Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 175

The president of Kali-yuga

Where is that president? They’re all drunkards, woman-hunters, meat-eaters. This is Kali-yuga’s king. Nrpa-linga: dressed like king, but sudra. Very expert in cow killing. Third-class, fourth-class men, dressed like president and king. Business: plunder money from the citizens and kill cow.

Srila Prabhupada — September 17, 1976, Vrndavana

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Why is Vrndavana-dhama worshiped?

We are in Vrndavana-dhama. So why Vrndavana-dhama is worshiped? Because the Vrndavana-dhama is not different from Krsna. When you take little dust of Vrndavana-dhama and take it, that means you are taking the dust of Krsna’s lotus feet, and you take it. Vrndavana-dhama, so important.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.14 — September 17, 1975, Vrndavana

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Women in charge

Srila Prabhupada lamented the role of Indira Gandhi as India’s Prime Minister in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, 4.16.23 (written at that
time):

It is very appropriate to compare a powerful king like Prthu to a lion. In India, ksatriya kings are still called singh, which means “lion.” Unless rogues, thieves and other demoniac people in a state are afraid of the executive head, who rules the kingdom with a strong hand, there cannot be peace or prosperity in the state. Thus it is most regrettable when a woman becomes the executive head instead of a lionlike king. In such a situation the people are considered very unfortunate.

IG died Oct 31, 1984

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For Sharadiya Rasa-yatra

As the gopis and Krsna danced together, a very blissful musical sound was produced from the tinkling of their waist bells, ankle bells, ornaments and bangles. It appeared that Krsna was a greenish sapphire locket in the midst of a golden necklace decorated with valuable stones. While Krsna and the gopis danced, they displayed extraordinary bodily features. The movements of their legs, their placing their hands on one another, the movements of their eyebrows, their smiling, the movements of the gopis‘ breasts, clothes and earrings, their cheeks, their hair with flowers — as Krsna and the gopis sang and danced these combined to appear like clouds, thunder, snow and lightning. Krsna’s bodily features appeared just like a group of clouds, the gopis‘ songs were like thunder, their beauty appeared to be just like lightning in the sky, and the drops of perspiration visible on their faces appeared like falling snow. In this way, the gopis and Krsna fully engaged in dancing.

(From Srila Prabhupada’s “Krsna Book,” ch. 33: Description of the Rasa
Dance)

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Advancement of civilization

The dog is running on legs, and they are running on cars. So, (laughs) actually what is the difference? This is advancement of civilization, that the dog is running for nothing, here and there on legs, and human being is running on nice car. Does it mean there is advance in civilization? If we keep the human being like cats and dogs, without any advancement of knowledge, the cats and dogs, they cannot accept any advanced knowledge. That is not possible. Similarly, if human society is kept in darkness without any advanced knowledge, without any knowledge of the aim of life and without any knowledge what is the meaning of human life, they’ll remain as cats and dogs. So as cats and dogs, if they are practiced to run here and there, either on legs or on cars, is that advancement of civilization?

Srila Prabhupada — Interview with Professors O’Connell, Motilal and Shivaram — June 18, 1976, Toronto

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Why monarchy is better than democracy

Monarchy is better than democracy because if the monarchy is very strong the regulative principles within the kingdom are upheld very nicely. Even one hundred years ago in the state of Kashmir in India, the king was so strong that if a thief were arrested in his kingdom and brought before him, the king would immediately chop off the hands of the thief. As a result of this severe punishment there were practically no theft cases within the kingdom. Even if someone left something on the street, no one would touch it. The rule was that the things could be taken away only by the proprietor and that no one else would touch them. In the so-called democracy, wherever there is a theft case the police come and take note of the case, but generally the thief is never caught, nor is any punishment offered to him. As a result of incapable government, at the present moment thieves, rogues and cheaters are very prominent all over the world.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 4.13.21

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Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami’s life is so glorious

Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami, there is no fasting, but we should have discussion of Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami happened to be the only boy of his father and his uncle. He was a very rich man’s son, but he left home for Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His life should be discussed as follows, that from the beginning he was very much detached to worldly life. So his father and mother saw that this boy is very much detached, he should be immediately married with a beautiful wife.

So that was done — he was given a very nice house and beautiful wife — but still he was very much detached. So when he was a householder he met Nityananda at Panihati and he prayed Lord Caitanya to take him with Him. At that time Caitanya was sannyasi. Lord Caitanya instructed him, that “Don’t be in a hurry, gradually Krsna will give you a chance to be aloof from these worldly affairs.” He was very intelligent even though he was detached from worldly affairs, but from his activities it appears that he was very intelligent also in worldly affairs.

While somehow or other, for political reasons, his father and uncle were to be arrested by the minister of the then, Muslim government, and his father and uncle hided themselves to avoid the arrest. Then the agent of the Nawab, he arrested Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami. So “Tell, where is your father and uncle, otherwise you shall be tortured.” So he did not answer anything, but after some time when he was in arrest, he very politely presented his case to the minister, “My dear sir, I know my uncle, father and yourself, you are very intimate friends and treat each other as brothers.

So sometimes there is some quarrel between brothers, that I can understand. But so far I am concerned, I am equally affectionate to my father, uncle as well as to yourself. I am also your son.” In this way, when he very politely presented, the minister became very much affected, and he began to cry, “Yes, this boy is very nice.” So he immediately released him and told him that “Yes, we are brothers. Now if you settle up our disagreement that will be very nice.” So he was released and he made a settlement between the minister and his father and uncle, so in that settlement he showed his worldly intelligence very nicely. He was not a, ah, less politician; his management was so nice.

