Hare Krsna-

Below we have compiled some quotes by Srila Prabhupada about home deity worship. It seems thee are some misconceptions which have arisen that only if one can adopt the same  strict standards that Prabhupada originally enunciated in his temples, then one should not have Deity worship in his home.This is simply not the case at all as you will see from the pages of quotes we have arranged below.If that were the case then as his  iskcon temple worship standards have deteriorated so badly and so many deviations have arisen there in those places then following this logic, we would have no deity worship at all today ! But we do and everyone’s standards will not be the same-but we must all engage in deity worship daily- nonetheless.

Hare Krsna

damaghosa das————————————-

May 6 1968 Mukunda letterIt is very nice that you are keeping the Radha Krishna Murti so nicely there with you. No, it is not improper to keep Them at your home, but it must be kept with due veneration and respect. If we keep the Statue of Krishna in our room, we must know that Krishna is present, and as such we must be careful in our dealings, talkings and behavior, as we are present before Krishna directly. The altar should be so made, with curtain, that it may be closed when Krishna and Radha are taking rest. Dress them as nicely as possible, we have so many Radha Krishna pictures, you can take idea from them.

Jan 12 1968 letter Hamsadutta

Regarding your question, the deity shall be put to rest in time, and if people are still eating prasadam, the arati cannot be performed. It is better if after offering prasadam to the deity you perform arati, close the curtains and then distribute prasadam to the devotees. Please do not accept from Gopala Krishna 6 inch murti. He has promised to donate one pair of 24 inch murtis. Besides that, when you are engaged in the worshipment of the temple deities, you may not install separately deities at your home.

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BTG MAGAZINE VOLUME 1,PARTS 1-4,1944“BACK TO GODHEAD”(in devanāgarī:)vande ‘haṁ śrī–guroḥśrī–yuta–pada–kamalaṁśrī–gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca
śrī–rūpam sāgrajātaṁ saha–gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁsa–jīvam
sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana–sahitaṁkṛṣṇa–caitanya–devaṁ
śrī–rādhā–kṛṣṇa–pādānsaha–gaṇa–lalitā–śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca

July 19 1977
Prabhupāda: …known as a religious man so that they can do business very exploitively. They were called by class=”highlight”>Guru class=”highlight”>Mahārāja, dharma-dhvaji.(?) Exploit (Bengali). class=”highlight”>Guru class=”highlight”>Mahārāja used to say dharma-dhvaji. “class=”highlight”>Daṇḍavat class.” Yes. He knows simply to offer daṇḍavats. (laughs) Even so nice word: “Oh, class=”highlight”>he’s a class=”highlight”>daṇḍavat class.” My class=”highlight”>Guru class=”highlight”>Mahārāja was very humorous. He was a Calcutta bhap.(?) Therefore he liked me. All others, they came from East Bengal. I was the only disciple, Calcutta. All others…

Oct 19 1972

So dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ, notpādayed yadi ratim [SB 1.2.8]. This hearing process is very, very important. But people are not interested in hearing. They are simply busy in some other duties. My Guru Mahārāja used to say… One who was not interested in hearing, he used to call him a daṇḍavat-class. Daṇḍavat-class of men. That means simply he knows how to make daṇḍavats, that’s all. (laughter) Anyone who will come to him, he would see whether he is a daṇḍavat-class of man or hearing class of man. So daṇḍavat is nice, but by offering daṇḍavat, if one does not develop the intent of hearing, śravaṇam, then he is not making very much progress. As you know, because I was little interested in hearing, my Guru Mahārāja, he accepted me as his disciple. He marked this. “This boy is interested in hearing. He does not go away.” Actually, I do not know. I could not understand what he was speaking in the beginning, but still I was very much interested to hear him, out of curiosity or something like that. So hearing is very important thing.

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Subject: Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji tirobhava tithi -Disappearance day-
compiled by Yasoda nandana dasa

