Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
This morning I just wanted to share with you all the Complete 1972 Edition of the “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I created a web site some years ago with the complete edition along with all the original pictures and text.
Food prepared for and offered to Krishna with love and devotion becomes completely spiritualized. Such food is called Krishna prasadam, which means “the mercy of Lord Krishna.”
Lord Caitanya said of prasadam…”now that they have been prepared for Krishna and offered to Him with devotion, these foods have acquired extraordinary tastes and uncommon fragrances. Just taste them and see the difference! Apart from the taste, even the fragrance pleases the mind and makes one forget any other fragrance. Therefore, it should be understood that the spiritual nectar of Krishna’s lips must have touched these ordinary foods and imparted to them all their transcendental qualities.”
Eating only food offered to Krishna is the perfection of vegetarianism. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna says that unless one eats only food that has been offered to Him in sacrifice, one will suffer the reactions of karma. He also states, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will accept it.”
The Nine Processes of Devotional Service are described by Prahlada Maharaja in the 7th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, chapter 5, text 24-25. The great personalities who attained perfection by practice of the nine processes are listed below, followed by the complete text and purport, describing in full these nine processes. If I am not mistaken, this purport to text 24-25 from the seventh canto, chapter five, is one of the longest in the entire Srimad Bhagavatam. Stressing the importance of the verse.
Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge. (SB 7.5.24-25)
HEARING (sravanam) Maharaja Pariksit(the last seven days of his life, he constantly heard the Srimad Bhagavatam).
CHANTING (kirtanam) Sukadeva Goswami(spoke the Bhagavatam to Maharaja Pariksit)
REMEMBERING (visnu smaranam) Prahlada Maharaja(never forgot Krsna despite constant tortures from his father- Hiranyakashipu)
SERVING THE LORD’S LOTUS FEET (pada sevanam) Laxmi, the Goddess of Fortune, is always engaged in serving the lotus feet of the Lord.
DEITY-WORSHIP (arcanam) Maharaja Prthu used all of his royal possessions in order to offer them in pure devotion to the Lord.
PRAYING (vandanam) Akura offered prayers to Krsna when he was traveling to Vrndavana in order to see Krsna.
EXECUTING ORDERS (dasyam) Hanuman, the intimate servant of Ramacandra executed all of Sri Ramacandra’s orders despite all kinds of difficulties.
SERVING AS A FRIEND (sakhyam) Arjuna was so close to Krsna, that the Lord offered Himself to become his chariot driver and serve Arjuna and his brothers in various ways.
COMPLETE SURRENDER (atma nivedanam) Bali Maharaja gave Sri Vamanadeva his entire kingdom, his possessions as well as his own body, although his own spiritual master was against it.
All these great devotees served the Lord according to a particular process, but every one of them attained salvation and became eligible to return home, back to Godhead
Mother Ganges is worshiped by the water of the Ganges: a devotee takes a little water from the Ganges and offers it back to the Ganges. When the devotee takes the water, mother Ganges does not lose anything, and when the water is offered back, mother Ganges does not increase, but in this way the worshiper of the Ganges is benefited. Similarly, a devotee of the Lord offers the Lord patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam—a leaf, flower, fruit or water—in great devotion, but everything, including the leaf, flower, fruit and water, belongs to the Lord, and therefore there is nothing to renounce or to accept. One must simply take advantage of the bhakti process because by following this process one does not lose anything but one gains the favor of the Supreme Person. (SB 9.9.12)
When there was a meeting of great sages at Naimiṣāraṇya, Sūta Gosvāmī was reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the importance of the Ganges was stated as follows: “The waters of the Ganges are always carrying the flavor of tulasī offered at the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and as such the waters of the Ganges are ever flowing, spreading the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Wherever the waters of the Ganges are flowing, all will be sanctified, both externally and internally.” ( Nectar of Devotion Chapter 7)
Today we honor the Appearance Day of Lord Nrsimha, with a full day fast, followed by an evening feast. To help remember and praise the Lord we have posted the “Sri Nrsimha Pranama” from the “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas”. There is also a purport given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Śrī Nṛsiṁha Praṇāma Translation from the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas 1972 Edition
namas te narasiḿhāya prahlādāhlāda-dāyine hiraṇyakaśipor vakṣaḥ-śilā-ṭańka-nakhālaye
ito nṛsiḿhaḥ parato nṛsiḿho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiḿhaḥ bahir nṛsiḿho hṛdaye nṛsiḿho nṛsiḿham ādiḿ śaraṇaḿ prapadye
“I offer my obeisances to Lord Nṛsiṁha -deva, who is always giving bliss to His devotees like Prahlada Maharaja and chiseling at the hearts of demons like Hiraṇyakaśipu. The devotee always sees Lord Nṛsiṁha everywhere. Lord Nṛsiṁha is within and without. Therefore let us take shelter of Lord Nrsimha.”
tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛṅgaṁ dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛṅgam keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
“O my lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, Your hands are very beautiful, like the lotus flower, but with Your longs nails You have ripped apart the wasp Hiraṇyakaśipu. Unto You, Lord of the Universe, I offer my humble obeisances.” (Prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁha from Dasavatara by Jayadeva Gosvami)
We are in the middle of a pandemic that is killing thousands of people worldwide.
Here in America we have a president that instead of acting in a sympathetic, compassionate way towards the sufferings of others, is instead criticizing and blaming others. This is not a good quality for a leader who should be taking responsibility for the safety and welfare of his citizens. All his self glorification, and his attack on others, in this time of turmoil, I find very disturbing and reminiscent of the description given in the 16th chapter of the Bhagavad-gita entitled “The Divine and Demon Natures”
Arrogance, pride, anger, conceit, harshness and ignorance—these qualities belong to those of demonic nature (Bg. 4.16)
The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him; and my other enemy will also be killed. I am the lord of everything, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance. (Bg. 13-15.16)
Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them. (Bg. 7.16)
Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world. (Bg. 9.16)
No one can be equal to God, and no one can be above Him. Even Lord Brahmā and Śiva, the most exalted demigods, are subservient to Him and pay their respectful obeisances. Instead of trying to become God by some meditational process or other, we had better hear about God submissively and try to understand Him and our relationship to Him. The representative of God or the incarnation of God never claims to be God but the servant of God. This is the sign of the bona fide representative.
Raja-Vidya: The King of Knowledge By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Chapter 4
Knowledge by Way of the Mahātmās, Great Souls
The presence of Kṛṣṇa in all aspects of the creation is perceived by the mahātmās, the great souls, who are always engaged in the worship of Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa Himself states, these great souls are conversant with the confidential knowledge found in the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, and they know Kṛṣṇa to be the source of all things.
I have been making a effort to eat healthy of late, mostly because I want to avoid getting sick and wearing down my immune system. I believe it is important in this time of the Coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic, to maintain good health by eating healthy nourishing foods with special attention to cleanliness in the kitchen. Stay safe, be healthy.
…The purpose of food is to increase the duration of life, purify the mind and aid bodily strength. This is its only purpose. (from purport to Bg. 17.8-10)
Foods in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such nourishing foods are sweet, juicy, fattening and palatable. Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, pungent, dry and hot, are liked by people in the modes of passion. Such foods cause pain, distress, and disease. Food cooked more than three hours before being eaten, which is tasteless, stale, putrid, decomposed and unclean, is food liked by people in the mode of ignorance. (Bhagavad-gita As It Is 17.8-10)
Bhagavad-gita “As It Is” Original 1972 Edition by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I like to promote worthwhile and inspiring web sites by other devotees. Recently I visited this site Prabhupada-books.de and was very impressed. I liked the fact that in addition to the preface, foreword, and introduction, they included the glossary, pronunciation guide, picture index, index of sanskrit verses, sanskrit pronunciation guide, etc.
