When one becomes malicious upon seeing another's advancement of life, his state of mind is generally called envy. When one becomes frightened at seeing a lightning bolt in the sky, that fearfulness brings on anxiety. Therefore, fearfulness and anxiety may be taken as one. One's desire to hide his real mentality is called avahitthā, or concealment, and a desire to exhibit superiority is called pride. Both of these may be classified under pretension. In a pretentious attitude both avahitthā and pride are to be found. One's inability to tolerate an offense committed by another is called amarṣa, and one's inability to tolerate the opulence of another is called jealousy. Jealousy and amarṣa are both caused by intolerance. One's ability to establish the correct import of a word may be called conclusiveness. And before such a conclusive determination of import, there must be thoughtful consideration. Therefore, the act of consideration is present during the establishment of a conclusion. When one presents himself as ignorant, his attitude is called humility, and when there is absence of enthusiasm it is called cowardice. Therefore, in humility, there is sometimes cowardice also. When the mind is steadfast it is called enduring, and one's ability to tolerate others' offenses is also called endurance. Therefore, forgiveness and endurance can be synonymous. Anxiousness for time to pass is called impatience, and when one sees something wonderful one is said to be struck with wonder. Impatience may be caused by being struck with wonder, and so impatience and being struck with wonder can be synonymous. When anxiety is in its dormant stage it is called hankering. Therefore, anxiety and hankering can also be synonymous. When one becomes regretful for some offense, his feeling is called bashfulness. In this way, bashfulness and regret can be synonymous. Doubtfulness is one of the aspects of argument. After exhibiting impudence one becomes restless. Therefore restlessness and impudence can be synonymous.
His attitude
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 3
t is said in the Brahma-saṁhitā that the Lord is always served by many hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune in His Vaikuṇṭha planet, yet because of His attitude of renunciation of all opulences, He is not attached to any one of them. The Lord has six opulences—unlimited wealth, unlimited fame, unlimited strength, unlimited beauty, unlimited knowledge and unlimited renunciation. All the demigods and other living entities worship Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, just to get her favor, yet the Lord is never attached to her because He can create an unlimited number of such goddesses for His transcendental service.
The devotee's intelligence is always in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His attitude towards the material existence is one of detachment, for he knows perfectly well that this material world is a creation of illusory energy. Realizing himself to be part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, the devotee discharges his devotional service and is completely aloof from material action and reaction. Thus at the end he gives up his material body, or the material energy, and as pure soul he enters the kingdom of God.
SB Canto 4
Dhruva Mahārāja repented because he had come to the Lord to render devotional service for material profit. He here condemns his attitude. Only due to gross lack of knowledge does one worship the Lord for material profit or for sense gratification. The Lord is like a desire tree. Anyone can have whatever he desires from the Lord, but people in general do not know what kind of benediction they should ask from Him. Happiness derived from the touch of skin, or sensuous happiness, is present in the life of hogs and dogs. Such happiness is very insignificant. If a devotee worships the Lord for such insignificant happiness, he must be considered devoid of all knowledge.
SB Canto 6
Just as great learned brāhmaṇas who are expert in performing ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices can extract the fire dormant within wooden fuel by chanting the fifteen Sāmidhenī mantras, thus proving the efficacy of the Vedic mantras, so those who are actually advanced in consciousness—in other words, those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious—can find the Supersoul, who by His own spiritual potency is situated within the heart. The heart is covered by the three modes of material nature and the nine material elements (material nature, the total material energy, the ego, the mind and the five objects of sense gratification), and also by the five material elements and the ten senses. These twenty-seven elements constitute the external energy of the Lord. Great yogīs meditate upon the Lord, who is situated as the Supersoul, Paramātmā, within the core of the heart. May that Supersoul be pleased with me. The Supersoul is realized when one is eager for liberation from the unlimited varieties of material life. One actually attains such liberation when he engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord and realizes the Lord because of his attitude of service. The Lord may be addressed by various spiritual names, which are inconceivable to the material senses. When will that Supreme Personality of Godhead be pleased with me?
SB Canto 7
A fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person, although situated in this material world, does not see anything but Kṛṣṇa, anywhere and everywhere. This is the sign of a mahā-bhāgavata. The mahā-bhāgavata sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere because of his attitude of pure love for Kṛṣṇa. As confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38):
- premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
- santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
- yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Śyāmasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee." An exalted devotee, or mahātmā, who is rarely to be seen, remains fully conscious of Kṛṣṇa and constantly sees the Lord within the core of his heart. It is sometimes said that when one is influenced by evil stars like Saturn, Rāhu or Ketu, he cannot make advancement in any prospective activity. In just the opposite way, Prahlāda Mahārāja was influenced by Kṛṣṇa, the supreme planet, and thus he could not think of the material world and live without Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
SB Canto 9
Cyavana Muni was very irritable, but since Sukanyā had gotten him as her husband, she dealt with him carefully, according to his mood. Knowing his mind, she performed service to him without being bewildered.
