Twenty-four hours (BG and SB)

Expressions researched:
"24 hour" |"24 hours" |"twenty-four hour" |"twenty-four hours"

BG Preface and Introduction

BG Introduction:

So Lord Kṛṣṇa's instructions to Arjuna to "remember Me" and Lord Caitanya's injunction to "always chant the names of Lord Kṛṣṇa" are the same instruction. There is no difference, because Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name are nondifferent. In the absolute status there is no difference between reference and referent. Therefore we have to practice remembering the Lord always, twenty-four hours a day, by chanting His names and molding our life's activities in such a way that we can remember Him always.

How is this possible? The ācāryas give the following example. If a married woman is attached to another man, or if a man has an attachment for a woman other than his wife, then the attachment is to be considered very strong. One with such an attachment is always thinking of the loved one.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 9.22, Purport:

One who is unable to live for a moment without Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot but think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day, being engaged in devotional service by hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, rendering other services, cultivating friendship and surrendering fully to the Lord. Such activities are all auspicious and full of spiritual potencies, which make the devotee perfect in self-realization, so that his only desire is to achieve the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a devotee undoubtedly approaches the Lord without difficulty. This is called yoga. By the mercy of the Lord, such a devotee never comes back to this material condition of life. Kṣema refers to the merciful protection of the Lord. The Lord helps the devotee to achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness by yoga, and when he becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious the Lord protects him from falling down to a miserable conditioned life.

BG 9.27, Purport:

Everyone has a tendency to give something in charity; Kṛṣṇa says, "Give it to Me," and this means that all surplus money accumulated should be utilized in furthering the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Nowadays people are very much inclined to the meditational process, which is not practical in this age, but if anyone practices meditating on Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra round his beads, he is surely the greatest meditator and the greatest yogī. As substantiated by the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā.

BG 10.9, Purport:

Pure devotees, whose characteristics are mentioned here, engage themselves fully in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Their minds cannot be diverted from the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Their talks are solely on the transcendental subjects. The symptoms of the pure devotees are described in this verse specifically. Devotees of the Supreme Lord are twenty-four hours daily engaged in glorifying the qualities and pastimes of the Supreme Lord. Their hearts and souls are constantly submerged in Kṛṣṇa, and they take pleasure in discussing Him with other devotees.

In the preliminary stage of devotional service they relish the transcendental pleasure from the service itself, and in the mature stage they are actually situated in love of God. Once situated in that transcendental position, they can relish the highest perfection which is exhibited by the Lord in His abode.

BG 11.55, Purport:

Thus while working, while eating and while sleeping, he was always Kṛṣṇa conscious in every respect, but that Kṛṣṇa consciousness was not favorable, and therefore in spite of his always thinking of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day, he was considered a demon, and Kṛṣṇa at last killed him. Of course anyone who is killed by Kṛṣṇa attains salvation immediately, but that is not the aim of the pure devotee. The pure devotee does not even want salvation. He does not want to be transferred even to the highest planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana. His only objective is to serve Kṛṣṇa wherever he may be.

A devotee of Kṛṣṇa is friendly to everyone. Therefore it is said here that he has no enemy (nirvairaḥ). How is this? A devotee situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness knows that only devotional service to Kṛṣṇa can relieve a person from all the problems of life. He has personal experience of this, and therefore he wants to introduce this system, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, into human society. There are many examples in history of devotees of the Lord who risked their lives for the spreading of God consciousness.

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 18.56, Purport:

The word mad-vyapāśrayaḥ means under the protection of the Supreme Lord. To be free from material contamination, a pure devotee acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord or His representative, the spiritual master. There is no time limitation for a pure devotee. He is always, twenty-four hours a day, one hundred percent engaged in activities under the direction of the Supreme Lord. To a devotee who is thus engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness the Lord is very, very kind. In spite of all difficulties, he is eventually placed in the transcendental abode, or Kṛṣṇaloka. He is guaranteed entrance there; there is no doubt about it. In that supreme abode, there is no change; everything is eternal, imperishable and full of knowledge.

BG 18.58, Purport:

A person in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not unduly anxious about executing the duties of his existence. The foolish cannot understand this great freedom from all anxiety. For one who acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes the most intimate friend. He always looks after His friend's comfort, and He gives Himself to His friend, who is so devotedly engaged working twenty-four hours a day to please the Lord. Therefore, no one should be carried away by the false ego of the bodily concept of life. One should not falsely think himself independent of the laws of material nature or free to act. He is already under strict material laws. But as soon as he acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. One should note very carefully that one who is not active in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is losing himself in the material whirlpool, in the ocean of birth and death. No conditioned soul actually knows what is to be done and what is not to be done, but a person who acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is free to act because everything is prompted by Kṛṣṇa from within and confirmed by the spiritual master.