Srila Prabhupada explains the meanng of surrender
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Devotee (1): A devotee becomes more surrendered because the influence of the modes, the three modes, becomes diminished, or is the influence just changed from ignorance and passion to goodness?
Srila Prabhupāda: The surrender means surrender to whom?
Devotee (1): To Kṛṣṇa and to Your Divine Grace.
Srila Prabhupāda: So that surrender means to accept his orders. The spiritual master trains the disciple in the way of goodness quality. So if you do not abide the orders of spiritual master, what is the use of your surrender? Surrender means ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasya varjanam (Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 11.676). Anukūla, favorable things, should be accepted. And you do not know.
Therefore spiritual master will direct you, “This is favorable. This is unfavorable. Don’t smoke—this is unfavorable.” But if you don’t accept the instruction, what is the meaning of surrender? Simply by offering obeisances, falling flat for the time being, that is not surrender.
Devotee (2): Daṇḍavat.
Srila Prabhupāda: Daṇḍavat class. Surrender means you must abide strictly the orders, sad-dharma-pṛcchā, ādau gurvāśrayam. To accept a guru means . . . Śiṣya means one must agree to be governed by the spiritual master. That is called śiṣya. Śiṣya . . . Śās-dhātu. From śās-dhātu all these terms—śāstra, śastra, śiṣya, śāsana—these are words derived from the root śās-dhātu.
Śās-dhātu means śāsana, governing. The governing is done by military, governing is done by law books, governing is done by personal instruction, so many things. So śiṣya means who voluntarily accepts to be guided or being governed by the representative of God. That is śiṣya.Srila Prabhupada’s Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 — Surat, December 23, 1970

1682 -1755

Sri Vijaya dasaru Aradhana [Tirobhava tithi – Disappearance day]

November 24, 2020

Srila Prabhupada:  This verse indicates that oṁkāra, or praṇava, is a direct representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if at the time of death, one simply remembers oṁkāra, he remembers the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is therefore immediately transferred to the spiritual world. Oṁkāra is the basic principle of all Vedic mantras, for it is a representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, understanding of whom is the ultimate goal of the Vedas, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ). Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand these simple facts explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, and yet they are very proud of being Vedāntīs. Sometimes, therefore, we refer to the Vedāntī philosophers as Vidantīs, those who have no teeth (vi means “without,” and dantī means “possessing teeth”). The statements of the Śaṅkara philosophy, which are the teeth of the Māyāvādī philosopher, are always broken by the strong arguments of Vaiṣṇava philosophers such as the great ācāryas, especially Rāmānujācārya. Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya and Madhvācārya break the teeth of the Māyāvādī philosophers, who can therefore be called Vidantīs, “toothless.”  https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/7/128

Hare Krsna to all

Over the years we have had hundreds of programs both here on our farm and back in Seattle. I am very grateful and thankful to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krsna for arranging all these events to take place because without devotee association, this material world is a very miserable place.

Hare Krsna

damaghosa das

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Prabhupada’s lecture – Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.10.4 – Mayapura, June 19, 1973

Now here is very important word, that payasodhasvatīr mudā, udhasvatīr mudā. They were very jolly because they can understand whether they are going to be killed or not. Because they have got, they’re animal, they have got sense. I have seen in your country, almost all cows are crying, crying. Because in the beginning, all the calves are taken away and slaughtered in their presence. Perhaps you know. So what is the position of the cow? I have seen when we purchase cows, the calves are already taken away. The cow was crying, regular tears were gliding down. So they can understand that… Who cannot understand? Suppose if you are taken in the concentrated camp? Just like the Germans did. What is the meaning of concentrated…? That he’ll be killed after some days. So how you can be happy? If you are already informed, condemned to death, and kept in a concentration camp, will you be happy? Similarly, when these people take these cows to the slaughterhouse, animal stock room, go down, they understand. Very recently, about few years ago, some…, that animal stock store was some way or other broken and all the cows began to… Perhaps you know. It was published in the… And they were shot down. Shot to death. They were fleeing like anything, that “We shall save ourselves.”
So if the cows are not happy, if they are always afraid, that “This rascal will kill us at any moment,” then how they can be happy? There was no such thing. Therefore it is said: mudā. Mudā. Happy. And as soon as the cows are happy, you not only get sufficient milk, but the pasturing ground, I mean to say, ground, becomes moist with milk. So much milk supplied. Here it is stated, payasā udhasvatīr mudā. Yes. There is another description. Formerly, Kṛṣṇa’s cows, when they were passing on, the whole road will be moistened with milk. Milk supply was so sufficient. Simply manufacture butter, milk products, dahi… Distribute. Kṛṣṇa was distributing amongst the monkeys even: “Take,” the monkey, “come on.”
So by Kṛṣṇa’s grace if we actually become dharmic, follow Kṛṣṇa, the milk supply will be so profuse that everyone, even the animals can take the butter and yogurt. That is wanted. That is civilization. Produce sufficient quantity of grains, let the milk, cows, supply sufficient quantity of milk. All economic question solved. There is no use of industry. No use of man’s going fifty miles to work. No, there is no need. Simply land and cows. Here is the statement. Kāmaṁ parjanyaḥ, vavarṣa parjanyaḥ sarva-kāma-dughā. Everything you’ll get from the land.Even luxury articles. What can be more luxurious article than the jewels? The jewels are also produced. The medicine is produced, the minerals are produced, gold is produced, diamond is produced from the earth. Sarva-kāma-dughā. You get everything. Make your civilization very perfect, very luxurious simply by satisfying Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
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Prabhupada: So you are being cheated for the last two hundred years, not for thousands of years. So it will be finished. Within another fifty years, everything will be finished.—Morning Walk at Cheviot Hills Golf Course — May 15, 1973

