Saturday, April 17, 2010
A minute's value
"Avyartha-kalatvam: a Krishna conscious person cannot bear to pass a minute of his life without being engaged in the service of the Lord." —Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 6.17, purport.
Welfare Work
Should I become an environmentalist? A peace corps worker in Romania? What about helping people become self-sufficient farmers in Ethiopia? Srila Prabhupada advises that if I want to help everyone in the world put an end to their suffering, I should take up the preaching of Krishna consciousness. In his purport to Chapter 5, text 25, of Lord Krishna's Bhagavad-gita As It Is, he writes:
"Only a person who is fully in Krishna consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Krishna is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to the forgetfulness of Krishna as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work.
.. "A person engaged only in ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone. Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory. The real cause of one's difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one's forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord."
"Only a person who is fully in Krishna consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Krishna is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to the forgetfulness of Krishna as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work.
.. "A person engaged only in ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone. Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory. The real cause of one's difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one's forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord."
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Quotes from SB 7.1&2 - Hiranyakashipu, King of the Demons
One should always engage in Krishna-katha by chanting and talking about Krishna and hearing about Him. That is the only occupation of a Krishna conscious person. (SB 7.1.4-5, purport)
Our only duty is to please the Supreme Godhead (samsiddhir hari-toshanam [SB 1.2.13]). Whatever we do and whatever our occupation, our main purpose should be to please the Supreme Lord. (SB 7.2.14, purport)
All the living entities in this material world have come here only because they wanted to be equal to Krishna in enjoyment and have thus been sent here to be conditioned by material nature in different degrees. In the material world a so-called family is a combination of several persons in one home to fulfill the terms of their imprisonment. As criminal prisoners scatter as soon as their terms are over and they are released, all of us who have temporarily assembled as family members will continue to our respective destinations. Another example given is that family members are like straws carried together by the waves of a river. Sometimes such straws mix together in whirlpools, and later, dispersed again by the same waves, they float alone in the water. (SB 7.2.21, purport)
As the great Bengali Vaiṣṇava poet, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, has said:
piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya
māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya
According to this statement from the Prema-vivarta, when a living entity is conditioned by material nature, he is exactly like a person haunted by a ghost. One should therefore understand the fixed position of the spirit soul and how he is carried away by the waves of material nature to different bodies and different situations under lamentation and hankering. One achieves the success of life when he understands the constitutional position of his self and is undisturbed by the conditions created by material nature .." (SB 7.2.23, purport)
As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.84.13):
yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
"A human being who identifies the body made of three elements as the self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of his birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to bathe rather than to meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered like a cow or an ass." Although Hiraṇyakaśipu was a great demon, he was not as foolish as the population of the modern world. Hiraṇyakaśipu had clear knowledge of the spirit soul and the subtle and gross bodies, but now we are so degraded that everyone, including the exalted scientists, philosophers and other leaders, is under the bodily conception of life, which is condemned in the śāstras. Sa eva go-kharaḥ: [SB 10.84.13] such persons are nothing but cows and asses. (SB 7.2.24, purport)
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61), īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāḿ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati: the Lord is present in the core of everyone's heart. Thus the Lord gives protection to everyone and gives the different types of bodies the living entity wants to enjoy. Everything is done by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not lament the birth and death of a living being, which have been arranged by the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaḿ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca: "I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." One must act according to the direction of the Lord within the heart, but because the conditioned soul wants to act independently, the Lord gives him the facility to act and experience the reactions. The Lord says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja: [Bg. 18.66] "Give up all other duties and simply surrender unto Me." One who does not abide by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is given the facility to enjoy this material world. Instead of restricting him, the Lord gives the conditioned soul the opportunity to enjoy so that by mature experience, after many, many births (bahūnāḿ janmanām ante [Bg. 7.19]), he will understand that surrender to the lotus feet of Vāsudeva is the only duty of all living beings. (SB 7.2.38, purport)
