When Nanda Mahārāja was taken away by one of Varuṇa's servants, Nanda's companions began to call loudly for Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Immediately Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma could understand that Nanda Mahārāja had been taken by a servant of Varuṇa. Thus They went to the abode of Varuṇa, for They were pledged to give protection to the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, who were all unalloyed devotees of the Lord. Devotees, having no shelter other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, naturally cry to Him for help, exactly like children who do not know anything but the protection of their parents. The demigod Varuṇa received Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma with great respect and said, "My dear Lord, actually at this very moment, because of Your presence, my life as the demigod Varuṇa has become successful. Although I am the proprietor of all the treasures in the water, I know that such possessions do not make for a successful life. But at this moment, as I look at You, my life is made completely successful because by seeing You I no longer have to accept a material body. Therefore, O Lord, Supreme Personality of Godhead, Supreme Brahman and Supersoul of everything, let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You. You are the supreme transcendental personality; there is no possibility of imposing the influence of material nature upon You. I am very sorry that my foolish man, by not knowing what to do or what not to do, has mistakenly arrested Your father, Nanda Mahārāja. So I beg Your pardon for the offense of my servant. I think that it was Your plan to show me Your mercy by Your personal presence here. My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, be merciful upon me—here is Your father. You can take him back immediately."
Personal presence
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and it is compiled by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-perfect.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu declared that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the spotless sound representation of all Vedic knowledge and history. There are selected histories of great devotees who are in direct contact with the Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is therefore nondifferent from Him. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam should be worshiped as respectfully as we worship the Lord. Thereby we can derive the ultimate blessings of the Lord through its careful and patient study. As God is all light, all bliss and all perfection, so also is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We can have all the transcendental light of the Supreme Brahman, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, from the recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, provided it is received through the medium of the transparent spiritual master. Lord Caitanya's private secretary Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī advised all intending visitors who came to see the Lord at Purī to make a study of the Bhāgavatam from the person Bhāgavatam Person Bhāgavatam is the self-realized bona fide spiritual master, and through him only can one understand the lessons of Bhāgavatam in order to receive the desired result. One can derive from the study of the Bhāgavatam all benefits that are possible to be derived from the personal presence of the Lord. It carries with it all the transcendental blessings of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa that we can expect from His personal contact.
A few months passed, and Arjuna did not return. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira then began to observe some inauspicious omens, which were fearful in themselves.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is ad infinitum, more powerful than the most powerful sun of our experience. Millions and billions of suns are created by Him and annihilated by Him within His one breathing period. In the material world the sun is considered to be the source of all productivity and material energy, and only due to the sun can we have the necessities of life. Therefore, during the personal presence of the Lord on the earth, all paraphernalia for our peace and prosperity, especially religion and knowledge, were in full display because of the Lord's presence, just as there is a full flood of light in the presence of the glowing sun. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira observed some discrepancies in his kingdom, and therefore he became very anxious about Arjuna, who was long absent, and there was also no news about Dvārakā's well-being. He suspected the disappearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa, otherwise there would have been no possibility of fearful omens.
The merciful Lord left behind Him the great teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā so that one can take the instructions of the Lord even when He is not visible to material eyesight. Material senses cannot have any estimation of the Supreme Lord, but by His inconceivable power the Lord can incarnate Himself to the sense perception of the conditioned souls in a suitable manner through the agency of matter, which is also another form of the Lord's manifested energy. Thus the Bhagavad-gītā, or any authentic scriptural sound representation of the Lord, is also the incarnation of the Lord. There is no difference between the sound representation of the Lord and the Lord Himself. One can derive the same benefit from the Bhagavad-gītā as Arjuna did in the personal presence of the Lord.
SB Canto 3
The purpose of pilgrimages is to remember the Lord constantly, and therefore the Lord is known as tīrtha-kīrti. The purpose of going to a place of pilgrimage is to get the chance to glorify the Lord. Even today, although times have changed, there are still pilgrimage sites in India. For example, in Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, where we had a chance to stay, people are awake from early in the morning at 4 A.M. up until nighttime and are constantly engaged, some way or other, in chanting the holy glories of the Lord. The beauty of such a pilgrimage site is that automatically one remembers the holy glories of the Lord. His name, fame, quality, form, pastimes and entourage are all identical to the Lord, and therefore chanting the glories of the Lord invokes the personal presence of the Lord. Any time or anywhere pure devotees meet and chant the glories of the Lord, the Lord is present without any doubt. It is said by the Lord Himself that He always stays where His pure devotees chant His glories.
