“When a devotee drinks water or any other liquid, he immediately remembers Krishna. For a devotee there is no difficulty in awakening Krishna consciousness twenty- four hours a day.” - Srila Prabhupada (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya lila, 8.274)
Returning to Krishna helps us find shelter. When we confess our failures or report our success and genuinely…
“Recollection, absorption, meditation, constant remembrance and trance are the five items of progressive krsna-smarana. At first remembrance of Krishna may be interrupted at intervals, but later remembrance proceeds uninterrupted.” – Srila Prabhupada (Nectar of Instruction, Verse 8)
This step helps us view God as a person, a sentient being who listens and waits for us.…
“Simply our prayer should be, My dear Krishna, please remind me to always chant Your Holy Name, please do not put me into forgetfulness. You are sitting within me as Supersoul, so you can put me into forgetfulness or into remembering You. So please do not put me into forgetfulness. Please always remind me to…
“Because we are Krishna’s children, we have a very intimate relationship with Krishna and since we have given Him up and we have forgotten Him, therefore we are suffering.”
– Srila Prabhupada (December 11, 1974, Bombay, lecture on Shrimad Bhagavatam 3.25.43)
As you manage your busy schedules and fulfil your various responsibilities, you also remember…
“Time is eternal and is compared to a sharp razor. A razor is meant to shave the hair from one's face, but if not carefully handled, the razor will cause disaster. One is advised not to create a disaster by misusing his lifetime. One should be extremely careful to utilize the span of his life…
“Living like an animal, not understanding the goal of life, one foolishly thinks that there is no eternity and that his life span of fifty, sixty, or, at the most, one hundred years, is everything. This is the greatest foolishness.” - Srila Prabhupada (Purport, Shrimad Bhagavatam 6.5.19)
In our inner world, we have a natural attraction…
“One whose happiness is within, who is active within, who rejoices within and is illumined within, is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.” (Bhagavad Gita 5.24)
Although our external lives are important, it can’t be at the cost of our inner growth. We may analyse…
“Spiritual strength means sincerity and sincerity means spiritual strength.” – Srila Prabhupada (May 14, 1975, Perth)
A song from the 1954 award winning Bollywood film Boot Polish, graphically explains how empowered we are: John, a bootlegger teaches little children self-respect and asks - nane munne bacche teri mutti mein kya hai? – ‘Oh dear children,…
“In this world men are not meant for quarrelling like cats and dogs. Men must be intelligent to realize the importance of human life and refuse to act like ordinary animals.” – Srila Prabhupada (Introduction, Bhagavad Gita As it is)
If you win one million rupees, you could either waste it away or double it…
“Only if a living entity gives up the false conception that the body is the self and always thinks himself an eternal servant of Krishna and the Vaishnavas can he surpass the influence of Maya.” - (Srila Prabhupada purport to Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya 3. 251)
The final test
The Lord in great happiness asked him…
“Krishna did not teach Bhagavad Gita to a Vedantist. He went to teach to Arjuna. He was a family man, he was a soldier, but why he was selected? – because Krishna saw that Arjuna was Bhakto si – a devotee.” – Srila Prabhupada (November 10, 1971, Interview)
In the mid sixteenth century when Lord…
“When one is intelligent enough, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes—within and without.” – Srila Prabhupada (in Science of Self-Realization)
A friend of mine was surprised when I organized a high profile event and a lunch programme that featured some of the senior most leaders of our community, including the…