Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 183

You cannot avoid death

Ramesvara: …that if there is a war between Russia and America, there would be a nuclear war, and they would pollute the whole atmosphere with radioactive particles, which would kill everyone.

Prabhupada: It is already polluted.

Ramesvara: They say that this radioactive fallout…

Prabhupada: The whole material world is polluted. Who will live here? [laughter] A little, say, twenty years before, dying. After all, you have to die, twenty years after or twenty years before. So it is already polluted. That is humbugism. They will die at the end, but still they are trying to live.

Tamala Krsna: Like they’re creating their own…

Prabhupada: This is the difference between man of knowledge and without knowledge. A man of knowledge will think, “After all, I have to die. So what is the difficulty, dying a few days more or before?” That is knowledge. And those who are not in knowledge, they are afraid of death. Best business is, before the death comes let us finish our Krsna consciousness perfectly. That is wanted. Death will come. You cannot avoid it.

(April 4, 1975, Mayapur)

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I’ll take you to Krsnaloka

To serve the servant of Krsna is better than to serve directly Krsna, because if the servant of Krsna promises something, if the servant of Krsna says, “I’ll take you to Krsnaloka,” you must go there.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.29 — 7 March, 1976

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Srila Prabhupada recommends: eat, drink, and be merry

Simply try to understand Krsna. Why does He come? What are His activities? Where does He come from? Why does He come in the form of a human being? We only have to try to understand this and study Krsna as He explains Himself in Bhagavad-gita. What is the difficulty? God personally explains Himself as He is, and if we accept Bhagavad-gita as it is, we shall no longer have to transmigrate. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9]. We shall no longer have to endure birth and death, for we can attain our spiritual bodies (sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]) and live happily in Krsna’s family. Krsna is providing for us here, and He will also provide for us there. So we should know that our happiness is in returning home, back to Godhead, where we can eat, drink and be merry in Krsna’s company.

(From: Teachings of Lord Kapila)

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Ordinary and extraordinary Srila Prabhupada

His activities appear very ordinary. Extraordinary things happen in his presence, but his personal behavior is not at all extraordinary. And those of you who have associated with Srila Prabhupada, you must have been impressed how simple Srila Prabhupada lived. His table would just have a few items. And his room, unless someone decorated, would remain bare. His function was he would take a walk in the morning and some students would go with him, and then he would take his breakfast, and then massage, and then answer letters, and bath, and then take lunch, and then take rest, and then some darshan.

And before you knew it, it was time for arati, and the next morning Prabhupada would be at the morning class. At least in the early days, he used to give the morning class. But there was nothing extraordinary about Prabhupada. He would wear whatever he was given. He would eat practically whatever was brought to him. He would live wherever you put him whether it was nice or not nice.

One of the last times that Prabhupada took a preaching journey was in Mayapur when he went to Haridaspur. I believe it was the year I took sannyasa, it was 1976, and we had brought all these big buses from Germany. And so Prabhupada immediately engaged them. We loaded the buses with all the devotees and went to Haridaspur. And the quarters they gave Prabhupada, it was just four brick walls which were not at all very solidly put together. There was no floor, it was just dirt and grass growing inside, and there was no roof. But Prabhupada, he made it appear very palatial and very comfortable and enjoyable. He was exhibiting himself as a parivrajakacharya preaching, but he didn’t feel any discomfort. He was not disappointed that the arrangements were not to the standard which Prabhupada can enjoy in America or in Europe or even in India. He sat there, he took rest there, he took meals there, he gave darshan there, he lectured there. And within a short time, there was no awareness about the defectiveness of the residence for such an exalted personality.

Hansaduta Dasa (from VedaBase)

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The advent of Krsna

Simply by the advent of Krsna, the entire world became filled with all kinds of auspiciousness. Wherever there is no existence of the Supreme Lord, the path of argument is prominent and the path of disciplic succession is attacked. Sri Krsna, who enjoys variegated spiritual pastimes, is an ocean of nectarean mellows. Wherever a relationship with Krsna is absent, useless mental speculation becomes prominent, which creates quarrel due to the influence of Kali. If the existence of the Supreme Lord is not realized, people who are deceived by the illusory energy of the Lord are made to run after the path of mental speculation and dry argument.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, commentary on SB 11.7.4

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Develop an actual relationship with Krsna

Hamsaduta: So Prabhupada, a neophyte devotee, he may think it might be very nice to be Krsna’s friend, but he may actually be a blade of grass and he’ll be fully satisfied when he comes to that stage.

