No one can bring the activities of the mind and senses to a stop, but one can purify these activities through a change in consciousness. This change is indicated in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.39), where Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna of the knowledge of yoga whereby one can work without fruitive results: "O son of Pṛthā, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of works." A human being is sometimes restricted in sense gratification due to certain circumstances, such as disease, but such proscriptions are for the less intelligent. Without knowing the actual process by which the mind and senses can be controlled, less intelligent men may try to stop the mind and senses by force, but ultimately they give in to them and are carried away by the waves of sense gratification.
Whereby
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
These are transcendental, beyond both body and mind. Self-realization is sought by the path of knowledge, by the practice of the eightfold system or by bhakti-yoga. In each of these processes one has to realize the constitutional position of the living entity, his relationship with God, and the activities whereby he can reestablish the lost link and achieve the highest perfectional stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Following any of the above-mentioned three methods, one is sure to reach the supreme goal sooner or later. This was asserted by the Lord in the Second Chapter: even a little endeavor on the transcendental path offers a great hope for deliverance. Out of these three methods, the path of bhakti-yoga is especially suitable for this age because it is the most direct method of God realization. To be doubly assured, Arjuna is asking Lord Kṛṣṇa to confirm His former statement. One may sincerely accept the path of self-realization, but the process of cultivation of knowledge and the practice of the eightfold yoga system are generally very difficult for this age. Therefore, despite constant endeavor one may fail, for many reasons. First of all, one may not be sufficiently serious about following the process. To pursue the transcendental path is more or less to declare war on the illusory energy.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 2
The spiritual master must be satisfied with the disciple; only then is knowledge automatically manifest before the student of spiritual science. The process should not, however, be misunderstood to be something like magical feats whereby the spiritual master acts like a magician and injects spiritual knowledge into his disciple, as if surcharging him with an electrical current. The bona fide spiritual master reasonably explains everything to the disciple on the authorities of Vedic wisdom. The disciple can receive such teachings not exactly intellectually, but by submissive inquiries and a service attitude. The idea is that both the spiritual master and the disciple must be bona fide. In this case, the spiritual master, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, is ready to recite exactly what he has learned from his great father Śrīla Vyāsadeva, and the disciple, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, is a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is he who believes sincerely that by becoming a devotee of the Lord one becomes fully equipped with everything spiritual. This teaching is imparted by the Lord Himself in the pages of the Bhagavad-gītā, in which it is clearly described that the Lord (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) is everything, and that to surrender unto Him solely and wholly makes one the most perfectly pious man.
He is always in His transcendental position, but essentially He is everything, and nothing is apart from Him. As a part of Him, one should therefore concentrate on Him only, without deviation; otherwise one is sure to be overcome by the potencies of the material creation, one after another. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.7) as follows:
- sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya
- prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām
- kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni
- kalpādau visṛjāmy aham
"O son of Kuntī, at the end of the millennium every material manifestation enters into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I again create."
The human life, however, is an opportunity to get out of this repetition of creation and annihilation. It is a means whereby one may escape the Lord's external potency and enter into His internal potency.
SB Canto 3
In both these families there is a good opportunity to revive one's sense of God consciousness automatically because particularly in these families the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa is regularly performed and the child gets the opportunity to imitate the process of worship called arcanā.
The pāñcarātrikī formula for training persons in devotional service is temple worship, whereby the neophytes get the opportunity to learn devotional service to the Lord. Mahārāja Parīkṣit also used to play with Kṛṣṇa dolls in his childhood. In India the children in good families are still given dolls of the Lord like Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, or sometimes the demigods, so that they may develop the aptitude of service to the Lord. By the grace of the Lord we were given the same opportunity by our parents, and the beginning of our life was based on this principle.
The two demons born of Diti began to make their bodies as strong as iron frames, and they were so tall that they seemed to touch outer space. They were decorated with valuable ornaments, and they thought that this was success in life. Originally it was planned that Jaya and Vijaya, the two doorkeepers of Vaikuṇṭha, were to take birth in this material world, where, by the curse of the sages, they were to play the part of always being angry with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As demoniac persons, they became so angry that they were not concerned with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but simply with physical comforts and physical upliftment.
In sex life, the combination of matter from the parents, which involves emulsification and secretion, creates the situation whereby a soul is received within matter, and the combination of matter gradually develops into a complete body. The same principle exists in the universal creation: the ingredients were present, but only when the Lord entered into the material elements was matter actually agitated. That is the cause of creation. We can see this in our ordinary experience. Although we may have clay, water and fire, the elements take the shape of a brick only when we labor to combine them. Without the living energy, there is no possibility that matter can take shape. Similarly, this material world does not develop unless agitated by the Supreme Lord as the virāṭ-puruṣa. Yasmād udatiṣṭhad asau virāṭ: by His agitation, space was created, and the universal form of the Lord also manifested therein.
SB Canto 4
This is the covering influence of māyā. But the human form of life is a chance to understand, and if one misses this opportunity, he is most unfortunate. The way to get out of illusory māyā is to engage in the topics of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya advocated a process whereby everyone may remain in his present position without change but simply hear from the proper authoritative sources about Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya advised everyone to spread the word of Kṛṣṇa. He advised, "All of you become spiritual masters. Your duty is simply to talk to whomever you meet of Kṛṣṇa or of the instructions given by Kṛṣṇa." The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is operating for this purpose. We do not ask anyone to first change his position and then come to us. Instead, we invite everyone to come with us and simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, because we know that if one simply chants and hears the topics of Kṛṣṇa, one's life will change; he will see a new light, and his life will be successful.
