Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 119

May 22, 2022

The spiritual master’s only anxiety

Why spiritual master is very dear to Krsna? Because his only anxiety is how Krsna will be known all over the world. That’s all. He has no ambition, pounds, shilling, pence. He only wants to know, only wants to see that everyone is devotee of Krsna and they are happy.

Srila Prabhupada – Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.51, Los Angeles, December 28, 1973

The post The spiritual master’s only anxiety appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 22, 2022 08:20

May 21, 2022

What do you mean by “mystic”?

Mr. Faill: Do you think the great mystics down through the ages have actually seen the spiritual spark you mentioned earlier?

Srila Prabhupada: What do you mean by “mystic”?

Mr. Faill: It’s just a name given to people who have had an experience of another level of reality.

Srila Prabhupada: We don’t use the word mystic. Our reality is God realization, which occurs when we come to the spiritual platform. As long as we have a bodily concept of life, our understanding is sense gratification, because the body is made of senses. When we progress from the bodily platform and we see the mind as the center of sense activity, we take the mind as the final stage of realization. That is the mental platform. From the mental platform we may come to the intellectual platform, and from the intellectual platform we can rise to the transcendental platform. Finally we can rise above even the transcendental platform and come to the mature, spiritual platform. These are the stages of God realization. However, in this age, because people are so fallen, the sastras [scriptures] give the special recommendation that people come directly to the spiritual platform by chanting the holy names of God: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If we cultivate this practice on the spiritual platform, then immediately we can realize our spiritual identity. Then the process of God realization becomes successful very quickly.

From – The Science of Self-Realization 5e: Meditation and the Self Within

The post What do you mean by “mystic”? appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 21, 2022 23:21

May 19, 2022

Causes of falldown

One who is not satisfied with the mind must fall to degradation. One must conquer lusty desires, anger, greed, fear, lamentation, illusion, fright, unnecessary talks on material subjects, violence, the four miseries of material existence, and the three material qualities. That is the objective of human life. One who has no faith in the spiritual master, who is identical with Sri Krsna, cannot get any benefit from reading sastra. One should never consider the spiritual master an ordinary human being, even though the members of the spiritual master’s family may think of him as such. Meditation and other processes of austerity are useful only if they help in advancement toward Krsna consciousness; otherwise, they are simply a waste of time and labor. For those who are not devotees, such meditation and austerity cause falldown.

Srila Prabhupada – SB 7.15 Summary

The post Causes of falldown appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 19, 2022 23:18

May 18, 2022

Prabhupada’s books attract like Krsna; others are food for crows

Tamala Krsna: In the Krsna book there’s the part where Lord Brahma steals away all the calves and children, so then Krsna gives Himself instead. So Balarama is wondering, “How is it possible that everyone is so attracted?” Then the explanation is, “He’s Krsna.” So these books are there. People are automatically attracted. I don’t think they’re so attracted to any other books.

Prabhupada: No, what other books? Rubbish. I say rubbish. There is no book. Mental speculation is not book. Garbage.

Tamala Krsna: Food for crows.

Prabhupada: [laughs] Yes. It is garbage. Tad-vaga-visarga-janata…, pragrnita, tad vayasa-tirtham: “Garbage for the crows.” Yes. No swan will come there. That is already explained. Krsna has at least saved us from reading this garbage. We are not interested with any book or newspaper or anything. We kicked out. At least I am not interested in reading any other except Bhagavata.

Conversation – June 26, 1977, Vrndavana

The post Prabhupada’s books attract like Krsna; others are food for crows appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 18, 2022 23:46

Atheist insanity

The natural phenomena, that is going on in systematic way. And we have no experience anything going on in a systematic way has no controller. How they can think of this big phenomena without any controller? At least any sane man cannot think like that — that it is going on automatically, it is happening automatically. The season is changing in time, the sun is rising in time, the moon is rising everything is going on systematically — and how he thinks that there is no controller; there is no God? That is insanity. To become atheist means — a greatest insane person. It has no meaning to become atheist. Anyone who cannot think of a supreme controller, he is an insane man. He is not a sane man. How he can propose? Where is his experience? Everything is going on under some control. Even this wonderful machine, computer that requires an operator. So how one can think of-without controller things are going on very systematically? This is insanity. It has no meaning.

From Srila Prabhupada’s discussion with Hayagriva dasa regarding the philosophy of John Dewey.

