Hare Krishna Society

Our well-wisher, by Haripada dasa

Srila Prabhupada from 1966 to 1977 answered more than 7,000 letters from his disciples and admirers, and he always put at the en, Your well-wisher Bhaktivedanta Swami. Do not think that finding a bona fide representative of God or Krishna is an easy thing. The problem is that there are many deceivers. Srila Prabhupada always said that what people dislike the most is suffering and being cheated. Another thing he always said is that people can not understand the simplest things in life because they are full of sinful activities. People do not understand the difference between a materialistic person and an atheist and a true devotee of God or Krishna. The atheist and materialist has no good feeling for anyone, nor for himself, and the devotee of Krishna is a person full of compassion. He cannot bear the afflictions of others and tries through the preaching of Krishna consciousness, so that people chant Hare Krishna, lead a pure and sinless life and be happy. Srila Prabhupada sacrificed his life for others. That is the practical proof that he is a representative of God or Krishna, and he is Acharya, which means the one who preaches with his personal example.

Srila Prabhupada is saktyavesa avatara. The word avatara means that that descends from the spiritual world, and saktyavesa means the one that God or Krishna sends to be His representative. When Srila Prabhupada was born the astrologer said that this child when he is 70 years old will leave India to go to the Western countries to preach the conscience of Krishna. He will open over a hundred temples of Krishna, he will write 80 books and these books will be the law books for the next 10,000 years for all mankind. Up to now, more than 500 million books have been distributed in all the languages of the world. Srila Prabhupada did not come to make a new religion, but to preach concepts and truths that are eternal, as Jesus Christ said that I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.

Srila Prabhupada taught us that the real problems are liberating us from birth, death, old age and disease. He taught us that the only spiritual process in Kali yuga or the present era is to chant the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare (the H is read as J de jota), and taught us that the pure and intimate devotees of God or Krishna never die, they live eternally in their instructions. Those who obey his instructions live with them. Srila Prabhupada taught us to love our enemies, I am going to tell a story that illustrates this, Srila Prabhupada bought a piece of land in Bombay, India, to make a Krishna temple, a Hotel, a Theater and a vegetarian restaurant. He bought land from one Mr. Nair, a very powerful character, President of the Supreme Court and Director of a newspaper. Nair before had also sold that same land to the C. Company, with traps took away the land and money. The C. Company sued Nair, but Nair won the lawsuit.

Srila Prabhupada knew it and so and everything took a risk. Nair and his lawyer wanted to do the same with Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada sued Mr. Nair in the courts, but Nair died of a heart attack. His mistress continued with the litigation and made a big mistake, she bribed City Hall officials to tear down the temple which the devotees were already building. She was trying to throw all the devotees of Krishna who lived on the land. This backfired, the devotees of Krishna called all his Hindu friends and told them everything. All the most important people of Bombay condemned this act and Mrs. Nair was devastated. After Mrs. Nair all regretted went to see Srila Prabhupada and crying he threw himself at his feet to forgive her, Srila Prabhupada full of mercy told him that you are for me as my daughter, never in life will you lack anything, I would I will take care of you. Now that temple is one of the most important temples of spiritual India.

www.fflv.org https://haripadadasa.blogspot.com

“The neophyte Vaisnava devotees’ ringing the bell even once during worship of the Deity of the Supreme Lord is a MILLION TIMES MORE VALUABLE spiritually and otherwise, than the charitable fruitive workers building many hospitals, feeding thousands of the poor, or building homes, or even the empirical philosophers’ Vedic studies, meditation, austerities, and penances.”

N98:RTW2.9 Following in the footsteps of Self Realized

The above was quoted from a lecture given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaj and found in the vedabase folio.

DEITY WORSHIP-THE MOST VALUABLE BENEDICTION GIVEN BY THE LORD TO NEOPHYTES

Lecture NY sept 18 1966

So in my childhood, when I was five or six years old, I requested my father that “Father, give me this Deity. I shall worship.” So father purchased for me little Krishna, Radha, and he gave me, and I was imitating. Whatever foodstuff I was getting, I was offering to Krishna and eating. In this way I got my life developed. And there was a temple in our neighbourhood.So I was seeing the Krishna deity. Oh, I was thinking…..I still remember. I was standing for hours together.

