Within the material world, every conditioned soul is in the darkness of ignorance. This means that all conditioned souls are under the concept of bodily existence. Everyone is under the impression that he is of this material world, and with this concept of life everyone is working in ignorance in different forms of life. The activities of the particular type of body are called karma, or fruitive action. All conditioned souls, being under the impression of the bodily concept, are working according to their particular type of body. These activities are creating their future conditioned life. Because they have very little information of the spiritual world, they do not generally take to spiritual activities, which are called bhakti-yoga. Those who successfully practice bhakti-yoga go directly to the spiritual world after giving up this present body, and there they become situated in one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana are all pure devotees. Their destination after quitting the body is Kṛṣṇaloka. They even surpass the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. The fact is that those who are always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and mature, pure devotional service are given the chance, after death, to gain Kṛṣṇa's association in one of the universes within the material world.
Practice of bhakti-yoga
Expressions researched:
"practice bhakti-yoga"
|"practice of bhakti-yoga"
|"practices bhakti-yoga"
|"practicing Bhakti yoga"
|"practicing bhakti-yoga"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 7 - 12
Bhakti-yoga is the purification of the senses. At the present moment in material existence the senses are always impure, being engaged in sense gratification. But by the practice of bhakti-yoga these senses can become purified, and in the purified state they come directly in contact with the Supreme Lord. In this material existence, I may be engaged in some service to some master, but I don't really lovingly serve my master. I simply serve to get some money. And the master also is not in love; he takes service from me and pays me. So there is no question of love. But for spiritual life, one must be elevated to the pure stage of love. That stage of love can be achieved by practice of devotional service, performed with the present senses.
To practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga one should, under the guidance of an expert spiritual master, follow certain principles: one should rise early in the morning, take bath, enter the temple and offer prayers and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then collect flowers to offer to the Deity, cook foodstuffs to offer to the Deity, take prasādam, and so on. There are various rules and regulations which one should follow. And one should constantly hear Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from pure devotees. This practice can help anyone rise to the level of love of God, and then he is sure of his progress into the spiritual kingdom of God. This practice of bhakti-yoga, under the rules and regulations, with the direction of a spiritual master, will surely bring one to the stage of love of God.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 2
The Lord is the full-fledged form of eternity, bliss and knowledge, but the formless brahmajyoti is simply eternity and knowledge. The Vaikuṇṭha planets are also forms of eternity, bliss and knowledge, and therefore the devotees of the Lord, who are admitted into the abode of the Lord, also get bodies of eternity, bliss and knowledge. As such there is no difference between one and another. The Lord's abode, name, fame, entourage, etc., are of the same transcendental quality, and how this transcendental quality differs from the material world is explained herewith in this verse. In the Bhagavad-gītā, three principal subjects have been explained by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, namely karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga, but one can reach the Vaikuṇṭha planets by the practice of bhakti-yoga only. The other two are incompetent in helping one reach the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, although they can, however, conveniently take one to the effulgent brahmajyoti, as described above.
The primary practice of bhakti-yoga will cause the seed already sowed in heart to sprout, and by a regular watering process, as mentioned above, the bhakti-yoga creeper will begin to grow. By systematic nurturing, the creeper will grow to such an extent that it will penetrate the coverings of the universe, as we have heard in the previous verses, reach the effulgent sky, the brahmajyoti, and go farther and farther and reach the spiritual sky, where there are innumerable spiritual planets called Vaikuṇṭhalokas. Above all of them is Kṛṣṇaloka, or Goloka Vṛndāvana, wherein the growing creeper enters and takes repose at the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead. When one reaches the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa at Goloka Vṛndāvana, the watering process of hearing and reading, as also chanting of the holy name in the pure devotional stage, fructifies, and the fruits grown there in the form of love of God are tangibly tasted by the devotee, even though he is here in this material world.
And by the constant hearing of the messages of the Bhagavad-gītā, and later of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one is assured herein by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī that he will reach the Personality of Godhead and render Him transcendental loving service in the spiritual planet of the name Goloka Vṛndāvana, which resembles a huge lotus flower.
Thus by the process of bhakti-yoga, directly accepted, as suggested in this verse, by sufficient hearing of the transcendental message of the Lord, the material contamination is directly eliminated without one's attempting to contemplate the impersonal virāṭ conception of the Lord. And by practicing bhakti-yoga, if the performer is not purified from the material contamination, he must be a pseudodevotee. For such an imposter there is no remedy for being freed from material entanglement.
The real purpose of jaḍa-yoga, as mentioned here in this verse, is praśānta-karaṇaḥ, or subduing the senses. The whole process of yoga, under whatever heading it may be, is to control the unbridled material senses and thus prepare oneself for self-realization. In this age specifically, this jaḍa-yoga cannot be of any practical value, but on the other hand the practice of bhakti-yoga is feasible because it is just suitable for this age. The simple method of hearing from the right source, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, will lead one to the highest perfectional stage of yoga. Ṛṣabhadeva was the son of King Nābhi and the grandson of King Āgnīdhra, and he was the father of King Bharata, after whose name this planet earth was called Bhārata-varṣa. Ṛṣabhadeva's mother was also known as Merudevī, although her name is mentioned here as Sudevī. It is sometimes proposed that Sudevī was another wife of King Nābhi, but since King Ṛṣabhadeva is mentioned elsewhere as the son of Merudevī, it is clear that Merudevī and Sudevī are the same person under different names.
This malicious nature in the conditioned soul continues even up to the stage when a person wants to be one with the Lord, and thus even the greatest of the empiric philosophers speculating on becoming one with the Supreme Lord cannot become a paramahaṁsa because the malicious mind is there. Therefore the paramahaṁsa stage of life can be attained only by those who are fixed in the practice of bhakti-yoga. This bhakti-yoga begins if a person has the firm conviction that simply discharging devotional service to the Lord in full transcendental love can elevate him to the highest perfectional stage of life. Brahmājī believed in this art of bhakti-yoga; he believed in the instruction of the Lord to execute tapa, and he discharged the function with great penance and thus achieved the great success of seeing the Vaikuṇṭhalokas and the Lord also by personal experience. No one can reach the abode of the Supreme Lord by any mechanical means of the mind or machine, but one can reach the abode of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas simply by following the process of bhakti-yoga because the Lord can be realized only through the bhakti-yoga process.