For a moment he remained dead silent, and his body did not move. He became absorbed in the nectar of remembering the Lord's lotus feet in devotional ecstasy, and he appeared to be going increasingly deeper into that ecstasy.
On the inquiry by Vidura about Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava appeared to be awakened from slumber. He appeared to regret that he had forgotten the lotus feet of the Lord. Thus he again remembered the lotus feet of the Lord and remembered all his transcendental loving service unto Him, and by so doing he felt the same ecstasy that he used to feel in the presence of the Lord. Because the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His remembrance and His personal presence. Thus Uddhava remained completely silent for a moment, but then he appeared to be going deeper and deeper into ecstasy. Feelings of ecstasy are displayed by highly advanced devotees of the Lord. There are eight kinds of transcendental changes in the body—tears, shivering of the body, perspiration, restlessness, throbbing, choking of the throat, etc.—and all were manifested by Uddhava in the presence of Vidura.
For one who is anxious to engage constantly in hearing such topics, kṛṣṇa-kathā gradually increases his indifference towards all other things. Such constant remembrance of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa by the devotee who has achieved transcendental bliss vanquishes all his miseries without delay.
We must certainly know that on the absolute plane kṛṣṇa-kathā and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same. The Lord is the Absolute Truth, and therefore His name, form, quality, etc., which are all understood to be kṛṣṇa-kathā, are nondifferent from Him. Bhagavad-gītā, being spoken by the Lord, is as good as the Lord Himself. When a sincere devotee reads Bhagavad-gītā, this is as good as seeing the Lord face to face in his personal presence, but this is not so for the mundane wrangler. All the potencies of the Lord are there when one reads Bhagavad-gītā, provided it is read in the way recommended in the Gītā by the Lord Himself. One cannot foolishly manufacture an interpretation of Bhagavad-gītā and still bring about transcendental benefit. Anyone who tries to squeeze some artificial meaning or interpretation from Bhagavad-gītā for an ulterior motive is not śraddadhāna-puṁsaḥ (one engaged anxiously in bona fide hearing of kṛṣṇa-kathā). Such a person cannot derive any benefit from reading Bhagavad-gīta, however great a scholar he may be in the estimation of a layman. The śraddadhāna, or faithful devotee, can actually derive all the benefits of Bhagavad-gītā because by the omnipotency of the Lord he achieves the transcendental bliss which vanquishes attachment and nullifies all concomitant material miseries. Only the devotee, by his factual experience, can understand the import of this verse spoken by Vidura. The pure devotee of the Lord enjoys life by constantly remembering the lotus feet of the Lord by hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā. For such a devotee there is no such thing as material existence, and the much advertised bliss of brahmānanda is like a fig for the devotee who is in the midst of the transcendental ocean of bliss.
SB Canto 5
Dear Lord, all the great sages who are thoughtful and saintly persons incessantly recount Your spiritual qualities. These sages have already burned up all the unlimited dirty things and, by the fire of knowledge, strengthened their detachment from the material world. Thus they have attained Your qualities and are self-satisfied. Yet even for those who feel spiritual bliss in chanting Your attributes, Your personal presence is very rare.
The priests in Mahārāja Nābhi's sacrificial arena appreciated the personal presence of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, and they considered themselves very much obliged. The Lord's appearance is rare even for great saintly persons who have become completely detached from this material world and whose hearts are clean due to constantly chanting the glories of the Lord. Such people are satisfied by chanting the transcendental qualities of the Lord. The Lord's personal presence is not actually required. The priests are pointing out that the Lord's personal presence is very rare even for such elevated sages but that He was so kind to them that now He was personally present. Therefore the priests were very much obliged.
It was ordained that Rāvaṇa, chief of the Rākṣasas, could not be killed by anyone but a man, and for this reason Lord Rāmacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared in the form of a human being. Lord Rāmacandra's mission, however, was not only to kill Rāvaṇa but also to teach mortal beings that material happiness centered around sex life or centered around one's wife is the cause of many miseries. He is the self-sufficient Supreme Personality of Godhead, and nothing is lamentable for Him. Therefore why else could He be subjected to tribulations by the kidnapping of mother Sītā?
