Spiritual services

Expressions researched:
"Spiritual services"

SB Canto 1

Morning is the best time to hold spiritual services

SB 1.1.5, Purport: Morning is the best time to hold spiritual services. The great sages offered the speaker of the Bhāgavatam an elevated seat of respect called the vyāsāsana, or the seat of Śrī Vyāsadeva. Śrī Vyāsadeva is the original spiritual preceptor for all men. And all other preceptors are considered to be his representatives. A representative is one who can exactly present the viewpoint of Śrī Vyāsadeva. Śrī Vyāsadeva impregnated the message of Bhāgavatam unto Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī heard it from him (Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī). All bona fide representatives of Śrī Vyāsadeva in the chain of disciplic succession are to be understood to be gosvāmīs. These gosvāmīs restrain all their senses, and they stick to the path made by the previous ācāryas. The gosvāmīs do not deliver lectures on the Bhāgavatam capriciously. Rather, they execute their services most carefully, following their predecessors who delivered the spiritual message unbroken to them.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Morning is the best time to hold spiritual services. Yes, this is very important. Therefore we are insisting everyone to rise early in the morning

Lecture on SB 1.1.5-6 -- London, August 23, 1971:

Pradyumna: "Morning is the best time to hold spiritual services."

Prabhupāda: Yes, this is very important. Therefore we are insisting everyone to rise early in the morning. Even though sometimes we rise early in the morning, we compensate in other time. (laughter) This should be practiced, you see. Reducing eating, sleeping, mating, that is spiritual advancement. This is the test. The more you reduce... The idea is to bring it to nil. Just like Gosvāmīs, they did it. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **, they conquered over sleeping and eating and mating. Conquered over. So our ideal is... We are fighting with māyā. So the fighting... We will conquer over māyā when we see that we are not disturbed by these four processes; eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This is the test. Nobody has to take certificate from anyone else how he is spiritually advancing. He can test himself: "How far I have conquered over these four things, eating, sleeping, mating, and..." That's all. That is the test. So it is not required that don't eat, don't sleep, don't... But minimize it; at least, regulate it, try. This is called austerity, tapasya. "I want to sleep, but still, I shall regulate it. I want to eat, but if my..., I must regulate it. I want sense enjoyment, so I must regulate it." That is whole Vedic civilization. Go on.

1970 Correspondence

In this Age of Kali Yuga nobody can meditate perfectly, neither they have sufficient resources for performing great sacrifices, neither they have tendency to attend spiritual services in the temple, churches, or mosques or any such sanctuaries

Letter to Dr. R. N. Vyasa -- Los Angeles 7 June, 1970: There are many processes for delivering the living entity from this life of entanglement. Generally it is summarized in the process of meditation, performances of great sacrifices and worshiping the Lord in the temple. But in this Age of Kali Yuga nobody can meditate perfectly, neither they have sufficient resources for performing great sacrifices, neither they have tendency to attend spiritual services in the temple, churches, or mosques or any such sanctuaries. Therefore, in the Brhad Naradiya Puranam it is stated that none of these three principles of spiritual upliftment is possible to perform in this Age of Kali. Therefore, the only possible means of spiritual realization is chanting the Holy Name of God or Krishna or Rama. Lord Caitanya propagated this formula of spiritual realization 500 years ago; and by His grace now it is introduced in the Western world, and practically we are experiencing that it is effective.