Thus the devotee, being frustrated in his repeated attempts at economic development, ultimately takes solid shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord. This kind of action may also be accepted as īśa-vidhvaṁ-sitāśiṣām, whereby the Lord destroys one's material opulences but enriches one in spiritual understanding. In the course of our preaching work, we sometimes see that materialistic persons come to us and offer their obeisances to take blessings, which means they want more and more material opulences. If such material opulences are checked, such persons are no longer interested in offering obeisances to the devotees. Such materialistic persons are always concerned about their economic development. They offer obeisances to saintly persons or the Supreme Lord and give something in charity for preaching work with a view that they will be rewarded with further economic development.
SB Canto 5
When sattva-guṇa is never contaminated by rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, it is called śuddha-sattva. Sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam (SB 4.3.23). That is the platform of vasudeva, whereby the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, can be experienced. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.7) Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself says:
- yadā yadā hi dharmasya
- glānir bhavati bhārata
- abhyutthānam adharmasya
- tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself."
Unlike ordinary living entities, the Supreme Lord is not forced by the modes of material nature to appear. He appears dharmān darśayitu-kāma—to show how to execute the functions of a human being. The word dharma is meant for human beings and is never used in connection with beings inferior to human beings, such as animals. Unfortunately, without being guided by the Supreme Lord, human beings sometimes manufacture a process of dharma by concoction.
Due to getting a perfect son according to his desire, King Nābhi was always overwhelmed with transcendental bliss and was very affectionate to his son. It was with ecstasy and a faltering voice that he addressed Him, "My dear son, my darling." This mentality was brought about by yogamāyā, whereby he accepted the Supreme Lord, the supreme father, as his own son. Out of His supreme good will, the Lord became his son and dealt with everyone as if He were an ordinary human being. Thus King Nābhi began to raise his transcendental son with great affection, and he was overwhelmed with transcendental bliss, joy and devotion.
Sex serves as the natural attraction between man and woman, and when they are married, their relationship becomes more involved. Due to the entangling relationship between man and woman, there is a sense of illusion whereby one thinks, "This man is my husband," or "This woman is my wife." This is called hṛdaya-granthi, "the hard knot in the heart." This knot is very difficult to undo, even though a man and woman separate either for the principles of varṇāśrama or simply to get a divorce. In any case, the man always thinks of the woman, and the woman always thinks of the man. Thus a person becomes materially attached to family, property and children, although all of these are temporary. The possessor unfortunately identifies with his property and wealth. Sometimes, even after renunciation, one becomes attached to a temple or to the few things that constitute the property of a sannyāsī, but such attachment is not as strong as family attachment. The attachment to the family is the strongest illusion. In the Satya-saṁhitā, it is stated:
They will keep themselves unclean and will not wash their mouths. Jains refer to Lord Ṛṣabhadeva as their original preceptor. If such people are serious followers of Ṛṣabhadeva, they must also take His instructions. In the Fifth Chapter of this canto, Ṛṣabhadeva gave His one hundred sons instructions whereby they could become free from the clutches of māyā. If one actually follows Ṛṣabhadeva, he will certainly be delivered from the clutches of māyā and return home, back to Godhead. If one strictly follows the instructions of Ṛṣabhadeva given in the Fifth Chapter, he will certainly be liberated. Lord Ṛṣabhadeva incarnated specifically to deliver these fallen souls.
Not knowing the aim of life, the materialist perpetually wanders in material existence, struggling to get the necessities of life. Not understanding the aim of life, even though he acquires sufficient necessities, he manufactures artificial necessities and thus becomes more and more entangled. He creates a mental situation whereby he needs greater and greater comforts. The materialist does not know the secret of nature's ways. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27):
- prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
- guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
- ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
- kartāham iti manyate
"The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities which are in actuality carried out by nature." Due to lusty desire, the living entity creates a certain mental situation whereby he wants to enjoy this material world. He thus becomes entangled, enters different bodies and suffers in them.
Not knowing the value of life, karmīs create situations whereby they suffer in this life and the next. Unfortunately, karmīs are very attached to material sense gratification, and they cannot appreciate the miserable condition of material life, neither in this life nor in the next. Therefore the Vedas enjoin that one should awaken to spiritual consciousness and utilize all his activities to attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.27):
- yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
- yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
- yat tapasyasi kaunteya
- tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam
"O son of Kuntī, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me."
The earth over which Mahārāja Gaya ruled is compared to a cow. The good qualities whereby he maintained and ruled the citizens are compared to the calf. A cow delivers milk in the presence of her calf; similarly the cow, or earth, fulfilled the desires of Mahārāja Gaya, who was able to utilize all the resources of the earth to benefit his citizens. This was possible because he was bathed in sanctified water by the honest daughters of Dakṣa. Unless a king or ruler is blessed by authorities, he cannot rule the citizens very satisfactorily. Through the good qualities of the ruler, the citizens become very happy and well qualified.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Preface and Introduction
CC Madhya-lila
Formerly, at the end of Dvāpara-yuga, all the cowherd men of Vṛndāvana had arranged to worship King Indra, but they gave this worship up, following the advice of Kṛṣṇa. Instead, they performed a ceremony whereby they worshiped the cows, brāhmaṇas and Govardhana Hill. At that time Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself and declared, "I am Govardhana Hill." In this way He accepted all the paraphernalia and food offered to Govardhana Hill. It is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.24.26, 31–33):
- pacyantāṁ vividhāḥ pākāḥ sūpāntāḥ pāyasādayaḥ
- saṁyāvā-pūpa-śaṣkulyaḥ sarva-dohaś ca gṛhyatām
- kālātmanā bhagavatā śakra-darpaṁ jighāṁsatā
- proktaṁ niśamya nandādyāḥ sādhv agṛhṇanta tad-vacaḥ
- tathā ca vyadadhuḥ sarvaṁ yathāha madhusūdanaḥ
- vācayitvā svasty-ayanaṁ tad-dravyeṇa giri-dvijān
- upahṛtya balīn sarvān ādṛtā yavasaṁ gavām
- go-dhanāni puras-kṛtya giriṁ cakruḥ pradakṣiṇam
“"Prepare very nice foods of all descriptions from the grains and ghee collected for the yajña. Prepare rice, dhal, then halavah, pakorā, purī and all kinds of milk preparations like sweet rice, sweetballs, sandeśa, rasagullā and lāḍḍu."
