Hardly (CC and Other Books)

Expressions researched:
"hardly"

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 4.30, Purport:

Those under the spell of the material energy cannot at all appreciate the activities of yogamāyā, for a conditioned soul can hardly understand the pure reciprocation between the Lord and His devotee. But by executing devotional service under the regulative principles, one can become very highly elevated and then begin to appreciate the dealings of pure love under the management of yogamāyā.

CC Adi 4.106, Purport:

Lord Caitanya's heart was full of the feelings of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and His appearance resembled Hers. Svarūpa Dāmodara has explained His attitude as rādhā-bhāva-mūrti, the attitude of Rādhārāṇī. One who engages in sense gratification on the material platform can hardly understand rādhā-bhāva, but one who is freed from the demands of sense gratification can understand it. Rādhā-bhāva must be understood from the Gosvāmīs, those who are actually controllers of the senses. From such authorized sources it is to be known that the attitude of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the highest perfection of conjugal love, which is the highest of the five transcendental mellows, and it is the complete perfection of love of Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 5.20, Purport:

Foolish persons engrossed in their material assets are unnecessarily proud of being leaders of the people, but they ignore the spiritual value of man. Such illusioned leaders make plans covering any number of years, but they can hardly make humanity happy in a state conditioned by the threefold miseries inflicted by material nature. One cannot control the laws of nature by any amount of struggling. One must at last be subject to death, nature's ultimate law. Death, birth, old age and illness are symptoms of the diseased condition of the living being. The highest aim of human life should therefore be to get free from these miseries and go back home, back to Godhead.

CC Adi 8.22, Purport:

The prākṛta-sahajiyās who chant nitāi-gaura rādhe śyāma have very little knowledge of the Bhāgavata conclusion, and they hardly follow the Vaiṣṇava rules and regulations, and yet because they chant bhaja nitāi-gaura, their chanting immediately evokes tears and other signs of ecstasy. Although they do not know the principles of Vaiṣṇava philosophy and are not very much advanced in education, by these symptoms they attract many men to become their followers. Their ecstatic tears will of course help them in the long run, for as soon as they come in contact with a pure devotee their lives will become successful. Even in the beginning, however, because they are chanting the holy names of nitāi-gaura, their swift advancement on the path of love of Godhead is very prominently visible.

CC Adi 9.10, Purport:

Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, also known as Śrī Mādhava Purī, belonged to the disciplic succession from Madhvācārya and was a greatly celebrated sannyāsī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the third disciplic descendant from Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. The process of worship in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya was full of ritualistic ceremonies, with hardly a sign of love of Godhead. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was the first person in that disciplic succession to exhibit the symptoms of love of Godhead and the first to write a poem beginning with the words ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha, "O supremely merciful Personality of Godhead." In that poem is the seed of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cultivation of love of Godhead.

CC Adi 13.110, Purport:

Also, turmeric mixed with oil and vermilion makes an auspicious ointment that is smeared over the body of a newborn baby or a person who is going to marry. These are all auspicious activities in family affairs. We see that five hundred years ago at the birth of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu all these ceremonies were performed rigidly, but at present such ritualistic performances hardly ever take place. Generally a pregnant mother is sent to the hospital, and as soon as her child is born he is washed with an antiseptic, and this concludes everything.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 8.38, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's specific mission is to deliver fallen souls. Of course, in this Age of Kali there is hardly anyone who is not fallen according to the calculations of Vedic behavior. In His instructions to Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu described the so-called followers of Vedic religion in this way (CC Madhya 19.146):

veda-niṣṭha-madhye ardheka veda "mukhe" māne

veda-niṣiddha pāpa kare, dharma nāhi gaṇe

So-called followers of Vedic principles simply accept the Vedas formally, but they act against Vedic principles. This is symptomatic of this Age of Kali. People claim to follow a certain type of religion, saying formally, "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am this or that," but actually no one follows the principles enunciated in religious scriptures. This is the disease of this age.

CC Madhya 8.139, Purport:

"Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth."

