Poetry (CC and other books)

Expressions researched:
"poem" |"poems" |"poetries" |"poetry" |"poetry's"

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 7.15, Purport:

The ass does not really know for whom he works so hard day and night. He remains satisfied by filling his stomach with a bundle of grass, sleeping for a while under fear of being beaten by his master, and satisfying his sex appetite at the risk of being repeatedly kicked by the opposite party. The ass sings poetry and philosophy sometimes, but this braying sound only disturbs others. This is the position of the foolish fruitive worker who does not know for whom he should work.

BG 9.34, Purport:

There is a beautiful poem about Kṛṣṇa in which it is clearly stated that any person who is engaged in the worship of demigods is most unintelligent and cannot achieve at any time the supreme award of Kṛṣṇa. The devotee, in the beginning, may sometimes fall from the standard, but still he should be considered superior to all other philosophers and yogīs.

BG 10.35, Translation:

Of the hymns in the Sāma Veda I am the Bṛhat-sāma, and of poetry I am the Gāyatrī. Of months I am Mārgaśīrṣa (November-December), and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring.

BG 10.35, Purport:

In Sanskrit, there are definite rules that regulate poetry; rhyme and meter are not written whimsically, as in much modern poetry. Amongst the regulated poetry, the Gāyatrī mantra, which is chanted by the duly qualified brāhmaṇas, is the most prominent. The Gāyatrī mantra is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Because the Gāyatrī mantra is especially meant for God realization, it represents the Supreme Lord. This mantra is meant for spiritually advanced people, and when one attains success in chanting it, he can enter into the transcendental position of the Lord.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.2.8, Purport:

Above these gross materialists are the mental speculators who hover aloft in the mental spheres, and their occupational duties involve making poetry and philosophy or propagating some ism with the same aim of selfishness limited to the body and the mind. But above the body and mind is the dormant spirit soul whose absence from the body makes the whole range of bodily and mental selfishness completely null and void.

SB 1.5.10, Purport:

They are full of subject matter described in decorative language full of mundane similes and metaphorical arrangements. Yet with all that, they do not glorify the Lord. Such poetry and prose, on any subject matter, is considered decoration of a dead body. Spiritually advanced men who are compared to the swans do not take pleasure in such dead literatures, which are sources of pleasure for men who are spiritually dead.

SB 1.5.13, Purport:

People in general have a taste for literatures by instinct. They want to hear and read from the authorities something about the unknown, but their taste is exploited by unfortunate literatures which are full of subject matter for satisfaction of the material senses. Such literatures contain different kinds of mundane poems and philosophical speculations, more or less under the influence of māyā, ending in sense gratification.

SB 1.5.22, Purport:

Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry.

SB 1.5.22, Purport:

When advancement of knowledge is applied in the service of the Lord, the whole process becomes absolute. The Personality of Godhead and His transcendental name, fame, glory, etc., are all nondifferent from Him. Therefore, all the sages and devotees of the Lord have recommended that the subject matter of art, science, philosophy, physics, chemistry, psychology and all other branches of knowledge should be wholly and solely applied in the service of the Lord. Art, literature, poetry, painting, etc., may be used in glorifying the Lord.

SB 1.7.11, Purport:

According to Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī was a liberated soul even within the womb of his mother. Śrīla Vyāsadeva knew that the child, after his birth, would not stay at home. Therefore he (Vyāsadeva) impressed upon him the synopsis of the Bhāgavatam so that the child could be made attached to the transcendental activities of the Lord. After his birth, the child was still more educated in the subject of the Bhāgavatam by recitation of the actual poems.

SB 1.10.20, Translation:

Absorbed in the thought of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is glorified in select poetry, the ladies on the roofs of all the houses of Hastināpura began to talk of Him. This talk was more attractive than the hymns of the Vedas.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.2.4, Purport:

An intelligent human cannot live the life of an animal; rather, man should try to utilize his intelligence in arts and science, poetry and philosophy. In such a way he can further the progressive march of human civilization. But here the idea given by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī is that the reserve energy of human life, which is far superior to that of animals, should simply he utilized for self-realization. Advancement of human civilization must be towards the goal of establishing our lost relationship with God, which is not possible in any form of life other than the human.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.21.34, Purport:

The Lord is worshiped by Brahmā, by Lord Śiva, by Garuḍa and other demigods with selected poems, and great sages worship Him with the hymns of Vedic literatures, such as the Upaniṣads and Sāma Veda. These Sāma Veda utterances are automatically heard by the devotee when another great devotee of the Lord, Garuḍa, flaps his wings.

SB 3.22.7, Purport:

Bhagavad-gītā makes it clear that one can attain the highest perfection of spiritual life simply by offering service according to his ability, just as Arjuna served Kṛṣṇa by his ability in the military art. Arjuna offered his service fully as a military man, and he became perfect. Similarly, an artist can attain perfection simply by performing artistic work under the direction of the spiritual master. If one is a literary man, he can write articles and poetry for the service of the Lord under the direction of the spiritual master.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.3.16, Translation:

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The priests, who were even worshiped by King Nābhi, the Emperor of Bhārata-varṣa, offered prayers in prose (generally they were in poetry) and bowed down at the Lord's lotus feet. The Lord of lords, the ruler of the demigods, was very pleased with them, and He began to speak as follows.

SB 5.25.8, Purport:

This knowledge is delivered to Nārada by Lord Brahmā, and the great saint Nārada, along with his companion, Tumburu, distributes it all over the universe. Sometimes the Supreme Personality of Godhead is described as Uttamaśloka, one who is praised by beautiful poetry. Nārada composes various poems to glorify Lord Ananta, and therefore the word saṁślokayām āsa (praised by selected poetry) is used in this verse.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.16.32, Purport:

If one has scientific, philosophical, political, economic or any other abilities and wants perfection in his knowledge, he should offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by composing first-class poetry or engaging his talents in the service of the Lord. Citraketu wanted to do this, but he was unable because of loving ecstasy. Therefore he had to wait for a considerable time before be could offer prayers.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.9.1-2, Purport:

While churning the butter, mother Yaśodā was singing about the childhood activities of Kṛṣṇa. It was formerly a custom that if one wanted to remember something constantly, he would transform it into poetry or have this done by a professional poet. It appears that mother Yaśodā did not want to forget Kṛṣṇa's activities at any time. Therefore she poeticized all of Kṛṣṇa's childhood activities, such as the killing of Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Śakaṭāsura and Tṛṇāvarta, and while churning the butter, she sang about these activities in poetical form.

SB 10.11.53, Purport:

It was the practice of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi to compose poetry about the incidents that occurred in the forest when Kṛṣṇa performed His different activities of killing the asuras. They would compose all the stories in poetry or have this done by professional poets, and then they would sing about these incidents. Thus it is written here that the boys sang very loudly.

SB 10.12.34, Purport:

"Learned sages have definitely concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, austerity, Vedic study, sacrifice, the chanting of hymns, and charity is found in the transcendental descriptions of the qualities of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry." (SB 1.5.22) This is the perfection of life. One should be trained how to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one's respective qualities. Education, austerity, penance or, in the modern world, business, industry, education and so on-all should be engaged in glorifying the Lord. Then everyone in the world will be happy.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.41.16, Translation:

O Lord of lords, master of the universe, O You whose glories it is most pious to hear and chant! O best of the Yadus, O You whose fame is recounted in excellent poetry ! O Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa, I offer You my obeisances.

SB 10.90.8-9, Translation:

As Gandharvas joyfully sang His praises to the accompaniment of mṛdaṅga, paṇava and ānaka drums, and as professional reciters known as Sūtas, Māgadhas and Vandīs played vīṇās and recited poems praising Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa would play with His wives in the water. Laughing, the queens would squirt water on Him with syringes, and He would squirt them back. Thus Kṛṣṇa would sport with His queens in the same way that the lord of the Yakṣas sports with the Yakṣī nymphs.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.2, Purport:

Water is the substance most needed in the desert. The transient pleasure derived from mundane topics of art, culture, politics, sociology, dry philosophy, poetry and so on is compared to a mere drop of water because although such topics have a qualitative feature of transcendental pleasure, they are saturated with the modes of material nature. Therefore neither collectively nor individually can they satisfy the vast requirements of the desertlike tongue. Despite crying in various conferences, therefore, the desertlike tongue continues to be parched.

CC Adi 2.62, Translation:

In this way their arguments appear in various forms, but the poetry of the Bhāgavatam expertly refutes them all.

CC Adi 4 Summary:

Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī was the principal figure among Lord Caitanya's confidential devotees. The records of his diary have revealed these confidential purposes of the Lord. These revelations have been confirmed by the statements of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his various prayers and poems.

CC Adi 7.168, Purport:

The Pañca-tattva is a very important factor in understanding Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There are sahajiyās who, not knowing the importance of the Pañca-tattva, concoct their own slogans, such as bhaja nitāi gaura, rādhe śyāma, japa hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma or śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma śrī-rādhe govinda. Such chants may be good poetry, but they cannot help us to go forward in devotional service. In such chants there are also many discrepancies, which need not be discussed here.

CC Adi 8.73, Purport:

One must first become a pure devotee by following the strict regulative principles and chanting sixteen rounds daily, and when one thinks that he is actually on the Vaiṣṇava platform, he must then take permission from the spiritual master, and that permission must also be confirmed by Kṛṣṇa from within his heart. Then, if one is very sincere and pure, he can write transcendental literature, either prose or poetry.

CC Adi 9.10, Purport:

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 10.100, Purport:

We have many things to learn about bhajana, or worship of the Lord, by following in the footsteps of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. All the Gosvāmīs engaged in such transcendental activities, as described by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya in his poem about them (kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī). Following in the footsteps of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī, one has to execute devotional service very strictly, specifically by chanting the holy name of the Lord.

CC Adi 13.42, Purport:

Such topics are not to be discussed by ordinary persons imitating the activities of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. For critical students of mundane poetry and literary men without God consciousness who are after bodily sense gratification, there is no need to read such a high standard of transcendental literature. Persons who are after sense gratification should not try to imitate rāgānuga devotional service.

CC Adi 13.106, Purport:

Such men never become servants or engage themselves in agriculture or business occupations; they simply take charity from neighborhood friends to maintain themselves peacefully. The bhāṭas are a class of brāhmaṇas who go to such ceremonies to offer blessings by composing poems with references to the Vedic scriptures.

CC Adi 16.34, Translation:

“My dear sir, whereas you are a very learned scholar in all sorts of scriptures and are very much experienced in composing poetry, I am only a boy—a new student and nothing more.

CC Adi 16.35, Translation:

"Therefore I desire to hear your skill in composing poetry. We could hear this if you would mercifully describe the glory of mother Ganges."

CC Adi 16.38, Translation:

“Your poetry is so difficult that no one can understand it but you and mother Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning.

CC Adi 16.38, Purport:

Replying to Keśava Kāśmīrī sarcastically, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu indirectly minimized the value of his poetry by saying, "Yes, your compositions are so nice that no one but you and your worshipable mother, the goddess of learning, can understand them." Keśava Kāśmīrī was a favorite devotee of mother Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as the master of the goddess of learning, has the right to speak sarcastically of her devotees.

CC Adi 16.48, Translation:

"There is no doubt that your poetry is full of ingenuity, and certainly it has satisfied the Supreme Lord. Yet if we scrutinizingly consider it we can find both good qualities and faults."

CC Adi 16.50, Translation:

"You are an ordinary student of grammar. What do You know about literary embellishments? You cannot review this poetry because You do not know anything about it."

CC Adi 16.50, Purport:

Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to the champion a student of grammar, how could He dare criticize a great poet like him? Lord Caitanya, therefore, criticized the poet in a different way. He said that although He was certainly not advanced in a literary career, He had heard from others how to criticize such poetry, and as a śruti-dhara, possessing a complete memory, He could understand the process for such a review.

CC Adi 16.51, Translation:

Taking a humble position, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Because I am not on your level, I have asked you to teach Me by explaining the faults and good qualities in your poetry.

CC Adi 16.71, Translation:

“"As one"s body, although well-decorated with ornaments, is made unfortunate by even one spot of white leprosy, so an entire poem is made useless by a fault, despite alliteration, similes and metaphors.’

CC Adi 16.85, Translation:

“You have achieved poetic imagination and ingenuity by the grace of your worshipable demigod. But poetry not well reviewed is certainly subject to criticism.

CC Adi 16.99, Translation:

“You are the most learned scholar and the topmost of all great poets, for otherwise how could such fine poetry come from your mouth?

CC Adi 16.102, Purport:

"In explaining the glories of the Lord, inexperienced men may compose poetry with many faults, but because it contains glorification of the Lord, great personalities read it, hear it and chant it." Despite its minute literary discrepancies, one must study poetry on the merit of its subject matter. According to Vaiṣṇava philosophy, any literature that glorifies the Lord, whether properly written or not, is first class. There need be no other considerations.