The post Atheist insanity appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 18, 2022 00:21

May 16, 2022

No more glowworms

This revolutionary movement is eyesore for many, because if this movement become successful, then the so-called so many philanthropists, they will have no position. There is an economic theory: bad money drives away good money. So when the good money is not available in the market, the bad monies are there. There is example in the Bhagavata that in the rainy season, when the sky is covered with clouds, at time the glowworms become very prominent. Glowworms.

But when the sky is clear, there is moonshine, these glowworms has no meaning. So in the world there are so many glowworms, because real knowledge is covered. They do not know. They have forgotten what is Krsna; therefore all these this rascal glowworms they are prominent.

But this movement is clearing the clouds, bringing out the moon, sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam.

Srila Prabhupada – Lecture on SB 6.1.44 recorded on December 26, 1970 in Surat, India

The post No more glowworms appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 16, 2022 23:12

May 15, 2022

The value of time

Canakya Pandita said, ayusah ksana eko ‘pi na labhyah svarna-kotibhihSvarna means gold coins, and koti means ten millions. So suppose today is 6th December. Now seven o’clock, morning, seven o’clock, 6th December, passed. Can you bring it again by paying one crores [ten million] of gold coins? Hm? That “Let me get back again seven o’clock, 6th December, 1975, again”? No. It is gone forever. So just see the value that you cannot get back even a moment of your life by paying millions and millions of dollars. How time is valuable, just calculate. Therefore Canakya Pandita [said], sa cet nirarthakam nitah ka no hanis tato ‘dhika. If you waste your time, such valuable time, for nothing, just imagine how much loser you are.

Srila Prabhupada – (Lecture: Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.4 – Vrndavana, December 6, 1975)

The post The value of time appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 15, 2022 22:06

May 14, 2022

Nrsimha-deva has appeared to convince the atheist

Nrsimha-deva has appeared to convince the atheist (laughter) that there is no [sic] God. This is a lying propaganda that nobody has seen God. Everyone has seen God. The devotee sees within his heart, in the temple, and everywhere. And the atheist sees when he’s… when the clock, the handles in the clock are over. You see? Prahlada Maharaja was seeing always, constantly Nrsimha-deva. Mahabhagavata. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti [Bs. 5.38]. Those who have developed love of God, prema, premanjana-cchurita… When one’s eyes are anointed with the ointment which is applied to the eyes for clear vision. So when the ointment of love of Godhead will be applied in our eyes, then with these eyes we shall be able to see God.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Nrsimha-caturdasi, Lord Nrsimha-deva’s Appearance Day — Boston, May 1, 1969

The post Nrsimha-deva has appeared to convince the atheist appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 14, 2022 19:48

May 13, 2022

Why Prahlada was an authority on devotional service

Prahlada Maharaja was an authority in the devotional service of the Lord because he had his father killed by Lord Nrsimha-deva, setting the example that even a father should be removed from the path of devotional service if such a father happens to be an obstacle.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 1.12.25

The post Why Prahlada was an authority on devotional service appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 13, 2022 19:14

May 12, 2022

Which way is India headed towards?

Devotee (2): Which way is India headed towards? The capitalists or the communists?

Prabhupada: India has no…, had no such ideas. They are borrowing ideas. India’s idea is self-realization. Live very simple life – brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra. The brahmanas, they are living simple life, becoming very learned scholar, pure character, advanced in spiritual life-one class, ideal. And ksatriyas, they are supposed to be the king. They distribute the land on nominal taxation, and the vaisyas utilize the land for cultivation and cow-keeping. And the sudras, they are engaged as weaver, blacksmith, goldsmith, mean other necessities of life. In this way the whole society is simplified, and the central point is how to become advanced in Krsna consciousness by cooperation. This is India’s civilization. There is no question of industry. Ugra-karma. It has been condemned in the Bhagavad-gita as ugra-karma, laboring very hard for livelihood. This industry means engage the poor worker class to work very hard, and there is huge profit, and some directors of the capitalists, they take it. And they have one dozen motorcars, palatial building, no work, simply wine and woman, that’s all. This is going on. And the others, they are seeing: “There is no classification, neither real brahmana nor ksatriya nor vaisya. So he is enjoying like that. He has got so many cars. He has got such a nice apartment. Why not me?” There is struggle. This is actual picture. Our Vedic advice is that make life very simple. You must have some means of livelihood. Keep your body and soul together. So according to quality, guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg 4.13], there must be division, and then simple life. The real aim is tam abhyarcya: how to become Krsna conscious.

Morning Walk – April 9, 1976, Vrndavana

The post Which way is India headed towards? appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 12, 2022 22:05