Category Archives: Short Quotes

No difference between chanting for Kṛṣṇa consciousness and working for Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching people how to come to the stage of dedicating everything to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 9.27):

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

“O son of Kuntī, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.”

If whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we think and whatever we plan is for the advancement of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, this is oneness . There is no difference between chanting for Kṛṣṇa consciousness and working for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. On the transcendental platform, they are one. But we must be guided by the spiritual master about this oneness; we should not manufacture our own oneness .

(SB 7.15.64p)

Why we should daily hear a Srila Prabhupada lecture

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God is known to be unconquerable, but one who submissively hears the words of a self-realized soul conquers the unconquerable. The conclusion is that if one is serious about liberation, he not only should execute the occupational duties of varṇāśrama-dharma but should also engage in bhakti-yoga by beginning hearing from a realized soul. This process will help the devotee conquer the unconquerable Supreme Personality of Godhead and become His associate after giving up the material body.

(SB 4.24.53p)

The potency of hearing Srimad Bhagvatam

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By sufficient hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the polluted aim of life, namely lording it over matter, will subside…By the process of bhakti-yoga, directly accepted by sufficient hearing of the transcendental message of the Lord, the material contamination is directly eliminated… And by practicing bhakti-yoga, if the performer is not purified from the material contamination, he must be a pseudodevotee. For such an imposter there is no remedy for being freed from material entanglement.

(SB 2.2.37p)

The all powerful, Holy name of the Lord

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Therefore it is recommended:

harer nāma harer nāmaharer nāmaiva kevalamkalau nāsty eva nāsty evanāsty eva gatir anyathā

“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting of the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”

Simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord, one advances perfectly in spiritual life. This is the best process for success in life.

In other ages, the chanting of the holy name is equally powerful, but especially in this age, Kali-yuga, it is most powerful. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet: (SB 12.3.51) simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, one is liberated and returns home, back to Godhead .

Therefore, even if one is able to perform other processes of devotional service, one must adopt the chanting of the holy name as the principal method of advancing in spiritual life.

(SB 7.5.23-24p)

Qualification to give the class

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Srila Prabhupada- Lord Caitanya said that whether one is brahmana or whatever he may be if he knows the science of Krsna then he is to be accepted as guru. So one who gives class , he must read and study regularly and study the purport and realize it . Don’t add anything or concoct anything, then he can preach very nicely. The qualification for leading (the) class is how much one understands about Krsna and surrendering to the process .

(Letter to Malati  —  Bombay 25 December, 1974)

Sadācāra – The key to spiritual progress

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Srila Prabhupada – Sadācāra means good behavior…. Anyone who wants to make progress in spiritual life, he must be sadācāra. His behavior must be very regulated . Asadācārī, unclean, non regulated, cannot make any progress. If somebody says that, “Whatever you like, you can do. There is no difference. You can imagine your own way . . .” This is going on nowadays. “Whatever you like, you can do…”
But that is not recommended in the Vedic literatures. One must be sadācāra. This is the beginning of sadācāra : to rise early in the morning, to cleanse, then chant the Vedic mantras or, simplified as in the present age, Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This is the beginning of sadācāra.
So sadācāra means to become freed from sinful reaction . Unless one follows the regulative principles he cannot be freed. And unless one is fully freed from sinful reaction, he cannot understand what is God .

(Lecture 12 Dec 1970 – Indore)

Spiritual advancement means minimizing material activities

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Srila Prabhupada – The test is that spiritual advancement means minimizing material activities. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). Automatically they will be detestful for material engagement. Spiritual advancement means that.

Just like a hungry man, if you give him to eat, as soon as he begins to eat, immediately he’ll feel satisfaction, and when he is fully fed, he’ll say: “No, I don’t want any more.” So similarly, spiritual advancement means proportionately one should be detestful to material engagement . That is the test.

So if anyone is advancing by meditation or bhakti-yoga or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has to give evidence that he is now being proportionately detached from this material engagement. That is the test. This is not for only the meditators, it is for you also. How far you are advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness you test yourself—how far you have become detached from material consciousness. That’s all.

(Lecture- Los Angeles, 20th Dec 1968)