CC Adi 17.304, Purport:

Sometimes so-called artists and poets try to understand the love affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and they publish cheap books of poetry and pictures on the subject. Unfortunately, however, they do not understand the transcendental affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa even to the smallest degree. They are simply meddling in a matter in which they are not fit even to enter.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 4.193, Translation:

As the Kaustubha-maṇi is considered the most precious of valuable stones, this verse is similarly considered the best of poems dealing with the mellows of devotional service.

CC Madhya 4.195, Translation:

Only Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has tasted the poetry of this verse. No fourth man is capable of understanding it.

CC Madhya 10.115, Translation:

Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara used to read the poems of Vidyāpati and Caṇḍīdāsa and Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s Śrī Gīta-govinda. He used to make Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very happy by singing these songs.

CC Madhya 15.99, Purport:

Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya is a book of poems considered to be the first poetry book written in Bengal. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that this book was begun in the year 1395 Śakābda (A.D. 1473). After seven years, it was completed (in 1402 Śakābda). This book was written in plain language, and even half-educated Bengalis and women could read it very clearly. Even ordinary men with little knowledge of the alphabet could read this book and understand it. Its language is not very ornamental, and sometimes the poetry is not very sweet to hear.

CC Madhya 20.135, Purport:

A yakṣa, a protector of riches, will not allow anyone to take away riches for enjoyment. Such a demon will simply create disturbances. In other words, a devotee will not depend on his material resources but on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can give real protection. This is called rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāsaḥ or (in the Bengali poetry of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Śaraṇāgati) "avaśya rakṣibe kṛṣṇa"—viśvāsa pālana. The surrendered soul must accept the fact that his real protector is Kṛṣṇa, not his material acquisitions.

CC Madhya 21 Summary:

In this chapter the author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta has presented some nice poems about the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's superexcellent beauty. Throughout the rest of the chapter, our intimate relationship (sambandha) with Kṛṣṇa is described.

CC Madhya 23.25, Translation:

“"King Bharata was very eager to attain the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is called Uttamaḥśloka because poems and prayers are offered to Him for His favor. In his youth, King Bharata gave up his attractive wife and children, as well as his beloved friends and opulent kingdom, just as one gives up stool after passing it."

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 1.182, Translation:

Rāmānanda Rāya said, "Instead of joking, people in general will feel great pleasure in hearing such poetry, for the initial remembrance of the worshipable Deity invokes good fortune."

CC Antya 1.185, Purport:

Thus although Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was quite fit to answer Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya's questions, due to his Vaiṣṇava humility he said that his words were impudent. Actually both Rūpa Gosvāmī and Rāmānanda Rāya were scholarly experts in composing poetry and presenting it strictly according to the Sāhitya-darpaṇa and other Vedic literatures.

CC Antya 1.195, Translation:

“"What is the use of a bowman"s arrow or a poet's poetry if they penetrate the heart but do not cause the head to spin?’

CC Antya 1.198, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu praised the metaphors and other literary ornaments of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s transcendental poetry. Without such poetic attributes, He said, there is no possibility of preaching transcendental mellows.

CC Antya 1.211, Purport:

The principle of being empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is essential. A materialistic poet who describes in his poetry the material activities of men and women cannot describe the transcendental pastimes of the Lord or the transcendental conclusions of devotional service.

CC Antya 1.211, Purport:

Unless one is a fully unalloyed devotee of the Lord, one should not try to describe the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in poetry, for it will be only mundane. There are many descriptions of Kṛṣṇa's Bhagavad-gītā written by persons whose consciousness is mundane and who are not qualified by pure devotion. Although they attempted to write transcendental literature, they could not fully engage even a single devotee in Kṛṣṇa's service.

CC Antya 3.11, Purport:

Even if there appears to be some discrepancy according to an imperfect devotee's estimation, the devotee should be fixed in the conviction that even if his spiritual master goes to a liquor shop, he is not a drunkard; rather, he must have some purpose in going there. It is said in a Bengali poem:

yadyapi nityānanda surā-bāḍi yāya

tathāpio haya nityānanda-rāya

"Even if I see that Lord Nityānanda has entered a liquor shop, I shall not be diverted from my conclusion that Nityānanda Rāya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

CC Antya 3.62, Translation:

“"O reservoir of all good qualities, just worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the purifier of all purifiers, the most exalted of the personalities worshiped by choice poetry. Worship Him with a faithful, unflinching mind, without duplicity and in a highly elevated manner. Thus worship the Lord, whose name is like the sun, for just as a slight appearance of the sun dissipates the darkness of night, so a slight appearance of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa can drive away all the darkness of ignorance that arises in the heart due to greatly sinful activities performed in previous lives."

CC Antya 5.95, Translation:

Customarily, anyone who composed a song, verse, literary composition or poem about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu first had to bring it to Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī to be heard.

CC Antya 5.101, Translation:

Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī replied, “Dear Bhagavān Ācārya, you are a very liberal cowherd boy. Sometimes the desire awakens within you to hear any kind of poetry.

CC Antya 5.102, Translation:

“In the writings of so-called poets there is generally a possibility of overlapping transcendental mellows. When the mellows thus go against the conclusive understanding, no one likes to hear such poetry.

CC Antya 5.102, Purport:

Yadvā-tadvā kavi refers to anyone who writes poetry without knowledge of how to do so. Writing poetry, especially poetry concerning the Vaiṣṇava conclusion, is very difficult. If one writes poetry without proper knowledge, there is every possibility that the mellows will overlap. When this occurs, no learned or advanced Vaiṣṇava will like to hear it.

CC Antya 5.107, Translation:

“Hearing the poetry of a person who has no transcendental knowledge and who writes about the relationships between man and woman simply causes unhappiness, whereas hearing the words of a devotee fully absorbed in ecstatic love causes great happiness.

CC Antya 5.107, Purport:

Vidagdha-ātmīya-vākya, however, refers to words written by a devotee who fully understands pure devotional service. Such devotees, who follow the paramparā system, are sometimes described as sajātīyāśaya-snigdha, or "pleasing to the same class of people." Only the poetry and other writings of such devotees are accepted with great happiness by devotees.

CC Antya 5.110, Translation:

For two or three days Bhagavān Ācārya continually asked Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī to hear the poetry. Because of his repeated requests, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī wanted to hear the poetry written by the brāhmaṇa from Bengal.

CC Antya 5.111, Translation:

Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī sat down with other devotees to hear the poetry, and then the poet began to read the introductory verse.

CC Antya 6.326, Translation:

In his poem known as the Gaurāṅga-stava-kalpavṛkṣa, Raghunātha dāsa has described his personal deliverance.

CC Antya 10.149, Purport:

Later in life, Caitanya dāsa became a very learned Sanskrit scholar and wrote many books. Among these books, his commentary on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta is very famous. There is another book called Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which is a work of Sanskrit poetry. It is said that this was also composed by him.

CC Antya 14.46, Translation:

“The great yogī of My mind always studies the poetry and discussions of Lord Kṛṣṇa's Vṛndāvana pastimes. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other scriptures, great saintly yogīs like Vyāsadeva and Śukadeva Gosvāmī have described Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supersoul, beyond all material contamination.

CC Antya 15.27, Translation:

The Lord especially liked to hear Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura's Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, the poetry of Vidyāpati, and Śrī Gīta-govinda, by Jayadeva Gosvāmī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt great pleasure in His heart when His associates chanted verses and sang songs from these books.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 34:

Whenever there is a recitation of poetry or a dramatic play on the different pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, the audience develops different kinds of transcendental loving service for the Lord. They enjoy different types of vibhāva, anubhāva and sañcāri-bhāva.

Nectar of Devotion 49:

When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was residing in Jagannātha Purī, many poets and devotees used to come to Him and offer their different kinds of poetry, but the regulation was that Lord Caitanya's secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara, first examined all of these writings scrutinizingly, and if he would find that there were no incompatibilities in the rasas, or transcendental mellows, he would then allow the poet to approach Lord Caitanya and recite his poetry.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 33:

After this, Lord Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs came out of the water and began to stroll along the bank of the Yamunā, where a nice breeze was blowing, carrying the aroma of different kinds of flowers over the water and land. While strolling on the bank of the Yamunā, Kṛṣṇa recited various kinds of poetry. He thus enjoyed the company of the gopīs in the soothing moonlight of autumn.

Krsna Book 45:

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma learned the art of cutting valuable stones such as diamonds, and They also learned the art of questioning and answering by immediately composing poetry within the mind. They learned the science of the action and reaction of physical combinations and permutations.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 7, 1972:

In this material world, we are so much attached to this bodily relationship that it is to be considered just like we are ghostly haunted. In a poetry, Prema-vivarta, it is said that piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya, māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya. Māyā-grasta jīva. Māyā-grasta. Māyā means illusion, hallucination. So we are, in this material world, we are all illusioned. Illusioned means accepting something as fact which is not.

Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968:

But Śaṅkarācārya's statement is there. We can give evidence. He accepts Kṛṣṇa as the supreme authority. He has written so many nice poems praising or worshiping Kṛṣṇa. And at the last time he says, bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. "You rascal fools. Oh, you are depending on grammar to understand. This is all nonsense." Bhaja govindam. "Just worship Govinda." Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja... Three times he says. "Just worship Govinda." Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindam.

Lecture on BG 2.55-58 -- New York, April 15, 1966:

And above them, above them, if somebody is intelligent, he's working on the mind—philosophy, poetry, nice idea in novel, nice idea in drama, some psychological..., all these things. So they are little better than those who are working day and night hard for sense gratification. They are little... These philosophers, the poets and the thinkers, they're little more better.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Montreal, August 24, 1968:

Because the spirit soul, he wants spiritual life. He cannot be happy with any amount of materialistic life. In our childhood we read one poetry that a boy has brought one bird, and the bird is talking with the boy. "My dear bird, you live with me. I shall give you very nice fruits. I shall talk with you," and so many things. But the bird says, "No, I want to go away. I want to go away." "No, I shall give you a golden cage. You don't go away." So he says, "No, no. I don't like golden cage. I want freedom."

Lecture on BG 4.9 -- Bombay, March 29, 1974:

To satisfy the senses that is sukh. That is happiness. And those who are a little disgusted with sense gratification, indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ (BG 3.42). They are mental speculators. They write poetries and utopian theories, "This philosophy, that philosophy." In this way they satisfy the mind. But that is also not happiness.

Lecture on BG 4.10 -- Calcutta, September 23, 1974:

kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

(Prema-vivarta)

This is a simple poetry given by a Vaiṣṇava. As soon as we want to enjoy life independently, immediately māyā captures. So this is simple presentation.

Lecture on BG 4.26 -- Bombay, April 15, 1974:

And those who are little advance, they are in the enjoyment of the mind, mental speculation, philosophy, or theosophy. So many "sophies" are there. Somebody putting some theories, this theory, that theory, that theory. Mental speculation. They derives poetry, writing poetry, nice poetry. They are not on the gross platform of sense gratification but on the subtle platform of sense... Mind is also sense. Mind is also sense.

Lecture on BG 4.39-5.3 -- New York, August 24, 1966:

There is another instance in a Bengali poetry, gṛhe vā vanete thāke, sadā gaurāṅga bole ḍāke, that "A man may be situated as a householder or a man may be situated as a renounced order in life. That doesn't matter. If he is attached with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is the perfect man." So here is the indication. "So Arjuna, you are asking what is the difference between the karma-yoga and sannyāsa. Oh. So there is no such difference. Better if you become a karma-yogī." Karma-yoga, meaning "You simply work for Kṛṣṇa." "Then you are better than a sannyāsa."

Lecture on BG 6.1 -- Los Angeles, February 13, 1969:

So everyone is searching after ānanda pleasure. But there is different standard of pleasure. The same thing. Somebody are trying to find out pleasure from the material point of view, somebody's trying to find pleasure from speculation, philosophy, poetry of art. And somebody's trying to find out pleasure in the transcendental stage. Everyone is trying to find out pleasure. That is our business only.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Montreal, June 3, 1968:

It is very nice poetry. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in every verse there is poetic genius. Now, you see in this verse, vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām. The padaṁ padam. You see? Anuprāsa. What is called in English, the same word repeated?

Lecture on BG 7.7 -- Bombay, February 22, 1974:

These are simple Bengali poetries by Vaiṣṇavas that as soon as you desire to enjoy your senses... That enjoyment of senses will not give you happiness. That is our practical experience. Anybody, call anybody who is engaged in sense gratification, ask him, "Are you happy?" He'll never say.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 7, 1972:

So this devotional service is rāja-vidyā because it is uttama, utgata tama. There is nothing material contamination, uttama. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is sometimes called Uttama-śloka. Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by verses which is not ordinary poetry, ordinary poetry.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Melbourne, April 22, 1976:

This is called varṇāśrama-dharma, not to become... It is said in a Bengali poem, janame janame sabe pitā-mātā pāya: "In every life everyone gets a father and mother." Because without father and mother there is no question of birth. Janame janame sabe pitā-mātā pāya, kṛṣṇa guru nāhi mile bhaja hu diya (?): "But you cannot get the proper guidance, guru and Kṛṣṇa, in every life. You can get father-mother in every life, but you cannot get Kṛṣṇa and guru in every life."

