Krishna is knowable through Devotion

"Krsna is knowable through devotion... Krsna sees the devotion, and He discloses. 'You are a very confidential person. Because of your devotion, I will give you the intelligence by which you can understand Me. Here is the intelligence. Now here I am.' It is a gift from Krsna. It is reciprocation from Krsna when He sees bhakti. That is our theology. Therefore, developing our devotion is all-critical, to have real knowledge. We read Prabhupada's books to develop our devotion, our appreciation for Krsna. As our appreciation for Krsna becomes stronger, our eagerness to serve Krsna becomes stronger and stronger; as that happens, then Krsna discloses: 'I am like this. Here is the intelligence by which you can understand what I have just disclosed to you.' Then, although the Lord is inconceivable, He becomes knowable."

- HH Romapada Swami
[Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder from Sri Vrindavan Dhaam on October 09, 2011]

Faith in the Holy Name

MANY ARE CHANTING BUT HOW MANY ARE HEARING?

When we are chanting our surrender is simply to hear because our mind will have many objects about what to contemplate on. The mind has so many attachments, desires, fears and aspirations.

It is a great priority that we make a offering of our heart by concentrating and hearing His Holy Name. This is how we can worship Krishna in the temple of our heart. It is an offering of love.

There’s a story of a devotee in Jagannath Puri who was constantly chanting Hare Krishna. Always chanting and had so much ecstasy always. So when he got the call of nature, he thought how he can take Krishna’s Holy Name in an impure place because Krishna is non-different from His name. So that devotee caught his tongue so that he could stop chanting. On the way he met a small 5 yr boy who said why he was doing that? The devotee replied because I don’t want to take Krishna in an impure place.

The boy replied Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us that there are no hard and fast rules for chanting the Holy Name. You can chant anywhere, everywhere and Krishna is so pure and merciful that through His name He accepts the service in any situation. The boy asked What happens if you die when you are in that situation? Death can come at anytime – padam padam yad vipadam na tesam. If you leave your body while the call of nature, what will happen if you are not chanting the Holy Name? It’s your duty to chant always without consideration.

So the devotee when he heard this, he let go and started chanting once again.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates happened to be watching this and they were so pleased with this boy Gopal that They named this boy as Gopal Guru because he was a Guru – teaching the glories of the Holy Name.

- HH Radhanath Swami

Narada Muni's opinion on Noble Behavior

There was a king of the kuru dynasty named Suhotra who once went to visit some great rishis. While returning home, he happened to meet another king named Shibi, traveling on the road in the opposite direction. The road was too narrow for both chariots to pass and becuase they were both equals in terms of age and other qualifications, neither Shibi nor Suhotra would move.

Narada Muni then appeared on the scene and asked what was the matter?

Suhotra and Shibi replied, "Devarshi it is proper ettiquette that one should give the right way to superiors. However because we are equal to one another in all respects, none of us are willing to move."

Narada Muni said I will recite some verses from shastra and also give you my opinion on the matter.

-Wicked persons behave harshly even toward superiors, wheareas those who are elevated conduct themselves very mildly, even while dealing with those who are sinful. Since a noble person behaves virtuosly, even toward those who are degraded, why he should not do so in relation to those who are good?
- An exalted person regards another person's qualities and the services rendered by him to be one hundered times greater than they actually are. In this way he only sees good in others.
- The way to conquer a mean minded person is to give him charity. A liar is won over by truth, a sinful person is conquered by forgiveness, and a dishonest person's heart is softened by honesty.

My dear Suhotra, aside from this, you should know that Maharaja Shibi's greatness exceeds yours. My dear Kings, since you both are very large hearted, one of you should volunatrily move aside, giving up all sense of false pride.

Suhotra then moved his chariot off the road giving Shibi the right way and while doing so, he priased him highly.

- Stories from Mahabharat (Vana Parva - Markendya Rsi to Yudhistar Maharaj)

Faith in Krishna and His Devotees

Disciple: So knowledge is not necessary for faith, but faith is necessary for knowledge.


Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Therefore a devotee, without any knowledge he becomes a devotee. That faith, only faith. The devotee advances. Later on, they become automatically full of knowledge because they have strong faith.


Earlier on this walk, a devotee had asked Prabhupada, “How does one particular person come to manifest faith and others do not?”


Prabhupada replied that it is because of purity. Another devotee volunteered, “Oh, you mean from past lives and pious activities?” Prabhupada said that if we have purity, we acquire more faith and knowledge. We must begin, however, with faith. “Because he is faithful, therefore I help him to get knowledge. Again you come to that.”


