Prahlāda said, "I am not proud of being able to offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I simply take shelter of the mercy of the Lord, for without devotion one cannot appease Him. One cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by dint of high parentage or great opulence, learning, austerity, penance or mystic power. Indeed, these are never pleasing to the Supreme Lord, for nothing can please Him but pure devotional service. Even if a nondevotee is a brāhmaṇa qualified with the twelve brahminical symptoms, he cannot be very dear to the Lord, whereas if a person born in a family of dog-eaters is a devotee, the Lord can accept his prayers. The Lord does not need anyone's prayers, but if a devotee offers his prayers to the Lord, the devotee benefits greatly. Ignorant persons born in low families, therefore, can sincerely offer heartfelt prayers to the Lord, and the Lord will accept them. As soon as one offers his prayers to the Lord, he is immediately situated on the Brahman platform.
Heartfelt
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Seeing Arjuna pale due to heartfelt anxieties, the King, remembering the indications of the sage Nārada, questioned him in the midst of friends.
SB Canto 3
When I thus expressed my heartfelt desires unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the lotus-eyed Lord instructed me about His transcendental situation.
SB Canto 4
When Dhruva Mahārāja refused to accept the brahminical instruction of Nārada Muni, naturally the next question would be what sort of instruction he wanted. So even before Nārada Muni asked, Dhruva Mahārāja expressed his heartfelt desire. His father, of course, was the emperor of the entire world, and his grandfather, Lord Brahmā, was the creator of the universe. Dhruva Mahārāja expressed his desire to possess a kingdom better than those of his father and grandfather. He frankly stated that he wanted a kingdom which had no competitor within the three worlds, namely the higher, middle and lower planetary systems.
With great respect, the original king, Pṛthu, offered all kinds of rewards to the brāhmaṇas present at the sacrifice. Since all these brāhmaṇas were very much satisfied, they gave their heartfelt blessings to the King.
SB Canto 7
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
The royal road being quite crowded with elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers, the women climbed to the top of their houses, where they caught sight of Lord Kṛṣṇa and His queens. The city ladies scattered flowers upon the Lord, embraced Him in their minds and expressed their heartfelt welcome with broadly smiling glances.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
In the Skanda Purāṇa there is a statement about developing ecstatic love toward Kṛṣṇa simply by glancing. It is stated there, "When the inhabitants of Jāṅgala Province saw the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, they were so stricken with feeling that they could not withdraw their glance from Him."
As far as heartfelt wishes are concerned, there is a statement in the Śuka-saṁhitā where Nārada tells Śrīla Vyāsadeva, "You have a son who is the greatest devotee of the Personality of Godhead, and I can observe that without any following of the regulative principles of devotional service, he is already enriched with many of the symptoms achieved by the execution of devotional service after many, many births."
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
As the brāhmaṇas chanted the Vedic hymns and performed the ritualistic ceremonies for the second time, Nanda Mahārāja again gave them huge quantities of grain and many cows. All the cows which were given in charity were covered with nice gold-embroidered garments, and their horns were bedecked with golden rings; their hooves were covered with silver plate, and they wore garlands of flowers. He gave so many cows just for the welfare of his wonderful child, and the brāhmaṇas in return bestowed their heartfelt blessings. And the blessings offered by the able brāhmaṇas were never to be baffled.
The inhabitants of Naimiṣāraṇya, learned sages and brāhmaṇas, became most pleased by seeing this, and they offered their respectful prayers to Lord Balarāma. They offered their heartfelt blessings to the Lord, and all agreed that none of Lord Balarāma's attempts to do something would ever be a failure. The sages and brāhmaṇas then performed a ceremonial bathing of Lord Balarāma, just as the demigods bathe King Indra when he is victorious over the demons. The brāhmaṇas and sages honored Lord Balarāma by presenting Him with first-class new clothing and ornaments and the lotus garland of victory; this garland was the reservoir of all beauty and was everlasting—it was never to be dried up.
The brāhmaṇa thought, “It is most pleasurable to see Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is most devoted to the brāhmaṇas. How great a lover He is of the brahminical culture! He is the Supreme Brahman Himself, yet He reciprocates with the brāhmaṇas. He also respects the brāhmaṇas so much that He embraced to His chest such a poor brāhmaṇa as me, although He never embraces anyone to His chest except the goddess of fortune. How can there be any comparison between me, a poor, sinful brāhmaṇa, and the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the only shelter of the goddess of fortune? And yet, considering me a brāhmaṇa, with heartfelt pleasure He embraced me in His two transcendental arms. Lord Kṛṣṇa was so kind to me that He allowed me to sit on the same bedstead where the goddess of fortune lies down. He considered me His real brother. How can I appreciate my obligation to Him? When I was tired, Śrīmatī Rukmiṇīdevī, the goddess of fortune, began to fan me, holding the cāmara whisk in her own hand. She never considered her exalted position as the first queen of Lord Kṛṣṇa. I was rendered service by the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of His high regard for the brāhmaṇas, and by massaging my legs and feeding me with His own hand, He practically worshiped me!