Lecture on BG 13.2 -- Melbourne, April 4, 1972:

We don't think that, that "Why you are forced to leave?" That we do not think. But that's a fact. I am living very comfortably with my society, family. "Society, friendship and love, divinely bestowed upon man." There is one poetry. That's all right, but it is so nice, it is so pleasing, but one day comes, "Please get out." Finished.

Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Paris, August 12, 1973:

Just like yesterday one boy and girl came, he's poet. I asked him, "What poetry you write? What is the subject matter?" No subject matter. No subject matter. (laughter) This is pāgal, Pāgal means "mad." Piśācī pāile yena mati-cchana haya māyār grasta jīvera sei dāsa upajaya. Piśācī, ghost. Ghostly haunted. A person, when he becomes ghostly haunted, he speaks all kinds of nonsense.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 5, 1973:

By remembering, yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam, the lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, if you always think, that is śuci. And in Bengali there is a word, poetry, muci haya śuci haya yadi kṛṣṇa bhaje. If one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, even if he is born in a cobbler's family, muci... In India there are two things, muci and śuci. Śuci means perfect brāhmaṇa, and muci means cobbler, the shoemaker.

Lecture on BG 13.20 -- Bombay, October 14, 1973:

This is a Bengali poetry. It says, "As soon as we forget the real enjoyer and we want to enjoy, immediately that is called māyā." And as soon as we give up this mentality... That is confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā.

māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa

bhakti-yogena sevate

sa guṇān samatītyaitān

brahma-bhūyāya kalpate

(BG 14.26)

As soon as you give up this mentality, that "I am the enjoyer," as soon as we change our mentality, that "Kṛṣṇa is enjoyer," then immediately we become liberated. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate, sa guṇān samatītyaitān (BG 14.26).

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Aligarh, October 9, 1976:

The mind is also material. Khaṁ mano buddhir. These are material. People think this mental speculation, poetry, philosophy, that is spiritual. No. So long the subject matter is material, the concoction of the mind, speculation of the mind, the so-called philosophy, is also material.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Hyderabad, November 26, 1972:

First of all our conception is happiness means happiness of my body. The whole world is going on. Material world means everyone is working hard only for the happiness of the body. And some of them, they are trying to be happy by the happiness of the mind. Just like arts, poetry, philosophy, speculating on. But both of these kinds of happiness will not give us real happiness. Because real happiness belongs to the soul.

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Los Angeles, August 15, 1972:

Some way or other, you become attracted to Kṛṣṇa, then your business is successful. Rūpa Gosvāmī has advised that... He says in a poetry. It is on the matter of the gopīs talking. One gopī is advising another gopī that "My dear friend..."

smerān bhaṅgī-traya-paricitāṁ sāci-vistīrṇa-dṛṣṭiṁ

vaṁśīnyastādhara-kiśalayām ujjvalāṁ candrakeṇa

govindākhyāṁ haritanumitaḥ keśi-tīrthopakaṇṭhe

mā prekṣiṣṭhāstava yadi sakhe! bandhu-saṅge 'sti raṅgaḥ

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Los Angeles, August 15, 1972:

In another poetry Rūpa Gosvāmī says, kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ kriyatāṁ yadi kuto 'pi labhyate. The, our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I have taken this from this word kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ. This is actual translation in Sanskrit or... Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ. So Rūpa Gosvāmī advises that "Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if it is possible, please purchase. Don't delay."

Lecture on SB 1.2.18 -- Los Angeles, August 21, 1972:

So whimsically, we cannot write any poetry for Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible. That will create havoc. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says,

śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-

pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā

aikāntikī harer bhaktir

utpātāyaiva kalpate

(Brs. 1.2.101)

Any devotional sentiment which is not supported by Vedas, śruti... Śruti means Veda, and smṛti means corollary to the Veda, or things which are written in corroboration with the Vedic ideas... That is called smṛti.

Lecture on SB 1.2.18 -- Calcutta, September 26, 1974:

They are composed by very, very stalwart, great personalities like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and others, Sūta Gosvāmī, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Vyāsadeva. Therefore they are called uttama-śloka, selected poetry. Therefore Bhagavān's another name is Uttama-śloka. He is offered prayers by the great personalities with selected composition of poetry and prayers. So bhagavaty uttama-śloke.

Lecture on SB 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969:

On the contrary, this is a kind of literature very nicely written, metaphorical, and poetry, everything. But there is no question of glorifying the Lord. That is compared with, just like the same place, where the crows will take pleasure. On the other hand, other kind of literature, what is that? Tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api (SB 1.5.11). A literature presented to the people, to the public for reading, which are even grammatically incorrect, but because there is glorification of the Lord, it can produce revolution. It can purify the whole human society.

Lecture on SB 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969:

Prabhupāda: This is the version of Nārada Muni. We should be taking note of this. And for the Vaiṣṇava there is one qualification: poetic. You should... Everyone should be poetic. So... But that poetry, that poetry language, should be simply to glorify the Lord. Then it is... Just like Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, they are poets. They have produced so many songs. But about whom? About Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.5.11 -- New Vrindaban, June 10, 1969:

It is simply wasting time, valuable time in the human life, to divert our attention to such ordinary literature. They are called grāmya-kathā. In Sanskrit language it is called grāmya-kathā. Grāmya-kathā means any book, any poetry, or any novel, or any drama... There is some hero and heroine, a man or woman, about their loving affairs, tragedy, comic, like that.

Lecture on SB 1.5.11 -- New Vrindaban, June 10, 1969:

In every language there are rules and regulations for composing poetry or prose, grammatical, rhetorical. So even such knowledge, even without such knowledge, pada-cāturyaṁ bhagavad-yaśaḥ-pradhānam. Just like we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we are not training our students any way about musical science, that "We have to chant in this way or that way, we have to dance in this way or that way." Without any musical knowledge, without any poetic understanding, even a child can take part in it, and he becomes immediately absorbed in ecstasy. Why? This is because we are chanting the glories of the Lord.

Lecture on SB 1.5.11 -- New Vrindaban, June 10, 1969:

Ginsberg gives so many poetic ideas. People throng: "Oh, Ginsberg is speaking." But there is... Now he's chanting, of course, Hare Kṛṣṇa. But in his poetry there is very rarely we can find about here. So anyway these things are not appealing to the persons who are really transcendentalists. But a, a composition which is even in broken language, if it is meant for glorifying the Supreme Lord, that is appreciated...

Lecture on SB 1.5.12-13 -- New Vrindaban, June 11, 1969:

So that is one of the duty. We have given the list of qualification of a devotee. One of the qualification is poetic. Poetic means not write poetry. Poetic means literary man. They must give literature. Naturally they'll give. That is the nature of devotee. Because without literature, how can we enlighten the people at large? My Guru Mahārāja used to say that this press is bṛhad-mṛdaṅga.

Lecture on SB 1.8.22 -- Los Angeles, April 14, 1973:

Throughout the whole world, whatever knowledge is there, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everything is there. There is literature, there is poetry, there is philosophy, there is religion, there is love of Godhead, there is astronomy. Everything is there. Śrīmad-bhāgavatam amalaṁ purāṇam. Vidyā bhāgavatāvadhiḥ. If one simply reads this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, his education is the topmost.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Mayapura, October 12, 1974:

So these are the terms used in the śāstras. As Kṛṣṇa is Uttama-śloka, similarly, a devotee is puṇya-śloka. As the devotee worships Kṛṣṇa with selected poems, uttama-śloka... They are not ordinary poems. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayan... (Bs. 5.29). These are not ordinary verse.

Lecture on SB 1.8.45 -- Los Angeles, May 7, 1973:

Just like the birds are flying, but we cannot fly. Sometimes we desire, "Had I the wings of a dove..." There are poetry: "I could immediately go." But that mystic power is also within you. If you develop by yogic practice, you can also fly in the air. That is possible. There is a planet which is called Siddhaloka. In the Siddhaloka, the inhabitants, they are called... Siddhaloka means they have got so many mystic powers.

Lecture on SB 1.8.47 -- Los Angeles, May 9, 1973:

Dhīra means, acts very conscientiously, without being disturbed by the external factors. I have explained several times the dhīra. The example of dhīra is given in the Kumāra-sambhava poetry, by Kālidāsa. We had our syllabus studying Kumāra-sambhava in our I.A. class in college. So there the example, Kālidāsa is giving example: the dhīra is Lord Śiva. Just see.

Lecture on SB 1.16.5 -- Los Angeles, January 2, 1974:

People are interested in reading, but they are reading all so-called literature, poetry. But we are not interested in such, such kind of literature, because there is no kṛṣṇa-kathā. We are interested in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā. Why? Because it is kṛṣṇa-kathā.

Lecture on SB 1.16.11 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1974:

Formerly, amongst the learned scholar, any nonsense you write will not be accepted as poetry. It must be according to the rules and regulation of literary perfection. So there were some literary imperfection, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu pointed out, and He was also learned scholar. He admitted that "He is a wonderful boy." So therefore it is said that "You make your enemy a learned man, but don't make your friend a fool and rascal."

Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- Los Angeles, July 1, 1970:

Svarūpa Dāmodara was Lord Caitanya's personal secretary, so unless something is passed through Svarūpa Dāmodara, nobody can directly approach Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So one learned scholar, he composed some poetries and he wanted the poetries to be heard by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But Svarūpa Dāmodara, he knew that "This man is mundane. What he will write?" So he was avoiding him: "All right, we shall see later on." But when he insisted..

Lecture on SB 2.3.15 -- Los Angeles, June 1, 1972:

Just like we offer prayer, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa... (Bs. 5.29). Each line is full of poetry, poetic and literary character, grammar. Anything you take, they're all full. All Bhāgavata, all Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You cannot produce such literature in this day. Such meaningful. Because Vyāsadeva was incarnation, he could produce. Therefore it is uttamaśloka: by the best selected verses, Kṛṣṇa is described.

Lecture on SB 2.3.23 -- Los Angeles, June 20, 1972:

So one brāhmaṇa, he wrote one poetry that... The purport of the poetry was that "Jagannātha is Kṛṣṇa. But He cannot move. He's wooden Kṛṣṇa. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu is also Kṛṣṇa, but He is moving Kṛṣṇa." That means he distinguished between Jagannātha and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So this is not siddhānta. This is not conclusion of the śāstra. Śāstra conclusion is: the Deity and Kṛṣṇa, the same. There is no difference.

Lecture on SB 2.3.23 -- Los Angeles, June 20, 1972:

So Svarūpa Dāmodara did not approve of the poetry to be presented to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. At that time, he chastised him that "You do not know the conclusion, and you dare to write some poetry. Don't do this." And he said, bhāgavata para giya bhāgavata-sthāne:(?) "If you want to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then you go and study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the pure devotee. Then you'll understand. Otherwise, you'll write all these nonsense."

Lecture on SB 2.9.4-8 -- Tokyo, April 23, 1972:

There is literary beauty, metaphor, simile, and what is called, symmetry, reason(?). Everything is complete. Not that whimsically a line, three lines, one line, and two lines, and it becomes a poetry. In Sanskrit poetry writing is not so easy. You have to follow so many rules and regulations.

Lecture on SB 3.25.7 -- Bombay, November 7, 1974:

So here Devahūti says that bhūmann asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt: "I am in this material world." In simple words there is a Bengali poem:

kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare

nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

(Prema-vivarta)

We are purely part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We are actually the senses of Kṛṣṇa. And when we forget this position and we want to satisfy ourself, that is our material condition.

Lecture on SB 3.25.14 -- Bombay, November 14, 1974:

There is a Bengali poetry: śuci haya muci haya yadi kṛṣṇa tyaje, muci haya śuci haya yadi kṛṣṇa bhaje. If somebody takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even born in the family of cobbler, muci, he becomes śuci. He becomes more than a brāhmaṇa. And muci haya śuci haya. If one is born in the family of a brāhmaṇa, but he... (sounds of fireworks) ...but if he gives up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he becomes a muci.

Lecture on SB 3.25.42 -- Bombay, December 10, 1974:

So Lord Buddha's name is there, and Jayadeva has also given his poem Daśa-vidha, Daśāvatāra-stotra. In that Daśāvatāra also, Lord Buddha's name is there: keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. So Vaiṣṇavas, they know, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, how many avatāras are there. They do not accept therefore any bogus avatāra. Some rascal will say that "I am avatāra." The Vaiṣṇava will not accept.