One can worship Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa by the process of vidhi-mārga, worshiping the Lord with regulative principles according to the instructions of the śāstra and the spiritual master. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, cannot be directly worshiped by this process. The dealings between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs are devoid of the opulences of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. The process of vidhi-mārga, following the regulative principles, is utilized in the worship of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, whereas the process of spontaneous service—following in the footsteps of the gopīs, who are the denizens of Vṛndāvana—is transcendentally more advanced and is the process whereby Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are worshiped. One cannot attain this elevated position while worshiping the Lord in His opulence. Those attracted by the conjugal love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa must follow in the footsteps of the gopīs. Only then is it possible to enter into the Lord's service in Goloka Vṛndāvana and directly associate with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
The ācārya replied, “When the activities of the four castes and the four āśramas are dedicated to Kṛṣṇa, they constitute the best means whereby one can attain the highest goal of life.
Thus the living entity is liberated from the dullness of material energy and is engaged fully in the service of the Lord. The madhyama-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava can awaken others to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engage them in duties whereby they can advance. It is therefore said in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā, Chapter Six, verse 279):
- lohāke yāvat sparśi' hema nāhi kare
- tāvat sparśa-maṇi keha cinite nā pāre
"One cannot understand the value of touchstone until it turns iron into gold." One should judge by action, not by promises. A mahā-bhāgavata can turn a living entity from abominable material life to the Lord's service. This is the test of a mahā-bhāgavata. Although preaching is not meant for a mahā-bhāgavata, a mahā-bhāgavata can descend to the platform of madhyama-bhāgavata just to convert others to Vaiṣṇavism. Actually a mahā-bhāgavata is fit to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but he does not distinguish where Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be spread from where it should not. He thinks that everyone is competent to accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness if the chance is provided.
Thus a fully surrendered, sincere devotee immediately receives relief from all kinds of sinful reactions. There are three stages of fructification for sinful activity. At one stage, one commits the sinful act, before that the seed of this act exists, and before that there is ignorance whereby one commits the sin. Suffering is involved in all three stages. However, Kṛṣṇa is merciful to His devotee, and consequently He immediately nullifies all three stages—the sin, the seed of sin and the ignorance that leads one to sin. The Padma Purāṇa confirms this:
- aprārabdha-phalaṁ pāpaṁ kūṭaṁ bījaṁ phalonmukham
- krameṇaiva pralīyeta viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām
For a further explanation of this topic, The Nectar of Devotion should be consulted.
“The happiness of liberation, whereby one merges into the Lord's existence, cannot even be compared to a fragment of the transcendental bliss obtained by service unto the Lord's lotus feet.
The two brothers devised a means whereby they could give up their material activities. For this purpose, they appointed two brāhmaṇas and paid them a large amount of money.
He engages His confidential servants who serve as spiritual masters and enlighten the conditioned living entities. Being present in everyone's heart, the Lord gives the living entities the conscience whereby they can accept the Vedas and the spiritual master. In this way the living entity can understand his constitutional position and his relationship with the Supreme Lord. As personally enunciated by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: through the study of Vedānta, one may become fully aware of his relationship with the Supreme Lord and act accordingly. In this way one may ultimately attain the platform of loving service to the Lord. It is in the living entity's best interest to understand the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, the living entities have forgotten that this is in their best interest, and therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31).
“Although being assured of his father's treasure, the poor man cannot acquire this treasure by such knowledge alone. Therefore the astrologer had to inform him of the means whereby he could actually find the treasure.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
No one can bring the activities of the mind and senses to a stop, but one can purify these activities through a change in consciousness. This change is indicated in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.39), where Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna of the knowledge of yoga whereby one can work without fruitive results: "O son of Pṛthā, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of works." A human being is sometimes restricted in sense gratification due to certain circumstances, such as disease, but such proscriptions are for the less intelligent. Without knowing the actual process by which the mind and senses can be controlled, less intelligent men may try to stop the mind and senses by force, but ultimately they give in to them and are carried away by the waves of sense gratification.
"The first thing required is faith. Due to faith a person associates with pure devotees, and by such association he develops devotional service. As devotional service develops, his misgivings diminish. Then he is situated in firm conviction, and from that conviction he develops a taste for devotional service and advances to the stage of attachment for Kṛṣṇa, whereby he follows the regulative principles of devotional service spontaneously. After that point he makes still further progress and attains the state called bhāva, which is permanent. Such love of God becomes deeper and deeper, until it reaches the highest stage of love of Godhead."
Nectar of Devotion
For example, in Bhagavad-gītā, although Kṛṣṇa was speaking as the supreme authority, He still mentioned and quoted Vedānta-sūtra as authority. There is a statement in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam wherein a person jokingly says that Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Kaṁsa, is known as the seer through the śāstras. In order to establish His authority, however, He is now engaged in seeing the gopīs, whereby the gopīs are becoming maddened.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
We have our hands and legs, but our hands are different from our legs. The hand cannot act like the leg, nor can the leg act like the hand. The ears can hear but the eyes cannot, and the eyes can see but the ears cannot. All these differences are technically called svajātīya-vijātīya.
