Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 164

February 21, 2021

Non-Aryans, not culturally advanced, waste their life

Our time is wasted because we do not know how valuable this human form of life is. There is no such education. They think human life is as cheap as dog’s life, but factually it is not. Bahunam janmanam ante (BG 7.19). One gets this human form of life, 8,400,000 species of life, especially advanced life, the Aryan civilization…

Aryan means advanced, advanced in spiritual knowledge. The materialists, they claim Aryan only from the bodily conception, but that is not the fact. Anyone who is advanced in spiritual life, they are called Aryans.

Non-Aryan and Aryan, what is the difference? The Aryan civilization means this varnasrama-dharma, four varnas, four asramas. And non-Aryan means there is no division. Everyone is one or equal. That is advocated now at the present moment. In India also, they think of casteless society, no caste.

But it is not caste.It is division of culture. Brahmana means advanced in culture; ksatriya means less advanced than the brahmana; and vaisya means less advanced; and sudra is less advanced; and the pancamas, fifth grade, sixth grade, kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa abhira-sumbha yavanah khasadayah [SB 2.4.18], they are less.

In this way, high grade and low grade division of the society. One who follows the high-grade culture, they are called Aryans, arya. In many places in Vedic literature the superior person is addressed as arya.

So without being culturally advanced, they do not know the value of life. They waste their life.

Srila Prabhupada; lecture on SB 7.6.7 — Vrndavana, December 9, 1975

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Published on February 21, 2021 23:20

Definition of devotee

To serve a devotee, to chant the holy name according to a certain counting method,  to worship the Deity, to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita from a realized person and to live in a sacred place where devotional service is not disturbed are the first out of sixty-four devotional activities for making progress in devotional service. One who has accepted these five chief activities is called a devotee.

Srila Prabhupada/ SB 3.32.42 ppt.

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Published on February 21, 2021 06:37

February 20, 2021

Western leaders have no brains, or devilish brains

Actually the so-called scientists, philosophers and other leaders in the Western countries have no brains at all. The Hare Krsna movement is trying to elevate such foolish persons by enlightening their intelligence so that they will take advantage of the human body. Unfortunately, because of gross ignorance, they regard the Hare Krsna movement as a brainwashing movement. They do not know that without God consciousness one is forced to continue transmigrating from one body to another. Because of their devilish brains, they will next be forced to accept an abominable life and practically never be able to liberate themselves from the conditional life of material existence.

Srila Prabhupada, SB 10.1.40, ppt.

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Published on February 20, 2021 07:26

February 18, 2021

What is the use of making statistics? Everyone is sinful

There is a Bengali proverb, [Bengali], that “One man wanted to take statistics, ‘How many thieves are there in this village?’ So when he began to take statistics, he saw everyone is thief. Then he said that ‘What is the use of making statistics? This is village of thieves, that’s all.’ ” At the present moment this is the position. If you make a statistics who is sinful and who is not sinful, you will find all sinful.

Srila Prabhupada/ Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper — November 6, 1976, Vrndavana

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Published on February 18, 2021 21:08

February 17, 2021

Advaita Acarya, ideal householder

Cc Madhya 3.203:

In this way all the opulences of Advaita Acarya — His faith, devotion, home, riches and everything else — were successfully utilized in the worship of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Purport by Srila Prabhupada:

Advaita Acarya set an ideal example for all householder devotees in His reception of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees and in His execution of a daily festival at His home. If one has the proper means and wealth, he should occasionally invite the devotees of Lord Caitanya who are engaged in preaching all over the world and hold a festival at home simply by distributing prasadam and talking about Krsna during the day and holding congregational chanting for at least three hours in the evening. This procedure must be adopted in all centers of the Krsna consciousness movement. Thus they will daily perform sankirtana-yajna. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.32) the daily performance of sankirtana-yajna is recommended for this age (yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah). One should worship Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His four associates, the Panca-tattva, by distributing prasadam and holding congregational chanting. Indeed, that yajna, or sacrifice, is most recommended in this Age of Kali. In this age, other yajnas are not possible to perform, but this yajna can be performed everywhere and anywhere without difficulty.

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Published on February 17, 2021 19:43

How to live in Krsna consciousness

To hear about Krsna from on Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita or similar authentic literature is to live in Krsna consciousness. Such concentration in Krsna consciousness can be achieved by persons who are strictly following the rules and regulative principles.

Srila Prabhupada/ SB 4.22.24, ppt.

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Published on February 17, 2021 00:59

February 15, 2021

Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami glorifies Srimati Radharani

The love of the gopis for Krsna is full of transcendental ecstasy. It appears to be a brilliant jewel, and enlightened by such a transcendental jewel, Radharani’s body is further perfumed and decorated with kunkuma. In the morning Her body is bathed in the nectar of compassion, in the afternoon in the nectar of youth, and in the evening in the nectar of luster itself. In this way the bathing is performed, and Her body becomes as brilliant as the cintamani jewel. She is dressed in various kinds of silken garments, one of which is Her natural shyness.

