See Krsna face to face

Expressions researched:
"face to face" |"face-to-face" |"see" |"seeing" |"seen" |"sees"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "see* face to face"/5 or "saw face to face"/5

SB Canto 1

SB 1.9.39, Purport:

All the soldiers and persons on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained their original spiritual form like the Lord after their death because by the causeless mercy of the Lord they were able to see Him face to face on that occasion.

SB 1.10.11-12, Translation:

The intelligent, who have understood the Supreme Lord in association with pure devotees and have become freed from bad materialistic association, can never avoid hearing the glories of the Lord, even though they have heard them only once. How, then, could the Pāṇḍavas tolerate His separation, for they had been intimately associated with His person, seeing Him face to face, touching Him, conversing with Him, and sleeping, sitting and dining with Him?

SB 1.11.8, Purport:

Neither Brahmājī nor the demigods like Indra can enter into this island of Śvetadvīpa, but they can stand on the shore of the ocean of milk and transmit their message to Lord Viṣṇu, known as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore, the Lord is rarely seen by them, but the inhabitants of Dvārakā, because of their being pure devotees without any tinge of the material contamination of fruitive activities and empiric philosophical speculation, can see Him face to face by the grace of the Lord. This is the original state of the living entities and can be attained by reviving our natural and constitutional state of life, which is discovered by devotional service only.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.9.21, Translation and Purport:

I wish you good luck. O Brahmā, you may ask from Me, the giver of all benediction, all that you may desire. You may know that the ultimate benediction, as the result of all penances, is to see Me by realization.

The ultimate realization of the Supreme Truth is knowing and seeing face to face the Personality of Godhead. Realization of the impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā features of the Personality of Godhead is not ultimate realization.

SB 2.9.33, Purport:

For realization of one's self in spiritual psychology it may be convenient to assume oneself to be the same principle as the Absolute Truth, but there is always the difference of the predominated and the predominator, as clearly pointed out here in this verse, which is grossly misused by the impersonalists. Brahmā is factually seeing face to face his predominator Lord, who exists in His transcendental eternal form, even after the annihilation of the material creation.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.1.24, Purport:

Philosophically, one can understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa and His remembrance are on the absolute plane and that the very idea of searching for Him at Vṛndāvana in pure God consciousness gives more pleasure to the devotee than seeing Him face to face. Such devotees of the Lord see Him face to face at every moment, as confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38):

premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti

yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

"Those who are in ecstasy of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śyāmasundara (Kṛṣṇa), see Him always in their hearts due to love and devotional service rendered to the Lord."

SB 3.15.38, Purport:

Another significant word is samādhi-bhāgyam. Meditators who are very fortunate can see the Viṣṇu form of the Lord within their hearts by following the yogic process. But to see Him face to face is a different matter. This is only possible for pure devotees.

SB 3.15.46, Translation:

The Kumāras said: Our dear Lord, You are not manifested to rascals, even though You are seated within the heart of everyone. But as far as we are concerned, we see You face to face, although You are unlimited. The statements we have heard about You from our father, Brahmā, through the ears have now been actually realized by Your kind appearance.

SB 3.18.4, Purport:

When demons are in adversity, they think that God is hiding Himself and is working by His mystic potency. They think that if they can find God they can kill Him just by seeing Him. Hiraṇyākṣa thought that way, and he challenged the Lord: "You have done tremendous harm to our community, taking the part of the demigods, and You have killed our kinsmen in so many ways, always keeping Yourself hidden. Now I see You face to face, and I am not going to let You go. I shall kill You and save my kinsmen from Your mystic misdeeds."

SB 3.32.23, Purport:

Brahma-darśanam means to realize or to understand the Transcendence. One who engages in the service of Vāsudeva can actually realize what Brahman is. If Brahman is impersonal, then there is no question of darśanam, which means "seeing face to face." Darśanam refers to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. Unless the seer and the seen are persons, there is no darśanam. Brahma-darśanam means that as soon as one sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can at once realize what impersonal Brahman is.