Disciple: Blind faith is the belief that…


Srila Prabhupada: Blind faith — that I have already explained. Why do you forget? He shows me, “Prabhupada, come this way.” So, I have no faith. Why shall I go? If I have no faith, then I have to stop here, and my movement is finished. You have to keep faith blindly. The man is giving direction. If he’s perfect, your faith will make you advanced.But if you go to a rascal cheater, if you have blind faith then you are lost. The child has no knowledge, but he has faith in his parents, and he believes what his parents say. Then he’s making progress.
Just like you go to a barber shop, and you put your neck like this and he is with the razor. So unless you have faith, “No, he’s a good man, he will not cut my throat,” how can you do so? Faith is the beginning. If you say, “No, I have no faith in you,” then you cannot be cleansed.


Disciple: Sometimes a barber looks like he could cut your throat.


Srila Prabhupada: He could do that, but you must have faith. Otherwise, no shaving. Suppose you are going to some unknown place. Now we are purchasing, paying $2,000 for a ticket, but where is the guarantee that you will go there? You are paying money first, but there’s no guarantee that you will go there. How do you get the ticket, and how do you get on the plane without faith? Without faith you cannot move an inch. It must be there.
We say, “No, this ticket is issued by Pan American. They are a good company. So many people are going. I will go also.” That’s all, faith. You never went there, neither you know whether it will be possible to go there. You have to purchase the ticket. If you say, “First of all let me go there, then I shall pay,” they will say, “Get out! First of all pay. Then you come on.”


Disciple: When I was first coming to this movement, Srila Prabhupada, I opened Bhagavad-gita and I said, “I don’t understand this.” I began to clean the floor, wash the dishes, cut the vegetables.


Srila Prabhupada: Yes, very good. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. By service only. You can understand God simply by service.

Prabhupada once went to an ecumenical meeting with a few priests.

One of the priests asked him, “Don’t you ever have doubts?”
Prabhupada replied, “Doubts? Of course not. How can I be teaching if I have doubts?”
The priests were disturbed by his reply; they wanted him to admit to doubts because they had doubts. A fixed person will not have doubts. We may have to acknowledge that we are not so fixed.

 

Krishna

"My conclusion is, therefore that You are the Supreme Soul, Absolute Truth, and the supreme original person; and although You have expanded Yourself in many Visnu forms, or in living entities and energies, by Your inconceivable transcendental potencies, You are the supreme one without a second, You are the supreme Supersoul. The innumerable living entities are simply like sparks of the original fire. Your Lordship, the conception of the Supersoul as impersonal is wrongly accepted because I see that You are the original person. A person with a poor fund of knowledge my think that, because You are the son of Maharaj Nanda, You are not the original person, that You are born just like a human being. They are mistaken. You are the actual original person; that is my conclusion. In spite of Your being the son of Nanda, You are the original person, and there is no doubt about it. You are the Absolute Truth, and You are not of this material darkness."

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(Krsna Book, Chapter 14, Prayers Offered by Lord Brahma to Lord Krsna)

Sinful Birds Fly Away!

"Just as by clapping the hands one can cause many birds to fly away, similarly the birds of all sinful activities which are sitting on the body can be made to fly away simply by dancing and clapping before the Deity of Krsna."

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(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 9)

Krishna's Special Favor

Sri Sri Radha London Isvara

London, England

"In our present state of imperfect material existence, we cannot see the Supreme Lord, due to imperfect vision. Yet those devotees who want to see him by means of material vision are favored by the Lord, who appears in a so-called material form to accept His devotee's service."

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(Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 5, Purport)

Final Transmigration of the Soul - Back to Godhead! :)

Just like every night we die. The gross body remains inactive while we are sleeping, and the subtle body takes me away. I dream, I go in the dreamland. I have gone to some friend, I am talking with somebody, I am working in a different way. That is our daily experience. This means that we have got two kinds of body. One body is this gross body, and the other body is subtle body, made of mind, intelligence, and ego. So foolish person, they do not see the subtle body, but the subtle body is there. Everyone will accept. I am working with my mind, intelligence and ego. Everyone knows. So although we cannot see the subtle body, it is there. So death means this gross body, this overcoat is left, and I am carried away by the subtle body, and I enter into another overcoat, or gross body. So practically this is called death. Because we have no vision of the subtle body, how the soul is being transferred or transmigrating from one gross body to another gross body, keeping the subtle body intact. And the subtle body is given up when one is liberated. And at that time he goes, when he is liberated, freed from this subtle body also, at that time he is promoted to the spiritual kingdom in spiritual body. Therefore while living in this gross body, we have to educate our subtle body in such a way that it becomes spiritualized completely.