The bodily limitation whereby one part of the body cannot act as another part is totally absent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no difference between His body and Himself. He is completely spiritual, and therefore there is no difference between His body and His soul. Similarly, He is not different from His millions of incarnations and plenary expansions. Baladeva is the first expansion of Kṛṣṇa, and from Baladeva expand Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. From Saṅkarṣaṇa there is an expansion of Nārāyaṇa, and from Nārāyaṇa there is a second quadruple expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Similarly, there are innumerable other expansions of Kṛṣṇa, but all of them are one. Kṛṣṇa has many incarnations, such as Lord Nṛsiṁha, Lord Boar, Lord Fish and Lord Tortoise, but there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa's original two-handed form, like that of a human being, and these incarnations of gigantic animal forms.
This nonmovement of the sannyāsī is called Cāturmāsya-vrata. When a sannyāsī stays in one place for these four months, the local inhabitants of that place take advantage of his presence to become spiritually advanced.
Arjuna, in the dress of a tridaṇḍi-sannyāsī, remained in the city of Dvārakā for the four months of the rainy season, devising a plan whereby he could get Subhadrā as his wife. None of the inhabitants of Dvārakā, including Lord Balarāma, could recognize the sannyāsī to be Arjuna; therefore all of them offered their respects and obeisances to the sannyāsī without knowing the actual situation.
For those who are very materialistic and cannot understand the situation of the spiritual world, the abode of Kṛṣṇa, great sages have recommended the yogic process whereby one gradually rises from meditation on the abdomen, which is called mūlādhāra or maṇipūraka meditation. Mūlādhāra and maṇipūraka are technical terms which refer to the intestines within the abdomen. Grossly materialistic persons think that economic development is of foremost importance because they are under the impression that a living entity exists only by eating. Such grossly materialistic persons forget that although we may eat as much as we like, if the food is not digested it produces the troubles of indigestion and acidity. Therefore, eating is not in itself the cause of the vital energy of life. For digestion of eatables we have to take shelter of another, superior energy, which is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as vaiśvānara. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that He helps the digestion in the form of vaiśvānara. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervasive; therefore, His presence in the stomach as vaiśvānara is not extraordinary.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Buddhi-yoga lies far above these yoga practices, which are mostly physical disciplines. Buddhi-yoga, however, is a spiritual discipline for self-realization. This realization is a full perception of the nondual Absolute Truth, whereby one sees everything resting in the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lord in everything. As Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7):
- mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyāt
- kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
- mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
- sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva
O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
This means that every living entity, from demons to demigods to human beings to lower creatures, is fully dependent on the Supreme Lord. One who perceives the Absolute Truth in this way can wholeheartedly surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)
Translation: "Thus far I have declared to you the analytical knowledge of sāṅkhya philosophy. Now listen to the knowledge of yoga whereby one works without fruitive result. O son of Pṛthā, when you act by such intelligence, you can free yourself from the bondage of works."
Prabhupāda:
- eṣā te 'bhihitā sāṅkhye
- buddhir yoge tv imāṁ śṛṇu
- buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha
- karma-bandhaṁ prahāsyasi
- (BG 2.39)
Karma-bandham. You act something, and there is reaction. That is called karma-bandha. We can understand very easily. Whatever you act, there is reaction. Good act or bad act... There are two things. So if while in this body we act piously, then our future is very good. If we act impiously, then our future is not very good. So actually we should act piously, not impiously. That is human life. We should know what kind of action we should do. In the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā you'll find pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca na vidur āsura-janāḥ: (BG 16.7) "Those who are asuras, they do not know what kind of action should be done and what kind of action should not be done." Not that "Anything I like at my whims..." That is not... At least for human being, he should not do.
Prabhupāda: Yes, somebody read.
Devotee: "Thus far I have declared to you the analytical knowledge of sāṅkhya philosophy. Now listen to the knowledge of yoga, whereby one works without fruitive result."
Prabhupāda: Which one this is reading? Second Chapter?
Devotee: Yes. Text 39.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Devotee: "O son of Pṛthā, when you act by such intelligence you can free yourself from the bondage of works (BG 2.39)." Verse 40:" In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear (BG 2.40)." Purport: "Activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Kṛṣṇa without expectation of sense gratification is the highest transcendental quality of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at any stage. Any work begun..."
Devotee: "These are transcendental. Beyond both body and mind. Self-realization is sought by the path of knowledge, the practice of eightfold mysticism or by bhakti-yoga. In each of these processes one has to realize the constitutional position of the living entity, his relationship with God and the activities whereby he can reestablish the lost link and achieve the highest perfectional stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Following any of the above-mentioned three methods, one is sure to reach the supreme goal sooner or later. This was asserted by the Lord in the Second Chapter. Even a little endeavor on the transcendental path of bhakti-yoga is especially suitable for this age because it is the most direct method of God-realization. To be doubly assured, Arjuna is asking Lord Kṛṣṇa to confirm His former statement. One may sincerely adopt the path of self-realization. But the process of cultivation of knowledge and the practice of eightfold yoga system are generally very difficult for this age. Therefore in spite of one's earnest endeavor one may fail for many reasons. The primary reason is one's not being sufficiently serious about following the process. To pursue the transcendental path is more or less to declare war on the illusory energy."
