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Renowned

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 7.15, Purport:

Śrī Yāmunācārya Albandaru of South India said, "O my Lord! You are unknowable to persons involved with atheistic principles, despite Your uncommon qualities, features and activities, despite Your personality's being confirmed by all the revealed scriptures in the quality of goodness, and despite Your being acknowledged by the famous authorities renowned for their depth of knowledge in the transcendental science and situated in the godly qualities."

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

Many devotees of Lord Caitanya like Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Śrī Kavikarṇapūra, Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and in this latter age within two hundred years, Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī, Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana, Śrī Śyāmānanda Gosvāmī, Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and at last Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura (our spiritual master) and many other great and renowned scholars and devotees of the Lord have prepared voluminous books and literatures on the life and precepts of the Lord.

SB Introduction:

Then the Bhaṭṭācārya desired to listen to the explanation of this śloka. The Lord first of all asked Bhaṭṭācārya to explain it, and after that He would explain it. The Bhaṭṭācārya then explained the śloka in a scholarly way with special reference to logic. He explained the śloka in nine different ways chiefly based on logic because he was the most renowned scholar of logic of the time.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.8.25, Purport:

Contemporary to Vyāsadeva or even prior to him there were many other great sages, such as Gautama, Kaṇāda, Jaimini, Kapila and Aṣṭāvakra, and all of them have presented a philosophical path by themselves. Patañjali is also one of them, and all these six great ṛṣis have their own way of thinking, exactly like the modern philosophers and mental speculators. The difference between the six philosophical paths put forward by the renowned sages above mentioned and that of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, as presented in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is that all the six sages mentioned above speak the facts according to their own thinking, but Śukadeva Gosvāmī presents the knowledge which comes down directly from Brahmājī, who is known as ātma-bhūḥ, or born of and educated by the Almighty Personality of Godhead.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.24.26, Purport:

This is also confirmed in the prayers of Prahlāda Mahārāja: in Kali-yuga He does not directly appear, but He appears as a devotee. Viṣṇu, therefore, is known as tri-yuga. Another explanation of tri-yuga is that He has three pairs of divine attributes, namely power and affluence, piety and renown, and wisdom and dispassion. According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, His three pairs of opulences are complete riches and complete strength, complete fame and complete beauty, and complete wisdom and complete renunciation. There are different interpretations of tri-yuga, but it is accepted by all learned scholars that tri-yuga means Viṣṇu. When Kardama Muni understood that his son, Kapila, was Viṣṇu Himself, he wanted to offer his obeisances. Therefore, when Kapila was alone he offered his respects and expressed his mind as follows.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.22.32, Purport:

sIt is to be understood that Pārvatī is the daughter of the king of the very, very old mountainous country known as the Maṇipura state. Five thousand years ago, therefore, when the Pāṇḍavas ruled, Maṇipura existed, as did its king. Therefore this kingdom is a very old, aristocratic Vaiṣṇava kingdom. If this kingdom is organized as a Vaiṣṇava state, this revitalization will be a great success because for five thousand years this state has maintained its identity. If the Vaiṣṇava spirit is revived there, it will be a wonderful place, renowned throughout the entire world. Maṇipuri Vaiṣṇavas are very famous in Vaiṣṇava society. In Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa there are many temples constructed by the king of Maṇipura. Some of our devotees belong to the Maṇipura state. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, therefore, can be well spread in the state of Maṇipura by the cooperative efforts of the Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.35.16-17, Translation:

As Kṛṣṇa strolls through Vraja with His lotus-petal-like feet, marking the ground with the distinctive emblems of flag, thunderbolt, lotus and elephant goad, He relieves the distress the ground feels from the cows' hooves. As He plays His renowned flute, His body moves with the grace of an elephant. Thus we gopīs, who become agitated by Cupid when Kṛṣṇa playfully glances at us, stand as still as trees, unaware that our hair and garments are slackening.