BG 18.65, Purport:

One should not become an official meditator. Life should be so molded that one will always have the chance to think of Kṛṣṇa. One should always act in such a way that all his daily activities are in connection with Kṛṣṇa. He should arrange his life in such a way that throughout the twenty-four hours he cannot but think of Kṛṣṇa. And the Lord's promise is that anyone who is in such pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness will certainly return to the abode of Kṛṣṇa, where he will be engaged in the association of Kṛṣṇa face to face. This most confidential part of knowledge is spoken to Arjuna because he is the dear friend of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone who follows the path of Arjuna can become a dear friend to Kṛṣṇa and obtain the same perfection as Arjuna.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.2.22, Purport:

The living entities are separated parts and parcels of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa is the original form of Godhead, and He is the last word in the Transcendence. Thus He is more attractive to the higher transcendentalists who participate in the eternal pastimes of the Lord. In forms of the Personality of Godhead other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva, there is no facility for intimate personal contact as in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord at Vrajabhūmi. The transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa are not newly accepted, as argued by some less intelligent persons; His pastimes are eternal and are manifested in due course once in a day of Brahmājī, as the sun rises on the eastern horizon at the end of every twenty-four hours.

SB 1.9.23, Purport:

Yoga means concentration of the mind detached from all other subject matter. And actually such concentration is samādhi, or cent percent engagement in the service of the Lord. And one who concentrates his attention in that manner is called a yogī. Such a yogī devotee of the Lord engages himself twenty-four hours daily in the service of the Lord so that his whole attention is engrossed with the thoughts of the Lord in ninefold devotional service, namely hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying, becoming a voluntary servant, carrying out orders, establishing a friendly relationship, or offering all that one may possess, in the service of the Lord. By such practice of yoga, or linking up in the service of the Lord, one is recognized by the Lord Himself, as it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā concerning the highest perfectional stage of samādhi.

SB 1.14.8, Purport:

These are all He Himself in different transcendental expansions, and still the Lord as Śrī Kṛṣṇa functions in a different sphere of transcendental exchange with different grades of devotees. And yet Lord Kṛṣṇa as He is appears once every twenty-four hours of Brahmā's time (or after a lapse of 8,640,000,000 solar years) in each and every universe, and all His transcendental pastimes are displayed in each and every universe in a routine spool. But in that routine spool the functions of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Vāsudeva, etc., are complex problems for the layman. There is no difference between the Lord's Self and the Lord's transcendental body. The expansions execute differential activities. When the Lord, however, appears in His person as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, His other plenary portions also join in Him by His inconceivable potency called yogamāyā, and thus the Lord Kṛṣṇa of Vṛndāvana is different from the Lord Kṛṣṇa of Mathurā or the Lord Kṛṣṇa of Dvārakā. The virāṭ-rūpa of Lord Kṛṣṇa is also different from Him, by His inconceivable potency. The virāṭ-rūpa exhibited on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra is the material conception of His form. Therefore it should be understood that when Lord Kṛṣṇa was apparently killed by the bow and arrow of the hunter, the Lord left His so-called material body in the material world.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.2.7, Purport:

As the sun appears in the morning and gradually rises to the meridian and then again sets in one hemisphere while simultaneously rising in the other, so Lord Kṛṣṇa's disappearance in one universe and the beginning of His different pastimes in another take place simultaneously. As soon as one pastime is finished here, it is manifested in another universe. And thus His nitya-līlā, or eternal pastimes, are going on without ending. As the sunrise takes place once in twenty-four hours, similarly the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa take place in a universe once in a daytime of Brahmā, the account of which is given in the Bhagavad-gītā as 4,300,000,000 solar years. But wherever the Lord is present, all His different pastimes as described in the revealed scriptures take place at regular intervals.

SB 3.15.45, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest yoga performance by trained devotional yogīs. Despite all the allurement of yoga practice, the eight kinds of yogic perfections are hardly achievable by the common man. But here it is described that the Lord, who appeared before the four sages, is Himself full of all eight of those perfections. The highest yoga-mārga process is to concentrate the mind twenty-four hours a day on Kṛṣṇa. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The yoga system, as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā or as recommended in the Patañjali yoga process, is different from the nowadays—practiced haṭha-yoga as it is generally understood in the Western countries. Real yoga practice is to control the senses and, after such control is established, to concentrate the mind on the Nārāyaṇa form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and all the other Viṣṇu forms—with four hands decorated with conch, lotus, club and wheel—are plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa.