SB Canto 3
The Supreme Personality of Godhead advised the two doorkeepers, Jaya and Vijaya, that by dint of bhakti-yoga in anger they would be delivered from the curses of the brāhmaṇas. Śrīla Madhva Muni remarks in this connection that by practicing bhakti-yoga one can become free from all sinful reactions. Even a brahma-śāpa, or curse by a brāhmaṇa, which cannot be overcome by any other means, can be overcome by bhakti-yoga.
One can practice bhakti-yoga in many rasas. There are twelve rasas, five primary and seven secondary. The five primary rasas constitute direct bhakti-yoga, but although the seven secondary rasas are indirect, they are also counted within bhakti-yoga if they are used in the service of the Lord. In other words, bhakti-yoga is all-inclusive. If one somehow or other becomes attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he becomes engaged in bhakti-yoga, as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.29.15): kāmaṁ krodhaṁ bhayam. The gopīs were attracted to Kṛṣṇa by bhakti-yoga in a relationship of lusty desire (kāma). Similarly, Kaṁsa was attached to bhakti-yoga by dint of fear of his death. Thus bhakti-yoga is so powerful that even becoming an enemy of the Lord and always thinking of Him can deliver one very quickly.
It is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā that one who engages himself in unalloyed devotional service at once becomes transcendental to the three modes of material nature and immediately realizes his identification with Brahman. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). For every item in the yoga system there is a parallel activity in bhakti-yoga, but the practice of bhakti-yoga is easier for this age. What was introduced by Lord Caitanya is not a new interpretation. Bhakti-yoga is a feasible process that begins with chanting and hearing. Bhakti-yoga and other yogas have as their ultimate goal the same Personality of Godhead, but one is practical, and the others are difficult. One has to purify his physiological condition by concentration and by restraint of the senses; then he can fix his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called samādhi.
A living entity who wants to enjoy on his personal account and not cooperate with the Supreme Lord is engaged in materialistic life. As soon as he dovetails his enjoyment with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is engaged in spiritual life. An example may be cited here: The different limbs of the body cannot enjoy life independently; they must cooperate with the whole body and supply food to the stomach. In so doing, all the different parts of the body enjoy equally in cooperation with the whole body. That is the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda, simultaneous oneness and difference. The living entity cannot enjoy life in opposition to the Supreme Lord; he has to dovetail his activities with the Lord by practicing bhakti-yoga.
When we see milk, we see that it is white; when we taste it, it appears that milk is very palatable. When we touch milk, it appears very cold; when we smell milk, it appears to have a very good flavor; and when we hear, we understand that it is called milk. Perceiving milk with different senses, we say that it is something white, something very delicious, something very aromatic, and so on. Actually, it is milk. Similarly, those who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by mental speculation may approach the bodily effulgence, or the impersonal Brahman, and those who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by yoga practice may find Him as the localized Supersoul, but those who are directly trying to approach the Supreme Truth by practice of bhakti-yoga can see Him face to face as the Supreme Person.
As instructed by her son, Devahūti also began to practice bhakti-yoga in that very āśrama. She practiced samādhi in the house of Kardama Muni, which was so beautifully decorated with flowers that it was considered the flower crown of the River Sarasvatī.
Devahūti did not leave her house, because it is never recommended for a woman to leave her home. She is dependent. The very example of Devahūti was that when she was not married, she was under the care of her father, Svāyambhuva Manu, and then Svāyambhuva Manu gave her to Kardama Muni in charity. She was under the care of her husband in her youth, and then her son, Kapila Muni, was born. As soon as her son grew up, her husband left home, and similarly the son, after discharging His duty towards His mother, also left. She could also have left home, but she did not. Rather, she remained at home and began to practice bhakti-yoga as it was instructed by her great son, Kapila Muni, and because of her practice of bhakti-yoga, the entire home became just like a flower crown on the River Sarasvatī.
SB Canto 4
By expansion of his knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, he had already attained liberation from the bondage of the body. This liberation is known as nirvāṇa. He was situated in transcendental bliss, and he continued always in that blissful existence, which expanded more and more. This was possible for him by continual practice of bhakti-yoga, which is compared to fire because it burns away all dirty, material things. He was always situated in his constitutional position of self-realization, and he could not see anything else but the Supreme Lord and himself engaged in discharging devotional service.
When a devotee takes shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is completely cleansed of all misunderstanding or mental speculation, and he manifests renunciation. This is possible only when one is strengthened by practicing bhakti-yoga. Once having taken shelter at the root of the lotus feet of the Lord, a devotee never comes back to this material existence, which is full of the threefold miseries.
As stated by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka instructions, by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—or by the process of hearing and chanting of the glories of the Lord, one's mind is gradually cleansed of all dirt. Due to our material association since time immemorial, we have accumulated heaps of dirty things in our minds. The total effect of this takes place when a living entity identifies himself with his body and is thus entrapped by the stringent laws of material nature and put into the cycle of repeated birth and death under the false impression of bodily identification. When one is strengthened by practicing bhakti-yoga, his mind is cleansed of this misunderstanding, and he is no longer interested in material existence or in sense gratification.
By practicing bhakti-yoga, one can directly perceive his advancement in spiritual life. In other practices—like karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and dhyāna-yoga—one may not be confident about his progress, but in bhakti-yoga one can become directly aware of his progress in spiritual life, just as a person who eats can understand that his hunger is satisfied. Our false appetite for enjoyment and lordship of the material world is due to a prominence of passion and ignorance. By bhakti-yoga these two qualities are diminished, and one becomes situated in the mode of goodness. Gradually surpassing the mode of goodness, one is situated in pure goodness, which is not contaminated by the material qualities. When thus situated, a devotee no longer has any doubts; he knows that he will not come back to this material world.
