Srila Prabhupada speaks out- “So all my disciples are expected
to become siksa-guru on my order, not by his own order.”

Indian lady: Can the death of a spiritual master take to us, or I can get… Is that spiritual master still guiding after the death? (?) 
Srila Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Just like Kṛṣṇa is guiding us, similarly, spiritual master will guide. We are being guided by Kṛṣṇa, by the Bhagavad-gītā. Although Kṛṣṇa is not physically present, so-called… Kṛṣṇa is present always. But even if we say that Kṛṣṇa is not physically present as He was present before Arjuna, still, His book, Bhagavad-gītā, is there. And that Bhagavad-gītā is non different from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s teaching, the same, absolute. That is Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s… Here form, the same. It is not that we are making show of offering Kṛṣṇa some food. No, we are offering directly to Kṛṣṇa and He’s eating. Kṛṣṇa being absolute, He can perform through anything provided we are sincere and serious. All right. (Srila Prabhupada’s Lecture on the Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākur London, September 3, 1971)

Gopala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada, I am just trying to clarify — I don’t want to offend anyone — but no disciple of yours should call himself diksa-guru or siksa-guru. Am I right?
Srila Prabhupada:..” Well, everyone is engaged to become siksa-guru, but one should become perfect. The attempt is — what is called? — probationer. When probationer period is finished, then he is naturally, automatically, bona fide guru. Not in the probationer period. That is immature attempt. That will failure. Amara ajnaya [Cc. Madhya 7.128], Caitanya Mahaprabhu said: “By My order.” So all my disciples are expected to become siksa-guru on my order, not by his own order.”  That is meaning I am giving sannyasa, I am sending you to different places, so this means that you have to carry out the order of the guru very strictly; then you become mature. Otherwise it will be artificial attempt, and that kind of guru will not help.”(Srila Prabhupada’s room conversation May 30 1976 Honolulu, Hawaii.)

BACK TO GODHEAD ORIGINAL SCANS FROM 1944-1977
[Srila Prabhupada – “BTG is my life and soul. Please therefore try to distribute BTG as many as it is possible.“(Letter to Gurudasa — Los Angeles 16 April, 1970)]

Hare Krishna. All glories to His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and all Vaisnavas. 

The following link contains the nectar of all available scans of the Back to Godhead Magazine from 1944-77. 

There are a total of 141 scanned files in the drive with 100s of interesting and transcendental articles written by Srila Prabhupada. 

Please click the link below to access the scanned copies: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NPfgrqxyrcT1CIEfoNM8WRgcpbbrON7E?usp=sharing

Some quotes below emphasize how dear was the BTG Magazine to Srila Prabhupada and how important it is for all of us to study thoroughly again and again. Therefore, all the devotees are requested to receive all the nectarean benefits of all these 141 copies and distribute them to everyone.

BTG is my life and soul. Please therefore try to distribute BTG as many as it is possible. I started this magazine in 1947 in my householder life. I was spending Rs. 300 to 400 at the time ($300 to 400 in your exchange), and I was distributing this magazine without any consideration how much I was getting in return. Practically the whole money was spent without any return. But ten years after, from 1954 to 1959, the struggle was very hard because at that time I had no money and alone I was editing, publishing, and securing money for publication. So it was a great struggle. My ambition was that I would publish BTG in huge quantity so that people may understand transcendental blessings of Lord Caitanya.

[Letter to Gurudasa — Los Angeles 16 April, 1970] 

Please accept my blessings. I have not heard anything from you in long time what is the situation with publication of our Back To Godhead. So I am anxious to know when it will be again published, and if it can be regularly printed, even on our mimeograph machine. It is too much important that it must be distributed regularly, as it is the backbone of our mission. So, even it is not printed very expensively and highly, still, it must be distributed even in mimeograph copy. And then in future we can print it very nicely, when there is the money there to do it. So please see to it, and please let me know the position by return of post as soon as possible.