SB 4.30.27 purport–Deity worship in the form of temple worship is the most valuable benediction given by the Lord to beginners. All neophytes must therefore engage in the worship of the Lord by keeping the arcā-vigraha (arcāvatāra) at home or in the temple.

SB 7.14.39-TRANSLATION–My dear King, when great sages and saintly persons saw mutually disrespectful dealings at the beginning of Tretā-yuga, Deity worship in the temple was introduced with all paraphernalia.

NoD 35 Neutral Love of God 175614/530501

Without worshiping the arca-vigraha, the form or Deity of the Lord,

one cannot understand such literature as Bhagavad-gita and

Srimad-Bhagavatam.

751030SB.NAI Lectures 223477/530501

So the temple worship is essential. So those who are against temple

worship, Deity worship, they are not very intelligent class of men,

foolish, mudha. NoD 35 Neutral Love of God

Continue reading →

SB 1.11.3 purport…This sound of the Lord is identical with the Lord, as we have tried to explain by the nondual position of the Lord. The material existence of our present status is full of fear. Out of the four problems of material existence, namely the food problem, the shelter problem, the fear problem and the mating problem, the fear problem gives us more trouble than the others. We are always fearful due to our ignorance of the next problem. The whole material existence is full of problems, and thus the fear problem is always prominent. This is due to our association with the illusory energy of the Lord, known as māyā or external energy, yet all fear is vanished as soon as there is the sound of the Lord,represented by His holy name, as it was sounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the following sixteen words:Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare We can take advantage of these sounds and be free from all threatening problems of material existence.

SB 1.18.18 purport…The mental diseases of the present generation are more acute than bodily diseases

SB 2.1.17 purport…. Oṁkāra is the seed of all transcendental sound and it is only the transcendental sound which can bring about the desired change of the mind and the senses. Even a mentally deranged man can be cured by treatment of transcendental sound. In the Bhagavad-gītā, the praṇava (oṁkāra) has been accepted as the direct, literal representation of the Supreme AbsoluteTruth. One who is not able to chant directly the holy name of the Lord, as recommended above, can easily chant the praṇava (oṁkāra). This oṁkāra is a note of address, such as “O my Lord,” just as oṁ hari om means “O my Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” As we have explained before, the Lord’s holy name is identical with the Lord Himself. So also is oṁkāra. But persons who are unable to realize the transcendental personal form or name of the Lord on account of their imperfect senses (in other words, the neophytes) are trained to the practice of self-realization by this mechanical process of regulating the breathing function and simultaneously repeating the praṇava (oṁkāra) within the mind.

Continue reading →

SB 1.18.18 purport…The mental diseases of the present generation are more acute than bodily diseases

SB 2.1.17 purport…. Oṁkāra is the seed of all transcendental sound and it is only the transcendental sound which can bring about the desired change of the mind and the senses. Even a mentally deranged man can be cured by treatment of transcendental sound. In the Bhagavad-gītā, the praṇava (oṁkāra) has been accepted as the direct, literal representation of the Supreme Absolute Truth. One who is not able to chant directly the holy name of the Lord, as recommended above, can easily chant the praṇava (oṁkāra). This oṁkāra is a note of address, such as “O my Lord,” just as oṁ hari om means “O my Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” As we have explained before, the Lord’s holy name is identical with the Lord Himself. So also is oṁkāra. But persons who are unable to realize the transcendental personal form or name of the Lord on account of their imperfect senses (in other words, the neophytes) are trained to the practice of self-realization by this mechanical process of regulating the breathing function and simultaneously repeating the praṇava (oṁkāra) within the mind.

