Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupad

  • Reach the Top

    If one is not serving his Gurudeva, if he does not have strong belief in his Gurudeva, and if he is not following his line of thought, such a person must be a sahajiyā. This is taking place nowadays. We are preaching and therefore they are somewhat stopped, but I do not know what will happen after I leave this world. A very dangerous stage is coming. You should offer praṇāma to such pastimes and try to practice bhakti-yoga, as our predecessor ācāryas have taught us. Gradually begin from…

  • CAN WE TRULY UNDERSTAND SRI GURU?

    One Mahārāja said that “Bābājī Mahārāja used to love this devotee very much.” After listening to Mahārāja, Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said, “Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja’s love was not like this. It is not proper to say that Bābājī Mahārāja loved someone just because someone stayed with him or served him. Neither is it proper to say that Bābājī Mahārāja loved someone just because he apparently accepted their service. His real love can be obtained even if someone is residing thousands of miles away from him. Yet, his real love may not be received even if someone is in close physical proximity with him. By receiving his love, one’s attachment to saṁsāra will slacken, and one will no longer contemplate on what is beneficial or harmful. Anurāga, or attachment for para-tattva, will spontaneously arise in his heart.” The same Mahārāja then requested a certain devotee to plead to Śrīla Prabhupāda on his behalf. He requested Śrīla Prabhupāda to award him his love and service. Śrīla Prabhupāda then said, “Our line of thought is different from your mood of service. We offer our obeisances to such persons from far. Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja and I never associated with such persons; we always maintained our distance from them. A sādhu’s association is indispensable. But such association also depends on one’s qualification. It is not that only physical proximity guarantees one sādhu-saṅga because sādhu-saṅga can also be received by the sincere devotee even if he is far away from the sādhu. A person may not really be associating with a sādhu even if he is staying with him in the same building. Still, a sincere devotee will make full use of the opportunity of staying near a sādhu. While those who are not sincere will not be able to avail themselves of such an opportunity—then what to speak of being far away from the sādhu?”

  • WHAT WILL I GAIN BY LISTENING TO YOUR PRABHU’S KATHA?

    I don’t know if my Prabhu’s kathā will be relishable or not for everyone. But someone may think: “What will I stand to gain by listening to your Prabhu’s kathā? Am I using my time and wealth to listen to your Prabhu’s kathā? How will my self-interest be fulfilled by listening to your Prabhu’s kathā? Such questions and various forms of objections arise in a place where there is dvitīya-abhiniveśa (where the mind is absorbed in objects separate from Kṛṣṇa). This is because in this world, each individual is separated from every other by one thing—illusion. In this corporeal plane, the moods of “I, mine, yours, and mine,” are seen. Therefore, the selfish interest of two individuals cannot be reconciled. And, the auspiciousness of one cannot guarantee the auspicious of another. In this world of separate interests, there is a difference between the interests of mother and son, husband and wife, master and servant, and teacher and students. Therefore, by speaking the words, Āmār Prabhura Kathā, in this world, feelings of such disparity or separateness appear in the heart. But such differences are not seen in the spiritual world. In that realm, advaya-jñāna Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is One without a second, is the only viṣaya (object of loving exchanges). The only aim of all the servitors in that realm, referred to āśrayas (abodes of love) is to bring happiness to Śrī Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, duality can never arise when everyone’s self-interest is one and where only one person enjoys being the cynosure of that interest. In that realm of divinity, there is no conception of “Your Prabhu and my Prabhu.” By speaking of “My Prabhu,” the kathā of “Your Prabhu” is spoken as well. Correspondingly, when the kathā of “Your Prabhu” is spoken, the kathā of “My Prabhu” is spoken as well. The countless eternal associates of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the non-dual Absolute Truth and the one and only object of love, are indeed His fundamental principle of variegatedness. Their exclusive interest is to satisfy the senses of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Disparity of interest can never arise among those who are perpetually absorbed in rousing the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s senses. Therefore, in this world of disparity, people may or may not honor the accounts of my master. Nonetheless, since I am a lowly dog who is sustained by my master’s remnants, it is my sole constitutional duty and function (dharma) to extol his glories. I understand the word Prabhu (master) to refer to that person who can extend his authority over me in every way, who can fully and always exercise control over my whole heart, and who in my every act, every footstep, every inhalation and exhalation and every directive of life, he is my sole ideal, goal and guide, or polestar. That person alone is my master. Someone who controls my heart for some time and after a while is expelled from it, who is my role model for a few moments but who, after a short time, does not remain so, is not worthy of being called my master. It therefore becomes apparent to me that such a person or thing is a mere illusion, or a speculation of the mind. By nature I am critical, always looking for faults in others. My heart is so absorbed in attachment to my body and residence that the devo­tees call me gṛha-vrata, one bound by a vow to home and necessities.

  • Sri Ramanujacarya

    Sri Ramanujacarya was born in South India. He is an incarnation of Laksmana. The word ‘anuja’ means ‘younger brother’. Rama-anuja refers to the younger brother of Lord Rama; therefore, he is Ramanuja. In Kali-yuga, he is the acarya of the Sri (Laksmi) Sampradaya. He is the disciple of Yamunacarya…

  • My Master and His Teachings

    In this world, each individual is separated from every other by one thing – illusion. In such a place, one indeed distinguishes between ‘you’ and ‘me’, and ‘yours’ and ‘mine’. Consequently, one person’s self-interest cannot be reconciled with the self-interest of another. Nor does the auspiciousness of one person awaken the auspiciousness of another…