Category:Honey
Theme Analysis
The analogy of honey is frequently employed by Śrīla Prabhupāda to illustrate the distinction between theoretical knowledge and realized spiritual experience. Just as one cannot taste honey by licking the outside of a glass jar, one cannot understand the transcendental sweetness of Kṛṣṇa consciousness merely through academic study or mental speculation. The bottle must be opened by a bona fide spiritual master. Furthermore, the behavior of the honeybee serves as a powerful metaphor for the devotee; just as a bee seeks only the essence of the flower, a pure devotee seeks only the service of the Lord, disregarding material faults. The theme extends to the description of Vedic civilization, where natural prosperity is measured by the abundance of milk and honey, rather than industrial development.
- Licking the Bottle: Academic scholars and non-devotees who attempt to understand the Bhagavad-gītā without the guidance of a devotee are compared to those licking the outside of a honey bottle; they never taste the real contents.
- The Bee-like Mentaltiy: A devotee is likened to a honeybee (madhukara) who focuses solely on collecting the nectar of devotional service and the good qualities of others, unlike the fly which is attracted to sores.
- Material vs. Spiritual Pleasure: Material enjoyment, particularly sex life, is compared to a dangerous attempt to collect honey from a hive where one is inevitably stung, whereas spiritual honey offers eternal, safe satisfaction.
- Natural Opulence: In a God-conscious civilization, nature cooperates to provide ample necessities, described as rivers of milk and trees pouring forth honey, eliminating the need for artificial industrial enterprises.
- The Lotus Feet: The feet of the Lord and His devotees are the ultimate source of transcendental honey, and the minds of the devotees are always anxious to drink this nectar.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Tasting Transcendental Honey of Kṛṣṇa's Lotus Feet.
Subcategories
This category has the following 11 subcategories, out of 11 total.
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Pages in category "Honey"
The following 133 pages are in this category, out of 133 total.
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A
- A pure devotee of Krsna is always specifically qualified with nectarean qualifications and sometimes with the qualifications of butter and honey
- Abundant honey can be obtained if the forests are protected. Unfortunately, in modern civilization, men are busy killing the cows that are the source of yogurt, milk and ghee, they are cutting down all the trees that supply honey
- After birth the baby, requires little honey or little milk, not the meat. But afterwards, the parents or the guardians are teaching how to eat meat. This is not our human business. Human teeth is meant for eating fruits and grains. That is scientific
- An uncommonly beautiful garland of flowers decorated His bosom, and because the flowers were extremely fragrant, a large group of bees, making their natural humming sounds, invaded them for honey
- Anyone who does not understand Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is surely in the mode of ignorance. Consequently he will not attain salvation, simply, so to speak, by licking the outer surface of the bottle of honey. BG 1972 purports
- Approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the goddess of fortune placed upon His shoulders the garland of newly grown lotus flowers, which was surrounded by humming bumblebees searching for honey
- As honey and butter become melted even in slight sunshine, so softhearted persons become easily melted
- As the parijata tree came down to the earthly planet, the fragrance of its flowers also came down, and the celestial drones migrated to this earth in search of their fragrance and honey
- As their eyes began to drink the nectarean honey of His lotus face, their thirst increased. Thus their eyes did not leave Him
- As was the Vedic custom, the King offered Krsna and Balarama honey and fresh, washed garments. He was hospitable not only to Krsna, Balarama and kings such as Jarasandha but also to many other kings and princes
- Atheistic scholars and politicians cannot understand the transcendental vibration. They can only lick at the honey bottle. Fools and rascals eat and drink everything without restriction, thinking that they are doing so in the name of religion
B
- Balarama said, "O you members of the Yadu dynasty, why are you laughing at Me? Please give me back My liquors made of honey from the kadamba flower!"