Prabhupāda: When we accept any self-realization process, it is practically declaring war against the illusory energy, māyā. So when there's a question of māyā or a question of fight or war there will be so many difficulty imposed by māyā, that is certain. Therefore there is a chance of failure. but one has to become very steady. Go on.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram, sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (BG 8.6). We are making our next body by thinking of something. We have got so many thoughts, material thoughts. So at the time of death, when that thought is prominent, then I get the next moment a body like that. So if you simply think of Kṛṣṇa only, then you get a body where by which you can go to Kṛṣṇa. You can go to Kṛṣṇa. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma (BG 4.9). It is very scientific and very practical. So by going to Kṛṣṇa, you can talk with Kṛṣṇa personally. You can play with Kṛṣṇa personally. You can dance with Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa-loka. Just like we have got a picture, rāsa dancing. Here is picture, Kṛṣṇa's. Everyone can get this opportunity. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes to show practically how enjoyable life with Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa is simply jolly, ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). In Vṛndāvana life you will see, everyone is jolly. The birds, trees and the water, the land, the cows, the calves, the inhabitants, the cowherd boys—everyone is happy simply by loving Kṛṣṇa. Simply by loving Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa therefore manifests His līlā that "Why you are rotting in this material world? Come to Me and enjoy life eternally."
One is being carried away by the clutches of māyā in the cycle of birth and death. They do not know it, neither they want any solution. Although everyone does not want to die, but no scientist, no philosopher can give you any information that death can be checked.
There is way. Here is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, whereby you can stop your process of birth and death. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). He comes back. These things are there, information is there, the process is there. Everything is there in Vedic knowledge, Vedic cultivation. Simply people have to take it. Then they will be happy. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
"What is the position? What I want? Why I am full of anxiety? How it can be mitigated?" So therefore this information is given vaikuṇṭha-loka, back to home. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāmaṁ paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6).
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only endeavor where, by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious you become transferred from this māyā to Vaikuṇṭha. This is the purport. Māyātīte, beyond this māyā, there is another kingdom where there is no kuṇṭha, vaikuṇṭha-loke. And there is management. As here there is management, the king or president, or ministers and so many things, there is also management. But that management is conducted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally. Here the president or king manages whole thing. And therefore the ideal manager or the executive head is a person who is a saintly person and devotee. That is wanted. In politics also, there is need of devotees. The devotee... The politicians, they first require to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness if they actually want to do good to others. If they remain like animals, it is not possible. Then whole world, the people, will suffer. That is the position now. There is no standard ruler. A ruler must be representative of Kṛṣṇa. Then... Then everything will be... Just like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was representative of Kṛṣṇa. Or Lord Rāmacandra, He was God Himself.
Festival Lectures
So we're very shocked and astonished that so many people are coming to the West, to the United States, and posing as holy men and simply making business, charging money, and giving somebody some magical formula whereby they can become God in half of a year. And so many people who are sincere seekers are being deluded, and this is very unfortunate. There is said to be two classes of men. One class of men is satisfied with his existence. He goes from one pleasure to another. From the cinema to the restaurant to sports, from one to the other. "I can't wait to finish one to go to the next," and still he's saying, "I'm happy. I'm satisfied." And there's another class of men that is not satisfied. These men are searching, that there is always something on his mind. He is thinking, "There must be something behind all of this. That I can look at all of this as a unified whole." So this first class of men will not want to take to spiritual knowledge, but the person who is inquisitive and is not satisfied with this material life, he can hear this knowledge submissively and derive great benefit from it. The symptom of the human being is that he is not satisfied. He's disgusted, he's searching. The symptom of animal life is that he is satisfied taking everything, "That's very nice. Everything is fine." Like a hog, hog eating stool. He's thinking, "Oh, it's very nice." But the human being will not accept such awful things. The human being has the chance to get out of this shackle of continued, repeated births and deaths.
General Lectures
So it's now very firmly situated in this big North American city to go on spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So we should be always so grateful to Śrīla Prabhupāda, not only for coming and visiting us in our temples, whereby we can actually see in this instance how by his visit this came about, that a year later now such a big, big temple is there... That anyone can plainly see. It is phenomenal. It can be seen. But also we should be grateful that by his instructions... Because the physical presence is not always appreciable. Sometimes he is here and some, then he is not here. But always Śrīla Prabhupāda is with us by our following his instructions. We simply have to be obedient to these instructions. As Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying last night in the initiation lecture, that human life is meant to follow these instructions of tapo-divyam (SB 5.5.1), going to the difficulty of giving up sinful habits, meat-eating, illicit sex, intoxication, gambling, and engaging in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we do these things very sincerely, then we shall always have Śrīla Prabhupāda guiding us. Kṛṣṇa is in the heart, and when Kṛṣṇa in the heart sees that we are trying to follow the instructions of the pure devotee, who's also a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa within is the Supersoul. Kṛṣṇa manifested before is us the spiritual master.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, the living entity is superior to the inert matter. In Sanskrit language they are called tan mātrā. They are created for the sense; they are sense objects. I have got senses, I must appreciate something. That something is that quality or sensory quality. I have eyes, I must see something. So therefore there is color, there is beauty...
Śyāmasundara: He postulates three laws whereby perceptions are associated or connected with one another. He says first of all, there is the principle of resemblance. For example, I see a picture and it impels me to think of the original of that picture. The second principle is the principle of contiguity. If I mention a room in a building, this impels me to think of other rooms in other buildings. And the third principle is the principle of cause and effect, just like if I think about a wound I automatically think of pain. So in these three ways he thinks that our whole being is made up of this stream of ideas, association of ideas, one idea follows another, perpetually.
Prabhupāda: That is called relative world. That is the meaning of relative world. You cannot understand what is father without a son; you cannot understand son without a father. You cannot understand husband without a wife. This world is like that. It is called relative world.
Prabhupāda: That is our theory, to make the best use of a bad bargain. We are already cheated, "Now all right, let me utilize it." That's all. You don't admit that "I have been cheated, now I am utilizing it."
Śyāmasundara: He says that utility is that property in any object whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness.
Prabhupāda: That is nice, this definition also, but if we put to test all our so-called happiness, it will not be possible to come out successful.
