Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 67

Vani and vapu seva

There are two ways of association – by vani and by vapuh. Vani means words, and vapuh means physical presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence.

From Srila Prabhupada’s Concluding Words to Cc Antya-lila

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Giriraja Maharaja prays for Srila Prabhupada

Shortly before Srila Prabhupada’s departure, Giriraja Maharaja (then brahmacari) prayed in a letter read to Srila Prabhupada:

My dear Lord Krsna, You are known as Yogesvara, the master of all mystic powers. So it is very easy for You to perform the impossible, as You have done many times in the past. By Your merciful glance You restored life to the boys and cows who had died by drinking the water of the Yamuna River which was poisoned by Kaliya. And You swallowed the devastating forest fire to protect the inhabitants of Vrndavana. In the rasa dance You expanded Yourself to be simultaneously present by the side of each gopi. And as guru-daksina, You recovered the dead son of Your teacher. When the hunchback maidservant of Kamsa smeared You with sandalwood pulp, You made her straight and beautiful. And as a householder in Dvaraka, You expanded Yourself into sixteen thousand Krsnas and simultaneously satisfied all of Your sixteen thousand wives. When Sudama Brahmana offered You chipped rice, You transformed his poor cottage into a beautiful palace suitable for the king of heaven. And to satisfy Mother Devaki, You returned her six dead sons from the kingdom of Bali. To appease the Dvaraka brahmana, You also reclaimed his dead sons from Maha-Visnu. When Srila Prabhupada sat with seven dollars under a tree in Tompkins Square Park, You transformed that tree into so many royal palaces, and You expanded that seven dollars into millions of dollars. And when Srila Prabhupada spoke Your message, You turned the mlecchas and candalas into Your devotees. And when Srila Prabhupada went all by himself to sell his Srimad-Bhagavatam volumes, You expanded him into ten thousand loving salesmen who are working day and night without asking any salary, and You expanded his suitcase of books into fifty-five million pieces of literature in twenty-three different languages. And when Hare Krishna Land was lost to the demons, You returned it to His Divine Grace. So from these examples we can understand that for You, the impossible is not difficult, but rather, You have performed so many impossible feats for Your devotees. Therefore, if You desire, please give Srila Prabhupada a new body.

Prabhupada: Excellent. Very… Foundation, back to Godhead. I am getting little glimpse, He may agree to your prayer, yes.

Room Conversation – October 15, 1977, Vrndavana

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Krsna’s invitation

Krsna’s lila is nitya-lila. Just to attract us, that “You are fond of dancing. Why don’t you come back to Me and dance with Me? Why you are rotting in this rotting dance? You want association. You want sporting. Why don’t you come to Me and take part in My sporting with the cowherds boy?” This is invitation of Krsna.

So one who has got intelligence will try to enter the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, either as a cowherd boy or as a servant or as a flower, as a tree, or the water of Yamuna, or the land, or the father and the mother and the conjugal lover. Or it may be as enemy, as Aghasura, Bakasura, Putana. They are also blessed, because they are acting with Krsna. This is the sum and substance of Vrndavana lila. Krsna comes, He exhibits His lila in Vrndavana to attract the conditioned souls, who are engaged in false lila, temporary lila, or hellish lila. Krsna wants to save us.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 7.8 — March 15, 1974, Vrndavana

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A sadhu has no privacy

Sadhu, those who are saintly person, for them there is no secret. There is no privacy. A sadhu has no privacy. In our ordinary social affairs, there is difference between private life and his public life. If somebody is a very good teacher — he can explain very nicely a subject matter — but his private life is not very good, then he is not a teacher. He is not a sadhu. That is Vedic conception. One must be a teacher according to his own behavior in life. There is no secrecy or privacy. We think that “We don’t mind what is private character.  We are concerned with his teaching.” No. That sort of teaching will not have any effect. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, apani acari prabhu jiveri siksaya: a teacher must demonstrate in his practical life what he is teaching. That is the meaning of acarya. Acarya means the teacher must demonstrate things by applying the same thing in his own life. That is called acarya.

