Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 79

Pancaratriki-vidhi and bhagavata-vidhi

The neophyte should also read and hear Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. If we simply try to see and don’t listen, the results will not be permanent. In some temples there are Deities but no discussion about Krsna. People attend for some time, but after a while they lose interest. Thus there must be two activities. The Deities must be worshiped, and this is called pancaratriki-vidhi. There must also be bhagavata-vidhi, reading Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Pancaratriki-vidhi and bhagavata-vidhi go hand in hand. By participating in these two processes, the neophyte can gradually attain the intermediate stage.

Srila Prabhupada, TLK, ch 15

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Jananivasa and Pankajanghri Prabhus

Tamala Krsna: These two pujaris, the two brothers…

Prabhupada: They’re ideal.

Tamala Krsna: …they look like they’re out of the Caitanya-caritamrta. They appear as two persons right out of that book.

Prabhupada: Yes. Very good boys.

Tamala Krsna: Vaikuntha men.

Prabhupada: Oh, yes. They do not know except the Deity. Very good boys.

Tamala Krsna: Perfect team of brothers.

Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Therefore Krsna has brought them here in Mayapur. Previously they were advanced. All of you. You are simply born because the mission was to be started. Just like in Yadu-vamsa Krsna ordered all the devotee demigods to “Go and take birth there to help Me.” Similarly, you are also… You were born in Europe, America, to help this. Otherwise you were devotees in your past lives.

Room Conversation — February 16, 1977, Mayapur

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A perfect picture of Vedic civilization

One may engage in any business — material or spiritual — but the purpose should be the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This verse presents a perfect picture of Vedic civilization. People training to become devotees should be respectful not only to the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also to those who are elderly in knowledge, who are Aryans and actual devotees of the Lord. An Aryan is one who does not boast, but is an actual devotee of the Lord. Aryan means “advanced.” Formerly, those who claimed to be Aryans had to be devotees of the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada, SB 4.30.39-40, Purport

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Yamaraja captures the pseudo devotee

If you catch up Krsna’s lotus feet very tightly, then you will not fall down. But if you make a show of so-called brahmacari, so-called grhastha or so-called sannyasi, then you will fall down. We are experiencing that. Then you must fall down. Krsna will not tolerate a defaulter, a pseudo devotee. Maya is very strong. Immediately capture him: “Come on. Why you are here?

Why you are in this Society? Get out.” That is Yamaraja’s duty. But if you remain in Krsna consciousness, Yamaraja will not touch you. Your death is stopped from the point where you begin Krsna consciousness. Your death is stopped. Nobody is prepared to die. That is a fact. You may say, I may say, “No, I am not afraid of death.” That is another rascaldom. Everyone is afraid of death, and nobody wants to die. That is a fact. But if you are serious about that thing, that “I shall stop my process of death, dying process,” then it is Krsna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.8 — January 5, 1974, Los Angeles

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Leaders changing village life in India

If you go in the villages, you’ll find that the villagers rising early in the morning, they’re taking bath, changing cloth, and chanting Hare Krsna as far as possible. Still in the mass of people of India, the Krsna consciousness is still existing; it is not yet lost. And they believe in the next birth, next life, past life. They believe in God, in Krsna. They’re satisfied with that position. But the modern leaders, they do not like it. They want to make them intoxicated so that they can work like an ass for the morsel of food.

Srila Prabhupada/ Talk on Bhagavad-gita 4.9 — March 29, 1974, Bombay

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Preacher and imitation uttama adhikari

Prabhupada: That is the duty of the preacher, four things: isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu ca [SB 11.2.46]. The preacher should see four things. First of all isvara, the Supreme Person, God. So that vision must be there. He knows what is isvara, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then tad-adhinesu, those who have taken shelter of that isvara. That means devotees. Tad-adhinesu. And then balisesu. Balisesu means those who are innocent, have no sufficient knowledge. Innocent. And dvisatsu. And there is always a class of men who are envious of God, dvisat. Dvisat means envious.

So a preacher has to see these four classes of men, or three classes. One, isvara, and the other three classes. So he has to behave like that. To behave with isvara-prema, how to love, that is his business-how to increase love for the Supreme. Prema. Maitri, how to make friendship with the devotees. And to the innocent-krpa, how to become merciful. And to the envious-upeksa, negligence, not to talk with them. Four behaviors. Isvare tad-a… This is madhyama adhikari. And the position of the preacher is madhyama adhikari. Therefore they have to point out, “Here is a jealous man, envious man.” But people do not want it. They say, “Why you are pointing out? Why you are pointing out?” But this is business of the preacher. Otherwise how he will preach?

Giriraja: They want to be artificially the uttama adhikari, to see everyone as nice.

Prabhupada: Yes. Yes, everyone as nice, except himself. [break] Uttama adhikari vision, that everyone is nice, then the preacher is also nice. Why you find out fault with the preacher? So imitation uttama adhikari will not help.

Morning Walk — April 7, 1974, Bombay

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The defect of modern civilization / we are on a different platform

The modern civilization has trained up educated people in such a way that the more you think yourself, “I am this body – ‘I am American,’ ‘I am Indian,’ ‘I am brahmana,’ ‘I am this, I am that’ ” – and you feel and act like that and create trouble like that – then you are called civilized. Is it not? Hmm? This is the defect of modern civilization. The more you keep yourself in the darkness of accepting this body as yourself – national feeling, social feeling, family feeling, community feeling – then… But we are speaking from a different platform. Our movement is Krsna consciousness. So Krsna begins His teaching from a different platform. He begins from the platform of the soul, dhiras tatra na muhyati. His teaching to Arjuna begins, first of all convincing him that “You are not this body.

Srila Prabhupada – Lecture, 26 Feb 1977

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Vivekananda

Nitai: Once I met a little old lady on the streets of Denver when I was distributing books.

Prabhupada: Old lady.

Nitai: Very old. She was walking down the street. She was all bent over. And she asked me what I was doing, and I showed her our magazine and explained that we were teaching Krsna consciousness, and she said, “Oh, is this yoga? I remember way back when Vivekananda came here. Have you ever heard of him?” So we began talking about Vivekananda. She said that she was there when he made his tour. She was in Denver when he made his tour of the United States, and that he stopped there for one meeting and lectured. And she went there to see that meeting, but she said that all in all she was disgusted with him because he was so much attracted to the women. She said that he was victimized by the women. They were all trying to get him, and she said so when he went back to India he was a broken man.

Prabhupada: Yes, he took with him three women. One of them was Sister Nivedita.

Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation with Professor Olivier Lacombe — June 14, 1974, Paris

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Our conclusion

Our conclusion: that anyone who is not Krsna conscious, he is dogs, hogs, camels, asses, that’s all. No brain. Animal. Animal has got brain: how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex life. So these people, they have got brain for that purpose only. That is animal life. Actually, they do not know what is the aim of life, why people should be educated, why human society should be organized. They do not know.

Srila Prabhupada – May 31, 1974, Geneva

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The whole process of this Krishna Consciousness movement

The whole process is, of this Krishna Consciousness movement, to meet the waves of material nature. The waves are called agitation by hunger and thirst, lamentation, confusion, illusion in so called love and affection, pangs of old age and disease and at last meeting with death. All these things can be changed simply by engaging ourselves in the service of the Lord which keeps us always in the transcendental position. Some way or other if we are able to keep in the transcendental position by devotional service we remain completely untouched by the contamination of matter. By the grace of Lord Caitanya things have been reduced to a very easy operation: by chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Srila Prabhupada – Letter, October 7, 1971

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