Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 23 Purports - Maharaja Prthu's Going Back Home
Pages in category "Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 04 Chapter 23 Purports - Maharaja Prthu's Going Back Home"
The following 364 pages are in this category, out of 364 total.
A
- A devotee does not want any kind of material opulence, but such opulence appears before him automatically. He does not have to endeavor for it. Because of his devotional service, he automatically becomes brahma-bhuta
- A devotee need not feel sorry for not having practiced the kundalini-cakra, or not penetrating the six cakras one after another
- A devotee's knowledge of the impersonal Brahman is automatically revealed, and he is not interested in merging into the impersonal Brahman
- A devotee's relationship with the Supreme becomes manifest beyond all doubt, and he immediately understands that his position is that of eternal servant of the Lord
- A jnani may become detached from material attractions by prolonged discussions on subjects of knowledge and may in this way finally come to the brahma-bhuta stage, but a devotee does not have to undergo so much trouble
- A Krsna conscious person does not need to go to the forest and artificially try to imitate Maharaja Prthu or the great sages and munis who used to live in the forest
- A mahatma or paramahamsa is very rare to find
- A paramahamsa, or pure devotee, is never attracted by hatha-yoga or speculative knowledge. He is simply interested in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord
- A person can be so addressed (as bhagavan) only if he is a great personality who exhibits extraordinary and uncommon features or who attains the greatest goal after his disappearance or who knows the difference between knowledge and ignorance
- A person who is born in a sudra family can become greater than a brahmana simply by accepting devotional service and giving aural reception to the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees
- A woman does not need to attain high qualifications, but if she simply follows in the footsteps of her husband, who must be a devotee, then both husband and wife attain liberation and are promoted to the Vaikunthalokas
- According to a Bengali proverb, whatever spiritual progress one makes in life will be tested at the time of death
- According to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a husband and wife can turn the home into a place as good as Vaikuntha
- According to Jiva Gosvami, apavargyam, or the path of liberation, does not refer to merging into the impersonal Brahman but to salokyadi-siddhi, which means attaining the very planet where the Supreme Personality of Godhead resides
- According to Vedic injunction, to live in the forest is to live in the mode of complete goodness, whereas to live in the city is to live in the mode of passion, and to live in a brothel or drinking house is to live in the mode of ignorance
- According to Vedic principles, when retiring from family life, one can take his wife with him, for the husband and wife are considered to be one unit. Thus they can both combinedly perform austerities for liberation
- According to Vedic scriptures, a woman who dies with her husband, or enters into the fire in which her husband is burning, also enters the same planet her husband attains
- After being baffled in his material enjoyment, the impersonalist may desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, but a pure devotee of the Lord has no such desire. Therefore a pure devotee is really bhagavad-dharmi
- After executing the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and settling the affairs of the world, Maharaja Prthu was ready to retire. He had been exemplary in his governmental administration, and now he was to become exemplary in his retirement
- After exhausting the results of pious activities, one has to come again to the lower planetary systems and begin a new chapter of pious activities
- After seeing all the life symptoms in her husband (King Prthu) stop, the Queen (Arci) lamented for a while. The word kincit means "for a little while"
- After the period of brahmacarya, a man accepts a householder's life, and the woman is also taught by her parents to be a chaste wife
- All glories to the holy names of Lord Krsna, which from the very beginning purify the heart and immediately liberate one
- Although Maharaja Prthu stopped all practice of mystic yoga after realizing Krsna consciousness, he took advantage of his previous practice and immediately placed himself on the brahma-bhuta platform in order to accelerate his return to Godhead
- Although Prthu Maharaja executed his austerities long before the appearance of Lord Krsna on this planet, his purpose was still to please Krsna
- Although Prthu was eternally a pure devotee of the Lord, he nonetheless adopted the process of devotional service in order to teach the people in general the proper process for executing the duties of life and ultimately returning home, back to Godhead
- Although Queen Arci became very thin from living in the forest according to regulative principles, she was not unhappy, for she was enjoying the honor of serving her great husband
- Although she (Queen Arci) did not want to touch her feet to the ground, she nonetheless accepted all difficulties when she went to the forest with her husband (King Prthu)
- Although the individual living entity (jiva) and the Lord are both situated within the material energy, the Lord is directing the movements of the jiva soul by offering him different types of bodies through the material energy
- Although they (devotees) are satisfied in any condition, there is nothing they cannot obtain, because they are purely engaged in the service of the Lord
- Although they were the wives of the denizens of the higher planetary system and Prthu was an inhabitant of an inferior planetary system (the earth), the King, along with his wife, passed beyond the realms of the demigods and went upward to Vaikunthaloka
- An ideal king, Prthu Maharaja exhibited all talents in showing how to rule the citizens, how to educate them, how to develop the state economically, how to fight enemies, how to perform great sacrifices (yajnas), etc
- As a saktyavesa incarnation of God who had actually come from Vaikuntha as a representative of Krsna, Prthu was certain to go back to Godhead. Nonetheless, in order to set the example in all ways, he also underwent severe austerities in the tapo-vana
- As far as bedding is concerned, the ascetic should be content with simply lying on the floor. The purpose for undergoing such severe austerities is to become a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna
- As far as education is concerned, one can become recognized in society as a great learned scholar simply by hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, wherein the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees are described
- As far as Maharaja Prthu was concerned, he had already practiced this process (the kundalini-cakra), and since he did not want to wait for the time when his death would occur naturally, he took advantage of the sat-cakra penetration process
- As far as pranayama is concerned, chanting of the holy name of the Lord and dancing in ecstasy are also considered pranayama
- As is said in the Narada-pancaratra, aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim. If Krsna is worshiped, if He is the goal of advancement, there is no need for one to execute severe types of tapasya, because one has already reached his destination
- As it is necessary for one to become very active in family life, similarly, after retirement from family life, it is necessary to control the mind and senses. This is possible when one engages himself fully in the devotional service of the Lord
- As long as one continues to be subject to polluted desires, he has to accept one material body after another. So-called yogis, without knowledge of the real purpose of yoga, practice it in order to keep the body fit
- As long as one is too much absorbed in the bodily conception of life, he becomes interested in many different processes of self-realization, such as the mystic yoga system or the system utilizing the speculative empiric methods
- As soon as one comes to the unalloyed stage of devotional service, he is able to give up all other methods of self-realization
- As soon as one takes a vow to live in the forest, he must simply eat roots, tree trunks, fruits, dried leaves or whatever nature provides in that way