- Because bees bite one another when they enjoy honey, they are not exclusively enjoying the sweetness of the honey, for there is also suffering
- Because of these flowing rivers, all the people have ample supplies of milk, yogurt, honey, clarified butter (ghee), molasses, food grains, clothes, bedding, sitting places and ornaments
- Bees collect a little honey from each flower, but all these small quantities of honey accumulate to become a beehive
- Bees intoxicated by the honeylike fragrance of the tulasi flowers hum very sweetly around the garland, which thus becomes more and more beautiful. In this way, the Lord enjoys His very magnanimous pastimes
D
- Day after day, with great difficulty, they (those who are not Krsna conscious) try to secure such women (debauched women), and sometimes, while trying to taste this kind of honey, one is attacked by a woman's kinsmen and chastised very heavily
- Devotional service to Krsna is exactly like a pleasing, jubilant forest of lotus flowers wherein there is ample honey. I request everyone to taste this honey
- Do not neglect sukuta because it is a bitter preparation. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu derived more happiness from eating this sukuta than from drinking pancamrta (a preparation of milk, sugar, ghee, honey and yogurt)
- Don't make it a stool society. You see? Make it a honey society. At least, give chance, those who are seeking after honey. Don't cheat people. So they'll come
- Due to the aroma, the bees were also flying in the breeze, thinking that the aroma was honey. The gopis made a seat for Krsna by leveling the soft sand and placing cloths over it
H
- He (who does not understand Lord Krsna as the SP of Godhead) will not attain salvation, simply, so to speak, by licking the outer surface of the bottle of honey, or by interpreting the Bhagavad-gita according to mundane scholarship. BG 1972 purports
- He was perspiring, liquor dripped from his mouth & his vision was overwhelmed by intoxication. He was being served by bumblebees who drank honey & from a distance he could smell the dust of the lotus flowers, which was carried from the lake by the breeze
- Human society is exactly like a beehive, for everyone is engaged in collecting honey from various flowers, or collecting money from various sources, and creating large empires for common enjoyment
I
- If one does not know how to taste honey, one begins licking at the bottle, but for one to actually taste the honey, the bottle must be opened, and the key to its opening is the devotee
- If one tastes the nectar of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta with faith and love, I become like a bumblebee tasting the honey of transcendental love from his lotus feet
- If people actually want happiness in this life and want to prepare for the best in the next life, they must adopt a Vedic civilization. In a Vedic civilization, there is a full supply of all the necessities mentioned above - milk, honey, molasses, etc
- In a flower there is honey, but that honey is not eternal
- In a great forest, honeycombs are very important. People often go there to collect honey from the combs, and sometimes the bees attack and punish them
- In human society, those who are not Krsna conscious remain in the forest of material life simply for the honey of sex life. Such debauchees are not at all satisfied with one wife. They want many women
- In this (yamunakarsana) lila, Baladeva was accompanied by His girlfriends. After drinking a honey beverage called Varuni, He wanted to jump into the Yamuna and swim with the girls
- Indeed, they are compared to a combination of yogurt, candy, ghee, honey, black pepper, camphor and cardamom, which, when mixed together, are very tasty and sweet
L
- Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Simply by the causeless mercy of the devotees engaged in licking honey from His lotus feet, even a fallen soul becomes eternally liberated
- Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If even a doggish nondevotee somehow takes shelter of such devotees, he enjoys the aroma of the lotus flower
- Licking of the bottle of honey is not tasting. The contents, the honey, real honey, if it is open, and if you take, then you will get taste. So to whom it is open? It is open to the bona fide disciple by the bona fide spiritual master
- Lord Krsna was very much pleased when passing through the Vrndavana forest by the site of Govardhana Hill. On the bank of the Yamuna He saw all the trees decorated with beehives pouring honey
- Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's many bona fide devotees never leave the lotus feet of the Lord to become imitation Mahaprabhus but all cling to His lotus feet like bees that never leave a honey-soaked lotus flower
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- Madhu-parka, a small bowl containing madhu (honey, a little ghee, a little water, a little sugar, yogurt and milk) should be offered. This is called madhu-parka-acamana. (11) One should place wooden slippers before the Lord
- Men are busy killing cows that are the source of yogurt, milk and ghee, they are cutting down all the trees that supply honey, and they are opening factories to manufacture nuts, bolts, automobiles and wine instead of engaging in agriculture
- My dear servants, bring to me for punishment only persons who are averse to the taste of that honey, who do not associate with paramahamsas and who are attached to family life and worldly enjoyment, which form the path to hell
O
- O collector of honey, Krsna must be very sorry not to see us gopis. Surely He is afflicted by memories of our pastimes. Therefore He has sent you as a messenger to satisfy us. Do not speak to us
- O Maharaja Pariksit, between these four mountains are four huge lakes. The water of the first tastes just like milk; the water of the second, like honey; and that of the third, like sugarcane juice. The fourth lake is filled with pure water
- O Maitreya, O friend of the distressed, the glories of the Supreme Lord can alone do good for people all over the world. Therefore, just as bees collect honey from flowers, kindly describe the essence of all topics - the topics of the Lord
- O my (Rupa Gosvami) Lord Krsna, I beg to offer my prayers unto You. My mind is like the bee, and it is after some honey. Kindly, therefore, give my bee-mind a place at Your lotus feet, which are the resources for all transcendental honey
- O my Lord, the transcendental body of Krsna is very sweet, and His face is even sweeter than His body. But His soft smile, which has the fragrance of honey, is sweeter still
- O supreme shelter of everyone, great personalities like Brahma enjoy their perfection simply by tasting the honey of rendering service at Your lotus feet
- On the side of Suparsva Mountain stands a big tree called Mahakadamba, which is very celebrated. From the hollows of this tree flow five rivers of honey, each about five vyamas wide
- One cannot have a taste of honey unless one opens the bottle. Similarly, the mysticism of the Bhagavad-gita can be understood only by devotees, and no one else can taste it, as it is stated in the Fourth Chapter of the book. BG 1972 purports
- One day the Lord sat down in the corridor of a Visnu temple and began calling very loudly, "Bring some honey! Bring some honey!"