Since everything is dependent on the free will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, our only duty is to surrender unto Him and seek His protection. (SB 7.2.40, purport)
Even though we now seem neglected by the Lord, He is actually always alert to our activities. Under all circumstances, therefore, we should simply depend on the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus revive our intimate relationship with Him. We must depend upon the authority and control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.(SB 7.2.43, purport)
The human form of body is valuable. One can use this body to go to the higher planetary systems, to Pitṛloka, or he can remain in this lower planetary system, but if one tries he can also return home, back to Godhead. This prowess is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the Supersoul. Therefore the Lord says, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca: [Bg. 15.15] "From Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." If one wants to receive real knowledge from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can become free from bondage to repeated acceptance of material bodies. If one takes to the devotional service of the Lord and surrenders unto Him, the Lord is prepared to give one directions by which to return home, back to Godhead, but if one foolishly wants to keep himself in darkness, he can continue in a life of material existence. SB 7.2.46 purport
The living entity is bound by the subtle body, consisting of the mind, intelligence and false ego. At the time of death, therefore, the position of the mind becomes the cause for the next body. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (8.6), yaḿ yaḿ vāpi smaran bhāvaḿ tyajaty ante kalevaram: at the time of death the mind sets the criteria for the spirit soul's being carried to another type of body. If a living being resists the dictation of the mind and engages the mind in the loving service of the Lord, the mind cannot degrade him. The duty of all human beings, therefore, is to keep the mind always engaged at the lotus feet of the Lord (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ). When the mind is engaged at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, the intelligence is purified, and then the intelligence gets inspiration from the Supersoul (dadāmi buddhi-yogaḿ tam). Thus the living entity makes progress toward liberation from material bondage. SB 7.2.47 purport
The best course is to engage the mind in the service of the Lord, Hṛṣīkeśa, and thus feel real blissful life.
SB 7.2.48 purport
Yamarāja once asked Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, "What is the most wonderful thing within this world?"
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira replied (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.116):
ahany ahani bhūtāni
gacchantīha yamālayam
śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti
kim āścaryam ataḥ param
Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world. Everyone has to die because everyone is fully under the control of material nature, yet everyone thinks that he is independent, that whatever he likes he can do, that he will never meet death but live forever, and so on. So-called scientists are making various plans by which living entities in the future can live forever, but while they are thus pursuing such scientific knowledge, Yamarāja, in due course of time, will take them away from their business of so-called research. SB 7.2.57
Therefore the duty of those advanced in knowledge in human society is to study the constitutional position of the imperishable soul and not waste the valuable time of human life in merely maintaining the body and not considering life's real responsibility. Every human being should try to understand how the spirit soul can be happy and where he can attain an eternal, blissful life of knowledge. Human beings are meant to study these subject matters, not to be absorbed in caring for the temporary body, which is sure to change. No one knows whether he will receive a human body again; there is no guarantee, for according to one's work one may get any body, from that of a demigod to that of a dog. --SB 7.2.58 purport
Thinking of Krishna, hearing the holy name of Krishna or hearing the pastimes of Krishna will make one pure, and then he will become a devotee. Our Krishna consciousness movement is therefore trying to introduce the system of somehow or other letting everyone hear the holy name of Krishna and take Krishna's prasada. Thus one will gradually become a devotee, and his life will be successful. (SB 7.1.28-29, purport)
In Kali-yuga, which is full of shudras and demons, the brahminical culture is lost and can be revived only by the chanting of the maha-mantra. Therefore the Krishna consciousness movement, or the Hare Krishna movement, has been inaugurated to revive brahminical culture very easily so that people may become happy and peaceful in this life and prepare for elevation in the next. .. "O King, the demons think that Hari, Lord Vishnu, exists because of the brahmanas and yajna, but factually Hari is the cause of everything including the brahmanas and yajna." Therefore, through the popularizing of hari-kirtana, or the sankirtana movement, the brahminical culture and kshatriya government will automatically come back, and people will be extremely happy. (SB 7.2.11, purport)
---------
Our only duty is to please the Supreme Godhead (samsiddhir hari-toshanam [SB 1.2.13]). Whatever we do and whatever our occupation, our main purpose should be to please the Supreme Lord. (SB 7.2.14, purport)
---------
All the living entities in this material world have come here only because they wanted to be equal to Krishna in enjoyment and have thus been sent here to be conditioned by material nature in different degrees. In the material world a so-called family is a combination of several persons in one home to fulfill the terms of their imprisonment. As criminal prisoners scatter as soon as their terms are over and they are released, all of us who have temporarily assembled as family members will continue to our respective destinations. Another example given is that family members are like straws carried together by the waves of a river. Sometimes such straws mix together in whirlpools, and later, dispersed again by the same waves, they float alone in the water. (SB 7.2.21, purport)