- As soon as the whole material contamination is washed away by this process of chanting, all desires and reactions to material activities become immediately vanquished, and real life, peaceful existence, begins
- As soon as there is some discrepancy in the execution of duties, the Lord appears on earth, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (BG 4.7): yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata
- As stated by Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita (BG 2.12), all living entities assembled in the battlefield, as well as Krsna Himself, were also present in the past as individuals and would continue to be present in the future as individuals also
- As stated in Bhagavad-gita (BG 10.8), aham sarvasya prabhavah: everything is emanating from Him. This cosmic manifestation, which is compared to an ocean of nescience, is also resting on the lotus feet of the Lord
- As stated in Bhagavad-gita, Krsna appears not only in this millennium of Brahma's life, but in every millennium. Therefore worship of Krsna is conducted in all millenniums
- As stated in the Vedas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of material energy. Consequently He is sometimes called maya-maya, or the Supreme person, who can create His pastimes through His potency known as the material energy
- At present we have contacted a material body, material mind and material intelligence, but when we become free from these material conditions, our spiritual body, spiritual mind and spiritual intelligence become manifest
- At that time (when the husband retires from family life, goes to the forest and adopts the life of vanaprastha) the wife is to follow her husband and take care of him, just as she took care of him in householder life
B
- Because he (Prthu) appeared on this earth as an ideal king and because it is the duty of the king to instruct the citizens in the execution of devotional service, he followed all the regulative principles of devotional service in order to teach others
- Because of his regular discharge of devotional service, a devotee attains the transcendental stage of life
- Because Prthu Maharaja's wife (Arci) was the Queen and also a daughter of a king, she never experienced walking on the ground, for queens used to never come out of the palace
- Becoming fat is not a very good qualification in spiritual life because a person who is engaged in spiritual life must reduce the comforts of the body - namely eating, sleeping and mating - to a minimum
- Being absorbed in Krsna consciousness, even in this world husband and wife can live in Vaikuntha simply by installing the Deity of the Lord within the home and serving the Deity according to the directions of the sastras
- Being the wives of great personalities like Prthu, Lord Ramacandra and Dhrtarastra, these (Arci, Sita and Gandhari) were ideal chaste women
- Beyond Brahmaloka is the spiritual sky, and in that spiritual sky there are innumerable Vaikunthalokas
- Both Prthu Maharaja's airplane and the airplane carrying Queen Arci were passing out of the vision of the ladies of the higher planetary systems. These ladies were simply astonished to see how Prthu Maharaja and his wife achieved such an exalted position
- Brahmajyoti is considered by impersonalists to be without variety, and the Buddhists consider it to be void
- By associating in different ways with the Supreme Personality of godhead or His devotee, one can very easily become opulent in every respect
- By constantly thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord, the devotee immediately becomes situated in suddha-sattva. Suddha-sattva refers to that platform which is above the modes of material nature, including the mode of goodness
- By culturing devotional service, the devotee gradually comes to understand his actual relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding of one's pure spiritual position is called svarupopalabdhi
- By following the exemplary character of Maharaja Prthu, one can become perfect in all respects while living this life or while retiring from active life. Thus after giving up this body, one can become liberated and go back to Godhead
- By hearing and chanting of the glories of God or the Lord's devotee one can become firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. This position can also be achieved very easily by narrating the history of the life of Prthu regularly every day
- By His (God's) supreme will the living entity, or individual soul, gets the facility to lord it over material nature in various types of bodies, which are known as yantra, or the moving vehicle offered by the total material energy, maya
- By Prthu Maharaja's behavior we can understand that when he went to the forest he did not eat any cooked food sent from the city by some devotees or disciples
- By reading and hearing the narrations of the life and character of Prthu Maharaja, one naturally becomes a devotee, and as soon as one becomes a devotee, his material desires automatically become fulfilled
- By situating oneself in the muktasana position, a yogi can immediately give up his body and go to whatever planet he desires. A perfect yogi can give up his body whenever he desires through the practice of yoga
- By virtue of his devotional service he (the devotee) attains the brahma-bhuta (SB 4.30.20) stage without a doubt. The yogis & jnanis are always doubtful about their constitutional position; they mistakenly think of becoming one with the Supreme
E
- Even after the British period in India this practice (the saha-gamana) was rigidly observed, but soon it degraded to the point that even when the wife was not strong enough to enter the fire of her dead husband, the relatives would force her to enter
- Even five thousand years ago, Maharaja Yudhisthira and Maharaja Pariksit were the sole emperors of this planet. Sometimes the subordinate kings rebelled, and it was necessary for the emperor to go and chastise them
- Even for the neophyte devotee, devotional service is considered brahma-bhuyaya kalpate (BG 14.26). Devotional service to the Lord is never considered a material activity. Since he is acting on the brahma-bhuta platform, a devotee is already liberated
- Even if one goes to the highest planet, Brahmaloka, he has to return to the miseries of birth and death
- Even if one is not known or recognized by society, he becomes very famous and important if he takes to devotional service and preaching
- Even if one is promoted to the impersonal brahmajyoti, he runs every chance of falling down into this material world
- Even today in India, widows or women whose husbands have taken sannyasa follow the principles of austerity, even though they live with their children
- Everyone is engaged in performing very difficult tasks simply for the gratification of the senses. All of these are considered to be engaged in sense gratificatory activities (or visaya) because they all demand some facility for material existence
F
- For a transcendental, blissful life, chant the Hare Krsna mantra, come worship the holy place of Vrndavana, and always engage in the service of the Lord, of the spiritual master and of the Vaisnavas
- From the Narada-pancaratra we understand that if one attains the stage of pure devotional service, he also attains all the opulences derived from fruitive activities, empiric philosophical speculation and mystic yogic practice
H
- Having attained to the stage of devotion, Maharaja Prthu became uninterested in the practices of jnana and yoga and abandoned them. This is the stage of pure devotional life as described by Rupa Gosvami
- He (Lord Brahma) explained how they are created one after another: the air from the sky, the fire from the air, the water from the fire, the earth from the water, etc
- He (Maharaj Prthu) was to return home, back to Godhead, without having to execute jnana, yoga or karma
- He (Maharaja Prthu) took advantage of the sat-cakra penetration process and thus gave up the body according to his own free will and immediately entered the spiritual sky
- He (Maharaja Prthu) was no longer controlled by the influence of material energy. When one is strong enough to give up the influence of material energy, he is called prabhu
- He (the devotee of God) has no need to practice any other type of yoga in order to approach the brahma-bhuta stage - SB 4.30.20
- He divided all his property amongst his sons and appointed them to rule the world, and then he went to the forest with his wife. It is significant in this connection that Maharaja Prthu retired alone and at the same time took his wife with him