SB 10.55.7-8, Translation:

Māyāvatī was in fact Cupid's renowned wife, Rati. While waiting for her husband to obtain a new body—his previous one having been burnt up—she had been assigned by Śambara to prepare vegetables and rice. Māyāvatī understood that this infant was actually Kāmadeva, and thus she began to feel love for Him.

SB 10.70.21, Translation:

Some brāhmaṇas sitting in that assembly hall would fluently chant Vedic mantras, while others recounted stories of past kings of pious renown.

SB 10.71.30, Translation:

Thus surrounded by His well-wishing relatives and praised on all sides, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the crest jewel of the justly renowned, entered the decorated city.

SB 10.84.28, Translation:

Seeing that they were about to leave, the renowned Vasudeva approached the sages. After bowing down to them and touching their feet, he spoke to them with carefully chosen words.

SB 10.90.32, Translation:

Among these sons, all possessing unlimited valor, eighteen were mahā-rathas of great renown. Now hear their names from me.

SB 12.9.6, Translation:

O lotus-eyed Lord, O crest jewel of renowned personalities, although I am satisfied simply by seeing You, I do wish to see Your illusory potency, by whose influence the entire world, together with its ruling demigods, considers reality to be materially variegated.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Foreword:

The Madhya-līlā, the longest of the three divisions, narrates in detail Lord Caitanya's extensive and eventful travels throughout India as a renounced mendicant, teacher, philosopher, spiritual preceptor, and mystic. During this period of six years, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu transmits His teachings to His principal disciples. He debates and converts many of the renowned philosophers and theologians of His time, including Śaṅkarites, Buddhists, and Muslims, and incorporates their many thousands of followers and disciples into His own burgeoning numbers. The author also includes in this section a dramatic account of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's miraculous activities at the giant Ratha-yātrā (Car Festival) in Jagannātha Purī, Orissa.

The Antya-līlā concerns the last eighteen years of Śrī Caitanya's presence, spent in semiseclusion near the famous Jagannātha temple in Purī. During these final years, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya drifted deeper and deeper into trances of spiritual ecstasy unparalleled in all of religious and literary history, Eastern or Western.

CC Foreword:

The author of this great classic, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, born around the beginning of the sixteenth century, was a disciple of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, a confidential follower of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's. Raghunātha dāsa, a renowned ascetic saint, heard and memorized all the activities of Caitanya Mahāprabhu told to him by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. After the passing away of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Svarūpa Dāmodara, Raghunātha dāsa, unable to bear the pain of separation from these objects of his complete devotion, traveled to Vṛndāvana, intending to commit suicide by jumping from Govardhana Hill. In Vṛndāvana, however, he encountered Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, two of the most confidential disciples of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 13.61, Purport:

Eight miles east of this railway station, Ekacakrā village is still situated. Ekacakrā village extends north and south for an area of about eight miles. Other villages, namely Vīracandra-pura and Vīrabhadra-pura, are situated within the area of the village of Ekacakrā. In honor of the holy name of Vīrabhadra Gosvāmī, these places are renowned as Vīracandra-pura and Vīrabhadra-pura.

In the Bengali year 1331 (A.D. 1924) a thunderbolt struck the temple of Ekacakrā-grāma. Therefore the temple is now in a broken state. Before this, there were no such accidents in that quarter. Within the temple there is a Deity of Śrī Kṛṣṇa established by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The name of the Deity is Baṅkima Rāya or Bāṅkā Rāya.

On Baṅkima Rāya's right side is a deity of Jāhnavā, and on His left side is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The priests of the temple describe that Lord Nityānanda Prabhu entered within the body of Baṅkima Rāya and that the deity of Jāhnavā-mātā was therefore later placed on the right side of Baṅkima Rāya.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 17.185, Purport:

The ambition of such people is never fulfilled; therefore they are attracted by the external energy. Although mental speculators may be renowned all over the world as great authorities, actually they are not. Such leaders are themselves conservative and not at all liberal. However, if we preach this philosophy, people will consider Vaiṣṇavas very sectarian. Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī was a real mahājana, but misguided people cannot distinguish the real from the unreal. But a person who is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness can understand the real religious path chalked out by the Lord and His pure devotees. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was a real mahājana because he understood the Absolute Truth properly and throughout his life behaved like a pure devotee. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu approved the method of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. Therefore, although from the material viewpoint the Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇa was on a lower platform, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu considered him situated on the highest platform of spiritual realization.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 6.11, Translation:

To describe the fortunate position of Rāmānanda Rāya and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī is extremely difficult. They were renowned as intimately confidential friends of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

His father, Jagannātha Miśra, a poor brāhmaṇa of the Vedic order, and His mother, Śacī-devī, a model good woman, both descended from brāhmaṇa stock originally residing in Sylhet. Mahāprabhu was a beautiful child, and the ladies of the town came to see Him with presents. His mother's father, Paṇḍita Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, a renowned astrologer, foretold that the child would be a great personage in time; and he therefore gave Him the name Viśvambhara. The ladies of the neighborhood styled Him Gaurahari on account of His golden complexion, and His mother called Him Nimāi on account of the nimba tree near which He was born. Beautiful as the lad was, everyone heartily loved to see Him every day. As He grew up He became a whimsical and frolicsome lad. After His fifth year, He was admitted into a school, where He picked up Bengali in a very short time.

Most of His contemporary biographers have mentioned certain anecdotes regarding Caitanya which are simple records of His early miracles.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

It was at the age of fourteen or fifteen that Mahāprabhu was married to Lakṣmīdevī, the daughter of Vallabhācārya, also of Nadia. He was at this age considered one of the best scholars of Nadia, the renowned seat of nyāya philosophy and Sanskrit learning. Not to speak of the smārta paṇḍitas, the Naiyāyikas were all afraid of confronting Him in literary discussions. Being a married man, He went to Eastern Bengal on the banks of the Padma for acquirement of wealth. There He displayed His learning and obtained a good sum of money.

It was at this time that He preached Vaiṣṇavism at intervals. After teaching Tapana Miśra the principles of Vaiṣṇavism, He ordered him to go to Benares and live there. During His residence in East Bengal, His wife Lakṣmīdevī left this world from the effects of snakebite. On returning home, He found His mother in a mourning state. He consoled her with a lecture on the uncertainty of human affairs.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

On returning home, He found His mother in a mourning state. He consoled her with a lecture on the uncertainty of human affairs. It was at His mother's request that He married Viṣṇupriyā, the daughter of Rāja Paṇḍita Sanātana Miśra. His comrades joined Him on His return from pravāsa, or sojourn.

He was now so renowned that He was considered to be the best paṇḍita in Nadia. Keśava Miśra of Kashmir, who had called himself the Great Digvijayī (world conqueror), came to Nadia with a view to debate the paṇḍitas of that place. Afraid of the so-called conquering paṇḍita, the tola professors of Nadia left their town on the pretense of invitation. Keśava met Mahāprabhu at the Barokona-ghāṭā in Māyāpur, and after a very short discussion with Him he was defeated by the boy, and mortification obliged him to decamp. Nimāi Paṇḍita was now the most important paṇḍita of His times.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

It was at the age of sixteen or seventeen that He traveled to Gayā with a host of His students and there took His spiritual initiation from Īśvara Purī, a Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī and a disciple of the renowned Mādhavendra Purī. Upon His return to Nadia, Nimāi Paṇḍita turned religious preacher, and His religious nature became so strongly represented that Advaita Prabhu, Śrīvāsa and others who had before the birth of Caitanya already accepted the Vaiṣṇava faith were astonished at the change in the young man. He was then no more a contending naiyāyika, a wrangling smārta and a criticizing rhetorician. He swooned at the name of Kṛṣṇa and behaved as an inspired man under the influence of His religious sentiment. It has been described by Murāri Gupta, an eyewitness, that He showed His heavenly powers in the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita in the presence of hundreds of His followers, who were mostly well-read scholars.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Mission:

