leyh

"Devotional service to the Supreme personality of Godhead is explained in the Bhagavad-gita,where the Lord says that a self-realized person is always in the transcendental state known as brahma-bhuta,which is characterized by joyfulness.When one is self-realized he becomes joyful.In other words,he is free from the material contamination of lamentation and hankering.As long as we are in material existence, we lament for the losses in our life and hanker for that which we do not have. A self-realized person is joyful because he is free from material lamentation and hankering." (From Purport to Narada Bhakti Sutras, Sutra 1 By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

"So if you can create that central attachment for Krsna, then it is Vrndavana. Then you can create Vrndavana anywhere--any family, any society, any country. Just make the point of attachment Krsna, and it is Vrndavana. That is required. That is Krsna consciousness movement." (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,From 75-128-A Vrndavana 12/10/1975 Srimad-Bhagavatam Class)

"So if you can create that central attachment for Krsna, then it is Vrndavana. Then you can create Vrndavana anywhere--any family, any society, any country. Just make the point of attachment Krsna, and it is Vrndavana. That is required. That is Krsna consciousness movement." (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,From 75-128-A Vrndavana 12/10/1975 Srimad-Bhagavatam Class)

"Liberated souls have no interest in materialistic activities. The impersonalist theory that after liberation one becomes inactive and needs hear nothing does not prove that a liberated person is actually inactive. A living soul cannot be inactive. He is either active in the conditioned state or in the liberated state. A diseased person, for example, is also active, but his activities are all painful. The same person, when freed from the diseased condition, is still active, but in the healthy condition the activities are full of pleasure. Similarly, the impersonalists manage to get freed from the diseased conditional activities, but they have no information of activities in the healthy condition. Those who are actually liberated and in full knowledge take to hearing the activities of Krsna; such engagement is pure spiritual activity." (From Introduction to Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

"Liberated souls have no interest in materialistic activities. The impersonalist theory that after liberation one becomes inactive and needs hear nothing does not prove that a liberated person is actually inactive. A living soul cannot be inactive. He is either active in the conditioned state or in the liberated state. A diseased person, for example, is also active, but his activities are all painful. The same person, when freed from the diseased condition, is still active, but in the healthy condition the activities are full of pleasure. Similarly, the impersonalists manage to get freed from the diseased conditional activities, but they have no information of activities in the healthy condition. Those who are actually liberated and in full knowledge take to hearing the activities of Krsna; such engagement is pure spiritual activity." (From Introduction to Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

Karandhara: ...Vaisnava earlier. Prabhupada: Oh. What is the price of this? Gargamuni: No charge. Prabhupada: No. What do they sell? Gargamuni: Oh. This drum was broken, but he gave it to us free. I do not know what the... Prabhupada: It was, it is broken? Gargamuni: It was broken, but we fixed it. Prabhupada: Oh. All right. When they give in charity, they give something broken. (laughter) (Bengali) Khana goruke brahmanake dana (?). In India there is a..., charity is given to the brahmanas. So a man saw that his cow is blind. "All right, give it in charity." So charity means... Charity should be the first-class thing if it is really charity. But nowadays people give in charity just for name. "Oh, I am giving something." This charity... You have read Bhagavad-gita. There are three kinds of charity: sattvic, rajasic, tamasic. Sattvic, charity in goodness, is with due consideration that "Here should be given the charity." Just like the Vedic injunction is to give charity to the brahmanas. Why? That is the worthy place, to give charity in the hands of brahmanas and Vaisnava. Real brahmanas. I don't say caste brahmana. Because they will employ whatever you give them in the service of the Lord. Therefore charity, that is sattvic charity. There is no question of profit or name. But, "Charity should be given here. Here is something, God's service." That is sattvic. And rajasic means for the sake of name. "Oh, people will say I am so charitable." That is rajasic. And tamasic, one who does not know where the money is going... Just like in the Bowery Street some, that drunkard comes and polishes the motorcar, and somebody gives five dollars, and he immediately goes to drink. That means this charity means give him impetus for drinking. So if charity creates such drunkard, oh, that is very dangerous. He has to suffer, the man who is giving in charity. Therefore in charity also there must be consideration. It must be sattvic. So anyway, it has come here. So it is sattvic. Whatever his mind may be, anyway, he has given to this temple; so it is sattvic. Chant. (Lecture given by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,February 2, 1968, Los Angeles, California)