- Hearing and chanting about a Vaisnava is as good as hearing and chanting about Visnu, for Maitreya has explained that anyone who hears about Prthu Maharaja with attention also attains the planet which Maharaja Prthu attained
I
- If a devotee is able to continue on the brahma-bhuta platform, he enters the spiritual sky automatically after death and returns to Godhead
- If a person wants to return home, back to Godhead, or wants to become a pure devotee (akama), 1) he is recommended to take to the path of devotional service and hear and chant of Lord Visnu or of His devotee
- If it is possible to fall down from the brahmajyoti, which is beyond the higher planetary systems in this material world, then what can be said of the ordinary yogis and karmis who can only be elevated to the higher material planets
- If one 2) wants some material prosperity (sakama or sarva-kama), or wants to merge into the existence of the Supreme Brahman effulgence (moksa-kama), he is recommended to take to the path of devotional service, hear & chant of Visnu or of His devotee
- If one does not take advantage of this opportunity (to follow a spiritual master's guide), one wastes the human form of life. Wasting time and life in this way is the same as committing suicide
- If she (the wife) simply follows in the footsteps of her husband, who must be a devotee, then both husband and wife attain liberation and are promoted to the Vaikunthalokas. This is evinced by the inconceivable activities of Maharaja Prthu and his wife
- If the devotee adheres strictly to the orders of the spiritual master, follows the rules and regulations and chants the Hare Krsna mantra, it should be concluded that he is already at the brahma-bhuta stage, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita - BG 14.26
- If the real purpose of all yoga is to please Lord Krsna, then this simple bhakti-yoga system recommended for this age is sufficient. It is necessary to engage constantly in the service of the Lord
- If, after executing all types of tapasya, one cannot reach Krsna, all his tapasya has no value, for without Krsna all austerity is simply wasted labor
- Impersonal Brahman is a subordinate feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and since impersonal Brahman worshipers desire to merge into the Brahman effulgence, they cannot be considered followers of bhagavad-dharma
- In Bhagavad-gita, yogis are advised to go to a secluded place in the forest and live alone in a sanctified spot there
- In his verses praising the spiritual master, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura writes: "The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord
- In order to be recognized by Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should chant the holy name of the Lord continuously, twenty-four hours a day. Unfortunate persons who cannot accept this formula prefer to execute some type of pseudomeditation
- In order to save yogis from wandering throughout the different species of life, the sastras warn that in this age yogic practice is simply a waste of time. The only means of elevation is the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra
- In respect to the ego, the total material energy is sundered in two parts - one agitated by the mode of ignorance and the other agitated by the modes of passion and goodness. Due to agitation by the mode of ignorance, the five gross elements are created
- In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is recommended that one should become a devotee regardless of one's condition
- In the absence of varieties of enjoyment, the spirit soul feels an attraction to enjoy a life of bliss, and not having any information of Krsnaloka or Vaikunthaloka, he naturally falls down to material activities in order to enjoy material varieties
- In the execution of devotional service, sravanam kirtanam visnoh (SB 7.5.23) is especially stressed. This means that bhakti, or devotional service, begins by hearing and chanting about Visnu
- In the history of this world, when Lord Krsna, the supreme Visnu, was ruling over Dvaraka, Queen Rukmini, who was the chief of all Krsna's queens, used to serve Lord Krsna personally in spite of having many hundreds of maidservants to assist her
- In the human form of life one can obtain the guidance of a good navigator, the spiritual master. One also gets a favorable wind by the mercy of Krsna, and that wind is the instructions of Krsna
- In the material world, everyone wants some profit, some adoration and some reputation
- In the material world, the mode of goodness is considered to be representative of the highest perfection, but one has to transcend this mode and come to the stage of suddha-sattva, or pure goodness, where the three qualities of material nature cannot act
- In the Narada-pancaratra, devotional service to the Lord is likened unto a queen. When a queen gives an audience, many maidservants follow her. The maidservants of devotional service are material opulence, liberation and mystic powers
- In the paramahamsa stage of life, one fully realizes Krsna as everything. When one understands fully that Krsna is everything and that Krsna consciousness is the highest perfection of life, he becomes a paramahamsa, or mahatma
- In the present age this determination can be very easily acquired simply by chanting the holy names - Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
- In the rainy season one is enjoined to expose himself to torrents of rain and in winter to sit in cold water up to the neck
- In the ultimate issue, there is actually no material world, but when one forgets the service of the Lord and engages himself in the service of his senses, he is said to be living in the material world
- In the Vaikuntha planets both husbands and wives are extraordinarily beautiful, and they are attracted to one another, but they do not enjoy sex life
- In the vanaprastha stage of life, tapasya, or austerity, is strongly recommended. Maharaja Prthu followed exactly all the rules of vanaprastha life, which is technically known as vaikhanasa-asrama
- In the yoga process, after following the strict regulative principles controlling sleeping, eating and mating, one is allowed to practice the different sitting postures
- In this age of Kali it is very difficult to adopt the yogic process mentioned in this verse (SB 4.23.17). Unless one is very expert in such yoga, the best course is to adopt the ways and means of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, sri-krsna-sankirtanam
- In this life a neophyte devotee is trained to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and in the next life he approaches that Supreme Person in Vaikuntha and renders the same devotional service
- In this material world people are engaged in different activities simply to achieve a little success in sense gratification
- In this verse (SB 4.23.10) the word brahmani does not refer to the impersonal Brahman
- In this verse (SB 4.23.18) the word svarupa-sthah is also very significant. The real identity of the individual soul lies in understanding or attaining the knowledge that he is eternally a servant of Krsna
- In this verse (SB 4.23.30) the word bhagavattamah is very significant, for the word bhagavat is used especially to refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the word bhagavan ("the Supreme Personality of Godhead") is derived from the word bhagavat
- In this verse (SB 4.23.32) brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras are mentioned, but here it should be understood that that reference is to the brahmana who is born in a brahminical family, the ksatriya who is born in a ksatriya family etc
- In this verse (SB 4.23.9) the words purusam abhajat purusarsabhah are significant: purusarsabha refers to Maharaja Prthu, the best amongst human beings, and purusam refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- In this way he (Prthu Maharaja) lived in the forest and underwent severe austerity, especially in regards to eating. In other words, overeating is not at all recommended for one who wants to progress in spiritual life
- In transcendental state, a devotee attains all the benefits of karma, jnana and yoga. Although he never engages in fruitive activities or empiric speculation to attain mystic powers, automatically mystic powers appear in his service
- In Vedic civilization a man is taught from the beginning of his life to become a brahmacari, then an ideal grhastha, then vanaprastha, then sannyasi, and the wife is taught just to follow the husband strictly in all conditions of life