[Letter to Rayarama — Montreal 8 June, 1968]

Please therefore save them from the great falldown. Believe me or not, I have got the clue of going “Back to Godhead” just after leaving my present material body and in order to take along with me all my contemporary men and women of the world, I have started my paper “Back to Godhead” as one of the means to the way.

Please do not think of me as an wonderful or a mad man when I say that I shall go “Back to Godhead” after leaving my present material body! It is quite possible for everyone and all of us.

[Letter to Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of Indian Union — Delhi 21 November, 1956]

I am very glad to learn that S.F. Temple is doing very nicely in the street Sankirtana with transcendental plays. And your BTG sales are very encouraging to me. I have heard from Gargamuni that you are ordering 20,000 issues of BTG and this is very good news. Selling BTG means that our movement is increasing and our philosophy is being appreciated.

[Letter to Madhudvisa — Los Angeles 14 February, 1970]

You should take BTG as your life and soul. Your work for BTG is first and foremost above all. If you do not find any time for other things, there is no objection, but I want to see that you make BTG a successful magazine like Life magazine or Illustrated Weekly of India. I am very much ambitious of the progress of the paper, and you can use your discretion how to do it.

[Letter to Rayarama — San Francisco, March 23, 1968

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July 21 1975 San Francisco

Prabhupāda: Now they should come to big dictionary. This is Vedic. The Vedic truth is there, but it is not properly explained because the men were fourth-class. Now the people have become advanced. They should take to Vedic literature. Then they will understand how God created. But it was not explained because the people, they were living in the desert and shepherds and all fourth-class, fifth-class men. And now they, these first-class men, all advanced men, they are trying to adjust the tenth-class ideas, and therefore they are becoming rejecting, that “It is all useless.” Now they should come to first-class understanding in the Vedas.

Paramahaṁsa: As a matter of fact there’s a very famous quote from Christ…

Prabhupāda: I think Christ said that there are many things to be spoken but…

Paramahaṁsa: “My father’s house has many rooms, but I cannot tell you of it now.”

Prabhupāda: Because they were fourth-class, fifth-class men. They will not understand. Therefore it is taken, “dogmas.” The modern students, they are advanced in education, and these things are not explained. And besides that, their education is atheistic. Therefore they are trying to reject religion.

Nalinī-kaṇṭha: They say you cannot study Veda because Christ said that there is no other way than himself.

Prabhupāda: Because they are fourth-class, unless he says like that, how they will stick? They were not intelligent men. Just like Lord Buddha also said, “There is no God.” “There is no God,” but he is God himself.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That means the followers of Lord Buddha are less intelligent than the followers of…

Prabhupāda: “Less” not. They are atheist class. So they will not understand what is God. So he said, “There is no God. You just hear me and become nonviolent.” So his idea was, “Let this rascal first of all become nonviolent. Then they will be pure, and then they will understand.”

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Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/madhya/14/177

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Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/madhya/14/219

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Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/madhya/14/231

Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/madhya/14/235

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Video Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y3SaU28B2OGUisag6f9pgwUuTXJlBmyt/view?usp=sharing

Hearing and Chanting Srimad-Bhagavatamand the Mahamantra

By Narasimha das

The tenth offense to the holy name is to “become disinterested” in the holy name of the Lord and to remain attached to material desires. After having so many negative experiences in this mundane world, and after hearing many instructions regarding the value of renunciation and the glories of Krishna’s holy names, intelligent persons begin chanting Hare Krishna with determination. (See: SB.2.1.11, Purport) Often in Vedic prescriptions the most important instruction comes last. Without becoming disinterested in material existence, we may become inattentive or “disinterested” in chanting Hare Krishna.

Material desires make it difficult for us to chant the divine names with faith, humility and attention. This is described by Queen Kuntidevi in her prayers to Lord Krishna.