The spirit soul is one, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is manifested in svāṁśa and vibhinna-ṁśa expansions. The jīvas are vibhinnāṁśa expansions. The different incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are svāṁśa expansions. Thus there are different potencies of the Supreme Lord, and there are different expansions of the different potencies. In this way, for different reasons there are different expansions of the same one principle, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding is real knowledge, but when the living entity is covered by the upādhi, or designated body, he sees differences, exactly as one sees differences in reflections of oneself on water, on oil or in a mirror. When something is reflected on the water, it appears to be moving. When it is reflected on ice, it appears fixed. When it is reflected on oil, it appears hazy. The subject is one, but under different conditions it appears differently. When the qualifying factor is taken away, the whole appears to be one. In other words, when one comes to the paramahaṁsa or perfectional stage of life by practicing bhakti-yoga, he sees only Kṛṣṇa everywhere. For him there is no other objective.
When the yogī reaches the ājñā-cakra, between the two eyebrows, he is able to penetrate the brahma-randhra, or the hole in his skull, and go to any planet he desires, up to the spiritual kingdom of Vaikuṇṭha, or Kṛṣṇaloka. The conclusion is that one has to come to the brahma-bhūta stage (SB 4.30.20) for going back to Godhead. However, those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or who are practicing bhakti-yoga (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23)), can return to Godhead without even practicing the muktāsana process. The purpose of muktāsana practice is to come to the brahma-bhūta stage, for without being on the brahma-bhūta stage, one cannot be promoted to the spiritual sky.
The bhakti-yogī, practicing bhakti-yoga, is always situated on the brahma-bhūta stage (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate). If a devotee is able to continue on the brahma-bhūta platform, he enters the spiritual sky automatically after death and returns to Godhead. Consequently a devotee need not feel sorry for not having practiced the kuṇḍalinī-cakra, or not penetrating the six cakras one after another. As far as Mahārāja Pṛthu was concerned, he had already practiced this process, and since he did not want to wait for the time when his death would occur naturally, he took advantage of the ṣaṭ-cakra penetration process and thus gave up the body according to his own free will and immediately entered the spiritual sky.
In Bhagavad-gītā there are descriptions of karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, bhakti-yoga, dhyāna-yoga, etc., but unless one comes to the point of bhakti-yoga, these other yogas cannot help one attain the highest perfection of life. In other words, bhakti-yoga is the only means for liberation. We find this conclusion also in Caitanya-caritāmṛta in a discussion between Lord Caitanya and Rāmānanda Rāya regarding a human being's liberation from this material world. In that discussion Rāmānanda Rāya referred to the execution of varṇāśrama-dharma, and Lord Caitanya indicated that the varṇāśrama-dharma was simply external (eho bāhya). Lord Caitanya wanted to impress upon Rāmānanda Rāya that simply by executing the duties of varṇāśrama-dharma one is not guaranteed liberation. Finally Rāmānanda Rāya referred to the process of bhakti-yoga: sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ (SB 10.14.3). Regardless of one's condition of life, if he practices bhakti-yoga, which begins with hearing (śruti-gatām) the transcendental messages of the Lord through the mouths of devotees, he gradually conquers the unconquerable God.
Thus if one desires to enter into the spiritual world, he must try to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by practicing bhakti-yoga. Simply by practicing bhakti-yoga one can understand the Supreme Lord in truth, but without such understanding, one cannot enter the spiritual kingdom. One may be elevated to the heavenly planets or may realize himself as Brahman (ahaṁ brahmāsmi), but that is not the end of realization. One must realize the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by bhakti-yoga; then real perfection of life is attained.
SB Canto 5
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, Prince Priyavrata was a great devotee because he sought the lotus feet of Nārada, his spiritual master, and thus achieved the highest perfection in transcendental knowledge. With advanced knowledge, he always engaged in discussing spiritual subjects and did not divert his attention to anything else. The Prince's father then asked him to take charge of ruling the world. He tried to convince Priyavrata that this was his duty as indicated in the revealed scriptures. Prince Priyavrata, however, was continuously practicing bhakti-yoga by constantly remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thus engaging all his senses in the service of the Lord. Therefore, although the order of his father could not be rejected, the Prince did not welcome it. Thus he very conscientiously raised the question of whether he might be diverted from devotional service by accepting the responsibility of ruling over the world.
Ṛṣabhadeva clearly states that human life is not meant for this kind of existence, which is enjoyed even by dogs and hogs. Indeed, dogs and hogs do not have to work so hard for sex. A human being should try to live in a different way and should not try to imitate dogs and hogs. The alternative is mentioned. Human life is meant for tapasya, austerity and penance. By tapasya, one can get out of the material clutches. When one is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service, his happiness is guaranteed eternally. By taking to bhakti-yoga, devotional service, one's existence is purified. The living entity is seeking happiness life after life, but he can make a solution to all his problems simply by practicing bhakti-yoga. Then he immediately becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead.
O My sons, you should accept a highly elevated paramahaṁsa, a spiritually advanced spiritual master. In this way, you should place your faith and love in Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You should detest sense gratification and tolerate the duality of pleasure and pain, which are like the seasonal changes of summer and winter. Try to realize the miserable condition of living entities, who are miserable even in the higher planetary systems. Philosophically inquire about the truth. Then undergo all kinds of austerities and penances for the sake of devotional service. Give up the endeavor for sense enjoyment and engage in the service of the Lord. Listen to discussions about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and always associate with devotees. Chant about and glorify the Supreme Lord, and look upon everyone equally on the spiritual platform. Give up enmity and subdue anger and lamentation. Abandon identifying the self with the body and the home, and practice reading the revealed scriptures. Live in a secluded place and practice the process by which you can completely control your life air, mind and senses. Have full faith in the revealed scriptures, the Vedic literatures, and always observe celibacy. Perform your prescribed duties and avoid unnecessary talks. Always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, acquire knowledge from the right source. Thus practicing bhakti-yoga, you will patiently and enthusiastically be elevated in knowledge and will be able to give up the false ego.
King Parīkṣit asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear Lord, for those who are completely pure in heart, knowledge is attained by the practice of bhakti-yoga, and attachment for fruitive activity is completely burned to ashes. For such people, the powers of mystic yoga automatically arise. They do not cause distress. Why, then, did Ṛṣabhadeva neglect them?
May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.