Lecture on SB 3.26.23-4 -- Bombay, January 1, 1975:

In Bengali there is that poetry, kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare. What is that? That desire is that "I can independently enjoy." The example... There are many such examples. Just like a man is honest, but if he becomes polluted by the desire that "If I can get that money by fair or unfair means, I will become rich, so let me take this money," so immediately mind becomes agitated, and it becomes under the spell of criminality. Then gradually, under superior judgment, I am put into the prison house.

Lecture on SB 3.26.34 -- Bombay, January 11, 1975:

So mind is the basic principle of another form of body. Therefore our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is training the mind how to remain Kṛṣṇa conscious at the time of death, because Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvam (BG 8.6). Therefore in Bengali poetry there is a saying, bhajan kara sādhan kara mate janle haya,(?) means "You are doing everything in spiritual life, but everything will be examined at the time of death. How you have practiced your bhajana, sādhana, this will be examined at the time of death."

Lecture on SB 6.1.25 -- Honolulu, May 25, 1976:

So this chaste woman and this sad-ācāra, brāhmaṇa, ideal is brāhmaṇa, he'll become married. Then there will be peace, there will be progress, there will be peace in the society, peace in the family. There is a poetry in English, "Society, friendship and love, divine (indistinct)." But that society is not this society. If we become husband of the prostitute, no, that is not possible. Then sad-ācāra will be finished. Nāmnā sad-ācāra. Dāsyāḥ saṁsarga-dūṣitaḥ: as soon as you become associated with prostitute, then everything will be lost. Sad-ācāra means your progress in spiritual life is lost.

Lecture on SB 6.1.28-29 -- Honolulu, May 28, 1976:

So we have to go to the platform of soul. That is spiritual education. But there are so many other stages. Somebody's stopping in the mind. He's thinking that this is the final. Philosophy, poetry, imagination, the mind mental... As we see that mostly your Western philosophers, they are stuck up on the platform of mind. That's all. They're thinking this is the final.

Lecture on SB 6.1.44 -- Los Angeles, June 10, 1976:

We see through the śāstra. We understand that these men, they are not even rajo-guṇa, or maybe in rajas-tamo-guṇa. But where is sattva-guṇa? Sattva-guṇa. So through the śāstra we can understand that who is who through śāstra. Therefore in my poetry, on the strength of śāstra, I said that rajas tamo guṇe erā sabāi ācchanna, vāsudeva-kathā ruci mahe se prasanna: (SB 1.2.16) "Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion. Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied; therefore they have no taste for the transcendental message of Vāsudeva. So I do not know how they will be able to understand it." Actually that is the fact.

Lecture on SB 6.1.68 -- Vrndavana, September 4, 1975:

Similarly, don't infect the material qualities, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. Remain in sattva-guṇa and try to elevate yourself from sattva-guṇa to transcendental stage, brahma-bhūtaḥ. Then life is successful. Otherwise we shall be repeatedly punished so long we have got the tendency to enjoy material happiness and get another body, one after another. We shall be punishable by the Ya mache piche. It is the Bengali poetry. It is said, kṛṣṇa nāma koro bhāi (end)

Lecture on SB 6.2.5-6 -- Vrndavana, September 9, 1975:

There is a Bengali poetry by a Bengali Vaiṣṇava: kaname janame sabe pitā mātā paya, kṛṣṇa guru nahi mile bhajaha e aya.(?) As soon as you take birth, there is father. Either you take birth as a snake or you take birth as a human being, without father and mother there is no question of birth. So father and mother you will get in every birth. But kṛṣṇa guru nahi mile bhajaha e aya(?): Kṛṣṇa and guru will not be available in every birth. That is very important thing.

Lecture on SB 7.5.30 -- London, September 9, 1971:

You are spirit soul. You must have spiritual food. You must have spiritual life. Then you can be happy. Simply as you cannot be happy by having nice shirt and coat, similarly, simply by materialistic way of life, I mean a gross and fine... Gross means this high skyscraper building, machines, factories, nice road goes motorcar. These are gross. And subtle: nice song, poetry, philosophy. That is subtle, subtle matter. So people are trying to be happy with this gross and subtle material existence. That cannot be.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Hong Kong, April 18, 1972:

Prabhupāda: This is called... Body means my senses. So civilization based on this bodily concept of life are interested only sense gratification. That is their aim of life. Indriya. Sense gratification. And those who are disgusted with sense gratification, they go little higher on the mental platform, mental speculation. Just like philosophy, poetry, like that. Gross means they are working very hard day and night for sense gratification. Just like hogs and dogs. That is stated in the śāstra.

Lecture on SB 7.6.3 -- Montreal, June 16, 1968:

This is material civilization. Very nice clothing, very nice food, very nice apartment, very nice car, or very nice sense enjoyment—everything is very nice. But that is to this body. And when one is frustrated to this very nice arrangement, then he goes to the mind: poetry, mental speculation, LSD, marijuana, drinking, and so many things. These are all mental. Actually, happiness is not there in the body, nor in the mind. Read happiness is in the spirit.

Lecture on SB 7.6.5 -- Toronto, June 21, 1976:

What is that? Uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt. Uttamaśloka means the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is prayed by selected poems. Uttama, transcendental poetry, transcendental songs. He's worshiped by transcendental vibration of sound. Ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt pumān virajyeta vinā paśughnāt. Who keeps himself aloof from this transcendental vibration of sound? Vinā paśughnāt. Simply the person who is animal killer. Therefore, meat-eating is so dangerous for a devotee.

Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 14, 1976:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was visited by many learned brāhmaṇas when He was at Purī, Jagannātha Purī. So one learned brāhmaṇa, he wrote some poems about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There were many brāhmaṇas, they were coming, but all such reading matter, first it was to be tested by His secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara. If Svarūpa Dāmodara would pass, then Caitanya Mahāprabhu will hear.

Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 14, 1976:

So one brāhmaṇa, he wrote something about Caitanya Mahāprabhu and came to read, recite before Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Svarūpa Dāmodara found many mistakes in that poem, so he did not allow him, that "You do not know how to present theistic literature. You don't. You cannot see Caitanya Mahāprabhu." He chastised him about the mistake.

Lecture on SB 7.9.12 -- Montreal, August 18, 1968:

For offering prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you do not require any high qualification. It doesn't matter. You can offer your prayer from any standard of life. Not that you have to become a very learned man, very scholarly man, and you have to present your prayers in a very nicely selected words so that poetry, rhetoric, prosody, everything is there, metaphor. Nothing required. Simply you have to express your feelings.

Lecture on SB 7.9.12 -- Montreal, August 19, 1968:

It is said that a verse written in broken language... Suppose a person, a great devotee, is writing some prayers for God, but he has no idea of the rhetorical or prosodic method, the system of poetry. He has no such idea, but he is simply expressing his feeling. But if that feeling is correct, even the language is broken... There are many examples. Just like a child, he prays mother, parents, simply by crying. It has no language, but the mother understands what is the feeling of the child. It is the feeling that is taken into consideration, not the language.

Lecture on SB 7.9.49 -- Vrndavana, April 4, 1976:

So in this material world there is ādi, ādy-anta, beginning and ending. But Kṛṣṇa has no beginning or end. The material... Therefore Kṛṣṇa is not material. Urugāya. Kṛṣṇa is urugāya. Uru means He is exalted with nice, many, many ślokas, gāya. Gāya means songs, poetry. Uru. We cannot imagine. Uru-gāya. Just like in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:

Bhagavat... He, he came to Caitanya Mahāprabhu to read some poetry he had written, but it was the system that unless anything written... There were many devotees. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was living at Purī, Jagannātha Purī. So many devotees from other provinces used to come and visit. And some of them wrote some poetries. But all of them, first of all, would be tested by Svarūpa Dāmodara. And then he'll be allowed to go before Caitanya Mahāprabhu and read it. That was the system.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 29, 1973:

Just like here we have got Kṛṣṇa. We can love. We cannot love this sky. So they have no conception of God; therefore their love of God is all fictitious. Just like Rabindranath Tagore, he has written Gītāñjali, "Tumi." Who is that tumi, he does not know. All the poetry's "tumi, tomāra," and who is that rascal, tumi or tomāra? But that he does not know. This is going on.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.1 -- Mayapur, March 1, 1974:

My Guru Mahārāja, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, whenever he got some time he used to read Caitanya-caritāmṛta. And he predicted that the whole world like to read Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and for this reason they'll learn Bengali. Therefore, following his footsteps, I have kept the Bengali character and tried to give the literary meaning of each word of the Bengali poem.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.109-114 -- San Francisco, February 20, 1967:

So Śaṅkarācārya was covered devotee. He's covered devotee. His aim was to bring men to the standard of devotional service, but the time and circumstances in which he was preaching, he could not place his real object because they were unable to understand. At last, at the end of his life, he composed so many poetries in praise of Vṛndāvana-līlā, and especially his very famous Catpar pandika (?), that is, he has stated,

bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ

bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate

prāpte sannihite kāla maraṇe

na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛñ-karaṇe

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.100 -- Washington, D.C., July 5, 1976:

We are every one of us, we are thinking, "I am master." "I am the monarch of all I survey." Here is a poetry. Everyone is thinking. I made my plan, I make my survey, and I become king. But that is māyā. You cannot become. You are already servant of māyā.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.105 -- New York, July 11, 1976:

Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, he has made one poetry, kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. Kaivalya means to merge into the Brahman existence—no difference, oneness. That is called kaivalya. So for a Vaiṣṇava the kaivalya is as good as the hell. Prabhodānanda Sarasvatī said, kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. This kaivalya.... No Vaiṣṇava will say, "Now I am going to merge into the existence," no, because they hate it as hell.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.108-109 -- New York, July 15, 1976:

But the material world is so bewildering that everyone is thinking that "I am master of everyone." This is the disease. "I am the monarch of all I survey." There is an English poetry. Everyone is thinking. Why this is so much struggle in this New York City? Because now there is Presidential election, so everyone is thinking, "If I could become the President." That is everyone's desire.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.125 -- New York, November 27, 1966:

So in the beginning we may not relish that transcendental feeling, but as we go on, increasing, we'll feel it. Kṛṣṇa-sevā kare, kṛṣṇa-rasa-āsvādana. This is called kṛṣṇa-rasa. Just like anything we do, there is some humor, there is some taste. Suppose a person writes poetry. In writing that poetry he feels some taste; therefore he writes. Some, somebody plays on flute. So everything... Somebody drinks. So there is some particular taste. Similarly, transcendentally, you'll have a taste for Kṛṣṇa's service.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.353-354 -- New York, December 26, 1966:

So there is a very famous prayer made by Śaṅkara... Śaṅkarācārya has made many prayers about Kṛṣṇa, especially about His Vṛndāvana līlā, he has made. He has worshiped Kṛṣṇa in many ways. And last, this is his last composition of poetry. Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha mate: "You fools, you mūḍha mate..." Muḍḥa mate means "you fools." He was addressing the whole world, "you fools." Bhaja govindam: "Just become devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Just become Kṛṣṇa consciousness."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.62-67 -- New York, January 6, 1966:

And then Nimāi Paṇḍita requested, "So, I have heard that you are a very vastly learned scholar, and from your feature also I can understand, so best thing will be that you compose some poetry in praising Ganges."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.62-67 -- New York, January 6, 1966:

Ganges is the shelter for all the fallen souls. She can deliver. Śaṅkarācārya had composed many poems on the Ganges. There are many poetry on the Ganges. So Keśava Kāśmīrī was very learned scholar. Without any hesitation, he began to compose Sanskrit verses in praising Ganges.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.62-67 -- New York, January 6, 1966:

Sanskrit language is very scholarly language, reformed. You cannot deviate even a line, even a letter in the sense, in the poetry, in the writing. There are all regulation, strict regulation, grammatical and metric and so many things.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.62-67 -- New York, January 6, 1966:

Just like nowadays we write poetry—one line is three hundred miles, one hundred, (chuckles) and only one mile. That sort of poetry will not be allowed in Sanskrit. You cannot adjust three hundred miles and one mile. No. It must be very symmetrical. That is Sanskrit language.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.62-67 -- New York, January 6, 1966:

He thought in the beginning, "Oh, He is asking to compose some poetries. I shall show Him how can I compose poetry, hundreds." He did not care so much that He will point out so many defects in them. But when he saw it, he became sorry. And then the students, Lord Caitanya's students, as it is usual, they began to laugh.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 22.14-20 -- New York, January 10, 1967:

One who performs great penance, one who is very charitably disposed, one who is very famous, one who is very mentally advanced, he can think nice things, writes philosophical thesis, write nice poetry. Manasvinaḥ. These are the products of great mind.