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Adi 10.56—Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestows His causeless mercy upon His devotees in three features: His own direct appearance [sākṣāt], His prowess within someone He empowers [āveśa], and His manifestation [āvirbhāva].

PURPORT-The sākṣāt feature of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is His personal presence. Āveśa refers to invested power, like that invested in Nakula Brahmacārī. Āvirbhāva is a manifestation of the Lord that appears even though He is personally not present. For example, Śrī Śacīmātā offered food at home to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu although He was far away in Jagannātha Purī, and when she opened her eyes after offering the food she saw that it had actually been eaten by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similarly, when Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura performed saṅkīrtana, everyone felt the presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, even in His absence. This is another example of āvirbhāva. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/10/56

Adi 10.60––Śrīla Śivānanda Sena experienced the three features sākṣāt, āveśa and āvirbhāva. Later I shall vividly describe this transcendentally blissful subject.

PURPORT–Śrīla Śivānanda Sena has been described by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Mahārāja as follows: He was a resident of Kumārahaṭṭa, which is also known as Hālisahara, and was a great devotee of the Lord. About one and a half miles from Kumārahaṭṭa is another village, known as Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā, in which there are Gaura-Gopāla Deities installed by Śivānanda Sena, who also established a temple of Kṛṣṇarāya that is still existing. Śivānanda Sena was the father of Paramānanda Sena, who was also known as Purī dāsa or Kavi-karṇapūra. Paramānanda Sena wrote in his Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (176) that two of the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, whose former names were Vīrā and Dūtī, combined to become his father. Śrīla Śivānanda Sena guided all the devotees of Lord Caitanya who went from Bengal to Jagannātha Purī, and he personally bore all the expenses for their journey. This is described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Sixteen, verses 19 through 27. Śrīla Śivānanda Sena had three sons, named Caitanya dāsa, Rāmadāsa and Paramānanda. This last son later became Kavi-karṇapūra, and he is the author of Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā. His spiritual master was Śrīnātha Paṇḍita, who was Śivānanda Sena’s priest. Due to Vāsudeva Datta’s lavish spending, Śivānanda Sena was engaged to supervise his expenditures.Śrī Śivānanda Sena actually experienced Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s features of sākṣat, āveśa and āvirbhāva. He once picked up a dog while on his way to Jagannātha Purī, and it is described in the Antya-līlā, First Chapter, that this dog later attained salvation by his association. When Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa, who later became Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, fled his paternal home to join Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, his father wrote a letter to Śivānanda Sena to get information about him. Śivānanda Sena supplied him the details for which he asked, and later Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s father sent some servants and money to Śivānanda Sena to take care of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Once Śrī Śivānanda Sena invited Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home and fed Him so sumptuously that the Lord felt indigestion and was somewhat sick. This became known to Śivānanda Sena’s son, who gave the Lord the kinds of food that would help His digestion, and thus Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased. This is described in the Antya-līlā, Tenth Chapter, verses 142 through 151.Once while going to Jagannātha Purī all the devotees had to stay underneath a tree, without the shelter of a house or even a shed, and Nityānanda Prabhu became very angry, as if He were greatly disturbed by hunger. Thus He cursed Śivānanda’s sons to die. Śivānanda’s wife was very much aggrieved at this, and she began to cry. She very seriously thought that since her sons had been cursed by Nityānanda Prabhu, certainly they would die. When Śivānanda later returned and saw his wife crying, he said, “Why are you crying? Let us all die if Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu desires.” When Śivānanda Sena returned and Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu saw him, the Lord kicked him severely, complaining that He was very hungry, and asked why he did not arrange for His food. Such is the behavior of the Lord with His devotees. Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu behaved like an ordinary hungry man, as if completely dependent on the arrangements of Śivānanda Sena.There was a nephew of Śivānanda Sena’s named Śrīkānta who left the company in protest of Nityānanda Prabhu’s curse and went directly to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī, where the Lord pacified him. 

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