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An exclusive BLISS Podcast about Srila Prabhupada. Do not miss it! It's important.

In this episode of the BLISS PODCAST, we discuss married life in Krishna consciousness. Please have a listen, like, comment and subscribe for more content! Krishna conscious marriage

This is a new episode of our Kick On the Face series. This time Maitreya Rsi Prabhu will explain about the scientific evidence to the phenomenon of reincarnation. #reincarnation #afterlife #proof #kaliyuga #movie

Often, people simply dismiss the idea of God as a fairytale, an imagined old man who is simply a crutch for weaker minded persons. They say that because he cannot be seen he is a as good an imagined story character. But this is not a very good argument, and this article is a logical counter-argument to those who sentimentally avoid the topic of God. Proof of God, explained Is God a fairytale? I have heard this topic millions of times. "No, there is no God and let me be." But is that all? On what ground do you say there is no God? Have you been in every single corner of this planet, or what to speak of the universe? And what about other universes and planets? If you haven't, then you can't say He does not exist. Because you judge from the platform of the senses, you must first see or experience it. But consider this: In your whole life you would not be able to visit every corner of this planet, what to speak of other planets. Let's start smaller scale. Consider a big city like New York; there are so many streets there. Can you imagine going through every single street? Or visiting every single flat in those thousands of skyscrapers? And what about going underground dozens of kilometres? And to discover the depths of all those seas and oceans on the world? So you will not be able to find out everything with your eyes. Proof of God Who is God actually? He is the supreme person. Do you want to say that the supreme person doesn't exist? How foolish. Is there no supreme person of New York? There is. It's the mayor. Is there no supreme person of the USA? There is. It's the president. So is there then no supreme person of all the universes, planets and the whole creation? It doesn't make sense. A big country is being run by the president, but this whole creation isn't? Such a denial is childish. There is a "supreme person" in every department and field. The same is for the whole creation, and that is the absolute supreme person. The Vedas say that His name is Krishna. Let's just kick out this is religion or faith. Just accept it theoretically and let's deal with arguments, not sentiments. If there is already such a person, does it mean he is alone? Is Joe Biden alone? No. He has his servants, citizens, constables, etc. That is why he is the president. A president is always ruling over somebody. So then the absolute supreme must also be ruling over people, and all those servants, citizens etc. are serving him. All of them cooperate on how to please the president. If they serve him, everything will be nicely supplied and taken care of without conflict, because by satisfying the supreme everybody is satisfied. If you meet the biggest superstar and you talk to him or you do something important for him, let's say you take a photo of him which later will circulate the world, then you have some credit there. Wouldn't you become joyous? You would. Then if you'd satisfy the absolute supreme then wouldn't you become even more joyous? The absolute supreme is always supreme. You can't become the supreme. The father is always supreme to his son. Not that the son becomes supreme to his father and becomes the father of his father. It is like that. If the son follows his father's directions, he doesn't lack anything and he is satisfied. If we do the same with the absolute supreme Lord Krishna, then we become truly satisfied. Because if you just satisfy the second to the supreme, the satisfaction on your side is not complete. There is still somebody whom you can satisfy even more. So if you satisfy that supreme person, Lord Krishna, then you can't satisfy anybody higher. Then naurally your satisfaction will also be the highest.

There was a famous king. He was not only famous but also very wise. One day two women approached him both claiming to be the mother of a little baby child. After some deliberation, the king ordered the child to be cut into two sections and each piece given to each woman. When the king gave this verdict, one of the women said: "I cannot bear that the child be divided into two sections, let the other woman take the child." The king then changed his verdict and concluded that the woman who forgone the claim for the child was the real mother of the child and that the child be given to her. This episode can be used as an analogy to a motivated person who wants to enjoy the property of the spiritual master, but does not want to follow his instruction. Just like the pseudo mother in the above mentioned story of wise king does not hesitate the child to be killed simply for the sake of satisfying her claim for so-called motherhood, motivated persons in the dress of devotees approach the spiritual master with ulterior motive to improve their economic condition and rarely care about the mission of the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada reveals: "We have practical experience in discharging our missionary activity that some people come and apply themselves to the Krsna consciousness with some hidden motive, and as soon as they are economically a little well-situated, they give up this process and take to their old ways again." (Bg 9.3 purport) They are more interested in material benefit than spiritual profit. Thus their surrender to the spiritual master's instructions is rather selective and they divide the instructions of the guru into those that fulfill their sense gratification and those that do not. In the words of the ardha-kukkuti-nyaya philosophy, they want to enjoy the eggs of the chicken, but do not want to feed the chicken. This is hardly considered a surrender to the spiritual master and one cannot advance in Krsna consciousness if he maintains such a mentality. Lord Krsna explains: "Those who are not faithful on the path of devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes, but return to birth and death in this material world. " (Bg 9.3) Srila Prabhupada comments on this verse as follows: "Faith is created by association with devotees. Unfortunate people, even after hearing all the evidence of Vedic literature from great personalities, still have no faith in God. They are hesitant and cannot stay fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. Thus faith is a most important factor for progress in Krsna consciousness. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is said that one should have complete conviction that simply by serving the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna he can achieve all perfection. That is called real faith." (Bg 9.3 purport) One must have complete faith that by following the spiritual master's instructions, he will achieve all perfection. If one does not have faith in the spiritual master, he cannot advance. Instead of surrendering to the spiritual master, the unfortunate soul surrenders to the modes of material nature that push him to acquire material benedictions. In this way, he disobeys the spiritual master and becomes an offender to the holy name. While chanting the Hare Krishna, one should be very careful to avoid the various offenses against the holy name. Caitanya Caritamrta warns that if one commits the various offenses, he will not be able to achieve the love of Godhead, which is the mature fruit of the chanting process. Being self-interested one creates divisions in the spiritual movement since his desire is not Krsna-centered. If we put Krishna in the center, no matter how many interests we might have, they do not clash since they become all subservient to the sublime cause of Krishna. Similarly, genuine disciples always keep the wishes of the spiritual master in the center of all their Godbrotherly interactions. Srila Prabhupada writes in a letter to his disciples: "As long as we are sincere there is no question of split amongst us; the split only means someone is not sincere, otherwise there is no question of it." (Letter to: Mukunda -- Hong Kong 1 February, 1974) The genuine disciples might even forgo the spiritual master's institution if they cannot execute the order of the spiritual master within it as we have seen in the example of Srila Prabhupada himself and his relationship to his Guru Maharaja's Gaudya Matha. They are not interested in the petty squabbles over material assets. The motivated so-called disciples however do not hesitate to create more and more divisions in the spiritual movement and just as they separate themselves from the original spiritual master, their so-called disciples and grand disciples similarly separate themselves from them all being motivated by the material assets they can gain from their so-called gurus rather than following any spiritual instructions. Srila Prabhupada writes: "When disciples do not stick to the principle of accepting the order of their spiritual master, immediately there are two opinions. Any opinion different from the opinion of the spiritual master is useless. One cannot infiltrate materially concocted ideas into spiritual advancement. That is deviation. There is no scope for adjusting spiritual advancement to material ideas." (Adi 12.9 purport) Thus the order of the spiritual master is the bloodstream of one's spiritual life. Out of various offenses against the holy name, the offense of disobeying the spiritual master is the most severe. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami states: The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless. (Adi 12.10) It does not matter whether the order comes from the initiating or instructing spiritual master. In fact, to make a distinction between the two is yet another example of the "divide and conquer" mentality of such materially motivated persons. Srila Prabhupada states: "The third offence is disregard of the Spiritual Master. The devotee must receive the transcendental Name of the Lord from the transcendental lips of a bonafide spiritual master who is cent percent devotee of the Lord and nothing more or nothing less and then begin chanting the transcendental Name of the Lord by constant repetition. Such spiritual master as above mentioned is known as the Guru from whom either initiation is taken or the one from whom spiritual instruction is received."(BTGPY1f: The Science of Congregational Chanting of the Name of the Lord (Samkirtan)) In fact to make such sectarian distinctions is an offense in the discharge of devotional service to the Lord. Srila Prabhupada states: "There is no difference between the shelter-giving Supreme Lord and the initiating and instructing spiritual masters. If one foolishly discriminates between them, he commits an offense in the discharge of devotional service." (Adi 1.47 purport) Srila Prabhupada also remarks: "According to sastric injunctions, there is no difference between siksa-guru and diksa-guru, and generally the siksa-guru later on becomes the diksa-guru. (SB 4.12.32 purport) Both gurus are passing on the instruction from the Supreme Spiritual master Bhagavan Sri Krsna. It is the message we should be concerned with and not exactly in the way the message comes to us. Srila Prabhupada concludes: "What Vyasadeva and Krsna taught five thousand years ago is also being taught now. There is no difference between the two instructions. Although hundreds and thousands of acaryas have come and gone, the message is one. The real guru cannot be two, for the real guru does not speak differently from his predecessors. Some spiritual teachers say, "In my opinion you should do this," but this is not a guru. Such so-called gurus are simply rascals. The genuine guru has only one opinion, and that is the opinion expressed by Krsna, Vyasadeva, Narada, Arjuna, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Gosvamis. Five thousand years ago Lord Sri Krsna spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and Vyasadeva recorded it. Srila Vyasadeva did not say, "This is my opinion." Rather, he wrote, sri-bhagavan uvaca, that is, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead says." Whatever Vyasadeva wrote was originally spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Vyasadeva did not give his own opinion. Consequently, Srila Vyasadeva is a guru. He does not misinterpret the words of Krsna, but transmits them exactly as they were spoken. If we send a telegram, the person who delivers the telegram does not have to correct it, edit it, or add to it. He simply presents it. That is the guru's business. The guru may be this person or that, but the message is the same; therefore it is said that guru is one." (SSR 2a: What Is a Guru?) We should therefore be careful not making such an offense and carefully follow the order of the spiritual master to preach this Krishna consciousness movement for the benefit of everyone and avoid sectarianism and pride.

