Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 155

The mercy of Prahlada & Nrsimha

Krsna is the Supreme Lord, the original Lord [SB 1.3.28]. Prahlada Maharaja is our guru, and Krsna is our worshipable God. As advised by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija [Cc 2.19.151]. If we can be successful in getting the mercy of Prahlada Maharaja and also that of Nrsimhadeva, then our Krsna consciousness movement will be extremely successful.

Srila Prabhupada; SB 7.10.42 Purport

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A letter from Srila Prabhupada to a dear disciple

29 September, 1967

My Dear Jayananda,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter undated. I congratulate you on your being elected as president of ISKCON San Francisco branch. Your election as president is a recognition by Krishna and therefore I have got full support for you. Mukunda and other members have rightly selected you as president. Your service attitude for Krishna and your sincere attempts at being advanced in Krishna Consciousness will work with you and make your life more and more glorious and a happy state. I’ve been very glad that you are appreciating by your self the effects of sincere Krishna Consciousness. I’ve nothing new to instruct you, the same old instruction namely constant chanting and attentively hearing the transcendental vibration Hare Krishna is the only process for self realization in this age. In San Francisco while you were driving your car and I was sitting by you hearing your transcendental vibration, this very sincere attempt has enriched your consciousness and my only instruction is that you may constantly do this habit without fail. Regarding your dispute in your mind as to remaining a brahmacari, grhastha or becoming sannyasi, there is nothing to be bothered with. Anyone who is in full Krishna Consciousness and is dedicating his life for Krishna is already a sannyasi even if he is a married man. If you like you can become a householder and I’ve no objection to that. Our Vaisnava philosophy instructs to become “Vidvati sannyasis,” this means a man who knows things as they are, therefore a devotee who knows that everything belongs to Krishna and that He is the proprietor of all such a devotee is certainly a Vidvati Sannyasi. Our philosophy is that we should accept things as prasadam of Krishna and nothing for sense enjoyment. Anyone who accepts things for sense enjoyment even if he is externally a saffron dressed man is not a sannyasi. The mayavadi sannyasi considers himself as God, this concept of life develops under illusion. When a person fails to become the Lord of the universe it is like the sly fox who attempts to taste grapes and failing to do so says the grapes are sour. The mayavadi sannyasins are frustrated beings in their attempt to enjoy the world, therefore they say the world is fake or the grapes are sour, the world is not false, Krishna is the supreme truth and the world is His energy therefore the energy of the supreme truth cannot be false; but we must know that this energy is inferior to His spiritual energy. As there are hairs and nails on the body and sometimes we separate these parts from the body similarly when the material energy is separated from the service of the Lord it is inferior energy. Inferior energy is not false but temporary. The same temporary energy when surcharged with Krishna Consciousness it transforms into supreme energy by the supreme will. By this will any energy can be transformed into another just like electronic energy in a refrigerator or in a heater, to an ordinary layman, he sees cold and hot but to an electrician, he sees electricity. So when one is engaged in the service of the Lord that person is already in the spiritual energy, and a sannyasi and the real purpose of a sannyasi is to transform himself from the inferior to the superior, spiritual energy. If your consciousness is absorbed in Krishna you are always a sannyasi.

Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

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Prahlada Maharaja said:

“My dear friends, O sons of the demons, it is certain that no one bereft of knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been able to liberate himself from material bondage at any time or in any country. Rather, those bereft of knowledge of the Lord are bound by the material laws. They are factually addicted to sense gratification, and their target is woman. Indeed, they are actually playthings in the hands of attractive women. Victimized by such a conception of life, they become surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and thus they are shackled to material bondage. Those who are very much addicted to this conception of life are called demons. Therefore, although you are sons of demons, keep aloof from such persons and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, the origin of all the demigods, because the ultimate goal for the devotees of Narayana is liberation from the bondage of material existence.”

Srila Prabhupada’s translation of  Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.16-18

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Believe Krsna, go to Him

Devotee (2): Prabhupada, how can one know whether he’ll be going back home to Godhead in this lifetime?

Prabhupada: Yes, believe in Krsna. He gives His word. Janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah [Bg 4.9]. Krsna says, “Anyone who understands Me in truth,” tyaktva deham punar janma naiti, “he doesn’t accept any more material body; he comes to Me.” That’s it. The guarantee is there. So you try to understand Krsna. If you do not understand anything more, if you simply accept it without any hypocrisy, that “Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He’ll protect me. Let me serve His lotus feet as far as possible,” this much qualification is sufficient. But if you have got still doubt about Krsna, then you try to understand Krsna. Be without any doubt that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then your everything is guaranteed. Tattvatah. Therefore Krsna says, yo janati tattvatah.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.23 — January 19, 1974, Honolulu

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Nonsense: “First develop economically, then go to spiritual”

“Waves in the ocean. Let it be stopped. Then I shall start my boat.” It will never come. Start boat immediately, in whatever condition.” First of all let us become economically fit. Then we shall consider our spiritual.” This is nonsense.

Srila Prabhupada; Morning Walk — March 9, 1974, Mayapur

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Fault-finding like flies

The flies are finding out where is sore, and the bees are finding out where there is honey. So two animals, they have got two business: fault-finding and collecting the good things. Similarly, there are many rascals who are simply fault-finding. Blasphemy means you have good qualities, but still, I am defaming you.

Srila Prabhupada — 6 February, 1976.

