Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 17

Consequences of not being Krsna conscious

Big commercial and industrial firms have contributed many thousands of rupees to a defense fund that burns the money in the form of gunpowder, but unfortunately, if they are asked to contribute liberally to advance the Krsna consciousness movement, they are reluctant. Under the circumstances, the world will periodically suffer from such upsurges and outbreaks of war, which are the consequences of not being Krsna conscious.

Srila Prabhupada, SB 4.20.21, ppt.

The post Consequences of not being Krsna conscious appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Making the whole world a garden of blooming flowers

The whole European and American people who are so intelligent and materially advanced can be converted into pure Vedic Brahmanas, and thus their mission of human life becomes successful, and the whole world becomes a garden of blooming flowers.

From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Janardana — 16 January, 1970

The post Making the whole world a garden of blooming flowers appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Training for women to make happy homes

Woman should be expert in cooking. That is their natural tendency. They should be educated how to cook nicely, how to please the husband, how to take care of the children. This is Vedic civilization. In the beginning a woman, childhood, she’s trained up by the mother. Then as soon as she is married, formerly, child-marriage, so she’s transferred to the care of mother-in-law. There she is trained up. Then she becomes very good housewife, takes care of household affairs, husband, children, and home becomes happy.

Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation, July 7, 1976, Baltimore

The post Training for women to make happy homes appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

How to become a pure devotee

Your final question is how can you become a pure devotee, and the answer to this is given in Bhagavad-gita. Krishna instructs Arjuna that the mahatma, the pure devotee, is he who has fully surrendered himself unto the spiritual nature. And how can we tell if one is completely surrendered unto the spiritual nature? He is always fully engaged in devotional service to Krishna. So this is the process of becoming a pure devotee. We have to engage all of our words, thoughts, and activities in Krishna Consciousness under the direction of the Spiritual Master. Therefore, at every moment you should be busy in some way in serving Krishna and His pure devotees, and automatically you will become purified in Krishna Consciousness. Krishna is always willing to shower His mercy upon His devotees, so we have simply to become receptive to this mercy by devotional service, and then the path is very easy.

From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Visala  — 16 June, 1969

The post How to become a pure devotee appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Our laugh is best

When we see the karmis, we laugh. And when the karmis see us, they laugh. But our laugh is better. We know that they are wrong. They see us, and they think that we are wasting our time chanting Hare Krsna. We see them, and we know that they are wasting their time in material life. Our laugh is best.

Srila Prabhupada, quoted by Hari-vilasa Dasa, in Srila Prabhupada Remembrances, ch. 6.

The post Our laugh is best appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Hardly any sincere Christians

If a Christian believes in God let him love God prominently rather than loving matter. If we wish to criticize Christian faith we can do so, and we can prove that hardly there are any sincere Christians.

Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Janardana — 2 March, 1969

The post Hardly any sincere Christians appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

The best type of body

The preliminary instruction in the Bhagavad-gita is that one should know that the identity of the individual living entity is not lost even after the end of this present body, which is nothing but an outward dress only. As one changes an old garment, so the individual living being also changes his body, and this change of body is called death. Death is therefore a process of changing the body at the end of the duration of the present life. An intelligent person must be prepared for this and must try to have the best type of body in the next life. The best type of body is a spiritual body, which is obtained by those who go back to the kingdom of God or enter the realm of Brahman.

Srila Prabhupada; SB 2.1.15 purport

The post The best type of body appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Prayer must be sincere

If your prayers are sincere then Krishna will accept them and if Krishna accepts them then automatically I accept them, and if I accept them then automatically Krishna accepts them. So like this Krishna is everywhere. He is even between the atoms. So therefore wherever you are He will accept your prayers, and therefore I automatically accept. But the most important part again, the prayer must be sincere.

Srila Prabhupada; letter to Kirtika — 19 February, 1973

The post Prayer must be sincere appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Lord Caitanya’s prediction is being realized

We have been spreading this sankirtana movement in the Western countries, and in our recent tour of European cities like Rome, Geneva, Paris and Frankfurt, many learned Christian scholars, priests, philosophers and yogis came to see us, and by the grace of Krsna they agreed that this Krsna consciousness movement, the bhakti cult, offers the topmost conclusion. Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we are trying to convince everyone that the devotional service of the Lord is enjoined in every scripture… It is not a question of being Christian, Mohammedan or Hindu. One should be purely religious and freed from all these material designations… This argument appeals to all intelligent men, and consequently this Krsna consciousness movement is gaining ground throughout the world. Due to our solid logic and scientific presentation, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction that Krsna consciousness will spread in every town and village throughout the world is gradually being realized.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Cc. Madhya 25.20

The post Lord Caitanya’s prediction is being realized appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

No question of success in life without varnasrama-dharma

If we do not take to the principles of varnasrama-dharma by accepting the four social orders (brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra) and the four orders of spiritual life (brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa), there can be no question of success in life.

Srila Prabhupada — SB 5.19.10 Purport

The post No question of success in life without varnasrama-dharma appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.