---------
As the great Bengali Vaiṣṇava poet, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, has said:
piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya
māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya
According to this statement from the Prema-vivarta, when a living entity is conditioned by material nature, he is exactly like a person haunted by a ghost. One should therefore understand the fixed position of the spirit soul and how he is carried away by the waves of material nature to different bodies and different situations under lamentation and hankering. One achieves the success of life when he understands the constitutional position of his self and is undisturbed by the conditions created by material nature .." (SB 7.2.23, purport)
---------
As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.84.13):
yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
"A human being who identifies the body made of three elements as the self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of his birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to bathe rather than to meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered like a cow or an ass." Although Hiraṇyakaśipu was a great demon, he was not as foolish as the population of the modern world. Hiraṇyakaśipu had clear knowledge of the spirit soul and the subtle and gross bodies, but now we are so degraded that everyone, including the exalted scientists, philosophers and other leaders, is under the bodily conception of life, which is condemned in the śāstras. Sa eva go-kharaḥ: [SB 10.84.13] such persons are nothing but cows and asses. (SB 7.2.24, purport)
---------
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61), īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāḿ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati: the Lord is present in the core of everyone's heart. Thus the Lord gives protection to everyone and gives the different types of bodies the living entity wants to enjoy. Everything is done by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not lament the birth and death of a living being, which have been arranged by the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaḿ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca: "I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." One must act according to the direction of the Lord within the heart, but because the conditioned soul wants to act independently, the Lord gives him the facility to act and experience the reactions. The Lord says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja: [Bg. 18.66] "Give up all other duties and simply surrender unto Me." One who does not abide by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is given the facility to enjoy this material world. Instead of restricting him, the Lord gives the conditioned soul the opportunity to enjoy so that by mature experience, after many, many births (bahūnāḿ janmanām ante [Bg. 7.19]), he will understand that surrender to the lotus feet of Vāsudeva is the only duty of all living beings. (SB 7.2.38, purport)
---------
Since everything is dependent on the free will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, our only duty is to surrender unto Him and seek His protection. (SB 7.2.40, purport)
---------
Even though we now seem neglected by the Lord, He is actually always alert to our activities. Under all circumstances, therefore, we should simply depend on the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus revive our intimate relationship with Him. We must depend upon the authority and control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.(SB 7.2.43, purport)
---------
The human form of body is valuable. One can use this body to go to the higher planetary systems, to Pitṛloka, or he can remain in this lower planetary system, but if one tries he can also return home, back to Godhead. This prowess is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the Supersoul. Therefore the Lord says, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca: [Bg. 15.15] "From Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." If one wants to receive real knowledge from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can become free from bondage to repeated acceptance of material bodies. If one takes to the devotional service of the Lord and surrenders unto Him, the Lord is prepared to give one directions by which to return home, back to Godhead, but if one foolishly wants to keep himself in darkness, he can continue in a life of material existence. SB 7.2.46 purport
---------
The living entity is bound by the subtle body, consisting of the mind, intelligence and false ego. At the time of death, therefore, the position of the mind becomes the cause for the next body. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (8.6), yaḿ yaḿ vāpi smaran bhāvaḿ tyajaty ante kalevaram: at the time of death the mind sets the criteria for the spirit soul's being carried to another type of body. If a living being resists the dictation of the mind and engages the mind in the loving service of the Lord, the mind cannot degrade him. The duty of all human beings, therefore, is to keep the mind always engaged at the lotus feet of the Lord (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ). When the mind is engaged at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, the intelligence is purified, and then the intelligence gets inspiration from the Supersoul (dadāmi buddhi-yogaḿ tam). Thus the living entity makes progress toward liberation from material bondage. SB 7.2.47 purport
---------
The best course is to engage the mind in the service of the Lord, Hṛṣīkeśa, and thus feel real blissful life.
