Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 204
January 14, 2020
Enjoy with Krsna or remain diseased
Every living entity of God is ananda-maya. Just like you see Krsna’s picture is ananda-maya: He is enjoying. Here is the picture. He is enjoying. He is playing flute with the company of Srimati Radharani. He is enjoying. He is young man. This is the real form of God — ananda-maya. God hasn’t got to till the ground for eating or make any business or any profession. So you can get also the same position along with God. You can go to Krsna also, dance with Him, enjoy with Him. Ananda-mayo ‘bhyasat [Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12]. By nature God and the living entities are enjoying, joyful. So unless you come to that position of joyfulness, you must know that if you are diseased, you cannot enjoy life.
Srila Prabhupada, room conversation, September 22, 1971, Nairobi
January 13, 2020
Devotee behavior
Devotee means very liberal and kind to everyone, always gentleman under all kinds of conditions of life.
From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Hamsaduta — Ahmedabad 10 December, 1972
January 11, 2020
Surgeon Srila Prabhupada
I see God, and therefore I offer prasada to Him. Because they cannot see Him, they must come to me so I can open their eyes. They are blind — suffering from cataracts — so I shall operate, and they will see.
Srila Prabhupada, Los Angeles, December 3, 1973
January 10, 2020
How to nullify offenses in chanting
One may very easily practice chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord and thus become ecstatic in spiritual life. The Padma Purana states,
namaparadha-yuktanam
namany eva haranty agham
avisranti-prayuktani
tany evartha-karani ca
Even if one chants the Hare Krsna mantra offensively, one can nullify these offenses by continuously chanting without deviation. One who becomes accustomed to this practice will always remain in a pure transcendental position, untouchable by sinful reactions.
A devotee’s duty is to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. One may sometimes chant with offenses and sometimes without offenses, but if one seriously adopts this process, he will achieve perfection, which cannot be achieved through Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement.
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From: The Second Chance, ch 22, The Glories Of the Holy Name
Four principles = Krsna consciousness
These four principles. Always think of Krsna, become Krsna’s devotee, worship Krsna and offer your respect, obeisances to Krsna. That’s all. This is Krsna consciousness.
From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.12 — Hyderabad, November 17, 1972
January 9, 2020
Management follows preaching, like a shadow
Preaching is more important than managing. Just because you are preaching nicely and distributing so much prasadam, the management will follow like a shadow and Krishna will send you no end of help.
From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to: Satsvarupa — Delhi 21 November, 1971
January 7, 2020
Maya civilization
If surrender unto Krsna is such an easy thing, then why don’t people do it? Instead there are many who are challenging the very existence of God, claiming that nature and science are everything and that God is nothing. So-called advancement of civilization in knowledge means that the populace is becoming more mad. Instead of being cured, the disease is being increased. People don’t care for God, but they care for nature, and it is nature’s business to give kicks in the form of the threefold miseries. She is always administering these kicks twenty-four hours a day. However, we have become so accustomed to being kicked that we think it is all right and consider it to be the ordinary course of things. We have become very proud of our education, but we tell material nature, “Thank you very much for kicking me. Now please continue.” Thus deluded, we think that we have even conquered material nature. But how is this so? Nature is still inflicting upon us the miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. Has any one solved these problems? Then what advancement have we really made in knowledge and civilization? We are under the stringent rules of material nature, but still we are thinking that we have conquered. This is called maya.
On the Way to Krsna, ch. 4.
January 6, 2020
Non-material work
Any work which is performed by a devotee in Krsna Consciousness is never work on the material platform although it may appear to be so.
From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Krsnakanti — Bombay 29 November, 1970
Talking with Krsna
Krsna is ready to talk with you. He has come. He has descended in arca-murti to talk with you, to be visible by you. Now you make yourself ready and fit to talk with Krsna. Then He will exchange conversation. Santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti. This is possible.
From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.35 — Bombay, December 4, 1974
January 5, 2020
You are perfect — now go further
Because you have given your life to Krishna, you are already perfect. But it is just like the ocean, if you are swimming in it you may swim forever and not reach the shore. Similarly, there is no limit to the perfection of Krishna Consciousness.
From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to: Abhirama — Vrindaban 27 November, 1971