Her beauty is more and more enhanced, being decorated with the red kunkuma of beauty itself and the blackish musk of conjugal love. Thus Her body is decorated with different colors. Her ornaments embody the natural symptoms of ecstasy — trembling, tears, jubilation, stunning, perspiration, faltering of the voice, bodily redness, madness and dullness. In this way Her entire body is bedecked with these nine different jewels. Over and above this, the beauty of Her body is enhanced by Her transcendental qualities, which constitute the flower garland hanging on Her body. The ecstasy of love for Krsna is known as dhira and adhira, sober and restless. Such ecstasy constitutes the covering of Srimati Radharani’s body, and it is adorned by camphor. Her transcendental anger toward Krsna is embodied as the arrangement of the hair on Her head, and the tilaka of Her great fortune shines on Her beautiful forehead. Srimati Radharani’s earrings are the holy names of Krsna, as well as the hearing of His name and fame. Her lips are always reddish due to the betel nut of ecstatic affection for Krsna. The black ointment around Her eyes is Her tricky behavior with Krsna brought about by love. Her joking with Krsna and gentle smiling constitute the camphor with which She is perfumed. She sleeps in Her room with the aroma of pride, and when She lies down in Her bed, the transcendental variety of Her loving ecstasies is like a jeweled locket in the midst of Her necklace of separation. Her transcendental breasts are covered by Her sari in the form of affection and anger toward Krsna. She has a stringed instrument known as a kacchapi-vina, which is the fame and fortune that actually dries up the faces and breasts of the other gopis. She always keeps Her hands on the shoulder of Her gopi friend, who represents Her youthful beauty, and although She is highly qualified with so many spiritual assets, She is nonetheless affected by the Cupid known as Krsna. Thus She is defeated.

Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami offers his respectful obeisances to Srimati Radharani, taking a straw in his mouth. Indeed, he prays, “O Gandharvika, Srimati Radharani, just as Lord Krsna never rejects a surrendered soul, please don’t reject me.”

This is a summary translation of the Premambhoja-maranda, which Kaviraja Gosvami quotes.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Cc Madhya 8.166

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Published on February 15, 2021 00:41

February 14, 2021

Either talk about Krsna or don’t talk

Mauna means don’t talk, grave. This is also very good qualification because generally, when we talk, we simply talk nonsense. That’s all. We shall sit together and some friends or family, some useless talks, we shall go on for hours together. But if you are called to talk about Krsna or Bhagavad-gita or Bhagavata, this philosophy, nobody will come. So better not to talk. It is better not to talk than to talk nonsense, foolish.

So generally, we are accustomed to talks, enjoy foolish talks, which has no meaning, neither any benefit for this material world, neither any benefit for spiritual world. If you are, of course, gaining something material benefit…

Just like businessmen talk. They talk seriously if there is any profit. Otherwise the secretary says, “Oh, the Mr. such and such has no time to see you.” That is also some good because time is so valuable. So why should we talk nonsense?

So that is also very good qualification if you don’t talk nonsense. Either you talk about Krsna or don’t talk. That is called mauna. If there is no subject matter for talking on the subject of Krsna, then it is better not to talk. But we have got very nice engagement. We can talk Hare Krsna. If you have no other engagement, then we have got these beads, “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, KrsnaKrsna…” You can day and night, twenty-four hours, go on. This
is called mauna.

Srila Prabhupada/ Talk on Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.10, Montreal, 10 July 1968

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Published on February 14, 2021 00:19

February 13, 2021

Krsna was known all over the world; everyone was Krsna conscious

There was an emperor of the name Maharaja Bharata, under whose name this planet is called Bharatavarsa. Before that, this planet was known as Ilavrta-varsa. So the Vedic civilization,  before three thousand years, the whole world was under Vedic civilization, the Aryans. The Aryans, at least they were under Vedic civilization. And that Vedic civilization is Krsna consciousness. One friend was telling me that in Russia the word Krsna is there, and Krsna means beautiful. Somebody told me? You told me? Yes. And in Greek dictionary, there is a word krista. And some of the Christians say that this Christ comes from the word krista. So there is a link. Of course, those who are philologists, they can find out what is the history of this word. But so far we have studied the history of the world, Krsna was known all over the world. Krsna was known all over the world. Therefore it is to be understood that everyone was Krsna conscious.

Srila Prabhupada, Pandal Lecture — Bombay, April 11, 1971

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Published on February 13, 2021 09:31

February 12, 2021

Day and night, think of Krsna

We have to work according to our capacity; at the same time chant Hare Krsna mantra. Krsna has given you the tongue, and there is no difficulty. Kurvana yatra karmani. And always think of Krsna, man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. “How I can think of Krsna constantly? It becomes hackneyed.” No. The varieties. Krsna says that you think of Krsna while drinking water, you think of Krsna when you see the sunshine, think of Krsna when you see the moonshine, day and night. So at daytime there is sunshine, at night there is moonshine. So day and night you can think of Krsna. So, so many ways… Krsna-siksaya, bhagavac-chiksaya, as is taught in the Bhagavad-gita, you think of always Krsna, then your life is successful. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg 18.65].

So therefore bhakti-yoga means vairagya-vidya [Cc Madhya 6.254]. You have to stop thinking of this material bhukti, mukti, siddhi. Simply you have to think of Krsna. That is spiritual platform. That is instructed here. Try to follow, and your life will be successful.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.36 — August 17, 1974, Vrndavana

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Published on February 12, 2021 11:15