SB 7.2.48 purport
---------
Yamarāja once asked Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, "What is the most wonderful thing within this world?"
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira replied (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.116):
ahany ahani bhūtāni
gacchantīha yamālayam
śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti
kim āścaryam ataḥ param
Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world. Everyone has to die because everyone is fully under the control of material nature, yet everyone thinks that he is independent, that whatever he likes he can do, that he will never meet death but live forever, and so on. So-called scientists are making various plans by which living entities in the future can live forever, but while they are thus pursuing such scientific knowledge, Yamarāja, in due course of time, will take them away from their business of so-called research. SB 7.2.57
---------
Therefore the duty of those advanced in knowledge in human society is to study the constitutional position of the imperishable soul and not waste the valuable time of human life in merely maintaining the body and not considering life's real responsibility. Every human being should try to understand how the spirit soul can be happy and where he can attain an eternal, blissful life of knowledge. Human beings are meant to study these subject matters, not to be absorbed in caring for the temporary body, which is sure to change. No one knows whether he will receive a human body again; there is no guarantee, for according to one's work one may get any body, from that of a demigod to that of a dog. --SB 7.2.58 purport
---------
Thinking of Krishna, hearing the holy name of Krishna or hearing the pastimes of Krishna will make one pure, and then he will become a devotee. Our Krishna consciousness movement is therefore trying to introduce the system of somehow or other letting everyone hear the holy name of Krishna and take Krishna's prasada. Thus one will gradually become a devotee, and his life will be successful. (SB 7.1.28-29, purport)
---------
In Kali-yuga, which is full of shudras and demons, the brahminical culture is lost and can be revived only by the chanting of the maha-mantra. Therefore the Krishna consciousness movement, or the Hare Krishna movement, has been inaugurated to revive brahminical culture very easily so that people may become happy and peaceful in this life and prepare for elevation in the next. .. "O King, the demons think that Hari, Lord Vishnu, exists because of the brahmanas and yajna, but factually Hari is the cause of everything including the brahmanas and yajna." Therefore, through the popularizing of hari-kirtana, or the sankirtana movement, the brahminical culture and kshatriya government will automatically come back, and people will be extremely happy. (SB 7.2.11, purport)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Barometer of my spiritual health
I have recently been accused of practicing on a lower level of bhakti, adhama bhakti, desiring some profit by engaging in motivated devotional service.
I have been reminded that pure devotional service is defined by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and repeated by Srila Rupa Goswami as:
anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
"When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive actions. The devotee must constantly serve Krsna favorably, as Krsna desires." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya 19.167)
I looked up this verse in CC and eagerly read the purport. Srila Prabhupada explains that Krishna desires that we think of Him always (BG 9.34 and 18.65) and that we preach Lord Krishna's glories, without any selfish motives.
In further purports in this blissful succession of verses wherein Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains the science of Krishna consciousness to Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Prabhupada explains that even practicing devotional service with the desire to get out of the material world is "motivated" and not pure.
Back to the accusation that I am practicing on a low level of bhakti.
I was recently sitting across from a devotee during lunch prasadam at the temple. I asked him if he knew of any devotee who was good at carpentry work to help convert the Krishna Culture Festival Tour bus. He named several experts who charge only so much per hour. I then clarified that I am volunteering my time and that I was looking for volunteers, who might volunteer a couple of hours on a weekend, to which he responded "Oh, I don't know about that. Good luck."
Is this a sign of the times? In general, volunteering my time for devotional service without anything in exchange may be a barometer of my spiritual health, especially given that I belong to a movement that professes to practice and give to others the science of pure devotional service, Krishna consciousness.
How often do I volunteer my time for Krishna without any selfish motive? That means no money, no recognition, nothing in return but the satisfaction of engaging in an activity that I know pleases my spiritual master and Krishna?