SB 3.32.33, Purport:

Perceiving milk with different senses, we say that it is something white, something very delicious, something very aromatic, and so on. Actually, it is milk. Similarly, those who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by mental speculation may approach the bodily effulgence, or the impersonal Brahman, and those who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by yoga practice may find Him as the localized Supersoul, but those who are directly trying to approach the Supreme Truth by practice of bhakti-yoga can see Him face to face as the Supreme Person.

SB 3.33.6, Purport:

The Lord says that He takes charge of one who surrenders unto Him, and He makes him immune to all reactions to sinful activities. If by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead one becomes so swiftly cleared of all reactions to sinful activities, then what is to be said of those persons who see Him face to face?

SB Canto 4

SB 4.9.2, Purport:

In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38) it is said, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena: a saintly person who has developed love of Godhead by devotional service always sees the Lord's transcendental form of Śyāmasundara. This Śyāmasundara form of the Lord within the heart of a devotee is not imaginary. When a devotee becomes mature in his prosecution of devotional service, he sees face to face the same Śyāmasundara he has thought of during the entire course of his devotional service.

SB 4.9.29, Purport:

The vasudeva platform refers to the stage at which material contamination is conspicuous by absence only, or in other words where there is no question of the material modes of nature—goodness, passion and ignorance—and one can therefore see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because on the vasudeva platform one can see God face to face, the Lord is also called Vāsudeva.

SB 4.21.42, Purport:

How a devotee continuously sees Kṛṣṇa face to face within his heart is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38) as follows:

premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti

yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

The devotee, by development of pure love for Kṛṣṇa, constantly sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Śyāmasundara, within his heart. That is the perfectional stage of brahminical culture.

SB 4.24.53, Purport:

This is the real business of the yogīs: to think of the lotus feet of the Lord. Lord Śiva therefore advises that one who is actually serious about purification must engage himself in this type of meditation or in the mystic yoga system, which will help him not only to see the Lord within constantly but to see Him face to face and become His associate in Vaikuṇṭhaloka or Goloka Vṛndāvana.

SB 4.25.31, Translation:

My dear girl, your face is so beautiful with your nice eyebrows and eyes and with your bluish hair scattered about. In addition, very sweet sounds are coming from your mouth. Nonetheless, you are so covered with shyness that you do not see me face to face. I therefore request you, my dear girl, to smile and kindly raise your head to see me.

SB 4.25.31, Purport:

By avidyā (ignorance) one becomes conditioned, and by vidyā (knowledge) one becomes liberated. Purañjana admits herein that he is attracted by avidyā. Now he wishes to see the complete feature of avidyā and so requests the girl to raise her head so that he can see her face to face. He thus wishes to see the various features that make avidyā attractive.

SB 4.30.27, Purport:

It is said that all the living entities who died on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained their original constitutional position (svarūpa) because they had the chance to see Kṛṣṇa face to face riding in the chariot of Arjuna. On the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, superficially two things were going on—the demons were being killed, and the devotee, Arjuna, was being protected. However, the results were the same for everyone.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.3.3, Purport:

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (6.22), yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ. That is, "Upon gaining this, one thinks that there is no greater gain." When one realizes God and sees the Lord face to face, one certainly thinks that he has gained the best of all things. Raso 'py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate: (BG 2.59) when one experiences a higher taste, his consciousness is fixed. After seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one ceases to be attracted by anything material. One then remains steady in his worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 5.3.15, Purport:

A pure devotee never wants to see the Lord unnecessarily. The Lord is engaged in various activities, and the pure devotee does not want to see Him whimsically, for his own sense gratification. The pure devotee simply depends on the Lord's mercy, and when the Lord is pleased, he can see Him face to face.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.9.25, Purport:

However insignificant we are, we think that we are also God, that we can create a universe or that we can create another God. This is why we cannot see or understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya says:

liṅgam eva paśyāmaḥ

kadācid abhimānas tu

devānām api sann iva

prāyaḥ kāleṣu nāsty eva

tāratamyena so 'pi tu

We are all conditioned to various degrees, but we think that we are God. This is why we cannot understand who God is or see Him face to face.