- In Vedic civilization the husband and wife were not separated by such man-made laws as divorce. We should understand the necessity for maintaining family life in human society and should thus abolish this artificial law known as divorce
- Instead of advancing in spiritual life, many have fallen into material habits and even in Vrndavana have become victims of illicit sex, gambling and intoxication
- Instead of wasting her (Queen Arci) time in lamentation, she immediately prepared a fiery pyre on top of a hill and then placed the body of her husband (King Prthu) on it to be burned
- Intelligent yogis do not wish to waste their time within this material world at all; they do not care for the material facilities in higher planetary systems, but are interested in going directly to the spiritual sky, back home, back to Godhead
- Isvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated within the heart of all conditioned souls
- It appears that in those days there were many tapo-vanas, or forests especially meant for retirement and the practice of austerities
- It is advised that one read them (the life and history of Prthu Maharaja) at least three times. Those who are materially afflicted will so benefit by hearing of the Supreme Lord and His devotees that they need not go to any demigod
- It is important to know thoroughly the process of creation as it applies to this cosmic manifestation. Similarly, this body is also created according to the same process by the Supreme Lord
- It is not that Krsna worship began only when Krsna appeared on this planet five thousand years ago. This is a foolish conclusion that is not substantiated by Vedic literatures
- It is recommended for the sahajiya, or the neophyte devotee, to hear, chant and get others to hear about the activities of Prthu Maharaja, even though one may think himself to be in the transcendental position of advanced devotional service
- It is stated (su-prajatamah) that all the children thus attained would be qualified in education, wealth, beauty and strength - everything complete
- It is stated by God Himself that devotional service to His devotees is better than service offered directly to Him. Sometimes the sahajiya class of devotees are interested only in Krsna's personal pastimes to the exclusion of activities of the devotees
- It is their (the yogis) desire to show some miraculous results through the practice of yoga
- It was compulsory for everyone to go to the tapo-vana to fully accept the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for it is very difficult to retire from family life and at the same time remain at home
- It was the duty of the king to give protection to everyone, especially to the earth or land which he ruled, as well as the citizens and his family members
J
- Jnana and yoga should not be accepted as the real processes for liberation. By discharging devotional service, Maharaja Prthu automatically transcended all these positions
- Jnanis and yogis without devotion may think themselves liberated, but actually their intelligence is not as pure as that of a devotee. The jnanis and yogis cannot become factually liberated unless they become elevated to the position of devotees
- Jnanis are engaged in philosophical speculation in order to gain release from the clutches of material nature. In these ways everyone is engaged in performing very difficult tasks simply for the gratification of the senses
- Just as life in this material world has its beginning in material sound, similarly a spiritual life has its beginning in this spiritual sound vibration
K
- Karmis are engaged in performing very costly sacrifices in order to be promoted to the higher planetary systems. Similarly, yogis are engaged in achieving a similar goal by accepting the tedious practices of mystic yoga
- King Kulasekhara wanted to give up his body while in a healthy state, and he thus prayed to Krsna to let him die immediately while he was in good health and while his mind was sound
- King Prthu's activities took place in Satya-yuga, and in this age this practice of yoga is misunderstood by fallen souls who are not capable of practicing anything. Consequently the sastras enjoin: kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
- Krsna is so kind, especially in this age, that He appears in the transcendental vibration of His holy name
- Krsna worship existed at the beginning of creation and has continued to exist throughout Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga and Dvapara-yuga, and now it is continuing in Kali-yuga
L
- Lord Brahma clearly explained to Narada how the creation took place, and he explained one step after another the proper divisions of the senses, the controller of the senses, the objects of the senses, and the material elements
- Lord Buddha did not give any information about the soul, but if one follows his instructions strictly, he will ultimately become free from the material coverings and attain nirvana
- Lord Buddha instructed his followers to give up these material coverings by means of meditation and yoga
- Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed others in the process of devotional service by setting the example Himself through His own personal actions
- Lord Ramacandra went to the forest in compliance with the order of His father, Maharaja Dasaratha, but mother Sita was not so ordered. Nonetheless, she voluntarily accepted the path of her husband
M
- Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah: (CC Madhya 17.186) one should follow in the footsteps of great personalities
- Maharaja Prthu and Queen Arci united in the Vaikuntha planets. In the Vaikuntha planets there are husbands and wives, but there is no question of their giving birth to children or having sex life
- Maharaja Prthu had no desire to promote himself to the higher planetary systems. He wanted to return home immediately, back to Godhead
- Maharaja Prthu is described here (in SB 4.23.21) as dayita, for not only was he the king of the earth, but he treated the earth as his protected child. Similarly, he protected his wife also
- Maharaja Prthu underwent severe types of austerities for the express purpose of worshiping Krsna
- Maharaja Prthu was never a worshiper of the impersonal Brahman but was at all times a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhagavati brahmani refers to one who is engaged in devotional service to the Personality of Godhead
- Maharaja Prthu was one of the saktyavesa incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such he appeared on the surface of the earth to execute the orders of the Supreme
- Maharaja Prthu's activities in devotional service enabled him to become fixed and steady in the discharge of devotional activities without having to take recourse to karma, jnana or yoga
- Maharaja Prthu, practicing the pranayama-yoga system, engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as advised by the saint Sanat-kumara
- Materialistic persons who are very fond of money and great families worship different demigods to attain their desires, especially goddess Durga, Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. Such materialistic persons are called sriyaisvarya-prajepsavah
N
O
- One can gloriously become freed from all material contamination by the simple process of chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
- One can voluntarily give up this body and return home, back to Godhead
- One has to come to the brahma-bhuta stage for going back to Godhead
- One is enjoined to sit within a circle of fire, with flames blazing from four sides and the sun blazing directly overhead. This is one kind of panca-tapah recommended for austerity
- One must accept either the severe method of austerity described to become purified or take to the process of devotional service recommended for pleasing the Supreme Lord, Krsna
- One should not make distinctions between the pastimes of the Lord and the activities of Prthu Maharaja, and whenever it is possible a devotee should attempt to induce others to hear about Prthu Maharaja
- One should not only read of his (Prthu Maharaja's) pastimes for one's own benefit but should induce others to read and hear about them also. In this way everyone can be benefited
- One should not simply remain at home until the time of death, but should separate from family life at a timely moment and prepare himself to go back to Godhead
- One who has attained the ultimate summit of yoga practice can live in the body as long as he likes or, as long as he is not completely perfect, leave the body to go anywhere within or outside the universe
