Hare Krishna Society

Warning signals given to us by Srimad Bhagavatam……the bhaktas who are intelligent will not ignore them

SB 4.22.31-When one deviates from his original consciousness, he loses the capacity to remember his previous position or recognize his present one. When remembrance is lost, all knowledge acquired is based on a false foundation. When this occurs, learned scholars consider that the soul is lost.

SB 3.26.26 purport- In the material world we are producing so many things, and this is called advancement of civilization, but factually the advancement of civilization is a manifestation of the false ego. By false ego all material things are produced as objects of enjoyment. One has to cease increasing artificial necessities in the form of material objects. One great ācārya, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, has lamented that when one deviates from pure consciousness of Vāsudeva, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he becomes entangled in material activities. The exact words he uses are, sat-saṅga chāḍi’ kainu asate vilāsa/ te-kāraṇe lāgila ye karma-bandha-phāṅsa: “I have given up the pure status of consciousness because I wanted to enjoy in the temporary, material manifestation; therefore I have been entangled in the network of actions and reactions.”

SB 3.26.27 purport-The symptoms of the mind are determination and rejection, which are due to different kinds of desires. We desire that which is favorable to our sense gratification, and we reject that which is not favorable to sense gratification. The material mind is not fixed, but the very same mind can be fixed when engaged in the activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, as long as the mind is on the material platform, it is hovering, and all this rejection and acceptance is asat, temporary. It is stated that he whose mind is not fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must hover between acceptance and rejection. However advanced a man is in academic qualifications, as long as he is not fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he will simply accept and reject and will never be able to fix his mind on a particular subject matter.

SB 3.26.28 puport-The system of yoga entails controlling the mind, and the Lord of the mind is Aniruddha. It is stated that Aniruddha is four-handed, with Sudarśana cakra, conchshell, club and lotus flower. There are twenty-four forms of Viṣṇu, each differently named. Among these twenty-four forms, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Vāsudeva are depicted very nicely in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, where it is stated that Aniruddha is worshiped by the yogīs. Meditation upon voidness is a modern invention of the fertile brain of some speculator. Actually the process of yoga meditation, as prescribed in this verse, should be fixed upon the form of Aniruddha. By meditating on Aniruddha one can become free from the agitation of acceptance and rejection. When one’s mind is fixed upon Aniruddha, one gradually becomes God-realized; he approaches the pure status of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is the ultimate goal of yoga.

Krsna’s Prasadam always looks- so delicious

Hare Krsna-below we have two very nice purports and one verse about Sound-Anavrttih sabdat– that thru this subtle medium one can become liberated from the cycle of birth and death. If that sound is authorized it can dissolve our material existence. Srila Prabhupada tells us that the secret of this mystical sound is that it must come from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master-otherwise it has NO spiritual potency.

He also adds in that….”seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency.“

The last article we put out about ” intelligence”, explained that one has to learn how to doubt at first, in order to find out what is real and what is illusion. Once we use our intelligence, and with the (Paratmatma) Supersoul’s help to understand who is a bona fide guru and who is a fake, then we can go forward withauthorized spiritual sound from the bona fide spiritual master, who when we follow him can cut our bonds to this material world of repeated birth and death. The whole process can be boiled down to -hearing or giving rapt attention to the sound made by a bona fide spiritual master, and then acting upon it !!

Hare Krsna

damaghosa das

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SB 3.26.32 purport-…It is stated also in the Vedānta-sūtra that sound is the origin of all objects of material possession and that by sound one can also dissolve this material existence. Anāvṛttiḥ śabdāt means “liberation by sound.” The entire material manifestation began from sound, and sound can also end material entanglement, if it has a particular potency. The particular sound capable of doing this is the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa. Our entanglement in material affairs has begun from material sound. Now we must purify that sound in spiritual understanding. There is sound in the spiritual world also. If we approach that sound, then our spiritual life begins, and the other requirements for spiritual advancement can be supplied. We have to understand very clearly that sound is the beginning of the creation of all material objects for our sense gratification. Similarly, if sound is purified, our spiritual necessities also are produced from sound.

