751102mw.nai Conversations

Brahmananda: The quality of the chanting he’s asking. How can we make
the quality the best?

Prabhupada: Quality, you’ll understand first of all come to the
quality. Without having quality, how he’ll understand the quality? You
follow the instruction of your spiritual master, of the sastra. That
is your duty. Quality, no quality–it is not your position to
understand. When the quality comes there is no force. You will have a
taste for chanting. You will desire at that time, “Why sixteen round?
Why not sixteen thousand rounds?” That is quality. That is quality. It
is by force. You’ll not do it; therefore at least sixteen rounds. But
when you come to the quality, you will feel yourself, “Why sixteen?
Why not sixteen thousand?” That is quality, automatically. Just like
Haridasa Thakura was doing. He was not forced to do. Even Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, He requested, “Now you are old enough. You can reduce.” So
he refused, “No. Up to the end of my life I shall go on.” That is
quality. Have you got such tendency that you will go on chanting and
nothing to do? That is quality. Now you are forced to do. Where is the
question of quality? That is given a chance so that one day you may
come to the quality, not that you have come to the quality. Quality is
different. Athasaktih. Asakti, attachment.
Just like Rupa Gosvami says that “How shall I chant with one tongue, and how shall I hear, two
ears? Had it been millions of tongue and trillions of ear, then I
could enjoy it.” This is quality. Quality is not so cheap. Maybe after
many births. For the time being you go on following the rules and
regulations. It is being done by force. Where is the quality? So you
wanted to understand quality. This is the quality. You’ll not be
forced, but automatically you’ll desire. That is quality.

I am writing books. I am not being forced by anyone. Everyone can do that. Why one
does not do it? Why I get up at night, one o’clock, and do this job?
Because I cannot do without it. How one will do it artificially? This
is quality. Therefore they like my purports. That quality is shown by
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda virahena me. “Oh,
I do not see Govinda. The whole world is vacant.” Sunyayitam jagat
sarvam govinda virahena me. This is quality. Just like we have got
practical example. One man’s beloved has died, and he is seeing the
whole universe vacant. Is it vacant? So that is quality of love. So
there is no formula of quality. It is to be understood by himself.
Just like if after eating something you feel refreshed and get
strength, that is quality. You haven’t got to take certificate: “Will
you give me a certificate that I have eaten?” You’ll understand
whether eaten or not. That is quality. When you will feel so much
ecstasy in chanting Hare Krsna, that is quality. Not
artificially–“Chant. Chant. Otherwise get out.” This is not quality.
This is in expectation that someday you may come to quality. That
requires time. That requires sincerity. But quality is there.
Sravanadi suddha citte karaye… It will be awakened. Not by force.

So if we want this quality of chanting we must have constant devotee association

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760217SB.MAY Lectures
So this is the test. This is the test, that as soon as one is not
Krsna conscious, immediately he comes to the group of sinful
activities, rascaldom, lowest of the mankind, mayayapahrta-jnana, all
knowledge taken away, and he’s an asura, Hiranyakasipu’s family,
Hiranyakasipu’s category. So this is not optional, that “If I don’t
take to Krsna consciousness, that is my wish, my desire.” No. If you
desire in that way then you’ll be punished. You become immediately…
You cannot say, “It is my optional. I may become a thief; I may remain
honest. That is my option.” No. As soon as you become thief, you are
punishable. Similarly, anyone who is not Krsna conscious, he’s
immediately punishable. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya. The
punishment will go on in various ways. Continue reading →

680706SB.MON Lectures
So this bhakti, it is not simply sentiment, but it is
to understand actually what is God. It is science of God. Otherwise
how it is said in the Bhagavad-gita that brahma-bhutah prasannatma?
One who has understood the Supreme, the Absolute, he is called
brahmana, brahma-bhutah. And the symptom is that… How can I
understand that he is a brahmana and has understood Brahman? The
immediate answer is brahma-bhutah. The test is, one who is completely
in knowledge of Brahman, the symptom will be prasannatma: he will be
always cheerful. There is no question of anxiety for him. That is
brahma-bhutah. Prasannatma na socati na kanksati. There is no
lamentation; there is no desire. That is brahma-bhutah stage. There is
no [material] desire.
.. And next, by becoming into brahma-bhutah stage, what are other
symptoms? Samah sarvesu bhutesu: “Oh, he is equal to everyone.” Then,
when one has attained this perfection of life, then he can execute
devotional service. Mad-bhaktim labhate param. And by that devotional
service, one can understand what is God.

680709SB.MON Lectures
So that is not the way. Tarko apratisthah. If you want to
understand the Absolute Truth by your arguments, it is not possible.
Tarko apratisthah srutayo vibhinnam. Srutayo means scriptures. If you
want to understand the Absolute Truth by studying different
scriptures… Just like the Hindus have got their different
scriptures. They have got four Vedas, eighteen Puranas, Mahabharata,
Ramayana, Vedanta-sutra, 108 Upanisads, so many, similarly, in other
countries also, they have got Bible or Buddhist literature or
Muhammadan. They are all scripture. But you cannot conclude about the
Absolute Truth simply by studying scriptures. It is not possible.
Srutayor vibhinnah. Vibhinnah means there are different… Continue reading →

760430rc.fij Conversations

Prabhupada: Gradually, you’ll understand Krsna,
by eating only. Krsna is not so easy to be understood, but we are
giving you facility to eat krsna-prasadam so that one day you can
understand this movement. This is the policy. Actually, that is the
policy. We are not poor-feeding. That is not our philosophy. Like
Vivekananda. Daridra-narayana-seva. No, we are not after that. We are
giving you prasadam. And that is fact, that by eating, eating, eating,
eating, you one day will become Krsna conscious. Simply by eating.
Because you are so dull, you cannot understand the philosophy. You
know the belly like the animals. So therefore we are giving facility,
“All right, fill up your belly, fill up your belly. And you’ll be
infected.” As you take foodstuff from a infected area, you become
infected with some disease, so this is Krsna infected, prasadam. You
take it, and one day you’ll be diseased with Krsna consciousness.

730429SB.LA Lectures
Krsna is living everywhere–that is, that is the vision of the higher devotees.
Actually He’s living, but still, because we are in the lower
condition, we should know that here is Krsna in the temple. Krsna is
everywhere, but for us, because we have no such vision to see Krsna
anywhere and everywhere, therefore we should come here in the temple
and see Krsna, “Here is Krsna. Krsna has kindly appeared here in a
manner in which I can see Him. That is Krsna’s mercy.” That is temple.
We cannot see… Krsna has completely spiritual body, but we have no
eyes to see what is that spiritual body. Sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. We
are accustomed to see this material, jada, gross things. We can see
stone, we can see metal, we can see wood. We can see all these
material elements. But Krsna is everything. Therefore to be visible to
our imperfect eyes, Krsna has appeared in the stone form, but Krsna is
not stone. It is not that we are worshiping stone; we are worshiping
Krsna. But because we cannot see except stone, therefore Krsna has
kindly appeared in the form carved from the stone. This is the
conclusion.

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Hare Krsna to all

Pranams
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Today, after the swell of around million touristas have left our town, we went to see the tulip fields close by to us. As one can see, so many varieties are grown here and this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is available. Just before the tulips the daffodils appeared , yet another spectacular display of Krsnas amazing energy.
In the Bhagavad Gita it states–“Sarva kama dugha mahi” from the earth all our necessities are given to us.
When one looks at just the vivid colors present in these flowers, one could ask why dont we see those colors in the mud or earth? Yet that is where they all came from. How did all that color come from just mud?
We dont see those colors there, yet here they are in the flowers. Continue reading →