Another purport I recently read in the Bhagavad-gita explained that a devotee may work all day in a factory or at a business, and at the end of the day he gives everything he earns for the benefit of the Krishna consciousness movement, for spreading Krishna consciousness. Such a devotee is as good as a sannyasi.
Barometer of my spiritual health:
- How much time do I volunteer for Krishna?
- How much of my hard-earned money do I give to projects that spread Krishna consciousness?
- How much of my day do spend absorbing my mind in thinking of Krishna?
man-manah bhava mad bhakto...
(And when will I give up this illusion of "my time," "my money," "my mind"? - it all belongs to You, Krishna.)
I have been reminded that pure devotional service is defined by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and repeated by Srila Rupa Goswami as:
anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
"When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive actions. The devotee must constantly serve Krsna favorably, as Krsna desires." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya 19.167)
I looked up this verse in CC and eagerly read the purport. Srila Prabhupada explains that Krishna desires that we think of Him always (BG 9.34 and 18.65) and that we preach Lord Krishna's glories, without any selfish motives.
In further purports in this blissful succession of verses wherein Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains the science of Krishna consciousness to Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Prabhupada explains that even practicing devotional service with the desire to get out of the material world is "motivated" and not pure.
Back to the accusation that I am practicing on a low level of bhakti.
I was recently sitting across from a devotee during lunch prasadam at the temple. I asked him if he knew of any devotee who was good at carpentry work to help convert the Krishna Culture Festival Tour bus. He named several experts who charge only so much per hour. I then clarified that I am volunteering my time and that I was looking for volunteers, who might volunteer a couple of hours on a weekend, to which he responded "Oh, I don't know about that. Good luck."
Is this a sign of the times? In general, volunteering my time for devotional service without anything in exchange may be a barometer of my spiritual health, especially given that I belong to a movement that professes to practice and give to others the science of pure devotional service, Krishna consciousness.
How often do I volunteer my time for Krishna without any selfish motive? That means no money, no recognition, nothing in return but the satisfaction of engaging in an activity that I know pleases my spiritual master and Krishna?
Another purport I recently read in the Bhagavad-gita explained that a devotee may work all day in a factory or at a business, and at the end of the day he gives everything he earns for the benefit of the Krishna consciousness movement, for spreading Krishna consciousness. Such a devotee is as good as a sannyasi.
Barometer of my spiritual health:
- How much time do I volunteer for Krishna?
- How much of my hard-earned money do I give to projects that spread Krishna consciousness?
- How much of my day do spend absorbing my mind in thinking of Krishna?
man-manah bhava mad bhakto...
(And when will I give up this illusion of "my time," "my money," "my mind"? - it all belongs to You, Krishna.)
Friday, April 2, 2010
Who Should Become Guru?
Quotes from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
761210DB.HYD Lectures
"So we got this information from His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and that knowledge is still going on. You are receiving through his servant. And in future the same knowledge will go to your students. This is called parampara system. Evam parampara prap… It is not that you have become a student and you’ll remain student. No. One day you shall become also guru and make more students, more students, more. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, not that perpetually… Yes, one should remain perpetually a student, but he has to act as guru. That is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is not that because I am acting as guru, I am no longer student. No, I am still student. Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught us this instruction that we shall always remain a foolish student before our Guru Maharaja. That is the Vedic culture. I may be very big man, but still, I should remain a foolish student to my guru. That is the qualification. Guru more murkha dekhi’ karila sasana. We should be always prepared to be controlled by the guru. That is very good qualification. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. Ara na kariha mane asa. So we should become always a very obedient student to our guru. That is the qualification. That is the spiritual qualification."
660729BG.NY Lectures
"There is no consideration of material impediment. So it is open for everyone. Catur-varnyam maya srstam. That is a chance given, that you can become a brahmana, you can become a great devotee of Lord Krsna, and you can become the spiritual master of the world. That is the… And I think you should take seriously."
750406CC.MAY Lectures
"And to become acarya is not very difficult. First of all, to become very faithful servant of your acarya, follow strictly what he says. Try to please him and spread Krsna consciousness. That’s all. It is not at all difficult. Try to follow the instruction of your Guru Maharaja and spread Krsna consciousness. That is the order of Lord Caitanya."