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on the science of Kṛṣṇa, a task which those who follow Him have continued to carry out down to the present day. Due to the unbreakable system of disciplic succession, the elaborations and expositions on the philosophy taught by Lord Caitanya are in fact the most voluminous, exacting and consistent of any religious culture in the world. Although Lord Caitanya was widely renowned as a scholar in His youth, He left only eight verses, called Śikṣāṣṭaka. These eight verses clearly reveal His mission and precepts. These supremely valuable prayers are translated herein.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book Introduction:

He had many renowned disciples, such as Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and Īśvara Purī. Īśvara Purī happened to be the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So let us offer our respectful obeisances to Īśvara Purī, Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita and Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita. Next, let us offer our respectful obeisances to Svarūpa Dāmodara, who acted as the private secretary to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; and let us offer our respectful obeisances to Śrī Vāsudeva Datta and the constant attendant of Lord Caitanya, Śrī Govinda, and the constant friend of Lord Caitanya, Mukunda, and also to Murāri Gupta. And let us offer our respectful obeisances to the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana—Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.

Krsna Book 45:

The brothers asked if Their teacher had anything more to ask from Them, but he replied, "My dear sons, You have done enough for me. I am now completely satisfied. What further want can there be for a man who has disciples like You? My dear boys, You may now go home. These glorious acts of Yours will always be renowned all over the world. You are above all blessing, yet it is my duty to bless You. I therefore give You the benediction that whatever You speak will remain as eternally fresh as the instructions of the Vedas. Your teachings will be honored not only within this universe or in this millennium but in all places and ages and will remain increasingly new and important." Due to this benediction from His teacher, Lord Kṛṣṇa's Bhagavad-gītā is ever-increasingly fresh and is renowned not only within this universe but in other planets and other universes also.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata Preface:

Particularly, the work was assigned to the Hong Kong branch of the Book Trust, since Śrīla Prabhupāda had meant the book especially for the Oriental people. After much searching it was our good fortune to secure the help of the renowned artist Madame Li Yun Sheng, whose mature creative talent and sensitive brushwork alone could properly complement Prabhupāda's beautiful descriptions of the autumn season. Thus the beautifully effulgent light of the Bhāgavata may now shine upon the world.

The book has been divided into two sections to accommodate the tastes of different readers. Those who prefer to gaze with poetic imagination will appreciate the first section which contains the beautiful color reproductions of Madame Li's work, forty-eight paintings completed in less than a year's time, meticulous in their detail despite her advanced age and sometimes failing eyesight.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 17, Purport:

These nine principles of devotional service—taken all together or one by one—help a devotee remain constantly in touch with God. In this way, at the end of life it is easy for the devotee to remember the Lord. By adopting only one of these nine principles, the following renowned devotees of the Lord were able to achieve the highest perfection: (1) By hearing of the Lord, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the hero of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, attained the desired result. (2) Just by glorifying the Lord, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, attained his perfection. (3) By praying to the Lord, Akrūra attained the desired result. (4) By remembering the Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja attained the desired result. (5) By worshiping the Lord, Pṛthu Mahārāja attained perfection. (6) By serving the lotus feet of the Lord, the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, attained perfection. (7) By rendering personal service to the Lord, Hanumān attained the desired result. (8) Through his friendship with the Lord, Arjuna attained the desired result. (9)

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 1, Purport:

Similarly, when Ṭhākura Haridāsa was told to give up chanting the holy name of God, he refused to do so, with the result that he was flogged in twenty-two marketplaces. And Prahlāda Mahārāja persisted in disagreeing with his father, the great atheist Hiraṇyakaśipu, and thus voluntarily accepted the cruelties his father inflicted upon him. These are some examples of renowned devotees of the Lord, and we should simply try to understand how dear such devotees are to Him.