Continue reading →

SB 1.18.25-Purport—The Supreme Lord is so kind to His pure devotees that in proper time He calls such devotees up to Him and thus creates an auspicious circumstance for the devotee. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a pure devotee of the Lord, and there was no reason for him to become extremely fatigued, hungry and thirsty because a devotee of the Lord never becomes perturbed by such bodily demands. But by the desire of the Lord, even such a devotee can become apparently fatigued and thirsty just to create a situation favorable for his renunciation of worldly activities. One has to give up all attachment for worldly relations before one is able to go back to Godhead, and thus when a devotee is too much absorbed in worldly affairs, the Lord creates a situation to cause indifference. The Supreme Lord never forgets His pure devotee, even though he may be engaged in so-called worldly affairs. Sometimes He creates an awkward situation, and the devotee becomes obliged to renounce all worldly affairs. The devotee can understand by the signal of the Lord, but others take it to be unfavorable and frustrating. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was to become the medium for the revelation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as his grandfather Arjuna was the medium for the Bhagavad-gītā. Had Arjuna not been taken up with an illusion of family affection by the will of the Lord, the Bhagavad-gītā would not have been spoken by the Lord Himself for the good of all concerned. Similarly, had Mahārāja Parīkṣit not been fatigued, hungry and thirsty at this time, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would not have been spoken by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the prime authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So this is a prelude to the circumstances under which Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was spoken for the benefit of all concerned. The prelude, therefore, begins with the words “once upon a time.

SB 1.18.31 purport…By placing Arjuna and the Pāṇḍavas in frustration due to the intrigue of their cousin-brothers, the prelude of the Battle of Kurukṣetra was created by the Lord. This was to incarnate the sound representative of the Lord, Bhagavad-gītā. So by placing King Parīkṣit in an awkward position, the incarnation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was created by the will of the Lord. Being distressed by hunger and thirst was only a show, because the King endured much, even in the womb of his mother. He was never disturbed by the glaring heat of the brahmāstra released by Aśvatthāmā. The King’s distressed condition was certainly unprecedented. The devotees like Mahārāja Parīkṣit are powerful enough to forbear such distresses, by the will of the Lord, and they are never disturbed. The situation, in this case, was therefore all planned by the Lord.

SB 1.18.32 purport….

Due to Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s good government, even a boy of tender age, who was playing with other inexperienced boys, could become as powerful as a qualified brāhmaṇa. This boy was known as Śṛṅgi, and he achieved good training in brahmacarya by his father so that he could be as powerful as a brāhmaṇa, even at that age. But because the age of Kali was seeking an opportunity to spoil the cultural heritage of the four orders of life, the inexperienced boy gave a chance for the age of Kali to enter into the field of Vedic culture.Hatred of the lower orders of life began from this brāhmaṇa boy, under the influence of Kali, and thus cultural life began to dwindle day after day. The first victim of brahminical injustice was Mahārāja Parīkṣit, and thus the protection given by the King against the onslaught of Kali was slackened.

Continue reading →

Jan 9 1973 SP letter…

Understanding is one thing, and practical application of that understanding is another. But as devotees of Krsna, being engaged in the practical work of spreading Krsna consciousness, that is already the highest realization. That’s all right, that is our real mission, to deliver the world by preaching Krsna’s message to others, but even higher realization, the highest realization, is to save oneself.

May 17 1975 Perth

Paramahaṁsa: But even if we can’t stay here, we all have to die, our sons and their sons, if we do something now, then maybe they won’t have to suffer so much in the future.

Prabhupāda: So why you are thinking of your son’s future, your grandson’s… Why don’t you think of your future?

Paramahaṁsa: It makes me happy to think that they’ll be happy.

Prabhupāda: That is madness. That is madness.

Paramahaṁsa: If I get insurance policy then they will have some money after I go…

Prabhupāda: No, no, that is natural, that you think of future. But the foolishness is you don’t think of your future. That is foolishness. This is natural. Because every living entity is eternal, therefore he has future. But for himself he is thinking, “There is no life, next.” And he is thinking of the life which will come as his grandson or son, what will be their future. And he is blind about the own future. This is fourth-class man.Suppose some danger is coming. So shall I take care of you: “How you will be saved? How you will be saved?” How I will be saved—that is my first business. That he does not know. There have been many cases. There is all of a sudden fire. The man has left everything, and his baby was there. He was crying, “Oh, I have left my…” The natural tendency—”First of all save me.” Self preservation is the first law of nature. So why did he forget about his baby? Now, when he comes out, he is thinking about baby. This is natural, that he does not think about himself; he is thinking about future generation.