Karandhara: ...Vaisnava earlier. Prabhupada: Oh. What is the price of this? Gargamuni: No charge. Prabhupada: No. What do they sell? Gargamuni: Oh. This drum was broken, but he gave it to us free. I do not know what the... Prabhupada: It was, it is broken? Gargamuni: It was broken, but we fixed it. Prabhupada: Oh. All right. When they give in charity, they give something broken. (laughter) (Bengali) Khana goruke brahmanake dana (?). In India there is a..., charity is given to the brahmanas. So a man saw that his cow is blind. "All right, give it in charity." So charity means... Charity should be the first-class thing if it is really charity. But nowadays people give in charity just for name. "Oh, I am giving something." This charity... You have read Bhagavad-gita. There are three kinds of charity: sattvic, rajasic, tamasic. Sattvic, charity in goodness, is with due consideration that "Here should be given the charity." Just like the Vedic injunction is to give charity to the brahmanas. Why? That is the worthy place, to give charity in the hands of brahmanas and Vaisnava. Real brahmanas. I don't say caste brahmana. Because they will employ whatever you give them in the service of the Lord. Therefore charity, that is sattvic charity. There is no question of profit or name. But, "Charity should be given here. Here is something, God's service." That is sattvic. And rajasic means for the sake of name. "Oh, people will say I am so charitable." That is rajasic. And tamasic, one who does not know where the money is going... Just like in the Bowery Street some, that drunkard comes and polishes the motorcar, and somebody gives five dollars, and he immediately goes to drink. That means this charity means give him impetus for drinking. So if charity creates such drunkard, oh, that is very dangerous. He has to suffer, the man who is giving in charity. Therefore in charity also there must be consideration. It must be sattvic. So anyway, it has come here. So it is sattvic. Whatever his mind may be, anyway, he has given to this temple; so it is sattvic. Chant. (Lecture given by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,February 2, 1968, Los Angeles, California)

"As you are remembering our old meeting days on the second avenue, when I first started my lectures there, similarly I also remember the incidents and speak to so many friends and disciples. So our meeting was Krishna's desire. Apparently it was accidental but actually it was Krishna's plan." (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,letter to Hayagriva dasa,Los Angeles 18 November, 1968) Today,I met a devotee unexpectedly.I was walking at Orchard Road (which is one of the most crowded areas of Singapore) with two of my friends and I happened to see that inside one of the buses which was stationary (due to the traffic lights) was a devotee chanting with his bead bag.Upon a closer inspection,I realized that it was a devotee that I had met before once on an MRT (Mass Rapid Transit)journey where he was also chanting,and I had struck a conversation with him.I cannot really remember this devote's name,except that it started with "N" (Neeru?) but I do remember that during our first meeting,he had expressed the desire to take initiation from His Holiness Radhanath Swami. I ran to the side of the bus, knocked on the window and we paid obeisances to each other.It was a nice,transcendental moment. I keep meeting devotees in unexpected times and places.My bead bag and kanti-mala was a gift from a devotee that I met by chance and later I met him on two more occasions (at the place of our first meeting and at the University where I study).I am so happy everytime I meet a devotee. There is this quote from Rabindranath Tagore,I think,and it goes something like:"Everytime a child is sent into the world, it is a sign that God has not given up on the world." (I can't remember the exact words).Well, everytime I meet a devotee, I like to think that it is a sign that Krsna has not given up on me. [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 02-10-2002).]

Atma mataji: Please accept my humble obeisances.All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. I think the Ekachakra Prabhu that you are referring to is the Peruvian devotee who hosted the program graced by Bhanu Maharaja.I'm sorry,but I do not know their address or telephone,but I will try to get the word to them that you would like to contact them again. [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 02-10-2002).]

"Don't follow blindly. Following blindly something, that is not good. That will not stay. But one should take everything with logic. But the servants of God, they put everything in logic. Caitanyera dayara katha karaha vicara. If you study the Caitanya's philosophy with logic and argument... Don't go by sentiment." (Prabhupada's Lectures Srimad-Bhagavatam 1971 710106SB.CAL)

"Don't follow blindly. Following blindly something, that is not good. That will not stay. But one should take everything with logic. But the servants of God, they put everything in logic. Caitanyera dayara katha karaha vicara. If you study the Caitanya's philosophy with logic and argument... Don't go by sentiment." (Prabhupada's Lectures Srimad-Bhagavatam 1971 710106SB.CAL)

"Knowledge in Krsna consciousness is so perfect that if one performs work in Krsna consciousness and yet does not attain perfection, in his next life he takes up from wherever he left off. In other words, actions performed in Krsna consciousness are durable. On the other hand, material achievements, because they pertain to the body, are vanquished at death. Knowledge that pertains to designations does not endure. I am thinking that I am a man or a woman, an American or Indian, a Christian or Hindu--these are all designations pertaining to the body, and when the body is finished, they will also be finished. We are actually spirit, and therefore our spiritual activities will go with us wherever we go." (Raja Vidya: King of Knowledge By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter One)