The word siddhaye indicates liberation. Only after being liberated from material conditioning can one understand Kṛṣṇa. When one can understand Kṛṣṇa as He is (tattvataḥ), one actually lives in the spiritual world, although apparently living within the material body. This technical science can be understood when one is actually spiritually advanced.

CC Madhya 11.32, Translation:

""Those whose austerity is meager can hardly obtain the service of the pure devotees progressing on the path back to the kingdom of Godhead, the Vaikuṇṭhas. Pure devotees engage one hundred percent in glorifying the Supreme Lord, who is the Lord of the demigods and the controller of all living entities.""

CC Madhya 18.200, Translation:

“Usually they describe the Lord's impersonal aspect, but they hardly know that the Lord's personal feature is worshipable. They are undoubtedly lacking this knowledge.

CC Madhya 18.207, Purport:

After being initiated, the devotees in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement change their names. Whenever a person in the Western world becomes interested in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, he is initiated by this process. In India we are falsely accused of converting mlecchas and yavanas to the Hindu religion. In India there are many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs known as jagad-guru, although they have hardly visited the whole world. Some are not even sufficiently educated, yet they make accusations against our movement and accuse us of destroying the principles of the Hindu religion by accepting Muslims and yavanas as Vaiṣṇavas. Such people are simply envious. We are not spoiling the Hindu system of religion but are simply following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by traveling all over the world and accepting those who are interested in understanding Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇadāsa or Rāmadāsa. By the process of a bona fide initiation, their names are changed.

CC Madhya 19.150, Translation:

“"O great sage, out of many millions of materially liberated people who are free from ignorance, and out of many millions of siddhas who have nearly attained perfection, there is hardly one pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa. Only such a devotee is actually completely satisfied and peaceful."

CC Madhya 24.249, Purport:

So-called civilized people consider themselves very advanced in education, but they do not know about the stringent laws of nature. According to nature's law, it is a life for a life. We can hardly imagine the sufferings of one who maintains a slaughterhouse. He endures suffering not only in this life, but in his next life also. It is said that a hunter, murderer or killer is advised not to live and not to die. If he lives, he accumulates even more sins, which bring about more suffering in a future life. He is advised not to die because his dying means that he immediately begins to endure more suffering. Therefore he is advised not to live and not to die.

CC Madhya 25.83, Translation:

“"O great sage, out of many millions of materially liberated people who are free from ignorance, and out of many millions of siddhas who have nearly attained perfection, there is hardly one pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa. Only such a devotee is actually completely satisfied and peaceful."

CC Madhya 25.167, Purport:

Both Navadvīpa and Vārāṇasī were celebrated for their highly educational activities. At the present time these cities are still inhabited by great, learned scholars, but Vārāṇasī is especially a center for Māyāvādī sannyāsīs who are learned scholars. However, unlike Navadvīpa, there are hardly any devotees in Vārāṇasī. Consequently a discussion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was very rare in Vārāṇasī. In Navadvīpa, such a discussion was quite ordinary. After Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited Vārānaṣī and turned Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and his disciples into Vaiṣṇavas, Vārāṇasī became like Navadvīpa because so many devotees began discussing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Even at the present moment one can hear many discussions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam taking place on the banks of the Ganges. Many scholars and sannyāsīs gather there to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and perform saṅkīrtana.

CC Madhya 25.270, Purport:

"Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth."

It is very difficult to understand Kṛṣṇa, but if one tries to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam through Caitanya Mahāprabhu's bhakti cult, one will undoubtedly understand Kṛṣṇa very easily. If somehow or other one understands Kṛṣṇa, his life is successful. Again, as Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1:

We can hardly find any human beings who believe in the Vedic scriptures and the existence of God, or even in proper behavior. Those who do believe in these things, and in advancing in spiritual life, are known as Āryans. Out of those who believe in the scriptures and the advancement of human civilization, there are two classes—the righteous and the unrighteous. Those who are righteous generally execute fruitive activities to derive some good result for sense gratification. Out of many such persons who engage in righteous activities for sense gratification, only a few come to know about the Absolute Truth. These are called jñānīs, empiric philosophers in search of the Absolute Truth.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 1:

Śiva says to Satī, "My dear Satī, if one is a very fine philosopher, analyzing the different processes of knowledge, he can achieve liberation from the material entanglement. By performance of the ritualistic sacrifices recommended in the Vedas one can be elevated to the platform of pious activities and thereby enjoy the material comforts of life to the fullest extent. But all such endeavors can hardly offer anyone devotional service to the Lord, not even if one tries for it by such processes for many, many thousands of births."