The Lord has emphatically declared that no one can vanquish His devotee under any circumstances. A good example is Ambarīṣa Mahārāja. When the great mystic yogī Durvāsā deliberately attempted to take the life of Ambarīṣa, the Lord suitably punished Durvāsā, even though he was a powerful yogī who could approach all the demigods and even the Lord Himself.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 4.1 and Review -- New York, July 13, 1966:

Now, at the present moment, the things are going that everyone can give his own interpretation. That is the modern tendency, that everyone can give his own interpretation in any literature. So that, I mean to say, propensity, is also in Dr. Radhakrishnan, in Gandhi, and many other persons also. They are renowned persons of the world. So they have translated, and they have given their own opinion. But actually, so far Bhagavad-gītā is concerned, it is to be understood in the process as recommended by Kṛṣṇa. That is clear here. Otherwise, Kṛṣṇa would not have said that is lost. Five thousand years before, there were many scholars, but still, Kṛṣṇa said that "The Bhagavad-gītā..., the purport of the Bhagavad-gītā is now lost." Why it is lost? That means simply scholarship will not do. One has to.

Lecture on BG 16.11-12 -- Hawaii, February 7, 1975:

Everyone has anxiety, but their anxiety, aparimeyām. Just like ordinary man he has got some anxiety: "How to maintain my family? How to get some money to maintain family?" like that. But the demons, they are unmeasurable, unlimited. You'll find big, big businessmen. They have got very, very long project, "How to do this? How to do this? How to increase this factory? How to make it world-renowned?" and so on, so on, so on. There is no limit of anxiety. Cintām aparimeyāṁ ca. Unlimited means they have no idea of future life, they do not believe, mostly, at the present moment. Formerly they used to believe, even these asuras.

Kaṁsa was a great asura, but still, he was thinking of future life. When he was informed that his sister's son, eighth son, will kill him, so he was trying to kill his sister. "Because sister is the source of the nephew coming, so better finish the sister." So still he was thinking, "What people will say? I shall kill my sister."

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 6.1.22 -- Honolulu, May 22, 1976:

So one mundane scholar came, and he approached Rūpa Gosvāmī and said, "Sir, I want to talk with you on śāstras." So Rūpa Gosvāmī said, "Why talking with me about śāstras?" "Now, you are well known, so well known about śāstra, Vedic literatures. So I want to test you." "So what is the purpose?" "Now, if I can defeat you, then I will be renowned." "All right. I am defeated." So there is no question of talking, because Rūpa Gosvāmī saw, "What is the use of talking with this rascal? He is for material name and fame." "So what do you want?" "Now, if you think that you are less intelligent, then give me in writing." "All right, I am giving in writing that 'This scholar has defeated me.' " So he gave him. But Jīva Gosvāmī, his nephew, at the same time disciple, he was standing outside, that... He said, "What is that?" "Now your uncle has already given me in writing that he is defeated." "Let me see." So he took the paper. So he said, "All right, let us talk now." So when he talked with Jīva Gosvāmī, what is his learning? He became defeated. So sometimes, if somebody goes to challenge the guru, the real guru will say, "What is the use of talking with this nonsense?

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.91-2 -- Vrndavana, March 13, 1974:

This paṇḍita title, especially the brāhmaṇas are given this paṇḍita title. But He was specifically known as Paṇḍita, Nimāi Paṇḍita, very good scholar. And He defeated the Keśava Kashmiri, a great, renowned scholar of Kashmir. The Kashmir country is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also. It is a very old country. And there were many learned scholars. And one scholar came to Navadvīpa to defeat the paṇḍitas, the learned scholars of Navadvīpa, but he was defeated by a young boy, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Nimāi Paṇḍita was at that time only sixteen years old. But He defeated only in composition, Sanskrit composition. The Sanskrit composition, there is rules and regulations. So you know the story. He pointed out many defects in the verses composed by the Keśava Kashmiri. So he was defeated.