SB 3.21.22, Purport:

The sound of this material world and that of the spiritual world are completely different. The sound of the spiritual world is nectarean and eternal, whereas the sound of the material world is hackneyed and subject to end. The sound of the holy name—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare—everlastingly increases the enthusiasm of the chanter. If one repeats monotonous material words, he will feel exhausted, but if he chants Hare Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day, he will never feel exhausted; rather, he will feel encouraged to continue chanting more and more. When the Lord replied to the sage Kardama, the word vacasāmṛtena is specifically mentioned, since He spoke from the transcendental world. He replied in transcendental words, and when He spoke His eyebrows moved with great affection. When a devotee praises the glories of the Lord, the Lord is very satisfied, and He bestows His transcendental benediction upon the devotee without reservation because He is always causelessly merciful toward His devotee.

SB 3.28.9, Purport:

These breathing exercises are performed to control the mind and fix it on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ: (SB 9.4.18) the devotee Ambarīṣa Mahārāja fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day. The process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and to hear the sound attentively so that the mind is fixed upon the transcendental vibration of Kṛṣṇa's name, which is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa the personality. The real purpose of controlling the mind by the prescribed method of clearing the passage of the life air is achieved immediately if one fixes his mind directly on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. The haṭha-yoga system, or breathing system, is especially recommended for those who are very absorbed in the concept of bodily existence, but one who can perform the simple process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa can fix the mind more easily.

SB 3.28.34, Purport:

When the mind forcibly is engaged upon the form of the Lord, this is called nirbīja-yoga, or lifeless yoga, for the yogī does not automatically engage in the personal service of the Lord. But when he is constantly thinking of the Lord, that is called sabīja-yoga, or living yoga. One has to be promoted to the platform of living yoga.

One should engage in the service of the Lord twenty-four hours a day, as confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā. The stage of premāñjana-cchurita can be attained by developing complete love. When one's love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service is fully developed, one always sees the Lord, even without artificially meditating on His form. His vision is divine because he has no other engagement. At this stage of spiritual realization it is not necessary to engage the mind artificially. Since the meditation recommended in the lower stages is a means to come to the platform of devotional service, those already engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are above such meditation.

SB 3.29.11-12, Purport:

It is specifically mentioned herein, however, that bhakti, devotional service, is meant only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, not for anyone else.

Avyavahitā means "without cessation." A pure devotee must engage in the service of the Lord twenty-four hours a day, without cessation; his life is so molded that at every minute and every second he engages in some sort of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Another meaning of the word avyavahitā is that the interest of the devotee and the interest of the Supreme Lord are on the same level. The devotee has no interest but to fulfill the transcendental desire of the Supreme Lord. Such spontaneous service unto the Supreme Lord is transcendental and is never contaminated by the material modes of nature. These are the symptoms of pure devotional service, which is free from all contamination of material nature.

SB 3.33.7, Purport:

The holy names of the Lord are innumerable, and one does not have to chant all the names to prove that he has already undergone all the processes of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. If one chants once only, it is to be understood that he has already passed all the examinations, not to speak of those who are chanting always, twenty-four hours a day. It is specifically said here, tubhyam: "unto You only." One must chant God's name, not, as the Māyāvādī philosophers say, any name, such as a demigod's name or the names of God's energies. Only the holy name of the Supreme Lord will be effective. Anyone who compares the holy name of the Supreme Lord to the names of the demigods is called pāṣaṇḍī, or an offender.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.6.35, Purport:

Lord Śiva is described here as adhīśvara. Īśvara means "controller," and adhīśvara means particularly "controller of the senses." Generally our materially contaminated senses are apt to engage in sense gratificatory activities, but when a person is elevated by wisdom and austerity, the senses then become purified, and they become engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Śiva is the emblem of such perfection, and therefore in the scriptures it is said, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is a Vaiṣṇava. Lord Śiva, by his actions within this material world, teaches all conditioned souls how to engage in devotional service twenty-four hours a day. Therefore he is described here as loka-maṅgala, good fortune personified for all conditioned souls.

