Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 8

When women are not subordinate to men

Female Reporter: What happens when women are not subordinate to men?

Prabhupada: Then there is disruption. There is disruption, social disruption. If the woman does not become subordinate to man, then there is social disruption. Therefore, in the western countries there are so many divorce cases because the woman does not agree to become subordinate to man. That is the cause.

Television Interview, July 9, 1975, Chicago, USA

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The superexcellence of this Krsna consciousness movement

Religion means to love God, and that means you must know who God is. There is no alternative. You must know the person who is God. Then you can have loving exchanges with Him. That we are teaching. We are asking our disciples to rise early in the morning and offer mangala arati, then bhoga arati, to the Lord in His form as the Deity in the temple. Are we such fools and rascals that we are wasting time worshiping a “doll”? Sometimes people think like that. But that is not a fact. When you enter the temple, you know definitely, “Here is Krsna. He is God, and we must love Him like this.” That is the superexcellence of this Krsna consciousness movement. We do everything definitely, on the positive platform.

From Civilization & Transendence, by Srila Prabhupada

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Take the spiritual elevator

The general progress of yoga is gradual. First one practices karma-yoga, which refers to ordinary, fruitive activity. Ordinary activities include sinful activities, but karma-yoga excludes such activities. Karma-yoga refers only to good, pious activities, or those actions which are prescribed. After performing karma-yoga, one comes to the platform of jnana-yoga, knowledge. From the platform of knowledge, one attains to this astanga-yoga, the eightfold yoga system—dhyana, dharana, pranayama, asana, etc.—and from astanga-yoga, as one concentrates on Visnu, one comes to the point of bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga is the perfectional stage, and if one practices Krsna consciousness, one attains this stage from the very beginning. That is the direct route. If one practices jnana-yoga and thinks that he has attained the ultimate, he is mistaken. He has to make further progress. If we are on a staircase and have to reach the top floor, which is the hundredth floor, we are mistaken if we think we have arrived when we are on the thirtieth floor. As stated before, the whole yoga system may be likened to a staircase, connecting or linking us to God. In order to attain the ultimate, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we must go to the highest platform, and that is bhakti-yoga.

But why walk up all these steps if we have a chance to take an elevator? By means of an elevator, we can reach the top in a matter of seconds. Bhakti-yoga is this elevator, the direct process by which we can reach the top in a matter of seconds. We can go step by step, following all the other yoga systems, or we can go directly. Since in this Age of Kali-yuga people have short life spans and are always disturbed and anxious, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by His causeless mercy, has given us the elevator by which we can come immediately to the platform of bhakti-yoga. That direct means is the chanting of Hare Krsna, and that is the special gift of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore Rupa Gosvami offers respects to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te: [Cc Madhya 19.53] “Oh, You are the most munificent incarnation because You are directly giving love of Krsna. To attain pure love of Krsna, one has to pass through so many stages of yoga, but You are giving this love directly. Therefore You are the most munificent.”

From The Path of Perfection by Srila Prabhupada

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Asking for Krishna’s special favor and mercy

Krishna may be prayed that I am unwilling to become Krishna Conscious, so you can force me to become so. You put me under certain circumstances so that I may be forced to accept Krishna Consciousness. You can pray like that. It is Krishna’s special favor and mercy that He sometimes forces a devotee to surrender fully to Him.

From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Upendra – 13 November, 1968

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Krsna and Balarama in Vrndavana

Krsna and Balarama, while tending the cows with the cowherd boys, appeared just like actors going to play on a dramatic stage. Krsna was dressed in glowing garments of yellow, Balarama in blue, and They held new twigs of mango tree, peacock feathers and bunches of flowers in Their hands. Dressed with garlands of lotus flowers, They were sometimes singing very sweetly among Their friends.

