How to; a devotee's daily life. If you are a person brand new to devotional life, I humbly suggest you join this group, and daily watch a few of the videos at the SPi morning progam group site WHILE chanting your daily japa rounds. This will allow a daily program at home in your own time.
Watch the same correct order, same videos, and/or add variety of the same correctly ordered ceremonies. This will be a very solid program, but it is up to each of us to do it, or not. For some it may not be practical at a given time. Ideally for those capable, follow the below instructions, and you will be a member fulfilling Prabhupada's basic morning bhakti sadhana instructions, and may then also apply for initiations as Srila Prabhupada's disciple, also here at SPI. Same program may be done according to you required schedule. A shortened or reduced version is also sometimes practically required.
Devote yourself to the program of waking to full self realization by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and our disciplic sucession ! Train the meditative mind, understand why and what you do in service.
How;
The sadhana portion of your day requires about 45 minutes to two hours, daily, depending upon what is best for your own life schedules;
1. Attend to your daily necessities including work, mundane study, etc. as normal, unless you are well to do and/or don't need money etc., in which case devote 100% of your time to devotional service. Contact us for counselling in this regards, no charge. The idea is to be 100% engaged in devotional service always.
2. Chant Hare Krsna mantra as much as possible; on beads, and in group singing. Try to chant every day your vowed number of rounds. Try to reach the 16 rounds per day minimum. Chant the panca-tattva mantra as much or more during these rounds.
3. Learn how to offer and accept only food first offered in sacrifice to Srila Prabhupada. Be a Krsna-tarian, ie. increased love and mercy by service to the Supreme, therefore no meat fish or eggs, as Krsna and Srila Prabhupada will not accept them.
4.If you are a new follower of Srila Prabhupada, first learn the essentials coherently from your one ever-authorized source. Read Srila Prabhupada's books only, as a daily function, as much as possible. Read Gita, Bhagavatam, Nectar of Devotion, Krsna books, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, and Nectar of Instruction, as your absolutely required list. Please Do Not read others' books, even other bonafide Vaisnavas of our succession, until you have completed and absorbed these !!! Please just take my word on it. It IS Srila Prabhupada's instruction.
5. Stop all sinful activities, so far as possible. Krsna is within, and sees all that you do always.
6. When you start to become fixed up and thus a little advanced, preaching becomes a very valuable means to make rapid spiritual advancement by accumulating spiritual credits for serving Prabhupada and Mahaprabhu's mission
Very simple austerities required. Is this too much for anyone to handle out there?
I suggest; Rise daily at local time, 5 AM. Watch SPI morning program videos including Guruvastakam first every day, kirtana with Prabhupada, Nrshmahadeva prayers, Tulsi puja, Japa with Prabhupada, and Govindam adi purusam tam aham bhajami Deity greetings, a bhajana, also Guru Puja, daily, in that order. If ten at night is the only time that works for you, then that is up to you, set a working schedule.
Drink water, offer fruit and yogurt, take a little during morning sadhana. Stretch, breathe, be consciously positive and steady and patient.
Classes/books may be watched, listened to, or read at your time, as much as possible, daily. Computor net work is also nice preaching service, and will get Krsna's attention if you can glorify Him and His devotees and improve the service to the devotees there! Understand how that works? We are servants, not gods. Humbly putting aside our material ideas, if we serve the mission of Lord Caitanya, we advance accordingly. We will make spiritual advancement by serving Prabhupada's preaching practical programs.
Find a Vaisnava calendar, also follow ekadasis and holidays, please.
You may set your own timings, re when and how to do your rounds or vows.. For some, an early morning program is not possible, so they may adapt and do what is possible for them realistically, and steadily. This is an adaptation to the changed world-wide devotional scene.
We used to rise at 3 AM and attend a full program until after eight or nine, every day without any fail ever. But that is too much to ask of an internet site! YOU must attend to your own spiritual programs at home. Follow the good example of those who do. We all pray for your solid advancement and becoming fixed up in Krsna consciousness asap! Kindly approach the many brahmanas here and ask them questions.
Thank you. Hare Krsna. AGTSP!
Replies
I'm in. Thanks, Hare Krishna
Lord Śiva told Pārvatīi, "O goddess, if the Spiritual Master instructs the disciple three times on how to act properly, but the disciple still does not accept his instructions, the Spiritual Master incurs no sin, but the disciple does."
gurūs trivāram ācāraṁ kathayec ca kulesvarī
na gṛhṇāti hi śiṣyas cet tadā pāpaṁ guror na hi
(Kulārṇava-rahasya 11)
Not only the Spiritual master should be qualified, the disciple should also be qualified. Only then the process is successful. Therefore without a qualified guru, and without becoming a qualified disciple it is not possible to attain God. So first of all, we must become qualified disciples. Only then we will be able to take advantage of a qualified guru.
According to the Vaiṣṇava regulative principles, one must be initiated as a brāhmaṇa. The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Viṣṇu-yāmala:
adīkṣitasya vāmorukṛtaṁ sarvaṁ nirarthakam
paśu-yonim avāpnotidīkṣā-virahito janaḥ
“‘Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species.’”
Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.10) further quotes:
ato guruṁ praṇamyaivaṁsarva-svaṁ vinivedya ca
gṛhṇīyād vaiṣṇavaṁ mantraṁdīkṣā-pūrvaṁ vidhānataḥ
“‘It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything — body, mind and intelligence — one must take Vaiṣṇava initiation from him.’”
"One should not proudly think that one can understand the transcendental loving service of the Lord simply by reading books... One must accept a Vaisnava guru (adau gurv-asrayam), and then by questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to Krsna is. That is called the parampara system."
(Cc. Antya-lila 7.53, purp.) — AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
NOTE Clases are now being regularly conducted and degrees offered. See the Classes main Registrrar group for details.
Sankirtana opportuniutes for preaching are also available. Enquire from Editor, please.