SB 4.7.46, Purport:

A significant word used in this verse is trayī-gātra, which means that the transcendental form of the Lord is the Vedas. Anyone who engages in the worship of the Deity, or the form of the Lord in the temple, is understood to be studying all the Vedas twenty-four hours a day. Simply by decorating the Deities of the Lord, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, in the temple, one very minutely studies the injunctions of the Vedas. Even a neophyte devotee who simply engages in the worship of the Deity is understood to be in direct touch with the purport of Vedic knowledge. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: the purport of the Vedas is to understand Him, Kṛṣṇa. One who worships and serves Kṛṣṇa directly has understood the truths of the Vedas.

SB 4.8.61, Translation:

If one is very serious about liberation, he must stick to the process of transcendental loving service, engaging twenty-four hours a day in the highest stage of ecstasy, and he must certainly be aloof from all activities of sense gratification.

SB 4.9.11, Purport:

Only in the association of pure devotees can the words of Lord Kṛṣṇa be fully potent and relishable to the heart and ear. Dhruva Mahārāja explicitly wanted the association of devotees. That association in devotional activities is just like the waves of an incessantly flowing river. In our Krishna Consciousness Society we have full engagement twenty-four hours a day. Every moment of our time is always busily engaged in the service of the Lord. This is called the incessant flow of devotional service.

A Māyāvādī philosopher may question us, "You may be very happy in the association of devotees, but what is your plan for crossing the ocean of material existence?" Dhruva Mahārāja's answer is that it is not very difficult. He clearly says that this ocean can be crossed very easily if one simply becomes mad to hear the glories of the Lord. Bhavad-guṇa-kathā: for anyone who persistently engages in hearing the topics of the Lord from Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmṛta and who is actually addicted to this process, just as one becomes addicted to intoxicants, it is very easy to cross the nescience of material existence.

SB 4.11.12, Purport:

Dhruva Mahārāja was a pure devotee and was accustomed to always thinking of the Lord. Reciprocally, the Lord always thinks of those pure devotees who think of Him only, twenty-four hours a day. As a pure devotee does not know anything beyond the Lord, so the Lord does not know anything beyond His pure devotee. Svāyambhuva Manu pointed out this fact to Dhruva Mahārāja: "Not only are you a pure devotee, but you are recognized by all pure devotees of the Lord. You should always act in such an exemplary way that others may learn from you. Under the circumstances, it is surprising that you have killed so many faultless Yakṣas."

SB 4.12.36, Purport:

From this material world, however, people can be transferred to the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, if they incessantly engage in welfare activities for all other living entities. Such incessant welfare activities can really be performed only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no philanthropic work within this material world but Kṛṣṇa consciousness that can engage a person twenty-four hours a day.

A Kṛṣṇa conscious being is always engaged in planning how to take all of suffering humanity back home, back to Godhead. Even if one is not successful in reclaiming all the fallen souls back to Godhead, still, because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious, his path to Vaikuṇṭhaloka is open. He personally becomes qualified to enter the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, and if anyone follows such a devotee, he also enters into Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Others, who engage in envious activities, are known as karmīs. Karmīs are envious of one another. Simply for sense gratification, they can kill thousands of innocent animals.

SB 4.12.48, Purport:

Thus discussion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which describes the character and pastimes of devotees and the Lord, is very quickly effective. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been organized for this purpose. In every center of this Society—not only in the morning, evening or noon, but practically twenty-four hours a day—there is continuous devotional service going on. Anyone who comes in contact with the Society automatically becomes a devotee. We have actual experience that many karmīs and others come to the Society and find a very pleasing and peaceful atmosphere in the temples of ISKCON. In this verse the word dvi janmanām means "of the twice-born." Anyone can join the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and be initiated to become twice-born. As recommended by Sanātana Gosvāmī, by the process of initiation and authorized training, any man can become twice-born.

SB 4.13.1, Purport:

As evidenced in the topics between Vidura and Maitreya, the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the devotees are so fascinating that neither the devotee who is describing them nor the devotee who is hearing is at all fatigued by the inquiries and answers. Transcendental subject matter is so nice that no one becomes tired of hearing or speaking. Others, who are not devotees, may think, "How can people devote so much time simply to talks of God?" But devotees are never satisfied or satiated in hearing and speaking about the Supreme Personality of Godhead or about His devotees. The more they hear and talk, the more they become enthusiastic to hear. The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is simply the repetition of three words, Hare, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, but still devotees can go on chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra twenty-four hours a day without feeling fatigued.