When the Lord appears in this universe in the form of a human being, He has two purposes, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 4.8)—paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: to destroy the demons and protect the devotees. To protect the devotees, the Lord not only satisfies them by His personal presence but also teaches them so that they will not fall down from devotional service. By His personal example, Lord Rāmacandra taught the devotees that it is better not to enter married life, which is certainly followed by many tribulations.
SB Canto 9
Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied: After accepting the throne of the government by the fervent request of His younger brother Bharata, Lord Rāmacandra ordered His younger brothers to go out and conquer the entire world, while He personally remained in the capital to give audience to all the citizens and residents of the palace and supervise the governmental affairs with His other assistants.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not allow any of His devotees or assistants to be engaged in sense gratification. The younger brothers of Lord Rāmacandra were at home enjoying the personal presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Lord ordered Them to go out and achieve victory all over the world. It was the custom (and this custom, in some places, is still current) that all other kings would have to accept the supremacy of the emperor. If the king of a small state did not accept the emperor's supremacy, there would be a fight, and the king of the small state would be obliged to accept the emperor as supreme; otherwise, it would not be possible for the emperor to rule the country.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Matter itself has no power to produce independently. The conclusion, therefore, is that matter, which has no self-knowledge, cannot be the cause of the material creation. The ultimate creator is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. “If matter were accepted as the original cause of creation, all the authorized scriptures in the world would be useless, for in every scripture, especially the Vedic scriptures like the Manu-smṛti, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is said to be the ultimate creator. The Manu-smṛti is considered the highest Vedic direction to humanity. Manu is the giver of law to mankind, and in the Manu-smṛti it is clearly stated that before the creation the entire universal space was darkness, without information and without variety, and was in a state of complete suspension, like a dream. Everything was darkness. The Supreme Personality of Godhead then entered the universal space, and although He is invisible, He created the visible cosmic manifestation. In the material world the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not manifested by His personal presence, but the presence of the cosmic manifestation in different varieties is the proof that everything has been created under His direction. He entered the universe with all creative potencies, and thus He removed the darkness of the unlimited space.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestows His causeless mercy upon His devotees in three features: His own direct appearance (sākṣāt), His prowess within someone He empowers (āveśa), and His manifestation (āvirbhāva).
The sākṣāt feature of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is His personal presence. Āveśa refers to invested power, like that invested in Nakula Brahmacārī. Āvirbhāva is a manifestation of the Lord that appears even though He is personally not present. For example, Śrī Śacīmātā offered food at home to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu although He was far away in Jagannātha Purī, and when she opened her eyes after offering the food, she saw that it had actually been eaten by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similarly, when Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura performed saṅkīrtana, everyone felt the presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, even in His absence. This is another example of āvirbhāva.
CC Antya-lila
In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu delivered the entire three worlds, not only by His personal presence but also by empowering others. I shall briefly describe how He empowered a living being in Bengal.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
All the kings in the neighboring area had left their homes in fear of Kaṁsa and were living in distant parts of the country. Now, after the death of Kaṁsa and the reinstallment of Ugrasena as king, the neighboring kings were given all kinds of presentations and comforts. Then they returned to their respective homes. After this nice political arrangement, the citizens of Mathurā were pleased to live in Mathurā, being protected by the strong arms of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. On account of good government in the presence of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, the inhabitants of Mathurā felt complete satisfaction in the fulfillment of all their material desires and necessities, and because they saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma daily, face to face, they soon forgot all material miseries completely. As soon as they saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma coming out on the street, very nicely dressed and smiling and looking at the citizens with grace, the citizens were immediately filled with loving ecstasies simply by seeing the personal presence of Mukunda. The name Mukunda refers to one who can award liberation and transcendental bliss. Kṛṣṇa's presence acted as such a vitalizing tonic that not only the younger generation but even the old men of Mathurā became fully invigorated with youthful energy and strength by regularly seeing Him.