"Knowledge in Krsna consciousness is so perfect that if one performs work in Krsna consciousness and yet does not attain perfection, in his next life he takes up from wherever he left off. In other words, actions performed in Krsna consciousness are durable. On the other hand, material achievements, because they pertain to the body, are vanquished at death. Knowledge that pertains to designations does not endure. I am thinking that I am a man or a woman, an American or Indian, a Christian or Hindu--these are all designations pertaining to the body, and when the body is finished, they will also be finished. We are actually spirit, and therefore our spiritual activities will go with us wherever we go." (Raja Vidya: King of Knowledge By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Chapter One)

Dear Bhakta Joy: Please accept my humble obeisances.All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! It is not just in Inda,but practically all over the world,people are ensnared in material desire.I am certainly one of them.I have no desire for chanting the holy names of God,managing only a few rounds (usually 1 or 2)on my japa mala a day and entertaining all kinds of lustful,wrathful and envious thoughts.I do not take Krsna Consciousness seriously and this is my misfortune. Still,I keep coming back to Krsna.There is this quote from Sri Aurobindo which is so inspiring:"The spiritual journey is one of continuously falling on your face, getting up, brushing yourself off, looking sheepishly at God and taking another step." I have been falling down so many times and sometimes I have this dreadful thought that Krsna might even be impatiently snearing at me... But a part of me thinks that ultimately Krsna will triumph.You wrote:"I think in the next few centuries conditions may improve." Why next century? By Krsna's grace the impossible becomes possible and the difficult becomes easy.So we should keep praying for grace from Him and Srimati Radharani.We have to be patient,though and not lose faith...

Rukmini: I feel so far away from you, you know, when you're not here, Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada: Oh, that you should not think. If...the words...there are two conceptions: the physical conception and the vibrational conception. So physical conception is temporary. The vibration conception is eternal. Just as we are enjoying or relishing the vibration of Krishna's teachings. So by vibration He is present.(After a lecture in Montreal on 18th of August 1968)

Rukmini: I feel so far away from you, you know, when you're not here, Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada: Oh, that you should not think. If...the words...there are two conceptions: the physical conception and the vibrational conception. So physical conception is temporary. The vibration conception is eternal. Just as we are enjoying or relishing the vibration of Krishna's teachings. So by vibration He is present.(After a lecture in Montreal on 18th of August 1968)

"Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. Mahajanas, great personalities, what they have done, you cannot imitate them. You have to follow them. You have to follow the instruction of Krishna or His representative, but you cannot imitate them. Then you'll fall down." (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Lecture, 1 May 1969, Boston)

"Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. Mahajanas, great personalities, what they have done, you cannot imitate them. You have to follow them. You have to follow the instruction of Krishna or His representative, but you cannot imitate them. Then you'll fall down." (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Lecture, 1 May 1969, Boston)

"Without Krsna, matter cannot develop. Atheistic scientists say that life comes from matter, but that is nonsense. Matter is one energy of Krsna, and spirit is another. The spirit is superior energy, and matter is inferior energy. The matter develops when the superior energy is present. For example, two or three hundred years ago the land of America was not developed, but because some superior living entities from Europe came here, America is now very much developed. Therefore the cause of development is the superior energy. In Africa, Australia, and many other places there is still vacant land that is undeveloped. Why is it undeveloped? Because the superior energy of advanced living entities has not touched it. As soon as the superior energy touches it, the same land will develop so many factories, houses, cities, roads, cars, and so on. The point of this example is that matter cannot develop by itself. That is not possible. Superior energy must touch it, and then it will be active. To give another example, a machine is matter--it is inferior energy--and therefore unless an operator comes to touch the machine, it will not act. One may have a very costly car, but unless a driver comes, in millions of years it will never go anywhere. Thus it is common sense to understand that matter cannot work independently; it cannot work unless the superior energy, the living entity, touches it. So how can we conclude that life develops from matter? Rascal scientists may say this, but they do not have sufficient knowledge."(Teachings of Queen Kunti By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada,Chapter Eleven:The Touch of Superior Energy)