SB 4.13.4, Purport:

The great sage Nārada's mission is to broadcast the devotional service of the Lord. For this purpose he has compiled the Nārada-pañcarātra, a directory of devotional service, so that devotees can always take information about how to execute devotional service and thus engage twenty-four hours a day in performing sacrifices for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord has created four orders of social life, namely brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. In the Nārada-pañcarātra it is very clearly described how each of the social orders can please the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.45) it is stated, sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ: by executing one's prescribed duties one can please the Supreme Lord. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.13) also it is stated, svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam: the perfection of duty is to see that by discharging one's specific duties one satisfies the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 4.13.25, Purport:

A Vedic sacrifice is not an ordinary performance. The demigods used to participate in such sacrifices, and the animals sacrificed in such performances were reincarnated with new life. In this age of Kali there are no powerful brāhmaṇas who can invite the demigods or give renewed life to animals. Formerly, the brāhmaṇas well conversant in Vedic mantras could show the potency of the mantras, but in this age, because there are no such brāhmaṇas, all such sacrifices are forbidden. The sacrifice in which horses were offered was called aśvamedha. Sometimes cows were sacrificed (gavālambha), not for eating purposes, but to give them new life in order to show the potency of the mantra. In this age, therefore, the only practical yajña is saṅkīrtana-yajña, or chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra twenty-four hours a day.

SB 4.20.11, Purport:

One should therefore not be disturbed by the action and reaction of these eight gross and subtle material elements. The practical process to attain this stage of indifference is to execute devotional service. Only one who constantly engages in devotional service twenty-four hours a day can be indifferent to the action and reaction of the external body. When a man is absorbed in a particular thought, he does not hear or see any external activities, even though they are enacted in his presence. Similarly, those who are fully absorbed in devotional service do not care what is going on with the external body. That status is called samādhi. One who is actually situated in samādhi is understood to be a first-class yogī.

SB 4.21.42, Purport:

In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we accept this principle by rejecting four prohibited items—namely illicit sex life, intoxication, gambling and flesh—eating—and accepting the daily chanting of at least sixteen rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and daily meditation three times a day by chanting the Gāyatrī mantra. In this way one can keep his brahminical culture and spiritual strength intact. By following these principles of devotional service strictly, chanting twenty-four hours a day the mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—one makes positive progress in spiritual life and ultimately becomes completely fit to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Because the ultimate goal of studying or understanding the Vedic knowledge is to find Kṛṣṇa, one who follows the Vedic principles as described above can from the very beginning see all the features of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, very distinctly, as one can see one's own face completely reflected in a clear mirror. The conclusion is, therefore, that a brāhmaṇa does not become a brāhmaṇa simply because he is a living entity or is born in a brāhmaṇa family; he must possess all the qualities mentioned in the śāstras and practice the brahminical principles in his life.

SB 4.23.7, Purport:

In order to be recognized by Kṛṣṇa, 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, without accepting the other processes of austerity. The fact is, however, that one must accept either the severe method of austerity described above to become purified or take to the process of devotional service recommended for pleasing the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. The person who is Kṛṣṇa 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 Mahāprabhu. In His Śikṣāṣṭaka, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wrote, paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam: all glories to the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which from the very beginning purify the heart and immediately liberate one. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpanam. If the real purpose of all yoga is to please Lord Kṛṣṇa, then this simple bhakti-yoga system recommended for this age is sufficient. It is necessary, however, to engage constantly in the service of the Lord.

SB 4.23.10, Translation:

Mahārāja Pṛthu thus engaged completely in devotional service, executing the rules and regulations strictly according to principles, twenty-four hours daily. Thus his love and devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, developed and became unflinching and fixed.

SB 4.24.70, Purport:

The word asakṛt is significant, for it means not just for a few minutes but continuously. That is the instruction given by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka 3. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ: (CC Adi 17.31) "The holy name of the Lord should be chanted twenty-four hours daily." Therefore in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we request the devotees to chant at least sixteen rounds on their beads daily. Actually one has to chant twenty-four hours daily, just like Ṭhākura Haridāsa, who was chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra three hundred thousand times daily. Indeed, he had no other business. Some of the Gosvāmīs, like Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, were also chanting very rigidly and also offering obeisances very rigidly. As stated in Śrīnivāsācārya's prayer to the six Gosvāmīs (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka): saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau. The word saṅkhyā-pūrvaka means "maintaining a numerical strength." Not only was Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī chanting the holy name of the Lord, but he was also offering obeisances in the same prolific numbers.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.6.16, Purport:

The pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees are recorded in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam so that those who recite these pastimes and listen to them will become purified. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). As a matter of principle, devotees should read, speak and hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam persistently, twenty-four hours daily if possible. That is the recommendation of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). One should either chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra or read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and thereby try to understand the characteristics and instructions of the Supreme Lord, who appeared as Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, Lord Kapila and Lord Kṛṣṇa. In this way one can become fully aware of the transcendental nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, one who knows the transcendental nature of the Lord's birth and activities attains liberation from material bondage and returns to Godhead.