680817VP.MON Lectures
"Now, this spiritual master’s succession is not very difficult. Of course, my students, they offer me so much respect, but all these respects are due to my spiritual master. I am nothing. I am just like peon. Just like peon delivers one letter. He is not responsible for what is written in that letter. He is not responsible for what is written in that letter. He simply delivers. But a peon’s duty is that he must sincerely carry out the order of the postmaster and deliver the letter to the proper person. That is their duty. Similarly, this parampara system is like that. Every one of us should become a spiritual master because the world is in blazing fire. (aside:) You can give them prasadam. Now, of course, time is very high. So to understand the spiritual master… Spiritual master is not a new invention. It is simply following the orders of the spiritual master. So all my students present here who are feeling so much obliged… I am also obliged to them because they are helping me in this missionary work. At the same time, I shall request them all to become spiritual master. Every one of you should be spiritual master next. And what is their duty? Whatever you are hearing from me, whatever you are learning from me, you have to distribute the same in toto without any addition or alteration. Then all of you become the spiritual master. That is the science of becoming spiritual master. Spiritual master is not any… To become a spiritual master is not very wonderful thing. Simply one has to become sincere soul. That’s all. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that "By disciplic succession this yoga process of Bhagavad-gita was handed down from disciple to disciple. But in course of time that disciplic succession is now lost. Therefore, Arjuna, I am teaching you again the same philosophy."
Songs Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurvastakam 690102PU.LA
We should always remember that the spiritual master is in the disciplic succession. The original spiritual master is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He blesses his next disciple, just like Brahma. Brahma blesses his next disciple, just like Narada. Narada blesses his next disciple, just like Vyasa. Vyasa blesses his next disciple, Madhvacarya. Similarly, the blessing is coming. Just like royal succession–the throne is inherited by disciplic or hereditary succession–similarly, this power from the Supreme Personality of Godhead has to receive. Nobody can preach, nobody can become a spiritual master, without obtaining power from the right source. Therefore the very word, it is stated here, praptasya. Praptasya means "one who has obtained." Praptasya kalyana. What he has obtained? Kalyana. Kalyana means auspicity. He has received something which is auspicious for all the human kind. Praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya. Here is another example. Gunarnava. Arnava means ocean, and guna means spiritual qualities. Just like the same example is going on. It is very nice poetry. There is nice rhethorics and metaphor. The example is set, blazing fire, and it is to be extinguished with the cloud. And wherefrom the cloud comes? Similarly, wherefrom the spiritual master receives the mercy? The cloud receives his potency from the ocean. Therefore the spiritual master also receives his power from the ocean of spiritual quality, that is, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya. Such kind of spiritual master, one has to accept, and vande guroh sri-caranaravindam, and one has to offer his respectful obeisances to such authorized spiritual master. (end)
710718RC.DET Conversations
"Prabhupada: Yes. All of them will take over. These students, who are initiated from me, all of them will act as I am doing. Just like I have got many Godbrothers, they are all acting. Similarly, all these disciples which I am making, initiating, they are being trained to become future spiritual masters."
770415rc.bom Conversations
"Prabhupada: "Like father, like son." You should be. Gaurangera bhakta…, jane. Everyone. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa. He asked everyone, "Just become guru." Follow His instruction. You become guru. Amara ajnaya. Don’t manufacture ideas. Amara ajnaya. "What I say, you do. You become a guru." Where is the difficulty? "And what is Your ajna?" Yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa. Bas. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gita. You simply repeat. That’s all. You become guru. To become a guru is not difficult job. Follow Caitanya Mahaprabhu and speak what Krsna has said. Bas. You become guru."
750302BA.ATL Lectures
"So you are hearing this philosophy daily. Try to understand more and more. We have got so many books. And this is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and, by disciplic succession, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then my spiritual master. Then we are trying our level best. Similarly, you will also try your level best on the same principle. Then it will go on. Same principle. It doesn’t matter whether one is born in India or outside India. No. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama, “As many towns and cities and villages are there,” He did not say it to make a farce. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So sometimes I am very much criticized that I am making foreigners a brahmana. The caste brahmanas in India, they are very much against me. But this is not fact. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that all over the world His message will be broadcast, does it mean that it will be simply a cinema show? No. He wanted that everyone should become perfect Vaisnava. That is His purpose."
