yasyam vai sruyamanayam krsne parama-puruse
bhaktir utpadyate pumsah soka-moha-bhayapaha
"Simply by giving aural reception to this Vedic literature, the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion and fearfulness."
In his talk Srila Prabhupada stressed the need to be vidvan, one who has knowledge. Since all knowledge originally comes from Krsna Himself, and comes to us through the parampara system, through the genuine sadhus and through the sastra, he said that it was therefore imperative that we take proper advantage of this opportunity. Otherwise, he said, we remain rascals without any understanding of the purpose and goal of life.
He stressed that other help was available. "Vasudeva is everywhere, and He is ready to help us. And if we become sincere to take knowledge from Vasudeva ... Even you are in the wilderness, anywhere you are, you are with Vasudeva. You are not alone. He is so friendly that He is living with you as your most intimate friend. ... So Vasudeva is always ready to help us, provided we want to take help from Him. And He, not only internally He is helping, externally also, He's sending His representative to teach us. ... A cat and dog cannot take advantage of the sadhu, sastra and guru. Only the human being can accept it."
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His next statement placed our daily guru-puja, which to a casual observer might be regarded as merely ritualistic, firmly in the category of real religious life. "Just like you are giving me so many garlands. Why you are giving me? Because you love me, otherwise there was no necessity. But because you have got some love, therefore you are worshiping your spiritual master. So bhakti means love; without love there is no question of bhakti. So this bhakti has to be awakened. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta: nitya-siddha krsna-bhakti. Bhakti is there. Otherwise as I have said many times, how you have become bhakta? There are European, American girls here present. For krsna-bhakti they have sacrificed everything. Even they do not dress attractively so that they may be attractive to other boys and their life may be spoiled. Why? For bhakti, for Krsna. This is the bhakti. That is wanted. Krsne parama-puruse bhaktir utpadyate. This is success of life."
Prabhupada told us that the only thing that could check our bhakti was involvement in sinful activities. Otherwise, bhakti is as natural to every living being as sweetness is to sugar. He ended his powerful discourse by stressing on the need to avoid offences, assuring us that by doing so, the more we will advance in Krsna consciousness and the more the soka-moha-bhaya, the miseries of lamentation, illusion and fearfulness, will be eradicated. That, he said, was the gain of bhakti-yoga.
- From "A Transcendental Diary Vol 4" by HG Hari Sauri Prabhu
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