"My dear mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja," Uddhava continued, “you have thus fixed your minds wholly and solely upon that Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, whose transcendental form is the cause of impersonal Brahman. The Brahman effulgence is only the bodily rays of Nārāyaṇa, and because you are always absorbed in ecstatic thought of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, what pious activity remains for you to perform? I have brought a message from Kṛṣṇa that He will very soon come back to Vṛndāvana and satisfy you by His personal presence. Kṛṣṇa promised that He would come back to Vṛndāvana after finishing His business in Mathurā. This promise He will surely fulfill. I therefore request the two of you, who are the best among all who are fortunate, not to be aggrieved on account of Kṛṣṇa's absence.
“Actually, You create and destroy the entire cosmic manifestation; Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are only the superficially visible causes. Creation and destruction are actually performed by the invisible time factor, which is Your impersonal representation. Everything is under the control of this time factor. If Your invisible time factor can perform such wonderful acts through Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, will not Your personal presence help Bhīmasena conquer Jarāsandha? My dear Lord, when Jarāsandha is killed, the queens of all the imprisoned kings will be so joyful at their husbands' being released by Your mercy that they will all sing Your glories, being as pleased as the gopīs were when released from the hands of Śaṅkhacūḍa. All the great sages; the King of the elephants, Gajendra; the goddess of fortune, Sītā; and even Your father and mother were all delivered by Your causeless mercy. We also have been thus delivered, and we always sing the transcendental glories of Your activities.
Light of the Bhagavata
As there is no chance of rain from the sky in autumn, we shall not immediately have a chance to get a human body again if we spend our conserved energy for sense enjoyment. The senses have their utility for the service of the Lord, and if properly engaged they can reach the highest perfection by being directly engaged in the service of the Lord in His personal presence. When the living entity thus goes back home, back to Godhead, and engages in the personal service of the Lord, he is said to have attained saṁsiddhi paramā, the highest perfection. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So the Supreme Person is Bhagavān. Bhaga means six kinds of opulences: the richest, the most powerful, the wisest, the most beautiful, and the most influential, and the most renounced at the same time. Just like this whole cosmic manifestation is created by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but you will not find him here. Disinterested. Many millions of universes are working by His will, but He is not interested. The example is just like a big capitalist. He has got many factories, and if you go to the factory—there is a Tata factory, iron factory—you will find huge factories going on, but Mr. Tata is not there. Things are going on. Similarly, all cosmic manifestation going on, it is under the will of Kṛṣṇa. But He is not present here. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni: (BG 9.4) "Everything is resting on Me." Any factory, every worker knows that the whole factory function resting on that supreme person. He knows that. So actually fact is that mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni nāhaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ: "But I am not there. I am not there." Similarly, Bhagavān means that. Under His will, under His power, everything is working so nicely, systematically, but if you want to see God, Kṛṣṇa, you cannot see Him. He is not there. He is in Goloka Vṛndāvana, but His influence is so extensive that even without His personal presence, things are going on so nicely. This is called Bhagavān. Bhagavān means this.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So here, as Kuntīdevī says, that during the time of the Pāṇḍavas, five thousand years ago, when Kṛṣṇa was present, so everything was very nice in Hastināpura... Śobhi. Śobhiṣyate. Śobhiṣyate. Everything was very beautiful. Śobhā. Śobhā means beautiful. So Kuntī is requesting Kṛṣṇa that "Don't go. Please don't go." It is, of course, Kṛṣṇa's duty. He was going to Dvārakā. But Kṛṣṇa, Kuntīdevī was desiring like that, that "If You go away, then the beautiful Hastināpura will..." Na śobhiṣyate. Na ayaṁ śobhiṣyate tatra yathā idānīm: "As it is now beautiful, it will not be so beautiful." Yathā idānīṁ gadādhara. Kṛṣṇa's another name is Gadādhara. Tvat-padair aṅkitā bhāti. Why it is beautiful? "Because You are walking, and the impression..." Kṛṣṇa has got special impression under the feet, in the sole, and that is being impressed. Simply by impression. Because Kṛṣṇa is absolute, by Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet impression by vibration of His name, by glorifying Him—everything is Kṛṣṇa. Everything is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Either Kṛṣṇa's impression of the lotus feet, or chanting of His name, or His personal presence, or glorifying Him—it is the same; there is no difference. Therefore it will be our duty to keep..., keep Kṛṣṇa always present by chanting His holy name:
- harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
- kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
- (CC Adi 17.21)
So if we keep this principle in this temple, as it is now being appreciated... This is the most opulent temple in this district. That is being admitted. People are coming here to see this temple. It is being advertised. The other day, one gentleman, that Gopāla, he said that "In Navadvīpa, they simply inquire, 'Where is that American temple?' " They inquire. It is already nicely advertised, and it will be more and more advertised provided you keep Kṛṣṇa here by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
Pradyumna: "Thus the Bhagavad-gītā or any authentic scriptural sound representation of the Lord is also the incarnation of the Lord. There is no difference between the sound representation of the Lord and the Lord Himself. One can derive the same benefit from the Bhagavad-gītā as Arjuna did in the personal presence of the Lord."