Sri Isopanisad Lectures

Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 10 -- Los Angeles, May 15, 1970:

So one who has control over these six things, he is called dhīrāṇām. Dhīra. Hara eva (?) dhīra. Just like in Kumāra-sambhava. There is a nice poetry made by a great poet, Kālidāsa. It is called Kumāra-sambhava. This Kumāra-sambhava, we had our prescribed books in our intermediate I.A. class, Kumāra-sambhava. Kumāra-sambhava, the fact of the Kumāra-sambhava is that when Pārvatī suicided herself in the Dakṣa-yajña, then Lord Śiva was very angry. He left this world.

Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Lecture -- New York, July 28, 1971:

God consciousness is on the spiritual platform. So those who are in the bodily platform, they're trying to satisfy the senses. And those who are on the mental platform, they're writing poetries and philosophical speculation to satisfy the mind. Similarly, there is intellectual platform. But soul is above intellect.

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Lecture -- New York, July 28, 1971:

Generally people are in bodily concept of life. Therefore body means the senses. They want to satisfy the senses. And then mental platform, they are satisfying the mind by philosophical speculation or some poetry. So Rabindra..., Rabindranath Tagore, he belongs to the mental platform. So one has to transcend the bodily platform, mental platform, intellectual platform and come to the simple spiritual platform. That is kevalayā.

Festival Lectures

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Hyderabad, December 10, 1976:

So whatever I appreciated forty years ago, the same principle is going on. We have no change. What I understood my spiritual master... Practically I met him in 1922, and this poetry was written in 1936. That means fourteen years before writing this poetry, I met my Guru Mahārāja in 1922.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Hyderabad, December 10, 1976:

And then, in 1936-it's a long history-during this Vyāsa-pūjā day, this Vyāsa-pūjā day, whatever I studied about our relationship with my Guru Mahārāja, I expressed in this poetry, and since that day my Godbrothers used to call me "poet." And Guru Mahārāja also very much appreciated this poetry. Now somehow or other you have found it. (laughs) I thought the poetry is lost, but I do not know how it was found out by some of our disciples. I think it was found out in London museum or somewhere else by Guru dāsa. They had a stock of Harmonist, and from the Harmonist, my Guru Mahārāja's paper, this poetry was found. Otherwise I thought it was lost. So anyway, this poetry is "Adore, adore ye all the happy day, blessed than heaven, sweeter than May."

Varaha-dvadasi, Lord Varaha's Appearance Day Lecture Dasavatara-stotra Purport -- Los Angeles, February 18, 1970:

So these prayers were offered by Jayadeva Gosvāmī. One Vaiṣṇava poet advented about seven hundred years before Lord Caitanya's appearance. He was a great devotee, and his specific poetry, Gīta-govinda, is very famous all over the world. Gīta-govinda. Gīta-govinda is the subject matter of Kṛṣṇa playing on flute about Rādhārāṇī.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Los Angeles, February 7, 1969:

So you have heard the name of Professor Sanyal, and there were other Godbrothers. They asked me to write on the Vaiṣṇava-siddhānta in English. So perhaps in 1935 I wrote one poetry. The part of it, somebody, you have got. He was very pleased. Since then he was insisting me that "You write on, preach on in English." At that time I was thinking, "What can I do?" So anyway, after his passing away, this Back to Godhead paper was started, as late in 1944, I think, because the expenditure was three hundred, four hundred rupees per month.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Address -- Los Angeles, February 9, 1975:

But I thought, "If Kṛṣṇa is God, why it will not be taken by everyone? It must be taken." So I was not very much hopeful to become successful. When I was in Boston port, I wrote one poetry that "I do not know why I have been brought here. How these people will take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness? As soon as I will say these four regulative principles, they will ask me to go away." (laughter)

General Lectures

Speech to Indian Audience -- Montreal, July 28, 1968:

...vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Lord Caitanya instructed this verse. He gave us eight verses, known as Śikṣāṣṭaka. Śikṣa means "instructions"; aṣṭaka, "eight." This Śikṣāṣṭaka poetry, containing eight verses, are very valuable, and they were given by Lord Caitanya for understanding of the whole human society.

Lecture at Engagement -- Columbus, may 19, 1969:

Because these senses are centered round by, of the mind. Mind is practically the controller of the senses. So when you fail to achieve real, I mean to say, pleasure from the senses, we go to the mental platform: poetry, philosophy, similar, songs. But you have to transcend even the mental platform. That is intellectual platform. Above that intellectual platform, your soul is there. So you have to immediately come to the platform of soul, and you'll be happy.

Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan -- Bombay, March 26, 1971:

In ignorance we forget Kṛṣṇa. That's all. The forgetfulness is compared with the cloud. That is stated in simple Bengali poetry:

kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare

pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

As soon as we forget Kṛṣṇa... Because we are eternally part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, there cannot be any separation. There cannot be any separation between us and Kṛṣṇa because we are eternally related. But a cloudy thing, which is called forgetfulness, that comes between us and we cannot see, we cannot understand Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture -- Los Angeles, July 20, 1971:

In a nice Bengali poetry, one great Vaiṣṇava poet has written,

piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya

māyā-grasta jīvera se dāsa upajaya

Piśācī, ghost, when a man becomes ghostly haunted, he speaks so many nonsense. Similarly, anyone who is under the influence of this material nature, he is ghostly haunted, and whatever he speaks, he speaks nonsense. Never mind he is a great philosopher, great scientist, but because he is ghostly haunted by māyā, so whatever he's theorizing, whatever he's speaking, that is, more or less, nonsense.

Pandal Lecture -- Delhi, November 13, 1971:

Material life means sensuous life. But those who are little above, they are on the mental platform—poetry, philosophy, mental speculation. Above this there is intelligence. That intellectual life required. That means we have to transcend the position of the sensuous life, we have to transcend the position of concocted mental speculation, we have to come to the intellectual platform.

Lecture Excerpt -- London, July 25, 1976:

Long, long ago, when Rabindranath Tagore came here, so when he saw that people are running, so he wrote one poetry, "Where these people are running? This country is very small, all around seas, so where they will go, running? They'll fall down." So our running has no meaning. It is dog's running. But people are still busy, trying to go here, there.

General Lecture -- (location & date unknown):

Beside that, he has written many songs and prayers about Kṛṣṇa. And at the last stage of his life he has written a very nice poem,

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam bhaja govindam mūḍha mate

prāpte sannihite khalu marane na hi na hi rakṣati dukṛn-karaṇe

Because the Māyāvādī philosophers, they interpret Vedic mantras by grammatical jugglery, therefore Śaṅkarācārya has warned that "Your grammatical jugglery, this dukṛn-pratyaya, karaṇe, will not save you."

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Śyāmasundara: He says that of all arts, that music and poetry are the highest.

Prabhupāda: Yes, so therefore we write, Vyāsadeva has written so many nice poetries in praise of Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā is writing, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). All sages, they write praise of Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Poetry.

Prabhupāda: Yes, poetry. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's another name is Uttama-śloka, He is described by first-class poetry. And a devotee is supposed to be poet also, among the twenty-six qualification. So all of us writing, glorifying Kṛṣṇa. Poetry or prose doesn't matter. Anything sublime is called poetry, not that it has to be written in meter. Everything sublime is called poetry.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Śyāmasundara: Whereas our Western poems are all so many different lines, lengths, rhythms, you can't remember them.

Prabhupāda: There is no standard. There is Trayita Darpana(?), there is a book, you can... So many words, the first pronunciation five, second pronunciation seven, like that. There's different kinds of (indistinct), sandhi.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Śyāmasundara: He is referring here to art, poetry.

Prabhupāda: Yes, everything is there. Here is art—we are painting. Our students are painting nice pictures. Art. And poetry, all our Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavatam are full of poetries.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Śyāmasundara: This aesthetic salvation is only possible momentarily. Contemplation of poetry and art and music, these are...

Prabhupāda: No, that is possible. Just like practice. A child is practiced to play, but if he is constantly practiced to read and write, he becomes educated. So not momentary. It is a practice. If you practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then other consciousness will automatically vanish.

Śyāmasundara: But he is describing only one type of salvation, called aesthetic salvation, where one transcends the normal state of desire by seeing art or hearing music or poetry. Only this momentary transcendence.

Prabhupāda: So why momentary? It can continue perpetually.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Prabhupāda: So this suicidal, this is not suicidal, that voluntarily accepting death, so that by dying, if he thinks of the spiritual life, he gets it. Just like Kulaśekhara, he has got a poetry that... In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajanty ante: (BG 8.6) we get next life according to the desire at the point of death.

Philosophy Discussion on George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel:

Hayagrīva: He says the grandeur of Indian religion and poetry as well as Indian philosophy have been acknowledged especially in their rejection and sacrifice of the senses. Now his conception is typical nineteenth century...

Prabhupāda: He has no study of the Vedic literature; still he poses himself to remark on the Vedic literature. That is his ignorance.

Purports to Songs

Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurv-astakam -- Los Angeles, January 2, 1969:

Guṇārnava. Arṇava means ocean, and guṇa means spiritual qualities. Just like the same example is going on. It is very nice poetry. There is nice rhethorics and metaphor. The example is set, blazing fire, and it is to be extinguished with the cloud. And wherefrom the cloud comes? Similarly, wherefrom the spiritual master receives the mercy? The cloud receives his potency from the ocean. Therefore the spiritual master also receives his power from the ocean of spiritual quality, that is, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

1967 Conversations and Morning Walks

Discourse on Lord Caitanya Play Between Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva -- April 5-6, 1967, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: No. That will be all right in this way, that the narration should be shortly described in poetry and that will be chanted with kīrtana. In that way, you see.

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk at Stow Lake -- March 23, 1968, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: So long one is not above these four principles of animal demands, he's as good as animal. To meet animal demands in a polished way is not civilization. One must be above the animal demands. That is civilization. You have read that poetry, "Alexander and the Robber"? Have you read?

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 12, 1969, New York:

Prabhupāda: (chuckling) There is a Tulasī das poetry, din ka ḍākinī rat ka bhāginī gargara bhāginī cuṣe. Bhāginī. Tulasī das had very good, beautiful wife, and he was very much attached to her. So the system is that after the girl is staying with her husband... Because young girls, very minor age, they were married, say, ten years, nine years, twelve years. But they're allowed to live with husband, say, after thirteen years or fourteen years, when she has attained puberty.

Room Conversation -- April 12, 1969, New York:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is Tulasī dāsa's remark. So in many passages of his poetry he has not done very justice to woman. And another poetry, he writes, dhol guṇār śūdra narī. Dhol guṇār śūdra narī ihe sab śaśan ke adhikārī.(?) Dhol guṇār paśu śūdra narī, ihe sab śaśan ke adhikārī. Dhol, dhol means drum, mṛdaṅga. Gunar, guṇār means... What is called English? A fool, fool. Illiterate fool, what is one word?

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Hayagrīva: Enlight... I think in one of the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness poetry, I mentioned Blake.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: He did not give much stress on this material body.

Allen Ginsberg: No! At the end of his life, he didn't count on the material body.

Prabhupāda: So, there is a spiritual concept of life in his poetry.

Hayagrīva: Blake died on chanting. I don't know what he was chanting but he died singing.

Allen Ginsberg: He died singing.

Prabhupāda: Ahh.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: No. Fourteenth century, not Bilvamaṅgala. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, some time before(?).

Guest (1): Bilvamaṅgala.

Allen Ginsberg: Bilvamaṅgala. Bilvamaṅgala. No, I didn't know the name.

Prabhupāda: Yes. There are many poets. He was great poet. If you read this Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta poetry, ah, you'll find...

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Guest (1): Jayadeva is a great Vaiṣṇava.

Prabhupāda: There are many nice poets.

Allen Ginsberg: I know some of the Baul poetry in English.

Prabhupāda: You just try to read this Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura especially.

Allen Ginsberg: Who?

Prabhupāda: Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: Poet. He must be poet. All the Vaiṣṇavas, they are poet.

Guest (1): Because they are so deep in love with God.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Poetry comes out in deep love with something.

Allen Ginsberg: Is that published somewhere?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: Yes, in India it is very popular, Mīrā's song. Mostly they are written in Hindi, and some of them have been interpolated. But Mīrā was a devotee. She saw Rūpa Gosvāmī, a contemporary. She has written many poetry about Lord Caitanya.

Allen Ginsberg: Oh, she was a contemporary of Caitanya?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: Did they meet?

Prabhupāda: No. She appreciated that Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa, and she has written one poetry, song, that "Now You have left aside Your flute, and You have taken the sannyāsī rod." In that way she has written nice poetry. "And where is Your hair and peacock feather? Now You are bald-headed." In this way. So Mīrā appreciated. Her life is also very excellent. Her father gave her a small Kṛṣṇa doll to play, and she developed love for Kṛṣṇa as husband. So when she was married... She was princess, daughter of king, and she was married with another prince.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 14, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: It's certainly beautiful prosody.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Oh, the Sanskrit poetry writing is very difficult. They have got rhetoric system. So many words should be first, so many words, second. You cannot deviate.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 2, 1972, Sydney:

Prabhupāda: Yes. I never wanted his property. I simply desired that such a sublime message, like my poetry, that...