“What nonsense will come as my son or grandson?” Just see. This is fourth-class man.

Amogha: So he should first save himself, then think about how to save others.

Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all he must know what will actually saving. That he does not know.He is thinking of his country. Suppose next birth he becomes a cow and his countrymen will send him to the slaughterhouse. So what is the use of having your country? The same country, the national… The cow is also national, you are also national, but the law is the cow is to be sent to the slaughterhouse. Therefore they have been all described as mūḍhāḥ, rascals, only rascals. Except a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, all persons are rascals.Do you admit or not?

Paramahaṁsa: Yes.

Continue reading →

KB 2-31…Although You are constantly with the conditioned soul, only when he becomes purified by devotional service do You become revealed to him. Others, who are bewildered by fruitive activities, either by Vedic injunction or customary dealings, and who do not take to devotional service, become captivated by the external happiness of the bodily concept of life. You are not revealed to such persons. Rather, You remain far, far away from them. But for one who, being engaged in Your devotional service, has purified his heart by constant chanting of Your holy name, You become very easily understood as his eternal constant companion.

“It is said that Your Lordship, sitting in the heart of a devotee, gives him direction by which he can very quickly come back to home, back to You. This direct dictation by You reveals Your existence within the heart of the devotee. Only a devotee can immediately appreciate Your existence within his heart, whereas for a person who has only a bodily conception of life and is engaged in sense gratification You always remain covered by the curtain of yogamāyā. Such a person cannot realize that You are very near, sitting within his heart.

Continue reading →

SB 1.18.7-Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a realist, like the bees who only accept the essence [of a flower]. He knew perfectly well that in this age of Kali, auspicious things produce good effects immediately, whereas inauspicious acts must be actually performed [to render effects]. So he was never envious of the personality of Kali.

PURPORT-The age of Kali is called the fallen age. In this fallen age, because the living beings are in an awkward position, the Supreme Lord has given some special facilities to them. So by the will of the Lord, a living being does not become a victim of a sinful act until the act is actually performed. In other ages, simply by thinking of performing a sinful act, one used to become a victim of the act. On the contrary, a living being in this age is awarded with the results of pious acts simply by thinking of them. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, being the most learned and experienced king by the grace of the Lord, was not unnecessarily envious of the personality of Kali because he did not intend to give him any chance to perform any sinful act. He protected his subjects from falling prey to the sinful acts of the age of Kali, and at the same time he gave full facility to the age of Kali by allotting him some particular places. At the end of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that even though all nefarious activities of the personality of Kali are present, there is a great advantage in the age of Kali. One can attain salvation simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Thus Mahārāja Parīkṣit made an organized effort to propagate the chanting of the Lord’s holy name, and thus he saved the citizens from the clutches of Kali. It is for this advantage only that great sages sometimes wish all good for the age of Kali. In the Vedas also it is said that by discourse on Lord Kṛṣṇa’s activities, one can get rid of all the disadvantages of the age of Kali. In the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is also said that by the recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Supreme Lord becomes at once arrested within one’s heart. These are some of the great advantages of the age of Kali, and Mahārāja Parīkṣit took all the advantages and did not think any ill of the age of Kali, true to his Vaiṣṇavite cult.

NOD chapter 11–In the Nāradīya Purāṇa there is a statement of how this servitorship is transcendental. It is said there that a person who is constantly engaged in devotional service by his body, mind and words, or even a person who is not practically engaged but is simply desiring to be so, is considered to be liberated.