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There are a few segments in the holy scripture of the Christian religion, the Bible, that seem to refer to Srila Prabhupada. Lord Jesus speaks of “another counsellor” that God, the Father would send to Earth to “remind you of everything” the Lord Jesus has spoken about. Also in the Revelation there is mention of the angel coming from the East, who will mark the foreheads of the people with the “seal of God”. We present these verses with corresponding quotes from Srila Prabhupada herein for your consideration. "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever---the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." Holy Bible, John 14:16-18 Here Lord Jesus informs his disciples that in due course he will send another counsellor to guide them. He calls this counsellor the spirit of truth. He says that the world will not accept him because he cannot be seen nor known. This is the position of a pure devotee always. Although the pure devotee desires the greatest well-being for all living creatures, people misunderstand his purpose and they persecute him. "You try to trace out the history of the world, you'll find always persons who are for Krishna or God, they have been persecuted. Lord Jesus Christ was crucified; Haridasa Thakura was caned in twenty-two marketplaces; Prahlada Maharaja was tortured by his father. So there may be such things.” (Srila Prabhupada on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.8 – October 21, 1968, Seattle) “So sadhu, they have to preach. They have to preach. Therefore the first qualification is titiksavah, tolerant. So many people will criticize, so many people attack, so many opposing elements, and he has to fight with them. Therefore titiksavah, toleration. Just like you see, Lord Jesus Christ is so tolerant that he was crucified; still, he did not curse anybody. This is sadhu: titiksavah, tolerant. The very great example of tolerance, Christ, Jesus Christ. So similarly, Haridasa Thakura. There are many saintly persons, sadhu, who were very tolerant. So first qualification of sadhu is titiksavah. Titiksavah and karunikah: at the same time, kind. These two examples we find in the character of Lord Jesus Christ. He was being crucified, and still he was praying to God, "My Lord, they do not know what they are doing." Did he not? Brahmananda: Yes. Prabhupada: Yes. Just see. And he was persecuted, and still, he was kind. He was kind. Still, he was praying to God that ‘These rascals are doing. They cannot kill me, but they are thinking that I will be killed. So they are committing offense.’” (Srila Prabhupada on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.17 – June 30, 1975, Denver) Just as Lord Jesus was misunderstood, similarly any genuine sadhu, or a saintly person will meet with opposition for his teachings, since this world is a place where conditioned souls come to forget God. The devotee counsellor cannot be seen by our material senses since he is on a spiritual platform. Therefore one must hear and not see a sadhu. “My Guru Maharaja used to say that "Don't try to see a sadhu by your eyes. You try to see a sadhu by ear.” (Srila Prabhupada during evening darsana – May 13, 1977, Rishikesh) “One is forbidden to observe the activities of a pure Vaisnava from a material point of view. For the neophyte especially, considering a pure devotee from a material point of view is very injurious. One should therefore avoid observing a pure devotee externally, but should try to see the internal features and understand how he is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. In this way one can avoid seeing the pure devotee from a material point of view, and thus one can gradually become a purified devotee himself. Those who think that Krsna consciousness is limited to a certain section of people, a certain section of devotees or a certain tract of land are generally prone to see the external features of the devotee. Such neophytes, unable to appreciate the exalted service of the advanced devotee, try to bring the maha-bhagavata to their platform.” (Srila Prabhupada in NoI: verse 6) The Counsellor lives with us since he is the external manifestation of the Supersoul (Paramatma), the localized aspect of the Supreme Godhead that resides in the heart of all living entities. We can only come to knowledge of the transcendental nature of the pure devotee when the Paramatma reveals it to us. In one sense there is no difference between the Paramatma and the external spiritual master since both of them are guiding us to advance in the matter of Krsna consciousness. “Spiritual inspiration comes from within the heart, wherein the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, is always sitting with all His devotees and associates.” (Srila Prabhupada in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta "Concluding Words") Paramahamsa: Do you direct us also through the heart? Besides the Paramatma? Prabhupada: If your heart is pure. Everything depends on purity. (Morning Walk at Cheviot Hills Golf Course – May 13, 1973, Los Angeles "But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Holy Bible, John 14:26: Shortly after his arrival to the USA, Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter: “Lord Jesus preached the message of God and I have taken up the same mission, and it would be a good luck for me if I can follow the foot prints of Lord Jesus who preached the message of God in spite of all persecution. “ (Srila Prabhupada’s letter to: Sally  --  New York 19 November, 1965) Here Srila Prabhupada clearly indicates that he only wants to follow in the foot prints of Lord Jesus. In other words as expected from a pure devotee of the Lord he is humbly taking an inferior position to Lord Jesus. Thus Srila Prabhupada is coming to preach in the name of Jesus, or on behalf of Lord Jesus. “Everyone wants that ‘I am very honorable man, prestigious man, and you should respect me.’ That is our material disease. ‘I do not want to respect you, but you should offer me respect.’ This is the position. Therefore our system is to call another Vaisnava as prabhu: ‘Sir, you are prabhu, you are master.’ (Srila Prabhupada on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.1 – October 23, 1976, Vrndavana) Lord Jesus further says that the Counsellor will remind the people everything Lord Jesus told them. Srila Prabhupada elaborates on the teachings of Lord Jesus and the Holy Bible on several occasions: “So Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘My Lord, hallowed be Thy name.’ He wants to glorify the name of the Lord. And some people says that there is no name of God. How? If Lord Jesus Christ says ‘Hallowed be Thy name,’ there must be name. The name is there, but he did not pronounce it, because the people at that time will not be able to understand, or maybe some reason, but he says there is name. So we are making this propaganda, Krsna consciousness movement, the ‘Hallowed be Thy name. My Lord Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, let Your holy name be glorified.’ This is our movement. “ (Srila Prabhupada on the Bhagavad-gita 3.27 at Town Hall – June 27, 1974, Melbourne) Srila Prabhupada revealed that the word “Christ” is a different pronunciation of the word “Krishna”. Therefore if people chant “Christ” it is non-different from chanting of the name “Krishna”, the main practices of the Hare Krishna movement Srila Prabhupada founded in the West. “The name of God is Christ. That Christ is another form of pronouncing Krsta. And Krsta is another form of pronouncing Krishna. Therefore God's name is Krishna. So Christ said to glorify the name of God, but somebody says in Christian that there is no name of God. Why?” (Srila Prabhupada in a room conversation with Pater Emmanuel (A Benedictine Monk) -- June 22, 1974, Germany) Pater Emmanuel: We talk God, "Father," or "our Father." Prabhupada: No, "Father..." Just like your son may call you, "Father," but you have got a name also, "Mr. such and such." My son, your son, everyone's son calls his father, "father." But the father has a name also. Similarly, God is the general name, but still, He has got a particular name. And that name is Krsna. And that is accepted by Jesus. Jesus the Christ or Jesus the son of Christ or Krsna. And he identified himself as the son of God. Therefore the name of God is... Either you call Krsta or Krsna or Christo, it doesn't matter. The name of God is Krsna or Krsta. (Srila Prabhupada in a room conversation with Pater Emmanuel (A Benedictine Monk) -- June 22, 1974, Germany) Srila Prabhupada also referred to other portions of the Bible throughout his preaching mission: “Lord Jesus Christ also said in one place that "If we are lost of our soul and if we gain the whole world, then what is the gain?'' Actually that is the fact. We are losing ourself. Suppose after making huge amass of money, amassing in the bank balance, and if I die and if I take birth in the next life as a cat and dog, then what is the benefit of amassing such a huge amount of bank balance? We should understand this.” (Srila Prabhupada in the Pandal Lecture – March 18, 1972, Bombay) The humble and meek own the kingdom of God. This is stated in the Bible, is it not? But the philosophy of the rascals is that everyone is God, and today this idea has become popular. Therefore no one is humble and meek. If everyone thinks that he is God, why should he be humble and meek? Therefore I teach my disciples how to become humble and meek. They always offer their respectful obeisances in the temple and to the spiritual master, and in this way they make advancement. The qualities of humbleness and meekness lead very quickly to spiritual realization. (Srila Prabhupada in SSR 4a: Krsna or Christ -- The Name Is the Same) So this is a good quality, to love your neighbor, to give them service. So if actually one person is God conscious, he must be sympathetic with the troubles of his neighbor, or anyone, not only human being; animals also. They are also living entities. A God conscious person has no discrimination between human being and animal or trees or plants, because they are also living entities. (Srila Prabhupada in a lecture at Tarrawarra Abbey – April 6, 1972, Melbourne) "When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." Holy Bible, John 15:26 In this section, Lord Jesus predicts that the Counsellor will testify about Lord Jesus. This description is again befitting Srila Prabhupada, who confirmed that Lord Jesus was a nitya-siddha, eternally liberated servant of God, who comes to the material world with the sole purpose of reclaiming the conditioned souls. “In the Christian religion, Jesus Christ claimed to be the son of God and to be coming from the kingdom of God to reclaim conditioned souls. As followers of Bhagavad-gita, we admit this claim to be true. So basically there is no difference of opinion. In details there may be differences due to differences in culture, climate and people, but the basic principle remains the same -- that is, God or His representatives come to reclaim conditioned souls.” (Srila Prabhupada in RV 6: Knowledge of Krsna's Appearances and Activities) "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." Holy Bible These words of Lord Jesus Christ are especially significant. He says there are more things he wants to reveal to his disciples, but they are not ready to bear them. But when the Counsellor comes, he will explain all these things. We are very grateful to Lord Jesus since he propagated monotheism in the Western countries and he gave an idea of kingdom of God and also of unalloyed devotion to God. Srila Prabhupada explained for the first time in the history of the Western world what is the name, form and activities of God, revealed the process of unalloyed devotional service and gave the scientific elaboration on the nature of God and His potencies, all based on the Vedic scriptures. “Just as in the Christian Bible there is, ‘Father, give us our daily bread.’ That is good -- they are accepting the supreme father. But grown-up children should not ask from the father; rather, they should be prepared to serve the father. That is bhakti.“ (Srila Prabhupada in PQPA 3: The Real Goal of life) “Just like in some dictionary the word is explained in one word; in some dictionary it is explained that ‘The history of this word is like this,’ ‘This word can be explained like this, like that, like that,’ some pages like that. Similarly, so far dictionary, the small pocket dictionary is also dictionary, and that Webster's International big dictionary, that is also dictionary. The difference is that international dictionary, you get details of one word. Similarly, any scripture is perfectly giving direction towards understanding what is God. But actually how God is great, how He is working, how His laws are working, all these things you can find in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.” (Srila Prabhupada on the Bhagavad-gita 4.8 – June 14, 1968, Montreal) “Nobody believes in God. That is our proposition. Nobody believes... All this bogus. Now they should come to understand what is God, this, in this Krsna consciousness movement. Nobody believes, neither know what is God. Here we are giving the name, the address, the form, the activities -- everything of God -- Krsna consciousness.” (Srila Prabhupada in a morning walk  – December 11, 1973, Los Angeles) People to whom Lord Jesus preached were not ready to bear further information about God since they were staunch meat-eaters. It is not possible for such a sinful person to understand transcendental subject matters. For this reason Srila Prabhupada emphasized the commandment “Thou Shall Not Kill” and explained that this commandment is applicable to killing men as well as animals. “Pariksit Maharaja. He said that God consciousness, Krsna consciousness, cannot be understood by the animal killer. Vina pasughnat [SB 10.1.4]. Nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanat. You'll find those who are animal killers, the so-called Christians and Mohammedans, they cannot understand. They (are) simply fanatics. Cannot understand what is soul, what is God. They have got some theories and they are thinking we are religionists. What is sin, what is pious activities, these things are not understood by them because they are animal killers. It is not possible. Therefore Lord Buddha propagated ahimsa. Ahimsa. Because he saw the whole human race is going to hell by this animal killing. "Let me stop them so that they may, in future, they may become sober." (Srila Prabhupada on the Bhagavad-gita 2.18 -- London, August 24, 1973) "Jesus Christ was perfect, but because you are rascals, he did not say, because you could not understand even his one word. You are so intelligent. His commandment is 'Thou shall not kill,' but your business is to kill him first. How far you are advanced and civilized, just imagine. And you want perfect instruction. You cannot follow even one instruction. That is your position." In this way try to understand. "Jesus had to deal with rascals like you. Therefore he... Even the ordinary moral principles you could not, what to speak of other things." Actually, that is the fact. Actually, that is the fact. He had to deal with rascals and fools. Is that civilization, that first of all argue, "Thou shall not kill"? That means you were all rascals engaged in killing business. Is that civilized men? Why he said like that? Is that very good philosophy? Mean they were so low class that they had to be stopped first of all, these sinful activities. That also, they could not. This is their position. And for the last two thousand years they could not. Such nice brain. They could not understand even one instruction of Jesus Christ. And you are proud of becoming Christian, rascals. "You do not know what is Christianity, what is Jesus Christ. You are all rascals." (Srila Prabhupada in a conversation on train to Allahabad – January 11, 1977, India) "He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears,…Holy Bible This is again a clear indication of Srila Prabhupada. The bona fide spiritual never speaks anything manufactured. He only presents what he has heard from the disciplic succession. In this way the message is not misinterpreted. “I don't speak anything which I have not heard from my Guru Maharaja.” (Srila Prabhupada in a room conversation – January 24, 1977, Bhubaneswar) “People say that ‘Swamiji, you have done miracles.’ But what miracles I have done? I am simply repeating Krsna's words.” (Srila Prabhupada in Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.5 – November 8, 1973, Delhi) “The guru is one because he comes in disciplic succession. What Vyasadeva and Krsna taught five thousand years ago is also being taught now. There is no difference between the two instructions. Although hundreds and thousands of acaryas have come and gone, the message is one. The real guru cannot be two, for the real guru does not speak differently from his predecessors. Some spiritual teachers say, "In my opinion you should do this," but this is not a guru. Such so-called gurus are simply rascals.” (Srila Prabhupada in SSR 2a: What Is a Guru?) “ ...and he will tell you WHAT IS YET TO COME." Holy Bible Srila Prabhupada also pointed our attention to many prophecies in the Vedas about the age that is yet to come. “...ultimately, with the advancement of Kali-yuga you'll have no food. Food means there will be no food grains, there will be no milk, there will be no sugar -- like that. No fruits. If you get fruits, there will be no pulp; it is simply seeds. These things are there. You get a mango, but a mango means simply the big seed, that's all.” (Srila Prabhupada in a room conversation and reading from SB 1.5.1–16 and 12th Canto – June 25, 1976, New Vrindavan) “In the last stage of Kali-yuga there will be no food grains, no milk, no