720518AR.LA Lectures
"So we have got this message from Krsna, from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, from the six Gosvamis, later on, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura. And we are trying our bit also to distribute this knowledge. Now, tenth, eleventh, twelfth… My Guru Maharaja is tenth from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, I am eleventh, you are the twelfth. So distribute this knowledge. People are suffering. They are simply fighting on some false thing, maya. They should be given the real fact of happiness."
68-12-03 Letter: Hamsaduta
"Next January there will be an examination on this Bhagavad-gita. Papers will be sent by me to all centers, and those securing the minimum passing grade will be given the title as Bhakti-sastri. Similarly, another examination will be held on Lord Caitanya’s Appearance Day in February, 1970 and it will be upon Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. Those passing will get the title of Bhakti-vaibhava. Another examination will be held sometimes in 1971 on the four books, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and Nectar of Devotion. One who will pass this examination will be awarded with the title of Bhaktivedanta. I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. So we should not simply publish these books for reading by outsiders, but our students must be well versed in all of our books so that we can be prepared to defeat all opposing parties in the matter of self-realization."
761210DB.HYD Lectures
"So we got this information from His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and that knowledge is still going on. You are receiving through his servant. And in future the same knowledge will go to your students. This is called parampara system. Evam parampara prap… It is not that you have become a student and you’ll remain student. No. One day you shall become also guru and make more students, more students, more. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, not that perpetually… Yes, one should remain perpetually a student, but he has to act as guru. That is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is not that because I am acting as guru, I am no longer student. No, I am still student. Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught us this instruction that we shall always remain a foolish student before our Guru Maharaja. That is the Vedic culture. I may be very big man, but still, I should remain a foolish student to my guru. That is the qualification. Guru more murkha dekhi’ karila sasana. We should be always prepared to be controlled by the guru. That is very good qualification. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. Ara na kariha mane asa. So we should become always a very obedient student to our guru. That is the qualification. That is the spiritual qualification."
660729BG.NY Lectures
"There is no consideration of material impediment. So it is open for everyone. Catur-varnyam maya srstam. That is a chance given, that you can become a brahmana, you can become a great devotee of Lord Krsna, and you can become the spiritual master of the world. That is the… And I think you should take seriously."
750406CC.MAY Lectures
"And to become acarya is not very difficult. First of all, to become very faithful servant of your acarya, follow strictly what he says. Try to please him and spread Krsna consciousness. That’s all. It is not at all difficult. Try to follow the instruction of your Guru Maharaja and spread Krsna consciousness. That is the order of Lord Caitanya."
680817VP.MON Lectures
"Now, this spiritual master’s succession is not very difficult. Of course, my students, they offer me so much respect, but all these respects are due to my spiritual master. I am nothing. I am just like peon. Just like peon delivers one letter. He is not responsible for what is written in that letter. He is not responsible for what is written in that letter. He simply delivers. But a peon’s duty is that he must sincerely carry out the order of the postmaster and deliver the letter to the proper person. That is their duty. Similarly, this parampara system is like that. Every one of us should become a spiritual master because the world is in blazing fire. (aside:) You can give them prasadam. Now, of course, time is very high. So to understand the spiritual master… Spiritual master is not a new invention. It is simply following the orders of the spiritual master. So all my students present here who are feeling so much obliged… I am also obliged to them because they are helping me in this missionary work. At the same time, I shall request them all to become spiritual master. Every one of you should be spiritual master next. And what is their duty? Whatever you are hearing from me, whatever you are learning from me, you have to distribute the same in toto without any addition or alteration. Then all of you become the spiritual master. That is the science of becoming spiritual master. Spiritual master is not any… To become a spiritual master is not very wonderful thing. Simply one has to become sincere soul. That’s all. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that "By disciplic succession this yoga process of Bhagavad-gita was handed down from disciple to disciple. But in course of time that disciplic succession is now lost. Therefore, Arjuna, I am teaching you again the same philosophy."