At the time of death a materialist thinks of his wife and children. He is absorbed in thinking of how they will live and who will take care of them after he leaves. Consequently he is never prepared to give up his body; rather, he wants to continue to live in his body to serve his society, family, friends and so on. Therefore by practicing the mystic yoga system one must become detached from bodily relationships. If despite practicing bhakti-yoga and studying all the Vedic literature, one is afraid of giving up his bad body, which is the cause of all his suffering, what is the use of his attempts to advance in spiritual life? The secret of success in practicing yoga is to become free from bodily attachments. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, deha-smṛti nāhi yāra, saṁsāra-bandhana kāhāṅ tāra: one whose practice has freed him from the anxieties of bodily needs is no longer in conditional life. Such a person is freed from conditional bondage. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must fully discharge his devotional duties without material attachment. Then his liberation is guaranteed.
SB Canto 7
"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman." By the practice of bhakti-yoga, one immediately comes to the spiritual platform, transcendental to the actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature. The root of ignorance is material consciousness, which must be killed by spiritual consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The word bīja-nirharaṇam refers to burning the root cause of material life to ashes. In the Medinī dictionary, yoga is explained by its result: yoge 'pūrvārtha-samprāptau saṅgati-dhyāna-yuktiṣu. When one is put into an awkward position because of ignorance, the process by which one can be freed from this entanglement is called yoga. This is also called liberation.
To practice bhakti-yoga, one must first accept a bona fide spiritual master. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.74-75), advises:
- guru-pādāśrayas tasmāt
- kṛṣṇa-dīkṣādi-śikṣaṇam
- viśrambheṇa guroḥ sevā
- sādhu-vartmānuvartanam
- sad-dharma-pṛcchā bhogādi-
- tyāgaḥ kṛṣṇasya hetave
One's first duty is to accept a bona fide spiritual master. The student or disciple should be very inquisitive; he should be eager to know the complete truth about eternal religion (sanātana-dharma). The words guru-śuśrūṣayā mean that one should personally serve the spiritual master by giving him bodily comforts, helping him in bathing, dressing, sleeping, eating and so on. This is called guru-śuśrūṣaṇam. A disciple should serve the spiritual master as a menial servant, and whatever he has in his possession should be dedicated to the spiritual master. prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā. Everyone has his life, his wealth, his intelligence and his words, and all of them should be offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the via medium of the spiritual master.
When Brahmā was created from the lotus stem growing from the abdomen of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Lord Brahmā saw everything to be dark, but when he received knowledge from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything became clear, as everything becomes clear when one comes from night to sunshine. The important point is that as long as we are in the material modes of nature, we are always in darkness. This darkness cannot be dissipated without the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is invoked by the practice of bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga creates a transcendental situation with no tinges of material contamination.
SB Canto 8
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme, the Supersoul, the master of all mystic yoga, who is seen in the core of the heart by perfect mystics when they are completely purified and freed from the reactions of fruitive activity by practicing bhakti-yoga.
The King of the elephants, Gajendra, simply accepted that there must be someone who has created this cosmic manifestation and has supplied its ingredients. This should be admitted by everyone, even the most determined atheists. Why, then, do the nondevotees and atheists not admit this? The reason is that they are polluted by the reactions of their fruitive activities. One must be freed from all the dirt accumulated within the heart due to fruitive activities performed one after another. One must wash off this dirt by practicing bhakti-yoga. Yoga-randhita-karmāṇaḥ. As long as one is covered by material nature's modes of ignorance and passion, there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Lord. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye (SB 1.2.19). When one is freed from the modes of ignorance and passion, one becomes free from the lowest qualities-kāma and lobha, lust and greed.
O Supreme, You are independent in Your self and do not take help from others. Through Your own potency, You create this cosmic manifestation and enter into it. Those who are advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who are fully in knowledge of the authoritative śāstra, and who, through the practice of bhakti-yoga, are cleansed of all material contamination, can see with clear minds that although You exist within the transformations of the material qualities, Your presence is untouched by these qualities.
As one can derive fire from wood, milk from the milk bag of the cow, food grains and water from the land, and prosperity in one's livelihood from industrial enterprises, so, by the practice of bhakti-yoga, even within this material world, one can achieve Your favor or intelligently approach You. Those who are pious all affirm this.
Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is nirguṇa, not to be found within this material world, the entire material world is pervaded by Him, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam). The material world is nothing but an expansion of the Lord's material energy, and the entire cosmic manifestation rests upon Him (mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni (BG 9.4)). Nonetheless, the Supreme Lord cannot be found here (na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ). A devotee, however, can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the practice of bhakti-yoga. One ordinarily does not begin to practice bhakti-yoga unless he has practiced it in previous births. Moreover, one can begin bhakti-yoga only by the mercy of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. Guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). The seed of devotional service is obtainable by the mercy of guru, the spiritual master, and Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Only by the practice of bhakti-yoga can one achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and see Him face to face (premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38)). One cannot see the Lord by other methods, such as karma, jñāna or yoga. Under the direction of the spiritual master, one must cultivate bhakti-yoga (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23)). Then, even within this material world, although the Lord is not visible, a devotee can see Him. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55)) and in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ). Thus by devotional service one can achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He is not visible or understandable to materialistic persons.
If one practices bhakti-yoga by taking shelter of Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, simply by hearing Vāsudeva speak about Himself, one can understand everything about Him. Indeed, one can understand Him completely (samagram).
SB Canto 9
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna." (BG 4.9)
Therefore, from the very beginning of one's life one should practice bhakti-yoga, which increases one's attachment for Kṛṣṇa. If one daily sees the Deity in the temple, makes offerings by worshiping the Deity, chants the holy name of the Personality of Godhead, and preaches about the glorious activities of the Lord as much as possible, he thus becomes attached to Kṛṣṇa. This attachment is called āsakti. When one's mind is attached to Kṛṣṇa (mayy āsakta-manāḥ), one can fulfill the mission of life in one human birth. If one misses this opportunity, one does not know where he is going, how long he will remain in the cycle of birth and death, and when he will again achieve the human form of life and the chance to return home, back to Godhead. The most intelligent person, therefore, uses every moment of his life to render loving service to the Lord.