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is also confirmed by Prahlāda Mahārāja that merely by personal efforts or by the instructions of higher authorities one cannot attain to the stage of devotional service. One must become blessed by the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee, who is completely freed from the contamination of material desires.

Nectar of Devotion 21:

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His pleasing dress, appeared at the scene of the sacrificial arena when King Yudhiṣṭhira was performing the Rājasūya sacrifice. All important personalities from different parts of the universe had been invited to the sacrificial arena, and all of them, upon beholding Kṛṣṇa there, considered that the Creator had ended all of His craftsmanship in the creation of this particular body of Kṛṣṇa."

It is said that the transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa resembles the lotus flower in eight parts—namely His face, His two eyes, His two hands, His navel and His two feet. The gopīs and inhabitants of Vṛndāvana used to see the luster of lotus flowers everywhere, and they could hardly withdraw their eyes from such a vision.

Nectar of Devotion 21:

"My dear Lord of the cowherd boys, Your bulls (bulls are the representation of religion), while eating grass from the pasturing ground and moving on their four legs, have certainly eaten up all the grass of irreligion!" In other words, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, religious principles were so well cared for that hardly any irreligious activities could be found.

It is said that because Kṛṣṇa was constantly performing various types of sacrifices and was inviting the demigods from the higher planetary systems, the demigods were almost always absent from their consorts. Therefore the wives of the demigods, regretting the absence of their husbands, began to pray for the appearance of Lord Buddha, Kṛṣṇa's ninth incarnation, who appears in the age of Kali. In other words, instead of being pleased that Lord Kṛṣṇa had come, they began to pray for Lord Buddha, who is the ninth incarnation, because Lord Buddha stopped the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices recommended in the Vedas in order to discourage animal-killing. The demigods' wives thought that if Lord Buddha appeared, all kinds of sacrifices would be stopped, and thus their husbands would not be invited to such ceremonies and would not be separated from them.

Nectar of Devotion 26:

One may sometimes become overwhelmed with joy by seeing a devotee of the Lord. When Dhruva Mahārāja saw two associates of Nārāyaṇa approaching him, he immediately stood up out of sincere respect and devotion and remained before them with folded hands; but because of his ecstatic love, he could hardly offer them a proper reception.

There is a statement by a gopī who addressed Subala, a friend of Kṛṣṇa: "My dear Subala, I know that Kṛṣṇa is your friend and that you always enjoy smiling and joking with Him. The other day I saw you both standing together. You were keeping your hand upon Kṛṣṇa's shoulder, and both of you were joyfully smiling. When I saw the two of you standing like that in the distance, my eyes at once became overflooded with tears."

Nectar of Devotion 42:

In the Tenth Canto, Twelfth Chapter, verse 12, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is stated that even after undergoing severe penances and austerities and performing the yogic principles, the great mystic yogīs can hardly become eligible to achieve the dust of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, but the same Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is easily available to the vision of the residents of Vṛndāvana. This means there is no comparison to the great fortune of these devotees. The friendly relationship of the cowherd boys with Kṛṣṇa is a particular type of spiritual ecstasy almost similar to the ecstasy of conjugal love. This ecstasy of loving affairs between the cowherd boys and Kṛṣṇa is very difficult to explain. Great expert devotees like Rūpa Gosvāmī express their astonishment at the inconceivable feelings which are in Kṛṣṇa and His cowherd boyfriends.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 1:

Because of his demoniac association, he was a demon, although born in a very high royal family. A demon never cares for any good instruction. He is just like a determined thief: one can give him moral instruction, but it will not be effective. Similarly, those who are demoniac or atheistic by nature can hardly assimilate any good instruction, however authorized it may be. That is the difference between demigods and demons. Those who can accept good instruction and try to live their lives in that way are called demigods, and those who are unable to take such good instruction are called demons.