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Stalwarts of society like Mahātmā Gandhi are trying in various ways to usher in an age of peace, but because such endeavors are not inspired or blessed by the spiritually evolved saints, they are not turning out successful, nor will they be fruitful in the future. The God of the monists, or Māyāvādīs, cannot eat, see, or hear. Such a concocted, formless God can never bring peace to the world. How can a God who has no sensory organs see the miseries of the people or hear their heartfelt prayers? To worship such a formless God in the name of searching for spiritual truth can only produce misfortune in the world, never good fortune. In the Māyāvāda school of philosophy, discussions on pure knowledge can throw some light on the real nature of the Absolute Truth, but they are unable to fully reveal the esoteric and personal aspects of the Supreme Absolute Being. These dry, empirical discussions fall far short of their objective: a complete understanding of the Absolute Truth. Therefore only if leaders like Mahatma Gandhi strive to realize the Supreme Absolute Person-not a formless energy—can they truly benefit human society.
Light of the Bhagavata
At night in autumn the atmosphere is pleasant because it is neither very hot nor very cold. The mild wind blowing through the gardens of fruits and flowers in Vṛndāvana appeared very much pleasing to all—all but the gopīs, who were always overtaken by heartfelt sorrow in the absence of Kṛṣṇa.
Lectures
Wedding Ceremonies
Prabhupāda: So I am very happy that Professor Howard Wheeler, he is very obedient student. And by God's grace, Kṛṣṇa's grace, we practically met on the street. You see. When I first started my class in New York, 26 Second Avenue, I was just going out after entering the storefront and this boy met me. He asked me, "Swamijī, you are coming from India?" And I told him, "Yes, my dear boy." So that was our first acquaintance, and I think that is eternal.
Devotees: Jaya!
Prabhupāda: That is eternal. Similarly, this girl also met me in San Francisco, and she is very faithfully living with this society. She is very mild. So I have selected, "Śyāma dāsī, you should marry Hayagrīva." So they have agreed. And there is no separation. Our relationship is eternal. There is no separation. And this marriage is primarily for advancing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Bodily relationship is secondary. That is not a very important thing. Our first engagement is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So in this happy ceremony, I have got my heartfelt blessings upon you. You be happy. Our parents are present here. It is a very nice arrangement. And forget... In any circumstances... This material world we have to pass through many circumstances, but sometimes, even it is intolerable, we have to tolerate. So according to Hindu conception of life, even there is some misunderstanding between husband and wife, it is not taken very seriously. Never taken very seriously.
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters of December 4th and December 7th, 1968 and also I have received the beautiful first edition of Back To Godhead in the French language. This is a great joy to me to see such publication being printed so nicely and my heartfelt thanks are due to Janardana, Dayala Nitai, Vaikunthanatha, yourself and your wife, along with all the others who have helped to make this publication come so expertly. Such French edition was my great ambition and now that you have achieved success, I request you all to improve it continually so the French speaking people will have opportunity to take advantage of our Krishna Consciousness movement.
1972 Correspondence
You may offer my thanks to Sumati Morarji for giving us some sofas and chairs. So far books are concerned, don't reduce the price on hardback Krishna Book unless there is vast increase in sales by making cheaper. But I do not think that if you reduce the price for Krishna Book hardbound that more people will buy it. You can send report if making cheaper has sold many more books. But if someone wants Krishna Book cheap, they can purchase our paperback edition which has been sent to India from Japan recently. Mr. Deewanji has done very nice service for Krishna, please offer him my heartfelt thanks. Always consult with him on these matters before doing anything. You can form the Hare Krishna Cooperative so we shall avoid the stamp tax, that's all right. So far CCP permission is concerned you should be more in correspondence with Gurudasa in this matter, as I have sent him all the details and he has assured me that getting the license will not be at all difficult from Delhi.
1974 Correspondence
The report of the BBT traveling library party is something new for us and this is also only the beginning. Please give my heartful thanks to the boys, Sriman Maha Buddhi dasa Brahmacari and Sriman Ghanasyama dasa Brahmacari. These books are specifically meant for the intellectual class of people in your country and I have great hope in the results of this preaching at the Universities.
| Page Title: | Heartfelt |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 19 of Nov, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=6, CC=0, OB=6, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=3 |
| No. of Quotes: | 16 |