Śyāmasundara: He realizes that this view could give rise to egoistic over-indulgence, that someone could think, "Well, if pleasure is my only goal, let me do anything, never mind others."
Śyāmasundara: He calls truth a system of verification; in other words, a process whereby ideas become true and they are made true by events in our experience. As we get more experience, then truth is created.
Prabhupāda: Not created. Truth is there. Truth is revealed. As you make progress, so the truth becomes revealed. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). Just like in Bhagavad-gītā it is said that "As one makes his surrendering process complete, I become revealed to him accordingly."
Śyāmasundara: But if an idea works when it is applied to concrete facts of experience, then it becomes a true idea, and we accept it as a true idea. So as we develop our experience, our life progresses, then we develop truth because we see that this idea works in my experience, so then it becomes true. Is this not the process?
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is our process. Just like one enters to Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the beginning by faith. He has on practical experience. But suppose somebody sees that "These people, Kṛṣṇa conscious people, appear to be very bright-faced," just like in your country they may have been known, the bright-faced. So he gets a little interest. So that interest increases. First of all he comes with little faith and interest, but as he associates with us, the interest increases. That is true. Otherwise why are they sticking?
Śyāmasundara: He makes a few comments about religion. He says that "The religious experience is unique, and it enables the individual to realize that the world he perceives is part of a spiritual universe which alone gives the sensory world value, and that man's proper goal is to unite himself with that higher universe. That prayer or inner communion with the universal spirit or God is the means whereby spiritual energy flows in and produces effects, psychological or material, occurring in the phenomenal world. And that religious faith imparts a new zest to life, taking the form either of lyrical enchantment or of appeal to earnestness and heroism, and that religion contributes some assurance of safety and peace and teaches love in human relationships."
Prabhupāda: That's nice.
Śyāmasundara: He says some nice things about...
Prabhupāda: That's nice.
Śyāmasundara: But practically, the practical aspect of religion, that it imparts new zest to life, that it produces psychological and material effects, like that. But he didn't believe that God was unlimited. That was his... He believed that God was somehow limited; because there is evil, because evil exists, that God is somehow limited.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Hayagrīva: But he goes on to argue, "The inordinate emission of semen is repugnant to the good of nature, which is the conservation of the species. Hence, after the sin of murder, whereby human nature already in actual existence is destroyed, this sort of sin seems to hold a second place whereby the generation of human nature is precluded." Well how, people today would ask, how could the argument of the generation or the, the conservation of the species still hold, since there's so many human beings, since there are almost four billion human beings on this earth, how could this argument still hold that, uh...?
Prabhupāda: That, what is that argument?
Hayagrīva: That sex is only to beget children, for propagation of the species, and any other use is...
Prabhupāda: Sinful.
Hayagrīva: ...sinful.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That we recommend in our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness: no illicit sex. Illicit sex means not producing..., not for producing children but for enjoyment. That is sinful. And...
Hayagrīva: Continuing Descartes, he writes, "It is not an imperfection in God that He has given me the freedom of assenting or not assenting to things of which He has not placed a clear and distinct knowledge in my understanding. On the other hand, unquestionably it is an imperfection in me that I do not use this freedom right, yet..." So but one may then ask, Why doesn't God give us the understanding whereby we can choose properly in all cases?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Hayagrīva: Why can't we have free will and at the same time...
Prabhupāda: Free will means...
Hayagrīva: ...infallible judgment?
Prabhupāda: Free will means that you can act wrongly. That is free will. Unless there is chance of doing wrong or right, there is no question of free will. Where is free will then? If I act only one sided, that means I have no free will. Because we act sometimes wrongly, that means free will.
Hayagrīva: A man may know better but still act wrongly.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Umāpati: (break) ...I have, I have been reading some of the writings of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and I have come to an understanding from what I have read that there are, there is, there is a thing called tendency and, and... Well, in other words, the Vedas will teach a man if he is incapable of not killing, of, incapable of not killing, if he's addicted to meat-eating, that there are rules whereby he can eat meat and thereby, under prescribed rules found in the Vedas. And thereby, his pious activity, he can raise to a higher level of understanding. And then there are rules that says, "Thou shalt not eat meat," and therefore one is eligible and must follow those restrictions.
Prabhupāda: Yes. In the beginning...
Umāpati: In the beginning.
Prabhupāda: Just like loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā hi jantoḥ. There is tendency for eating meat. Therefore Vedas says that "You can eat meat, but..." Not only Vedas, in other scriptures also. The Jews also say. The Mohammedans also say that you can kill in the synagogue or in the, what is called, mosque, one animal. But not slaughterhouse. No religion prescribes that you open slaughterhouse. No.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Guest (1): The body is not the self. The self, or the ātmān, is the one absolute existence, but is has a delusive power whereby...
Prabhupāda: Who is that God? Delusive power?
Guest (1): God, or...
Devotee: God?
Guest (1): ...the māyā, the māyā of God makes, makes a man identify himself with his body, but it is, that's an illusion, and it's God's play that sometimes..., it's God's play that sometimes a man ignorantly identifies himself with the body, and through God's grace the bonds of ignorance are..., he is released from the bonds of ignorance through God's grace.
Prabhupāda: By God's grace, what happens?
Guest (1): One cannot... One achieves, one attains love for God, pure love. And, uh, by loving God, one, one, uh, one's..., one no longer identifies himself with his body.
Prabhupāda: So result of loving God, what it is?
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Devotee (1): They swear on the Bible in the court. And I was reading in the paper the other day that now in England they have passed a law whereby a man cannot be convicted of rape if he honestly believes that the woman consented to be raped.
Prabhupāda: Eh? What is that? Woman?