Prabhupāda: You can derive the same benefit as Arjuna by reading Bhagavad-gītā. People say that Arjuna was enlightened because Kṛṣṇa was present before Him. But Kṛṣṇa is present before you also, by His words, by His sound representation. Just like Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, Kṛṣṇa's name, it is not different from Kṛṣṇa. Nāma, abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ (CC Madhya 17.133). Nāmi... Here in the material world the name and the person whose name, that is different because it is material. If you want water, this water substance or water is different from the name water. You cannot quench your thirst simply by chanting "Water, water." That is not possible. Because it is material. But you can realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. That is the significance of spiritual and material. Otherwise, how people are satisfied simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra? Let him chant some other name, material. No. You cannot chant more than three times. Then you will feel tired. But you can go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra for hundreds and millions of years. It will, still you will not feel tired. That is the difference. Therefore His name and He is not different. Abhinnatva.
- nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś
- caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
- pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto
- 'bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ
- (CC Madhya 17.133)
This is the shastric injunction, Nāma, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, is abhinna, nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Nāma cintāma... Pūrṇaḥ śuddhaḥ, full, complete. Not that little less, no. Full. Pūrṇaḥ śuddhaḥ. And uncontaminated. Just like Kṛṣṇa is uncontaminated, similarly, His name is also uncontaminated. Pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya. Eternal. As Kṛṣṇa is eternal, name is also eternal. Pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto 'bhinnatvāt. Because they are not different one with another, so the most important word is deśa-kālārtha-yuktāni. Deśa, time and space. Bhagavad-gītā is... Because nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa is everywhere, similarly, Bhagavad-gītā can be appreciated in every country, every season, every circumstances. That is deśa-kālārtha-yuktāni.
So you are all fortunate, or you are so kind that you have joined this movement despite all these obstacles in this country. Not in this, all over the world. So don't be disappointed. Go on preaching this philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There are many innocent people; they do not know what to do. There are four... For a preacher, there must be vigilance. A preacher will see four things: God, a devotee of God, innocent person, and envious, jealous persons. So a preacher should deal with these four items differently. So far God is concerned, we shall try to increase our love for God. This is one business. How? That is the arcanā-vidhi, to always be cautious, to offer foodstuff, early to rise, offer maṅgala-ārātrika, keep the temple very cleansed, yourself also. Without being cleansed, without being brāhmaṇa, śaucam-śamo damaḥ śaucam... We should always remember. When you come to the temple, don't think that "Here is a picture of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa." They are not picture. You should know that personally they are present. You'll realize the personal presence by the quality of your devotional service. If your devotional service quality is not first class, then it will take time to realize that here is personally Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or the ācāryas are present here. It is a question of realization. The more you strictly follow the regulative principles, chant sixteen rounds regularly, the more you'll realize.
