The sublime form of religious performances to free oneself from all reactions of sins is suggested herein by the greatest authority, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Kīrtanam, or glorifying the Lord, can be performed in very many ways, such as remembering, visi
The Lord definitely says that no one is more dear to Him than one who is always engaged in the preaching work of the Lord's name and fame all over the world. The scientific discoveries of the material world can also be equally engaged in carrying out
Therefore, the individual particle of spirit soul is a spiritual atom smaller than the material atoms, and such atoms are innumerable. This very small spiritual spark is the basic principle of the material body, and the influence of such a spiritual
The name Rādhā is derived from this verse (S.B.10:30:28), from the words anayārādhitaḥ, meaning "by Her the Lord is worshiped." Sometimes the critics of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam find it difficult to find Rādhārāṇī’s holy name in that book, but the secret is
"One who is subservient to the tongue and who thus goes here and there, devoted to the genitals and the belly, cannot attain Kṛṣṇa." (Sri Caitanya Caritamrta-------translation).
"O Lord! This material body is a lump of ignorance, and the senses are a
It is said in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.38-39): kṛṣṇa kahe,—'āmā bhaje, māge viṣaya-sukha amṛta chāḍi' viṣa māge,—ei baḍa mūrkha āmi—vijña, ei mūrkhe 'viṣaya' kene diba? sva-caraṇāmṛta diyā 'viṣaya' bhulāiba "Kṛṣṇa says, 'If one engages in My tran
If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee. In this verse particularly, the process of hearing is st
The Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11) defines pure devotion thus: anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā (CC.2:19:167) "One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and
There are ten offenses to avoid in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. The first offense is to blaspheme great personalities who are engaged in distributing the holy name of the Lord. It is said in the śāstra (CC.3:7:11, kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra p
Uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt. The word uttamaśloka means "one who is famous as the best of those who are good." The Lord is good in all circumstances. That is His natural reputation. His goodness is unlimited, and He uses it unlimitedly. A devotee is also
While discharging devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one should not be miserly. He should not unnecessarily show that he has renounced this world. Actually, renunciation is not possible. If one renounces his palatial building and goes to
The word viraktimat in this verse means "possessed of the qualification of renunciation." Spiritual realization cannot be attained by materialistic persons. For those who are addicted to sense enjoyment, spiritual realization is not possible. In Bhag
Such renunciation in devotional service means to give up all kinds of social customs and religious rituals governed by Vedic injunction. In a verse in the Lalita-mādhava (5.2), Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes renunciation in devotional service:
Real renunciation means that one should always think himself part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore think that he has no right to enjoy the results of his work. Since he is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the results of his work must
A devotee of the Supreme Lord should not worry whether he will depart by arrangement or by accident. The devotee should be firmly established in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. He should know that concern over either of these two paths is t
A devotee is always free from all bad association. Sometimes one is praised and sometimes one is defamed; that is the nature of human society. But a devotee is always transcendental to artificial fame and infamy, distress or happiness. He is very pat
It is a qualification of the great thinkers to pick up the best even from the worst. It is said that the intelligent man should pick up nectar from a stock of poison, should accept gold even from a filthy place, should accept a good and qualified wif
These are all descriptions of the external energy of the Lord, or māyā. Besides these, there are other opulences which the yogīs can achieve by their mystic power. They are also material. A devotee does not aspire for all these material pleasures, al
Pṛthu Mahārāja was blessed by the saintly persons present at the meeting to have a long life because of his unflinching faith and his devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although one's duration of life is limited in years, if by chance on