- One should learn detachment from the bumblebees, for they collect drops of honey here and there and keep it in their honeycomb, but then someone comes and by force takes all the honey away, leaving the bumblebees with nothing
- One who is attached to the nectarean honey of the Lord's lotus feet, and whose mind is always absorbed in His glories, may sometimes be checked by some impediment, but he still never gives up the exalted position he has acquired
- Other requirements are utensils, grains, clarified butter, honey, gold, earth, water, the Rg Veda, Yajur Veda and Sama Veda and four priests to perform the sacrifice
P
- Paramahamsas are exalted persons who have no taste for material enjoyment and who drink the honey of the Lord's lotus feet
- Please be always strongly fixed up in the Lotus Feet of Krishna, just as the bees are fixed up in the honeycomb
- Prthu prayed, "If I have no chance for this honey of transcendental bliss, then I shall never ask for liberation or this so-called spiritual emancipation"
S
- She (Srimati Radharani) addressed the bumblebee, "Your master Krsna is exactly of your quality. You sit down on a flower, and after tasting a little honey you immediately fly away and sit on another flower and taste"
- Since Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the original form of Baladeva, in His ecstasy He asked everyone to bring honey. In this way, all the devotees standing there saw the yamunakarsana-lila
- Softness of the heart is compared with honey, with butter and with nectar. And the condition of the mind is compared with sunshine
- Sometimes, in order to have a little insignificant sex enjoyment, one searches after debauched women. In this attempt, one is insulted and chastised by the women's kinsmen. This is like going to take honey from a beehive and being attacked by the bees
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very thirsty to see the Lord, and His eyes became like two bumblebees drinking the honey from the lotuslike eyes of Lord Jagannatha, who is Krsna Himself
- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to say that they (nondevotees) are like people trying to lick at a bottle of honey that is sealed closed
- Srila Rupa Gosvami, the great devotee acarya of the Gaudiya-Vaisnava-sampradaya, has sung a song about this lotus honey, comparing himself to the bee
- Srimati Radharani began to talk with it as follows, "Bumblebee, you are accustomed to drinking honey from flower to flower, and therefore you have preferred to be a messenger of Krsna, who is of the same nature as you"
- Srimati Radharani induces Krsna to drink the honey of the conjugal relationship. She is therefore engaged in satisfying all the lusty desires of Krsna
- Srivasa Pandita narrated all the pastimes enacted during the six changing seasons. He described the drinking of honey, the celebration of the rasa dance, the swimming in the Yamuna and other such incidents
T
- The air carrying the scent from the mouths of those who drink that honey perfumes the land for a hundred yojanas around
- The analogy is given that, as the bees go away from a flower that has no honey, so Subala left Vrndavana when he found there was no longer any relishable transcendental pleasure there
- The beauty of the pleasant sounds heard in the area surrounding Lake Bindu-sarovara is described here. After drinking honey, the black bees became maddened, and they hummed in intoxication
- The bumblebees were humming about in order to get honey from the flowers. Krsna and the gopis entered the water of the Yamuna just as an elephant enters a water tank with his many female companions
- The demigod known as Varuna sent his daughter Varuni in the form of liquid honey oozing from the hollows of the trees. Because of this honey the whole forest became aromatic, and the sweet aroma of the liquid honey, Varuni, captivated Balaramaji
- The devotees of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are compared (in CC Adi 2.2) to swans swimming around the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or bees humming around His lotus feet in transcendental pleasure, searching for honey
- The devotees of the Lord are accustomed to licking up the honey available from the lotus feet of the Lord. What is the use of topics which simply waste one's valuable life?
