This page was from a very early issue of Back to Godhead Magazine (1966)
I remember years ago I was talking with one devotee, and he asked me:
“So do you like to get high?
“Well, ya I guess” I replied.
“So how would you like to stay high forever”.
“Ya, that would be alright” I replied.
I guess that was a selling point, back in the early days, when they were preaching to Hippies. Hard to believe this was published in a Back to Godhead Magazine though. I kinda miss those early days when the preaching was innovative and fun.
When I first joined and shaved my head and put on devotee clothing, the questions went something like this:
“So why do you shave your head and what’s with the ponytail?”
“Hey, why do you wear mud on your forehead?”
“What do you put in that food, that makes it taste so good?”
I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him. (Bg 9.29)
Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service, he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated. (Bg 9.30)
I have always liked this eleventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, entitled “The Universial Form”, because it explains a great deal of the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna, and of our relationship with God.
…As far as a devotee is concerned, he is not eager to see the universal form, but because Arjuna wanted to see Kṛṣṇa in this way, Kṛṣṇa reveals this form. This universal form is not possible to be seen by any ordinary man. Kṛṣṇa must give one the power to see it. (from purport Bg 10.5)
Devotees who are correctly situated in a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa are attracted by loving features, not by a godless display of opulences. The playmates of Kṛṣṇa, the friends of Kṛṣṇa and the parents of Kṛṣṇa never want Kṛṣṇa to show His opulences. They are so immersed in pure love that they do not even know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In their loving exchange they forget that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that the boys who play with Kṛṣṇa are all highly pious souls, and after many, many births they are able to play with Kṛṣṇa. Such boys do not know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They take Him as a personal friend. (from purport Bg 11.8)
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Original 1972 Edition
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The Universital Form
Chapter 11
I have in the past addressed You as “O Kṛṣṇa,” “O Yādava,” “O my friend,” without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times while relaxing or while lying on the same bed or eating together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. Please excuse me for all my offenses. (Bg. 11.42)
PURPORT
Although Kṛṣṇa is manifested before Arjuna in His universal form, Arjuna remembers his friendly relationship with Kṛṣṇa and is therefore asking pardon and requesting Him to excuse him for the many informal gestures which arise out of friendship. He is admitting that formerly he did not know that Kṛṣṇa could assume such a universal form, although He explained it as his intimate friend. Arjuna did not know how many times he may have dishonored Him by addressing Him as “O my friend, O Kṛṣṇa, O Yādava,” etc., without acknowledging His opulence. But Kṛṣṇa is so kind and merciful that in spite of such opulence He played with Arjuna as a friend. Such is the transcendental loving reciprocation between the devotee and the Lord. The relationship between the living entity and Kṛṣṇa is fixed eternally; it cannot be forgotten, as we can see from the behavior of Arjuna. Although Arjuna has seen the opulence in the universal form, he could not forget his friendly relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
You are the Supreme Lord, to be worshiped by every living being. Thus I fall down to offer You my respects and ask Your mercy. Please tolerate the wrongs that I may have done to You and bear with me as a father with his son, or a friend with his friend, or a lover with his beloved. B(Bg 11.44)
Purport
Kṛṣṇa’s devotees relate to Kṛṣṇa in various relationships; one might treat Kṛṣṇa as a son, one might treat Kṛṣṇa as a husband, as a friend, as a master, etc. Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are related in friendship. As the father tolerates, or the husband or master tolerates, so Kṛṣṇa tolerates.
This morning I woke up thinking about these verses from the Bhagavad-gita. I was thinking ‘why would someone not be attracted to the All Attractive Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna’. So I went to the Bhagavad-gita to re-read what Srila Prabhupada had said about surrendering to Krishna.
Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me. (Bg 7.15)
O best among the Bhāratas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute. (Bg 7.16)
Śrī Yāmunācārya Albandru of South India said, “O my Lord! You are unknowable to persons involved with atheistic principles despite Your uncommon qualities, features, and activities and despite Your personality being confirmed by all the revealed scriptures in the quality of goodness, and despite Your being acknowledged by the famous authorities renowned for their depth of knowledge in the transcendental science and situated in the godly qualities.”
Therefore, (1) grossly foolish persons, (2) the lowest of mankind, (3) the deluded speculators, and (4) the professed atheists, as above mentioned, never surrender unto the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead in spite of all scriptural and authoritative advice.
Over the years, I have been all over the internet, looking at devotee web pages, and searching out Srila Prabhupada’s Original Books. There are many fine sites indeed, offering free downloads, and online reading, etc. But there is one Site in particular, I highly recommend. I happened upon it by chance one day when I typed in Prabhupada in the search bar.