Krsna Book 20:

Because of the appearance of the autumn season, the water of the ocean becomes calm and quiet, just as a person developed in self-realization becomes free from disturbance by the three modes of material nature. In autumn, farmers save the water within the fields by building strong walls so that the water contained within the field cannot run out. There is hardly any hope for new rainfall; therefore they want to save whatever is in the field. Similarly, a person who is actually advanced in self-realization protects his energy by controlling the senses. It is advised that after the age of fifty one should retire from family life and conserve the energy of the body for utilization in the advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless one is able to control the senses and engage them in the transcendental loving service of Mukunda, there is no possibility of salvation.

Krsna Book 58:

King Nagnajit wanted to give the hand of his daughter to any prince who could defeat seven very strong, stalwart bulls maintained by him. No one in the princely order could defeat the seven bulls, and therefore no one could claim the hand of Satyā. The seven bulls were very strong, and they could hardly bear even the smell of any prince. Many princes visited this kingdom and tried to subdue the bulls, but instead of controlling them, they themselves were defeated. This news spread all over the country, and when Kṛṣṇa heard that one could achieve the girl Satyā only by defeating the seven bulls, He prepared Himself to go to the kingdom of Kośala. With many soldiers, He approached that part of the country, known as Ayodhyā, making a regular state visit.

Krsna Book 87:

The four Kumāras and all other authorized sages know perfectly that devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the essence of all Vedic literature, and they preach this on different planets, traveling in outer space. It is stated herein that such sages, including Nārada Muni, hardly ever travel on land; they perpetually travel in space.

Sages like Nārada and the Kumāras travel throughout the universe to educate the conditioned souls that their business in the world is not that of sense gratification but of reinstating themselves in their original position of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is stated in several places that the living entities are like sparks of the fire and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is like the fire itself.

Krsna Book 90:

In the Vedic literature there are twenty kinds of religious principles mentioned, and each of them is described in different śāstras. But Lord Kṛṣṇa is so kind to the fallen, conditioned souls of this age that He personally appeared and asked everyone to give up all kinds of religious rites and simply surrender unto Him. It is said that this Age of Kali is three-fourths devoid of religious principles. Hardly one fourth of the principles of religion are still observed in this age. But by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, not only has this void of Kali-yuga been completely filled, but the religious process has been made so easy that simply by rendering transcendental loving service unto Lord Kṛṣṇa by chanting His holy names, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, one can achieve the highest result of religion, namely, being transferred to the highest planet within the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.1:

Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in Truth.

Since time immemorial, living entities have been going through many lower species of life, gradually rising through the evolutionary process and, due to some good fortune, receiving a human birth. In the lower species of life the spirit souls are densely covered by the material modes, and thus carnal appetites dominate their lives. Among the human species, some denounce sensual pleasures and are honored by the world as a saints, yogīs, philosophers, scholars, and so on. They experience mental perceptions far superior to gross sensual experiences, and may reach even subtler levels of fine intellect. But even more subtle than the intellect is the spirit soul. So true spirituality, or the real religion of the living entity, means to be situated in self.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.4:

A person becomes a "brāhmaṇa" just by slipping a holy thread over his head-indeed, such has been predicted in the scriptures—but this does not earn him any piety. Lord Caitanya rejected this kind of cheating varṇāśrama system. Foreseeing the degraded condition of Kali-yuga, Lord Kṛṣṇa hardly discusses varṇāśrama religion in the Bhagavad-gītā and instead stresses the performance of work as sacrifice. Hence it is clearly understood that by the performance of sacrifice for Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Person, He becomes satisfied and all ill effects are eradicated.