This is an indication of the relationship between husband and wife. A great personality like Cyavana Muni has the temperament of always wanting to be in a superior position. Such a person cannot submit to anyone. Therefore, Cyavana Muni had an irritable temperament. His wife, Sukanyā, could understand his attitude, and under the circumstances she treated him accordingly. If any wife wants to be happy with her husband, she must try to understand her husband's temperament and please him. This is victory for a woman. Even in the dealings of Lord Kṛṣṇa with His different queens, it has been seen that although the queens were the daughters of great kings, they placed themselves before Lord Kṛṣṇa as His maidservants. However great a woman may be, she must place herself before her husband in this way; that is to say, she must be ready to carry out her husband's orders and please him in all circumstances. Then her life will be successful. When the wife becomes as irritable as the husband, their life at home is sure to be disturbed or ultimately completely broken.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
The heart of Lord Caitanya is the image of Śrī Rādhikā's emotions. Thus feelings of pleasure and pain arise constantly therein.
Lord Caitanya's heart was full of the feelings of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and His appearance resembled Hers. Svarūpa Dāmodara has explained His attitude as rādhā-bhāva-mūrti, the attitude of Rādhārāṇī. One who engages in sense gratification on the material platform can hardly understand rādhā-bhāva, but one who is freed from the demands of sense gratification can understand it. Rādhā-bhāva must be understood from the Gosvāmīs, those who are actually controllers of the senses. From such authorized sources it is to be known that the attitude of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the highest perfection of conjugal love, which is the highest of the five transcendental mellows, and it is the complete perfection of love of Kṛṣṇa.
On the plea of disturbance of the bodily air and metabolism, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu acted as if crazy. Thus in His school He began to explain the grammar of verbs through Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Explaining everything in grammar in relationship to Kṛṣṇa, the Lord induced His students to refrain from worldly education, for it is better to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and in this way attain the highest perfectional platform of education. On these grounds, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī later compiled the grammar entitled Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa. People in general consider such explanations crazy. Therefore the Lord's purpose in His attitude of craziness was to explain that there is nothing within our experience but Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for everything may be dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. These pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu have been very vividly described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-līlā, Chapter One.
There was a Muslim tailor near the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura who used to sew the garments of the family. One day he was very pleased with the dancing of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; indeed, he was enchanted. The Lord, understanding his attitude, showed him His original form as Kṛṣṇa. The tailor then began to dance, saying, "I have seen! I have seen!" He became absorbed in ecstatic love and began to dance with Lord Caitanya. Thus he became one of the foremost Vaiṣṇava adherents of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Actually, Kṛṣṇa is all-pervasive: He is in the sky, and He is in the forest; He is within the heart, and He is always everywhere. The gopīs therefore began to question the trees and plants about Kṛṣṇa. There were various types of big trees and small plants in the forest, and the gopīs addressed them: "Dear banyan tree, have you seen the son of Mahārāja Nanda passing this way, laughing and playing on His flute? He has stolen our hearts and gone away. If you have seen Him, kindly inform us which way He has gone. Dear aśoka tree, dear nāga flower tree and campaka flower tree, have you seen the younger brother of Balarāma pass this way? He has disappeared because of our pride." The gopīs were aware of the reason for Kṛṣṇa's sudden disappearance. They could understand that when they had been enjoying Kṛṣṇa they thought themselves to be the most fortunate women within the universe, and since they were feeling proud, Kṛṣṇa had disappeared immediately just to curb their pride. Kṛṣṇa does not like His devotees to be proud of their service to Him. He accepts everyone's service, but He does not like one devotee to proudly consider himself better than others. If sometimes there are such feelings, Kṛṣṇa ends them by changing His attitude toward the devotee.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Now, it is not only eating. The fighting also. Fighting also. (break) ...the fight! He was a fighting man. But after, after getting instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, he changed his attitude, oh, that he shall not, he should, he would not fight. He said, "Yes, I shall fight." Now this is dovetailing. He, the fighting man, remained. The fighting man did not change into artist, or a musician. No. You need not change. You are fighting man; you remain a fighting man. If you are musician, you remain a musician. If you are a medical man, remain a medical man. Whatever you are, you remain, but dovetail it. Dovetail it.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam: (SB 11.5.32) "He is always accompanied by some associates," especially Lord Nityānanda, Lord Advaita, Śrīvāsa, Haridāsa, like that. You have seen the pictures. He is chanting and dancing with the associates and others. When Lord Caitanya was present, whenever He would go, wherever He would go and..., His attitude was dancing: "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa..." And He was so beautiful and attractive that people would follow. Thousands and thousands people will follow, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Even Lord..., Nawab Hussein Shah... And when He started this movement in Bengal He was a boy of twenty years old. So so many people were following. So Nawab Hussein Shah inquired his minister, "Who is this person, that He is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and so many people are following Him?" So the minister was Hindu. He thought that "He is Muhammadan king, so he may not like this movement." Therefore he wanted to hide it: "My Lord, you have misinformed. He is not very important. Some, I mean to say, people are crazy fellows. They are following. Not... A few only, not many." The Nawab replied, "No, I know it certainly, but you don't try to hide the facts. He must be a great personality. Otherwise so many people are following Him?" That was his remark.