General Lectures

Lecture on Maha-mantra -- New York, September 8, 1966:

Now, we can see from His presentation of this Bhagavad-gītā how supreme He is. He spoke this truth five thousand years before, and continually, for five thousand years, all scholars are studying this scripture, and studying very devotedly to understand it. You know our present president in India, Dr. Radhakrishnan. He is a renowned scholar of the world, Dr. Radhakrishnan. When he came to your country, your president, late Mr. Kennedy, oh, he welcomed him as his own teacher, because when Mr. Kennedy was a student in the Oxford University, Dr. Radhakrishnan was a visiting professor. In the open meeting Mr. Kennedy admitted that "Now Dr. Radhakrishnan has come as the president, but he is always my teacher. He is still my teacher." It was very kind of him that he received him as a teacher, not as contemporary. So even that Dr. Radhakrishnan, he is also studying this Bhagavad-gītā very, I mean to say, profoundly. You know your Professor Einstein. Oh, he was a profound, I mean to say, student of this Bhagavad-gītā. Hitler was a great student of Bhagavad-gītā. So many, in all the countries.

Lecture at Wayside Chapel -- Sydney, May 13, 1971:

As a matter of fact, in three weeks time the Sikh community will conduct their major festival here in this very theater, and everybody is invited to share with the Sikh community on that particular Sunday. So that's part of our program. And therefore it's perfectly natural that this evening we should have in our presence such a renowned world leader of a religious movement, which we have watched with great interest from the Wayside Chapel, and we are very honored that the Swami should be in our presence this evening. And in a few moments time we're going to invite him to speak just as long as he wishes to speak to the whole community which is present. And after that, as usual, in connection with our Family of Man meetings here on Wednesday night, there will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion. I think nothing more needs to be said except to say that we want you to feel very much at home. Everybody here is most anxious to hear what you have to say. The Wayside Chapel originally began... (break)

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: If words are to be accepted as true, why not accept the words of Kṛṣṇa? Who can be greater authority than Kṛṣṇa? If your word does not require any evidence, you are a renowned scientist, your words are sufficient, then greater scientist, greater personality is Kṛṣṇa. Then why should we not accept His words? We do not know what it is, but you are presenting there in bombastic words and we have to accept your word. Is it not? So I will say that instead of accepting your words, why not accept Kṛṣṇa's word? He's greater personality.

Karandhara: Someone will come along in a year or a few years and refute everything that this scientist says.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. That we say.

Purports to Songs

Purport Excerpt to Sri Sri Siksastakam -- Los Angeles, December 28, 1968:

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A task which those who follow Him have continued to carry out down to the present day. The elaboration and exposition on the philosophy taught by Lord Caitanya are in fact the most voluminous, exacting, and consistent, due to the unbreakable system of disciplic succession of any religious culture in the world. Yet Lord Caitanya in His youth widely renowned as a scholar Himself, left us only eight verses called Śikṣāṣṭaka.

Glories to the śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years together. Thus the fire of conditioned life, of repeated birth and death is extinguished. This saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge, it increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it helps to have a taste of the full nectar for which we are always anxious. Second verse. Oh my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction upon the living beings and therefore You have hundreds and millions of names like Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, etc.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- December 16, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: He's a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

Dr. Patel: Yes, he's a brāhmaṇa devotee of Kṛṣṇa. And a great teacher, he was at university, a professor of Gujarati literature and a great, well-renowned poet...

Prabhupāda: So you do not come to our temple?

Man: Don't believe what he says! (laughter) I am just a humble servant.

Prabhupāda: That is wanted. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Gopī bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsanudāsa...

Dr. Patel: He only writes poems on God, Mr. Bethai. His name is Bethai, because he comes from the Bet.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Morning Walk -- December 17, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa! (Hindi conversation with passerby)

Dr. Patel: One of the renowned poet of Gujarat. His house is right next to the main temple in Dvārakā.

Prabhupāda: There was one devotee, he, some Queen or somebody, she was approached by somebody, that two poets are come... Ah, Kalidāsa, yes. "Kalidāsa poet has come to see you." So she immediately said, "I know only two poets, Vyāsadeva and Valmikī, and all other poets I kick out!"

Dr. Patel: This is Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata.

Prabhupāda: "I know only two poets." So she refused to see Kalidāsa.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Garden Conversation -- September 3, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Nepalese. They are very brave.

