Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 159

Act properly and preach

Our business is to raise ourselves to the highest status of life as preachers of Krsna’s message, and one should behave himself rigidly, then he should instruct others. Two things: Be himself exemplary, then teach others to be exemplary. If one has not come to that high standard, he cannot judge or criticize others. There is one saying from Bible: ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged.’ So how we can preach unless we are able to make judgements? That will not be possible. Only those who are above suspicion can judge others. One must himself act in such a way that he is always above suspicion. Then he can judge, then he can preach. But now you have no power to instruct. One who is not following himself, how he can instruct others?

Srila Prabhupada, Letter — 17 December, 1972

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Picking up real brahmanas

The varnasrama-dharma is necessary. It is not a convention. It is not a convention, that “The Hindus or the Indians, they are our only brahmanas.” No. Here are also brahmanas. Because it is creation of God. God’s creation must be there.

So now this Krsna consciousness movement is picking up who are the brahmanas. They are mixed up. So long there was no picking up of the brahmanas. Now, by this movement, Krsna consciousness movement, we are picking up the brahmanas.

Because there is need of brahmanas at this time, because brain is not there. Brahmana means the brain. They must have knowledge. That is brahmana.

In India, the brahmanas are called pandita, although nowadays he is fool number one. But it is a title of the brahmana to become pandita. Pandita. He must know everything. Satyam samah…, jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam [Bg 18.42].

He must be very wise man. Jnanam vijnanam, and practical application, vijnanam. Jnanam vijnanam astikyam. And not nastika, not atheist. Jnanam vijnanam means one must know what is God. That is jnana. And brahma janatiti brahmanah. Brahmana means one who has already known God, or brahma-vastu. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate [SB 1.2.11].

That is brahmana. Therefore people should go to a brahmana.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.39 – December 17, 1973, Los Angeles

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Being a guru is not easy

Krsna is so powerful that He can immediately take up all the sins of others and immediately make them right. But when a living entity plays the part on behalf of Krsna, he also takes the responsibility for the sinful activities of his devotees. Therefore to become a guru is not an easy task. He has to take all the poisons and absorb them. So sometimes — because he is not Krsna — sometimes there is some trouble. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has forbidden, “Don’t make many sisyas, many disciples.” But for preaching work we have to accept many disciples — for expanding preaching — even if we suffer. That’s a fact. The spiritual master has to take the responsibility for all the sinful activities of his disciples. Therefore to make many disciples is a risky job unless one is able to assimilate all the sins.

From: Perfect Questions Perfect Answers, by Srila Prabhupada

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First class life

If you become steady in one life without deviating for maya, then you make solution of all problems. That is the duty of human being . Instead of suffering this repeated birth and death, one life sacrifice. What is that sacrifice? What is inconvenience to live nicely, avoiding these four rascal habit, taking Krsna prasadam, and chanting Hare Krsna mantra and reading all these nice books. Where is the difficulty? Nice life. First class life. Wherever you will go you will be respectable. Anyone will worship you.

Srila Prabhupada — Room Conversation — August 15, 1971, London

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Illusion and reality

Guest (4): Is this world a real place? Is this world a real place?

Prabhupada: What do you mean by real?

Guest (4): According to what you were saying, it’s illusion.

Prabhupada: Yes. Illusion, illusion in this way, that what you take it as a fact, but it is something else. It is not fact. Maya. Maya means ma-ya: “It is not this.” Just like you are thinking that you’ll be happy in this material world by adjustment, but you’ll never be. That is called maya. So whatever you are struggling for, that is illusion.

Guest (4): If this is an illusion, then why is it here? What’s it doing here?

Prabhupada: Illusion is a temporary existence. This is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita, bhutva bhutva praliyate [Bg 8.19]. It comes into existence, just like cloud. Of course, we Vaisnava philosopher, we do not say actually illusion. We say temporary. Actually we say temporary. Anitya. Anitya. The exact word is anitya. Anitya means… Nitya means eternal, and anitya means temporary.

(Exchange after Conway Hall lecture — September 15, 1969, London)

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Some way or other these rascals should be converted

Sometimes we have to cheat, sometimes we have to be injured — so many things. The only device is how people can become Krsna conscious. That is our mission. Some way or other these rascals should be converted to Krsna consciousness, either this way or that way.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1 — May 3, 1970, Los Angeles

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Vow to eat only prasadam

We should be careful not to eat anything which is not offered to Krsna, prasadam. That should be determination. We cannot purchase things from the market and eat. No. That is not possible. We cannot eat. We can simply eat such things which are offered to the Deity, Krsna. That is yajna-sistasinah [Bg 3.13].

Even if we have committed some sin, by eating this prasadam we counteract it. Mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. Yajna-sista means the remnants of foodstuff after offering yajna. If one eats, then mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. Because our life is sinful, so we become, I mean to say, freed from the sinful activities. How it is? That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami [Bg 18.66] “If you surrender unto Me, then I’ll give you protection from all sinful reaction.”

So if you make it a vow that “I shall not eat anything which is not offered to Krsna,” that means it is surrender. You surrender to Krsna, that “My dear Lord, I shall not eat anything which is not offered to You.” That’s vow. That vow is surrender. And because there is surrender, you are protected from the sinful reaction.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1. May 4, 1970, Los Angeles

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The most important instruction in all Vedic literature

In his purport to Gita 18.64, Srila Prabhupada refers to the next verse as “the most important instruction in all Vedic literature.”

The next verse is:

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ‘si me

Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.

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Frankly, it is animal civilization

Anyone who is under the bodily concept of life is no better than animal. If we say frankly, everyone is in the bodily concept of life. Therefore the modern civilization is animal civilization. It is not human civilization. Human civilization will begin when one will understand that “I am not this body; I am spirit soul.” Aham brahmasmi. And so long one is under the bodily concept of life, it is the civilization of cats and dogs.

Srila Prabhupada. Lecture, 29 Nov 1972

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Nothing can be compared with our philosophy

Krishna Consciousness philosophy is as old as 120 million years at the least. So nothing can be compared with our philosophy either in the matter of antiquity, philosophy, ethics, science, morality, etc., all in correct vision and approved by great stalwart acaryas. So far others are concerned, they cannot be compared even. For example, if Lord Jesus Christ said “Thou shalt not kill”, or “Thou shalt do no murder” to the people, it does not reflect very good social structure of the audience. Our philosophy is above all these things. Just like we prescribe to our students no illicit sex-life, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling, but they are not ends in themselves. The real end is how to serve Krishna and sacrifice everything for Him. And to learn this transcendental art we have got so many volumes of books. So the summary is that instead of diverting our attention to read such unauthorized books, better pay our attention to more authorized Vaisnava literature. These scriptures of the Buddhists and the Christians may be the words of God, but still the are not always applicable to us. It is just like a king may give some rules and regulations for some criminals in prison; but for the good citizens out of the prison these rules are not necessarily applicable. So these Christian and Buddhist scriptures were delivered for a different class of men, and we needn’t spend our time in studying their doctrines. You should read our own books over and over again and as far as possible do not try to enter into controversy. We do not concern ourselves with any other religion. Our religion is to become the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna [Cc. Madhya 13.80].

From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Hansadutta — Tittenhurst 2 November, 1969

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