Hare Krsna to all
Pranams
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Below we have a short compilation of a number of the more important instructions our spiritual
master Srila Prabhupada has given to us for purification.
If we think we dont need or want any more purification, then you can just delete this email and read no further.
However, if we are not seeing Krsna at every moment, nor do we have direct communication
within our hearts with Him, have little to no attachment for chanting the Holy Names., nor have we uncovered our eternal relationship with Him, then maybe it would be a good idea to read further and see what a Maha Bhagavat pure devotee tells us to do.
Summary of points covered below–
If we want to be Krsna Conscious, then certain things must take place.
1. We must daily, rise early in the morning, and perform mongal arotik and the rest of the daily program .
2. We must worship the deity of Krsna daily, to advance from neophyte to madhyama.
3. We must read Srila Prabhupadas books at least 1-2 hours daily.
►72-06-13.Bha Letter: Bhargava
… Our advancement in Krishna Consciousness is made possible in two ways, by Knowledge and
renunciation, jnana and tyaga or tapasya. So I am requesting
all of my students to read my books very seriously every day without
fail. In this way, if your mind becomes absorbed at least one or two
hours daily in the transcendental subject matter of Srimad-Bhagavatam,
Bhagavad-gita, and other books then very easily you will make your
advancement in Krishna Consciousness…. we may go on trying out one
engagement after another and always say the same excuse. This
restlessness or agitation of the … occupation will suit me and we
shall always be satisfied. Therefore, I recommend you to read books
more and more and try to understand the subject matter from different
angles of vision … while you are working at the press, and when you
are working and you cannot read, then listen to the tapes of my
lectures and hear in that way. And never neglect to chant your 16
rounds of beads daily, rise early without fail, attend mangal arati,
take bath, and follow the other regulative principles…
72-06-16.Mad Letter: Madhudvisa
I am very much stressing at this point that all of my students
shall be very much conversant with the philosophy of Krishna
Consciousness, and that they should read our books very diligently at
least one or two hours daily and try to understand the subject matter
from varieties of angles. We are holding our morning class here in Los
Angeles in the temple and I am speaking from 7 to 8 am, and the
process is that we are going through some chapters of
Srimad-Bhagavatam by taking one sloka each day, and reading the
Sanskrit aloud, each word is pronounced by me and repeated by the
students and then altogether we chant the sloka several times until we
have learned it. And then we discuss the subject matter very minutely
and inspect it from all angles of approach and savor the new
understandings. So you introduce this system in all of the centers in
your zone, and you will discover that everyone becomes very much
enlivened by these daily classes. Read one sloka and discuss and then
go on to the next sloka on the next day, and so on, and even you
discuss one verse each day it will take you 50 years to finish
Srimad-Bhagavatam in this way. So we have got ample stock for
acquiring knowledge. And if the students get knowledge more and more,
they will automatically become convinced and very easily perform their
duties for tapasya or renunciation of the material bondage, and that
will be their successful advancement in Krishna Consciousness. So I
want that advancement amongst all of my students, so your are
responsible that the standard will be maintained.
71-12-08.Pat Letter: Patita Uddharana
My Dear Patita Uddharana,
Please accept my blessings. This routine work, such as chanting, speaking,
rising early, cleaning, cooking and offering prasadam, arati, reading
books–these activities are the backbone of our Society, and if we
practice them nicely in a regulative manner, then our whole program
will be successful. If we become slack or neglect these things, then
everything else we may try will fail. So it is very important that you
keep your standards very high in these activities, then your preaching
will be strong. Preaching is our real business, preaching and
distributing books. If your preaching work is strong, then your
management of temple affairs will also become automatically very
strong. Just like if the head wills it, the hand will move. Preaching
is like the head of our KC Society–if the head is removed, the whole
body dies. Managing is the hands, which work nicely if the head is
healthy. If the hands are removed, the body will not die, but it will
be crippled. So preaching is more important than management, but both
must be there if the whole body is to operate nicely.