We have actually seen, especially in the Western countries, that men who have reached more than eighty years of age still go to nightclubs and pay heavy fees to drink wine and associate with women. Although such men are too old to enjoy anything, their desires have not ceased. Time deteriorates even the body itself, which is the medium for all sensual satisfaction, but even when a man becomes old and invalid, his desires are strong enough to dictate that he go here and there to satisfy the desires of his senses. Therefore, by the practice of bhakti-yoga, one should give up his lusty desires.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
The Purāṇas are old, authentic histories, but nondevotees cannot understand them, especially Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the essence of Vedic knowledge. Nondevotees cannot understand even the preliminary study of transcendental knowledge, Bhagavad-gītā. They simply speculate and present commentaries with absurd distortions. In conclusion, unless one elevates himself to the transcendental platform by practicing bhakti-yoga, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His name, form, attributes or activities. But if by chance, by the association of devotees, one can actually understand the Lord and His features, one immediately becomes a liberated person.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
"The material miseries of a living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam), which is in relation to the Supreme Truth." One can overcome all misconceptions and entanglement in the material world by practicing bhakti-yoga, and therefore Vyāsadeva, acting on the instruction of Śrī Nārada, has very kindly introduced Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to relieve the conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā. Lord Caitanya's spiritual master instructed Him, therefore, that one must read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly and with scrutiny to gradually become attached to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
CC Madhya-lila
“"One who is actually intelligent, although he may be a devotee free from material desires, a karmī desiring all kinds of material facilities, or a jñānī desiring liberation, should seriously engage in bhakti-yoga for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.""
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
"My dear King," the Lord said, "because you are a kṣatriya, you have committed the offense of slaughtering animals, both in hunting and in political engagements. To become purified, just engage yourself in the practice of bhakti-yoga and always keep your mind absorbed in Me. Very soon you will be freed from all reactions to such sordid activities." In this statement it appears that although kṣatriyas are allowed to kill animals in hunting, they are not freed from the resultant contamination of sinful reactions. Therefore, whether one is a kṣatriya, vaiśya or brāhmaṇa, everyone is recommended to take sannyāsa at the end of life, to engage himself completely in the service of the Lord and thus become freed from all sinful reactions of his past life.
Light of the Bhagavata
The example of the damsels of Vrajabhūmi Vṛndāvana (the gopīs) is given here because these eternal consorts of the Lord terribly suffered the separation of Lord Kṛṣṇa when the Lord was absent from their presence for His engagement in tending the cows in the forest. During the absence of Kṛṣṇa, the entire day would appear to the gopīs to be as unbearable as a hot day in autumn. The Lord so much appreciated this natural feeling of the gopīs that He declared His inability to repay their intense love. Lord Caitanya recommended the feeling of the gopīs as the highest mode of worship that can be rendered to the Lord. The conclusion is that the regular practice of bhakti-yoga will lead the devotee to the plane of intense love for the Lord, and that is the single qualification by which the conditioned soul is allowed to reenter the eternal life of bliss in the kingdom of God. The threefold miseries of material existence are at once nullified by intense love of God, which is the ultimate goal of cultivating the human spirit.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga bhraṣṭa sañjāyate (BG 6.41). When Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa that "Persons who are trying to make perfection in the bhakti-yoga..." Because the māyā's influence is very strong. Anyone practicing bhakti-yoga, sometimes he may fall down. But there is assurance that even one falls down, there is no loss. That has been advised by Nārada Muni, that tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi (SB 1.5.17). Just like in our movement somebody joins. A few cases have happened also that joined, being nice, but all of a sudden drifted from our Society. So Nārada Muni advised that even some, sometimes somebody may not continue, but falls down, there is no loss. Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujam. And those who are sticking to their work, prescribed duties, but not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, what they are gaining? Just try to understand. A person, say, out of sentiment, or some other influence, he joins this Movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but could not follow strictly the rules and regulation and falls down. Nārada Muni says there is no loss, even though he has fallen. But another person who is sticking to their material activities, a material... A karmī's thinking, "What these people are doing? Simply wasting time. Let us do our duty. Let us produce something"—so-called production.
ust like we have got attachment for something here in this material world. Somebody's attached to do business, somebody's attached to woman, somebody's attached to man, somebody's attached to riches, somebody's attached to art, somebody's attached to... So many things. There are many subject matters of attachment. So attachment we have got. That we cannot deny. Everyone. We have got some attachment for something. That attachment should be transferred for Kṛṣṇa. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are attached to something with consciousness, not blindly. So we have got the consciousness. When we turn our attachment, or train ourself to increase our attachment for Kṛṣṇa, that is called bhakti-yogam. Bhakti-yogam. You have heard the name of yoga. Yoga means connecting link. So if you practice this bhakti-yoga, then, gradually, you increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa. That is the... It is stated also in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). "If you practice bhakti-yoga, that is called bhaktyā, then you can understand Me. Not otherwise."
This perfection of yoga can be achieved by practicing bhakti-yoga as it is recommended here: mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ, under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, bona fide. If you practice this yoga, then you can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in complete, without any doubt. And if you practice this yoga in this life, and try to understand Kṛṣṇa, what He is, then, after giving up this body—you have to give up this body, today or tomorrow—then you go directly to Kṛṣṇa. It is therefore explained in the Fourth Chapter, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). "My dear Arjuna, anyone, if he simply tries to understand why I come in this material world, what is My mission, what do I do, if he simply one understands, then he immediately becomes fit for being transferred to the spiritual world." So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to educate people how to understand Kṛṣṇa, and then make his life perfect.
If we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa immediately, if we begin, practice this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and think of Kṛṣṇa always, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Very simple thing: always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Because this Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra teaches how to think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours. Then you'll become perfect. Rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. In all types of religious system—yoga, jñāna, karma or anything, whatever you have manufactured—you are not certain how much you have advanced. But if you practice bhakti-yoga, you'll be personally feeling, "Yes, I'm making advancement." Pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. Otherwise how you can make progress? Unless you make progress, unless you are firmly convinced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how long you can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? One day, two days, that's all. Then you'll be disgusted. Therefore, pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. One understands, "Yes!"