Purports to Songs
Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu doyā koro more, tomā binā ke doyālu jagata-māyāre. This is a song composed by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. He is praying Lord Caitanya that "My dear Lord, please be merciful upon me because who can be more merciful than Your Lordship within these three worlds?" Actually, this is the fact. Not only Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, but also Rūpa Gosvāmī, he also prayed for Lord Caitanya when both of them met at Prayāga, Allahabad, in the first meeting of Lord Caitanya and Rūpa Gosvāmī at Prayāga. At that time, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also said, "My dear Lord, You are the most munificent of all incarnations. Because You are distributing love of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness." In other words, when Kṛṣṇa was personally present, He simply asked us to surrender, but He did not distribute Himself so easily. He made condition that "First of all you surrender." But here, in this incarnation, Lord Caitanya, although He's Kṛṣṇa Himself, He makes no condition. He simply distributes, "Take love of Kṛṣṇa." Therefore Lord Caitanya is approved as the most munificent incarnation, and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that "Please be merciful upon me. You are so magnanimous because You have seen the fallen souls of this age, and You are very much compassionate upon them. But you should know also that I am the most fallen. Nobody is a greater fallen than me." Patita-pāvana-hetu tava avatāra. "Your incarnation is just to reclaim the conditioned souls, fallen souls. But I assure You that You will not find a greater fallen than me. Therefore my claim is first."
Then he prays to Lord Nityānanda. He says, hā hā prabhu nityānanda, premānanda sukhī. "My dear Lord Nityānanda, You are always joyful, in spiritual bliss, and You appear always very happy. So I have come to You because I am most unhappy. So if You kindly put Your glance over me, then I may also become happy."
Then he prays to Advaita Prabhu: hā hā prabhu sītā-pati advaita gosāi. Advaita Prabhu's wife's name was Sītā. Therefore He is sometimes addressed as sītā-pati. So "My dear Advaita Prabhu, the husband of Sītā, please You also be kind upon me because if You become kind upon me, then naturally Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda also will be kind upon me." The reason is that actually, Advaita Prabhu invited Lord Caitanya to come down. When Advaita Prabhu saw the fallen souls, they are all engaged simply in sense gratificatory processes without understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness, He felt very much compassionate upon the fallen souls, and He felt Himself as incapable of claiming all these fallen souls. He therefore prayed to Lord Kṛṣṇa that "You come Yourself. Without Your personal presence, it is not possible to deliver these fallen souls." So by His invitation Lord Caitanya appeared. "Naturally..." Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura prays Advaita Prabhu that "If You be kind upon me, naturally Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda also will be kind upon me."
Conversations and Morning Walks
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Indian man (3): And now you will remain here in India for some time?
Prabhupāda: That I do not know. I, actually, now it is little troublesome for me to travel all the year.
Indian man (3): You are just gone from (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Rest, if I rest then there may be... Because I am dealing with all neophytes. If I don't keep them alive by personal presence... Still they are doing nice. I have appointed twenty secretaries all over the world. I am training them. They are managing. Managing nicely. I have been in New York and Los Angeles and Hawaii, all big, big centers. London, Paris.
Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
Regarding your personal question in the matter of relationship with your husband. Your relationship with your husband is all right. You must be faithful & devoted to your husband, Dayananda. Vedic system advises women to become very chaste & accept the husband as master. Your husband is especially good because he is progressing in Krishna Consciousness. I am very glad that you two are very good combination & your devotion for your husband & your husband's love for you are considered great achievements so I have also advised Krishna Devi for her husband, Subala. I feel very happy when I see my spiritual boys and girls especially those who have been married by my personal presence are very happy in their conjugal relationship. Even if there is some misunderstanding between husband & wife that should be completely neglected & you should always remain rigid in service of Krishna as you have written to say, it is pleasing to be in the service of Krishna. Discharge of Krishna Consciousness is our primary objective & all other relationships should be faithful to this principle. Follow this principle.
1970 Correspondence
My Dear Pradyumna,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 31st March, 1970, and in the meantime I have received one small tape record. Your teaching of Sanskrit pronunciation has been very much successful. I was just thinking of teaching our students the pronunciation of the Sanskrit verses in the Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, etc. and by Krsna's will you have already begun this. It will be a great help for me if the students are taught to pronounce in Sanskrit vibration. It will be another effect of transcendental sound vibration.
But we should always remember that our aim is spiritual realization, so in such classes in the beginning there must be Kirtana and at the end also there must be Kirtana. And they should not only pronounce the verses, but they should also understand the meaning and purport of each verse, then it will be grand success.
If possible, you can make another complete tape for use in other centers. You should make several copies and perhaps Dinesh can help you in this connection. Then distribute these specimen tapes to all centers and they may be asked for the charges.