In my books the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness is explained fully so if there is anything which you do not understand, then you simply have to read again and again. By reading daily the knowledge will be revealed to you and by this process your spiritual life will develop. Krishna Consciousness is not a hackneyed thing but it is something which is our natural and original consciousness. Presently our consciousness is clouded just like a mirror becomes covered with dust So the cleansing process is this chanting and hearing and doing some service and trying to please the Spiritual Master. By this process our consciousness becomes clear and we are able to understand everything. (Letter to: Bahurupa – Bombay 22 November, 1974)
Every one of you must regularly read our books at least twice — in the morning and evening, and automatically all questions will be answered. (Letter to: Ranadhira – Los Angeles 24 January, 1970)
751030SB.NAI Lectures
Balaji temple, Tirupati, Tirumalai. People are going, and the daily
collection is more than one lakh of rupees still. Although they have
been propagated so vigorously not to visit temples, but people… That
is the birthright in India–they are automatically Krsna conscious,
automatically. Therefore all the demigods, they also desire to take
birth in India. Automatically.
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. Again, the same word.
na mam duskrtino mudhah
prapadyante naradhamah
mayayapahrta-jnana
asuri bhavam asritah
Mayayapahrta jnanah. They are talking very big, big words, that “God
is everywhere,” but they are forbidding temple worship. Apahrta-jnana.
The knowledge is imperfect. A common man can say, “If God is
everywhere, why not in the temple?” And if we have to worship God, why
not in His original form? The original form, Krsna, when He was…
750304CC.DAL Lectures
Early in the morning, .. according to Vedic civilization,
one should rise early in the morning and chant Hare Krsna, perform
mangala aratrika, worship the Deity. This is the morning business.
731206SB.LA Lectures
So Arjuna was disturbed in so many ways, but as soon as he began to
think of Krsna’s lotus feet, (Sanskrit), immediately everything became
pacified. This is the process. This transcendental consciousness or
transcendental meditation, immediately, without any delay, for a
moment you’ll feel completely pacified. Therefore Krsna advises
(Sanskrit). “Always…” Man-manah, “Always engage your mind upon Me.”
This Deity worship means to train the neophytes devotees how to
concentrate upon the form of Krsna, especially His lotus feet. That
will make our life pacified always, santa, santa, pacified, peaceful…..
751027SB.NAI Lectures
So these are all facts, that Krsna is everywhere, Krsna is within
your heart, Krsna is within the atom. Andantara
stha-paramanu-cayantara-tham. That’s a fact, but where is your
realization? Therefore you have to begin realization by arcana. That
is very essential. Then more you become expert in arcana, ye yatha mam
prapadyante, the more you become realized, then more you become
advanced.
760312SB.MAY Lectures
Krsna says, “He’s first-class yogi.” Who? “Who is always trying to see
Krsna within the heart.” So it is very difficult task? In our
bhakti-yoga we can teach this art of seeing Krsna within the core of
the heart in one minute. It is so simple. You are seeing Krsna here.
You must have impression and try to keep that impression within your
heart always. Then you become first-class yogi. Why so much gymnastic
and pressing the nose? No. Take directly. If you are engaged
twenty-four hours in the service of the Deity, you cannot see except
the Deity. This bhakti-yoga practice is so simple. Therefore kanistha
adhikari, those who are neophyte, they must take to Deity worship. By
Deity worship he is elevated to the position of seeing the Lord within
the heart. This is very important thing. You can see–He is there–but
you have no knowledge, or even if you have knowledge, you are not
competent to see Him. But if you practice Deity worship…
Therefore it is the duty of guru to engage the neophyte devotee
always in Deity worship.
SB 4.28.34 The word madireksana is also significant in this verse. Srila Jiva
Gosvami has explained in his Sandarbha that the word madira means
“intoxicating.” If one’s eyes become intoxicated upon seeing the
Deity, he may be called madireksana. Queen Vaidarbhi’s eyes were very
enchanting, just as one’s eyes are madireksana when engaged in seeing
the temple Deity. Unless one is an advanced devotee, he cannot fix his
eyes on the Deity in the temple
(note–next time we take Krsna Murti darshan, see how long we stand there before we
look away and then walk away, going on to something “else” )
Conclusions–If we want to be Krsna Conscious, then certain things must take place.
1. We must daily, rise early in the morning, and perform mongal arotik and the rest of the daily program .
2. We must worship the deity of Krsna daily, to advance from neophyte to madhyama.
3. We must read Srila Prabhupadas books at least 1-2 hours daily.
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das