- The difference between a devotee & a nondevotee is this, just like the bee & the fly: the bee always is attracted by the honey & flies go to the open sores. So the devotee is only attracted by the good qualities in other people & does not see their faults
- The flowing rivers supplied all kinds of tastes - sweet, pungent, sour, etc. - and very big trees supplied fruit and honey in abundance. The cows, having eaten sufficient green grass, supplied profuse quantities of milk, curd and clarified butter
- The gopis continued, "A person attached to the wives of others is interested in them as long as there is a need of sense gratification, just as bumblebees have interest in flowers as long as they want to take the honey out of them"
- The gopis said, "Krsna does not even look upon us, although we are completely surrendered unto Him. Now the young girls in Mathura will have the opportunity. They are expecting Krsna's arrival, & will enjoy His sweet smiling face & will drink its honey"
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, persons like you, who are pure devotees of the lotus feet of Mukunda and who are always attached to the honey of His lotus feet, are always satisfied in serving at the lotus feet of the Lord
- The honey gathered in the comb is taken away by force. Therefore one who accumulates money should realize that he may be harassed by the government or by thieves or even killed by enemies
- The initiation means to learn how to open the bottle (of honey). That trick or that craftsmanship you have to learn from the guru, the spiritual master. Therefore, adau gurvasrayam
- The living entities create their enjoyable honeycombs and then enjoy them. The example of the bees is appropriate because when bees try to enjoy their honeycomb, they have to suffer the bites of other bees
- The living entities merged into the Supreme at the time of dissolution are compared to honey. In the honeycomb, the tastes of different flowers are conserved
- The Lord simply witnesses and gives the living entity sanction for sense enjoyment. It is the Paramatma also who gives the intelligence by which the bees can construct a hive, collect honey from various flowers, store it and enjoy it
- The lotus flower is sometimes surrounded by white swans, and sometimes it is surrounded by black wasps who are collecting its honey. When there is a thundering in the sky, the swans go away, but the black wasps stay to enjoy the lotus flowers
- The luster of His beautiful face increased at every moment, and the eyes of hundreds and thousands of devotees drank its honey like bumblebees
- The miserable conditions of this material world can be corrected by a sufficient supply of milk, yogurt, honey, ghee, molasses, food grains, ornaments, bedding, sitting places and so on. This is human civilization
- The modern education is to teach people to become flies, only stool. Not here, Krsna consciousness. But you make it a honeycomb. Those who are after, seeking after honey, they will find, "Here is something." You see?
- The ocean, which is the source of all valuable jewels, supplied the upper and lower portions of a yellow silken garment. The predominating deity of the water, Varuna, presented flower garlands surrounded by six-legged bumblebees, drunken with honey
- The pancamrta consists of five kinds of nectar - yogurt, milk, ghee, honey and sugar. The major portion of this preparation also comes from the cow. To make it more palatable, sugar and honey are added
- The plants, creepers and trees were full of fruits and flowers due to ecstatic love of Krsna. Indeed, being so full, they were bowing down. They were inspired by such deep love for Krsna that they were constantly pouring showers of honey
- The sweet, fragrant honey oozing from newly grown mango buds is again and again attracting groups of bumblebees, and this forest is trembling in the softly moving breezes from the Malaya Hills, which are full of sandalwood trees
- The trees on the bank of the Yamuna and Ganges are always jubilant. They appear to be smiling with their flowers and shedding tears in the form of flowing honey
- The trees were overwhelmed with joy and were incessantly yielding honey, which flowed from the beehives hanging on their branches
- The water of the rivers began to flow with various tasty liquids and give nourishment to the trees, producing fruits and flowers of different colors and tastes. The trees began to pour drops of honey
- The word madhukari comes from the word madhukara and means - honey-collecting bees
- The word madhukari comes from the word madhukara, which refers to bees collecting honey from flower to flower
- The words taravo bhuri-varsmanah indicate very luxuriantly grown, big-bodied trees. The purpose of these trees was to produce honey and varieties of fruit. In other words, the forest also has its purpose in supplying honey, fruits and flowers
- Then one should bathe Him with ghee. (19) Then one should bathe Him with honey. (20) Then one should bathe Him with water in which sugar has been dissolved
- There are some highly qualified persons who accept only the good qualities of others. Just as a bee is always interested in the honey in the flower and does not consider the thorns and colors
- There is a statement in the Lalita-madhava that Lord Baladeva, intoxicated from drinking excessive quantities of honey, once began to address the ants