Śyāmasundara: First poem upon arriving.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Miracle done. I wanted, "Oh, there is a miracle. If I try to preach this miracle in the world." So he has given me the facility. I never wanted the Gauḍīya Maṭha buildings.

Room Conversation -- April 2, 1972, Sydney:

Prabhupāda: That I wrote in my poetry. "The Absolute is sentient thou hast proved." That was striking to me. Not impersonal, "sentient thou hast proved, impersonal calamity thou hast moved." "Absolute is sentient thou hast proved." That was my acceptance. So even the many judges came in Allahabad, do you remember?

Śyāmasundara: Yes. In Madras?

Prabhupāda: No, Allahabad during Kumbha-melā. They said, "Swamiji, God is person, you are the first man speaking." Why first man? It is already there. They cannot believe that God is person.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 3, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: There was a poetry by Rabindranath Tagore. The purport of the poetry is that one who is mischievous, he is culprit. But one who tolerates mischievous activity, he is also culprit. If you are mischievous, you are criminal. But if you tolerate mischievous activities that is also criminal.

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 15, 1973, Los Angeles:

Paramahaṁsa: The one who wrote Paradise Lost, Milton, he also wrote a poem which said that, "A working man is nothing but a devil's slave."

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's it.

Paramahaṁsa: "He works so hard for his money, but not his life can he save."

Prabhupāda: No, what he will do with the money? He will satisfy his senses, that's all.

Room Conversation with David Wynne, Sculptor -- July 9, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes. To glorify God means the glorify the nature also. Just like here is a poem in Brahma-saṁ...

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-

koṭisv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam

tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs. 5.40)

Room Conversation with Anna Conan Doyle, daughter-in-law of famous author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- August 10, 1973, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Well, because at the present age we are in crazy or mad condition... What is called? Deformed brain. Therefore we cannot become. There is a poetry. Piśācī paile jana moti chana haya (?). As one becomes crazy when it is ghostly haunted, similarly a person under the clutches of māyā, he becomes also crazy like that. He talks all nonsense.

Room Conversation with Dr. Christian Hauser, Psychiatrist -- September 10, 1973, Stockholm:

Prabhupāda: Yes. We say in a Bengali poetry:

piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya

māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya

Anyone who is infected with this material energy, he is just like a man, ghostly haunted. You have any experience of ghostly haunted men? A ghost captures him.

Dr. Hauser: Ghostly haunted?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Indian Guest -- October 4, 1973, Bombay:

Guest (1): And another can be a lower form. But both of them are true. For me, even in the lower poetry's true, the higher is true. But it is a question of gradation merely, where the man has reached to.

Prabhupāda: Well, everything is true, but higher true, or lower true?

Guest (1): Both are true.

Prabhupāda: Both are true, but both are not the same thing. Then why higher and lower?

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Sometimes I don't, I mean, they don't like me. Because I am a man who talks non..., sometimes like a Patel. But still I love them because they are sādhus, and you know we must love some...

Prabhupāda: Yes. There is a poetry, Cowper: "England, with all thy faults, I love you."

Dr. Patel: No. They may not be liking me because sometimes I am very much opposing them, but...

Prabhupāda: That is also loving.

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: So if you study grammar properly, and then you can, you can just compose poetry. (break)

Prabhupāda: Therefore Lord Brahmā is called Ādi-kavi. Ādi-kavi. Yes.

Dr. Patel: Sanskrit is poetic. You can just compose poetry.

Prabhupāda: Whole Sanskrit language in poetry. Bhagavad-gītā is in poetry. Bhāgavata in poetry. Mahābhārata in poetry.

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Ninety percent of the Sanskrit literature is in poetry.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Why ninety? It may be ninety-nine.

Dr. Patel: No, but some of the... Kālidāsa, and, you know... They're also composing the ślokas in the... But...

Prabhupāda: Kālidāsa also in poetry.

Dr. Patel: No, that is certain... Not all. Abhijñāna-śakuntalā is not in poetry.

Prabhupāda: Asti himālaya-nāma nakhadi-rāja... Asti uttana-sana-desi (?) himālaya-nāma na-gadi-raja (?).

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Motikama (?) is grammar. Poetry for grammar.

Dr. Patel: Meghadūta I studied. (Sanskrit) (break)

Prabhupāda: ...for materialistic persons.

Room Conversation with Irish Poet, Desmond O'Grady -- May 23, 1974, Rome:

O'Grady: I'm saying... Yes, a spiritual master the priest, the poet is chosen by, let's say, God, that is, this person is chosen to write poems or to paint pictures or to make music, compose music.

Prabhupāda: No, whatever you do... music also, you can compose...

Room Conversation with Robert Gouiran, Nuclear Physicist from European Center for Nuclear Research -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: Guṇānuvarṇanam. "Translation: Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely, austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry."

Prabhupāda: So if you have got scientific knowledge, you scientifically explain that God is the original source. Then your knowledge is perfect. What is the purport?

Room Conversations -- September 10, 1974, Vrndavana:

Devotee (1): This poet, in her poetry, her business was to try to create that sentiment.

Prabhupāda: (Sanskrit) He is not poet. Poet means he must have full knowledge. Then if he writes poetry, that will be beneficial. The rascal's poetry, just like in your country, one line, three lines, one line. This is rascaldom; it is not poetry.

Room Conversations -- September 10, 1974, Vrndavana:

Devotee (1): Her poetry was just like the braying of the ass.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Thinking, simply imagining that they shall be happy in this way. And accusing others. You cannot become happy in that way, that he will accuse, "He is the cause. He is the impediment of my perfect happiness." Envious, the same enviousness.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Through the BBT Warehouse -- February 10, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: A Tulasī dāsa, he has written one poetry that "A son and the urine comes from the same way." Son... Son means it is born out of the semina. That also comes through the genital, and the urine also comes through the genital. So he is giving this example that "Putra and Mutra..." Mutra, means urine, and putra means son, comes from the same passage. So if the son is a devotee, then he's putra; otherwise he's mutra. (laughter) Otherwise he's urine.

Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: "Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry."

Prabhupāda: The advancement of knowledge in any department, that is very good. But what is the aim? The aim is to glorify the Supreme Lord. Just like you are lawyer. You gave us help in some difficulty time. Why? Because you wanted to continue glorification of the Lord, that "These men are doing nice. Why they should be harassed?" So that means you helped glorification of the Lord. So that's your success as a lawyer.

Room Conversation with Yogi Bhajan -- June 7, 1975, Honolulu:

Yogi Bhajan: Kṛṣṇa avatāra is in his own poetry. It is about Lord Kṛṣṇa. If somebody of these people who know Sanskrit and who know guru-mukhi can translate that part...

Prabhupāda: No, translate or not translate, we have already accept Kṛṣṇa God. So if Guru Nanak has described Him as God, that's all right. Then if Kṛṣṇa is God, accepted by Guru Nanak, and Kṛṣṇa is God, accepted by us, why not put this God, one God?

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walks -- January 22-23, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Just follow Bhagavān. That is wanted. (Bengali) Don't write concocted poetries. That is not beneficial. Simply follow. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). That is your business, not to give upadeśa to Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, do this."

Morning Walk -- March 13, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: What is the...? (reading) "No work in all Indian literature is more quoted. Because none is better loved in the West than the Bhagavad-gītā. Translation of such work demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit but an inward sympathy with the theme and a verbal..." What is called?

Devotees: Artistry.

Prabhupāda: "Artistry. But the poem is a symphony in which God is seen in all things.

Morning Walk -- April 8, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: This idea: I shall speak to don't eat meat, and they'll immediately kick me out. (laughter) That was my program. And I was going to say that "Don't eat meat. No illicit sex," and immediately they will kick me out. "All right." I never thought that you would accept it. That is the idea of my poetry. That is sung, no? You have got that?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes.

Morning Walk -- April 12, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Stop disease; otherwise where is improvement? (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...poetry, kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare, nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare (Prema-vivarta). As soon as the living entity desires sense gratification, immediately māyā captures.

Garden Conversation -- June 8, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: A small fish can go against the waves. There is a Hindi poetry that a small fish can go against the big waves, whereas a big elephant is washed away. This is practical. Bahiya jāya(?) gajarāja. Gajarāja means, gaja means elephant. In big waves, if you put an elephant, he'll be washed away. But a small fish, he'll go against the waves. He's expert. This example is given that the fish, although he's very small, he's off the water. He's under the water. Therefore he's so powerful.

Room Conversation -- June 8, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: The dream was that Kṛṣṇa in His many forms was bowing the row. What is called?

Hari-śauri: Rowing the boat.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Trivikrama: Jaya.

Prabhupāda: And when I arrived in Boston I wrote that poetry.

Morning Walk -- June 11, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param.... (japa) (break) ...philosophy is very, very difficult, undoubtedly. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Therefore I wrote that poetry, that "How they'll understand?"

Morning Walk -- June 11, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: I thought, "Two months is a very long duration, because I'll not be able to do anything. As soon as I will put my program, they will be: 'Go away, please.' " I was under this impression. "Let me try." That is the subject matter of the poetry, that "I have no hope. Who will accept this, especially in this country, so much engrossed in materialistic way of life? And I shall say, 'Give up everything.' Who will take it?"

Interview with Professors O'Connell, Motilal and Shivaram -- June 18, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: No. I was not very much hopeful. That I wrote one poetry, that "Kṛṣṇa, why You have brought me in this country? What can I do? How I shall convince them how they will understand the philosophy? So, but because You have brought me here, must be there is some purpose. So all right. You make me dance as You like." That poetry, I (wrote) in Boston, Commonwealth Pier, on the sea. I came by ship. So I wrote that poetry, that I do not know what for I have come here, why Kṛṣṇa has brought me here.

Garden Discussion on Bhagavad-gita Sixteenth Chapter -- June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: When you go to preach you must know that "I've come to preach among cats and dogs, and I have to deal with them carefully; otherwise, they will bark." (laughter) Therefore I wrote that poetry in disappointment before entering in your country, that "What they will understand, this philosophy?" Hmm, go on.

Conversation with Prof. Saligram and Dr. Sukla -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Dr. Sukla: Is there any plan of bringing those things out, publishing them, his poems and translations?

Prabhupāda: It is not for ordinary. Cāṇḍīdāsa, Vidyāpati. Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to discuss Jayadeva's books, Vidyāpati's books, very confidentially amongst a few devotees. Not publicly.

Conversation with Prof. Saligram and Dr. Sukla -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Art?

Indian man: Yes, like painting, or music, or literature, poetry, like that. Because the problem is that they, if one devotes oneself to these things, they are full-time things, they take all your energy and time. And so...

Prabhupāda: Devotion means to engage your energy and time for Kṛṣṇa. Anyway you do that, that is utilized. Sarvopādhi-vinir... tat-paratvena. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa sevanam (CC Madhya 19.170). So if you can serve Kṛṣṇa by your hand, by painting about Kṛṣṇa, that is service. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, if you hear the chanting, that is also service.

Room Conversation -- July 19, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: According to a spokesperson, Ratha-yātrā is a time when people come to dance, sing and feast amidst a sublime atmosphere of bright flags, festoons, banners, garlands, flowers and incense, simply to feel the poetry and blissful nature of life.' "

Prabhupāda: Very good, this is blissful nature.

Room Conversation -- July 26, 1976, London:

Pṛthu-putra: Anyone who is interested in the life of India can find the authentic teaching, spiritual teaching authorized, and can also have access to one of the most beautiful religious poem from the Hindu tradition." This is the.... It's wonderful.

Prabhupāda: Yes, very good.

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: There was a big emperor, Samrat(?), Kulaśekhara, emperor Kulaśekhara, he was a great devotee. So he wrote some poetry. Formerly, kings were so advanced, rajarṣi. They are king, at the same time, saintly persons. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2)—this science of Bhagavad-gītā was learned by the rājarṣis. People were happy therefore. The head, or the executive, they were all saintly persons. So this Kulasekhara, he writes in the beginning of his poetry, "Kṛṣṇa, O Kṛṣṇa..." Kṛṣṇa tvādīya-pada-paṅkaja-pañjarāntam. The paṅkaja means lotus flower. So Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet is just like lotus flower. The lotus flower has stem down, and the swans, they take pleasure to go down the water and entangled by the stem.

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: Prāṇa-prayāṇa-samaye kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ kaṇṭhāvarodha, "At that time I shall not be able to speak. I'll 'ahn, ahn,' but that's all. So I may not be able to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Better I am now in good health, so let my mind be entangled in the stem of Your lotus feet." Very nice poetry.