Prabhupada: No. If he thinks like that, then he should cultivate that knowledge in that way. Yes. That is described in The Nectar of Devotion and Teachings of Lord Caitanya.

Hamsaduta: But that may not be his actual position. It may be something else.

Prabhupada: No. But when, at the time of devotional service, if such impetuses come, that means he has got such relation. It is to be developed. That’s all. That means the actual relationship with Krsna is coming out gradually. It is being developed. So one has to develop it, following the footsteps of the Krsna’s friends in Vrndavana. These are described here. Yes. Not directly. No. You cannot say that “I have become Sudama.” No. You have to follow the footsteps of Sudama. “I have become Mother Yasoda.” No. You have to follow the footsteps of Mother Yasoda. That is real position. And as soon as you say, “I am Yasoda. I am Su…,” then it is as good as the Mayavadis say, “I am God.” You see? So dasa-dasanudasa. That process should be followed.

Hamsaduta: Suppose someone is satisfied simply being related with the spiritual master.

Prabhupada: That is everyone’s business. Everyone’s business. That is not a particular taste. That is the duty of all devotees.

(Discussion after Srila Prabhupada’s class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.16-17 — February 10, 1971, Gorakhpur)

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How to render perfect service to Krsna

Visnujana: How do we render perfect service to Krsna?

Prabhupada: By your anxiety. [laughter, “Haribol!”] If you are anxious to serve Krsna, that is the real asset. Krsna is unlimited. What service we can offer to Him? And He has got unlimited servants also. What service He requires from you and me? He’s perfect in Himself. He doesn’t require any service also. But if you are anxious to serve Him, then He does not refuse. That is His mercy; that is His magnanimity. So the more you increase your anxiety to serve Krsna, the more it becomes perfect. He’s unlimited. Your anxiety, you become unlimited. So there is competition. The more you serve Krsna, the more He accepts you and the more He gives you intelligence. The spiritual world is unlimited. There is no end of service, and there is no end of accepting the service.

(After Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on October 4, 1968, in Seattle)

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Utilizing anarthas for Krsna

People criticize us that “Why you are utilizing motorcar ? Why you are utilizing aeroplane?” But our tactic is we can utilize any so-called anartha in the service of Krsna. That is our tactics. That means you have created some anartha, but we can engage even this anartha in the service of Krsna and make it meaningful. That is our business.

Although we are riding on motorcar, we don’t think it is essential. But those who are captured by the civilization, they think it is essential. That is the difference. Anasaktasya visayan. Our process is that if we have to preach, so we have to go to United States. So if there is aeroplane, why shall I waste my time? Let us accept this thing.

We don’t deprecate the material advancement. But we simply warn that “Don’t forget Krsna simply for the matter of material advancement.” This is Krsna consciousness. We don’t discourage you, but when you have invented something material, utilize it for Krsna. Anasaktasya visayan. Don’t be attached to the motorcar, but utilize it for going fast for preaching work.

Don’t die for want of motorcar. But if you get the opportunity to go faster than walking, you should utilize it. Nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate. This is required, that everything engaged in Krsna’s service. That is called yukta-vairagya.

We don’t see anything material. We have to see to it that it is Krsna’s energy, it is made from Krsna’s energy, and it should be utilized for Krsna. This sense is called Krsna consciousness. So if you take to bhakti-yogam adhoksaje, the anartha, things which are not wanted, anartha, or problems, the problems of the world, will be mitigated. Anartha upasamam saksad bhakti-yogam adhoksaje. People do not know it. Lokasya ajanatah. Therefore we have to teach them. That is Krsna consciousness movement.

(From Srila Prabhupada’s class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.6 — Vrndavana, April 18, 1975)

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Our inner desire

In this material world, we are trying to be happy in the society, friendship and love. But the happiness we are getting, that is compared with a drop of water in the desert. Our heart desires real pleasure, transcendental bliss. We are hankering after Krsna. That is our inner desire. We are trying to get eternal happiness.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 9.1 — 17 April, 1975

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Why we don’t get out of this material world

Sometimes you have seen somebody takes his bird in the field and let him loose, out of the cage, and the bird goes and he also goes behind. This human form of body is just like let loose. Now you get the freedom of flying away from this mrtyu-samsara-vartmani, but that we’ll not do. We’ll enter again. We are not interested how to get out of the cage of mrtyu-samsara-vartmani. We are again and again coming back to the cage.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 9.4 — 9 March, 1972

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