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Kṛṣṇa says that "I am situated in everyone's heart. Simply one has to become qualified to hear Me." And what is that qualification? That qualification is practice of bhakti-yoga. It is said, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam. Bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam means bhakti-yoga, always engaged in service of the Lord with love and affection. So teṣām, those who are always, twenty-four hours, engaged in loving service of the Lord, to him only He gives instruction, "You do like this." And what is that instruction? Yena mām upayānti te. The instruction is meant for giving him facilities to come back to home, back to Godhead. Here in this material world we are struggling for existence, and therefore we are not happy here. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You give up all these rascal engagement; you simply just surrender unto Me." And when we are surrendered, that surrender is oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. That means "Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, I accept Your proposal. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You." Then begin your loving service to render to Kṛṣṇa, and gradually you will get instruction from within, "You do like this, you do like this, you do like this." So it is not difficult for anyone. It is very simple thing.
If you learn how to practice bhakti-yoga, and that is upon Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa... Vāsudeva... And bhakti-yoga therefore says, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. Not śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam of the politician. That will not help you. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. If you hear about Kṛṣṇa, if you chant about Kṛṣṇa, if you think about Kṛṣṇa, if you offer worship to Kṛṣṇa, if you engage yourself with some service to Kṛṣṇa, if you offer everything for Kṛṣṇa, you'll see Kṛṣṇa always, twenty-four hours. This is the process. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ (SB 1.2.7). This is bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga means always be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 9.14). That is stated in the Bhagavad... Satataṁ kīrtayanto mām. These boys and girls who are in bhakti-yoga, they are satataṁ kīrtayanto kṛṣṇam. They are going... Sometimes we go to make membership with these books. So we have to speak about Kṛṣṇa. Satataṁ kīrtayantaḥ. They are cooking for Kṛṣṇa. They are dancing for Kṛṣṇa. They are singing for Kṛṣṇa. They are talking for Kṛṣṇa. They are going round the world for Kṛṣṇa. Everything for Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness and bhakti-yoga. Everyone can adopt these principles. Where is the difficulty? Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ (SB 1.2.7). In this way, if you practice bhakti-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the result will be janayaty āśu, very soon...
So everyone can bhakti-yoga practice, simply under the guidance of proper spiritual master who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa. From him you take lesson. And it is not difficult, this bhakti-yoga practice. Actually, this was the practice in India in every home. There was Deity. At least, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, they had Deity, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Sītā-Rāma, or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, or Nārāyaṇa śilā. Every house, it was being worshiped. But we have lost our culture. Vāsudeve bhakti-yogaḥ..., bhakti-prayojitaḥ. We have lost this culture. Revive it. Don't lose this opportunity of human life. Practice bhakti-yoga and be Kṛṣṇa conscious, and make your life successful. That is our mission. We are teaching. It is not a business, that "Give me some money; I will teach you." It is open. We are asking everyone, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra." What is the difficulty? There is no loss. You haven't got to pay anything. Simply as these boys have learned to chant and dance, kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau. This is the Gosvāmīs' teachings,"Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra." And why should you go to see dancing elsewhere? Dance at home. Make family organization in that way. You will be happy. Then you will understand what is your position.
Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that "Why we should go to the heavenly planet or Brahmaloka or any other material planet? We shall go directly to the abode of Kṛṣṇa, Goloka Vṛndāvana." That is the aim of the devotees. So that aim you can fulfill by practicing bhakti-yoga. That is mentioned here, bhaktiḥ pravṛttā ātma-rajas-tamopahā. So rajas-tamas. So long one is situated in the modes of passion and ignorance, there is no hope. There is no hope. But when one comes to the platform of sattva-guṇa, there is little hope of transcending. So bhakti-yoga is above sattva-guṇa. In the sattva-guṇa, in the modes of goodness, you can become a nice brāhmaṇa, but simply by becoming a nice brāhmaṇa you, your, you are not free from the material bondage. When you become a pure Vaiṣṇava, then you are free from the bondage of the material world. And to become Vaiṣṇava, you require this devotion, bhakti. Bhakti. Immediately, beginning of bhakti means rajas-tamopahā, upahā. One who is situated even beginning, he is above the rajas-tamo-guṇa.
So Vyāsadeva first of all made his life perfect. How? Bhakti-yogena. by practicing bhakti-yoga. And bhakti-yoga means manasā. Manasā vācā karmaṇā. Here it is said, manasā. Manasā, that is very nice bhakti-yoga, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18), as Ambarīṣa Mahārāja did. Always Ambarīṣa Mahārāja fixed up his mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. So here also, Vyāsadeva, bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite amale (SB 1.7.4), when the mind was completely cleansed, then he saw. What he saw? Apaśyat. Apaśyat means "he visioned, he saw," puruṣaṁ pūrṇam, "the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead." And māyā. He saw also māyā, māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam, māyā on the back side, back side. So in this way he made his life first of all perfect, then he wrote this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam after becoming perfect. Therefore you will find in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, each word is transcendental. Each word is full of meaning and transcendental knowledge because the writer, the composer of this transcendental book, is Vyāsadeva. He is perfect, Vedavyāsa, perfect in Vedic knowledge.
So Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, a great devotee, he controlled his mind, senses, in this way. The first thing is to... Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18). This yoga practice... Bhakti-yoga means this, not to try artificially to control the mind the senses. That will be failure. In most cases they are failure. In some cases they are perfect or successful, but in most cases they are failure, especially in this age, when people have no training, no..., simply extravagant, doing everywhere what he likes, no brahmacārī system. Nothing is taught. Formerly (in) the Vedic civilization, the boys should be sent to Gurukula for practicing brahmacarya. There is no such question now. So the so-called practice of yoga is simply useless waste of time. They cannot do anything. It is not possible.
So to understand the Absolute Truth you have to accept this sāṅkhya-yoga or bhakti-vitāna-yogam. Then you will understand very... Because question was, by Devahūti, that manda-dhīḥ sukhaṁ buddhyeya. Sukhaṁ buddhyeya: "Very easily, without any much trouble, I may understand. You kindly describe in this way—the Absolute Truth I can understand very easily." So that is bhakti-yoga. In the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā it is said, susukhaṁ kartum avyayam (BG 9.2). Susukham. If you practice bhakti-yoga, it is very easy, at the same time very pleasing, very pleasing. Susukhaṁ kartum avyayam. And avyayam. Avyayam means not deteriorating. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt. If you execute even partially, it has got so potency that it will lead you more and more to the ultimate goal of life. This is called perfect sāṅkhya-yoga.
