Hare Krishna Movement Udaipur

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"favorite verse from Bhagavad-Gita" here in the comments and also share "How Bhagavad-gita transformed your life" (in your own words)

Gita Jayanti (This year Dec, 8th, 2019) is the auspicious day on which the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, 5500yrs ago.

Celebrate Gita Jayanti with us, Collect your personal copy asap* and start reading the most fabulous manual book of your life!

Hare Krishna!!

Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66) in the Bhagavad-gītā.Caitanya Mahāprabhu says 'All right.

You cannot give up all of a sudden everything. You just join in this chanting.' That is more magnanimous, you see.

We ask nobody that 'You fulfill all conditions of Kṛṣṇa consciousness; then you come here.' No. We simply say 'Please come here. We have taken this nice hall, and these boys, they are, I mean to say, giving their blood to maintain the establishment.

We don't want anything from you. Please come and chant with us.' That is our request. We don't ask you that because we are paying four hundred, five hundred dollars for this building, you give us something. If you give, it is welcome.

But we simply request you, please come and chant with us and dance with us and take the prasāda. That's all.

This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's program. Because we know that Caitanya Mahāprabhu will supply us everything.

We don't depend on your contribution, but if you give, oh, that is good for you. But our only request is that please come here. Please chant with us, dance with us. That's all.

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, December 23, 1968)

True-Knowledge can be acquired only in the position of a disciple, not as a friend or relative.

Lecture on BG 2.1-10 and Talk --
Los Angeles, November 25, 1968:

Prabhupada: Here is a technique. The same Krsna and same Arjuna, they are talking as friends. Then what was the necessity of Arjuna accepting Krsna as spiritual master? The same Arjuna and same Krsna, they'll talk, but what is the necessity of accepting as spiritual master? That means after accepting spiritual master he'll not argue. He'll simply accept whatever He says. That is the technique. Friendly talks, equal level, He, Krsna was talking something and he was replying. So that argument has no end. But when he accepts Him as spiritual master, there is no more argument. One has to accept whatever He says.

Therefore he's accepting Krishna as spiritual master. After this, Arjuna will never say, "This is wrong, this is, no," or "I don't agree." No. He'll accept. So acceptance of spiritual master means to accept anything, whatever he says. Therefore one has to select a spiritual master whom he can completely surrender. That is the technique. Veda-vakya.

Just like in the Vedic injunction, nobody can deny. Similarly, spiritual master is also representative of Veda. Acaryavan puruso veda. So similarly, it is just like Vedic injunction. So spiritual master has also got the great duty. He has to instruct the disciple in such a way that he may not be misled, and that is not possible because a spiritual master is he who will simply speak from authoritative sources. He'll speak from Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavata, or what was spoken by Narada, Vyasa, that is his authority. He does not say, "In my opinion it is..." No.

Therefore it is perfect, it is coming from the disciplic succession, and if one agrees to such instruction, then he's also perfectly advancing. It is not difficult to understand. So he's accepting. "Now I accept You as my spiritual master. You teach me." Is that the statement? Yes. What is that?

Tamala Krsna: "He offers himself to Krsna as a disciple. He wants to stop friendly talks. Krsna is therefore the original spiritual master in the science of the Bhagavad-gita, and Arjuna is the original disciple in understanding the Gita. How Arjuna understands the Bhagavad-gita is stated in the Gita itself, and yet foolish mundane scholars explain that one need not submit to Krsna as a person but to the unborn within Krsna. There is no difference between Krsna's within and without, and one who has no sense of this understanding is the greatest fool, the greatest pretender."

(All glories to Srila Prabhupada)

Simply by chanting the holy name of God, one can attain perfect self-realization. Which was attained by the yoga system in the Satya-yuga, which was attained in the Tretā-yuga by performing great sacrifices, and which was performed in the Dvāpara-yuga by large-scale temple worship, that thing can be attained by the simple method hari-kīrtanāt. Hari means the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kīrtanāt—by glorifying Him. This is the method recommended in the śāstras.

--Srila Prabhupada, Lecture BG 07.01 at University of Florida - Gainesville - July 29, 1971

Keep yourselves strong in Krsna Consciousness by following all of my basic principles. That is of the utmost importance. Do not fail to chant 16 rounds daily, rise early, come to mangala arati, come to classes and follow the 4 regulative principles. In this way your life will become free from all anxieties.
Reference: Letter to: Sons — Bombay 28 December, 1974

We follow Krishna because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of everything and thus the owner of everything. Since everything is His property, everything is meant to be engaged in His service. Krishna describes very clearly in the Bhagavad-gita what we have to do to follow Him:

He is found in the hearts of His devotees and in the sound of His holy names. If you will chant His holy names with love, you will personally experience Him within your heart and everywhere wherever you go.

BG 9 : 34

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

SYNONYMS

mat-manāḥ—always thinking of Me; bhava—become; mat—My; bhaktaḥ—devotee; mat—My; yājī—worshiper; mām—unto Me; namaskuru—offer obeisances; mām—unto Me; eva—completely; eṣyasi—come; yuktvā evam—being absorbed; ātmānam—your soul; mat-parāyaṇaḥ—devoted to Me.

TRANSLATION

Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.

PURPORT

In this verse it is clearly indicated that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only means of being delivered from the clutches of this contaminated material world. Sometimes unscrupulous commentators distort the meaning of what is clearly stated here: that all devotional service should be offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Unfortunately, unscrupulous commentators divert the mind of the reader to that which is not at all feasible. Such commentators do not know that there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa's mind and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not an ordinary human being; He is Absolute Truth. His body, mind and He Himself are one and absolute. It is stated in the Kūrma Purāṇa.