- One who is advanced in devotional service is never attracted by sex life, and as soon as one becomes detached from sex life and proportionately attached to the service of the Lord, he actually experiences living in the Vaikuntha planets
- One who is self-realized engages himself in the service of the Lord perpetually, both in this life and in the next. Indeed, for devotees there is no difference between this life and the next
- Only by worshiping Vasudeva can one become free from the desires of fruitive activities. Outside of worshiping Vasudeva, the yogis and jnanis cannot attain freedom from such desires
- Our life is so short that we must strictly adhere to the principles laid down by the Vaisnava acaryas and peacefully execute Krsna consciousness. There is no need to become despondent
P
- Panca-tapah refers to five kinds of heating processes
- Prthu Maharaja and his wife scorned promotion to the higher planetary systems and even to Brahmaloka because the position which they were attaining was incomparable
- Prthu Maharaja can also be called Prabhupada, or, as described herein (SB 4.23.18), prabhu. Another question may be raised in this connection
- Prthu Maharaja strictly adopted these principles for living in the forest, and sometimes he ate nothing but dried leaves and drank nothing but a little water. Sometimes he lived on nothing but air, and sometimes he ate some fruit from the trees
- Prthu Maharaja was a pure devotee, and his wife, Queen Arci, simply followed her husband. Thus they can both be considered pure devotees, and thus they are capable of performing inconceivable activities. Such activities are not possible for ordinary men
- Prthu Maharaja worshiped Krsna millions of years ago, for Prthu happened to be a descendant of the family of Maharaja Dhruva, who reigned for thirty-six thousand years during the Satya-yuga age
- Prthu Maharaja's history of devotional service is as potent as narrations about the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Prthu Maharaja's wife, Arci, was steadily determined to execute the duty of a wife, and while her husband was in the forest, she followed him in eating only fruits and leaves and lying down on the ground
- Prthu Maharaja, although a saktyavesa-avatara incarnation, still behaved exactly as a devotee in order to achieve the position of prabhu. Furthermore, svarupa-sthah means "complete liberation
- Prthu Maharaja, by the grace of Krsna, could understand that the end of his life was near, and thus he became very jubilant and proceeded to completely give up his body on the brahma-bhuta (SB 4.30.20) stage by practicing the yogic process
Q
- Queen Arci also entered Patiloka, but this planet is not in the material universe, for she actually entered the planet which her husband attained. In the material world also, when a woman dies with her husband, she again unites with him in the next birth
- Queens also instructed the general people by showing them how to become a chaste wife and follow the husband in every stage of life
R
- Real jnana means understanding that the living entity is the eternal servant of the Lord. This knowledge is attained after many, many births, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (BG 7.19): bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate
- Religious principles which are simply pretentious are actually nothing but cheating. Bhagavad-dharminah is described by Viraraghava Acarya as nivrtta-dharmena, which indicates that it cannot be contaminated by material aspiration
S
- Sanat-kumara instructed Maharaja Prthu to engage constantly in the service of the Supreme Lord, Vasudeva
- She (Visnupriyadevi) chanted her beads, and after finishing one round, she collected one grain of rice. In this way, as many rounds as she chanted, she would receive the same number of rice grains and then cook them and so take prasada
- Simply by hearing of the life and character of Maharaja Prthu, one can have both riches and children in enormous quantities. One simply has to read and understand the history, the life and activities of Prthu Maharaja
- Since a ksatriya king naturally desires to rule the world, he wishes to make all other kings subordinate to him. This was also the position many years ago when Prthu Maharaja was ruling over the earth. At that time he was the only emperor on this planet
- Since a woman's body is considerably more delicate than a man's, Queen Arci became very frail and thin, parikarsita. When one engages in austerities, his body generally becomes lean and thin
- Since hearing about Prthu Maharaja is one of the items of devotional service (sravanam), naturally hearing about him brings all good fortune
- Since his mind is transcendentally situated, he (the devotee of God) cannot think of anything but the lotus feet of the Lord. This is the meaning of the word samsmarana-anupurtya
- Since Maharaja Prthu was a saktyavesa incarnation of the Supreme Lord, he did not have to act in any way to attain liberation. He came from the Vaikuntha world, or spiritual sky, in order to execute the will of the Supreme Lord on earth
- Since Prthu Maharaj and his wife Arci were carried by two separate airplanes, it may be concluded that even after being burned in the funeral pyre they remained separate, individual persons. In other words, they never lost their identity or became void
- Since Prthu Maharaja was a perfect king, he gave protection to everyone, and therefore he is described as dayita
- Since Prthu Maharaja was a power incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, saktyavesa-avatara, why did he have to execute the regulative principles in order to become a prabhu
- Since Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted the names of the gopis, worship of the gopis or the devotees of the Lord is as good as devotional service rendered directly to the Lord
- Since the ultimate cause in the material world is mahat-tattva, everything was wound up and amalgamated with the mahat-tattva. This may be compared to sunya-vada, or voidism, but this is the process for cleansing the real spiritual mind, or consciousness
- Since there is a chance of one's falling down again into the material sky from the Brahman effulgence, Srila Jiva Gosvami advises that in this human form of life one's only aim should be to go back home, back to Godhead
- Since there were so many discrepancies during the reign of King Vena, the Lord sent His most confidential devotee Maharaja Prthu to settle things
- Some yogis leave their bodies to go to the higher planetary systems and enjoy the material facilities therein - SB 4.23.14
- Sometimes Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to chant the names of the gopis. Some of the Lord's students tried to advise Him to chant the name of Krsna instead, but upon hearing this Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very angry with His students
- Sometimes one who was formerly addicted to these processes tries to perform devotional service and the jnana and yoga practices at the same time
- Sometimes the mind (manah) is also understood to have a controlling deity or demigod. In this way the total mind, namely the material mind controlled by material demigods, was amalgamated with the senses
- Sometimes, we see that the word bhagavan is used for great personalities like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and Narada Muni. This is the case with Prthu Maharaja, who is described here (in SB 4.23.30) as the best of the bhagavans, or the best of the lords
- Sri means "beauty," aisvarya means "riches," praja means "children," and ipsavah means "desiring." As described in the Second Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, one has to worship various demigods for different types of benedictions
- Sri Rupa Gosvami also warns that too much eating and too much endeavor (atyaharah prayasas ca NOI 2) are against the principles by which one can advance in spiritual life
- Srila Bilvamangala Thakura prayed in his Krsna-karnamrta: "My dear Lord, if I have unflinching devotion to You, You become manifest before me personally
- Srila Rupa Gosvami, after retiring from his minister's seat in the government, went to Vrndavana and lived beneath a tree, like Maharaja Prthu. Since then, many people have gone to Vrndavana to imitate Rupa Gosvami's behavior
- Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura gives the following example: If one has strong digestive power, after eating he automatically lights a fire within his stomach to digest everything and does not need to take medicine to aid his digestion
- Success in yoga involves getting free from these material coverings and entering into spiritual existence. Lord Buddha's teachings of nirvana are based on this principle
