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Prabhupada: We Vaiṣṇavas do not say that there is no need of fighting. We never say. When there is need of fighting we must fight. Rather, somebody in New York, some Goldsmith, he was that, 'Why Krishna is advising Arjuna to fight, to become violent?'
So somebody protests like that. But there is no meaning of protesting against the action of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is our view. So we Vaiṣṇavas, we are chanting.
It does not mean that when there is need of fighting with avaiṣṇava (non-vaishnava) we shall lack in strength. We can fight. One gentleman inquired from me that 'Vaiṣṇavism makes one dull. He cannot act.' And, 'No. You have not seen a Vaiṣṇava.' In the two fightings, great fighting, the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, the hero was Hanuman and Arjuna, and they fought.
Guest: They fought.
Prabhupada: Yes. And who can be better Vaiṣṇava than them?
Guest: Nobody.
Prabhupada: So Vaiṣṇava does not mean he is dull. No.
Guest: No, that is well proved. If there is need...
Pr

Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out - "You cannot take protection of another rascal
who interprets Bhagavad-gītā in a different way. You have to take shelter directly. "

The authorized edition of Bhagavad-gita will help to stop the terrible cheating of 'gurus' and 'yogis' who are false and unauthorized
"The reviews have very much encouraged me. Especially those of Prof. Bhatt and Prof. Vajpeye. I have personally written a letter of thanks to Dr. Bhatt, that he has so much encouraged me. Dr. Vajpeye's review we are going to print and widely distribute, especially in Bombay and Madras, where there is so much propaganda from these bogus gurus and yogis. He has got practical experience of how they are cheating the innocent people in foreign countries and he has written; "The authorized edition of Bhagavad-gita will help to stop the terrible cheating of 'gurus' and 'yogis' who are false and unauthorized. [Letter to: Svarupa, Ranadhira, Mayapur-3 February, 1976 Los Angeles]"

Srila Prabhupada: “…You

Once there was a sweeper in the Dwarakadish temple and he was very sincere and devoted. Every time he saw thousands of devotees coming to take darshan of the Lord, he thought that the Lord is standing all the time and giving darshan and He must be feeling very tired.

So one day very innocently he asked the Lord whether he can take the place of the Lord for a day so that the Lord can have some relief and rest.

The Deity of Dwarakadish replied, "I do not mind taking a break. I will transform you like Myself, but you must do one thing. You must just stand here like Me, smile at everyone and just give benedictions. Do not interfere with anything and do not say anything. Remember you are the deity and you just have faith that I have a master plan for everything." The sweeper agreed to this.

The next day the sweeper took the position of the deity and a rich man came and prayed to the Lord. He offered a nice donation and prayed that his business should be prosperous. While going, the rich man in

'Come as you are... No suit required'.

I shook my head in disbelief. This couldn't be the right place. After all, I couldn't possibly be welcome here. I had been given an invitation several times, by several different people, and I had finally decided to see what this place was all about.

But, this just couldn't be the right place. Quickly, I glanced down at the invitation that I clutched in my hand. I scanned past the words, "Come as you are. No suit required," and found the location. Yes, I was at the right place.I peered through the window again and saw a room of people whose faces seemed to glow with joy. All were neatly dressed, adorned in fine ethnic garments and appeared strangely clean as they dined at this exquisite restaurant.

Ashamed, I looked down at my own tattered and torn clothing, covered in stains. I was dirty, in fact, filthy. A foul smell seemed to consume me and I couldn't shake the grime that clung to my body.

As I turned around to leave, the words from the in

Hare Krishna!

"The rain drop from the sky, if it is caught in hands is pure enough for drinking.

If it falls in gutter, it's value drops so much that it can't be used for washing the feet.

If it falls on hot surface, it perishes.

If it falls on lotus leaf, it shines like a pearl and finally,

if it falls on oyster, it becomes a pearl.

The drop is same, but it's existence & worth depends on with whom it associates."

We are these rain drops that have come from the spiritual sky. So don't look down upon one that falls in the gutter because you fell in an oyster or on lotus leaf. Instead, with compassion guide others not so fortunate, to have right association so they becomes pure..

Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna!

According to an old Hindu legend, there was a time when all human beings were gods, but they abused their divinity.

So, Brahma, the chief God, decided to take the divinity away from them and hide it somewhere they could never find it.

Brahma called a council of the gods to help him decide where to hide the divinity.
“Let’s bury it deep in the earth,” said the gods. But Brahma answered, “Humans will dig into the earth and find it.”

Some gods suggested, “Let’s sink it in the deepest ocean.” But Brahma said, “No, Human will learn to dive into the ocean and will
find it.”

Then some gods suggested, “Let’s take it to the top of the highest mountain and hide it there.”

Brahma replied, “Human will eventually climb every mountain and take up their divinity.” Then all the gods gave up and said, “We do not know where to hide it, because it seems that there is no place on earth or ocean that human beings will not eventually reach.”

Brahma thought for a long time said, “We will hide their d

Hare Krishna!

The Scriptures mention the story at the beginning of creation when the representatives of the Devas (Demi-Gods), the Asuras (Humans) and the Rakshasas (Demon) approached their Creator, for guidance on how to improve them-selves so they can serve Him better.

The Lord spoke just one syllable to them “Da” and sent them back.