"Without Krsna, matter cannot develop. Atheistic scientists say that life comes from matter, but that is nonsense. Matter is one energy of Krsna, and spirit is another. The spirit is superior energy, and matter is inferior energy. The matter develops when the superior energy is present. For example, two or three hundred years ago the land of America was not developed, but because some superior living entities from Europe came here, America is now very much developed. Therefore the cause of development is the superior energy. In Africa, Australia, and many other places there is still vacant land that is undeveloped. Why is it undeveloped? Because the superior energy of advanced living entities has not touched it. As soon as the superior energy touches it, the same land will develop so many factories, houses, cities, roads, cars, and so on. The point of this example is that matter cannot develop by itself. That is not possible. Superior energy must touch it, and then it will be active. To give another example, a machine is matter--it is inferior energy--and therefore unless an operator comes to touch the machine, it will not act. One may have a very costly car, but unless a driver comes, in millions of years it will never go anywhere. Thus it is common sense to understand that matter cannot work independently; it cannot work unless the superior energy, the living entity, touches it. So how can we conclude that life develops from matter? Rascal scientists may say this, but they do not have sufficient knowledge."(Teachings of Queen Kunti By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada,Chapter Eleven:The Touch of Superior Energy)

Thanks for the reminder,Valaya Prabhu

Thanks for the reminder,Valaya Prabhu

Val_Baital: I hope you are happy and well! How would you know this? Maybe you should back up this rather sweeping statement with hard evidence. As a child, Krsna could hold Govardhana Hill for seven days and nights to save the residents of Braja.Can you do that? If the answer is "no" (which I'm almost certainly it is,unless you happen to be Krsna posting on this forum with an assumed name)then how can you assert that there is no difference between you and God? Do you have any evidence to substantiate this? That is just so cynical and also reveals your lack of understanding as to the nature of a real guru.A real guru is a friend of all living entities,and certainly not the puppet-master that you so cynically imagine.I don't know if you are familiar with the life and mission of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977),the Founder-acaryaof the International Society for Krishna Consciouness.Srila Prabhupada travelled to America alone in 1965 with very little money and endured two heart attacks on the ocean voyage.He travelled to America,not to make Americans cringe in fear or to be blind believers.He went there to preach out of love and concern for the whole human society,and such love and concern is present in all bona-fide gurus. Are you familiar with the concept of bhakti-yoga? It involves the worship of God,out of love and devotion, not fear of consequences.Srila Prabhupada once said:""We do not serve Krsna for any benefit. And even if there is no benefit, still we serve." This perfectly captures the spirit of bhakti-yoga. Eloquent clarifications have to be substantiated with evidence to be of value.Can you present any evidence that all scriptures are written with a political agenda,that you are non-different from God or that the Vedas are "nothing more than a projection of a set of values onto our environment"? In the Srimad Bhagavatam,it is stated: "A conditioned soul is hampered by four defects: he is sure to commit mistakes, he is sure to become illusioned, he has a tendency to cheat others, and his senses are imperfect. Consequently we have to take direction from liberated persons." (Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eighteen, Text 5) You may not accept the authority of the Srimad Bhagavatam,but the question arises:Are you completely free from those four defects?If not,then your internal experience cannot be said to be perfect.We who are imperfect cannot hope to perfectly understand what is beyond our senses unless it through the descending process of revelation by a higher authority. I hope my choice of words have not offended you. [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 02-08-2002).]

Yesterday evening I attended a program at a devotee's apartment graced by a Banu Maharaja, a sannyasa in a Japanese material body.The host was a Peruvian devotee (I think his name is Akachakra Prabhu) who I had met once while he was selling books and incense in Serangoon (known as Singapore's "Little India").The Maharaja resembled a Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang and he sang kirtana very nicely.His class was on the following verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad bhavausadhac chrotra-mano-'bhiramat ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat puman virajyeta vina pasughnat "Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the parampara system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?" (Srimad Bhagavatam Tenth Canto, Chapter One, Text 4) Maharaja spoke for about more than an hour about how the pastimes of the Lord was the cure for all suffering and how important it is to hear these pastimes from someone who is free of material desire and at the same time attracted to Krsna.Maharaja said that it is useless to hear the pastimes of Krsna from those professional reciters who recite the pastimes of the Lord for a fee,and it is also useless to hear the pastimes from a Mayavadi who doesn't believe in Krsna or have attraction for Him. After the class,Maharaja sang kirtan.I had to leave early but not before paying obeisances before him and receiving some prasadam from his hands.I left with two of my friends and the host's wife gave us each a plastic bag filled with delicious prasadam. Actually, the thing that struck me the most about the program was not what the Maharaja said,or the kirtan.It was the diversity.The host of the program was a Peruvian.The Maharaja was a Japanese who spoke English in an American accent.Most of the devotees present were Indian.I am a Chinese and I saw a Caucasian man (A friend told me that he was Amogha dasa, a Srila Prabhupada disciple who had preached in Singapore) and woman attended the program.In this diversity,I saw the universality of Krsna Consciousness. Btw,who is Banu Maharaja? Is he a disciple of Srila Prabhupada? [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 02-08-2002).]