Just like the Sattva Satyakāma, Jabala-Satyakāma Upaniṣad. The boy approached Gautama Muni that "Kindly accept me, your disciple. Initiate me." Formerly, without becoming a brāhmaṇa specially, they were not initiated. So in those days all the families were very pure. Therefore born of a brāhmaṇa father is understood that he has got the training of a brāhmaṇa. That is a facility. Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭaḥ sañjāyate (BG 6.41). By pious activities or by practice of bhakti-yoga, if one has not completed, yoga-bhraṣṭa, one who falls down from the yoga practice, such person is given another chance to take birth in a nice family, a brāhmaṇa family or a rich mercantile family. The brāhmaṇa family is rich in knowledge, and the kṣatriyas and the vaiśyas, they are rich in opulence, wealth, material riches. And śūdras, they are not rich either in material wealth or in knowledge. Therefore they are called śūdras.
You cannot take shelter of Kṛṣṇa directly, that is not possible, but one who has taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa, you can take shelter of him. That is mad-āśrayaḥ, one, mat-āśrayaḥ: "a person who has taken shelter of Me." That means His devotee, a pure Vaiṣṇava, a Vaiṣṇava guru. You have to take shelter of. Then you can practice bhakti-yoga. Then never mind what you are. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ, ye 'nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ (SB 2.4.18). If you take shelter of a devotee of Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, then śuddhyanti—you'll be purified. Śuddhyanti. How it is possible that...? He's born in low-grade family, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā. How he became so purified that he can see? Now prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ. This is Kṛṣṇa's influence. He can do that. If you take shelter, upāśrayāśrayāḥ, a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa is pleased to reveal Himself. That is Kṛṣṇa's special power, Viṣṇu's special power. He can be seen even by the kirāta-hūṇāndhra andhra, and He cannot be seen even by the most purified brāhmaṇa. That is His option. He is not exposed to be seen by everyone. That is not possible.
To understand Kṛṣṇa, you require your tongue. Generally we understand by seeing or by hearing. Hearing is there, but here it is recommended tongue, especially. Why tongue is used? Because if you simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa by your tongue and taste Kṛṣṇa prasādam, you will understand Kṛṣṇa. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. If you make it a promise that "I shall not talk anything except Kṛṣṇa's message," and if you promise that "I shall not take anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa," these two things, this prasādam and chanting, will make you perfect to understand Kṛṣṇa. In another place Kṛṣṇa says, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This is yoga, bhakti-yoga. How easy it is. There are so many yogas, but if you practice bhakti-yoga you become first-class yogi.
Tṛpyanti neha kṛpana bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ. The sense, the tongue, the belly, the straight line, and then the genital. If you can control the tongue, then you can control your belly and then control your genital. And that is required. Unless you can control the genital, there is no question of liberation from this material bondage. This is the principle. Therefore by practicing bhakti-yoga, gradually,... Immediately it is not possible. But gradually, by sticking to the regulative principles and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, we shall be able to control the senses, and the first sense is the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). The senses are so strong, they'll not allow me to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. They'll not allow me. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to understand Kṛṣṇa, His name, His form, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, so many things. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. How much we have to learn about Him, just imagine. So all these things cannot be understood by these blunt senses engaged in material sense enjoyment. That is not possible. Therefore we have to control the senses. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136).
So therefore why not practice bhakti-yoga from the beginning if you want to see Kṛṣṇa? And that is recommended by Kṛṣṇa:
- yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
- mad-gata āntarātmanā
- śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
- sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
- (BG 6.47)
Kṛṣṇa says, "He's first-class yogi." Who? "Who is always trying to see Kṛṣṇa within the heart." So it is very difficult task? In our bhakti-yoga we can teach this art of seeing Kṛṣṇa within the core of the heart in one minute. It is so simple. You are seeing Kṛṣṇa here. You must have impression and try to keep that impression within your heart always. Then you become first-class yogi. Why so much gymnastic and pressing the nose? No. Take directly. If you are engaged twenty-four hours in the service of the Deity, you cannot see except the Deity. This bhakti-yoga practice is so simple. Therefore kaniṣṭha adhikārī, those who are neophyte, they must take to Deity worship. By Deity worship he is elevated to the position of seeing the Lord within the heart. This is very important thing. You can see—He is there—but you have no knowledge, or even if you have knowledge, you are not competent to see Him.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So Brahman is spiritual, undoubtedly, but more than Brahman is Paramātmā, and more than Paramātmā is Paraṁbrahman, Kṛṣṇa. Yad advaitaṁ brahma upaniṣadi. If you study the Upaniṣads, then you can realize Brahman. And if you practice yoga, then you can realize Paramātmā. And if you practice bhakti-yoga, then you can realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the process. The more you advance... Just like the sunshine. Sunshine and the sun globe or the sun-god—they are of the same quality, heat and light. But the sunshine is not the sun globe, neither the sun globe is the sun-god. It is this; therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy, acintya-bhedābheda, inconceivable one and different simultaneously.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: Occasionally, for instance, there will be some great genius born in a family, and they will say that somehow or other, nature has produced this genius. The parents are not so intelligent.
Prabhupāda: No. Genius means he, in his previous life, he cultured, and next life is being manifested. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yogo bhraṣṭaḥ sañjāyate (BG 6.41). So yoga-bhraṣṭaḥ, one who could not finish his yogic activities perfectly, he is given chance. Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe. Not that accidental.
Śyāmasundara: So through the practice of some kind of yoga system, men develop higher consciousness.
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is also, we are practicing, bhakti-yoga.
Hayagrīva: Plotinus saw the individual souls returning to God or the One through three stages. The first stage is that of asceticism, detaching oneself from the material world. The second stage, one detaches oneself from the process of reasoning itself. That would be mental speculation. And in the third stage the intellect transcends itself into the realm of the unknown, the realm of the One, and he speaks of this as an ecstasy, an involvement, or a transcendence of the ego. So these are the three stages of God realization that he sets down.
