Śrī Kṛṣṇa promises that whoever surrenders unto Him is at once free. When one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious - whether in this way or that way - he becomes free.

We are all related to Kṛṣṇa, for we are all His sons. A son may have a disagreement with his father, but it is not possible for him to break that relation. In the course of his life he will be asked who he is, and he will have to reply, "I am the son of so and so." That relation cannot be broken. We are all sons of God, and that relationship with Him is eternal, but we have simply forgotten. Kṛṣṇa is all-powerful, all-famous, all-wealthy, all-beautiful, all-knowledgeable, and He is full of renunciation as well. Although we are friends of such a great personality, we have forgotten it. If a rich man's son forgets his father, leaves home and becomes mad, he may lie on the street to go to sleep, or he may beg money for food, but all of this is due to his forgetfulness. If someone, however, gives him information that he is simply suffering because he has left his father's home and that his father, a very wealthy man and owner of vast property, is anxious to have him return - the person is a great benefactor.

In this material world we are always suffering under threefold miseries - the miseries arising from the body and the mind, from other living entities, and from natural catastrophes. Being covered by illusion, by the modes of material nature, we do not take account of these miseries. However, we should always know that in the material world we are undergoing so much suffering. One who has sufficiently developed consciousness, who is intelligent, inquires why he is suffering. "I do not want miseries. Why am I suffering?" When this question arises, there is chance for becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious.

As soon as we surrender ourselves to Kṛṣṇa, He welcomes us very cordially. It is just like a lost child who returns to his father and says, "My dear father, due to some misunderstanding I left your protection, but I have suffered. Now I return to you." The father embraces his son and says, "My dear boy, come on. I was so anxious for you all the days you were gone, and now I'm so happy you have come back." The father is so kind. We are in the same position. We have to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, and it is not very difficult. When the son surrenders to the father, is it a very difficult job? It is very natural, and the father is always waiting to receive the son. There is no question of insult. If we bow down before our Supreme Father and touch His feet, there is no harm for us, nor is it difficult. Indeed, it is glorious for us. Why should we not? By surrendering unto Kṛṣṇa we come immediately under His protection and are relieved of all miseries. This is validated by all scriptures. At the end of Bhagavad-gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:

sarva-dharmān parityajya mam ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66|Bg. 18.66]])

When we throw ourselves at the feet of God, we come under His protection, and from that time on there is no fear for us. When children are under the protection of their parents, they are fearless because they know that their parents will not let them be harmed. Mām eva ye prapadyante: Kṛṣṇa promises that those who surrender to Him have no cause for fear.

If surrender unto Kṛṣṇa is such an easy thing, then why don't people do it? Instead there are many who are challenging the very existence of God, claiming that nature and science are everything and that God is nothing. So-called advancement of civilization in knowledge means that the populace is becoming more mad. Instead of being cured, the disease is being increased. People don't care for God, but they care for nature, and it is nature's business to give kicks in the form of the threefold miseries. She is always administering these kicks twenty-four hours a day. However, we have become so accustomed to being kicked that we think it is all right and consider it to be the ordinary course of things. We have become very proud of our education, but we tell material nature, "Thank you very much for kicking me. Now please continue." Thus deluded, we think that we have even conquered material nature. But how is this so? Nature is still inflicting upon us the miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. Has any one solved these problems? Then what advancement have we really made in knowledge and civilization? We are under the stringent rules of material nature, but still we are thinking that we have conquered. This is called māyā.

There may be some difficulty in surrendering to the father of this body, for he has limited knowledge and power, but Kṛṣṇa is not like an ordinary father. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited and has full knowledge, full power, full wealth, full beauty, full fame and full renunciation. Shouldn't we consider ourselves lucky to go to such a father and enjoy His property? Yet no one seems to care about this, and now everyone is making propaganda that there is no God. Why do people not seek Him out? The answer is given in the next verse of Bhagavad-gītā:

<div class="quote_verse">
:na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
:prapadyante narādhamāḥ
:māyayāpahṛta jñāna
:āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
</div>

"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me." ([[Vanisource:BG 7.15|Bg. 7.15]])

In this way the fools are categorized. A duṣkṛtī is always acting against the scriptural injunctions. The business of current civilization is to break scriptural rules - that's all. By definition, a pious man is one who doesn't. There must be some standard to distinguish between duṣkṛtī (an evil doer) and sukṛtī (a virtuous man). Every civilized country has some scripture - it may be Christian, Hindu, Moslem or Buddhist. That doesn't matter. The point is that the book of authority, the scripture, is there. One who does not follow its injunctions is considered an outlaw.