The following is a chapter from The Art of Spiritual Life by Jadurani dasi,one of the first American female disciples of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977),the Founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Conciousness.The book can be found online at www.gaudiya.net/art/ Cryptic Sign On May 5th I was assigned the duty of bringing the mrdanga, karatalas and sankirtana painting to Prabhupada's important engagement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that evening. Unfortunately, I became so engrossed in the painting of Mohana Madhuri that I lost track of the time. When I eventually looked at my watch, it was so late that I only had half an hour to get to MIT. I ran the two blocks to catch the trolley to Cambridge, but as soon as I was aboard, I realized I had forgotten the instruments and painting. When I arrived at the college, I was out of breath and empty-handed. Prabhupada was sitting on a raised platform. He looked at me and I could see the disappointment in his face when he realized I had not brought the instruments. He made do, however, and performed the kirtana without karatalas by having several devotees accompany him with clapping hands, and by playing his Hare Krsna album in the background. I was painfully aware of the large U-shaped metal stand that stood empty on the stage throughout the program, as it was supposed to have supported the painting. I had, however, remembered to bring my tape recorder. When the kirtana ended, I turned it on and taped Prabhupada's lecture as he began, "Today I am very glad to meet you. You are all students of technology." MIT was the world's foremost technological and engineering school. Its contribution to Boston's economy was enormous, because its classrooms and laboratories issued a stream of highly trained scientists and engineers who staffed the numerous technological firms in the city. The facilities and brainpower of MIT had attracted large federal and private research contracts, and the school's presence in Cambridge was a major contributing factor to Boston being chosen as the site for the NASA center for electronics research. But Prabhupada also knew something the school, the city, and NASA did not know-how useless their successes were, and how much they needed Krsna consciousness. He told them, "This Krsna consciousness movement is also another technology. In the modern state of civilization there are different departments of knowledge. There is a department of teaching medical science, and a department for teaching engineering. There is department of education in many things. Unfortunately there is no department for distributing knowledge in the science of the soul. But that is the most important, because the soul is the mainstay, the background of all our movements. "The idea is that in the present consciousness I am thinking that I am this body. Actually, I am not this body. This is ignorance. Body means senses; bodily activities mean sensual activities. But if you go deep into the matter, the senses can only act when the mind is sound. If the mind is not sound, a crazy man cannot use his senses properly. So, first of all there is technology of the senses, and then the higher technology is of the mind, which is known as psychology-thinking, feeling, and willing. And, above this mind, above the mental science, there is the science of the intelligence. Above the science of the intelligence, the background is the soul. Unfortunately, we have got technology for the bodily senses and for psychology, but we have neither any technology for intelligence nor for the science of the soul. This technology is wanting in the modern civilization." Although Prabhupada clearly analyzed the urgent need for the students to adopt Krsna consciousness, during the question period, instead of asking a philosophical question, a student merely pointed at the large metal U-shaped stand and asked, "What is the meaning of the sign at your back?" I cringed. Prabhupada looked at the stand, and then back at the student. With mild annoyance he said, "Oh, this? I do not know. That is not my sign. That is a technological symbol. It is your sign." Everybody laughed. At the end of the program, while we were all putting on our coats in preparation to leave, I heard several people shouting. Worried that there might be some difficulty for Prabhupada, I turned to find him. Prabhupada was fine, but he was being heavily challenged by a small group of students and teachers. He looked delicate, but after all he had God on his side. One student was insistently shouting, "All is one!" Others supported this assertion with a variety of angry expressions. Prabhupada attempted to convince the student logically that although everything is one, within that one there is variety, but the student obstinately continued arguing. So Prabhupada angrily grabbed his shirt collar and loudly said, "You say everything is one. But is this cotton shirt the same as a cotton ball? Why don't you wear a cotton ball instead of this shirt?" Prabhupada appeared to be angry, the students were angry, and we were angry because we felt that the students were insulting our spiritual master. A few of us sought a taxi so we could extricate Prabhupada from the insulting confrontation, and while someone paged a cab, the others separated Prabhupada from the students. Satsvarupa rode back in the taxi with Prabhupada, who thought the evening a success. Of course it was, for his anger had been displayed simply for the purification of us all.