So that means a Vaisnava is not less intelligent, he can manage anything. But that does not mean that he is attached to anything. This example we get from Sri Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami. Even in his household life he managed things very intelligently, but later on he left home. He was guarded by the watchman of his father and uncle, but he somehow or other got out of their watch [indistinct], and directly went to see Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw him coming to His shelter, He very much welcomed him, and He said, “Raghunatha, you have been saved by Krsna from the hole of stool. Your father and uncle happened to be friend of my grandfather.”

Lord Caitanya’s grandfather was Nilambara Cakravarti, and he was a very well-known learned brahmana, so all the big men were known to him. So this father and uncle of Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami used to call him as elder brother. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu took this opportunity that “Your father and uncle is in brotherly relation with my grandfather. Therefore, your father and uncle happens to be my grandfather.

Generally, the grandfather and the grandson, they treat themselves joking, so I can joke your father and uncle, you do not be sorry.” Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami did not reply anything, he was very submissive. So in that connection He said that “Your father and uncle is a worms of the stool. They are very much fond of material enjoyment, and Krsna has saved you from that hole of stool.” So in this way he criticized his father and uncle. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami did not reply.

Then he entrusted him to His secretary, Svarupa Damodara, for his teaching, and in this way Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was known as Svarupa’s Raghunatha. So, his father became very sorry that the boy has left home, and he has gone to Caitanya, they are mendicants, very hard life, how this boy will live? So immediately he sent some servants and 400 rupees. Four hundred rupees in those days was a hundred times valuable than at the present moment.

So he was sending 400 rupees regularly per month and Ragunatha Dasa Gosvami was accepting them, but he was spending the money by prasada distribution to the saintly persons of Jagannatha Puri, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also invited, and He also used to go. But after some time, he stopped that invitation. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu inquired, “So why Raghunatha does not nowadays invite us? What is the matter? So Svarupa Damodara informed Him, that “He is no more accepting the rupees sent by his father”.

“Oh, he has left it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very nice, then how he is living?”

“Now he stands on the staircase of Jagannatha temple at night, and when the pujaris go away they give some foodstuff, and he eats that.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

So one day Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to see how Raghunatha… This means Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu had good attention on Raghunatha’s activities although he was entrusted to His secretary for teaching. So one day He went to that staircase, He did not find Raghunatha Dasa there, so He inquired, “I did not find Raghunatha Dasa there.” So His secretary informed, “So he has left that also, practice.”

“Why? Then how he is eating?”

“No, he does not go anywhere, ask anybody, but he stands on the outside of the kitchen of Jagannatha and whatever rice is thrown from the outlet of that kitchen, while the kitchen is washed, he collects some rice and eats those rice.”

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very much glad to hear that Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami is practicing so much renunciation. So all of a sudden one day He went to his room, “Raghunatha, I did not see you for so many days.” Then He found out in a pot those collected rice were kept and immediately He took it, “Oh, you have got very nice rice here,” and began to eat. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami immediately caught His hand, “Sir, it is not fit for Your eating.” “Oh! I am eating so nice, you say it is not fit for Me?”

That means Lord Caitanya encouraged him that “Don’t be discouraged that this is bad, or this is not fit. I can eat, anyone can eat.” In this way Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami was elevated to a very exalted position amongst the Gosvamis. He is known as Dasa Gosvami because he belonged to the kayastha family and other Gosvamis, they belonged to brahmana families. Therefore, in order to keep his position as subordinate to the brahmanas, he was known as Dasa Gosvami. But it does not make any difference whether a brahmana is a Gosvami or a non-brahmana is a Gosvami, he is equally respected.

This Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami later on, after Lord Caitanya’s disappearance he went to Vrndavana to associate with the other Gosvamis, and he remained mostly at Radha-kunda, and he passed his days at Radha-kunda. His tomb is there still in Radha-kunda and he has got established a temple, that is Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami’s temple. All the Gosvamis established some temple, separately. That temple is also there.

[break] …some of the instructions that such exalted personalities used to keep regular routine vow. Another thing that is also very difficult. At Radha-kunda Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami did not eat every day. He would eat every alternate day, or maybe after two days, he would take a little butter, say about ten grains or twenty grains, and that was his foodstuff, and the whole day and night he would engage himself in chanting, in writing books.

He did not write many books, but some of his prayers are very famous. Some prayers, mostly he was engaged in chanting, and offering obeisances, circumambulating. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami’s life is so glorious. This should be discussed on that day.

Srila Prabhupada; Vaisnava Calendar Description — September 2, 1970, Calcutta

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Democracy of fools and rascals, and the antidote

In democratic government at the present moment all kinds of fools and rascals are making decisions. But what can they do? What is the result of their legislation? They enact something today just to whimsically repeal it tomorrow. One political party utilizes a country for one purpose, and the next moment another political party forms a different type of government and nullifies all the laws and regulations. This process of chewing the chewed (punah punas carvita-carvananam [SB 7.5.30]) will never make human society happy. In order to make all human society happy and prosperous, we should accept the standard methods given by liberated persons.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 4.18.4

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For Vijaya Dasami

Vijaya-dasami, appearance date of Srila Madhvacarya, and the victory day of Lord Ramacandra. So there is no fasting, but in the evening we should celebrate some feasting and discuss about the life and works of Sri Madhvacarya as well as Ramayana incidents where Rama and Ravana fought.

Srila Prabhupada; Vaisnava Calendar Description — September 2, 1970, Calcutta

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Failure due to inattentiveness

Ksura means sharpened razor. If you are careful, you cleanse very nicely. If you are not careful, immediately blood. Immediately. So the spiritual life is like that. As soon as you become little inattentive, immediately maya captures, “Yes, come on.” Then everything failure.

Srila Prabhupada, Conversation — September 19, 1973.

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