As it is quoted by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī in his Anubhāṣya comments on Caitanya-caritāmrta, Fifth Chapter, Ādi-līlā, verses 41-48,

"deha-dehi-vibhedo 'yaṁ neśvare vidyate kvacit,"

which means that there is no difference in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, between Himself and His body. But, because they do not know this science of Kṛṣṇa, the commentators hide Kṛṣṇa and divide His personality from His mind or from His body. Although this is sheer ignorance of the science of Kṛṣṇa, some men make profit out of misleading the people.

There are some who are demonic; they also think of Kṛṣṇa, but enviously, just like King Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa's uncle. He was also thinking of Kṛṣṇa always, but he thought of Kṛṣṇa as his enemy. He was always in anxiety, wondering when Kṛṣṇa would come to kill him. That kind of thinking will not help us. One should be thinking of Kṛṣṇa in devotional love. That is bhakti. One should cultivate the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa continually. What is that favorable cultivation? It is to learn from a bona fide teacher. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we have several times explained that His body is not material, but is eternal, blissful knowledge. This kind of talk about Kṛṣṇa will help one become a devotee. Otherwise, understanding Kṛṣṇa from the wrong source will prove fruitless.

One should therefore engage his mind in the eternal form, the primal form of Kṛṣṇa; with conviction in his heart that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, he should engage himself in worship. There are hundreds of thousands of temples in India for the worship of Kṛṣṇa, and devotional service is practiced there. When such practice is made, one has to offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa. One should lower his head before the Deity and engage his mind, his body, his activities-everything. That will make one fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa without deviation. This will help one transfer into the Kṛṣṇaloka. One should not be deviated by unscrupulous commentators. One must engage in the nine different processes of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. Pure devotional service is the highest achievement of human society.

In the Seventh and Eighth Chapters of Bhagavad-gītā, pure devotional service to the Lord has been explained, apart from the yoga of knowledge and mystic yoga or fruitive activities. Those who are not purely sanctified may be attracted by different features of the Lord, like the impersonal brahmajyoti and localized Paramātmā, but a pure devotee directly takes to the service of the Supreme Lord.

There is a beautiful poem about Kṛṣṇa in which it is clearly stated that any person who is engaged in the worship of demigods is most unintelligent and cannot achieve at any time the supreme award of Kṛṣṇa. The devotee, in the beginning, may sometimes fall from the standard, but still he should be considered superior to all other philosophers and yogīs. One who always engages in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be understood to be the perfect saintly person. His accidental nondevotional activities will diminish, and he will soon be situated without any doubt in complete perfection. The pure devotee has no actual chance to fall down because the Supreme Godhead personally takes care of His pure devotees. Therefore, the intelligent person should take directly to this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and happily live in this material world. He will eventually receive the supreme award of Kṛṣṇa.

Chant these names with love and you will feel the ecstasy:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare ...

Hare Krishna!

वांछा कल्पतरुभ्यश्च कृपा-सिन्धुभ्य एव च।
पतितानां पावनेभ्यो वैष्णवेभ्यो नमो नमः।।

।।vancha-kalpatarubhyash cha
kripa-sindhubhya eva cha
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaishnavebhyo namo namaha।।

मैं भगवान् के उन समस्त वैष्णव् भक्तों को सादर नमस्कार करता हूँ जो सबकी इच्छा को पूर्ण करने में कल्पतरु के समान हैं, दया के सागर हैं तथा पतितों का उद्धार करने वाले हैं।

*"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees and can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls."*

Don't do business with Krishna

"We should not love Krishna for some material gain. It is not that 'Krishna, give us our daily bread, then I love You. Krishna, give me this, then I love You.' There is no such mercantile exchange. That is wanted. Krishna wants that kind of love."

Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, April 23, 1973

Today's Ekadashi Prasadam

Śrīla Prabhupāda Says - Regarding the mood of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā Mantra...

Text 31
tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

TRANSLATION
"One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord."

PURPORT
The grass is specifically mentioned in this verse because everyone tramples upon it yet the grass never protests. This example indicates that a spiritual master or leader should not be proud of his position; being always humbler than an ordinary common man, he should go on preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

TEXT 32
ūrdhva-bāhu kari' kāhoṅ, śuna, sarva-loka
nāma-sūtre gāṅthi' para kaṇṭhe ei śloka

TRANSLATION

Raising my hands, I declare, "Everyone please hear me! String this verse on the thread of the holy name and wear it on your neck for continuous remembrance."

PURPORT

When chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, in the beginning one may commit many offenses, which are called nāmābhāsa and nāma-aparādha. In this stage there is no possibility of achieving perfect love of Kṛṣṇa by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Therefore one must chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra according to the principles of the above verse, tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā. One should note in this connection that chanting involves the activities of the upper and lower lips as well as the tongue. All three must be engaged in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

The words "Hare Kṛṣṇa" should be very distinctly pronounced and heard. Sometimes one mechanically produces a hissing sound instead of chanting with the proper pronunciation with the help of the lips and tongue. Chanting is very simple, but one must practice it seriously.

Therefore the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, advises everyone to keep this verse always strung about his neck.

[Caitanya Caritāmṛta Adi Līlā:17.31 - 32]

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 8 Verse 26

According to Vedic opinion, there are two ways of passing from this world -- one in light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not come back; but when one passes in darkness, he returns.