SB 5.12.13, Purport:

The symptoms of pure devotees are described in this verse. The pure devotee is never interested in material topics. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has strictly prohibited His devotees to talk about worldly matters. Grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe: (CC Antya 6.236) one should not indulge in talking unnecessarily about news of the material world. One should not waste time in this way. This is a very important feature in the life of a devotee. A devotee has no other ambition than to serve Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started to engage people twenty-four hours daily in the service of the Lord and in His glorification. The students in this institution engage in the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness from five in the morning to ten at night. They actually have no opportunity to waste their time unnecessarily by discussing politics, sociology and current events. These will go their own way. A devotee is concerned only with serving Kṛṣṇa positively and seriously.

SB 5.14.1, Purport:

Actually city life is more dangerous than life in the forest. If one enters an unknown city without friend or shelter, living in that city is more difficult than living in a forest. There are many big cities all over the surface of the globe, and wherever one looks he sees the struggle for existence going on twenty-four hours a day, people rush about in cars going seventy and eighty miles an hour, constantly coming and going, and this sets the scene of the great struggle for existence. One has to rise early in the morning and travel in that car at breakneck speed. There is always the danger of an accident, and one has to take great care. In his automobile, the living entity is full of anxieties, and his struggle is not at all auspicious. Apart from human beings, other species like cats and dogs are also struggling very hard day and night for existence. Thus the struggle for existence continues, and the conditioned soul changes from one position to another. For a while, he is a child, but he has to become a boy. From a boy, he has to change into a youth, and from youth to manhood and old age.

SB 5.19.13, Purport:

"Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated." (BG 9.30) The only purpose of life is to be fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa and His form, pastimes, activities and qualities. If one is able to think of Kṛṣṇa in this way, twenty-four hours a day, he is already liberated (svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6)). Whereas materialists are absorbed in material thoughts and activities, devotees, on the contrary, are always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's activities. Therefore they are already on the platform of liberation. One has to think of Kṛṣṇa with full absorption at the time of death. Then he will certainly return home, back to Godhead, without a doubt.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.1.16, Purport:

Tat-puruṣa refers to a preacher of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, such as the spiritual master. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has said, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: "Without serving a bona fide spiritual master, an ideal Vaiṣṇava, who can be delivered from the clutches of māyā?" This idea is also expressed in many other places. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.2) says, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ: if one desires liberation from the clutches of māyā, one must associate with a pure devotee mahātmā. A mahātmā is one who engages twenty-four hours daily in the loving service of the Lord. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.13):

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha

daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ

bhajanty ananya-manaso

jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

"O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible."

SB 6.3.28, Purport:

Such persons complacently believe that their nations, communities or families can protect them, unaware that all such fallible soldiers will be destroyed in due course of time. In conclusion, one should try to associate with persons who engage in devotional service twenty-four hours a day.

SB 6.16.51, Purport:

Now, because of Citraketu's devotional service, he has seen the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By performing devotional service, one advances step by step, and when one is on the platform of love of Godhead (premā pumartho mahān) he sees the Supreme Lord at every moment. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, when one engages in devotional service twenty-four hours a day (teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10)) in accordance with the instructions of the spiritual master, his devotional service becomes more and more pleasing. Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is within the core of everyone's heart, speaks to the devotee (dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te). Citraketu Mahārāja was first instructed by his gurus, Aṅgirā and Nārada, and now, having followed their instructions, he has come to the stage of seeing the Supreme Lord face to face. Therefore the Lord is now instructing him in the essence of knowledge.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.1.27, Purport:

The essential point in this connection is that one should be fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, twenty-four hours a day. There are many devotees in rāga-mārga, which is exhibited in Vṛndāvana. Whether in dāsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa or mādhurya-rasa, all the devotees of Kṛṣṇa are always overwhelmed by thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa is away from Vṛndāvana tending the cows in the forest, the gopīs, in the mādhurya-rasa, are always absorbed in thoughts of how Kṛṣṇa walks in the forest. The soles of His feet are so soft that the gopīs would not dare keep His lotus feet on their soft breasts. Indeed, they consider their breasts a very hard place for the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, yet those lotus feet wander in the forest, which is full of thorny plants. The gopīs are absorbed in such thoughts at home, although Kṛṣṇa is away from them. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa plays with His young friends, mother Yaśodā is very much disturbed by thoughts that Kṛṣṇa, because of always playing and not taking His food properly, must be getting weak.

