Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 64

Painstaking Krsna consciousness

An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together. The Lord is more clever than any living entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. The order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master, and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance. One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.

Srila Prabhupada,  2.9.24 purport

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Purposeless education and the purpose of education

The society must be brahminic. Vedic culture means to create every person a brahmana, not to keep him sudra.

But they do not know how to elevate. Therefore there is so much trouble. The elevation should be… There must be some purpose, end. What purpose education is being given? It is purposeless education. Mostly, at the present moment, education means to give facilities for sense gratification. That’s all. Boys and girls in the school and colleges, just from the very beginning they are given all liberty for sex life.

So this is not education. Education means to lead the people gradually to Krsna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada; Lecture on SB 1.3.20 — Los Angeles, September 25, 1972

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How a grhastha can conquer God

One so seriously considers one’s wife to be his own that he sometimes kills himself for her or kills others, including even his parents or his spiritual master or teacher. Therefore if one can give up his attachment to such a wife, he conquers the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never conquered by anyone.

Srila Prabhupada’s translation of SB 7.14.12 text.

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The highest benediction

The greatest achievement for a devotee is to become a servant of the servants. Actually no one should desire to become the direct servant of the Lord. That is not a very good idea. When Prahlada Maharaja was offered a benediction by Nrsmhadeva, Prahlada rejected all kinds of material benediction, but he prayed to become the servant of the servant of the Lord. When Dhruva Maharaja was offered a benediction by Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods, Dhruva could have asked for unlimited material opulence, but he simply asked for the benediction of becoming the servant of the servants of the Lord. Kholaveca Sridhara was a very poor man, but when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to give him a benediction, he also prayed to the Lord to be allowed to remain a servant of the servants of the Lord. The conclusion is that being the servant of the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest benediction one can desire.

Srila Prabhupada; Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya 14.18, Purport

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Real kirtana is visnu-kirtana

As far as kirtana is concerned, the sastras say, sravanam kirtanam visnoh: [SB 7.5.23] one should chant the glories of the Supreme Lord and the holy name of the Supreme Lord. This is clearly stated. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh: one should chant about and glorify Lord Visnu, not any demigod. Unfortunately, there are foolish persons who invent some process of kirtana on the basis of a demigod’s name. This is an offense. Kirtana means glorifying the Supreme Lord, not any demigod. Sometimes people invent kali-kirtana or siva-kirtana, and even big sannyasis in the Mayavada school say that one may chant any name and still get the same result. But here we find that millions and millions of years ago, when Narada Muni was a Gandharva, he neglected the order to glorify the Lord, and being mad in the association of women, he began to chant otherwise. Thus he was cursed to become a sudra. His first offense was that he went to join the sankirtana party in the company of lusty women, and another offense was that he considered ordinary songs, like cinema songs and other such songs, to be equal to sankirtana. For this offense he was punished with becoming a sudra.

Srila Prabhupada’s purport to SB 7.15.72

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Servant of the servant

We are servant of servant. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instruction, gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah (CC Madhya 13.80). The more you become servant of the servant, the more you are perfect. And if you all of a sudden want to become master, then you go to hell. That’s all. Don’t do that. This is the teaching of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If you go through the servant, servant, servant, then you are advanced. And if you think that you have now become master, then you are going to hell. This is the process. Dasa-dasa-dasanudasah. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. So servant, servant, servant, a hundred times servant now, that means he is advanced. He is advanced. And one who is becoming directly master, then he is in the hell.”

Srila Prabhupada — Lecture, Mayapur, March 28, 1975

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Detachment and cheating

As one advances in Krsna consciousness, one must gradually become disgusted with material attachment and thus become more and more attached to the service of the Lord. If one is not factually detached from material activities but still proclaims himself advanced in devotional service, he is cheating.

Srila Prabhupada — CC Antya 2.117 purport

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The beginning of spiritual life

One has to, first of all, seek the association of pure devotees who not only are learned in the Vedanta but are self-realized souls and unalloyed devotees of Lord Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. In that association, the neophyte devotees must render loving service physically and mentally without reservation. This service attitude will induce the great souls to be more favorable in bestowing their mercy, which injects the neophyte with all the transcendental qualities of the pure devotees.

Srila Prabhupada; Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.34, Purport

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Knowledge and renunciation not necessary to attain devotional service

Out of sheer misunderstanding, some transcendentalists think that knowledge and renunciation are necessary for rising to the platform of devotional service. This is not so. The cultivation of knowledge and the renunciation of fruitive activities may be necessary to understand one’s spiritual existence in relation to the material conception of life, but they are not part and parcel of devotional service. The results of knowledge and fruitive activities are liberation and material sense gratification respectively.

Consequently, they cannot be part and parcel of devotional service; rather, they have no intrinsic value in the discharge of devotional service. When one is freed from bondage to the results of knowledge and fruitive activities, he can attain to devotional service.

Since a devotee of Lord Krsna is by nature nonviolent, and since his mind and senses are controlled, he does not have to make a special effort to acquire the good qualities which result from cultivating knowledge and performing fruitive activities.

When Uddhava was asking Krsna about rules and regulations according to Vedic injunctions, he asked, “Why is it that the Vedic hymns encourage one in material enjoyment, while at the same time the Vedic instructions also free one from all illusion and encourage one toward liberation?” The Vedic rules are supposed to be ordained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but apparently there are contradictions, and Uddhava was anxious to know how one could be freed from these contradictions. In reply, Lord Krsna informed him of the superexcellence of devotional service.

“It is neither practical nor necessary for one who is already engaged in devotional service to Me and whose mind is fixed on Me to endeavor for the cultivation of knowledge and renunciation.”

The cultivation of knowledge, renunciation or meditation may be a little helpful in the beginning, but they cannot be considered necessary for the discharge of devotional service.

Devotional service with attachment is natural, and one who has been attracted by it does not argue with those who oppose him, even though others may argue by presenting scriptural injunctions. The natural inclination to devotional service is also based on scriptural injunction, and one who has attachment for such devotional service is not required to give it up simply on the strength of scriptural argument.

From Teachings of Lord Caitanya by Srila Prabhupada

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Srila Prabhupada denies he is a paramahamsa!

Prabhupada: So we have to elevate ourselves from material devotional stage to the second platform when one can understand what is a devotee, what is a nondevotee, what is God, what is atheist. These discriminations are there. And in paramahamsa stage there is no such discrimination. He sees everyone is engaged in service of the Lord. He does not envy anyone, he does not see anything, anybody. But that is another stage. We should not imitate, try to imitate, but we may know that paramahamsa is the highest stage of perfection.

Just like as a preacher we have to point out… Just like I told this boy, “You sit down like this.” But a paramahamsa will not say. A paramahamsa, he sees, rather: “He is all right.” He sees. But we should not imitate paramahamsa. Because we are preacher, we are teacher, we should not imitate paramahamsa. We must tell the right source, right course.

Revatinandana: You must be higher than the paramahamsa stage, Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: I am lower than you. I am lower than you.

Revatinandana: You are so beautiful. You are paramahamsa, but still, you are preaching to us.

Prabhupada: No, I am lower than you. I am the lowest of the all creatures. I am simply trying to execute the order of my spiritual master. That’s all. That should be the business of everyone. Try best. Try your best to execute the higher order. That is the safest way of progressing. One may be in the lowest stage, but if he tries to execute the duty entrusted upon him, he is perfect. He may be in lowest stage, but because he is trying to execute the duty entrusted to him, then he is perfect. That is the consideration.

December 19, 1970

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