Another category mentioned in this verse is mūḍha, fool number one. The narādhama is one who is low in the human scale, and māyayāpahṛta jñāna refers to one whose knowledge is carried away by māyā, or illusion. Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ refers to those who are out and out atheists. Although there are no disadvantages to surrendering unto the Father, people who are thus characterized never do it. As a result, they are constantly punished by the agents of the Father. They have to be slapped, caned and kicked severely, and they have to suffer. just as a father has to chastise his unruly boy, so material nature has to employ certain punishments. At the same time nature is nourishing us by supplying food and other necessities. Both processes are going on because we are sons of the wealthiest Father of all, and Kṛṣṇa is kind even though we do not surrender unto Him. Yet despite being furnished so well by the Father, the duṣkṛtī still performs unsanctioned actions. One is foolish if he persists in being punished, and one is low on the human scale if he does not use this human form of life to understand Kṛṣṇa. If a man does not use his life to reawaken the relationship he has with his real Father, he is to be considered fallen in the human scale.

Animals simply eat, sleep, defend themselves, have sexual intercourse and die. They do not avail themselves of higher consciousness because that is not possible in the lower forms of life. If a human being follows the activities of the animals and does not avail himself of his ability to elevate his consciousness, he falls down the human scale and prepares for an animal body in his next life. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa we are given a highly developed body and intelligence, but if we do not utilize them, why should He give them to us again? We must understand that this human body has developed after millions and millions of years of evolution and that in itself it is a chance to get out of the cycle of birth and death in which over eight millions species of life evolve. This chance is given by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, and if we do not take it, are we not the lowest among men? One may be a degree holder - M.A., Ph.D., etc. - from some university, but the illusory energy takes away this mundane knowledge. He who is really intelligent will apply his intelligence to understand who he is, who God is, what material nature is, why he is suffering in material nature, and what is the remedy to this suffering.

We may apply our intelligence to manufacture an automobile, radio or television for sense gratification, but we have to understand that this is not knowledge. Rather, this is plundered intelligence. Intelligence was given to man to understand the problems of life, but it is being misused. People are thinking that they have acquired knowledge because they know how to manufacture and drive cars, but before the car was here people were still going from one place to another. It is just that the facility has been increased, but along with this facility come additional problems - air pollution and over-crowded highways. This is māyā; we are creating facilities, but these facilities in their turn are creating so many problems.

Instead of wasting our energy to supply ourselves with so many facilities and modern amenities, we should apply intelligence to understand who and what we are. We do not like to suffer, but we should understand why suffering is being forced upon us. By so-called knowledge we have simply succeeded in manufacturing the atomic bomb. Thus the killing process has been accelerated. We are so proud to think that this is advancement of knowledge, but if we can manufacture something that can stop death, we have really advanced in knowledge. Death is already there in material nature, but we are so eager to promote it by killing everyone at one drop - this is called māyayāpahṛta-jñāna knowledge carried away by illusion.

The āsuras, the demons and proclaimed atheists, actually challenge God. If it were not for our Supreme Father, we would not see the light of day, so what is the point of challenging Him? In the Vedas it is stated that there are two classes of men, the devas and āsuras, the demigods and demons. Who are the devas? The devotees of the Supreme Lord are called devas because they also become like God, whereas those who defy the authority of the Supreme are called āsuras or demons. These two classes are always found in human society.

just as there are four types of miscreants who never surrender to Kṛṣṇa, there are four types of fortunate men who worship Him, and they are categorized in the next verse:

<div class="quote_verse">
:catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ
:janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna
:ārto jijñāsur arthārthī
:jñānī ca bharatarṣabha
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"O best among the Bhāratas (Arjuna), four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me - the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute." ([[Vanisource:BG 7.16|Bg. 7.16]])

This material world is full of distress, and both the pious and impious are subject to it. The cold of winter treats everyone alike. It does not care for the pious or impious, the rich or the poor. The difference between the pious and the impious, however, is that the pious man thinks of God when he is in his miserable condition. Often when a man is distressed, he will go to church and pray, "Oh my Lord, I am in difficulty. Please help me." Although he is praying for some material necessity, such a man is still to be considered pious because he has come to God in his distress. Similarly, a poor man may go to church and pray, "My dear Lord, please give me some money." On the other hand, the inquisitive are usually intelligent. They are always researching to understand things. They may ask, "What is God?" and then conduct scientific research to find out. They are also considered pious because their research is directed to the proper object. The man in knowledge is called jñānī - one who has understood his constitutional position. Such ajñānī may have an impersonal conception of God, but because he is taking shelter of the ultimate, the Supreme Absolute Truth, he is also to be considered pious. These four types of men are called sukṛtī - pious - because they are all after God.