The three went back to their respective kingdom to contemplate what the Lord was trying to say.

The Rakshasas who were violent by nature understood the Lord’s message “Da” as Daya – be Merciful or compassionate to evolve spiritually

The Asuras who were controlling and possessive by nature understood the Lord’s message “Da” as Daana – Give to evolve spiritually.

The Devas who were by nature used to enjoying the nectar of heavenly planets understood the Lord’s message “Da” as Dama – be Austere (Tapasya) to evolve spiritually.

In Kaliyug all these 3 qualities of Devas (Satva), Asuras (Rajo) and Rakshasas (Tamo) are within us.

Hence each one of us takes home the mes

Hare Krishna!  

God Is Watching  

Man: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure.
Man: Promise You won't get mad...
God: I promise.
  Man: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?
Man: Well, I woke up late.
 God: Yes...
Man: My car took forever to start.
 God: Okay...
Man: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait.
God: Huummm...
Man: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call.
God: All right...
 Man: And to top of it all off, when I got home, I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. But it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
 
God: Let me see, the Angel of Death was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Man (humbled): OH...
God: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Man: (Hangs his head in shame)
God: The first person

What is Bhagavad Gita?
What is the purpose of Bhagavad Gita?

Chaitanya Maha Prabhu was once travelling through a town where in a temple many erudite brahmin Sanskrit scholars were reciting the verses from  the Gita. Chaitanya Maha Prabhu noticed that one of them, an old brahmin was sitting alone in a corner and trying to read but had tears rolling down his cheeks. He could not pronounce the verses properly. Some of the brahmins listening to him were giggling and laughing at him. So Chaitanya Maha Prabhu approached him and told him not to worry about others and to continue reciting.

The old brahmin said that he was not even aware others were laughing at him. He was emotional because whenever he saw the beautiful image of Krishna on the cover of Gita he could not stop the flow of tears.
Maha Prabhu said, "you're the one who has really understood the purpose of the Bhagavad Gita. You need not study the verses".

The purpose of the Bhagavad Gita is to develop pure love for Krishna.

Some

Hare Krishna!

Yagna or Sacrifice is the means to realize God. There are many types of Yagnas. Some of them include - meditation on the form of the Lord, fire sacrifice, study of the scriptures, deity-worship, sacrifice of material possessions and sacrifice of individual sense pleasures.

The sacrifice specifically recommended in Kali Yuga - is the chanting of the names of God.

1) Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita - Yagnanam japo yagno'smi.

"Of all the sacrifices, I am the chanting of the Holy Name."

2) The Bhagavata Purana states: ....Kalau tad dhari kritanad.

"In Kali Yuga the sacrifice recommended is the chanting of the Holy Name.

3) The Brhad Naradiya Purana states: Harer Nama Harer Nama Hare Namaiva kevalam, Kalau nasty Kalau nasty Kalau nasty eva gatir anyatha.

"There is no other way, There is no other way, There is no other way in Kali Yuga - other than chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name."

We may chant any bonafide name of God. All the names of God hav

Hare Krishna!

All our life, since childhood, we are told to do good and avoid doing evil. Do good and you shall enjoy in heaven, do bad and you shall suffer in Hell. 

But that is not the purpose of human life. Krishna says not to get carried away by the flowery words of the Vedas that if you do good then after you enjoy heavenly planets you shall come back into an aristocratic family with all the luxuries to enjoy in this world. Even though we may get a higher birth, we cannot avoid death, old age, disease and again birth. Then, we also have to deal with Adyatmic suffering (the suffering of the mind), Adibhautik suffering (pain caused by things and people) and Adidaivic suffering (suffering caused by divine arrangement - floods, famine, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc)

The purpose of the human birth is to question the higher purpose as to why we are given this human body. When we get a burning desire in our hearts to know the Truth, Krishna sends us His messenger, a pure soul, a spiritual guid

dhyanenatmani pasyanti 
kecid atmanam atmana 
anye sankhyena yogena 
karma-yogena capare

That Supersoul (Paramatma) is realized by some through meditation, by some through the cultivation of knowledge, and by others through working without fruitive desire.. Bhagavad Gita 13.25

anye tv evam ajanantah 
srutvanyebhya upasate 
te 'pi catitaranty eva 
mrtyum sruti-parayanah

Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.. Bhagavad Gita 13.26

Hare Krishna!

This is one of the most beautiful Parables which comes very close to the message that Krishna gave 5000 years about our real identity and our connection to Him and to others beings. A must read.

Once upon a time, there lived many fishes in a pond. Everyday, they would wake up in the morning with a dread - the fisherman’s net! The fisherman would be there every morning, without fail to cast his net. And without fail every morning, many fishes would get caught in it. Some would be taken by surprise, some caught napping, some would not find any place to hide while some others, even though aware of the lurking danger, would simply find no means to escape the deadly net.

Among the fishes was one young fish that was always cheerful. It had no fear of the fisherman’s net and it seemed to have mastered the art of being alive and staying lively. All the senior fishes wondered as to what might be the secret of this little fish. How could it manage so well when their cumulative experience and wisdom were not enough to save them from the net.

Unable to bear their curiosity and desperate to find a way to escape the net, all the fishes went to this little fish one evening. “Hey little one! We