fruits. So very horrible time. People will kill their own children and eat just like animals. So the last stage of Kali-yuga it will be like that.” (Srila Prabhupada in a room conversation and interview – July 3, 1972, New York) Besides these references to the Counsellor, the Bible also speaks of an “angel coming up from the east” in the Revelation. Since Srila Prabhupada arrived to the West from India, he fits the description perfectly. “Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ‘Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’” (Revelation 7.1-3) Holy Bible It is significant to note that the angel from the east will himself have “a seal of the living God” and also put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of God. This refers to the Vaishnava marking of tilaka Srila Prabhupada wore. “One should decorate the body with tilaka, which is the sign of the Vaisnavas. (The idea is that as soon as a person sees these marks on the body of the Vaisnava, he will immediately remember Krsna. Lord Caitanya said that a Vaisnava is he who, when seen, reminds one of Krsna. Therefore, it is essential that a Vaisnava mark his body with tilaka to remind others of Krsna.)" (Srila Prabhupada in NoD 6: How to Discharge Devotional Service) The devotees put tilaka on their foreheads to remind others of God and simultaneously to be protected from the superintendents of death. It is stated in the Vedas: "Persons who are decorated with tilaka or gopi-candana [a kind of clay resembling fuller's earth which is produced in certain quarters of Vrndavana], and who mark their bodies all over with the holy names of the Lord, and on whose necks and breasts there are tulasi beads, are never approached by the Yamadutas." (Skanda Purana) Srila Prabhupada insisted that his devotees wear tilaka always. “…every one of my disciples must have the flag & marks of tilak on forehead. This is essential. (Srila Prabhupada’s letter to: Damodara  --  Calcutta 13 October, 1967) We pray that everyone understands the significance of Srila Prabhupada’s appearance in this world and takes interest in his teachings and thus become further appreciative of the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. Also we pray that everyone understands the sacrifice of Lord Jesus Christ has undergone to preach God consciousness. By following instructions of these great souls, our heart is purified and with the purified we can take up the supreme religion of all living entities -pure devotional service. Such service is never limited by material boundaries of religious sect, nationality, gender or race. Srila Prabhupada concludes: “Christ says that ‘I am son of God.’ And Krsna says ‘I am God.’ So there is no difference. Son of God and God, we respect everyone. If I respect your father, I respect you also. Do you mean to say if I disrespect your father, you'll be pleased upon me? No. That is our philosophy. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that I am servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. So if anyone loves Krsna, he must love Lord Jesus Christ also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus Christ he must love Krsna. If he says, ‘Why shall I love Krsna? I shall love Jesus Christ,’ then he has no knowledge. And if one says, ‘Why shall I love Jesus Christ? I shall love…’, then he has also no knowledge. If one understands Krsna, then he will understand Jesus Christ. If one understands Jesus Christ, you'll understand Krsna.” (Srila Prabhupada in a room conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio)

The dogmatic philosophy is that whatever "I say" is the absolute truth, and all other philosophies are bogus regardless of their argument. One who barks more is not necessarily correct. "Yow yow! Only my religion is right and nobody else's!" This is a very frequently used statement... But wait a minute, what does religion actually mean? People usually argue which religion is true. "Only Christianity is right; only Islam is right; only Buddhism is right; only Krishna is right"... But has anybody asked the question: what does religion actually mean? If we want to establish some truth, we first must know the meaning of the words. If we speak of religion, then it is important to know what religion means. People say it's belief. But one day I believe in Jesus, the other in Allah, the other in Buddha or the other Krishna, etc. Belief might change, so then who is right? Jesus, Allah, Buddha, or Krishna? If the truth depends only on what I believe in, then it is not very reliable. Because my belief changes the next day and then it's not valid anymore, or it is only so far I believe in it. Absolute truth is only one, not many. If everybody believes in many different things and only that which I believe in is true, then the conception of the absolute truth is nullified. So which one is it? In the Vedas, religion is defined as eternal occupation (Sanatana Dharma). The eternal occupation of every single living entity is to serve; the husband serves his wife, they serve their children, an employee serves his boss, or we serve our body or our ideas, etc. The whole functioning of this world is based on serving, and that is how things are going on. So there is no doubt everybody likes to serve. But here service is motivated, something is given in exchange for the service. But the principle is there. In the spiritual world, service is unmotivated, and everybody serves only one person, Lord Krishna. That is actually the service, rendered to one person. Because as soon as you serve many masters then there will be chaos. When you try to serve two masters, one master will never be satisfied because when one is served the other is neglected. Then in chaos nothing works, the focus is diverted and will culminate in quarrel or war, and the service is finished. In the spiritual world everybody serves only Krishna, and they also argue, but about who is going serve Him more, that is productive. The