Pictures below–San Francisco Ratha Yatra 1975- L-R…Revatinanda swami, Sudama Swami and Vishnujana Swami—that was probably the best ratha yatra-ever !!! Remember that picture of Srila Prabhupada standing up on the stage with arms outstretched and thousands of hippies all chanting along??? There was so much prasadam, that we, the devotees from seattle yatra took back with us back in our van a half filled (garbaga can sized) tub of gulab jamuns !!! Do think anybody back then worried about sugar shock?

Continue reading →

The Perfection Of Life

by Hasti Gopala dasa

This quote is from the purport of Srila Prabhupada’s sixth canto part three chapter 16, text thirty nine from his commentaries on the Srimad Bhagavatam, the 1975 edition. Page 128.
We will see just how merciful Srila Prabhupada is to the whole universe and how
Lord Caitanya cares about and loves all of us miserable living beings. They have the door wide open for us. We need not even knock, just dance forward with the
holy names on our tongues. Here it is.

“The perfection of life is to be uninterested in attachment to material enjoyment and interested in Krsna. If one comes to Krsna consciousness somehow or other, even for material gain, the result is that he will be liberated. Kamad dvesad bhayat snehat. Whether for the satisfaction of material desires, because of the influence of envy, because of fear, because of affection or because of any other reason, if one comes to Krsna his life is successful. “

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

He lives forever by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him.

YS Hasti Gopala Dasa

Harming others, by Haripada dasa

People believe that true happiness is in harming others, the more harm you do to others, the happier you are, as 99’99 percent of people, parents and educational institutions think today. They have no interest in people living without harming others, people do not know how to live without harming others. Now there is bullying, a student with no reason to harass him to make life impossible, and sometimes the child is so desperate that he commits suicide, I have heard that in Spain they are introducing meditation in schools, because they have seen that children so small and they are full of anxieties. Let’s not forget that we live in the world of envy, all the activities of people are based on envy, Srila Prabhupada always said that people eat meat because they are very envious of animals, and it also says in the books that nobody can get to be a devotee of God or Krishna, without practicing nonviolence and morality.

The message of the Vedic literature is that come out of the darkness and come to light, I remember that when I distributed the first canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, I showed the parents the painting that the activities of Kali yuga, animal killing, games of chance, illicit sex and drinking alcohol and getting high, and next to that darkness comes the light of godly life. Chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama , Hare Hare (the H is read as J de jota), devotional festivals, respect maha prasada, food offered to God or Krishna, etc., and I asked the parents you that you choose that life or the other for your children, and most stayed with the book. Srila Prabhupada says that the cause of all the chaos that we are living now is the lack of devotees of God or Krishna. The hypocritical people feel that they are good people, they go to the Churches, Temples and Mosques, but we see in practice that nobody knows neither loves God, and it is all pure deception. They have no interest in knowing and loving God.

The difference between a true devotee of God or Krishna and an ordinary person is that the devotee suffers when he sees others suffer. He leads a pure life and does not engage in sinful activities. He is always making arrangements to help people get out of the dark ignorance. But an ordinary person is happy when he sees others suffering, from getting up until he goes to bed only he is doing sinful activities. The greatest suffering for that person is when he sees the devotees of God or Krishna happy chanting Hare Krishna and dancing full of devotional love. I share this message from the 7th chapter of the Nectar of devotion that says no pain to any living entity.

This is a comment found in The Mahābhārata: “A person who does not bother or cause pain in the mind of any living entity, who treats everyone as a loving father treats his children, whose heart is very pure, certainly he will very soon be favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ” In the so-called civilized society, there is sometimes agitation against cruelty to animals, but at the same time regular slaughterhouses are always maintained. The devotee of God or Krishna is not like that. A devotee of God or Krishna will never be able to support the killing of animals, nor will he cause pain to any living entity.

Hare Krishna Society

Our well-wisher

What is the value of Deity Worship?–SP

the fear problem gives us more trouble than the other ones

Even a mentally deranged man can be cured by treatment of transcendental sound–SP

How even one bad disciple can ruin an institution

The highest realization is–to save your self

Our Eternal Friend within our Heart

not held accountable for bad thoughts in kali yuga-but can get liberation simply by thinking about Krsna

The Perfection Of Life

Harming others