Here it is said that from sound the ether became manifested and that the air became manifested from ether. How the ethereal sky comes from sound, how the air comes from sky and how fire comes from air will be explained later on. Sound is the cause of the sky, and sky is the cause of śrotram, the ear. The ear is the first sense for receiving knowledge. One must give aural reception to any knowledge one wants to receive, either material or spiritual. Therefore śrotram is very important. The Vedic knowledge is called śruti; knowledge has to be received by hearing. By hearing only can we have access to either material or spiritual enjoyment…. The principle of hearing to properly utilize preconceived materials is applicable to spiritual paraphernalia as well. We must hear from the proper spiritual source.

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SB 3.26.30-Doubt, misapprehension, correct apprehension, memory and sleep, as determined by their different functions, are said to be the distinct characteristics of intelligence.

PURPORT-Doubt is one of the important functions of intelligence; blind acceptance of something does not give evidence of intelligence. Therefore the word saṁśaya is very important; in order to cultivate intelligence, one should be doubtful in the beginning. But doubting is not very favorable when information is received from the proper source. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that doubting the words of the authority is the cause of destruction.

As described in the Patañjali yoga system, pramāṇa-viparyaya-vikalpa-nidra-smṛtyaḥ. By intelligence only one can understand things as they are. By intelligence only can one understand whether or not he is the body. The study to determine whether one’s identity is spiritual or material begins in doubt. When one is able to analyze his actual position, the false identification with the body is detected. This is viparyāsa. When false identification is detected, then real identification can be understood. Real understanding is described here as niścayaḥ, or proved experimental knowledge. This experimental knowledge can be achieved when one has understood the false knowledge. By experimental or proved knowledge, one can understand that he is not the body but spirit soul.

Some Conclusions– This is a very instructive purport by Srila Prabhupada for he tells us how we should accept or reject something. When iskcon devotees were first offered the bait of post Nov 1977 bogus gurus being presented to them, many if not most, accepted. But later so many doubts came in due to the intelligence of the devotees and the results of this un authorized guru experiment. Here in the purport Srila Prabhupada tells us that we should first doubt, then after seeing the actual sastric proof, we can then accept something as valid. Now some 42 years later, all the information is out there to make an “intelligent” decision about who is an actual guru or spiritual master and who is not. If one has still not figured this out by now, then he or she is not very intelligent nor are they serious about spiritual life.

Hare Krsna

damaghosa das

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Final Instructions of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada

On December 23rd, 1936, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada gave his final instructions to the assembled devotees: Continue reading →

June 1976 New Vrndavana

Srila Prabhupada: The Western civilization is a nasty civilization, artificially increasing the necessities of life. For example, take the electric light. The electric light requires a generator, and to run the generator you need petroleum. As soon as the petroleum supply is stopped, everything will stop. But to get petroleum you have to painstakingly search it out and bore deep into the earth, sometimes in the middle of the ocean. This is ugra-karma, horrible work. The same purpose can be served by growing some castor seeds, pressing out the oil, and putting the oil into a pot with a wick. We admit that you have improved the lighting system with electricity, but to improve from the castor-oil lamp to the electric lamp you have to work very hard. You have to go to the middle of the ocean and drill and then draw out the petroleum, and in this way the real goal of your life is missed. You are in a precarious position, constantly dying and taking birth in various species of life. How to get free of this cycle of birth and death – this is your problem. And this problem is meant to be solved in the human life. You have advanced intelligence for self-realization, but instead of using your advanced intelligence for self-realization, you are utilizing it to improve from the castor-oil lamp to the electric lamp. That’s all.

Kulasekhara dasa: People would say that your suggestion is impractical. Besides, electricity does many other things besides produce light. Most of our modern comforts depend more or less on electricity.

Srila Prabhupada: In this life you may be living very comfortably, but in the next life you might become a dog.

Srila Kirtanananda Swami: People don’t believe that.

Srila Prabhupada: Whether they believe it or not, it is a fact. For example, a boy does not know that he is going to grow into a young man, but his mother and father know. If the boy says, “No, I’m not going to become a young man,” that is childish; the father and mother know that the boy will grow into a young man and that they should educate him so he can be properly situated. This is the guardians’ duty. Similarly, when we talk of transmigration of the soul, a rascal may say, “I don’t believe in it,” but it is still a fact. A rascal, a mad man, may say transmigration is not a fact, but the real fact is that he’ll have to accept another body according to the quality of his endeavor in this life. (karanam guna-sango ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu).

Srila Kirtanananda Swami: What if someone says, “This life of growing the castor seeds is very difficult, and farming in general is very difficult. It is easier to go to the factory for eight hours, come home with my money, and enjoy.”