- There were also bilva, kapittha, jambira and bhallataka trees. Intoxicated bumblebees drank honey and hummed with the chirping of the birds, whose songs were very melodious
- Thereafter, following the directions of the sastra with help from brahmanas who know the sastra, on the thirteenth day of the moon one should bathe Lord Visnu with five substances (milk, yogurt, ghee, sugar and honey)
- They (Bhismadeva, Dhrtarastra, Dronacarya, Duryodhana and Bahlika) welcomed Lord Balarama by giving Him in charity nice cows and arghya (a mixture of arati water and an assortment of items such as honey, butter, flowers and sandalwood pulp)
- They (the trees and plants) then wanted to deliver everything to Krsna and His friends - whatever they had - namely their fruits, flowers and the honey incessantly falling from their branches
- They also worshiped him with a suitable presentation of honey mixed with other ingredients. When Akrura was thus comfortably seated, Krsna and Balarama offered Him a cow in charity and then brought very palatable dishes, and Akrura accepted them
- This flowing honey falls incessantly from the top of Suparsva Mountain and flows all around Ilavrta-varsa, beginning from the western side. Thus the whole land is saturated with the pleasing fragrance
- Those who are averse to taste the honey in Krsna consciousness, they are rogues. They are rogues. And the Yamaraja is advising, "Go there. Bring them here, and I shall chastise them nicely." That is Yamaraja
- Those who are envious of Krsna as the SP of Godhead have no bona fide access to the great literature (of Bhagavad-gita). The nondevotee's approach to the teachings of the Gita is something like bees licking on a bottle of honey. BG 1972 purports
- To the materialist his own blood is as sweet as honey, and although he is always harassed by his own material creations, he does not wish to escape. Such materialists are called karmis
- Trees and creepers are also different types of living beings. When bumblebees come upon trees and creepers to collect honey, certainly such plants become very happy
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- Unfortunately in Kali-yuga, due to an absence of yajna, there are many big trees in the forests, but they do not supply sufficient fruits and honey. Thus everything is dependent on the performance of yajna
- United with his wife, he always remains absorbed in such thoughts. He feels great pleasure in hearing the talks of his wife and children, which are like the sweet humming of bumblebees that collect honey from flower to flower
- Unless we surrender to the lotus feet of a pure devotee, it is not possible to come to the platform of devotional service. That is the way. We cannot taste the honey within the bottle. The bottle must be opened by the expert
- Unless you have taken the purport of the Vedic literature through the disciplic succession, you will never understand it. It will remain a mystery, like the honey within the bottle
- Upon seeing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the trees and creepers of Vrndavana became jubilant. Their twigs stood up, and they began to shed tears of ecstasy in the form of honey
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- When a bee approaches the parijata tree, it gets unlimited supplies of honey. There is no need to go to another tree
- When a bumblebee enters the opening of a lotus flower and drinks its honey, it is fully protected by the petals of the lotus. The bee is undisturbed by sunshine and other external influences
- When bathing the Deity in the abhiseka ceremony with various liquids, such as milk, honey, yogurt, ghee, cow dung and cow urine, it is customary to supply yellow garments
- When one drinks honey, one cannot distinguish what sort of honey has been collected from what sort of flower, but the palatable taste of the honey presupposes that the honey is not homogeneous but is a combination of different tastes
- When the Lord entered the forest of Vrndavana, all the inhabitants of the forest, both animate and inanimate, were eager to receive Him. He saw that the flowers of the forest, all fully blossoming, were weeping in ecstasy, honey flowing down their petals
- When there is a profuse supply of milk, yogurt, honey, food grains, ghee, molasses, dhotis, saris, bedding, sitting places and ornaments, the residents are actually opulent
- When they (the gopis) saw Krsna returning, all their anxieties were immediately relieved, and they began to look at His face the way drones hover over the honey of the lotus flower. When Krsna entered the village, the young gopis smiled and laughed
- While singing the glories of the Lord, the inhabitants of Vaikuntha deride even the presence of the blossoming madhavi flowers, which are fragrant and laden with honey
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- You are asking for honey, I give you a bottle of honey. And you think that "I have now got the honey. Let me lick up the bottle." So honey is there in his hand, but he does not know how to taste it. He is licking on the bottle. So how he will taste it?
- You go on for millions of years licking on the honey bottle, you’ll never taste what is honey. This is a good example. Don’t think, - Now I have got the bottle of honey, let me lick it up