Hari-śauri: Yes, they're very renowned.

Prabhupāda: Sikhs are very brave. They're martial. And another martial race, Jats. They are kṣatriyas. Oh, they can fight... When Britishers possessed India they organized this military with Sikhs especially, Jats, and Gurkhas. And they expanded their empire, Burma, Ceylon, Africa, all these British Empire possessions. And not only that, they fought two big world wars with these Sikhs soldiers. They conquered over this Mesopotamia, Middle East.

Caraṇāravindam: They worked so hard. It's a pity they weren't doing it for Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: They like military. They want military jobs. Very kṣatriya spirit.

Caraṇāravindam: They collected so much, but they lost it because they didn't give it to Kṛṣṇa.

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- December 26, 1976, Bombay:

Girirāja: No, another one. Not Sukla. And this Sharma is saying that he has personal experience that this is a bona fide movement and that the American public in general may not know, but A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami is one of the renowned writers of translations of Vedic translations and commentaries of Vedic literature. (break) And then Ādi-keśava Mahārāja is going with a swami? Chandra Swami, some Indian swami in America. He's going with Ādi-keśava Mahārāja to meet the new President of the United States on January 27th.

Prabhupāda: He's going to see?

Girirāja: Yes, Jimmy Carter. On January 20th he will become the next President. So Ādi-keśava Mahārāja and this one Indian sannyāsī, they are going to make a representation to the new President.

Room Conversation -- December 26, 1976, Bombay:

Jagadīśa: All these... Kīrtanānanda Swami was there and a boy who was kidnapped, Vasu Gopāla, as well as Dr. Harvey Cox, the Civil Liberties Attorney who is defending us, and Dr. Stephen Corover, a psychologist, Jack Colley, who's a renowned religious scholar, and Dr. Eck, a lecturer in Sanskrit and India studies at Harvard. The public was invited and they had questions from the floor and all of the members of the panel, important people, were all in our support. It's very long...

Prabhupāda: That's all right.

Hari-śauri: There's one interesting statement in there from one of these men. He's lived in Vṛndāvana for about two years. And he says how when he first went to Vṛndāvana, all the people there, they would chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Rāma, but it was kind of a derogatory thing because they had seen this film, Dum-mada-dam. So whenever they saw a Westerner they thought, "Oh, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Rāma," implying, "Oh, you're a hippie, you're a drug addict." Like that. But he said in the last two or three years since we established our temple, now that is completely changed. They're still saying, "Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Rāma," all the children shout it, but now they expect us to shout "Haribol" back and that it's a sign of, it's a friendly gesture now.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- April 18, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Ph.D. Genuine?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Some are honorary, but he is from Oxford and Cambridge, very renowned scholar.

Mādhava: He's a chemist.

Prabhupāda: He's a chemist.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. So he's very old. He's about seventy-three years old. And he had a genuine desire to be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So he'll be a devotee. So he invited us to come and speak to him today on... I'm going to speak on science and Kṛṣṇa consciousness today.

Prabhupāda: A good opportunity.

Conversation, 'Rascal Editors,' and Morning Talk -- June 22, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Few years ago there was a German physicist Schroedinger(?). He wrote a book called What is Life? And he said life could be understood just like physics. Then this Freeman Dyson(?)... He's a very renowned scientist in Princeton University. He gave a lecture in our university at Emory about few months ago. He was speaking about cosmic manifestations of the universe. And I asked a question about this Schroedinger's(?) approach, saying that Schroedinger is a very well known and Nobel Prize-winning physicist. He stated that life could be understood in terms of physics and chemistry. I asked him, "What do you think about this approach?" His answer was "Schroedinger did not know at that time that the physics of modern science, especially quantum physics, cannot be explained without invoking consciousness." That means life is a different entity than normal physics and chemistry. So they are starting to realize, at least to some extent, that life could be completely different process than was planned about few years ago.

Prabhupāda: So on the whole, they have not come to the platform to know about life. That's all right.