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

George Harrison: It's nice, but I think we all...

Prabhupāda: Anyway, you go on chanting. That will influence. There is a poetry written by, I think in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Rupa Gosvāmī is wondering, "I do not know what sweetness there is in these two words, Kṛṣ-ṇa."

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: That is very nice poetry. Read it gain. Tuṇḍe tāṇḍavinī...

Jayatīrtha: The English? I don't chant very well. Harikeśa Mahārāja.

Prabhupāda: Yes, you first of all recite. Very nice.

Room Conversation -- July 31, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Jyotirmāyī: I also thought of a way to help the children remember the Kṛṣṇa book stories easier. It was... You started that long time ago with Madhupuri, you asked her to make the Kṛṣṇa book into a poem. That was a long time ago in New York, then she didn't do it...

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa book is not difficult to be understood by...

Jyotirmāyī: I was thinking if we make into poem and put music and they sing it, then they can remember...

Prabhupāda: That you can do, to make it understandable easily. It is already easy. If you want to make more easy, then do that.

Room Conversation -- August 8, 1976, Tehran:

Dayānanda: There is an old poem, an old epic poem that we were told about that states that many thousands of years ago the Iranians were all vegetarian.

Prabhupāda: It is Āryan culture. Iranian means Āryan. It is a apabhraṁśa of Ārya, Iraya.(?) And they are called Parsis. Parsis still, those who fled away from this place, they are just like Hindus. They have got sacred thread. In India.

Room Conversation -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: You cannot expect favorable situation. It is not possible. When I came in America, I never expected any favorable situation. I wrote that poetry in disappointment, that "Who will accept this?" That is the position. By Kṛṣṇa's grace, gradually it will become a favorable situation, but don't expect any favorable situation. You have to handle unfavorable situation and make favorable situation to preach. That is preaching.

Room Conversation -- August 21, 1976, Hyderabad:

Gargamuni: This Gītā Press, they have these little books selling for one rupee, and they've sold lakhs. If we can put Gītār Gān into many languages, it will be bigger than this Gītā Press.

Prabhupāda: So you can... It is poetry.

Jayapatākā: That's the difference, that Prabhupāda put it in poetry. Who has got that inspiration?

Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Jagadīśa: Translation: "Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Now, suppose you are a well known philosopher. If you say, "There is God," so many people will hear: "Oh, here is a big philosopher." Therefore your studies of philosophy will be perfect when you establish, "Yes, there is God." Otherwise it is useless because you will waste your time and you'll waste... Already they are Godless.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: We have to maintain that spirit. Anaye yei kare prabhu anaye yei sahe.(?) The Rabindranath Tagore's one poetry: "One who does wrong and suffers wrong, he is wrong." One should not do anything wrong; one should not suffer anything wrong. That is human.

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: And if I surrender to Kṛṣṇa, where is the question of distress? Sukha se saba hari bhaje duḥkha se haje. This is one Hindi poetry, that "When one is in distressed condition, he goes to God: 'Please save me. Give me this mercy.' " So duḥka se means: "In distressed condition he becomes a devotee."

Room Conversation with Sannyasis -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Satsvarūpa: "The Bhagavad-gītā, the Song of the Exalted God, is a very ancient philosophical, didactic poem on bhakti... (break)

Prabhupāda: Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2).

Room Conversation with Film Producer about Krsna Lila -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Jayadeva's, that poetry, that Kṛṣṇa is begging pardon from Rādhārāṇī, that is also very confidential. Dehi pada-pallava...

Room Conversation Meeting with Dr. Sharma (from Russia) -- April 17, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: If you say without father they have come, that is foolishness, madness. Immediately, he's mad. So you cannot deny the existence. If you deny, then you are mad. That is the sign of insanity. They require treatment. That is explained in one Bengali poetry.

piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya

māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya

Conversation with Surendra Kumar and O.B.L. Kapoor -- June 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Surendra Kumar: Prabhupāda, this man, this literature he understands. He himself composes poetry in Urdu as well as in Hindi. And he likes that our Indian culture and our heritage must be spread all over.

Prabhupāda: So here is the opportunity. Come and join together.

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to Govinda Maharaja -- New Delhi 16 September, 1955:

Your poem on Vasita is also good. All these show that you have good tact and may God help you more and more. Sripada Sridhara Maharaja's article on Gaudiya Darsana is philosophical and if he so desires I can get it translated into English by myself and get it published in the Sri Sajjanatoshani Patrika.

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Kirtanananda -- San Francisco 7 April, 1967:

I have given a note of direction to Hayagriva for writing a Drama on Lord Caitanya and if he can deliver us a nice Drama for staging in your different parts of the State it will be a great stride for our mission and I hope it will help us financially a great deal. Just you encourage Hayagriva to write this Drama very nicely in Poetry so that they can be sung in western tone all over America and Europe and staged everywhere to cover our expenses.

Letter to Kirtanananda -- New York 5 May, 1967:

This time they have made a very nice cover of Back To Godhead and the articles and poetry are very nice. I think they will dispatch to you, and you will enjoy them. Think over how to popularize our sankirtana. If we can popularize our publication then it will be very nice propaganda.

Letter to Krsna Devi -- Delhi 8 October, 1967:

The poetry composed by the old lady Joan Hightower. This poetry indicates that there are many people in your country who really appreciate India's original spiritual culture. I am rather proud to say that the movement of Krishna Consciousness which I have started in your country will fulfill the desires of many sincere citizens of your country who are actually anxious to have a bon-a-fide spiritual guidance from India.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Jaya Mazo -- Los Angeles 18 January, 1968:

In your Poetry, last line, I have changed the word "beautiful transforming Being" into "beautiful eternal Being." Krishna does not transform, but He has millions and billions of expansions which are all eternally existing simultaneously

Letter to Madhusudana -- Los Angeles 1 February, 1968:

It isn't whimsical. English poetry has one line one inch long, next line 600 inches long. Sanskrit is not like that. There are strict principles, and it is so beautiful. Therefore in Sanskrit language not an ordinary man can become a poet. No other language of the world can be compared with it. No other language of the world is so perfect as Sanskrit.

Letter to Mukunda -- Montreal 17 July, 1968:

I think Krishna is dictating us to adopt this method for propagating the Sankirtana movement all over the different cities, towns and villages on the surface of the globe, because that was the prediction of Lord Caitanya. The exact words in Bengali poetry are as follows: "Prithi vite acche yata nagaradi gram. Sarvatra pracara haibe more nama."

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Montreal 19 August, 1968:

But if somebody tries to water the desert of our heart with such seemingly water, namely, the association which was aspired by Mr. Alexander Shellkirk, I think you have this poetry, an English poetry which we read in our childhood in India, that one Mr. Alexander Shellkirk, he is lamenting, he was thrown in isolated island, that society, friendship and love, divinely bestowed upon man.

Letter to Rupanuga -- Montreal 30 August, 1968:

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura has sung in a poetry that my mind, my body, and my home is surrendered unto You. So a Grhastha or householder like you, you are also tridandi. Because you have sacrificed everything, your life, your home, and your child, so you are a tridandi sannyasi, in fact. So continue this attitude seriously and sincerely, so you will be also as good as a sannyasi even though you are in the dress of a Grhastha.

Letter to Hayagriva -- Seattle 22 September, 1968:

Your poetry is nice, and I am keeping it with me for future publication in Back To Godhead. I shall send it to Rayarama in my next mail to him.

Letter to Syama -- Seattle 21 October, 1968:

Regarding Karnapura's poetry, it is not available now. There is a book of Karnapura, and that is written in Bengali type, partly Sanskrit. When opportunity prevails, we may translate it into English then we shall get the poetry; for the time being there is no possibility of getting the poetry of Karnapura.

Letter to Joy Fulcher -- Los Angeles 21 November, 1968:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your nice letter with some poems, as well as a nice picture of Radha and Krishna, by separate mail.

Letter to Joy Fulcher -- Los Angeles 21 November, 1968:

All devotees are more or less poets. Out of 26 qualifications of a perfect devotee, one is poetic sense. So we can write so many poetries in praise of the Lord, or about His pastimes.

Letter to Uddhava -- Los Angeles 19 December, 1968:

NB: Please convey my thanks to Patita Uddharana for his nice letter. I will be looking forward to seeing the epic poem which he promised to be sending me soon.

P.S. I have asked Hayagriva to invest some money in purchasing press and he has almost agreed. Apart from labor and other cost you can give me an estimate of price of the materials required.

Letter to Unknown -- Los Angeles 31 December, 1968:

Have seen your poetry and it is very nice. Try to write more and to have it published. If you like, I can send you more topics to write poetries about and to versify into the German language. Try to translate articles for a German edition of Back To Godhead, which you can arrange to be printed in Hamburg, as they are printing a French edition from our Montreal center.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Gargamuni -- Los Angeles 11 January, 1969:

Please convey my appreciation to Patita Uddharana for his nice letter of January 1, 1969, and for his poem which he has sent to me via Rayarama. I have very much appreciated his poetic skills which he has shown in writing this poem, and thus I have requested Rayarama to print it in Back To Godhead as soon as possible. Encourage Patita Uddharana to compose more of such poetries. He is a good boy, and I am pleased that he is doing so nicely.

Letter to Krsna dasa -- Los Angeles 13 February, 1969:

There is a verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam that a book or poetry in which the Holy Name of Krishna is depicted, such language is revolutionary in the matter of purifying the material atmosphere. Even though such literature is presented in broken language or grammatical inconsistency or rhetorical irregularity, still, those who are saintly persons adore such literature.

Letter to Janardana -- Los Angeles 2 March, 1969:

In the meantime you can let me know if you have got the manuscript from Rayarama, and reply to this letter to the Hawaii address: ISKCON, 4 Leilani Building, 1649 Kapialani Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii. Enclosed is a page of poems by Bhaktivinode Thakura to be translated into French and printed in your magazine. I hope this will meet you in good health.

Letter to Isana, Vibhavati -- Hawaii 8 March, 1969:

Your poetry is very nice, and I am sending the copy to our editor of Back To Godhead for publishing it conveniently.

Herewith please find your chanted beads and be happy by the Grace of Krishna. Please convey my blessings to all there, and I hope you are all well.

Letter to Nandakisora -- Hawaii 18 March, 1969:

. I thank you very much for your very nice poetry; I am reading it again and again and I shall most probably arrange to publish it in BTG. The devotees here also have very much appreciated it, and I may encourage to do more writing of poetry and even articles for our BTG magazine. I hope you are all well and happy there, and please convey my blessings to all your God-brothers and sisters there.

Letter to Rayarama -- Hawaii 20 March, 1969:

On the other side you will find a poetry composed by me in 1935 on the occasion of my Spiritual Masters birthday. This poetry was found in the India House Library at London by Gurudasa. I was searching after it and my master has rewarded me of this after so long a time (34 years). Please publish it in BTG.

Letter to Ananda -- Columbus, Ohio 14 May, 1969:

Enclosed is a few nice poems by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura which you may hand over to Mandali Bhadra for translation into German and to be submitted for publication in German Back To Godhead.

Letter to Vrndavanesvari -- New Vrindaban 25 May, 1969:

Actually there is great difference between India and America, especially in the matter of living standards, social customs and cultural atmosphere. When I landed in Boston, I wrote one Bengali poetry to Krishna that I do not know why You have brought me to such a distant place where everything is opposite number, and how will I be able to convince them about this Krishna Consciousness Movement? But by the Grace of Krishna there was no difficulty.

Letter to Gopala Krsna -- New Vrindaban 5 June, 1969:

The government is interested to send anyone for dancing or recitation of poetry, but when the government is requested for giving some facilities for preaching Krishna consciousness, they will not encourage. On the other hand they encourage publications in which Krishna is depicted as black and low-born. This is the position of our government.

Letter to Yoland -- Los Angeles 30 July, 1969:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 26 July, 1969 and your nice poems, and I have read everything carefully. The poems will be submitted to Hayagriva, the editor of Back To Godhead, for his consideration for publication. I am very pleased to learn that you are now living at the Montreal temple, and this association with devotees of Lord Krishna will help you to advance further in Krishna Consciousness.

Letter to Lilavati -- Los Angeles 31 July, 1969:

For starting new centers and for suggestions in this connection you should write to Tamala Krishna because this department will be entrusted to him in the matter of supplying men, etc. I have also very much appreciated your poem at the end of your letter. It is very nice, and I will have it submitted to Hayagriva for consideration of publication in BTG.

Letter to Madhudvisa -- Hamburg 7 September, 1969:

Also I very much appreciated the poem that you have written for Vyasa Puja Ceremony, and because it was too late for being published in the Vyasa Puja booklet, I have handed it over to Hayagriva for publication in BTG. This poem was especially nice and I thank you for it. I am always encouraged to learn of your activities in the San Francisco temple, and I think that by the Grace of Caitanya Mahaprabhu you shall do very great service to His Sankirtana Movement.