Songs Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurvastakam 690102PU.LA
We should always remember that the spiritual master is in the disciplic succession. The original spiritual master is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He blesses his next disciple, just like Brahma. Brahma blesses his next disciple, just like Narada. Narada blesses his next disciple, just like Vyasa. Vyasa blesses his next disciple, Madhvacarya. Similarly, the blessing is coming. Just like royal succession–the throne is inherited by disciplic or hereditary succession–similarly, this power from the Supreme Personality of Godhead has to receive. Nobody can preach, nobody can become a spiritual master, without obtaining power from the right source. Therefore the very word, it is stated here, praptasya. Praptasya means "one who has obtained." Praptasya kalyana. What he has obtained? Kalyana. Kalyana means auspicity. He has received something which is auspicious for all the human kind. Praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya. Here is another example. Gunarnava. Arnava means ocean, and guna means spiritual qualities. Just like the same example is going on. It is very nice poetry. There is nice rhethorics and metaphor. The example is set, blazing fire, and it is to be extinguished with the cloud. And wherefrom the cloud comes? Similarly, wherefrom the spiritual master receives the mercy? The cloud receives his potency from the ocean. Therefore the spiritual master also receives his power from the ocean of spiritual quality, that is, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya. Such kind of spiritual master, one has to accept, and vande guroh sri-caranaravindam, and one has to offer his respectful obeisances to such authorized spiritual master. (end)
710718RC.DET Conversations
"Prabhupada: Yes. All of them will take over. These students, who are initiated from me, all of them will act as I am doing. Just like I have got many Godbrothers, they are all acting. Similarly, all these disciples which I am making, initiating, they are being trained to become future spiritual masters."
770415rc.bom Conversations
"Prabhupada: "Like father, like son." You should be. Gaurangera bhakta…, jane. Everyone. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa. He asked everyone, "Just become guru." Follow His instruction. You become guru. Amara ajnaya. Don’t manufacture ideas. Amara ajnaya. "What I say, you do. You become a guru." Where is the difficulty? "And what is Your ajna?" Yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa. Bas. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gita. You simply repeat. That’s all. You become guru. To become a guru is not difficult job. Follow Caitanya Mahaprabhu and speak what Krsna has said. Bas. You become guru."
750302BA.ATL Lectures
"So you are hearing this philosophy daily. Try to understand more and more. We have got so many books. And this is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and, by disciplic succession, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then my spiritual master. Then we are trying our level best. Similarly, you will also try your level best on the same principle. Then it will go on. Same principle. It doesn’t matter whether one is born in India or outside India. No. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama, “As many towns and cities and villages are there,” He did not say it to make a farce. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So sometimes I am very much criticized that I am making foreigners a brahmana. The caste brahmanas in India, they are very much against me. But this is not fact. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that all over the world His message will be broadcast, does it mean that it will be simply a cinema show? No. He wanted that everyone should become perfect Vaisnava. That is His purpose."
720518AR.LA Lectures
"So we have got this message from Krsna, from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, from the six Gosvamis, later on, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura. And we are trying our bit also to distribute this knowledge. Now, tenth, eleventh, twelfth… My Guru Maharaja is tenth from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, I am eleventh, you are the twelfth. So distribute this knowledge. People are suffering. They are simply fighting on some false thing, maya. They should be given the real fact of happiness."
68-12-03 Letter: Hamsaduta
"Next January there will be an examination on this Bhagavad-gita. Papers will be sent by me to all centers, and those securing the minimum passing grade will be given the title as Bhakti-sastri. Similarly, another examination will be held on Lord Caitanya’s Appearance Day in February, 1970 and it will be upon Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. Those passing will get the title of Bhakti-vaibhava. Another examination will be held sometimes in 1971 on the four books, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and Nectar of Devotion. One who will pass this examination will be awarded with the title of Bhaktivedanta. I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. So we should not simply publish these books for reading by outsiders, but our students must be well versed in all of our books so that we can be prepared to defeat all opposing parties in the matter of self-realization."
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