yaj jñātvā na punar moham
evaḿ yāsyasi pāṇḍava
yena bhūtāny aśeṣāṇi
drakṣyasy ātmany atho mayi

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In celebration of Srila Prabhupada’s return, Visnujana arranges dramas and puppet shows for the pleasure of his Guru Maharaja. The first presentation, "The Age of Kali," depicts the entrance of Kali-yuga. More than a hundred Sunday feast guests crowd into the temple room along with the devotees to see the performance with Prabhupada.

Sahadevi: We started the play with Arjuna and Krsna. Krsna is leaving the planet. Srila Prabhupada was sitting on his vyasasana up on the stage alongside the Deities. Muralidhara played Arjuna. He did such a heart-breaking performance. He cried while reciting that speech about Krsna being his friend. I mean he really cried. I couldn’t believe it. It was so beautiful.

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karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed
akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ
sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu
sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna-karma-kṛt

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A musician, because one has got a good attachment for music, he tries to perform it very perfectly. So love is the basis. Similarly, when you serve Krishna, if you have no love for Krishna, you cannot serve Him very nicely. And Krishna also does not accept your sevice if it is not done in great love and affection.

London, September 12, 1973

kāńkṣantaḥ karmaṇāḿ siddhiḿ
yajanta iha devatāḥ
kṣipraḿ hi mānuṣe loke
siddhir bhavati karma-jā

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"The holy name of Hari [Krsna] is the essence of the Vedas and far superior to them. One of Krsna’s names is om, the seed from which the Vedas have sprouted. One who continuously chants Lord Krsna’s names is considered to have mastered the four Vedas."

Srila Jagadananda Pandita – Prema-vivarta, Chapter 20

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

“One night, Abhay had an unusual dream. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta appeared before him, beckoning. He was asking Abhay to leave home and take sannyasa. Abhay awoke in an intensely emotional state, “How horrible!” He thought. He knew it was not an ordinary dream, yet the request seemed so difficult and unlikely. Take sannyasa! At least it was not something he could do immediately. Now he had to improve the business, and with the profits he would print books. He went on with his duties, but remained shaken by the dream.” (Satwarup Goswami. 1980. Prabhupada Lilamrta. Page 118.)

In 1948, Abhay closed his Lucknow factory. He had fallen behind in employees’ salaries, and since 1946 he had been paying past rent in installments. But when sales dropped off, continuing the factory became impossible. He lost everything.

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śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni
janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaḿ veda sarvāṇi
na tvaḿ vettha parantapa

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Sri Yudhishthira MahArAja asked of Lord Sri Krishna, “What is the name of that EkAdasii that occurs during the light fortnight (shukla paksha) of the month of BhAdrapada (August-September “Hrishikesha mase”)? Who is the worshippable Deity for this EkAdasii, and what merit does one attain in observing it? Kindly reveal all of this to me my Lord.”

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna addressed His devoted Yudhishthira as follows, “This EkAdasii, Oh Yudhishthira, is called VAmana EkAdasii, and it bestows upon those who observe it both great merit and ultimate liberation from material bondage. Therefore, because it removes all one’s sinful reactions, it is also called Jayanti EkAdasii. Just hearing of its glories frees one from all his past misdeeds. So auspicious is this fast that observing it bestows the same merit as that earned by performing a horse sacrifice. There is no better EkAdasii than this, because it awards liberation so easily. Thus if one truly desires freedom from the punishing material world, one should fast on VAmana EkAdasii.

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arjuna uvāca
aparaḿ bhavato janma
paraḿ janma vivasvataḥ
katham etad vijānīyāḿ
tvam ādau proktavān iti

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Always think of the Lotus Feet of Sri Krishna and you will find no difficulties in executing the tasks allotted to you by Krishna.

Letter to Satsvarupa das, August 28, 1973

evaḿ paramparā-prāptam
imaḿ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā
yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

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On the following Monday, the temple is filled with hippies who have heard that a wise man from India is in town. Prabhupada gives an interesting discourse on the authority of the Vedas. (Lecture, Seattle, October 9, 1968) He explains how Krsna is the supreme power, authority, and witness. Nothing can be accomplished without the sanction of the Lord. Therefore, we are all dependent. So how is it that some do meritorious work while others do evil deeds?

The answer, Prabhupada explains, is our individual free will or independence. The Lord sanctions our activities. Even when we do nonsense for sense gratification, it is also sanctioned but unwillingly, against the will of the Lord. When we cooperate with the Lord, that is called bhakti. Bhakti-yoga means acting to please Krsna. When Krsna is satisfied our lives become successful. So whatever vocation we have that should be utilized to satisfy the Lord. The perfection of one’s life is considered in direct relationship with the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord.

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"Let the transcendental pastimes of the blackish personality Krsna and the golden cowherd girl Radha, who are constantly overwhelmed with ecstatic love for each other, who always reside in Vrndavana, whose beauty attracts the minds of everyone, and who are the reservoir of wonderful loving pastimes, become constantly manifested in my heart."

Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati – Sri Vrndavana-mahimamrta 17.4

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
imaḿ vivasvate yogaḿ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ‘bravīt

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"Pure devotional service in Krsna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be obtained only by paying one price—that is intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay."

Srila Rupa Gosvami, Padyavali

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur
indriyebhyaḥ paraḿ manaḥ
manasas tu parā buddhir
yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ

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"By uttering the single name of Krsna just once, one attains the same benefit as that gained by reciting Lord Visnu’s thousand names three times."

Brahmanda Purana

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

From the scriptures we hear that just by understanding the transcendental birth and activities of the Lord, we can attain to His kingdom. However, when we think of God as a ordinary human being during His descent into this world, we tend to disrespect. Lord Krishna declares in the Gita (9.11) as follows.

avajaananti maam mudhaa / maanushim tanum aashritam
param bhaavam ajaananto mama bhuta maheshvaram

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"To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me."

Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 10.10

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.