Devotee (1): They said that the man cannot be convicted of rape if he honestly believes that the woman consented to his raping her.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is law always. Rape means without consent, sex. Otherwise there is no rape. There was a rape case in Calcutta, and the lawyer was very intelligent. He some way or other made the woman admit, "Yes, I felt happiness." So he was released. "Here is consent." And that's a fact. Because after all, sex, rape or no rape, they will feel some pleasure. So the lawyer by hook and crook made the woman agree, "Yes, I felt some pleasure." "Now, there is consent." So he was released. After all, it is an itching sensation. So either by force or by willingly, if there is itching, everyone feels relieved itching it. That's a psychology. It is not that the woman do not like rape. They like sometimes. They willingly. That is the psychology. Outwardly they show some displeasure, but inwardly they do not. This is the psychology.
Justin Murphy: But also... sorry, I don't mean—and perhaps I didn't explain myself well enough. I do not mean to address myself only to a problem which is here with us right now. Perth, for example, right now this city does not have a scarcity. There's plenty of water around. Seventy percent in fact of the water which is delivered to domestic homes every summer is put on gardens to make them green. It's not used for growing vegetables. It's not used for human consumption or human existence, for supporting human life. It's used for making lawns such as outside this house, making lawns and trees green so that houses will be attractive and the property values will go up. Once again it's the money ethic. It's the money situation. It's what our society exists on. It's what makes it all go around. But what I am worried about is the situation in a hundred years' time. There isn't a scarcity now, although the water is getting, is becoming less and less acceptable, where, by taking down the forests, we're letting more water seep into the soil, it's unlocking the salt that's been in the soil for thousands of years, and so on.
That's our problem. It's long term and it's complex. I'm worried about generations to come, not now.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. If there is rainfall sufficiently, that water is distilled water, pure water. So if pure water is distributed all over the country...
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Gradually they are becoming animals, or they are already animals.
Mahāmṣa: The principal of my school, he used to be a priest, and he used to give us these classes whereby he would tell the students that one must experience sex life before marriage. He was propagating illicit sex life in school, and being a principal and from a priestly class of person, so degraded. (break)
Yaśodānandana: ...called Ahobilam. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also went there. And the paṇḍitas there, they have reference from the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa.... (break) ...was killed by Lord Nṛsiṁha. There is the room, the palace and everything.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (break) Chipped rice?
Mahāmṣa: No, that was sugar.
Prabhupāda: Sugar? Salt.
Harikeśa: That's the way their salt is here.
Acyutānanda: In blocks?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Rock salt.
Prabhupāda: Not rock salt. Sea salt.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is, a rsabandutra(?) means, unless you have got the central point. How we can have? First of all you know Kṛṣṇa.
Indian man (4): They must have a common background, common ground whereby you can...
Prabhupāda: That they haven't got. Common.... He is trying to become Kṛṣṇa. Everything is rolling around. So this is the mistake. He's trying to become center, that foolish rascal. How he's center? Center is Kṛṣṇa.
Indian man (4): So the only hope for humanity is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Prabhupāda: Yes, only hope. Therefore this verse I was explaining.
- aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā
- dharmasyāsya parantapa
- aprāpya māṁ nivartante
- mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani
- (BG 9.3)
Those who will not take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, these rascal will remain in the cycle of birth and death. Instead of taking Kṛṣṇa's instruction, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), he's trying to become Kṛṣṇa, these rascals. So how there will be peace? Hmm? Kṛṣṇa says "Surrender unto Me." He's saying, "I am Kṛṣṇa. Why shall I surrender?" This is the difficulty.
Prabhupāda: What is your question?
Vipina: I was talking to Dr. Diksha and I was explaining to him that if he was unable to chant or to become a full-time devotee, that your program for a person in that condition of life, was something like Life Membership Program, whereby he could become a member of the Society, maintain his occupational duty, but become a member and take books and read and try to understand gradually that way. Is that satisfactory, if they can do that much, that would be, some way they would be serving Kṛṣṇa to your satisfaction? (Prabhupāda laughs)
Prabhupāda: Yes, we are taking so much labor in writing books. If somebody reads, certainly that is satisfaction. (laughter)
Rūpānuga: It is to their benefit, Śrīla Prabhupāda, if they read.
Prabhupāda: Yes, I am writing for reading by others.
Rūpānuga: Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. What time is the initiation? (break)
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: ...our temple early in the morning at about seven o'clock Śrīla Prabhupāda will deliver a lecture and also there will be a sacrifice, very ancient sacrifice performed, which is formal initiation, of becoming a disciple of a spiritual master, and you are welcome to come by. It is a very colorful and beautiful ceremony. This will take place tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. here in the temple. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Depression. Not for any political reason.
Indian man (1): No, on account of emergency also, Swamiji, mostly these people are afraid of (indistinct). Government has right powers, whereby without question, nobody has the power to question in the court.
Prabhupāda: Why not?
Indian man (1): If the arrest means even the constable can come and arrest. So all these foodgrain, many other things, after all there may be countervention in some way or the other. Rules which are made, terms and conditions laid out...
Prabhupāda: How long this will continue?
Indian man (2): They say up to February, because this February she must have elections. Otherwise, there should be an amendment in the Constitution to allow her to continue.
Prabhupāda: That is being made.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, there is no issue from their side. Upendra Prabhu is saying that they are diverting the issue, means they're bringing attention to how our men got here. Their whole point is that that is actually their intention. They want to create a situation whereby they would force us to be thrown out of the country. That's their intention. They want to drive us away.
Prabhupāda: This is published in?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This is published in the Indian Express. Good newspaper.