Prabhupāda: That means, what he called three stages, karmī, jñānī, yogi. That karmīs, they are trying to improve their condition by this material science and material advancement of education, and some of them are trying to go the heavenly planets by pious activities. These are karmīs. And higher than the karmīs are the jñānīs. They are speculating on the Absolute Truth by their education and coming to the conclusion that God is impersonal; when we merge into that impersonal feature, that is our liberation. And the yogis, they are trying to get some mystic power by practicing mystic yoga system—wonderful power, aṣṭa-siddhi, eight kinds of perfection: to become lighter than the lightest, to become smaller than the smallest, to become bigger than the biggest. Whatever they like, they can get. They can subdue anyone, bring under his control with that yogic (indistinct). But real yoga means to see the Supreme within the core of the heart. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). In this way there are different processes. They are called karma, jñāna and yoga. But they require endeavor to elevate, strenuous endeavor, all these practices. But the, the supreme process is simply to surrender unto the Supreme One, and He gives out intelligence how to be free from this material entanglement, and that is called bhakti-yoga. It is very pleasing to execute, and without any, much endeavor. Simply being fully surrendered to the Supreme Lord, he immediately becomes purified from all material contamination, and little practice of bhakti-yoga makes him completely fit for going back to home, back to Godhead.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Kalki's nature, that is described in Bhāgavata. He will come just like a prince, royal dress with sword, and on horseback, simply killing, no preaching. All rascals killed. No more preaching. (laughing) That is the last. There will be no brain to understand what is God.
Allen Ginsberg: There will be no brain to understand God?
Prabhupāda: They will be so dull, so dull. It requires brain to understand. Just like in the Bhāgavata it is said that evaṁ prasanna-manaso (SB 1.2.20), "fully joyful," bhagavad-bhakti-yoga, "by practice of bhakti-yoga." Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ, mukta-saṅgasya: "and freed from all material contamination." He can understand God. Do you think God is so cheap thing, anyone will understand? Because they do not understand, they present something nonsense: "God is like this. God is like that. God is like that." And when God Himself comes, that "Here I am, Kṛṣṇa," they don't accept it. They'll create their own God.
1971 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: So we have to take knowledge from Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva. How? Vyāsadeva is the learned, most learned than others. How? That is explained in the Bhāgavata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: bhakti-yogena manasi. Because he has adopted bhakti-yoga, bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite amale (SB 1.7.4). Bhakti-yogena, by practice of bhakti-yoga one's mind and intelligence become cleansed, dirtiless, dirt..., without any dirt. Just like the mirror, if it is without any dirt, it is cleansed, clear, you can see everything rightly, your face, or even in the spot in the face, everything, corner to corner, very nicely reflected. So bhakti-yogena, by practicing this bhakti-yoga, one becomes cleared in consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then everything comes. Now suppose personally, myself, we are challenging, we are calling them by names, "rascal," but I am not a scientist. I never studied astronomy, astrology, or anything. But why I am telling? What power I have got? But I am challenging on the words of a superior answer. I am confident that the words spoken by Vyāsadeva or Kṛṣṇa, that is perfect. Therefore they are rascals, because their statement do not corroborate. In other words, we can understand. That is our advantage. Bhakti-yogena. If you practice bhakti-yoga, yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau (ŚU 6.23), if one is, one has unflinching faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and his spiritual master, yathā-deve... Deve means the Supreme Lord, and guru, and guru also, the spiritual master. A person who has got unflinching faith in these two personalities-guru and Kṛṣṇa—then the facility will be that all the revealed scriptures will be manifest automatically, even though he is not, not very learned. The purport of the whole knowledge will be revealed from within, because Kṛṣṇa is within, and the spiritual master is without, so both of them will help. Our students are going so many places—in the schools, colleges, universities. They're surprised how they're speaking so nicely, because they have got unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Aśāś... It is not permanent. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It appears and disappears. So because nityo nityānām, there is transaction between the nitya, the Supreme Nitya, Kṛṣṇa, and the...
Dr. Patel: Cetanaś cetanānām.
Prabhupāda: And the subordinate nityas, the living entities. So there must be one place also where this transaction takes place. Because this is anitya. This material world is anitya. So how the transaction between the nitya and nityānām can take place? Because the place is anitya. Therefore there must be a place which is nitya. There must be place. That is Vaikuṇṭha dhāma, spiritual world. So by practicing bhakti-yoga scientifically, by practical understanding, practical application, yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ, either at the shelter...
Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
I am so glad to receive your letter dated July 10, 1968, and I embrace you thankfully that you have become so much interested in Bhakti yoga. This Bhakti yoga is very pleasing, practical, and readily understandable how far we are making progress. But in practicing Bhakti yoga, we can make immediately an estimation of our progress. For example, all our students, they are completely refrained from 4 principles of prohibition in which they were addicted in their previous life. But since they are initiated, they are not taking any meat, they are not taking any intoxicants, including tea, coffee, and cigarettes, and so many other things but very nicely they are keeping the balance. So this is practical example that at least he is saved so much botheration, and unnecessary expenditures in the matter of eating and drinking. Sometimes I think when I see on the street strewn cigarette butts, that if people in general give up cigarette smoking, how much money they can save daily without any effort. And if they contribute the money for spreading Krishna consciousness, we can prosecute so many activities to change the face of the world. So Krishna Consciousness movement is all good from all sides. From social , political, economical, hygienic and many other points of view. And at last it is the greatest gift because at the end, we become associated with Krishna. I am very glad that you are attending Kirtana and eating prasadam and transcendentally enjoying the association of the devotees in the temple. Kindly continue this method and you will be more and more enlightened.
1975 Correspondence
I am in due receipt of your letter dated Feb. 1, 1975 and have noted the contents. I am glad that you enjoyed our chanting. You are welcome to come again and again if you like. You should understand though that we are not very much concerned with the principles of Hatha-yoga. We practice Bhakti-yoga strictly and since Bhakti includes all other results obtained from practicing other yogas as it is declared in the Bhagavad-gita to be the culmination of all yogas it becomes unnecessary for us to apply any other techniques besides simply chanting and hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna who is called Yogesvara or the master of all yoga. Of course, it is certain that if one sits with straight spine it may be of some help in his ability to concentrate, but it cannot be considered as essential by any means. That thing which is really essential in Bhakti is to develop one's eternal dormant love for Krishna.
| Page Title: | Practice of bhakti-yoga |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Serene |
| Created: | 08 of Aug, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=40, CC=2, OB=3, Lec=19, Con=3, Let=2 |
| No. of Quotes: | 71 |