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Mayavadis are great misleaders

Devotees are very much attached to glorifying the activities of the Lord, whereas the Mayavadis cannot even think of these activities. According to them the Absolute Truth is impersonal. Without personal existence, how can there be activity? The impersonalists take the activities mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures as fictitious stories, and therefore they interpret them most mischievously. They have no idea of the Personality of Godhead. They unnecessarily poke their noses into the scripture and interpret it in a deceptive way in order to mislead the innocent public. The activities of Mayavada philosophy are very dangerous to the public, and therefore Lord Caitanya warned us never to hear from any Mayavadi about any scripture. They will spoil the entire process, and the person hearing them will never be able to come to the path of devotional service to attain the highest perfection, or will be able to do so only after a very long time.

Srila Prabhupada — Srimad Bhagavatam 3.25.34, purport

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ISKCON: an institution for well-to-do people

Indian man (1): Many religious institution, they welcome the rich peoples. Those who are coming by cars, and those who are coming gorgeously, and they are donating much to the institutions, they are welcomed by the people, management of these institutions. And this is your version. It is just contradictory. I accept your version. It is quite, quite right. And I hope our institution must do not like that. This ISKCON must not do like that. The well-to-do peoples who come, they’ll get more [indistinct], more receptions, more congratulations. I request it must be your directions that our institution ISKCON must not do like this. And it is your… [laughter]

Srila Prabhupada: But one thing is that we are not living like Caitanya Mahaprabhu. [laughter] Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He was ideal sannyasi, and He was living apart from any material attachment. But we have to do preaching work. We have to construct temple, comfortable temple. So who will pay for that? So for the satisfaction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we sometimes do that. But we collect money from them not for our sense gratification, but constructing this temple. And unless we have got temple like this, nobody would come. If I sit down here, “Bhaktivedanta Swami is sitting here,” nobody will come. [laughter] But Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is God. He can attract any man. But I am not God. I have to attract people by some opulence.

Indian man (2): But Prabhupada, in the beginning, you attracted in the park everyone. When you went to America, you were chanting and attracting people just in the park. Same place. [laughter]

Srila Prabhupada: Now, at that time, only Brahmananda was attracted [laughter] Not you. Not you.

(Morning Walk – March 9, 1974, Mayapur)

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Don’t be a yogi tourist

So sane man, intelligent man, should consider that “If I have to prepare myself for going, for being elevated to the higher planetary system, but we have to come back again, ksine punye punar martya-loka, why not endeavor for going back to Krsnaloka?” That is intelligence. But there are big, big yogis, they elevate themselves to the higher planetary system. Before going to the spiritual world, they want to see how the higher planetary system are working. Just like the visitors, tourists, they are going somewhere, and drop, by journey, somewhere to see. But you should not make such ambition. You should endeavor directly going back to home, back to Godhead, Krsna. That should be your endeavor.

Srila Prabhupada; lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.23-24 — August 27, 1973, London

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All learned scholars must read Srimad-Bhagavatam

Prabhupada: Some Sanskrit scholar in Swedish language must come forward. Then it can be done. But he must be a good scholar, because each word is meaningful. Yes. Just like beginning of the Bhagavata, janmadi asya [SB 1.1.1]. Janmadi. Now this one word has volumes of meaning. Janmadi means beginning from janma. So beginning from janma, birth, how many things are there? Generally, birth, janmastiti-lata[?], birth, then you stay for some time and then you become vanquished. This body. Janmadi asya. Asya, “of this material world.” Janma, creation, then situation, then annihilation. Now how many volumes of books you can write on these three words? How this universe was created, how it is being maintained and how it will be annihilated — these three words. How many books you can write?

Dr. Hauser: Infinity.

Prabhupada: Such is Bhagavata verse, janmady asya, asya janmadi. And this is Bhagavata. Concise word, but volumes of meanings. Volumes. Each word is like that. Vidya bhagavatavali[?]. Therefore one’s learning is complete when he reads Srimad-Bhagavatam. Otherwise he remains imperfect, in spite of all learning. Janmady asya yatah: from where? Now the creation of this cosmic world, from where? But you do not know from where. This is explained in Bhagavatam. Param satyam dhimahi. That is actually truth. In this way simply if you analyze one verse, you’ll find each word is full of volumes of meaning. Yes. Janmady asya yatah anvayat. Now the creation, anvayat, directly and indirectly, itaratas carthesu, in the matter of understanding, abhijnah. Abhijnah means completely cognizant. That is the Absolute Truth. He knows everything — how this universe is created, how it is maintained, how it annihilated, directly and indirectly.

Just like I always, regular, everyday thing, when I am massaged by my student, I see so many veins, so I think that I claim, “This is my leg.” But I do not know what are these veins. Directly I know this is my leg, but indirectly I do not know how this leg is working with these veins and nerves and muscles. I do not know. But so far God is concerned, He has created. He knows every veins of everything. That is called abhijnah. In this way you analyze every word, you’ll find volumes of meaning. The next question will
be, “Where He got this experience? You say He’s abhijnah, He knows everything. To get experience one must have teacher.” But the next word is svarat: He’s experienced and self-sufficiency, svarat, independent. He hasn’t got to go anywhere for experiencing. In this way each word is full of meaning. Janmady asya yatah, anvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah [SB 1.1.1]. We have very shortly described this one verse. I think five, six pages.

[aside:] You have got that verse? You show him.

Srutakirti: Yes. Right here. [showing book to the psychiatrist] Here’s the translation, the verse.

Prabhupada: That is very short description.

Srutakirti: Short. [laughs] Similarly for the next verse also.

Prabhupada: So it is so meaningful. All learned scholars of the world must read Srimad-Bhagavatam if they want actually good for themselves and good for the world.

Srila Prabhupada; Room Conversation with Dr. Christian Hauser, Psychiatrist — September 10, 1973, Stockholm

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