Prabhupāda: Bombay.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Bombay. July 12th. There's a lot of touchy items here. One very touchy item is this Hindu-Muslim thing. And this... The Communists are very intelligent. They purposely chose... (break) What about the actual ministers? Cabinet ministers?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Cabinet ministers, there are sober, Morarji Desai and some of them. This Vajpayi.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Vajpayi. That means that they took it that we were a threat. They are feeling the weight of our movement.
Prabhupāda: They are practically seeing that we are going village to village and people are receiving us. So if these Americans push on the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, naturally people will take it. And that was my idea from the beginning, that if the Americans become Vaiṣṇavas, then others will be. It is four?
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Jayapatākā: They're sending messenger requesting that there should be some type of agreement whereby the charges against them are dropped, the case is dropped, and that they're given the old jobs back.
Prabhupāda: The charges are made by the government. We cannot drop. Do you follow?
Jayapatākā: Yes. The charges can't be dropped by us, but if the two parties make a type of compromise agreement and file a petition to the court...
Prabhupāda: But now the fight is not between them and us. The fight is between government and them.
Jayapatākā: Many barristers in Calcutta say that if due to political pressure, this or that, some people come and ask us to try to file a petition for dropping charges, that there's no need to do that, because the case is well in our favor.
Prabhupāda: Yes. If you drop, they get opportunity.
Correspondence
1972 Correspondence
I am in receipt of your letter dated June 5, 1972. I was not here, I was in Portland, Oregon, and am just now coming back. I think all the points are already replied, still I say that the land should be registered in ISKCON's name and pay the tax of Rs. 70,000. This is a good idea. And you can introduce the Bhetnama system, whereby one person purchases the use of one room or some rooms for his lifetime, and whenever he may come to stay the room must be vacated immediately for his residence for as long as he likes, but if he leaves, someone else may use the room in his absence. This is called Bhetnama. As Mr. Chhabria has said he wants to reserve one room for the week-ends, similarly, many men are prepared to pay for this facility. We have to simply find them out. All good men should spend their week-ends with us, away from business, and they may bring family and it will be Vaikuntha in Hare Krishna Land.
1974 Correspondence
This observation is correct, unless we are engaged with all our senses and intelligence in serving Krsna where is the question of Krsna Consciousness? We are reading here in the evenings how in the 4th chapter of Bhagavad gita Krsna has arranged for catur varnam, the social division of four orders, whereby everyone has some engagement according to his propensity, his quality and work, and thus everyone can go back to Godhead while performing their work.
You complain that as a householder it is very difficult. Especially you want to preach. There are examples of great preachers who were householders, such as Bhaktivinode thakur, although we cannot hope to imitate him. You have not mentioned whether you are attending the activities of the temple and associating with the devotees in Melbourne, and these things are essential. Madhudvisa Swami is my representative in charge of devotional affairs in Australia and if you will discuss the specific situation with him, he will see that you become engaged in work just suitable to your situation as a householder.
So far your worship of Lord Jagannatha in your home and your becoming initiated. It is alright provided you have the recommendation of the temple president. I am very glad to see that such a young boy as yourself you are taking serious interest in this Krishna Consciousness Movement. Please continue in this way Our process is something universal. It cannot be checked by any means. Anyone in any place, in any country can chant Hare Krishna. If it is possible to go to the temple, then take advantage of the temple. A temple is a place where by one is given the opportunity to render direct devotional service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. In conjunction with this you should always read my books daily and all your questions will be answered and you will have a firm basis of Krishna Consciousness. In this way your life will be perfect.
1975 Correspondence
We want very much to spread this highest welfare activity there amongst the Kenyan people and we are very thankful for your cooperation. Please try to give us more and more facility. We want the people to live simply but to think highly. We want to make projects whereby the people produce their own food, food for themselves and also for the animals. In this way they can produce their own necessities and not live on any artificial standard. My disciple Jnana das Adhikari is there for this purpose of establishing our program. The main thing is to chant Hare Krsna and take the remnants of foodstuffs that have been offered to the Lord. This is our main program and please encourage him for this program within the village people. Everyone will like to sing and dance and to eat nice foodstuffs. This is our simple process for God realization. I hope this meets you in good health.
1976 Correspondence
Therefore; brahmacari gurukulae vasan danto guror hitam (SB 7.12.1). The brahmacari lives at the place of the spiritual master and works for the benefit of the spiritual master by begging for his maintenance, by cleaning, learning the principles of Krsna consciousness, and engaging in the process of bhagavata dharma, whereby his life will have a firm, sane foundation with which he can overcome the forces of maya by strong training in the beginning.
The karmis cannot accept this because they are too much attached to their bodies and cannot tolerate any austerities. Since they are too attached to their children they are even more insistent that the child be drowned in bodily consciousness so that he may avoid all types of austerities and enjoy life to the fullest, thereby going to hell at the earliest age; mahat sevam dvares ahur vimuktes tamo-dvaram yosita sangisangam (SB 5.5.2). Those who associate with the mahatmas through service to them become eligible for liberation whereas those who are associating with woman or those who are too attached to woman are paving their way to hell. Therefore the school systems require so many codes and regulations so the children will not feel any inconvenience. The training is geared to producing cats and dogs who will feel quite at home in a society of sense gratification.
I have been informed by my secretary, Gopal Krishna dasa Adhikari, that a new law has been introduced whereby income from temples is now taxed to the extent of 7%. He further informed me that several other religious organizations such as ours have received tax-exemption status. I trust that you will kindly provide our institution, being a purely religious and non-profit charitable organization, with the same facility of tax-exemption. Thank you once again.
| Page Title: | Whereby |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 11 of Jan, 2014 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=14, CC=10, OB=7, Lec=14, Con=10, Let=6 |
| No. of Quotes: | 62 |