service increases, and therefore also the pleasure from that service. When the servant satisfies the king then he is pleased the most. And if you satisfy the highest person you become more pleased than if you satisfy the second highest person. It's common sense. It is not that I simply follow rules, say that only my scripture is the best, that is my religion and if you disagree with that then you will go to hell. Dogma is not religion. The dogmatic philosophy is that whatever "I say" is the absolute truth, and all other philosophies are bogus regardless of their argument. One who barks more is not necessarily correct. We see that service is present at any stage of existence. We just need to direct that service propensity towards the right source, towards the Supreme, and then following all the rules and regulations given by God makes sense. The rules and regulations should be followed with a proper understanding of why I'm serving. Because many people follow the rules, but not with God in mind, simply for prestige or poor fund of knowledge. But God is for everybody. The rules and regulations should be followed for Him, and His pure devotee will guide you. Accept the pure devotee, inquire from him submissively and serve him. Rules and regulations make you balanced so you can properly serve God by serving His beloved devotee.

The following is a class given by His Grace Purujit Dasa, founder of the Bhaktivedanta Lives in Sound Society, to visiting devotees from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Class by His Grace Purujit Dasa Vyavasayatmika buddhi, Ekeha kuru-nandana. Bahu-sakha hy anantas ca Buddhayo 'vyavasayinam "Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched." (Bhagavad Gita 2.41) Purujit: I was born in the darkness of ignorance, and my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has opened my eyes with the torchlight of knowledge. I offer my humble obeisances unto his lotus feet. So, this is the verse from the Bhagavad Gita. It's actually a very profound verse. Every verse is very deep, but this one specifically relates to the divisions among the different followers of the Vedic culture. "Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched." So, Krishna says a few verses before to Arjuna that he should fight, but he should not expect results. In other words, Krishna consciousness does not mean to stop activity. We can go on, but the enjoyer of the results of our work is Krishna. If we simply stop action, it will not bring us happiness. And similarly if we simply work for the result, we will be constantly disturbed. Just like thieves, we are enjoying the property of the Lord. A thief cannot be happy. He is always in anxiety. Krishna says that one who does not have peace of mind cannot be happy. Everyone feels deep inside that: "Oh, I'm doing something bad." But because he does not have the alternative, sometimes he gives up action altogether. No more pleasure, no more food, no more this, no more that. Just like the impersonalists. Therefore, Krishna consciousness means work, but work with the right consciousness - Krishna consciousness. Devotional service is not something artificial. You probably know that passage where Prabhupada explains the sanatana-dharma. Sanatana-dharma is the characteristic of every living entity. That's why Krishna consciousness is not a religion or a sect. It is the natural propensity of every living entity; everyone wants to serve, but they're serving in the wrong way. That's why the role of the spiritual master is to direct that service propensity in the right direction. This is why we need knowledge. Ultimately, Krishna consciousness, bhakti yoga has nothing to do with knowledge. It is the question of the heart, but on the conditional platform, our love is adulterated. We serve in a wrong way. That's why we need knowledge. Otherwise, we will mistake that which is material for that which is spiritual and that which is spiritual for that which is material. This is the reason why we approach a bona fide spiritual master. Spiritual master means that he is the master in converting material into spiritual. Of course, the Krishna consciousness process does not require that we change our position. Just like Srila Prabhupada says, you can change your religion from Christian to Muslim, from Muslim to Buddhist etc., but if you are a nonsense person, then you will be a nonsense everywhere, whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc. So we have to change our consciousness. That is important. And it is very simple. Instead of doing things for myself, I do it for Krishna's pleasure. When I cook, I don't cook for myself, I cook for Krishna's pleasure. I like to sing, I like to play musical instruments, that's ok, but do it for Krishna, chant for Krishna. And if you want to do it for Krishna, then you should know that because Krishna is a person, He has his particular taste. And we should understand what that taste is. What He wants, what He doesn't want. Like that. If we strike the right point and serve Krishna in the right way, we will feel ecstatic. And if we serve in a way that is not very pleasing to Krishna, then the bliss will not be there. This is explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam, First canto: Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo Yato bhaktir adhoksaje Ahaituky apratihata Yayatma suprasidati “The most perfect occupation for all humankind is what is conducive to the attainment of devotional service of transcendence Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and undeterred so that the same shall completely satisfy the self.