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The mind is like a movie screen, and we project on it various images. Now, a movie, you can watch it or not watch it. If you're driving by a drive-in theater, you don't have to watch the movie. But you could get absorbed in it. Like I saw people on the way home on the plane, they were totally absorbed in watching a movie. They didn't even know they were flying on a plane. They forgot, and that's…
There is an eternal relationship we have with Kṛṣṇa—it is personal. He is in our heart. He understands what our intentions are. For instance, if someone is very sincere, even if they have a very simple understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and they pray, in the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa says (10:10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te "For…
As soon as you look at things in this world with the wrong attitude—which means, "Yeah, maybe I could do something with that for me," then it becomes a problem immediately, an immediate problem. Prahlāda Mahārāja says the same thing to his classmates. He said the second you start thinking about how to enjoy, that's the very second you start suffering. So this pastime is freeing us to show what…
This morning when we went on our morning walk, our extensive morning walk, there was a woman with a little dog. As we walked by, she kind of smiled as she stood back and went, "Oh, good morning!" Not everybody does that. A lot of people pretend like you don't exist. And I could see immediately: Ah! Some beginning in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to see people. We should be looking through the…
This verse is Lord Śiva speaking to Pārvatī, noting that pure Vaiṣṇavas are tulyā; they are equal in whatever circumstances there are in life. So this is a principle of the Bhāgavatam. There are a few words that are really important in this verse that we can take away something practical. I had written down a mnemonic to remember a few points, and you can remember the letters C I S as:…
This verse is indicative of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teachings to Sanātana Gosvāmī. In fact, Caitanya Mahāprabhu quotes this verse when he is teaching Sanātana Gosvāmī, that the way in which one is attracted away from the material energy is by observing a devotee who is no longer interested in the material world. He quotes a verse from the Bhāgavatam—which I haven't memorized, but I'll give you the…
In the purport of SB 10.14.8, there is a rhetorical question: "If a devotee is taken to devotional service and is free from all karma, then why should there still be material desires left?" Well, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says, "That's because there's always some residual effect, and then Kṛṣṇa is giving some situation in the devotee's life that may seem like karma, but it's not. It's a…
All of the elements were already there, but by the subtle process of hearing it comes together. Prabhupāda makes the point in the purport that all spiritual paraphernalia is available, and it can gather in one's life by the process of hearing. So if you hear spiritual sound vibration from the spiritual world, then all the paraphernalia needed to advance on the spiritual path comes into your…
There is no closer way you can connect with the Supreme except by saying His name: āsyenedam upāsya. Then He tells why the name is so nice, because you may be an aparādhī, but if you chant the name, āsyenedam upāsya so ‘pi hi sadānandāmbudhau majjati (Śrī Nāmāṣṭaka - 6), the name will take you and dunk you in a huge pool of ānanda. Would you like that? When you get an offer like that from the…
One might think— "Well, how might I enter into the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?” That’s a question Prabhupāda asked on the Jaladūta: How will people be able to receive this message? Because they are so enamored of the modes of material nature and their ways of life. Prabhupāda introduced it a step at a time, and as devotees gathered to hear, they became purified. If one can appreciate that the…
Frequently, there is a misconception that the distribution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness—for instance, distributing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—and the idea of cultivating spontaneous devotional service, entering into higher levels of devotional service, is a separate thing. So, one of the premises that I'm presenting here is that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is in distribution mode, and therefore the rasa is distribution.…