Correspondence

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to Sardar Patel -- Calcutta 28 February, 1949:

The State is giving help for so many man-made purposes and I pray that a sum of Rs 2000/- per month may be allowed for starting these Gandhian movements in organized form and that on authentic basis I think if your honour as a renowned practical man accepts my humble suggestion, it may be by the will of God, that the whole atmosphere of the present world calamities may be mitigated altogether. My humble self had the privilege of taking this training under the lotus feet of my spiritual master and I am confident to organize this work in a scientific way if I am helped by the state.

Hoping to be excused for intruding upon your valuable time and awaiting your early reply with deep interest.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Rupanuga -- Los Angeles 2 January, 1970:

So this planning has by the grace of my Guru Maharaja and Krishna become successful in the practical field. Forty years before when two of my eldest God-brothers came to London with this mission they simply devoted their time in lecturing in some renowned public place and inviting some leading politician to preside over the meeting. You know very well that when I began my preaching work in New York I never followed this policy of lecturing amongst the stereotyped politicians or elites of the society. And if I would have followed such a policy, I think I would also have gone back to India without any success. I think this policy of Sankirtana, Prasadam and Srimad-Bhagavatam has been successful in all the centers. Please therefore follow this transcendental policy with heart and soul and make your center as spiritually opulent as far as possible.

Letter to Nevatiaji -- Los Angeles 16 July, 1970:

We have got many records and record albums out of which some produced by one renowned musician of London, George Harrison, has become very popular and many people from all parts of Europe are coming to see our temple in London. Recently we have opened two branches, one in Amsterdam and one in Copenhagen and another in Edinburgh.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Ghanasyama -- Bombay 9 November, 1975:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated October 5th, 1975 and was very glad to read the contents. You mention about the well-renown psychologist at Harvard who is interested in finding about man's true nature. Man's true nature is to render service. Originally the living entity was meant for rendering service to Krsna and as soon as the living entity misuses this marginal position, he becomes conditioned by material nature.

You are rendering first quality service to Krsna by your preaching success. Be blessed and continue your efforts and Krsna will recognize you very quickly. Anyone who preaches like this is very much appreciated by Krsna.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Ramesvara -- Mayapur 6 February, 1976:

I am organizing an office of book distribution under my direct supervision, and I shall post these books to officers, professors, lawyers, etc. I think that the mass mailings of this book can be done by the BBT Mailorder department and BBT can cover the whole cost. But because we will be distributing it freely for the most part, you should try to get the cost reduced as far as possible. You can try to get a good response from your mailings, but regardless of the response, we should distribute this book indiscriminately to selected persons as I have already indicated: renown business, medical men, government officials, scientists etc. Your new membership publication should be included with the Krsna Consciousness is Authorized in any mass mailing.

Regarding the money for Bombay, you may send it by the first week of each month. There is no need to ask Gopala Krsna. Following each transfer of money, please send a xerox copy of the transfer slip to me.

Letter to unknown 2 -- 28 September, 1976:

Amongst all these the very big temples in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Detroit can be specially mentioned. In these temples the minimum number of devotees attached is 50 and maximum 250 and they are engaged to distribute Krishna hymns leading an austentious life. Everywhere the Deity of Radha and Krishna is being worshiped. From India a large number of renowned persons frequently visit these temples throughout the world and they have made remarks to the effect that in each and every temple arrangements for daily worship and functions relating thereto are remarkably done smoothly and methodically. The artistic way of make up in all respects are exceptionally good and for all these a lot of expenses made towards everything are unparallel. The devotees attached to these temples out of natural devotion frequently visit to have a glance of the holy birthplace of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Mayapur, Navadvipa, and that of Shri Krishna at Mathura and His lila-ksetra at Vrndavana, and that they do so in thousands.

Page Title:Renowned
Compiler:Sahadeva, RupaManjari, Mayapur
Created:09 of Sep, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=1, SB=12, CC=5, OB=10, Lec=8, Con=7, Let=6
No. of Quotes:49