The subtle body is mind, intelligence and ego. So if we think of Krsna in the mind, always, and if we work intelligently for Krsna, that is mind and intelligence. And if we change our false ego, ego means, "I am." So I am at the present moment thinking, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am white," "I am black," like that. "I am human being," "I am animal," "I am cat or dog," so many things, "I am." This "I am" has to be changed. I am eternal servant of Krsna. In this way, if you educate or transfer the activities of the subtle body, mind, intelligence, and ego, then, at the time of death, you give up this subtle body, material subtle body, mind, intelligence, and ego, and by your spiritual body you go back to home, back to Godhead. This is called Krsna consciousness movement. Gross body, automatically we give up. Now, we should practice to give up the subtle body. To give up this subtle body, one has to develop love for God, prema. And the process is, how to give up the subtle body.

 

So, Ultimate transmigration means go back to home, back to Godhead. That should be the actual aim of life. That is first class intelligent. But they do not know. Therefore we are trying to render our humble service to the human society, to give this information, that "You are trying for so many things for becoming happy, but instead of being happy, you are becoming hippie. So please take this Krsna consciousness and actually you will be happy."

 

- Srila Prabhupada

Result of following Religion

Real dharma, real religion is to become servant of God, or to render service to God. That is real religion. But we have manufactured so many religions. Different societies, different circumstances, different country. Therefore it is advised herewith that you may execute any kind of religious faith or [break] ...principle, but the result should be [break] ...perfect. You can say, "I am very perfectly executing the ritualistic ceremonies, and the tenets described in my scripture, Bible or Veda or Koran." That's very good. But what is the result? The result is that you must develop or increase your tendency to hear about God. But if your ultimate truth is impersonal. Mostly they consider God has no form. Then if God has no form then what he'll hear about Him. Simply formless, formless, formless. How can you, how long you can go thinking like this, "God is formless"? If God is formless, then your idea of hearing about Him is finished, because formless, there is nothing, activities.

But actually God is not formless. Several times I have explained. God has got His form. He is person. He has got His activities. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, janma karma, ajo 'pi sann avyayatma bhutanam isvaro 'pi san. Although He is aja, nobody has to die, aja. Aja means birth. Nobody takes birth. Either the living entity or God, na jayate na mriyate. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that the living entities, we are all living entities, na jayate, they do not take birth, neither they do die. Na jayate na mriyate va kadacit, at any time. Then what is this death and birth? The death and birth is simply change of the body. The subtle body and the gross body.

 

- Srila Prabhupada

Dependent on the Mercy of Krishna

In the material world, to be dependent on the mercy of someone else is the utmost sign of misfortune, but in the case of our transcendental relation with the Lord, it is the most fortunate case when we can live completely dependent on Him. The material disease is due to thinking of becoming independent of everything. But the cruel material nature does not allow us to become independent. The false attempt to become independent of the stringent laws of nature is known as material advancement of experimental knowledge. The whole material world is moving on this false attempt of becoming independent of the laws of nature. Beginning from Rāvaṇa, who wanted to prepare a direct staircase to the planets of heaven, down to the present age, they are trying to overcome the laws of nature. They are trying now to approach distant planetary systems by electronic mechanical power. But the highest goal of human civilization is to work hard under the guidance of the Lord and become completely dependent on Him. The highest achievement of perfect civilization is to work with valor but at the same time depend completely on the Lord. The Pāṇḍavas were the ideal executors of this standard of civilization. Undoubtedly they were completely dependent on the good will of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but they were not idle parasites of the Lord. They were all highly qualified both by personal character and by physical activities. Still they always looked for the mercy of the Lord because they knew that every living being is dependent by constitutional position. The perfection of life is, therefore, to become dependent on the will of the Lord, instead of becoming falsely independent in the material world. Those who try to become falsely independent of the Lord are called anātha, or without any guardian, whereas those who are completely dependent on the will of the Lord are called sanātha, or those having someone to protect them. Therefore we must try to be sanātha so that we can always be protected from the unfavorable condition of material existence. By the deluding power of the external material nature we forget that the material condition of life is the most undesirable perplexity. The Bhagavad-gītā therefore directs us (7.19) that after many, many births one fortunate person becomes aware of the fact that Vāsudeva is all in all and that the best way of leading one's life is to surrender unto Him completely. That is the sign of a mahātmā. All the members of the Pāṇḍava family were mahātmās in household life. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the head of these mahātmās, and Queen Kuntīdevī was the mother. The lessons of the Bhagavad-gītā and all the Purāṇas, specifically the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, are therefore inevitably connected with the history of the Pāṇḍava mahātmās. For them, separation from the Lord was just like the separation of a fish from water. Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī, therefore, felt such separation like a thunderbolt, and the whole prayer of the Queen is to try to persuade the Lord to stay with them. After the Battle of Kurukṣetra, although the inimical kings were killed, their sons and grandsons were still there to deal with the Pāṇḍavas. It is not only the Pāṇḍavas who were put into the condition of enmity, but all of us are always in such a condition, and the best way of living is to become completely dependent on the will of the Lord and thereby overcome all difficulties of material existence.

SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 1.8.37 PURPORT