They have one page I am very encouraged to see, when you click on the category “Library”, Srila Prabhupada’s Original books come up. Every word as Prabhupāda published it — the books exactly as they went to the printer in his own lifetime.
Srila Prabhupada wrote and published over 80 volumes of spiritual literature which he considered to be his most important contribution. Despite the heavy demands of establishing and managing a worldwide movement, Srila Prabhupada never failed to rise early in the morning to perform his beloved writing work. He applied great devotion and care in translating the ancient Vedic literatures into English from the original Sanskrit and Bengali languages. He would then dictate his famous “Bhaktivedanta Purports,” further explaining the meaning of each verse and its relevance to the modern age. Prabhupada’s books are highly acclaimed by scholars and students alike (see reviews below). They have been translated into more than 60 languages and have been sold in the hundreds of millions. The PrabhupadaConnection encourages everyone to take advantage of these timeless literatures which are full of spiritual knowledge and potency. . Books by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada . Bhagavad-gita As It Is Srimad-Bhagavatam, cantos 1-10, (29 vols.) Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (17 vols.) Teachings of Lord Caitanya The Nectar of Devotion Sri Isopanisad Easy Journey to Other Planets Krsna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (3 vols.) Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers Dialectical Spiritualism—A Vedic View of Western Philosophy Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahuti Transcendental Teachings of Prahlad Maharaja Teachings of Queen Kunti Krsna, the Reservoir of Pleasure The Science of Self-Realization The Path of Perfection Life Comes From Life The Perfection of Yoga Beyond Birth and Death On the Way to Krsna Raja-vidya: The King of Knowledge Elevation to Krsna Consciousness Krsna Consciousness: The Matchless Gift Back to Godhead magazine (founder) Scholars Review Srila Prabhupada’s Books
Actually I remember being very excited years ago when I first created this page, as it made available Srila Prabhupada’s original Bhagavad-gita “As It Is” 1972 edition, with a very simple user friendly format, and all the original pictures. I never really promoted it, other than as a link from my site The Hare Krishna Movement. But in retrospect, it has met with good success as it has reached over one million visitors. I think it might possibly have some useful value for today’s cell phone, and tablet users.
There are five basic relationships a devotee might have with the Lord; namely in the neutral stage (sānta-rasa), which is the stage of awe and reverence. Knowing that God is Great. Then there are four transcendental mellows (rasas); servitude (dāsya), friendship (sakhya), parental affection (vātsalya) and conjugal love (śṛṅgāra).
Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are related in friendship.
Arjuna was in a relationship with the Lord as friend. Of course there is a gulf of difference between this friendship and the friendship found in the material world. This is transcendental friendship which cannot be had by everyone. Of course everyone has a particular relationship with the Lord, and that relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. But in the present status of our life, we have not only forgotten the Supreme Lord, but we have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord. Every living being, out of many, many billions and trillions of living beings, has a particular relationship with the Lord eternally. That is called svarūpa. By the process of devotional service, one can revive that svarūpa, and that stage is called svarūpa-siddhi-perfection of one’s constitutional position. So Arjuna was a devotee, and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in friendship. (from Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is)
The following verse is one of my most favorite from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
I have in the past addressed You as “O Kṛṣṇa,” “O Yādava,” “O my friend,” without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times while relaxing or while lying on the same bed or eating together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. Please excuse me for all my offenses.
I find this verse to be a beautiful expression of what is Bhakti Yoga. It is a personal loving exchange with the Lord. There are two ways to approach the Lord. One can approach the Lord with awe and reverence (sānta-rasa), or with a more personal approach; love and affection.
Kṛṣṇa’s devotees relate to Kṛṣṇa in various relationships.. Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are related in friendship. As the father tolerates, or the husband or master tolerates, so Kṛṣṇa tolerates. Very Beautiful!
Yesterday was Gita Jayanti, or the Advent of Srimad Bhagavad-gita,which is an annual celebration to commemorate the day when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna on the first day of the battle of Kurukshetra. Recital of the Bhagavad Gita is performed throughout the day in most ISKCON centers throughout the world.
In honor of this day, Gita Jayntia, we present the Complete 1972 Edition of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami in a link to our other page Prabhupadagita Where you can read the entire book online a chapter at a time with the original illustrations.
This is the list of 108 of the most important slokas from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is (1972 Macmillan Edition) by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The index to these verses was taken from the Bhakti-sastri Study Guide compiled by Atmatattva dasa as used by the Bhaktivedanta Academy in Mayapur. [*Note for this collection of slokas, we are using the Original Translations rather than the later re-vised Translations. These were the Translations that Srila Prabhupada approved and which were memorized by heart, by all of the early disciples of His Divine Grace.]
These are important verses for memorizing. Srila Prabhupada has said, that when you quote a verse, your argument becomes authoritative.
