Ecstatic Symptoms of Love of God - Does that happen to us when we hear or chant the Holy Names of the Lord? Srila Visvanatha Cakravatri Thakura has pointed put that if upon chanting the Holy name of the Lord, one or more of the ecstatic symptoms of Love of God do not manifest in one's body, this means one is still guilty of committing one or more of the ten offenses of the Holy Name of the Lord.

- HH Indradyumna Swami

Blog: www.gloriouskrishna.blogspot.com

Blog: www.gloriouskrishna.blogspot.com

Blog: www.gloriouskrishna.blogspot.com

You have to associate with kīrtana. The reading is also kīrtana, and chanting on the beads, that is also kīrtana. There is no difference. So make your life in such a way.
Srila Prabhupada Lecture on BG 13.4

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Blog: www.gloriouskrishna.blogspot.com

HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Melbourne, Australia, October 2011)
(Transcribed by Smita Krishna Devi Dasi)


At the time of initiation, we are receiving diksa or transcendental knowledge. Such transcendental knowledge means that we understand that:
'bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ', (Bg 7.19).
After many life times, we come to the point where we actually realise that Krishna is everything and that the ultimate goal of life is Krishna. So it's very rare, ' sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ'. 'Su-durlabhaḥ' means very rare.
It is said, that mostly the living entities are busy with the material energy and they are trying to milk the material energy in various ways and get some benefit from the material energy and that is really what every one is doing in the world. Some are doing it in pious ways, by following the direction of the scriptures. Others are doing it in an impious way, but mostly people are hoping for material happiness therefore 'bahūnāṁ',its very rare that someone comes to this point to understand that Krishna is the real goal of life and actually everything is meant for Krishna.

It's logical because everything was created by Krishna, He is Isvara-parama Krishna. He is the origin of everything and therefore naturally, we are returning to Him what belongs to Him, just like sometimes we take bath in the Ganga and we scoop up some water from there and offer it back to Ganga because the Ganga is pure. So we want to make pure offering, and therefore we are offering Gangajal to Ganga. Like this, we are offering to Krishna what belongs to Him already!

Everything, even our bodies are also Krishna's energy, yes – everything in this world belongs to Krishna – including our very bodies, including our children, our house, including all our possessions!
Therefore, everything is meant to be used for Krishna. We ourselves, of course, need to live. we need residence for the shelter, we need to eat and so on, but we are doing that all on behalf of Krishna. One should eat only remnants of what is offered to the Lord only that which is left over from yagna, no other things a devotee will take. It says because otherwise one gets involve in sinful reactions because whatever is the consciousness of the cook, will affect whatever is eaten and subsequently, it will effect our consciousness and thus, new material desires will be born.

Therefore we are careful in our eating, we are careful that our house is Krishna's house and that we are in that house and only doing things that are favourable to Krishna. So that is what it means!

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by HH Devamrita Swami

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Evening program

At night, before another full audience, Srila Prabhupada continued to discuss the plight of the great Maharaja Pariksit. The Emperor had been cursed to die. Now he had to make preparations for that final important event -- death.

The human form, Prabhupada explained, was a unique opportunity to understand death and the change of body. In all other species that facility was absent; only after passing through at least 8,000,000 species did one come to the valuable human birth. Still, most people didn't take advantage, and thus suffered accordingly. He gave the example of a tree. Just as schoolboys who misbehaved were obliged to stand up for prolonged periods, similarly if one liked to be naked, he would be obliged to stand as a tree for thousands of years. This, was nature's "stand-up punishment".

One's position, Prabhupada explained, was precarious. "Maharaja Pariksit, such a powerful king, he has been cursed: 'You must die within seven days.' So he is preparing. He has got time, seven days. But what we have got? We haven't got even seven minutes warning. At any moment we can die." Prabhupada described with impeccable reasoning and logic the soul's travail through conception, to birth, childhood, boyhood, youth to old age, then to death and a new body, that is 'put on just as a man puts on pants and coat'. Srila Prabhupada presented a stunningly clear piece of logic: one could not claim that the soul was formless, because the body has arms and legs. He explained further: one put on clothes formed with arms and legs. Why then did the body have arms and legs? Because the soul had arms and legs!

Finally, Prabhupada requested everyone to kindly take advantage of his offering. "We are presenting the Krsna consciousness movement very genuinely and authorisedly. The centre is now open. Now it is up to you to take advantage of it and be benefited."

In question time, a devotee asked whether the soul in an animal's body would have a different shape to the soul in a human body. Prabhupada explained further.

"The shape has been taken according to his desire. Every animal has got these four things. Just like a bird, it has got two wings, two legs. The animal has got four legs. And the man has got two hands and two legs. So the same parts of the body are appearing in a different type. But the four limbs of the body are there."
The questions continued in the same vein. Yasomatinandana asked whether the eternal form of the spirit soul was human.

"Yes," Prabhupada replied. "Human form. God is also human form. 'Man is made after the shape of God.' I think there is in the Bible, is it not? So God is also like human form. Here you see Krsna, two hands, two legs."

But Hari-sauri had a doubt. "How do we understand, then, that there are peacocks and flowers and trees in the spiritual world? Are these not eternal forms?"

"Yes," explained Srila Prabhupada. "They are more covered. Just like if you cover your body with blankets, the hands and legs are invisible. But you are not the blanket. So the trees and plants, they are more covered. They are not in full manifestation. The human form is the full manifestation of the soul."
Hari-sauri wondered whether they were covered in the spiritual world.

"Not in the spiritual world. There that is voluntary. Some devotees want to serve Krsna as flowers; they become flowers there. If he wants that 'As a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna', he becomes a flower, voluntarily. And he can change his form, from flower to human body. That is spiritual life. There is no restriction. If some devotee wants to serve Krsna as a cow, he serves Krsna as a cow, as a calf, as a flower, as a plant, as water, as ground, field, or as father, mother, friend, beloved, anything. Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham. That is Krsna's all-powerfulness."

- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu

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