SB 6.16.50, Translation:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Anantadeva, replied as follows: O King, as a result of your having accepted the instructions spoken about Me by the great sages Nārada and Aṅgirā, you have become completely aware of transcendental knowledge. Because you are now educated in the spiritual science, you have seen Me face to face. Therefore you are now completely perfect.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.9.28, Purport:

One must first be prepared to serve the spiritual master, and when one is qualified he is automatically offered the platform of direct service to the Lord. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja proposed that he engage in the service of Nārada Muni. He never proposed that he engage directly in the service of the Lord. This is the right conclusion. Therefore he said, so 'haṁ kathaṁ nu visṛje tava bhṛtya-sevām: "How can I give up the service of my spiritual master, who has favored me in such a way that I am now able to see You face to face?" Prahlāda Mahārāja prayed to the Lord that he might continue to engage in the service of his spiritual master, Nārada Muni.

SB 7.9.36, Purport:

Lord Brahmā, being completely pure, could see the original form of the Lord as Viṣṇu, having many thousands of faces and forms. This process is called self-realization. Genuine self-realization consists not of perceiving the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, but seeing face to face the transcendental form of the Lord.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.5.46, Purport:

All the incarnations described in the śāstras act wonderfully (keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare). It is only by the personal sweet will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that He appears and disappears, and only fortunate devotees can expect to see Him face to face.

SB 8.6.12, Purport:

Only by the practice of bhakti-yoga can one achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and see Him face to face (premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38)). One cannot see the Lord by other methods, such as karma, jñāna or yoga.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.10 Summary:

By the curse of the devarṣi, Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva became twin arjuna trees and remained in the courtyard of mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja, waiting for the opportunity to see Kṛṣṇa directly. Lord Kṛṣṇa, by the desire of His devotee, uprooted these yamala-arjuna trees, and when Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva were thus delivered by Kṛṣṇa after one hundred years of the devas, their old consciousness revived, and they offered Kṛṣṇa prayers suitable to be offered by demigods. Having thus gotten the opportunity to see Kṛṣṇa face to face, they understood how merciful Nārada Muni was, and therefore they expressed their indebtedness to him and thanked him.

SB 10.10.25, Purport:

It is not that because one is very rich or learned or was born in an aristocratic family one will be able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. This is impossible. But in this case, because Nārada Muni desired that Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva see Vāsudeva face to face, the Supreme Personality of Godhead wanted to fulfill the words of His very dear devotee Nārada Muni. If one seeks the favor of a devotee instead of directly asking favors from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is very easily successful.

SB 10.10.37, Translation:

O supreme form, we are always servants of Your servants, especially of Nārada Muni. Now give us permission to leave for our home. It is by the grace and mercy of Nārada Muni that we have been able to see You face to face.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.96, Purport:

The pradhāna, the chief cause of all causes in the impersonal vision, is none other than the Supreme Lord, whom one can see face to face in the internal potency. He takes the material all-pervasive form by His inconceivable power.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.56, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught everyone that one should not be overly anxious to see the Lord, but should rather feel separation from Him in ecstasy. It is actually better to feel separation from Him than to desire to see Him face to face.

CC Madhya 13.155, Purport:

Devotees who are always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa will soon see Kṛṣṇa face to face without a doubt. In other words, devotees who are always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and are fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa certainly return home, back to Godhead. They then see Kṛṣṇa directly, face to face, talk with Him and enjoy His company. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 10:

In some of the Purāṇas the evidence is given that if someone is simply meditating on devotional activities, he has achieved the desired result and has seen face to face the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 2:

"Dear Lord, You appear in Your eternal transcendental form for the benefit of the living entities so that they can see You face to face and offer their worshipful sacrifices by ritualistic performance of the Vedas, mystic meditation and devotional service as recommended in the scriptures. Dear Lord, if You did not appear in Your eternal transcendental form, full of bliss and knowledge—a form which can eradicate all kinds of speculative ignorance about Your position—then all people would simply speculate about You according to their respective modes of material nature."

Krsna Book 12:

One may search for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the pages of the Vedas and Upaniṣads, but it is difficult to find Him there. However, one who is fortunate enough to associate with a devotee can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. After accumulating pious activities in many, many previous lives, the cowherd boys were seeing Kṛṣṇa face to face and playing with Him as friends. They could not understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they were playing as intimate friends with intense love for Him.

