Unless one becomes detestful of this material world, it is to be understood that he has not yet entered in the spiritual understanding. This is the test of bhakti. If one has entered the domain of devotional service, this material world will be not at all tasteful for him.

Mayapur, February 22, 1976

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"The soul’s nature is spiritual. In the soul’s heart is pure love, love for Krsna alone. Now the soul is covered with lust. Now that original love for Krsna sleeps. Chase the lust far away. Awaken the spiritual love."

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura – Kalyana-kalpataru 1.19.2

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.

We are all chanting for so many years but still we don’t realize the value of chanting and its potencies. Chanting is the beginning of our spiritual life. To remain in the path of devotional service – chanting is a must and chanting is what we need to do at the end of our lives as well. Still our faith in holy names is very weak. We don’t even theoretically accept Lord Krishna exists as we don’t understand the temporary features of this gigantic material manifestation. Nor have we realized that there is life after death. This is the true perspective of our current situation.

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yat sāńkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaḿ
tad yogair api gamyate
ekaḿ sāńkhyaḿ ca yogaḿ ca
yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati

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This mail is in continuation of the transcription of the nectar given by our dear spiritual master HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj on "Inclination to Anti-material Nature" in Shree Shree Radha NeelMadhav dham in Rajkot on Oct 1 2009.

"Education means spiritual. We have to re-establish the relationship with Krishna. That is education. Prahlad Maharaj instructs his school-mates

shri-prahraada uvaaca
kaumaara aacaret praajno / dharmaan bhaagavataan iha
durlabham maanusham janma / tad apy adhruvam arthadam

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"tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaḿ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

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Guru and Krishna are two parallel lines on which the spiritual express runs very smoothly.

Letter to Devananda, September 27, 1967

In Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, verse 4 while explaining about the nature of demoniac people Lord Krishna says

dambho darpo ‘bhimaanash ca / krodhah paarushyam eva ca
ajnaanam caabhijaatasya / paartha sampadam aasurim

"Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance — these qualities belong to those of demoniac nature, O son of Prthaa"

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apāne juhvati prāṇaḿ
prāṇe ‘pānaḿ tathāpare
prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā
prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ
apare niyatāhārāḥ
prāṇān prāṇeṣu juhvati

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Radharani is the source of spiritual inspiration.

Calcutta, September 23, 1974

brahmārpaṇaḿ brahma havir
brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyaḿ
brahma-karma-samādhinā

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evaḿ buddheḥ paraḿ buddhvā
saḿstabhyātmānam ātmanā
jahi śatruḿ mahā-bāho
kāma-rūpaḿ durāsadam

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Spiritual Resonance – Part 1
Spiritual Resonance – Part 2
Spiritual Resonance – Part 3

Recently I was talking to my friend who is quiet knowledgeable in medical science and he was explaining that in modern days, doctors are afraid to give any guranatee for the patient’s recovery whatever the disease may be. Even 20 years back, for any disease, the doctors used to give medicine for 3 days and tell, "Don’t come back after three days. You should be alright by then". Nowadays, the doctor says, "Take this dosage for three days and come back. Let me see how the medicine has worked". This statement is coming because even the doctor is not sure how his medicine is going to work, because on the one hand the doctors and the medical science are ill-equipped and on the other hand our bodies have become so complicated and their behaviour has become unpredictable. Not only our bodies our mind and intelligence have become complicated due to envy, frustration, different atheistic propagandas etc. in kali yuga. And due to heavy comptetion introduced by modern education system and the technological advancement, our whole lifestyle has become complicated and the result is we have to work like dogs, pigs and donkeys just to maintain a family. We can’t come out of it so easily because it is like catching the tail of a tiger. However, since everything else is complicated in Kali yuga, the all merciful Lord has made the process of self-realization very simple. But our understanding and expectation (going by logic) is that when everything around us is so complicated, the spiritual realisation must be more complicated because the subject matter of soul and Supreme soul are as such subtle and hence complicated. So when we’re told that just chanting the names of God and hearing of scriptures like Gita and Bhagavatam will fetch spiritual advancement, our mind and intelligence refuse to accept it.

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yadi hy ahaḿ na varteyaḿ
jātu karmaṇy atandritaḥ
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ

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Alone in Delhi, without shelter or income, Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta wanders here and there, staying at temporary residences, and seeking donations to print transcendental literature. This is the most difficult period of his life. While his godbrothers pursue litigation to resolve their institutional problems, Abhay realizes that he can no longer rely on the support of the Gaudiya Math. He contemplates how he alone might be able to fulfill Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s vision of a worldwide Caitanya movement. He spends every rupee publishing Back to Godhead as a four-page newspaper, even at the cost of eating. Alone, he types the manuscript, edits it, checks the galley proofs, and distributes the printed copies. He is content to serve his spiritual master by writing and broadcasting the message of Godhead, knowing that Lord Krsna maintains all living beings, what to speak of those who render service to Him.