SB 7.5.23-24, Purport:

There is no way to atone for any of these offenses. It is therefore recommended that an offender at the feet of the holy name continue to chant the holy name twenty-four hours a day. Constant chanting of the holy name will make one free of offenses, and then he will gradually be elevated to the transcendental platform on which he can chant the pure holy name and thus become a lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It is recommended that even if one commits offenses, one should continue chanting the holy name. In other words, the chanting of the holy name makes one offenseless. In the book Nāma-kaumudī it is recommended that if one is an offender at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava, he should submit to that Vaiṣṇava and be excused; similarly, if one is an offender in chanting the holy name, he should submit to the holy name and thus be freed from his offenses. In this connection there is the following statement, spoken by Dakṣa to Lord Śiva: "I did not know the glories of your personality, and therefore I committed an offense at your lotus feet in the open assembly. You are so kind, however, that you did not accept my offense. Instead, when I was falling down because of accusing you, you saved me by your merciful glance. You are most great. Kindly excuse me and be satisfied with your own exalted qualities."

SB 7.5.30, Purport:

"O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible." (BG 9.13) A mahātmā is one who is constantly engaged in devotional service, twenty-four hours a day. As explained in the following verses, unless one adheres to such a great personality, one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to know where Prahlāda had gotten this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Who had taught him? Prahlāda sarcastically replied, "My dear father, persons like you never understand Kṛṣṇa. One can understand Kṛṣṇa only by serving a mahat, a great soul. Those who try to adjust material conditions are said to be chewing the chewed. No one has been able to adjust material conditions, but life after life, generation after generation, people try and repeatedly fail.

SB 7.9.46, Purport:

One who speaks about the glories of the Lord, however, has no need to be silent. Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ: (CC Adi 17.31) one should go on chanting the glories of the Lord twenty-four hours a day. There is no question of becoming mauna, or silent.

The ten processes for liberation or improvement on the path of liberation are not meant for the devotees. Kevalayā bhaktyā: if one simply engages in devotional service to the Lord, all ten methods of liberation are automatically observed. Prahlāda Mahārāja's proposal is that such processes may be recommended for the ajitendriya, those who cannot conquer their senses. Devotees, however, have already conquered their senses. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam: (CC Madhya 19.170) a devotee is already freed from material contamination.

SB 7.9.46, Purport:

There are many who like to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in a silent, solitary place, but if one is not interested in preaching, talking constantly to the nondevotees, the influence of the modes of nature is very difficult to surpass. Therefore unless one is extremely advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one should not imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who had no other business than chanting the holy name always, twenty-four hours a day. Prahlāda Mahārāja does not condemn such a process; he accepts it, but without active service to the Lord, simply by such methods one generally cannot attain liberation. One cannot attain liberation simply by false pride.

SB 7.14.20-23, Purport:

There are twenty-seven different degrees of yoga, of which the seventeenth is called Vyatīpāta. On the day when this occurs, one should perform the śrāddha ceremony. A tithi, or lunar day, consists of the distance between the longitude of the sun and that of the moon. Sometimes a tithi is less than twenty-four hours. When it starts after sunrise on a certain day and ends before the sunrise of the following day, the previous tithi and the following tithi both "touch" the twenty-four-hour day between the sunrises. This is called tryaha-sparśa, or a day touched by some portion of three tithis.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has given quotations from many śāstras stating that the śrāddha ceremony of oblations to the forefathers should not be performed on Ekādaśī tithi. When the tithi of the death anniversary falls on the Ekādaśī day, the śrāddha ceremony should be held not on Ekādaśī but on the next day, or dvādaśī.