- Such (inconceivable) activities are not possible for ordinary men. Indeed, ordinary men cannot even take to the devotional service of the Lord, nor can ordinary women maintain such vows of chastity and follow their husbands in all respects
- Such a devotee (neophyte devotee) should know by this instruction that the pastimes of Prthu Maharaja are nondifferent from the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
T
- Taking birth as a vaisya is not all; one must possess hundreds or thousands of animals (specifically cows) and rule over other vaisyas as Nanda Maharaja did in Vrndavana
- The aim of this particular system of asana, known as the sitting posture for liberation, or muktasana, is to attain success in kundalini-cakra
- The best man amongst all men engages in the service of the Supreme Person. One purusa is worshipable, and the other purusa is the worshiper
- The bhaktas are not interested in sense gratificatory practices; they are simply satisfied to get an opportunity to serve the Lord
- The bhakti-yogi, practicing bhakti-yoga, is always situated on the brahma-bhuta stage (brahma-bhuyaya kalpate)
- The chaste wife's duty is to keep her husband pleased in householder life in all respects, and when the husband retires from family life, she is to go to the forest and adopt the life of vanaprastha, or vana-vasi
- The controversy on this subject (chanting the names of the gopis or Krsna's name) reached a point that after this incident Caitanya Mahaprabhu decided to take sannyasa because He was not taken very seriously in His grhastha-asrama
- The entrance of a chaste wife into the flames of the pyre of her dead husband is known as saha-gamana, which means "dying with the husband." This system of saha-gamana had been practiced in Vedic civilization from time immemorial
- The fire of devotional service is so strong that a devotee does not need to act separately to attain perfect knowledge or detachment from material attractions
- The goddess of fortune in the Vaikuntha planets also serves Narayana personally, although there are many thousands of devotees prepared to serve the Lord
- The goddess of fortune mother Sita followed her husband, Ramacandra, when He went to the forest
- The grhastha-asrama is a sort of concession combining sense gratification with a regulative life. It is to enable one to easily retire in the middle of life and engage fully in austerities in order to transcend material sense gratification
- The human body is the boat, the instructions of Lord Krsna are the favorable winds, and the spiritual master is the navigator. The spiritual master knows well how to adjust the sails to catch the winds favorably and steer the boat to its destination
- The husband and wife should live in Krsna consciousness and follow in the footsteps of Laksmi-Narayana or Krsna-Rukmini. In this way peace and harmony can be possible within this world
- The jiva, or the individual living entity, becomes entrapped by the material energy by the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The jnani and yogis may rise to the highest position, Brahman realization, but because of their lack of devotion unto the lotus feet of the Lord, they again fall down into material nature
- The jnanis are also engaged in sense gratification, for they are simply interested in becoming one with the Supreme. Thus the aim of all these activities is sense gratification to a higher or a lower degree
- The jnanis, by culture of brahma-vidya, spiritual knowledge, struggle very hard to get out of the clutches of material nature, but a devotee, by dint of his advancement in devotional service, automatically becomes detached from his material body
- The karmis are engaged in performing very difficult activities, and thus they open gigantic factories, build huge cities, etc
- The karmis are very much attached to material enjoyment, the jnanis are very anxious to become freed from material clutches, and the yogis are very fond of attaining the eight kinds of mystic perfection
- The Krsna consciousness movement has been introduced in the Western countries, but it is not possible for Westerners to go to the forest and practice the severe austerities which were ideally practiced by Prthu Maharaja or Rupa Gosvami
- The ladies in the higher planetary systems were capable of seeing both downward and upward
- The living entity is wandering throughout the universes in various forms of body and becomes implicated in different situations, partaking of the reactions of fruitive activities
- The living entity, after entering a womb of a mother, also collects his gross and subtle bodies, taking ingredients from the totality of sky, air, fire, water and earth
- The Lord declares that this material world is full of miseries (asukham) and at the same time is very flickering (anityam). One's only duty is to engage himself in devotional service. This is the best end to which human life can be put
- The material body is composed of five gross elements - earth, water, fire, air and ether - and three subtle elements - mind, intelligence and ego
- The merging process involves amalgamating the effect with the original cause
- The mind was attracted by the senses and the senses by the sense objects, and all of them were ultimately amalgamated in the sky. The creation is so arranged that cause and effect follow one after the other
- The minds of those who are addicted to fruitive activity are always filled with unclean desires. Fruitive activities are symptomatic of our polluted desire to dominate material nature
- The person who is Krsna conscious is most intelligent because in Kali-yuga it is not at all possible to undergo such severe austerities. We need only follow great personalities like Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- The Personality of Godhead, after entering the universe, creates the cosmic manifestations one after another
- The position of all nondevotees, who are not interested in going back to Godhead, is very much lamentable, for the human form of life is meant for executing devotional service and nothing else
- The process of devotional service - especially hearing and chanting - is so powerful that it can bring a person to the perfectional stage
- The processes of jnana, yoga and karma are executed life after life before one gets a chance to render pure devotional service to the Lord. This chance is given by the grace of a pure devotee, and it is in this way only that one can attain liberation
- The purpose of muktasana practice is to come to the brahma-bhuta stage, for without being on the brahma-bhuta stage, one cannot be promoted to the spiritual sky
- The purpose of pranayama, or mystic yoga, is to stop the mind and senses from engaging in fruitive activities
- The Queen (Arci) should have been afraid of being alone in the forest with the body of her husband (King Prthu), but since she was a great wife of a great personality, she lamented for a while but immediately understood that she had many duties to perform
- The Queen (Arci) was completely aware that her husband (King Prthu) was not dead, although the symptoms of life - action, intelligence and sense perception - had ceased
- The results of fruitive activity and empiric philosophical speculation namely religion, economic development, sense gratification & liberation become like personal attendants & remain standing before me as if awaiting my order- said Bilvamangala Thakura
- The results of such activities are temporary. As Krsna Himself proclaims in Bhagavad-gita (BG 7.23): "The fruits (of those who worship the demigods) are limited and temporary." The fruits of the activities of the yogis, karmis and jnanis are ephemeral
- The senses, in turn, were amalgamated with the sense objects. The sense objects are forms, tastes, smells, sounds, etc. Sound is the ultimate source of the sense objects
- The sitting posture described herein (in SB 4.23.14) is called muktasana
- The so-called yogis who practice in Western countries have no idea of this. The aim of pranayama is not to make the body strong and fit for working hard. The aim is worship of Krsna
- The spiritual master is addressed as "Prabhupada" because he is a completely self-realized soul. The word pada means "position," and Prabhupada indicates that he is given the position of prabhu, or the Supreme Personality, for he acts on behalf of God
- The spiritual master represents both Lord Krsna and the Vaisnavas; therefore by following the instructions of the spiritual master and by chanting Hare Krsna, everything will be all right
