In the Age of Kali-yuga… There is Still One Good Thing…

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chanting Hare Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, Mantra Meditation, Srimad Bhagavatam

We all have our favorite quotes and slokas from the pages of Srila Prabhupada’s books. One of mine is the following:

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (Bhāg. 12.3.51)

Srila Prabhupada quotes this partictular verse from the Bhagavatam many times in his lectures, conversations, books etc., for instance:

“In the sastra it is said this Kali-yuga is full of faults, so many faults. It is the ocean of faults. But there is a very nice thing, asti hy eko mahan gunah, a very great quality. What is that? Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet [SB 12.3.51]. If you simply chant Hare Krishna mantra, then you become perfect. Is it very difficult? Chant Hare Krishna and you become perfect. But we are so unfortunate, we are not even prepared to chant. This is our position. So you have to make little determination that ‘I shall chant henceforward Hare Krishna mantra.’ Then everything is all right.”

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Srila Prabhupada Blessing and Praising George Harrison

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, George Harrison, Sriman George Harrison
 
 
 
 
This is another fine compilation of quotes, in chronological order,  put together by Prabhupada Connection, this time Srila Prabhupada blessing and praising George Harrison.
 
 
“When Bhaktivedanta Manor was donated, Srila Prabhupada said of George, ‘Because he has given shelter to Krishna by providing this temple, Krishna will surely provide shelter for him.’ Just before Srila Prabhupada left this world in 1977, he removed the ring on his right hand and said to the disciples around him, ‘This is for George, give it to him.'”
 
 
 

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Acaryopasanam

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Guru & Disciple
Founder-Acarya

Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary; Acaryopasanam. I ran across this word the other day while reading and had to go to Vani Quotes to get a better understanding of the word. The following is some of data which came from the researched words: “acaryopasana” and “acaryopasanam”. Interesting that I have heard or read this word many times and never bothered to look it up.

Acaryopasanam: one must approach the acarya for real knowledge. SB 7.15.56, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gita, Thirteenth Chapter, it is clearly stated that one should execute devotional service and advance on the path of spiritual knowledge by accepting the acarya. Acaryopasanam: one should worship an acarya, a spiritual master who knows things as they are. The spiritual master must be in the disciplic succession from Krsna. The predecessors of the spiritual master are his spiritual master, his grand spiritual master, his great-grand spiritual master and so on, who form the disciplic succession of acaryas. SB 3.29.17, Purport:

Don’t follow rascals and fools. Then it will be useless waste of time. Follow the great ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who is ācāryavān, who has accepted ācārya, he knows. Lecture on SB 1.2.19 — Calcutta, September 27, 1974:

Ācāryopāsanā. We have to worship the ācāryas. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, for making advancement in spiritual life, ācāryopāsanā. Lecture — San Francisco, June 28, 19

Ācāryopāsanam. Ācārya upāsanā is one of the process of making progress. Lecture — Bhuvanesvara, January 21, 1977:

much more

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Raja-Vidya The King of Knowledge

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Books by Srila Prabhupada, Raja-Vidya
king-of-knowledge

This was the first book I ever read cover to cover. I remains my favorite small book by Srila Prabhupada. We share it in its entirety with you.

This is the index to the Contents of “Raja-Vidya The King of Knowledge” by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. This index will give you immediate access to the chapters by clicking on the following underlined links. And for a free PDF download click on link at bottom of post.

Chapter One Raja – Vidya: The King of Knowledge

Chapter Two Knowledge Beyond Saṁsāra

Chapter Three Knowledge of Kṛṣṇa’s Energies

Chapter Four Knowledge by Way of the Mahātmās, Great Souls

Chapter Five Parampara: Knowledge Through Disciplic Succession

Chapter Six Knowledge of Kṛṣṇa’s Appearances and Activities

Chapter Seven Knowledge as Faith in Guru and surrender to Kṛṣṇa

Chapter Eight Action in Knowledge of Kṛṣṇa

For a free pdf download of Raja-Vidya The King of Knowledge; Raja-Vidya-The-King-of-Knowledge

108 of the Most Important Slokas from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita Slokas, Slokas

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.

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Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Posted on by under Back to Godhead Magizine, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas

Today we honor the appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur with a half day fast, and songs composed by the great pioneer of Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement. The following is one of the many devotional songs written by Srila Bhaktivinode.

Gopinatha
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
translated from Bengali by Acyutananda Svami

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is one of the most important spiritual masters in the Krsna consciousness line of disciplic succession. His devotional songs and poems express the perfectional emotions of a pure devotee of Lord Krsna (Gopinatha).

O Gopinatha, Lord of the gopis, please hear my prayer. I am a materialistic rascal, always full of lust. I have no good qualifications.

O Gopinatha! You are my only resort. As Your eternal servant, I take shelter of Your lotus feet.

O Gopinatha! How can I uplift myself? I don’t know anything regarding devotional service. I am weak-minded and have fallen into a pit of illusion.

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Radhastami

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Radhastami, Rupa Goswami

Today we celebrate the appearance day of Srimati Radharani with a half day fast followed by a feast cooked in honor or Srimati Radharani. We share with you a quote from Srila Rupa Goswami and an excerpt from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad Bhagavatam purport. She appears at noon.