About word endings, when we speak about sabdharupa it is just like the sabdarupa is gunin or svamin, but when we actually articulate, we speak the nominative form. In the place of gunin we speak guni (nominative form). So the nominative part of speech is used when we articulate, not the pratipadika. That is usage. Similarly in the matter of atman, we should speak atma. So I do not know what the scholars in this place want to have. You can make your own discrimination.
Do you think you shall require all these books? Of course I have no objection if you keep these as reference books, but we should always remember that we have to give more stress on our spiritual side than the scholastic side. But at the same time, if our books are presented in a scholarly way, that will be very nice. So you use the best part of discretion and do the needful.
So far grammar is concerned, one has to learn Sanskrit grammar for at least 12 years, then he becomes an expert grammarian. In India, those who are Sanskrit scholars studied in the beginning, from 5 to 15 years—that is for ten years continually—and they study grammar thoroughly. When one is expert in grammatical rulings and formation—that is to say: sabda, dhatu, sandhi, samasa, prakaran, vidhan, pratyaya, adhikarana—after this they study nyaya. In this way, when one is expert in 10 to 12 years, that is by the age of the 17th year, a student becomes very much expert and any departmental knowledge he can master in 1 to 2 years. But you need not become such a scholar. You require simply to understand Sastras Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, etc. and chant Hare Krsna Mantra as much as possible. The thing is if you give more stress on scholarly line, other devotees will try to imitate you. Already your wife has express such intention, and as soon as we try to be scholars, our devotional line will be slackened. These points are to be kept in view always.
Yes, I was missing the two volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam of Cantos 3; 7, 8, 9. So keep them with you as reference, or conveniently send them here.
I think in the very near future you will be required to move from center to center to teach this verse vibration. So in each center, by hearing your tapes and by your personal presence they will become very expert in pronouncing the Sanskrit verses.
Regarding your last point that you shall try to learn the various literatures very carefully and present everywhere in classes and books, that is very good. This is a nice idea and if you can do it, it is great service and Krsna will bless you. I am sure you will be successful in this attempt, but don't forget to chant sixteen rounds regularly. then you will get spiritual strength more and more.
1971 Correspondence
Regarding Delhi, I was sending Ksirodakasayi Das to take charge because Subala Swami was not fixed up and I also requested both you and Gurudasa to go there. From Ksirodakasayi Prabhu I understand that the proprietor of the dharmasala has given in writing that we can stay in that dharmasala indefinitely provided we go on holding our classes, kirtana, etc. So it is very good that you have decided to go there. Ksirodakasayi may reach Delhi by the middle of September. In Delhi so long Ksirodakasayi does not reach, you remain there and organize the center very nicely with the help of Gurudasa, Subala Maharaja and others. As soon as he goes there you may return. It may be that your personal presence will be needed at the GBC meeting. I have no objection for Gurudasa becoming president. Our main business is to preach this Krishna Consciousness Movement. When American boys and girls push on this Krishna Consciousness movement, everyone is interested with this movement, not with what office he holds. So if Gurudasa becomes president, let him become so. Then the post of secretary and treasurer may be divided between Subala Swami and Ksirodakasayi. That you can settle up when he reaches. In the meantime you organize that center very nicely. Regarding Acyutananda, he may not come to Delhi because I think his presence in Mayapur is necessary. I understand from his letter that he has already ordered some bricks for the toilet room. So for the time he may not come to Delhi.
1975 Correspondence
Regarding the east side adjacent land, why don't you purchase it? The price has already been settled at Rs. 20/- per sq. yard. You should immediately purchase. The money is there in the bank, so go to the bank. Why there so much delay? So many men are there, Gopala Krishna, Pranava, etc. What is Pranava doing? The M-V Trust will pay, so do not worry about Vishvambar. What is his family business? Anyway, purchase the land first, then we shall see about the scheme. If there is some difficulty about investigation of the sellers properties, then go together to the D.M. and arrange for the seller not to be investigated if possible. You are all simply writing letters to me. Without my personal presence there you cannot do anything. Simply correspondence. Anyway, be careful there is no underhanded dealings in this transaction. It is very much risky, so be careful.
| Page Title: | Personal presence |
| Compiler: | MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 14 of May, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=9, CC=3, OB=5, Lec=5, Con=1, Let=4 |
| No. of Quotes: | 27 |