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Hare Krsna-below in one short conversation we find two different things- Srila Prabhupada telling us that he became purified just thinking about some old devotee friend of his,….and that he got initiated by some professinal guru when he was 12 years old-a family guru. Later he rejected this man when he met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja.

So two things-first one is that we also can become purified thinking of actual devotees and the reverse of that is that we become contaminated thinking of nonsense people who pose themselves as devotees. And second thing is that if one has accepted initiation from a person who is not a real guru, you can reject that person, and there is no sinful reaction. If you can find a bona fide guru (Srila Prabhupada) then your life become perfect. But for that one must become serious or be blessed by Lord Krsna.

damaghosa das

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July 1, 1977, Vṛndāvana

Prabhupāda: In Bhāgavata there are many instances, very old man married. Anyway, this gentleman was such a nice devotee. Oh.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What was particularly nice about his devotional quality?

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Which devotional qualities particularly did he…?

Prabhupāda: Because later on he retired—he was a pleader—so whole day and night, simply devotee. Sometimes he would offer obeisances to the Deity. Actually he was old man. He’ll fall asleep by… And he would remain in that two, three hours.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Two or three hours? Wow. Wow. Completely devoted.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. And daily he would go to the Ganges.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What was his name, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: His name was Nanda Dulal Phaini(?). So yesterday I was thinking of him, and I said it in my… I am being purified by thinking of him. All of a sudden.

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Hare Krsna-I was reading the verse below at breakfast time and felt inspired to send it and a few others out as well. For those who are somewhat serious about spiritual life, they will find in these purports, verses and classes of Srila Prabhupada very informative and useful on a practical level. We don’t want theory, we want something practical that can be applied daily in our lives that will bring the desired result-no more birth and death, and love for God-Krsna. Here below, is such an approach.

damaghosa das

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SB 3.26.7-Material consciousness is the cause of one’s conditional life, in which conditions are enforced upon the living entity by the material energy. Although the spirit soul does not do anything and is transcendental to such activities, he is thus affected by conditional life.

PURPORT-The Māyāvādī philosopher, who does not differentiate between the Supreme Spirit and the individual spirit, says that the conditional existence of the living entity is his līlā, or pastime. But the word “pastime” implies employment in the activities of the Lord. The Māyāvādīs misuse the word and say that even if the living entity has become a stool-eating hog, he is also enjoying his pastimes. This is a most dangerous interpretation. Actually the Supreme Lord is the leader and maintainer of all living entities. His pastimes are transcendental to any material activity. Such pastimes of the Lord cannot be dragged to the level of the conditional activities of the living entities. In conditional life the living entity actually remains as if a captive in the hands of material energy. Whatever the material energy dictates, the conditioned soul does. He has no responsibility; he is simply the witness of the action, but he is forced to act in that way due to his offense in his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā that māyā, His material energy, is so forceful that it is insurmountable. But if a living entity simply understands that his constitutional position is to serve Kṛṣṇa and he tries to act on this principle, then however conditioned he may be, the influence of māyā immediately vanishes. This is clearly stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Seventh Chapter: Kṛṣṇa takes charge of anyone who surrenders to Him in helplessness, and thus the influence of māyā, or conditional life, is removed.

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Hare Krsna-we shall try to discuss the very important subject of—offenses to pure chanting

Why is it that we devotees have such a hard time actually hearing the Holy Name or even each other for that matter?? The saying goes…”you can always tell a devotee, ……you just cant tell him anything”

Why do we devotees make verbal offenses over and over again to each other and think nothing of it? Isn’t the first offense to chanting Hare Krsna maha mantra not to blaspheme or unnecessarily criticize the devotees of the Lord? Lord Caitanya, who, according to the sastra, is God Himself, tells us that anybody who chants only once the Holy Names- is a Vaisnava.

Madhya 15.106-Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “Whoever chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa just once is worshipable and is the topmost human being.

PURPORT-Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa once, a person becomes perfect. Such a person is understood to be a Vaiṣṇava.

