Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 172

The influence of the Age of Kali

With the progression of the Age of Kali, people are becoming very proud, very much attached to women, and increasingly victimized by intoxication. By the influence of the Age of Kali, even a pauper is proud of his penny, the women are always dressed in an overly attractive fashion to victimize the minds of men, and men are addicted to drinking wine, smoking, drinking tea, chewing tobacco, etc. All these habits, or so-called advancement of civilization, are the root causes of all irreligiosities, and therefore it is not possible to check corruption, bribery and nepotism. You cannot check all these evils simply by statutory acts and police vigilance; you have to cure the disease of the mind by the proper medicine, namely advocating the principles of brahminical culture, or the principles of austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. The modern civilization based on economic development is creating a new situation of poverty and scarcity, with the result of blackmailing the consumers’ commodities.

Srila Prabhupada; Purport, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.17.24

The post The influence of the Age of Kali appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Society Gone Mad

Jaya-gopala: What is meant by madness?

Prabhupada: Just as don’t you see all these people of the world, they are mad? What they are doing? They whole day the cars going on this side, that side. What is the aim of life? They’re mad. Simply wasting petroleum, that’s all. What they’re doing? Huh? Suppose a cat and dog goes this side and that side, yow, yow, yow, and he goes some motorcars. What is the difference? There is no difference because the aim of the life is the same. Therefore they are mad. That is explained. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti. Nunam pramattah, pramattah means mad. Prakrsta rupena mata, sufficiently mad. And why? Kurute vikarma. They’re acting which they should not act. They’re acting in a way in which they should not have done. So what is the aim of their acting? Indriya-pritaya, simply for sense gratification. That’s all. So Rsabhadeva says, na sadhu manye, ‘This is not good.’ Na sadhu manye yato atmano ‘yam asann api klesada asa dehah. These madmen do not know that this is the cause of getting this miserable material body. The sufferings of humanity is due to this material body and the cause of vikarma, acting for sense gratification. So this life is meant for acting for liberation, but they are acting for sense gratification. Therefore they are mad. They do not know the aim of life.

Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.27-38, Los Angeles, December 11, 1968

The post Society Gone Mad appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Philosophical discourses equal to kissing Krsna in rasa-lila

The nectar from the mouth of Lord Krsna is transferred to His different consorts, and thus they learn the finer arts of music, dance, dressing, decorations and all such things which are relished by the Lord. Such music, dance and decorations enjoyed by the Lord are certainly not anything mundane, because the Lord is addressed in the very beginning as para, or transcendental. This transcendental knowledge is unknown to the forgotten conditioned souls. Srila Vyasadeva, who is the incarnation of the Lord, thus compiled the Vedic literatures to revive the lost memory of the conditioned souls about their eternal relation with the Lord. One should therefore try to understand the Vedic scriptures, or the nectar transferred by the Lord to His consorts in the conjugal humor, from the lotuslike mouth of Vyasadeva or Sukadeva. By gradual development of transcendental knowledge, one can rise to the stage of the transcendental arts of music and dance displayed by the Lord in His rasa-lila. But without having the Vedic knowledge one can hardly understand the transcendental nature of the Lord’s rasa dance and music. The pure devotees of the Lord, however, can equally relish the nectar in the form of the profound philosophical discourses and in the form of kissing by the Lord in the rasa dance, as there is no mundane distinction between the two.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 2.4.24

The post Philosophical discourses equal to kissing Krsna in rasa-lila appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Seeing God and being seen by Him

Just work in such a way that God may see you. This is the Krsna consciousness movement. Everyone is busy to see God. Of course, it is not so easy to see God. But a devotee is not busy to see God, but he wants God to see him.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 12.13-14 — 12 May, 1974

The post Seeing God and being seen by Him appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Sambhoga and vipralambha

Krsna can be felt, Krsna can be present more acutely in separation. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teaching: to love Krsna in separation. Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu in separation: govinda virahena me. “Everything is vacant without Govinda, without Krsna.” So everything is vacant, but Krsna consciousness is there. Krsna consciousness is there, sir. So that is the highest perfectional… So Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teaching is that vipralambha seva. By His practical life. He’s finding out Krsna. Govinda virahena me. Sunyayitam jagad sarvam govinda virahena me. What is that verse? Caksusa pravisayitam, caksusa pravasayitam sunyayitam jagad sarvam govinda virahena me. He’s crying like torrents of rain coming out of the eyes, and He’s feeling everything vacant for want of Krsna, separation.
Vipralambha.