Krsna Book 29:

The chastity of women is specifically stressed herein by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore this principle should be followed by any serious woman who wants to be elevated to a higher status of life. Kṛṣṇa is the center of all affection for all living creatures. When this affection is developed for Kṛṣṇa, one surpasses and transcends all Vedic injunctions. This was possible for the gopīs because they saw Kṛṣṇa face to face. This is not possible for any women in the conditioned state.

Krsna Book 38:

Akrūra also considered that he was very much favored by Kaṁsa, who was sending him to bring back Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and thus enabling him to see the Lord. Akrūra continued to consider that formerly great sages and saintly persons were liberated from the material world simply by seeing the shining nails of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa."That Supreme Personality of Godhead has now come just like an ordinary human being, and it is my great fortune to be able to see Him face to face," Akrūra thought.

Krsna Book 43:

The citizens of Mathurā City who saw Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, became very much pleased and began to look on His face with insatiable glances, as if they were drinking the nectar of heaven. Seeing Kṛṣṇa gave them so much pleasure that it appeared as if they were not only drinking the nectar of seeing His face but were also smelling the aroma and licking up the taste of His body and were embracing Him and Balarāma with their arms. They began to talk among themselves about the two transcendental brothers. For a long time they had heard of the beauty and activities of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, but now they were personally seeing Them face to face. They thought that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were two plenary incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, who had appeared in Vṛndāvana.

Krsna Book 58:

As mentioned in the last chapter, there was a great rumor that the five Pāṇḍava brothers, along with their mother, Kuntī, had died, according to the plan of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, in a fire accident in the house of lac in which they were living. But then the five brothers were detected at the marriage ceremony of Draupadī, so another rumor spread that the Pāṇḍavas and their mother were not dead. It was a rumor, but actually it was so; they returned to their capital city, Hastināpura, and people saw them face to face. When this news was carried to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa wanted to see them personally, and therefore He decided to go to Hastināpura.

Krsna Book 64:

"There are many great mystic yogīs who have the eyes to see You through the Vedas and Upaniṣads. To achieve the elevated position of realizing that they are equal in quality with You, they always meditate on You within their hearts. But although such exalted saintly persons may see You constantly within their hearts, they still cannot see You face to face. Therefore I am very much surprised that I am able to see You personally."

Krsna Book 86:

"The atheistic class of men simply observe the activities of material nature but cannot find You as the original background. A devotee, however, can immediately see Your hand in every movement of material nature. The curtain of yogamāyā cannot cover the eyes of the devotee of Your Lordship, but it can cover the eyes of the nondevotee. The nondevotee is unable to see You face to face, just as a person whose eyes are blocked by the covering of a cloud cannot see the sun, although persons flying above the cloud can see the sunshine brilliantly, as it is."

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.10 -- London, July 12, 1973:

Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam... (Brs. 1.2.234). Kṛṣṇa will appear. Kṛṣṇa... You cannot see Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible. You cannot order Kṛṣṇa, "Please come, I will see You." No. When He is pleased with your service, He will come. "Yes, I am here. See Me." That is the history. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja. Dhruva Mahārāja was meditating, and within six months, he saw Kṛṣṇa, face to face. So everyone can see. Everyone will be able, provided we utilize the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau. Jihvādau. Jihvādau means "beginning with the tongue." We have got senses, all senses, eyes, ears, touch, so many senses. But begin with the sense, tongue. Try to control the tongue and engage in Kṛṣṇa's service.

Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968:

Just like we are sitting face to face, Kṛṣṇa is like that. You can have that opportunity. Just like Arjuna had the opportunity. Similarly you'll have the opportunity. You have to take the opportunity. You'll see Kṛṣṇa face to face, talk with Him face to face, play with Him face to face. It is so nice, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 4.11 -- New York, July 27, 1966:

So everything depends on me. I can see God. Just like I am seeing you face to face, you are seeing me face to face, similarly, you can see Kṛṣṇa face to face. Just like Arjuna saw face to face. Why? Because the relationship was so nice that they were in friendly relation. So seeing of God is not very difficult. Simply we have to acquire that qualification.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.8.42 -- Los Angeles, May 4, 1973:

Similarly, because you have engaged yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, avyarthe kalatvaṁ nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ. This is called firm faith, that "Now, because I am engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness business, so I must be able to face Kṛṣṇa, face to face, see Kṛṣṇa, face to face." That I must have. So don't be disappointed. Go on with your Kṛṣṇa consciousness activities. Time will come when you'll see Kṛṣṇa, just like Kuntī is seeing, face to face. There is no doubt about it.

Lecture on SB 2.9.4 -- Japan, April 22, 1972:

Purification means that one will be able to see God face to face. That is purification. Just like in the sky, as soon as the cloud is moved, dissipated, you can see the sun immediately. This is the process. God is everywhere, within and without. So why He is not seen? Because our senses are not perfect.

Lecture on SB 3.25.26 -- Bombay, November 26, 1974:

So the bhakti gives you chance to see Kṛṣṇa, as you can see now. On this seeing or any other kind of seeing, they are the same thing. There is no difference. When Arjuna was seeing Kṛṣṇa face to face—Kṛṣṇa was teaching Bhagavad-gītā—that seeing of Kṛṣṇa and when you read Bhagavad-gītā, it is the same thing. There is no difference. Somebody, they say that "Arjuna was fortunate enough to see Kṛṣṇa face to face and take instruction." That is not correct. Kṛṣṇa, He can be seen immediately, provided you have got eyes to see.

Lecture on SB 7.5.1, Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, January 12, 1973:

Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ. Kṛṣṇa is the nāminoḥ, and Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is His name. But they are abhinna. Otherwise how this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is being so quickly appreciated all over the world? Because there is no difference between chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and meeting Kṛṣṇa eye to eye, face to face. There is no difference. Simply one has to realize. The more you become purified by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, you see Kṛṣṇa face to face. People are asking, "Can you show me God?" You can see God. Simply prepare your eyes. Simply prepare your ears. You will... By hearing.

Lecture on SB 7.9.9 -- Montreal, July 4, 1968:

And this is the arrangement—Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you make this arrangement complete, then you will see God face to face. Not only that, that you will see God face to face after this life. No. Even in this life also you will see God face to face. Premāñjana-cchurita. And what is that qualification? The qualification is love. Simply you are loving so many things. That is not giving you satisfaction. You try to develop your love which is already dormant in you, and when you are efficient in loving God, you will see God face to face.

Lecture on SB 7.9.9 -- Montreal, July 4, 1968:

Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). The Brahma-saṁhitā says that those who have developed love of God and smeared the eyes with the ointment of love, but by that ointment the sight of your eyes, the material eyesight, will be clear. Just like you sometimes apply medicine on your eyes to see clear, similarly, there is a process to make your eyesight clear to see God. That's all. Not that stop seeing, but clear the eyesight. Purify your senses. That is called bhakti. Bhakti means the process of purifying the senses. That's all. And as soon as your senses are purified, transcendentalized, you see God face to face.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 6, 1972:

Even a great sage like Durvāsā was not excused. He was so great, Durvāsā, that he could go personally to all the lokas, Brahma-loka, Śiva-loka, Viṣṇuloka. Personally he could go, by his yogic power. Just imagine how much he was powerful. He saw face to face Lord Viṣṇu and requested Him to give him protection from the sudarśana-cakra, and Viṣṇu refused: "So I cannot give you protection because you are offender to a Vaiṣṇava. Only Ambarīṣa Mahārāja can give you protection." Just see.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 25.36-40 -- San Francisco, January 23, 1967:

One who has understood the Absolute Truth, for him, there is nothing unknowable. Everything becomes revealed to him automatically. He hasn't got to exert separately to understand or to study different departments of knowledge. But if he, by the process, if he is able to see, just like Brahmā has seen, then he knows everything. Dhyāne sma no daraśitaṁ ta upāsakānām tasmai namo bhagavate 'nuvidhema tubhyam: "The same Personality of Godhead whom I saw in my meditation, now I see face to face. I offer my respectful obeisances."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 25.36-40 -- San Francisco, January 23, 1967:

There are two mistakes: to understand God as common man or to accept a common man as God. Both things are mistake. So one has to understand. That understanding is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. God Himself, Kṛṣṇa Himself, is describing about Himself, so there is no difficulty. But unfortunately, we have developed such material consciousness that even God describes Himself, even we see God face to face, because we have no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, therefore we cannot see.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Address -- London, September 11, 1969:

There is God. As we are sitting here face to face, you can see God face to face. If you are sincere and if you are serious, that is possible. Unfortunately, we are trying to forget God; therefore we are embracing so many miseries of life. So I am simply preaching that you have Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be happy. Don't be swayed away by these nonsense waves of māyā, or illusion. That is my request.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, October 9, 1968:

Because my life is meant for satisfying God, but understanding that God is not present in my front, I cannot see Him face to face, how can I know that He is satisfied or not? But there are books, scriptures, literatures. Apart from that, the Vedic injunction is that tad-vijñānārtham. In order to understand whether your action or activities has pleased the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you have to take information from the guru, or the spiritual master. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet. Abhigacchet means "must." And in the Viśvanātha Cakravartī's prayer for the spiritual master, this is also said: yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasāda. The last version of his prayer is yasya, "whose"; prasādāt, "satisfaction"; bhagavat-prasāda, "the Supreme Lord is satisfied." This is the test.

Lecture at Harvard University -- Boston, December 24, 1969:

God is unlimited, and we are very limited. Our knowledge is limited because our senses, the instruments by which we acquire knowledge, that is imperfect and limited. Just like my eyes. I cannot see perfectly. I cannot see the eyelid. I cannot see the distant place. Although I am very proud that "I want to see face to face," but what you can see? What is your value of your instrument, seeing? That is imperfect. Therefore we cannot get perfect knowledge by these imperfect senses.

Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan -- Bombay, March 26, 1971:

Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā that "I am not visible to everyone. Because yogamāyā, there is a curtain between Me and the material world, which is called yogamāyā." So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, or devotional movement, is a process by which we can move that curtain and we can see Kṛṣṇa face to face. This is the process.

Lecture -- Tokyo, May 1, 1972:

The yogi, by meditation, being in samādhi, they are seeing the Absolute Truth, Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, within the heart. Dhyānāvasthita. And those who are devotees, they are seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Arjuna is seeing, personally, face to face: Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of everything.

Departure Talks

Departure Lecture -- Caracas, February 25, 1975:

So my request is that you continue your devotional service very faithfully and rigidly, then in this life you will be able to see Kṛṣṇa face to face. That is a fact. So you follow the advice, as given by Rūpa Gosvāmī, utsāhāt. The first thing is enthusiasm, that "I must see Kṛṣṇa." You are seeing Kṛṣṇa. The Deity of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa is not different. But even personally we can see. Simply we have to continue the enthusiasm.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Prabhupāda: He descends for two reasons: paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8), for relief of the devotees. Devotees are always anxious to see God, but somehow or other they are unable to see. Of course, they are seeing God, but at the same time face to face(?). So in order to give them relief God descends to be seen face to face. The other reason is that vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: rascals, miscreants, to kill them. Just like Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kaṁsa, Rāvaṇa, they are the symbolic representations of miscreants. So to kill them. Two things.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- July 2, 1975, Denver:

Prabhupāda: If you are suffering from cataract, how you can see distinctly? You have to get your eyes operated. Then you can see. So our bhakti process is simply purifying, purifying, more, more, more. When you are completely purified, you see God face to face, eye to eye, talk with Him, play with Him, just like cowherds boys, they are playing, the gopīs are dancing. You get that position.

Morning Walk -- December 10, 1975, Vrndavana:

Harikeśa: What do you think fully Kṛṣṇa concious means? You tell Prabhupāda.

Viśāla: It's to see Kṛṣṇa face to face?

Prabhupāda: That means Kṛṣṇa conscious? Everyone is seeing Kṛṣṇa face to face. When you go to the temple Kṛṣṇa is there, and you are seeing. Does it mean everyone is Kṛṣṇa conscious?