Persons afflicted by disease or other miseries are known as ārta, "the distressed." Commonly, a sick person depends on a doctor and medicine to cure his disease. But far-sighted scholars say that suffering of any kind is a result of sinful activities performed in the past. Ordinary people do not understand that sinful reactions result from ignorance.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.2:

Unless the intellect is purified and spiritualized, even the most erudite philosopher and the greatest mystic yogī will become perplexed in trying to understand Lord Kṛṣṇa. As the Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.3), yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ: "Of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth."

The Supreme Lord's name, form, qualities, pastimes, associates, and paraphernalia are all of the same spiritual nature. In fact, anything in relation to Lord Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from Him.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.3:

Dr. Radhakrishnan have tried to shake the faith of the general populace, but since time immemorial Kṛṣṇa temples have mushroomed by the millions—a slap in the face for the Māyāvādīs and atheists, who claim the Lord Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary mortal. In the future also, more Kṛṣṇa temples will be built to frustrate the agnostics and nonbelievers. All Viṣṇu temples are authorized by the scriptures and ācāryas. It hardly seems likely that, just for the sake of Dr. Radhakrishnan, the entire Indian population is going to strike a compromise with Māyāvāda philosophy.

Message of Godhead

Message of Godhead 1:

Because we are always very busy in the discharge of our worldly duties, generally we do not wish to understand any philosophy except our mundane philosophy of the stomach and allied subjects. We have extended many branches and sub-branches of this philosophy of the belly in various directions, and thus we have hardly any time to understand the philosophy of gaining eternal life—for which we are perpetually struggling life after life.

Marshal Arjuna pretended to display philosophical ignorance and weakness, like an ordinary man, when with his chariot between the two opposing armies on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, he refused to fight. In this way, age after age, the Personality of Godhead and His beloved confidential-servitor devotees bestow their unbounded mercy by dissipating the darkness of nescience of the people of the world. We could hardly have attained to transcendental knowledge if they had not bestowed such mercy upon us.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 42, Purport:

Without love of Godhead there is no meaning even to direct contact. During the presence of the Lord there were thousands and thousands of men, but because they were not in love of Godhead they could hardly realize the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we must first activate our dormant love of Godhead by following the prescribed rules and by following in the footsteps of the authorities who are actually fixed in love of Godhead. The gopīs provide the highest example of such unalloyed love of Godhead, and Lord Caitanya at the ultimate stage of realization displayed the viraha worship in the mood of the gopīs.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 3, Purport:

The word śuci indicates a spiritually advanced brāhmaṇa, and śrīmat indicates a vaiśya, a member of the mercantile community. So the person who fails to achieve self-realization is given a better chance in his next life due to his sincere efforts in this life. If even a fallen candidate is given a chance to take birth in a respectable and noble family, one can hardly imagine the status of one who has achieved success. By simply attempting to realize God, one is guaranteed birth in a wealthy or aristocratic family. But those who do not even make an attempt, who want to be covered by illusion, who are too materialistic and too attached to material enjoyment, must enter into the darkest regions of hell, as confirmed throughout the Vedic literature. Such materialistic asuras sometimes make a show of religion, but their ultimate aim is material prosperity. The Bhagavad-gītā (16.17-18) rebukes such men by calling them ātma-sambhāvita, meaning that they are considered great only on the strength of deception and are empowered by the votes of the ignorant and by their own material wealth. Such asuras, devoid of self-realization and knowledge of īśāvāsya, the Lord's universal proprietorship, are certain to enter into the darkest regions.

Sri Isopanisad 8, Purport:

The word "prophylactic" refers to the power of His association. As mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.30-31), a devotee may appear to be su-durācāra, not well behaved, in the beginning, but he should be accepted as pure because he is on the right path. This is due to the prophylactic nature of the Lord's association. The Lord is also apāpa-viddham because sin cannot touch Him. Even if He acts in a way that appears to be sinful, such actions are all-good, for there is no question of His being affected by sin. Because in all circumstances He is śuddham, most purified, He is often compared to the sun. The sun extracts moisture from many untouchable places on the earth, yet it remains pure. In fact, it purifies obnoxious things by virtue of its sterilizing powers. If the sun, which is a material object, is so powerful, then we can hardly begin to imagine the purifying strength of the all-powerful Lord.