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  • Voice of Soul June 8, 2022 at 11:39pm
     !!.. Hare Rama Hare Krishna ..!!
     
    Bhagavad-gītā As It Is

    CHAPTER ELEVEN   The Universal Form

    TEXT 47:
    The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, happily have I shown you, by My internal potency, this supreme universal form within the material world. No one before you has ever seen this primal form, unlimited and full of glaring effulgence.
    TEXT 48:
    O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the Vedas, nor by performing sacrifices, nor by charity, nor by pious activities, nor by severe penances can I be seen in this form in the material world.
    TEXT 49:
    You have been perturbed and bewildered by seeing this horrible feature of Mine. Now let it be finished. My devotee, be free again from all disturbances. With a peaceful mind you can now see the form you desire.
    TEXT 50:
    Sañjaya said to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, having spoken thus to Arjuna, displayed His real four-armed form and at last showed His two-armed form, thus encouraging the fearful Arjuna.
    TEXT 51:
    When Arjuna thus saw Kṛṣṇa in His original form, he said: O Janārdana, seeing this humanlike form, so very beautiful, I am now composed in mind, and I am restored to my original nature.
    TEXT 52:
    The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, this form of Mine you are now seeing is very difficult to behold. Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see this form, which is so dear.
    TEXT 53:
    The form you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedas, nor by undergoing serious penances, nor by charity, nor by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am.
    TEXT 54:
    My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.
    TEXT 55:
    My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being – he certainly comes to Me.

     

    CHAPTER TWELVE   Devotional Service

    TEXT 1:
    Arjuna inquired: Which are considered to be more perfect, those who are always properly engaged in Your devotional service or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?
    TEXT 2:
    The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect.
    TEXTS 3-4:
    But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, fixed and immovable – the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth – by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to everyone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me.
    TEXT 5:
    For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.
    TEXTS 6-7:
    But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pṛthā – for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.
    TEXT 8:
    Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.
    TEXT 9:
    My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.
    TEXT 10:
    If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.
    TEXT 11:
    If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated.
    TEXT 12:
    If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.
    TEXTS 13-14:
    One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me – such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.
    TEXT 15:
    He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.
    TEXT 16:
    My devotee who is not dependent on the ordinary course of activities, who is pure, expert, without cares, free from all pains, and not striving for some result, is very dear to Me.
    TEXT 17:
    One who neither rejoices nor grieves, who neither laments nor desires, and who renounces both auspicious and inauspicious things – such a devotee is very dear to Me.
    TEXTS 18-19:
    One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from contaminating association, always silent and satisfied with anything, who doesn’t care for any residence, who is fixed in knowledge and who is engaged in devotional service – such a person is very dear to Me.
    TEXT 20:
    Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.
     

     

     
     
    Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
  • Voice of Soul June 6, 2022 at 1:25am
    !!.. Hare Rama Hare Krishna ..!!  
    Bhagavad-gītā As It Is

    CHAPTER TWO

    TEXT 12:
    Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.
    TEXT 13:
    As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
    TEXT 14:
    O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
    TEXT 15:
    O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.
    TEXT 16:
    Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.
    TEXT 17:
    That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.
    TEXT 18:
    The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.
    TEXT 19:
    Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain.
    TEXT 20:
    For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.
    TEXT 21:
    O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?
    TEXT 22:
    As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
    TEXT 23:
    The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
    TEXT 24:
    This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
    TEXT 25:
    It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.
    TEXT 26:
    If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] will always be born and die forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.
    TEXT 27:
    One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.
    TEXT 28:
    All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?
    TEXT 29:
    Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.
    TEXT 30:
    O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being.
    TEXT 31:
    Considering your specific duty as a kṣatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation.
    TEXT 32:
    O Pārtha, happy are the kṣatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.
    TEXT 33:
    If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter.
    TEXT 34:
    People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death.
    TEXT 35:
    The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you insignificant.
    TEXT 36:
    Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?
    TEXT 37:
    O son of Kuntī, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore, get up with determination and fight.
    TEXT 38:
    Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat – and by so doing you shall never incur sin.
    TEXT 39:
    Thus far I have described this knowledge to you through analytical study. Now listen as I explain it in terms of working without fruitive results. O son of Pṛthā, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of works.
    TEXT 40:
    In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.  
    https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/

               https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/3/  

               https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/ 

               https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/

    Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
    • Damen James Draper > Voice of Soul June 9, 2022 at 12:03am

      Thanks Prabhu!  Hare Krsna!

      • Voice of Soul > Damen James Draper June 9, 2022 at 5:22am

        !!.. Jai "Prabhu" Shri Krishna or Lord Krishna ji ki ..!!

        !!.. Hare Rama Hare Krishna ..!!

  • Punkech Patel June 5, 2022 at 7:25pm

    https://vaniquotes.org/wiki/Three_classes_of_devotees

     

    This site is great for looking up stuff. Vaniquotes all from Prabhupada Books. 

     

    I personally see it as percentages. We like 25 percent, somebody is 50 percent, Prabhupada is 100percent.  They have same thing with Krishna (100 percent God). Vishnu is 96 Percent, Shiva is 84 percent, and Brahma (most powerful living entity within this universe is 78 percent. We jivas can pocess 78 percent! Powerful qualities. Just shy of 6 percenr 'off' from Shiva. Its just insane how powerful the soul is and how much power God can give us. Anyway that site is good for information.

    Three classes of devotees - Vaniquotes
    • Damen James Draper > Punkech Patel June 5, 2022 at 8:33pm

      Thanks for the info!  I really appreciate it!  Hare Krsna!

  • Gayatri June 4, 2022 at 11:23pm

    Hare Krishna,

    Refer to Nectar of Instruction.

    The kaniṣṭha-adhikārī cannot distinguish between a devotee and nondevotee. He is simply concerned with worshiping the Deity in the temple. A madhyama-adhikārī, however, can distinguish between the devotee and nondevotee, as well as between the devotee and the Lord. Thus he treats the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotee and the nondevotee in different ways.

    Nectar Of Instruction, Text 5

    TRANSLATION
    “One should mentally honor the devotee who chants the holy name of Lord Krishna, one should offer humble obeisances to the devotee who has undergone spiritual initiation [diksha] and is engaged in worshiping the Deity, and one should associate with and faithfully serve that pure devotee who is advanced in undeviated devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others.

    An uttama-adhikari is not interested in blaspheming others, his heart is completely clean, and he has attained the realized state of unalloyed Krishna consciousness. According to Srila Rupa Gosvami, the association and service of such a maha-bhagavata, or perfect Vaishnava, are most desirable.”

    Refer to book Nectar of Instruction lot more is given under text 5 and 6.

    hare krishna

    • Damen James Draper > Gayatri June 5, 2022 at 8:43pm
      • Thanks!  I try to be respectful to everyone - especially devotees.  Sometimes I offend others and I don't mean to.  I have The Nectar of Instruction.  I'll look it up.  I have most of Prabhupadas books. So it's not hard for me to find passages spoken of.  It's hard kinda not to offend people nowadays in this Kali Yuga.  If I offended anyone I deeply apologize!  It's not my will to do so!  All glories to Prabhupada!  Krsna Krsna!
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