So, actually Arjuna was not willing to fight, because he is a Vaiṣṇava. He does not want to kill, even if he is, even if he was put into so many difficulties. That was his attitude. So his decision was that he would not fight, but for the sake of Kṛṣṇa, when he understood that Kṛṣṇa wants this fight... Kṛṣṇa said finally, nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin. "Don't think that these people who have come here will go back home. They will be killed here. That is my plan. You simply become an instrument, so that you may take the credit. I shall be happy. But they are already finished. This is my plan." So when he understood that Kṛṣṇa wants me to fight, took the credit of becoming victorious. So he doesn't care for credit, but he understood that this is my duty, to please Kṛṣṇa. Then when Kṛṣṇa asked him, "What is your decision?" He said, "Yes, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73), I shall fight," and he fought. This is called kṛta-sauhṛdārthā. For Kṛṣṇa's sake they can do anything.
"Now, due to Your fierceful attitude, the demigods and others, they have been, become afraid. But actually Your incarnation is for their maintenance. Therefore You pacify Your anger because You have appeared for them. If they are, become fearful on account of Your appearance, then You should be pacified. Otherwise, they are very much perturbed." Now Prahlāda Mahārāja will explain his attitude, whether he was afraid or not. These things will be explained very nicely in our next meeting.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: The king and the daughter went to a great muni's house, a saintly person. Cyavana Muni, Cyavana Muni. And the daughter, young daughter, out of ignorance, she committed some offense. Took one straw and pierced through one insect. The muni was sitting there as insect. So the result was—because she offended—all the men of the king, means the soldiers, the secretaries, they stopped passing urine and stool.
Hari-śauri: The muni was there in the form of an insect?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Hari-śauri: And she pierced him. Oh.
Prabhupāda: So the result was all of them became without passing stool. So the king could understand there is some offense. So... Because formerly the kings were saintly persons. He asked all his men, "What you have done?" Then the girl said, "Father, I have done something." Then he made this plea that, "Kindly excuse this girl... Out of ignorance..." He was very angry, that Cyavana Muni. His attitude was always angry. Then all of them became very much aggrieved. Then he asked, "Whether your girl is married?" King could understand that "He wants to marry my daughter. Otherwise, why he's inquiring." And he was so old... I have got my skin still tight. All loose.
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
So when Vamanadeva appeared, Bali Maharaja was attracted by His beauty as a Dwarf Brahmin, and as he was charitably disposed, he wanted to give Him some charity. But Sukaracharya, being elevated in mystic yogic powers, he could understand that Vamanadeva was Visnu. And in order to favor the demigods, He had come there to cheat Bali Maharaja in the shape of begging some charities. Bali Maharaja was puffed up with his material vanities, and Vamanadeva as He is Visnu, all-peaceful, without interrupting his attitude, just approached him in the form of a Brahmin, Who has a right to beg something from the princely order. And the principle orders also are always disposed, to make charities to the Brahmins.
1969 Correspondence
I am sure that you know I have come to Germany via New York on Monday morning. It is understood from different sources that Rayarama has written you a letter complaining that the charge of BTG has been taken from him without any justification. But the actual fact is that he was spending 600 dollars per month for maintenance of Iskcon Press with the result that the number of subscribers was only somewhere about 300. Most of the BTGs were being sold by our Sankirtana Party in Los Angeles. Anyway, the 600 dollars were to be saved for other useful purposes. Therefore, the staff engaged in Iskcon Press was dispersed, but Rayarama was there in his original position as managing editor. But since this expenditures was stopped, he is little bit sorry; so much so that he does not come regularly and practically he is inclined to give up our relationship. So I called him when I was in New York, but his attitude is different. I did not see him in the airport on my arrival or departure, neither did I see him at the function held on Sunday. So I think in the future you will have to take charge of managing BTG in consultation with Brahmananda when the press will be started in Boston. I have already decided to start the press, and I am glad to have your assurance that you will help in this respect, even with financial help.
| Page Title: | His attitude |
| Compiler: | Rati, Alakananda |
| Created: | 19 of Nov, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=6, CC=3, OB=2, Lec=4, Con=1, Let=2 |
| No. of Quotes: | 18 |