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This is in continuation of the last posting on the wonderful lecture given by our beloved Guru Maharaj in Abudhabi, on the verse from Srimad Bhagavad Gita 2.55:

Envisaging Our Spiritual Existence – Part 1

sri -bhagavan uvaca
prajahaati yadaa kaamaan / sarvaan paartha mano-gataan
aatmany evaatmanaa tushtah / sthita-prajnas tadochyate

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: "O Paartha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness."

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All the great acharyas have established that the goal of all knowledge is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Hari and surrendering to Him in full devotional service is the perfection of human life. This is also declared by the Lord Himself as Gitacharya "vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah" – I’m alone to be known by the study of all the Vedas. The Vedas (Aitareya Aranyaka) also express this point clearly as

sarvaah rcah sarve vedah sarve ghoshah ekaiva vyaahratih ekaiva vyaahratih praana eveti

"All the Riks, all the Veda Mantras, all the sacred vibrations have only one meaning, only one meaning, the Supreme Lord who is called Praana since he is the Supreme living force behind all that exists".

Though the Vedas and Puranas give detailed account of the nature of the Supreme Lord, ourselves and material creation, when studied without proper guidance of an acharya, results in wrong conclusion / no conclusion, no matter however great scholars we are. Adolph Hitler, the famous dictator of Germany was very much interested in the spiritual tradition of the Vedas and he arranged for a group of scholars (well educated in Sanskrit) to visit India and make a thorough study of the Vedas. Those scholars spent several years in studying the Vedic literature but unfortunately ended up in wrong conclusions which they submitted to Hitler. The conclusions were very pleasing to Hitler but not to the Supreme Lord who is the central theme of all knowledge. The gist of their study was

1. The Vedas are mental speculations of the Ancient Sages who twisted their brains by observing the nature.
2. The Itihaasa, puranas are mythological compositions written to fascinate the mass of people.
3. The Aryans mentioned in the Vedas are Germans with white and bright skin.
4. The Vedas have divergent views (without a proper conclusion) and talks different paths like Karma Kanda, Meditation, jnana, austerities etc.
5. The Vedas advocate caste System based on birth.
6. The Vedas lack conception of a Personal God and advocate polytheism (multiplicity of gods like Indra, Varuna, Agni etc.,) with the ultimate Truth as Impersonal without name, form and qualities.

This view became popularized in many ways and many scholars from Britain and America concurred with these views. With the result, many aspects of the Sanatana dharma became an object of ridicule for many people. I met a person who is a native of Pakistan who told me that , "The caste system and Polytheism are the biggest jokes in the Sanatana dharma. No other bonafide religion talks this way. There is no concept of a Single Personal God (montheism) in the Vedas".

All these misconceptions were cleared completely when Srila Prabhupada presented the conclusion of the Vedas as "Bhakti Vedanta" (Vedanta of Devotion) as his name itself suggests. After this only people started realizing that Vedas have a definitive conclusion and they are not mere speculations but breathing of the Supreme Being. This was possible because Srila Prabhupada’s preaching was based on Srimad Bhagavatam which is the distilled essence of the Vedas. It reconciles all the divergent views of the Vedas towards the Supreme Lord in just two verses (SB 2.5.15-16), thereby solving all confusion.

narayana para veda / deva narayanangajaah
narayana para loka / narayana para makhah
narayana paro yogo / narayana param tapaha
narayana param jnanam / narayana para gatih

"The Vedic literatures are made by and are meant for the Supreme Lord, the demigods are also meant for serving the Lord as parts of His body, the different planets are also meant for the sake of the Lord, and different sacrifices are performed just to please Him. All different types of meditation or mysticism are means for realizing Narayana. All austerities are aimed at achieving Narayana. Culture of transcendental knowledge is for getting a glimpse of Narayana, and ultimately salvation is entering the kingdom of Narayana."

The above unambiguous and clear conclusion can be found only in Srimad Bhagavata purana and may not be attained even after studying the scriptures for many many lifetimes. It was presented by Srila Prabhupada in a direct, simple and powerful way all over the world and with the result even people who are not familiar with the Vedas are able to appreciate the message and even dedicate their lives.

Once I asked a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and a very senior devotee, "Prabhu, What is the proof that the statements like Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam are true?". He replied, "In these scriptures it is explained that the person who follows the principles of bhakti yoga becomes a lover of God and he becomes indifferent to the dualities of the world. Srila Prabhupada has practically demonstrated this by making people from different backgrounds to be sincere devotees of Lord Krishna and now they exhibit all the qualities of devotees mentioned in these scriptures. What more proof you need?".

Let us all pray to Srila Prabhupada and the spiritual master to shower their grace upon us so that we understand that the conclusion of the Vedas is Lord Sri Krishna and surrender to Him in all humility.

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudeva,
Narahari Krishna Dasa
Chennai.

Disclaimer: This article was originally published in the Yahoo Groups run by the disciples of H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/granthraj/ by the devotee name mentioned above. The posting in this article, is original realizations of our Guru Maharaj and the devotee who wrote this. Any comments regarding this article would be passed on directly to the devotee. In this article, ‘Maharaj’ and ‘Gurudev’ implicitly refer to our spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj.

The spiritual science becomes revealed to the devotee from within the heart according to the degree of his surrender to Krsna.

Letter to Ekayani, July 25, 1970

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