From Srila Prabhupada’s “Krsna Book” chapter 21: The Gopis Attracted by the Flute

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Glories & misfortune of India

India is meant for para-upakara, not for exploiting others. That is not India’s business. That may be for the fools and rascals in other countries, but India is dedicated. Therefore in India Krsna comes, in India Lord Ramacandra comes. But they have now taken it very cheaply. All rascals and fools and rogues, they are claiming that “I am Krsna. I am Rama.” They have taken because India has fallen. Because there is no brahminical culture, they cannot understand, these rascals, that the fools and rascals, they are claiming to be Krsna. Krsna is so cheap? No. That is our misfortune, that instead of Krsna, we are accepting some imitation, rogue Krsna. This is our misfortune. But we should not do that.

Srila Prabhupada/ Talk on Bhagavad-gita 4.14 – April 3, 1974, Bombay

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Strong arguments to defeat atheists

Atheists may be very expert in mental speculation and may be so-called great philosophers, but they can be defeated by a Vaisnava firmly situated in his conviction and God consciousness. Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the preachers engaged in the service of ISKCON should be very expert in putting forward strong arguments and defeating all types of atheists.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Cc Madhya 9.51

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Special mercy upon Rupa Gosvami

Devotees acknowledge Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s special mercy upon Srila Rupa Gosvami in the following words:

sri-caitanya-mano-‘bhistam sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva-padantikam

“When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?”

The special function of Srila Rupa Gosvami is to establish the feelings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. These feelings are His desires that His special mercy be spread throughout the world in this Kali-yuga.

prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama
[CB Antya-khanda 4.126]

The desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is that all over the world everyone, in every village and every town, know of Him and His sankirtana movement. These are the inner feelings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Rupa Gosvami committed to writing all these feelings of the Lord. Now again, by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the same feelings are being spread all over the world by the servants of the Gosvamis, and devotees who are pure and simple will appreciate this attempt. As concluded by Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, however, those who are on the level of hogs and dogs will never appreciate such a great attempt. Yet this does not matter to the preachers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s cult, for all over the world they will continue to perform this responsible work, even though persons who are like cats and dogs do not appreciate them.

Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Cc Antya 1.118

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How to attain Gauranga’s mercy

For ten days Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at Prayaga and instructed Rupa Gosvami, empowering him with the necessary potency.

This is a confirmation of the statement krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana. Unless one is specifically empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot spread the Krsna consciousness movement. An empowered devotee sees and feels himself to be the lowest of men, for he knows that whatever he does is due to the inspiration given by the Lord in the heart. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita:

tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” (Bg. 10.10)

To be empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one has to qualify himself. This means that one must engage twenty-four hours daily in the loving devotional service of the Lord. The material position of a devotee doesn’t matter because devotional service is not dependent on material considerations. In his earlier life, Srila Rupa Gosvami was a government officer and a grhastha. He was not even a brahmacari or sannyasi. He associated with mlecchas and yavanas, but because he was always eager to serve, he was a qualified recipient for the Lord’s mercy. A sincere devotee can therefore be empowered by the Lord regardless of his situation. In the preceding verse from Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami has described how he was personally empowered by the Lord. He further states in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.187):

iha yasya harer dasye
karmana manasa gira
nikhilasv apy avasthasu
jivan-muktah sa ucyate

“A person acting in the service of Krsna with his body, mind and words is a liberated person even in the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.”

To keep oneself free from material contamination and attain the Lord’s favor, one must be sincerely anxious to render service to the Lord. This is the only qualification necessary. As soon as one is favored by the mercy of the spiritual master and the Lord, one is immediately given all the power necessary to write books and propagate the Krsna consciousness movement without being hampered by material considerations.

Cc Madhya 19.135, translation and purport by Srila Prabhupada

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More important than worship of salagrama-sila

It has been a custom since time immemorial that a person born in a brahmana family must.worship the salagrama-sila in all circumstances. In our Krsna consciousness society, some of the members are very anxious to introduce the salagrama-sila, but we have purposely refrained from introducing it because most of the members of the Krsna consciousness movement do not originally come from families of the brahmana caste. After some time, when we find that they are actually situated strictly in the line of brahminical behavior, this salagrama-sila will be introduced.

In this age, the worship of the salagrama-sila is not as important as the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. That is the injunction of the sastra.

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

From Srila Prabhupada’s  purport to Cc 1.13.86

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