Letter to Jagadisa -- Hamburg 7 September, 1969:

I also take the opportunity now to thank you for the nice poem you submitted and which was printed in the Vyasa Puja booklet. I am pleased to learn that you have gone with your wife, Laksmimoni, to Detroit, and you are now working conjointly with Bhagavan das and Krishna Bhamini.

Letter to Yasodanandana -- Tittenhurst 15 September, 1969:

I have also read the poems that you have sent to me, and they are nice. I am pleased to learn that your parents are willing to make a weekly contribution to Krishna Consciousness, and your mother can make bead bags and shirts for the devotees. This is very nice engagement for your parents, and you should en

Letter to Bali Mardan -- Tittenhurst Park, Tittenhurst House Ascot, Berkshire, England October 4th, 1969:

I am in due receipt of your nice poetry. These words are very appropriate for my Guru Maharaj. Your sentiments and nice words are worthy to be offered to my Guru Maharaj. I am quite unfit for such words. Whatever I am doing, it is due to the work of my Guru Maharaj. Actually, He is the power behind me, and I am only instrument. But anyway, I very much appreciate your understanding of the Krishna Conscious Movement, and I wish to publish this poetry in Back To Godhead.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Tittenhurst 27 October, 1969:

The poem sent by Acyutananda is nice. It is enclosed herewith and you may publish it in BTG. Acyutananda should be encouraged to do this translating work. He is translating poems of Bhaktivinode Thakura, and that is very nice.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Bhagavan -- Los Angeles 10 January, 1970:

Please offer my blessings to your good wife, Laksmimoni, and Jagadisa Candra who has written nice poetry which I am sending to the editors of Back to Godhead.

Letter to Hanuman Prasad Poddar -- Los Angeles 5 February, 1970:

I knew that Western people are too much addicted to so many forbidden things according to our Vedic conception of life. So out of sentiment I wrote a long poetry addressing Lord Krishna as to what was His purpose in bringing me to this country.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 16 March, 1970:

P.S. I am enclosing a note for Pradyumna herewith, please find, and also a poem to be published in BTG. Your tapes have daily been received.

Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 19 March, 1970:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 12 March, 1970, along with a poem "All glories to Sri Gurudeva . . ." etc. This poem and your many other writings give me the impression that you are naturally thoughtful and philosophical, and thus I am very much hopeful that in future you can give to the world many nice things presented to the understanding of the thoughtful men in this age.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 28 April, 1970:

Yes, publish the Bengali poem which I am sending herewith. Get it transliterated by Pradyumna. The meaning is as follows:

My Dear Lord Krsna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me. 1

Letter to Yogesvara -- Los Angeles 19 July, 1970:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 13rd July, 1970, along with one poem which I have read and sent on to the editors of BTG. Some time back you sent another poetry which I have also sent to the editors; These poetics are nice, but now if you would write some articles for our BTG that will be even better. Now you have got some good understanding of our Krsna consciousness so you write it for publication.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Tokyo 18 August, 1970:

Please accept my blessings. Herewith please find four pages of poems written by Tirthapada dasa Brahmacari who is working at Sydney very diligently. If our Vyasa Puja pamphlet is not yet finished, you may add them there or conveniently they may be published in BTG. He is a good worker in Sydney; he should be encouraged.

Letter to Upendra -- Tokyo 18 August, 1970:

Tirthapada is your very sincere devotee and combined with him the activities there will be very much exemplary. I have sent the poetry written by Tirthapada to Satsvarupa for publication in BTG.

Letter to Jayapataka -- Tokyo 26 August, 1970:

Please accept my blessings. I thank you for your Vyasa Pujah Homage Telegram reading as follows received yesterday morning!

"(Vyasa puja Poetry) to save the world

And serve the Lord He left His home

And His children too

Two children lost some thousands gained,

Krishna's mercy received in

Party splint a stumbling block

With world God-Consciousness

The aim His Divine Grace bridges

The gap to bless the world with Gauraprema,

Jayapataka's life is not his own

It's Prabhupada's to do with as His own"

I feel very much obliged to you for your nice understanding about my mission.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Calcutta 26 May, 1971:

Regarding the proposed book "Method of Worship", I have not had time to prepare it here. So when I return to U.S.A. and again begin to write my books, my first business will be this. Enclosed please find some poetry by some of the devotees here. If you think that they are suitable for publication, then you may do so.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Bombay 12 June, 1971:

So far as publishing songs in BTG, I have translated two or three songs of Narottama Dasa Thakura only but if you like, I can send you more songs and ideas. I have sent some poems by our disciples here along the line of Narottama Dasa Thakura's songs. Do you like them enough to publish?

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Moscow 21 June, 1971:

It is very nice if we can get other magazines than BTG to print articles about our society, so try for it. Also, for BTG, I am enclosing one poem by Dravida for publishing. And so far the annual GBC meeting is concerned, it is my wish that this meeting be held in Mayapur on Vyasa Puja Day.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 3 July, 1971:

Also please find a poem presented to me in Bombay by one French boy, Darsha. If you like, you can publish it in Back to Godhead.

Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Brooklyn 27 July, 1971:

Enclosed herewith, some poems and articles for publication in BTG upon your approval. So far my writing is concerned, yes I want to settle down somewhere and write my books. That is my aim. So most probably it will be done by Krishna's grace.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- London 4 August, 1971:

I have sent you tape no. 13 along with some poetry by separate post. I hope that you have received the package by now.

Please offer my blessings to the other boys and girls there. Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- London 14 August, 1971:

Please accept my blessings. Enclosed please find tape no. 14; S.B. 4th canto, 11th chapter continued. This is the third tape sent from London. Also please find one poetry enclosed for publication.

I have just now received your presentation of slippers as an offering for Vyasa puja day. They are certainly very attractive. Thank you very much for them and offer my thanks and blessings to all the nice boys and girls there in Boston.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- London 22 August, 1971:

P.S. Enclosed please find poetry for possible publication. I don't think there is need of immediate meeting of all GBC members at N.Y.

Letter to Patita Uddharana -- Delhi 15 November, 1971:

Please continue in your writing of songs and poems for Krishna, because singing Krishna's praises is the highest type of spiritual activity and will give Him great enjoyment. I would be pleased if you can send me a tape of some of your compositions.

Letter to Upendra -- Delhi 8 December, 1971:

No poetry, no science, no philosophy, no religion, no culture, no knowledge we have today can be said to be superior to that we find 5,000 years or more ago in India. So where is the question of advancement of civilization?

Letter to Sri Galim -- Bombay 17 December, 1971:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 4, 1971, along with the several pages of poetry from all the nice devotees at Austin temple. I thank you all very much for your kind sentiments.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Jayapataka -- Bombay 5 January, 1972:

Please take quotation for the printing of a Bengali book—page 5" x 3 1/2", with very nice paper and softbound, about 100 pages long. When I receive the quotation I will send you a Bengali poem that I have written on the Bhagavad-gita called "Gitargan."

Letter to Kulasekhara -- Bombay 10 January, 1972:

Your songs and poems are very much liked by me. Syamasundara. informs me your proposal for travelling party for roving all over England and Wales, just like Kirtanananda is doing in America. I think this is a good proposal, and you may compose many such nice songs for attracting the young people from villages and towns.

Letter to Mangalamaya, Madhupuri -- Calcutta 20 February, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 30, 1972, along with the very nice poem entitled "Birth of Lord Krsna." I am very pleased to hear that you are feeling yourselves very much satisfied in Krsna Consciousness.

Letter to Billy Reyburne -- Vrindaban 12 March, 1972:

Unless someone comes in the category of these great leading Vaisnava personalities, his manufacturing some songs will be misleading to himself and to others. And unless his writing of poems and songs can be accepted as gospel, as Vedas or the Absolute Truth, such writing is diverting the attention from the subject matter only and should not be regarded very seriously.

Letter to Billy Reyburne -- Vrindaban 12 March, 1972:

If you are writing poems and songs, that's alright, you can do it also, but if you can write articles for our Back to Godhead magazine, that is better, that is solid preaching work. No one should write songs of Krishna unless he is self-realized soul, that will spoil the value of the whole thing.

Letter to Koumadaki -- Australia March 27, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter, undated, and I have noted the contents. Thank you very much for the nice poems you have written. They are very well done, and you can submit them to Iskcon Press for publication in Back to Godhead. I am glad to hear that you and your husband are happy in your work for Iskcon Press.

Letter to Sankarasana -- Bombay 18 December, 1972:

But you can utilize your propensity to write poems and articles for BTG, for singing in the kirtana, like that. That will make you very happy. Now you just apply yourself for becoming qualified to see Krishna face-to-face, then you will be able to actually write songs about Krishna.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Aggarwal -- Calcutta 7 March, 1973:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated Feb. 25, and I have examined the contents carefully. Thanks very much for the poem.

I am very pleased to hear that you are regularly visiting our Washington Temple, and seeing our Damodara Prabhu and the others.

Actually one can be perfectly Krishna-Conscious without being literate. Education is not necessary. Simply it is required to accept the fact, that we are the eternal servants of Krishna, and engage in some tangible service.

Letter to Patita Uddharana -- Bombay 14 October, 1973:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 9, 1973 and have noted the contents. Yes, regarding your poems, I shall like to see what you have written. The encyclopedia is too great a task. Do not attempt it.

Letter to Karnamrta -- Los Angeles 3 December, 1973:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 30, 1973 along with the Vaisnava poem.

Your humble attitude is very much appreciated by me. Always chant Hare Krsna and as far as possible help me push on this movement by preaching this philosophy and distributing our books.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Yogamaya -- Tehran 14 March, 1975:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your short note (dated nil) and poem. The poem is very nice. You are understanding the philosophy nicely. Keep yourself strongly fixed in Krishna Consciousness by following all of the rules and regulations. Rise early, attend mangala arati, and class. Chant 16 rounds daily without fail and observe the four regulative principle. In this way, you can realize Krishna in every step of life.

Letter to Vahna -- Honolulu 26 May, 1975:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 12, 1975 and have read the Cintamani poetry book. It is indirect, impersonal and useless. Who will read these things? Krishna's name is only mentioned in two poems in the whole book. What is this? There are so many poems written by great acaryas. Why do you try to concoct something like this? It is not in our line. How is that our Kirtanananda Swami is there and he has approved printing this? It is a waste of time, paper, money, ink, and labor. There is so much work to do for spreading this Krishna Consciousness. Who will become attracted by such things as this. You should all spend more time reading my books very carefully and stop all this unnecessary manufacturing.

Letter to Ameyatma -- Philadelphia 12 July, 1975:

As far as your writing additional poetry is concerned, do not spend very much time in this way. It is not very important. There are already so many prayers written by great acaryas. What will you add to this? However if you have got some spare time and the inclination, you can read the chapters of Krsna Book and put them into verse.

Letter to Bhumata -- Bombay 21 November, 1975:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated October 13, 1975 and also your poem enclosed and have noted the contents. I am very glad to note your enthusiasm for spreading Krsna consciousness and that you want to increase your propaganda work. This is the main thing—to always be anxious how to spread the glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission. I note that you have got this dedication and I am very pleased.

Letter to Ramesvara Prabhu -- Vrindaban 3 December, 1975:

My Guru Maharaja very much liked my writing and he used to show others in my absence "Just see how nicely he has written, how he has appreciated." He encouraged me, and my Godbrothers, they also like my writing. After I wrote that poem for Vyasa Puja of my Guru Maharaja they used to call me Poet.

Letter to Hrdayananda -- Bombay 22 December, 1975:

Please accept my blessings. Thank you for your letter dated November 29th 1975. The poem is very nice, however one should not think himself a devotee, poem 3. should read

"Your servant's calling so sadly,"

"Your servant's falling so badly,"

"A servant's trapped in the city."

one cannot call himself a devotee, but servant he can call himself always.*

Your bus program sounds nice, it is approved my me.

I hope this letter meets you well.

Your ever well wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

*Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented Himself as "Patitam kimkarana mam visamey charambudhva". Kimkaram means servant.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Radhavallabha -- Mayapur 3 February, 1976:

You can add to the Songbook the poem I wrote before arriving at the Boston Port when I first came to America. This can be printed at the beginning of the books.

Letter to Odette -- Paris 29 July, 1976:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your poem offering and I want to thank you very much for it. I have appreciated the sentiments expressed within and I hope that you will continue to advance more and more in your Krsna consciousness.

Letter to Damodara Pandita -- Bombay 30 December, 1976:

Take books as much as you like and with the local man's help immediately open a center and try to stay there as long as possible. In your absence the local man may manage. Train him in that way.

Thank you for your nice poem. Hoping this will meet you in good health.