March 10 1976 mayapur

Prabhupāda: No, you should always remember that either gṛhastha or brahmacārī or sannyāsī, nobody can strictly follow all the rules and regulations of them. In the Kali-yuga it is not possible. So if I find simply fault with you, and if you find fault with me, then it will be factional, and our real business will be hampered. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended that hari-nāma, chanting HareKṛṣṇa mantra, should be very rigidly performed, which is common for everyone: gṛhastha, vānaprastha or sannyāsī. They should always chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.Then everything will be adjusted. Otherwise it is impossible to advance. We shall be complicated with the details only. This is called niyamāgrahaḥ. I think I have explained.

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Regarding propaganda against animal slaughter in BTG. Please do not print any picture showing how a cow is being murdered in our BTG. This will pollute the whole atmosphere. We are not meant for moving anyone’s sentiment against animal slaughter, we are neither Buddhists or Jains, whose main propaganda is against animal slaughter. Even the so-called vegetarians who do not take Krishna prasadam are as much sinful as the non-vegetarians. Our propaganda is different, to make people Krishna Conscious, which automatically makes them sympathetic against any kind of animal slaughter. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam, one living entity subsists on the life of other living entities, either vegetarian or non-vegetarian. But we are neither of them. We are not vegetarian nor non-vegetarian. We are transcendental. We are concerned with Krishna Prasadam. Try to popularize Krishna Prasadam as you have already done. People will naturally become vegetarian without any ghastly propaganda.

The pictures of a mahajana or similar pictures for propagating the Bhagavata conclusion should be our objective. Other pictures, there are so many subject matters, just like we follow 4 principles, say for example, illicit sex life, we can publish so many pictures of illicit sex life, but that will not advance our cause. Similarly we may make propaganda against animal slaughter, but that will not advance our real cause. KC is based on pure understanding, not by any sentimental provocation. People must be intelligent enough to catch up this KC movement without being carried away by any sentimental wave. We should always remember that we do not belong to any group like the karmis, jnanis, or yogis. We belong to pure devotional service group, following the footprints of great mahajanas. Our purpose should be that we are in one side and all others they are on the other side. We deprecate everyone, even one who is against animal slaughter. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, it is clearly said that there are two classes of activities. Pious and impious. We do not favor any one of them. Neither we favor any philosophical speculation, we simply stick to Krishna, and wish to render loving transcendental service unto Him. That should be our main objective, and the policy of BTG must be pursued on this line of action. I hope you will understand me rightly. Everyone who is not a KC person is a butcher. Even the so-called pious man, who is not in KC, he is also a butcher. Because he is killing his own self. So in our view, everyone is butcher, and everyone is thief also, because he is enjoying Krishna’s property. So how we can discriminate who is honest and dishonest and butcher and not butcher? Our only test is how one is taking to KC: Even a so-called butcher comes we welcome to chant Hare Krishna.

Letters : 1968 Correspondence : November : Letter to: Rayarama — Los Angeles 19 November, 1968 : 68-11-19

SB 3.25.40 purport-

A pure devotee does not pray to the Lord for liberation from this material bondage. Actually, the pure devotee never thinks that he is fit for liberation. Considering his past life and his mischievous activities, he thinks that he is fit to be sent to the lowest region of hell. If in this life I am trying to become a devotee, this does not mean that in my many past lives I was one-hundred-percent pious. That is not possible. A devotee, therefore, is always conscious of his real position. Only by his full surrender to the Lord, by the Lord’s grace, are his sufferings made shorter.

….A pure devotee is not anxious to elevate himself in his next birth. He has already given up that sort of hope. In any life in which one is born, as a householder, or even as an animal, one must have some children, some resources or some possessions, but a devotee is not anxious to possess anything. He is satisfied with whatever is obtainable by God’s grace. He is not at all attached to improving his social status or improving the status of education of his children. He is not neglectful—he is dutiful—but he does not spend too much time on the upliftment of temporary household or social life. He fully engages in the service of the Lord, and for other affairs he simply spares as much time as absolutely necessary(yathārham upayuñjataḥ).

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Hare Krishna Society

Warning signs given to us from Srimad Bhagavatam

Sound-from the right source means liberation-otherwise-it has no potency

Doubt-first sign of intelligence–SP

Final Instructions of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupada discusses simple living at New Vrndavana 1976

For a real guru, one can give up this professional guru–SP

If you use properly your money, then you make your path parapavarga, clear.–SP

Offenses to pure chanting-let us discuss this important subject

Regarding propaganda against animal slaughter–SP

Srila Prabhupada explains how a pure devotee householder should think