Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 358

February 9, 2012

Srila Prabhupada's visva-rupa darshan

(How Srila Prabhupada saw Krsna's universal form during the bombing of
Calcutta in 1942)
We have more or less seen Krsna as the visva-rupa during wartime in Calcutta
in 1942. There was a siren, and we ran into a shelter, and the bombing
began. In this way, we were seeing that visva-rupa, and I was thinking, "Of
course, this is also just another form of Krsna. But this is not a very
lovable form."
>>> Ref. VedaBase => PoP 8: Failure and Success in Yoga
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Published on February 09, 2012 04:41

February 8, 2012

Statements of Srila Prabhupada That Defy Common Sense

Question:

How do we understand the statements of Srila Prabhupada that defy common sense?

My question is not specific to what I could eat to make my body happy, but "how do we understand statements by pure devotees that defy common sense?" One might be able to explain away sentences such as in the purport of CC 2.4.169 Srila Prabhupada mentions that, "One should not eat fish or other non-vegetarian food during the month of Kartika. A non-vegetarian diet means fish and meat. Similarly, masura dhal and urad dhal are also considered non-vegetarian. These two dhals contain a great amount of protein, and food rich in protein is considered non-vegetarian," however if you have to give to an intelligent reader they defy common sense. So, then comes the question of hermeneutics. In our parampara, it is not just important to understand the scriptures, but the writings of acaryas such as Srila Prabhupada. I refuse to compromise myself saying that some parts of Srila Prabhupada's writings from which I can't extract sense from should be avoided.

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Published on February 08, 2012 17:16

Why You Should be Like Us

[B]Where:[/B] Bhimavaram, AP, India[BR]
[B]When:[/B] 13 Nov 11[BR]
[B]Language:[/B] English with Telugu translation
[CUT]

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Published on February 08, 2012 15:41

How a "paramahamsa" falls down

Nobody should think that "Now I have learned everything. I can surpass
everyone. I have become above all rules and regulation. Now I have become
paramahamsa." This is rascaldom. Everyone should always think, "I am fool
number one." Therefore the endeavor will go on, to become perfect. If we
think that "Now I have become perfect, paramahamsa," then the spiritual
regulative principles will never be followed, and you will fall down.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 1.43 — London, July 30, 1973
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Published on February 08, 2012 04:14

February 7, 2012

A "Five" Minute Message to Youths

[B]Where:[/B] Bhimavaram, AP, India[BR]
[B]When:[/B] 12 Nov 11[BR]
[B]Language:[/B] English
[CUT]

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Published on February 07, 2012 14:33

Chastity is required for producing good population

Without good population in the society, gentlemen, cultured, educated,
following the rules and regulations of religious principles, how you can
expect peace and prosperity? That is not possible. So the whole Vedic system
was meant for having very good population. Not such kind of population who
are addicted to killing and drinking and so many other sinful activities.
… So to have good population, the women should be very chaste. That is the
basic principle of Vedic civilization. And to keep the women chaste, it was
the function of the responsible father, or, in the absence of father, the
elder brother… So he must get the woman, the girl, married. It is
compulsory. There was no compulsory for man to marry. Because a man may
remain brahmacari. By training, he can abstain from sex. But if woman is not
protected very strictly, it is very difficulti So therefore chastity is
very, very important thing for producing good population, nice population.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 1.40 — London, July 28, 1973
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Published on February 07, 2012 06:11

February 6, 2012

What human life is meant for

Narottama dasa Thakura, a great devotee and acarya of the Gaudiya Vaisnava
sect, has sung: "My Lord, I have simply wasted my life. Having obtained the
human body, I have neglected to worship Your Lordship, and therefore I have
willingly drunk poison." In other words, the human body is especially meant
for cultivating knowledge of devotional service to the Lord, without which
life becomes full of anxieties and miserable conditions.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.13.26
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Published on February 06, 2012 02:27

February 5, 2012

Devotees, especially sannyasis, should be responsible and cautious

A devotee must be very responsible. He must act in such a way that nobody
can blame him. Otherwise everyone say, "What kind of devotee he is?" So this
is the duty. They should be very cautious. A sannyasi, they should be very
cautious. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, sannyasira alpa-chidre bahu kari' mane.
An ordinary grhastha, or… Grhastha only, If he talks with woman nobody
will blame. He is grhastha. But if a sannyasi talks with woman very
intimately, oh, immediately people will take note of it. Sannyasira
alpa-chidre bahu kari' mane. That is the practice. He should be very
cautious. So a devotee, a sannyasi, they have got very, very great
responsibility. People will very easily criticize them.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 1.37-39 — London, July 27, 1973
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Published on February 05, 2012 03:41

February 4, 2012

Krishna Cares For Bhimavaram

[B]Where:[/B] Bhimavaram, AP, India[BR]
[B]When:[/B] 19 Nov 11[BR]
[B]Language:[/B] English
[CUT]

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Published on February 04, 2012 17:17

Krishna Cares For

[B]Where:[/B] Bhimavaram, AP, India[BR]
[B]When:[/B] 19 Nov 11[BR]
[B]Language:[/B] English
[CUT]

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Published on February 04, 2012 17:17