Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 12

No party has become able to change the situation of the world

Two classes of men: the communist and the non-communist. Not exactly communist and capitalist, but communist and non-communist. Out of these two, the communists are going to be powerful. This is the world tendency. So if the world becomes full of communists, then the human civilization will be finished. All rogues and rascals, that’s all. The American government wants to check this tendency. But they cannot check it if they remain “so-called trust in God.” That will not be possible. So according to our proposition… Not only now, it is forever. Two classes of men are there: sura and asura. Surasura. Visnu-bhakto bhaved devah. Deva and sura, the same thing. Asuras tad viparyayah. And the asura, or the demons, godless. So if the Americans remain godless in the name of so-called trust in God, they will not be able to check this communistic movement. They will not be able. Now, if they are serious to check this communistic movement, save the American country as well as the whole world, then they must be very serious to understand what is God and what is trust in God. Otherwise this communistic movement will finish the civilized human society. So you are thoughtful. They must be very serious about it. And this is the only movement, Krsna consciousness, which can make all people actually trust in God and explain what is meant by God. Demons, they… If the communists are demons and the capitalists are also demons, fighting between demons, there will be war and loss of life, but nobody will come out victorious. That is going on. There is occasional world war, but the situation of the world remains the same. No party has become able to change the situation of the world.

Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk — December 12, 1973, Los Angeles

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Formula for preaching success

The members of this Society must always remember that if they stick to the regulative principles and preach sincerely according to the instructions of the acaryas, surely they will have the profound blessings of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and their preaching work will be successful everywhere throughout the world.

Srila Prabhupada Cc. Adi 7.171 purport

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Garbhadana-samskara

It is not secret matter. When the father goes to beget child, he has to perform ritualistic ceremonies in the presence of relative, brahmanas. They will understand that “He is going now to beget a child.” It is not a secret thing. It is garbhadhana. And if in a brahmana family the garbhadhana-samskara is not observed, then immediately he becomes a sudra.

Srila Prabhupada — April 5, 1977, Bombay

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“My devotee never perishes”

Devotees generally do not fall down, but if circumstantially they do, the Lord, because of their strong attachment to Him, gives them protection in all circumstances. Thus even if devotees fall down, they are still strong enough to traverse the heads of their enemies. We have actually seen that our Krsna consciousness movement has many opponents, such as the “deprogrammers,” who instituted a strong legal case against the devotees. We thought that this case would take a long time to settle, but because the devotees were protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we unexpectedly won the case in one day. Thus a case that was expected to continue for years was settled in a day because of the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has promised in Bhagavad-gita (9.31), kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati: “O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.”

Srila Prabhupada SB 10.2.33, ppt.

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The best process for purifying the mass mind

In this age the spiritual revolution was recommended by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He demonstrated that the Yuga Dharma for this age is the Sankirtana chanting of the holy names. If we want the degraded mass of people to be elevated, we must stop their sinful activity. To stop sinful activity one must purify the mind and the best process for purifying the mass mind is the chanting of the maha mantra Hare Krishna. This can be done in public where everyone has a chance to hear and be purified. We experience that people are becoming more friendly and helping our movement in America simply because we are performing this sankirtana yajna. I hope you can understand this. This movement is authorized and confirmed by great acaryas as well as the sastras and also by Lord Caitanya Himself Who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, non different from Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada; letter to Swami Jara Kumar — Vrindaban 20 August, 1974

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Vaisnava-aparadha dangerous for advanced devotees also

According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, there are two kinds of impediments to devotional service. The first is an offense at the lotus feet of a Vaisnava. This is called vaisnava-aparadha. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu warned His devotees not to commit vaisnava-aparadha, which He described as the mad elephant offense. When a mad elephant enters a beautiful garden, it destroys everything, leaving a barren field. Similarly, the power of vaisnava-aparadha is so great that even an advanced devotee becomes almost devoid of his spiritual assets if he commits it. Since Krsna consciousness is eternal, it cannot be destroyed altogether, but advancement may be checked for the time being.

Srila Prabhupada; Srimad Bhagavatam 5.1.5 purport

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No need to go to the barber

Ramesvara: Many people think that if you become a Hare Krsna you have to shave your head.

Prabhupada: That is very good.

Ramesvara: But it scares them and it keeps them from joining us.

Prabhupada: No, you save so much barbers’ expenses. (laughter)

January 11, 1977

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What Srila Prabhupada wants & doesn’t want

That is nice that you are distributing many books. I do not want money, or buildings or anything else, I simply want to see that my books are being distributed and because you are doing that I am quite happy.

Letter to Prahladananda, 28 August, 1973

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Preaching is effective if religious principles are followed

To speak frankly, I find it difficult to find even one real Christian. The so-called Christians do not abide by the Bible’s order. One of the ten commandments in the Bible is, “Thou shalt not kill.” But where is that Christian who does not kill by eating the flesh of the cow? The process of chanting the Lord’s holy name and distributing prasada will be effective if carried out by persons who are actually practicing religion. My disciples are trained to strictly follow religious principles, and therefore their chanting of the holy name of God is different from others’. Theirs is not simply a rubber-stamped position. They have realized the purifying power of the holy name through practice.

If you are not a true Christian, then your preaching will not be effective. And because we are strictly following religious principles, our preaching will be effective in spreading God consciousness.

From The Science of Self-Realization by Srila Prabhupada

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Imagined meanings of Bhagavad-gita

When Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru (BG 18.65) — “Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me” — they comment that it is not Krsna to whom we must surrender. Thus they derive imaginary meanings from Bhagavad-gita. The Krsna consciousness movement, however, strictly follows bhagavata-dharma, the instructions of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam for the complete welfare of human society. One who misinterprets Bhagavad-gita, twisting out some meaning for his sense gratification, is a non-Aryan. Therefore commentaries on Bhagavad-gita by such persons should be immediately rejected.

Srila Prabhupada SB 6.16.43, Purport

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