- The Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all planets, and He is always anxious to see that in each and every planet the living entities are happily living and executing their duties
- The supreme Vaisnava is the spiritual master, and he is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The two purusas, the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never lose their respective identities
- The ultimate aim of yoga is to enable one to give up this body according to his own free will
- The whole purpose of the Vedic system, the Vedic social order, is to enable one to ultimately return home, back to Godhead
- The wives of the demigods condemn the performers of sense gratificatory activities as vancita, cheated. Those so engaged are actually killing themselves
- The wives of the demigods repented because although they had the opportunity of a birth in a higher planetary system a lifetime spanning millions of years & all material comforts, they were not as fortunate as Prthu and his wife, who were surpassing them
- The wives of the denizens of the higher planetary systems did not very much appreciate the results of karma, jnana and yoga
- The word bhagavad-dharminah indicates that the religious process practiced by Maharaja Prthu was beyond all pretensions
- The word bhagavan should not be used for ordinary persons
- The word bhava-sindhu-pota-pade is significant in this verse (SB 4.23.39). The lotus feet of the Lord are known as mahat-padam; this means that the total source of material existence rests on the lotus feet of the Lord
- The word naiskarmyam, which means "transcendental knowledge," is also significant
- The word padam means "abode," and bhagavat means "the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Thus the destination of the devotees is the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The word pati-loka does not refer to any planet within this material universe, for Prthu Maharaja, being topmost amongst self-realized souls, certainly returned home, back to Godhead, and attained one of the Vaikuntha planets
- The word pranayama does not refer to any ulterior motive. The actual aim is to strengthen the mind and senses in order to engage them in devotional service
- The word pranayamaih is very important in this verse (SB 4.23.8) because the hatha-yogis and astanga-yogis practice pranayama, but generally they do not know the purpose behind it
- The word sravayet indicates that one should not only read for himself, but should also induce others to read and hear. That is called preaching. Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommended this practice
- The word suprajatamah ("surrounded by many children") is very significant in this verse (SB 4.23.33), for one may have many children but may not have any qualified children
- The word urdhvam ("upward") is significant here, for the ladies speaking were from the higher planetary systems, which include the moon, sun and Venus, up to Brahmaloka, or the highest planet
- The word urdhvam indicates that the Vaikuntha planets are beyond or above these material planets, and it was to these Vaikuntha planets that Prthu Maharaja and his wife were going
- The word vaikhanasa-susammate is significant because in vanaprastha life the regulative principles are also to be strictly followed. In other words, Maharaja Prthu was an ideal character in every sphere of life
- The word visaya denotes sense gratification. The karmis flatly state that they want sense gratification. The yogis also want sense gratification, but they want it to a higher degree
- The words bhartur vrata-dharma-nisthaya indicate that a woman's duty, or religious principle, is to serve her husband in all conditions
- The words sa vancitah indicate that once a person has obtained the human form of life, he is actually cheated if he does not make preparations to go back home, back to Godhead
- The words yajnesam srir vadhur iva indicate that Queen Arci served her husband just as the goddess of fortune serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead Visnu
- The words yatha-sthanam vibhagasah indicate that one should know the process of creation and should meditate upon the creative process inversely and thus become free from material contamination
- The yogic process practiced by Prthu Maharaja at the time of death accelerates the giving up of this body while one is in sound health physically and mentally. Every devotee desires to give up the body while it is sound physically and mentally
- There are five kinds of liberation, and one is called sayujya-mukti, or merging into the existence of the Supreme, or the impersonal Brahman effulgence
- There are many fools who claim that worship of Krsna began only about five thousand years ago, after the appearance of Lord Krsna in India, but this is not a fact
- There is a type of neophyte devotee who is very anxious to hear about the pastimes of the Lord, especially the rasa-lila chapters in Srimad-Bhagavatam
- There is no duality between Visnu and the Vaisnava, and this is called advaya-jnana. A Vaisnava is as important as Visnu
- There is, however, a small chance of being promoted to a spiritual planet from the Brahman effulgence, or the brahma-jyotir
- These are some of the austerities executed by the jnanis and yogis, who cannot accept the process of bhakti-yoga. They must undergo such severe types of austerity in order to become purified from material contamination
- They (in the Vaikuntha planets husbands and wives) will never feel the sex urge. That is the test of advancement in devotional service
- They (inhabitants of the Vaikuntha planets) consider sex not to be very relishable because both husband and wife are always absorbed in Krsna consciousness and in glorifying and chanting the glories of the Lord
- They (queens) certainly never went to the forests and tolerated all the difficulties of living in the wilderness. In Vedic civilization there are hundreds of similar examples of such renunciation on the part of queens and dedication to the husband
- They (so-call yogis) engage themselves in fruitive activities, and thus they are bound by desire to accept another body. They are not aware that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Krsna
- They (yogis) strive very hard to achieve success in becoming smaller than the smallest or greater than the greatest, or in creating a planet like earth
- This (when retiring from family life, he took his wife with him) is the path that Maharaja Prthu, who was an exemplary character, followed, and this is also the way of Vedic civilization
- This great ocean of nescience is minimized by a person who is a pure devotee. One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord need not cross over the ocean, for he has already crossed it by virtue of his position at the Lord's lotus feet
- This is the sum and substance of all Vedic literatures. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah (BG 15.15). The purpose of Vedic knowledge is to understand Krsna and His devotees
- This Krsna consciousness movement is very safe and easy. We have only to execute the order of God and fully surrender unto Him. We have only to execute the order of the spiritual master, preach Krsna consciousness and follow in the path of the Vaisnavas
- This material world is full of dangers at every step, but a devotee has no fear because devotional service is so auspicious that it automatically counteracts all kinds of bad luck
- This practice (the wife serves personally the husband) is also followed by the wives of the demigods, and in days past the wives of men also followed this same principle
- This practice had to be stopped, but even today there are still some solitary cases where a wife will voluntarily enter the fire and die with her husband. Even after 1940 we personally knew of a chaste wife who died in this way
- This process of chanting the narrations of the life and character of Prthu Maharaja is recommended for conquering kings if they want to fulfill their desire to rule the world
- This type of devotee (the sahajiya class) is not on a very high level; one who sees the devotee and the Lord on the same level has further progressed
- Those devotees who are constantly engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord achieve not only all material benefits but also all spiritual benefits, for at the end of life they go back home, back to Godhead
- Those who are in Krsna consciousness, or who are practicing bhakti-yoga (sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam), can return to Godhead without even practicing the muktasana process