So sambhoga and vipralambha. There are two stages of meeting Krsna. Sambhoga means when He’s personally present. That is called sambhoga. Personally talking, personally meeting, personally embracing, that is called sambhoga. And there is another, vipralambha. The two ways a devotee can be benefited.

Srila Prabhupada; lecture, SB 1.8.39 / Los Angeles — May 1, 1973

The post Sambhoga and vipralambha appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

I must be joyful

Krsna is joyful. I am part and parcel of Krsna; therefore I must be also joyful. That is natural. If my father is black, then I am also black. If my mother is black, I am also black. So our father, the supreme father Krsna, is joyful. Don’t you see Krsna’s attitude? Anywhere you see, Krsna is joyful. He is not engaged in some industrial work or in some heavy machine making. He is simply playing on His flute. And Radharani is there. That is joyful nature.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.8 — 21 March, 1969

The post I must be joyful appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Do not modernize Vrindaban

Vrindaban does not require to be modernized because Krishna’s Vrindaban is transcendental village. They completely depend on nature’s beauty and nature’s protection. The community in which Krishna preferred to belong was Vaisya community, because Nanda Maharaja happened to be a Vaisya king, or landholder, and his main business was cow protection. It is understood that he had 900,000 cows and Krishna and Balarama used to take charge of them, along with His many cowherd boy friends, and every day, in the morning He used to go out with His friends and cows into the pasturing grounds.

From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Hayagriva — Montreal 14 June, 1968

The post Do not modernize Vrindaban appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Without Krsna, heaven is hell

The inhabitants of Vrndavana said, “By the will of the supreme authority and according to the results of our own work, we may take our birth anywhere. It doesn’t matter where we are born, but our only prayer is that we may simply be engaged in Krsna consciousness.” A pure devotee of Lord Krsna never desires to be promoted to the heavenly planets, or even to Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrndavana, because he has no desire for his own personal satisfaction. A pure devotee regards heaven and hell to be on an equal level. Without Krsna, heaven is hell; and with Krsna, hell is heaven.

From Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna Book, ch 47: Delivery of the Message of Krsna to the Gopis

The post Without Krsna, heaven is hell appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

The highest platform of bhakti-yoga

One should be fully absorbed in thoughts of Krsna, twenty-four hours a day. There are many devotees in raga-marga, which is exhibited in Vrndavana. Whether in dasya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vatsalya-rasa or madhurya-rasa, all the devotees of Krsna are always overwhelmed by thoughts of Krsna. When Krsna is away from Vrndavana tending the cows in the forest, the gopis, in the madhurya-rasa, are always absorbed in thoughts of how Krsna walks in the forest. The soles of His feet are so soft that the gopis would not dare keep His lotus feet on their soft breasts. Indeed, they consider their breasts a very hard place for the lotus feet of Krsna, yet those lotus feet wander in the forest, which is full of thorny plants. The gopis are absorbed in such thoughts at home, although Krsna is away from them. Similarly, when Krsna plays with His young friends, mother Yasoda is very much disturbed by thoughts that Krsna, because of always playing and not taking His food properly, must be getting weak. These are examples of the exalted ecstasy felt in Krsna’s service as manifested in Vrndavana. This service is indirectly praised by Narada Muni in this verse. Especially for the conditioned soul, Narada Muni recommends that one somehow or other be absorbed in thoughts of Krsna, for that will save one from all the dangers of material existence. Full absorption in thought of Krsna is the highest platform of bhakti-yoga.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 7.1.27

The post The highest platform of bhakti-yoga appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

Maidservants of Krsna

The gopis are maidservants. The Laksmis are maidservant. You will find this description in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krsna book, that all the queens of Krsna, they were discussing with Draupadi female talk. Draupadi was asking, “How you were married?” So they were narrating the incidence, how [s]he was married to Krsna. But the conclusion is there: every queen was speaking, “In this way, I have been maidservant of Krsna.” Nobody says that “I have become queen,” although they were queen. They were also coming from royal family, very good family. Krsna had to conquer such queen by fighting. They’re not ordinary wife. But still, they say that “In this way I have become maidservant.”

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.43 — July 24, 1975, Los Angeles

The post Maidservants of Krsna appeared first on Bhakti Vikasa Swami.