SB 7.15.18, Purport:

A true brāhmaṇa is always satisfied. Even if he has nothing to eat, he can drink a little water and be satisfied. This is only a matter of practice. Unfortunately, however, no one is educated in how to be satisfied in self-realization. As explained above, a devotee is always satisfied because he feels the presence of the Supersoul within his heart and thinks of Him twenty-four hours a day. That is real satisfaction. A devotee is never driven by the dictations of the tongue and genitals, and thus he is never victimized by the laws of material nature.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.16.60, Purport:

The payo-vrata ceremony is performed from the first to the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of the moon, but in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped in every temple according to a schedule of twenty-four hours of engagement in performing kīrtana, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, offering palatable food to Lord Viṣṇu and distributing this food to Vaiṣṇavas and others. These are authorized activities, and if the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement stick to these principles, they will achieve the same result one gains by observing the payo-vrata ceremony. Thus the essence of all auspicious activities, such as performing yajña, giving in charity, observing vratas, and undergoing austerities, is included in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The members of this movement should immediately and sincerely follow the processes already recommended. Of course, sacrifice is meant to please Lord Viṣṇu. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ: (SB 11.5.32) in Kali-yuga, those who are intelligent perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña. One should follow this process conscientiously.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.4.18-20, Translation:

Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord's temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's temples and Kṛṣṇa's places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord's prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.

SB 9.16.24, Purport:

The seven stars revolving around the polestar at the zenith are called saptarṣi-maṇḍala. On these seven stars, which form the topmost part of our planetary system, reside seven sages: Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvāja. These seven stars are seen every night, and they each make a complete orbit around the polestar within twenty-four hours. Along with these seven stars, all the others stars also orbit from east to west. The upper portion of the universe is called the north, and the lower portion is called the south. Even in our ordinary dealings, while studying a map, we regard the upper portion of the map as north.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.1.41, Purport:

"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail." (BG 8.6) Therefore one must train the mind in the system of bhakti-yoga, as did Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, who kept himself always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18). One must fix the mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day. If the mind is fixed upon Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, the activities of the other senses will be engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: (CC Madhya 19.170) to serve Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses, with purified senses is called bhakti. Those who constantly engage in devotional service are situated in a transcendental state, above the material modes of nature. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26):

SB 10.2.38, Purport:

The demigods were jubilant not only because the appearance of the Supreme Lord would do away with the burdensome demons, but also because they would be able to see upon the ground the transcendental marks from the soles of the Lord's lotus feet. The gopīs always thought of the Lord's lotus feet when He was walking in the pasturing grounds, and, as described in the previous verse, simply by thinking of the Lord's lotus feet, the gopīs were fully absorbed in transcendence (āviṣṭa-cetā na bhavāya kalpate). Like the gopīs, one who is always absorbed in thought of the Lord is beyond the material platform and will not remain in this material world. It is our duty, therefore, always to hear, chant and think about the Lord's lotus feet, as actually done by Vaiṣṇavas who have decided to live in Vṛndāvana always and think of the Lord's lotus feet twenty-four hours a day.

SB 10.4.20, Purport:

Janma-mṛtyu jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). The body is subject to its own principles of birth, death, old age and disease, but one who is situated in spiritual life (yato bhaktir adhokṣaje) has no birth, no death, no old age and no disease. One may argue that we may see a person who is spiritually engaged twenty-four hours a day but is still suffering from disease. In fact, however, he is neither suffering nor diseased; otherwise he could not be engaged twenty-four hours a day in spiritual activities. The example may be given in this connection that sometimes dirty foam or garbage is seen floating on the water of the Ganges. This is called nīra-dharma, a function of the water. But one who goes to the Ganges does not mind the foam and dirty things floating in the water. With his hand, he pushes away such nasty things, bathes in the Ganges and gains the beneficial results. Therefore, one who is situated in the spiritual status of life is unaffected by foam and garbage—or any superficial dirty things.

SB 10.9.1-2, Purport:

It appears that mother Yaśodā did not want to forget Kṛṣṇa's activities at any time. Therefore she poeticized all of Kṛṣṇa's childhood activities, such as the killing of Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Śakaṭāsura and Tṛṇāvarta, and while churning the butter, she sang about these activities in poetical form. This should be the practice of persons eager to remain Kṛṣṇa conscious twenty-four hours a day. This incident shows how Kṛṣṇa conscious mother Yaśodā was. To stay in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should follow such persons.

SB 10.10.18, Translation:

Saintly persons (sādhus) think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day. They have no other interest. Why should people neglect the association of such exalted spiritual personalities and try to associate with materialists, taking shelter of nondevotees, most of whom are proud and rich?

SB 10.13.40, Purport:

Lord Brahmā had gone away for only a moment of his time, but when he returned, a year of human time had passed. On different planets, the calculation of time is different. To give an example, a man-made satellite may orbit the earth in an hour and twenty-five minutes and thus complete one full day, although a day ordinarily takes twenty-four hours for those living on earth. Therefore, what was but a moment for Brahmā was one year on earth. Kṛṣṇa continued to expand Himself in so many forms for one year, but by the arrangement of yogamāyā no one could understand this but Balarāma.