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 18, 1976, Mayapur:

Devotee (1): (break) They couldn't see the Lord face to face?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Dhruva Mahārāja saw face to face.

Evening Darsana -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Any human being who adopts this process will understand. So ask any one of them, these European, American boys, "Are you sticking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness sentimentally or understanding?" Ask them. They will explain, "Yes, understanding." Not blindly. Blindly one cannot stick—that is not possible. No, there is God, there is possibility to come in touch with God, there is possibility to serve Him directly, to see Him face to face, if we adopt the process.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Citsukhananda -- Los Angeles 28 April, 1970:

Regarding your second question, in reference to Isopanisad mantra 15, should a devotee ask the Lord to reveal Himself the answer is yes. Unless the Lord reveals Himself, the devotee cannot see Him, He reserves the right of being exposed or not being exposed. The yoga maya curtain is always covering the Lord, and in the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says, "I am not visible to everyone." Even in the material world, a man in the position of Presidentship is not visible to everyone. So one has to qualify himself by devotional service, then God will reveal Himself. So this Isopanisad mantra is an appeal by the devotee to move the veil of yoga maya or the glaring effulgence of Brahma so that the devotee can see Him face to face. The idea is one has to transcend the material conditions as well as the Brahma effulgence, then one can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Here the word "face" means the Absolute Truth is a Person. That is the most important point, that God is ultimately a Person.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Bali-mardana -- Calcutta 5 March, 1972:

Practically now it is in the hands of you big guns to manage everything so that there may never be internal difficulties amongst us, and so that we may always go on increasing more and more the influence of Lord Caitanya's philosophy of Sankirtana process upon all the world. That will be your great achievement, and if you go on helping me in this way, you may know it for certain that very soon you will see Krishna face-to-face. In short words, I am very much fond of these booklets, now go on increasing.

Letter to Billy Reyburne -- Vrindaban 12 March, 1972:

No one should write songs of Krishna unless he is self-realized soul, that will spoil the value of the whole thing. But try to use your writing and singing talent for Krishna's preaching work, by writing articles, singing the kirtana, like that. Than you will be happy, and I think you should without further delay try to become devotees as the others are doing and live with us and practice the regulative principles of brahmacari life. In this way, become determined to fix your all attention for seeing Krishna face to face by the Krishna Consciousness process and than you shall qualify yourself for writing songs about Krishna and you chant always this Hare Krishna mantra you can come to the highest point of seeing Krishna very soon, you may know it for certain.

Letter to Bhagavatananda -- New York 8 July, 1972:

Try to always study our books and see our philosophy from different lights of directions, become convinced yourself of this knowledge and without a doubt all of your difficulties of mind will disappear forever and you will see Krishna face-to-face.

Letter to Aksayananda -- Vrndavana October 27, 1972:

Regarding your questions, in the spiritual sky everything is spiritual, so Krsna has no need for living in the heart. They are seeing Krsna face to face always, so what is the use of being in heart? Outside, inside, they are the same, even their heart that is also sat-cid-ananda. There is no mechanical arrangement like this material body for anyone in the spiritual sky, what to speak of Krsna.

Letter to Sankarasana -- Bombay 18 December, 1972:

If any Vaisnava is writing song about Krishna, he should have realized himself what is Krishna, just like our great saints and acaryas like Madhvacarya, Ramanujacarya, Rupa Goswami, six Gosvamis, Bilvamangala, Bhaktivinode Thakura, like that. They are self-realized souls, therefore if they write something song about Krishna that will be perfectly from the transcendental platform, without any tinge of mundane influence or nonsense imagination. Unless he comes in the category of these big Vaisnava personalities, his manufacturing some songs will be misleading to himself and to others. And unless his writing of songs can be accepted as gospel, like Vedas, then such writing is simply disturbance and is diverting the attention from the subject matter only. That songs writing we cannot regard very seriously. That will spoil the whole thing. But you can utilize your propensity to write poems and articles for BTG, for singing in the kirtana, like that. That will make you very happy. Now you just apply yourself for becoming qualified to see Krishna face-to-face, then you will be able to actually write songs about Krishna.