- Those who are practicing Krsna consciousness know that their examination will be held at the time of death. If one can remember Krsna at death, he is immediately transferred to Goloka Vrndavana
- To live in a temple is to live in Vaikuntha, which is transcendental to all the modes of material nature. This Krsna consciousness movement affords one the opportunity to live in the temple of the Lord, which is as good as Vaikuntha
- To take birth in a family of brahmanas is not the ultimate finishing touch; one must have the power of a brahmana, which is called brahma-tejas. Similarly, taking birth in a royal family is not the all in all; one must possess the power to rule the world
U
- Unfortunate persons who cannot accept this formula (chanting the Holy Name 24 hours a day) prefer to execute some type of pseudomeditation, without accepting the other processes of austerity
- Unfortunately, unless the living entity has information of the spiritual world and the Vaikunthas, there is a 99.9 percent chance of his falling down again into material existence
- Unless his total life-span was one hundred thousand years, how could Dhruva Maharaja reign over the world for thirty-six thousand years
- Unless one becomes interested in Krsna, in His pastimes and activities, there is no question of liberation by means of yoga practice or speculative knowledge
- Unless one is a prabhu, or controller of the senses, he cannot act as spiritual master, who is authorized by the supreme prabhu, or Lord Krsna
- Unless the karmis, jnanis and yogis come to the point of devotional service to Lord Krsna, their so-called austerities and yoga have no value
W
- We associate with the three qualities of material nature, our position in this material world is full of dangers, but when we engage in the devotional service of God by the process of sravanam & kirtanam, we immediately become vimukta-sanga, or liberated
- We need only take the advice of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and chant the Hare Krsna mantra to cleanse the mind of all material contamination, and this may be considered the summary of this difficult verse - SB 4.23.17
- We should not be discouraged just because we cannot go to the forest and practice severe austerities
- Westerners or anyone else can 1) follow in the footsteps of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura by living in a temple, which is transcendental to residence in a forest
- Westerners or anyone else can 2) vow to accept krsna-prasada and nothing else, follow the regulative principles and chant sixteen rounds daily of the Hare Krsna mantra. In this way, one's spiritual life will never be disturbed
- Whatever austerity, pranayama and mystic yoga practices Prthu performed were performed for the sake of worshiping Krsna. Prthu Maharaja serves as a perfect example for yogis also. Whatever he did, he did to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna
- When a girl and boy are united, both are trained for a life dedicated to a higher purpose. The boy is trained to execute his duty in accordance with the higher purpose of life, and the girl is trained to follow him
- When a living entity abandons the activities of maya and attains the position from which he can execute devotional service, his state is called svarupa-sthah, or complete liberation
- When a living entity gives up the material coverings, he remains a spirit soul. This spirit soul must enter into the spiritual sky to merge into the Brahman effulgence
- When a living entity transfers from one body to another, a process generally known as death, a sane man does not lament, for he knows that the living entity is not dead but is simply transferred from one body to another
- When a man dies, he is generally overpowered by mucus and bile, and thus he chokes. Since it is very difficult to vibrate any sound while choking, it is simply by Krsna's grace that one can chant Hare Krsna at the time of death
- When Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, His wife, Visnupriyadevi, although only sixteen years old, also took the vow of austerity due to her husband's leaving home
- When one attains that stage he can understand how he is related with the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a servant or friend or as a parent or conjugal lover. This stage of understanding is called svarupa-sthah
- When one firmly realizes Krsna as the supreme goal, he is no longer attracted by mystic yoga practice or the speculative empirical methods of knowledge
- When one is completely self-realized and acts according to that position, he can be called prabhu. The spiritual master is addressed as "Prabhupada" because he is a completely self-realized soul
- When one understands that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Krsna, he realizes Krsna within everyone's heart and helps everyone who is interested in Krsna consciousness. The perfection of life depends on one's inclination to hear about Krsna
- When one wants to cross a large ocean, he requires a strong boat. It is said that this human form of life is a good boat by which one can cross the ocean of nescience
- When one who is not inspired by material desires and is not contaminated by the processes of fruitive activity and empiric speculation fully engages in the favorable service of the Lord, his service is called bhagavad-dharma, or pure devotional service
- When Prthu Maharaja and his wife, Arci, abandoned their material bodies in the material fire, they immediately developed their spiritual bodies and entered into spiritual airplanes, which could penetrate the material elements and reach the spiritual sky
- When Prthu Maharaja became spiritually powerful by the enhancement of his spiritual knowledge (jnana) and renunciation of material desires, he became a prabhu, or master of his senses - sometimes called gosvami or svami
- When the devotee's spiritual body begins to manifest, he actually enters into his activities in transcendental life
- When the husband is king, she (the chaste wife) sits beside him as the queen, and when he goes to the forest, she also follows, despite having to tolerate all kinds of difficulties in living in the forest
- When the husband takes the renounced order of life, namely sannyasa, the wife is to return home and become a saintly woman, setting an example for her children and daughters-in-law and showing them how to live a life of austerity
- When the mind is completely washed of all material contamination, the pure consciousness acts. The sound vibration from the spiritual sky can automatically cleanse all material contaminations, as confirmed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- When the purusa who worships, the living entity, thinks of becoming one with the Supreme person, he simply becomes bewildered and falls into the darkness of ignorance
- When the spiritual spark, which is described as one ten-thousandth part of the tip of a hair, is forced into material existence, that spark is covered by gross and subtle material elements
- When the yogi reaches the ajna-cakra, between the two eyebrows, he is able to penetrate the brahma-randhra, or the hole in his skull, and go to any planet he desires, up to the spiritual kingdom of Vaikuntha, or Krsnaloka
- When they (the ladies in the higher planetary systems) looked down they could see that the body of Prthu was being burned and that his wife, Arci, was entering into the fire
- When they (the ladies in the higher planetary systems) looked upward they could see how they were being carried in two airplanes to the Vaikunthalokas. All of this is possible simply by durvibhavyena karmana, inconceivable activity
- When we speak of Visnu, we also refer to that which relates to Visnu. In the Siva Purana, Lord Siva recommends Visnu worship to be the topmost worship, and better than Visnu worship is worship of the Vaisnava or anything that is related to Visnu
- Whenever we speak of Krsna, we refer to His devotees also, for He is not alone. He is never nirvisesa or sunya, without variety, or zero. Krsna is full of variety, and as soon as Krsna is present, there cannot be any question of void
- Whether one accepts the spiritual sky as being without variety or void, there is none of the spiritual bliss which is enjoyed in the spiritual planets, the Vaikunthas or Krsnaloka
- Whether one is without desire (akama) or with desire (sakama), or whether one desires liberation (moksa-kama), he is advised to worship the Supreme Lord and execute devotional service unto Him. By so doing, one attains all perfection in any field of life