<div class="quote_verse">
:teṣāṁ jñānī nitya-yukta
:eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate
:priyo hi jñānino 'tyartham
:ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ
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"Of these, the wise one who is in full knowledge in union with Me through pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me." ([[Vanisource:BG 7.17|Bg. 7.17]])

Out of the four classes of men who approach God, he who is philosophically trying to understand the nature of God, who is trying to become Kṛṣṇa conscious - viśiṣyate - is best qualified. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa says that such a person is very dear to Him because he has no other business than understanding God. The others are inferior. No one has to pray to God to ask for anything, and he who does so is foolish because he does not know that the all-knowing God is within his heart and is well aware when he is in distress or in need of money. The wise man realizes this and does not pray for relief from material miseries. Rather, he prays to glorify God and inform others how great He is. He doesn't pray for his personal interest, for bread, dress or shelter. The pure devotee, when he is distressed, says, "Dear Lord, this is Your kindness. You have put me into distress just to rectify me. I should be put in much greater distress, but out of Your mercy You have minimized this." This is the vision of a pure devotee who is not disturbed.

He who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not care for material distress, insult or honor because he is aloof from all these. He knows well that distress, honor and insult pertain to the body only and that he is not the body. Socrates, for instance, who believed in the immortality of the soul, was condemned to death, and upon being asked how he would like to be buried, replied, "First of all you may have to catch me." So one who knows that he is not the body is not disturbed, for he knows the soul cannot be caught, tortured, killed or buried. He who is conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa knows perfectly well that he is not the body, that he is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, that his real relationship is with Kṛṣṇa, and that somehow or other, although he has been put in the material body, he must remain aloof from the three qualities of material nature. He is not concerned with the modes of goodness, passion or ignorance, but with Kṛṣṇa. One who understands this is a jñānī, a wise man, and he is very much dear to Kṛṣṇa. A distressed man, when he is put into opulence, may forget God, but a jñānī, who knows the real position of God, will never forget Him.

There is a class of jñānīs called impersonalists who say that because worshiping the impersonal is too difficult, a form of God has to be imagined. These are not real jñānīs - they're fools. No one can imagine the form of God, for God is so great. One may imagine some form, but that is a concoction; it is not the real form. There are those who imagine the form of God, and there are those who deny the form of God. Neither is a jñānī. Those who imagine the form are called iconoclasts. During the Hindu-Muslim riots in India, some Hindus would go to the Moslem mosque and would break statues and images of God, and the Moslems would reciprocate in like manner. In this way they were both thinking, "We've killed the Hindu God. We've killed the Moslem God, etc." Similarly, when Gandhi was leading his resistance movement, many Indians would go to the street and destroy the mailboxes and in this way think that they were destroying the government postal service. People of such mentality are not jñānīs. The religious wars between the Hindus and Moslems and Christians and non-Christians were all conducted on the basis of ignorance. One who is in knowledge knows that God is one; He cannot be Moslem, Hindu or Christian.

It is our imagination that God is such and such and such and such. That is all imagination. The real wise man knows that God is transcendental. One who knows that God is transcendental to the material modes truly knows God. God is always beside us, present in our hearts. When we leave the body, God also goes with us, and when we take on another body, He goes with us there just to see what we are doing. When shall we turn our face towards Him? He is always waiting. As soon as we turn our face toward God, He says, "My dear son, come on - sa ca mama priyaḥ - you are eternally dear to Me. Now you are turning your face to Me, and I am very glad."

The wise man, the jñānī, actually understands the science of God. One who only understands that "God is good" is in a preliminary stage, but one who actually understands how great and good God is, is further progressed. That knowledge is to be had in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā. One who is actually interested in God should study the science of God, Bhagavad-gītā.

<div class="quote_verse">
:idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ
:pravakṣyāmy anasūyave
:jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ
:yaj jñātvā mokṣyase 'śubhāt
</div>

"My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most secret wisdom, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence." ([[Vanisource:BG 9.1|Bg. 9.1]])

The knowledge of God imparted in Bhagavad-gītā is very subtle and confidential. It is full of jñāna, metaphysical wisdom, and vijñāna, scientific knowledge. And it is full of mystery also. How can one understand this knowledge? It must be imparted by God Himself or a bona fide representative of God. Therefore Śrī Kṛṣṇa says that whenever there is a discrepancy on understanding the science of God, He incarnates Himself.

Nor does knowledge come from sentiment. Devotion is not sentiment. It is a science. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "A show of spirituality without reference to the Vedic knowledge is simply a disturbance to society." One must taste the nectar of devotion by reason, argument and knowledge, and then he must pass it on to others. One should not think that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is mere sentimentality. The dancing and singing are all scientific. There is science, and there is also loving reciprocation. Kṛṣṇa is very dear to the wise man, and the wise man is very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will return our love a thousand-fold. What capacity do we finite creatures have to love Kṛṣṇa? But Kṛṣṇa has immense capacity - unlimited capacity - for love.
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