The First Result of Chanting and Hearing:

Hearing and chanting Krishna’s holy names with careful attention is the only means of attaining perfection in this age. Real devotional service, or bhakti, begins when we are freed from false ego and its associated false ambitions. Inattentive chanting is said to be the mother of offenses in chanting the holy names because it gives rise to the other offenses. Fully attentive and pure chanting is not possible without careful renunciation of material desires. Such renunciation helps lead us to pure chanting of the holy names, and this is also the first step to understanding Srimad-Bhagavatam. “The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism.” (SB. 2.1.11, Purport) Material desires are born and breed due to “false egoism”.

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, a genuine paramahamsa, has indicated that other Vedic proponents and students in the realm of karma, jnana and yoga are barred from understanding the real purpose and essence of Srimad-Bhagavatam. He mentioned that his father, Srila Vyasadeva, rejected His own disciples because they remained attached to these pursuits. Srila Vyasadeva apparently didn’t consider them qualified to receive the transcendental realizations offered by the Bhagavatam. Our first qualification for deep understanding of Srimad-Bhagavatam is our willingness to renounce material ambitions.

Srila Vyasadeva Rejects His Disciples:

It appears that among the disciples of Sri Vyasadeva, not all were pure devotees—not all were free from material desires. Not all were on the same level, and not all were qualified to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Srila Sukadeva Gosvami has explained, “…The incarnation of Godhead Vedavyasa, rejecting his disciples, headed by Paila, instructed Srimad-Bhagavatam to me because I was free from all material desires…”

“O King Pariksit, mainly the topmost transcendentalist, who are above the regulative principles and restrictions, take pleasure in describing the glories of the Lord.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.7)

Srimad-Bhagavatam is especially meant for paramahamsas. It’s real meanings and purposes can’t be understood or appreciated by materialistic persons.  Without the special assistance and mercy of the great devotees in the line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, no one in this age is qualified to understand the Bhagavatam, which is described by Srila Prabhupada as the “post-graduate” study of Vedic literature. Srimad-Bhagavatam is best studied daily according the sadhana Srila Prabhupada established for his temples. In this way, by regular attendance in classes of Srimad-Bhagavatam all that is “inauspicious in the heart” becomes almost completely vanquished.

The best way for hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam is in association with non-duplicitous devotees, following the format Srila Prabhupada prescribed. A similar format was shown by great devotees when Srila Sukadeva Gosvami first spoke it to Maharaja Pariksit on the banks of the Ganges, and again when Sri Suta Goswami spoke it to the assembly of great sages in the sacred forest of Naimisaranya. (We should always hear and chant Srila Prabhupada’s translations and purports found in his original, authorized editions.)

Chanting Hare Krishna is the Only Way:

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said that there are “no hard and fast rules” for chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Chanting the holy names can be effectively done anywhere and everywhere by all persons in all times and all places. In a series of classes on Nectar of Devotion in Vrindaban (Nov. 12 and 13, 1972), Srila Prabhupada mentions that anyone can attain perfection— “even if he doesn’t read any scripture”—simply by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

“O King, constant chanting of the holy names of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, and also those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, as well as those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11)

It mentions above that even those “who desire all material enjoyment” should chant Hare Krishna for success. Such materialists may achieve their desired objectives by chanting, but they can never attain liberation or prema-bhakti. Gradually, however, by chanting Hare Krishna for a long time and associating with devotees, materialists may learn to detest material desires. The problem for materialists, however, is that it is hard for them to associate with devotees or chant regularly and attentively.  

What is the solution for offensive chanting? Chanting Hare Krishna is the way to become freed from the reactions of all kinds of offenses, but what is the solution for one who chants offensively? According to great authorities, there is no remedy for offenses to the holy name—other than constant chanting. We can save time and suffering by chanting Hare Krishna and avoiding the 10 offenses in chanting. In this we can quickly arise to the level of pure chanting with full attention, by the mercy of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and Srila Prabhupada. At this stage, pure devotional service really begins and becomes truly effective. Srimad-Bhagavatam assures us that this the “doubtless and fearless way of success for all”.