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.6) That sort of service will satisfy the atma. We are speaking of pure devotional service. We are not speaking of mixed devotional service. There is devotional service mixed with jnana, and I explained this before. It manifests as giving up activities and as a denial. This is jnana - analytical. For example, a man decides: "I want to find out why there is life in this person." So he operates him, and he gets his heart, and he takes his heart in his hand. "Oh, so this is life." But then the life of that person is finished. It is not practical to simply study the knowledge. That is called jnana-misra bhakti, bhakti-yoga mixed with jnana. And then you have another extreme karma-misra bhakti, devotional service mixed with fruitive mentality: "I become a famous kirtan singer and I will get many likes on Facebook, or I will be a famous pujari. We can become illusioned that we are practicing Krishna consciousness, but we are not serving Krishna, we are utilizing Krishna. So the nature of pure devotional service is that it is ahaituky apratihata. It cannot be checked by any material circumstance. This verse is very important especially for us, the followers of Srila Prabhupada, because it is the verse which inspired Srila Prabhupada to come to the West. Those are his transcendental pastimes. And especially either Bhaktivinode Thakura or Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, they comment on this verse that a disciple should be ready to lay down his life to fulfill the instruction of his spiritual master. That is Krishna consciousness. It cannot be checked even by a material body. That sort of determination we have to develop in order to go back home, back to Godhead. If our determination is 99% it is not enough. We cannot go back to Godhead with 99% determination. We have to develop 100% determination, and that is called vyavasayatmika buddhi. Hare Krishna.

The ultimate spiritual relationship advice is herein explained. In Krishna consciousness, no devotee is inferior. All serve in perfection in their particular relationship with the Lord. Spiritual Relationship Advice Any kind of relationship in the spiritual world is perfect, and any type of relationship in the spiritual world is absolute. What does it mean? Let's look at relationships in the mundane world. Ultimately, they are a reflection of the spiritual ones. There are five types of relationships: neutral, servitude, friendly, parental, and conjugal. Out of those, the last one, conjugal, is the highest because it is the most intimate. But in the spiritual world, all of them are equal and absolute. Just because someone serves Krishna in a neutral relationship, for example: a blade of grass, it doesn't mean he is less. Consider this: I have a particular relationship with my mother, namely parental. But just because I don't have a conjugal relationship with her, that doesn't mean it's less valuable. The perfection of any relationship means you follow that relationship as it is meant for. If I were to apply the conjugal relationship with my mother, it would be disturbing; it would turn into a disaster. And by following it properly in the parental mood, it would be perfect. If there is a child and mother and both behave according to their position, the child is behaving like a child is supposed to behave to his/her mother and vice versa, then it can work without any flaw. If I unnecessarily push the relationship to the "highest" stage, conjugal, then it would have the opposite effect. So if our original form is revealed by the practice of Krishna consciousness, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, then we will spontaneously follow our constitutional relationship with Krishna. Then it will be perfect, and there is no need to aspire for the highest relationship because we are naturally satisfied with the one we already have eternally.

Sometimes people are very fond of declaring their country of origin and identifying as a certain nationality or race. But can we be sure that we these sectarian considerations are not the causes of disturbance in the world? For certain, they are not the platform of unity, and Srila Prabhupada herein explains the real platform of unity. russia ukraine war Pradyumna: "As long as one identifies himself as belonging to a certain family, a certain society or a certain person, he is said to covered with designations. When one is fully aware that he does not belong to any family, society or country, but is eternally related to Krsna, he then realizes that his energy should be employed not in the interests of so-called family, society or country, but in the interests of Krsna. This . . . this is purity of purpose and the platform of pure devotional service in Krsna consciousness." Prabhupada: So our purpose . . . the Krsna consciousness movement is started with this summary idea, that nobody should think himself as belonging to certain family or sect or religion or country or nation. All these designation have created havoc in the world, these false designation. When I think that "This country is mine," it is a false designation. Country is not mine, I am a guest here. If I stay in a country, in a place, for, say, twenty years, fifty years, hundred years, does it . . . does it mean that it belongs to me? Because they have no Krsna conscious idea, they are misled in thinking in that way. Some group of men are thinking that, "This is our country": "We are American," "We are Indian," "We are German." This is the false . . . illusion. Actually, everything belongs to Krsna. Krsna says, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram (BG 5.29). He's the proprietor. But because people are not educated in Krsna consciousness, they are thinking, "I am the proprietor." Aham mameti janasya moho 'yam (SB 5.5.8). This aham mama, increasing the aham mama, is illusion, is maya. And that is going on. Therefore there is great need of spreading Krsna consciousness in the human society. Those who are actually welfare workers, they should come forward and join this movement to spread it. Actually, it is being accepted very nicely. Although not nicely, they have begun to accept it all over the world. This is our experience. And if we present the philosophy in correct viewpoint, people will accept it.