Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 27

Who is Krsna?

The name Krsna means “all-attractive.” God attracts everyone; that is the definition of “God.” We have seen many pictures of Krsna, and we see that He attracts the cows, calves, birds, beasts, trees, plants, and even the water in Vrndavana. He is attractive to the cowherd boys, to the gopis, to Nanda Maharaja, to the Pandavas, and to all human society. Therefore if any particular name can be given to God, that name is “Krsna.”

From The Science of Self-Realization by Srila Prabhupada

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The price to pay for material benefits

Sridhara Swami remembers:

On a morning walk once with Srila Prabhupada in Juhu Beach,  one of his disciples from Gujarat, Jasomatinandana Dasa, was walking with him. He had just got his master’s in engineering from USA — he joined in the West and Prabhupada had told him to come back to India. So they were walking, and
Prabhupada asked him how the preaching in the colleges was going. And he said, “Well, the boys are saying that this is very good for those Westerners; they’ve already experienced the fruits of sense gratification, therefore they can renounce. But “we want to first have material benefits, then we’ll think about spiritual life.”

Prabhupada said, “Yes, that’s all right; tell them that if that’s what they really want, then they have to be prepared to work morning shift, afternoon shift, evening shift.” (laughter) “They have to be ready to work hard like donkeys. This is the price the Westerners have paid.”

Adbhuta Hari Dasa, The Jolly Swami, p. 967

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When remaining silent is a fault

One should not at any time tolerate blasphemy and insults against Lord Visnu or His devotees. A devotee is generally very humble and meek, and he is reluctant to pick a quarrel with anyone. Nor does he envy anyone. However, a pure devotee immediately becomes fiery with anger when he sees that Lord Visnu or His devotee is insulted. This is the duty of a devotee. Although a devotee maintains an attitude of meekness and gentleness, it is a great fault on his part if he remains silent when the Lord or His devotee is blasphemed.

Srila Prabhupada; SB 4.14.32 purport

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An invitation from Srila Prabhupada

Everything within this material world will be destroyed, and therefore one should use everything for good purposes. If one is advanced in knowledge, he must always be prepared to sacrifice anything for a better cause. At the present moment the entire world is in a dangerous position under the spell of a godless civilization. The Krsna consciousness movement needs many exalted, learned persons who will sacrifice their lives to revive God consciousness throughout the world. We therefore invite all men and women advanced in knowledge to join the Krsna consciousness movement and sacrifice their lives for the great cause of reviving the God consciousness of human society.

Srila Prabhupada, Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.10.6, Purport

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Everyone is supposed to engage in the spiritual advancement of life

The man who lives with a wife has a great responsibility in maintaining the members of the other social orders — the brahmacaris, vanaprasthas and sannyasis. Except for the grhasthas, or the householders, everyone is supposed to engage in the spiritual advancement of life, and therefore the brahmacari, the vanaprastha and the sannyasi have very little time to earn a livelihood.

Srila Prabhupada, SB 3.14.18, ppt.

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Locana dasa’s request

Locana dasa requests everyone, bhajo bhajo bhai, caitanya-nitai: “My dear brother, I request that you just worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda with firm conviction and faith.”

Don’t think that this chanting and dancing will not lead to the desired goal. It will. It is the assurance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that one will get all perfection by this process. Therefore one must chant with firm faith and conviction (biswasa kori’).

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Sri Sri Gaura-Nityanander Daya by Locana dasa Thakura

(Locana Dasa Thakura’s disappearance anniversary is on 21 Jan 2025)

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The definition of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement

Sankirtana is the process of going to a place, sitting down, chanting the Holy Names, and attracting others to come and chant the Holy Names. Then when the others were practiced in chanting the Holy Names enough to go out on their own, you move on to another place and chant the Holy Names. [Srila Prabhupada] said that this was the definition of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement. Going, chanting Hare Krsna, attracting others, training them up, and then moving on to another place.

Yamuna Devi  1.132

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Governments run by low-grade men

In the modern setup of the democratic states, the people themselves are fallen to the qualities of the sudras or less, and the government is run by a representative of theirs who has not been trained according to the scriptural mode of administrative education. Thus the whole atmosphere is surcharged with sudra qualities, manifested by lust and avarice. Such administrators quarrel every day among themselves. The cabinet of ministers changes often due to party and group selfishness. Everyone wants to exploit the state resources till he dies. No one retires from political life unless forced to do so. How can such low-grade men do good to the people? The result is corruption, intrigue and hypocrisy. They should learn from the Srimad-Bhagavatam how ideal the administrators must be before they can be given charge of different posts.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 1.12.18

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Gaza, Ukraine wars, LA fires — Krsna conscious perspective

Krsna conscious means completely free from all sinful activities. As soon as there is complete eradication of sinful activities in the state, then there will be no more war, pestilence, famine or natural disturbances.

Since the leaders of society have a poor fund of knowledge and the citizens in general are rogues and thieves, there cannot be an auspicious situation for human society. At the present moment the whole world is full of such an incompatible combination of state and citizens, and therefore there is constant tension, war and anxiety as an inevitable result of such social conditions.

Extracts from Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 4.20.14

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Who needs a wife?

To maintain such a life of strict vigilance, one needs encouragement from his wife. In the varnasrama-dharma system, certain classes, such as the brahmanas and sannyasis, do not need encouragement from the opposite sex. Ksatriyas and grhasthas, however, actually need the encouragement of their wives in order to execute their duties. Indeed, a grhastha or ksatriya cannot properly execute his responsibilities without the association of his wife. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally admitted that a grhastha must live with a wife. Ksatriyas were even allowed to have many wives to encourage them in discharging the duties of government. The association of a good wife is necessary in a life of karma and political affairs. To execute his duties properly, therefore, Maharaja Priyavrata took advantage of his good wife Barhismati, who was always very expert in pleasing her great husband by properly dressing herself, smiling, and exhibiting her feminine bodily features.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 5.1.29

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