Srila Prabhupada; Govardhana Puja Lecture — November 4, 1966, New York

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Six principles for sure success

Enthusiasm means to take things very seriously, utsahad dhairyat, and patiently. Although we are determined to go back to home, back to Godhead, so we should patiently follow the rules and regulations. So these are the six principles: enthusiasm and firm determination and patience and executing the regulative principles, tat-tat-karma-pravartanat, and sato vrtteh, means behavior must be very honest, no duplicity, and utsahad dhairyat niscayat tat-tat-karma-pravartanat, and sato vrtteh, dealing must be very honestly, no hypocrisy, tat-tat-karma-pravartanat, sadhu-sanga, and in the association of devotees. If you follow these six principles, namely enthusiasm, determination, patience, and executing the regulative principles and keep yourself honest and in the association of devotee, if you follow these six principle, then your success is sure.

Srila Prabhupada, Departure Lecture, Caracas, February 25, 1975

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For Kali-puja: Eating remnants of ghosts

Goddess Kali does not eat meat; she is the husband [wife] of lord Shiva and takes only His remnants. That offered meat is eaten by ghosts, and so those people are eating remnants of ghosts. They are not worshipping Durga strictly according to scripture.

Srila Prabhupada, quoted in a letter from Aravinda to Satsvarupa, 28 Nov 1970.

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Understanding kama and prema in relation to the gopis

We sometimes mistake the activities of gopis, it appears just like lusty affairs. But actually that is not. Gopis used to dress themselves very nicely, attractively, so that Krsna may be very pleased. That was gopis’ desire. Just like in the material world the woman dresses very nicely so that a man may be attracted upon her, and then both of them will fulfill their sex desire or sense gratification. That is material world. But in the spiritual world there it appears that gopis are dressed very nicely not for the purpose of her own satisfaction. They want to satisfy Krsna, that “If I dress nicely, Krsna will be pleased.” So that is prema. And as soon as… In the material world, nobody wants to please anyone. He wants to please himself, his senses. That is kama. We should understand what is kama and what is prema.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.6.5 — November 27, 1976, Vrndavana

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Living in Vrndavana

“I shall make my family affairs very perfectly situated, then I shall take sannyasa.” “I shall give all my money to the family and I shall take some little money with me and I shall go to Vrndavana. I shall live there.” The adjustment is family, not adjustment how to go to Vrndavana.

You will find, in Vrndavana, many retired persons are living. The major portion, ninety-nine percent of their money has gone to their families and one percent money he has deposited in savings to get him some say twenty or fifty rupees per month and like this. They call, “This is perfect Vrndavana living.” And they criticize us, one gentlemen who is a Babaji, he was speaking to me, “Swamiji, why you are so much interested for pracara — for preaching. You are living in Vrndavana, why you have left? Please don’t go any more.” Last time, he was saying. “Yes. That’s alright, but my. What can I do? My Guru Maharaja has ordered. So you better enjoy Vrndavana let me go to hell.” So they think like that. That simply by sitting at Vrndavana and doing all nonsense. Of course not everyone is doing, but this is the mentality.

Srila Prabhupada, Lecture – May 1, 1971

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Don’t worry. Krsna is very soon coming

Krsna. He is the Lord, but He has nothing to do. He is simply enjoying with His friends, with Radharani, with cowherds boy, with gopis. That is greatness. He has nothing to think, “How to provide?” (chuckles) That is greatness. He is taking the cows as a sporting. And when He was called for killing Kamsa, He left everything, renounced everything. Aisvarya samagrasya yasasah… Everything in full, so much love, so much everything, but at once, in a moment, He renounced everything, left Vrndavana, and all these devotees, they began to cry for Krsna for the rest of life. And whenever Krsna was reminded, Oh, He will say, “I am very soon coming. Don’t worry. I am very soon coming.”

Srila Prabhupada, Conversation — 27 April, 1969.

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The single qualification for entering the kingdom of God

Lord Caitanya recommended the feeling of the gopis as the highest mode of worship that can be rendered to the Lord. The conclusion is that the regular practice of bhakti-yoga will lead the devotee to the plane of intense love for the Lord, and that is the single qualification by which the conditioned soul is allowed to reenter the eternal life of bliss in the kingdom of God.

From Light of the Bhagavata, by Srila Prabhupada

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