Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 14

This is not good civilization

Srila Prabhupada: You are so civilized. You are still in the crude form of human being, just like in the jungles, the aborigines, the Africans, they do not know how to develop civilization – crude methods, eating the animals. That also, they are not so uncivilized that they keep slaughterhouses. You are so uncivilized that you are keeping slaughterhouses, regularly. These Africans and other jungle people they eat meat, but they directly kill. They have no such civilization as to maintain a slaughterhouse. The tigers eat meat, but they do not keep a slaughterhouse. And you are civilized. You are keeping slaughterhouse. Why should you keep? The government shouldn’t allow you to keep slaughterhouses. If anyone wants to eat meat, let them eat like tigers and others. Individually, kill one animal – a lower animal, not cows. This should be the government law. You can kill one insignificant animal, like pigs or goats. It has not very much use. You kill it in your home, before your children and family, and eat. The government may not have any objection. But why should you maintain slaughterhouses? So the agriculturist and the mercantile men, they should produce enough food, give protection to the cows, and if there is excess, sell it. Where there is not enough food grain produced you can make business. That is the instruction given in Bhagavad-gita, krsi-go-raksya vanijyam (BG 18.44). That is really needed. Nobody is interested. Everyone comes to the city, the mercantile class. They are doing business, big, big skyscraper building, and they have artificial money, paper. And instead of eating food grains they are maintaining slaughterhouses. This is not good civilization. Hare Krsna.

Morning Walk – May 10, 1975, Perth

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How to prevent crime

The difference between a pious man and a criminal is that one is pure in heart and the other is dirty. This dirt is like a disease in the form of uncontrollable lust and greed in the heart of the criminal. Today people in general are in this diseased condition, and thus crime is very widespread. When the people become purified of these dirty things, crime will disappear. The simplest process of purification is to assemble in congregation and chant the holy names of God. This is called sankirtana and is the basis of our Krsna consciousness movement. So, if you want to stop crime, then you must gather as many people as possible for mass sankirtana. This congregational chanting of the holy name of God will dissipate all the dirty things in everyone’s heart. Then there will be no more crime.

From The Science of Self-Realization by Srila Prabhupada

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Follow your religion

When a devotee said, “Prabhupada, when we take over the government, we’ll outlaw all these religions.” Prabhupada, surprised him with an answer “No, why? We only want to see that they are following their religion.”

Balavanta Dasa, Following Srila Prabhupada, DVD 4

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Devotees should have leadership of world affairs

Instead of running a godless civilization in the present context of the world situation, if the leadership of world affairs is entrusted to the devotees of the Lord, for which a worldwide organization under the name and style of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has already been started, then by the grace of the almighty Lord there can be a thorough change of heart in human beings all over the world because the devotees of the Lord are able authorities to effect such a change by purifying the dust-worn minds of the people in general. The politicians of the world may remain in their respective positions because the pure devotees of the Lord are not interested in political leadership or diplomatic implications. The devotees are interested only in seeing that the people in general are not misguided by political propaganda and in seeing that the valuable life of a human being is not spoiled in following a type of civilization which is ultimately doomed. If the politicians would, therefore, be guided by the good counsel of the devotees, then certainly there would be a great change in the world situation by the purifying propaganda of the devotees, as shown by Lord Caitanya.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.4.18

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What Srila Prabhupada wants apart from his spiritual movement

Yes, farm-opening, that is good idea. Apart from my Krishna Consciousness spiritual movement I want this — that people may not move from the villages to the town. Krishna Himself was a villager — He did not move to the town. He went to Dvaraka, but Vasudeva is everywhere; Krishna and Balaram like Vrindaban, so Vrindaban means village. Vasudeva is everywhere, but Krishna personally is in Vrindaban.

Srila Prabhupada; letter to Bahulasva das, 29 September, 1976

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Better than worship of the Lord is worship of the Lord’s devotee

In the Padma Purana, there is a nice statement praising the service of the Vaisnavas or devotees. In that scripture Lord Siva tells Parvati, “My dear Parvati, there are different methods of worship, and out of all such methods the worship of the Supreme Person is considered to be the highest. But even higher than the worship of the Lord is the worship of the Lord’s devotees.”

From The Nectar of Devotion by Srila Prabhupada

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The most sublime religion for this age

The Hare Krsna mantra is specifically mentioned in many Upanisads, such as the Kali-santarana Upanisad, where it is said:

hare krsna hare krsna
krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare

itisodasakam namnam
kali -kalmasa-nasanam
natah parataropayah
sarva-vedesu drsyate

“After searching through all the Vedic literature one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting of Hare Krsna.”

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 3.40

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Why there are different types of religion

Any messenger, any incarnation, saktyavesa-avatara, teaches according to the time and circumstance: desa, kala, patra. That they do not consider. Therefore other groups beyond the Vedic group, they come forward to compete with the Vedic group without knowing their own position. That is their defect. Always remember this: the teacher is M.A., but the students are not competent to take instruction of him. Therefore you find different types of religion.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture, 27 Dec 1970, Surat

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Sridhara Swami remembers a thief

A Bengali boy came to the temple in the early days. He was an excellent cook; I think his name was Kunjabihari, something like that. Prabhupada commented that he cooked just like Radharani. But then, after some time, when he got inside, he got the confidence of the people and ran away with a relatively large sum of money at the time. Then Prabhupada said that sometimes Krsna sends people to steal from Him so that He can punish them by putting them deeper in the modes of material nature. In other words, that’s what they deserve, and Krsna gives them the opportunity to achieve that. So we were thinking; “Oh, we lost the money.” But Prabhupada was seeing, how . . .

Adbhuta Hari Dasa, The Jolly Swami, p. 1086

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Five days to spread Krsna consciousness worldwide

The Krsna consciousness movement has spread all over the world within a very short time (within five years), and mundane people are very astonished at this. However, by the grace of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we understand that everything is possible by the grace of Krsna. Why does Krsna have to take five years? In five days He can spread His name and fame all over the world like wildfire. Those who have faith and devotion to Krsna can understand that these things happen so wonderfully by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We are simply the instruments. In the fierce Battle of Kuruksetra, Arjuna was victorious within eighteen days simply because Krsna’s grace was on his side.

Srila Prabhupada, Cc. Madhya 4.79 purport

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