“So this is our philosophy, to please Krishna through Radharani, and just today is the auspicious day of Radharani appearance. So we should offer puspanjali and pray to Radharani that ‘Radharani, kindly be merciful and tell about me to Your Krishna. To Your Krishna. Krishna is Yours.’ Krishna, Radha-Krishna. Krishna is not independent. Krishna is Radharani’s property. So you have to approach Krishna through Radharani. That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Radharani very nicely and be happy.” (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 5, 1973)

…Wherever Kṛṣṇa goes, the goddess of fortune naturally resides with Him. The chief of the goddesses of fortune is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa’s appearance in the land of Vraja indicated that the chief goddess of fortune, Rādhārāṇī, would also appear there very soon. (excerpted from purport to SB 10,5.18)

“O Radharani, O Queen of Vrindavana, Your complexion is like molten gold, Your doe-like eyes are captivatingly restless, a million full and brilliant moons wane before Your lustrous countenance, and a blue sari, having stolen the hue of a fresh rain-laden cloud, has enwrapped Your exquisite form. O Radha, You are the crest-jewel of all the dallying damsels of Vrindavana, fragrant and pristine like a budding jasmine flower. Your sublime form is adorned with priceless jewelry, and you are the best of all the charming and intelligent gopis. You are decorated with all wonderful excellences and surrounded by eight dedicated and beloved cowherd girls known as the asta-sakhis.

“The ambrosia of Your beautiful lips, red as the bimba fruit, is life-giving syrup to Krishna. O Radha, I am rolling on the banks of the Yamuna, my poor heart filled with anticipation, praying to You with all humility. I am guilty of being an offender, a rascal, a useless wretch — yet I beg You to kindly engage me in even the smallest service to Your lotus feet. O most merciful Lady, it will not become You to ignore this most distressed soul, for Your heart is always overflowing with compassion and love.” [Sri Prarthana-paddhati [Stavamala], Srila Rupa goswami]

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Srila Prabhupada

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada
srila-prabhupada-103

Srila Prabhupada

At various times people have called him a scholar, a philosopher, a cultural ambassador, a prolific author, a religious leader, a spiritual teacher, a social critic, and a holy man. In truth, he was all these things and more.

Over five hundred years ago, Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa, a village in West Bengal. The purpose of His appearance was to inaugurate the Sankirtana Movement, the Yuga Dharma for this age of Kali. He declared that the chanting of His holy names would spread beyond the shores of India to every town and village in the world. He predicted that His commander-in-chief would appear to accomplish this mission.

Yes… Srila Prabhupada appeared to fulfill this prophecy.

On September 01, 1896, the day after Janmashtami (the auspicious appearance day of Lord Sri Krishna) in a little house in the Tollygunge suburb of Calcutta, a male child was born. His father, Gour Mohan De, and his mother Rajani, named him Abhay Charan (one who is fearless – having taken shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna).

An astrologer prepared the horoscope for the baby and revealed: When this child reaches the age of seventy, he will cross the ocean, become a great teacher of religion and establish 108 Krishna temples.

And this is exactly what happened.

Srila Prabhupada set out to America in 1965 and established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness at the age of sixty-nine. He travelled around the world fourteen times, established more than 100 temples of Krishna and initiated more than 10000 disciples into Krishna consciousness.

A Brief Biography of Srila Prabhupada

If you are interested in knowing more you can download the following e-books from this site by clicking on the following links:

Srila Prabhupada – A Brief Life Sketch
srila-prabhupada

The Jaladuta Diary of Srila Prabhupada
jaladuta-diary

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The Appearance Day of Lord Sri Krishna.

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Janmastami, Krishna, KRSNA the Supreme Personality of Godhead

Today we celebrate the Appearance Day of Lord Sri Krishna, otherwise known as Janmastami. We honor it with a full day fast, followed by a feast after midnight, with chanting, reading, and remembering, throughout the course of the day. We started our day by reading the first chapter from The Krsna Book, and we share it with you today.

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Chapter One

The Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa

Once the world was overburdened by the unnecessary defense force of different kings, who were actually demons, but were posing themselves as the royal order. At that time, the whole world became perturbed, and the predominating deity of this earth, known as Bhūmi, went to see Lord Brahmā to tell of her calamities due to the demoniac kings. Bhūmi assumed the shape of a cow and presented herself before Lord Brahmā with tears in her eyes. She was bereaved and was weeping just to invoke the lord’s compassion. She related the calamitous position of the earth, and after hearing this, Lord Brahmā became much aggrieved, and he at once started for the ocean of milk, where Lord Viṣṇu resides. Lord Brahmā was accompanied by all the demigods headed by Lord Śiva, and Bhūmi also followed. Arriving on the shore of the milk ocean, Lord Brahmā began to pacify the Lord Viṣṇu who formerly saved the earthly planet by assuming the transcendental form of a boar.

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The Secret of Success in Spiritual Life

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Ananda devi dasi, Devotees
Srila Prabhupada, Secret of Success in Spiritual Life

“The Words of the Spiritual Master”
by Ananda devi dasi

“Believing in the words of His Spiritual Master, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu introduced the Sankirtana movement, just as the present Krishna Consciousness movement was started with belief in the words of our Spiritual Master. He wanted to preach, we believed in his words and tried somehow or other to fulfill them, and now this movement has become successful all over the world. Therefore faith in the words of the Spiritual Master and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the secret of success. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu never disobeyed the orders of His Spiritual Master and stopped propagating the Sankirtana movement.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami, at the time of his passing away, ordered all his disciples to work conjointly to preach the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. Later, however, some self-interested, foolish disciples disobeyed his orders. Each one wanted to become head of the mission, and they fought in the courts, neglecting the orders of their Spiritual Master, and the entire mission was defeated. We are not proud of this, however the truth must be explained. We believed in the words of our Spiritual Master and started in a humble way-in a helpless way – but due to the spiritual force of the Supreme Authority, this movement has become successful.” (From the Chaitanya Charitamrita written and presented by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Prabhupada Cc Adi 7.95-96)

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