Spiritual bliss (Conv and Letters)

Expressions researched:
"spiritual bliss"

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Unless you are free from the material desires, you cannot enjoy what is the celestial or spiritual bliss in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

Morning Walk Excerpts -- May 1, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...Vaiṣṇava kavi has sung,

viṣaya chāriyā, se rase mājīyā,

mukhe bala hari hari

Unless you are free from the material desires, you cannot enjoy what is the celestial or spiritual bliss in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If one has got material desires, he cannot enjoy.

viṣaya chāriyā, se rase mājīyā,

mukhe bala hari hari

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

That change of form is not material change. The spiritual bliss is there, either in this form or that form.

Garden Conversation -- June 23, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Pradyumna: Just as the glove has a certain form because the hand is shaped like that, the material body of a human has that form because the spirit is in that form? And the tree has that form because the spirit is in that form?

Prabhupāda: Here difficulty is that the form is fixed up. That is not.... Just like Kṛṣṇa appears in so many forms, everything is spiritual. So what do you think?

Devotee (2): So the form in the spiritual sky is not absolute either? We can take different forms in the spiritual sky?

Prabhupāda: Yes, there are also many forms, but all of them are spiritual. The Vṛndāvana. There is tree, there is Yamunā water, there is land, there is cow, there is calf, there is gopas, gopīs, they are all spiritual. Just like from earth you make many forms, but they are earth. You make pots, you make dolls, but they are all earth. Similarly, spiritual world, there are many forms, they are all spiritual. What is the difficulty?

Pradyumna: Does that form ever change? That form changes also?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Pradyumna: Kṛṣṇa is young and then He's a little older.

Prabhupāda: Generally, it does not change, if one likes this type of form. Śānta, dāsya, sākhya, vātsalya, mādhurya.

Kulādri: That change is available to anyone to progress from śānta to dāsya?

Prabhupāda: That change is not material change. The spiritual bliss is there, either in this form or that form.

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

The Mayavadi philosophy having killed the spiritual variegatedness of the Supreme Being—the people are generally attracted in the variegatedness of material existence. In the vedanta sutras, we have direct information of how a spiritual entity is joyful—full of spiritual bliss.

Letter to K. M. Munshi -- Bombay 21 February, 1957:

If I remember rightly, you have been criticizing in the meeting of the 16th instant about the culture of Hollywood cinemas. The Mayavadi philosophy having killed the spiritual variegatedness of the Supreme Being—the people are generally attracted in the variegatedness of material existence. In the vedanta sutras, we have direct information of how a spiritual entity is joyful—full of spiritual bliss. This idea of enjoyment is focussed through a material _ and as such the spiritual focus is reflected in a perverted manner. The attention of the people in general is attracted by the cinemas in place of temples, because the Mayavadi philosophy—impersonality of Godhead has created a void in the spiritual realm. But in fact the spiritual realm is not at all void. It is full of variegatedness of spiritual mellows. If you create a void in the Spirit unnecessarily, you have to create necessarily a fill-up in the material existence and that is the cause why temples are being replaced by vulgar cinemas.

1968 Correspondence

Atheistic people may call it that the Jagannatha Murti was made of wood, and the car was also made of wood, but the spiritual bliss can be exacted from anything, simply in Krishna Consciousness.

Letter to Aniruddha -- Montreal 7 July, 1968:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 2, 1968, describing very briefly and emotionally about the nice success of our Rathayatra festival. When Gargamuni came here the other day he also described it so nicely and now you can understand the specimen of transcendental pleasure in which the human society as a whole can take part and realize transcendental bliss. The Car Festival was very simple. After all, it is a car with 4 wheels, but it attracted the people so enthusiastically because there was His Lordship, the Jagannatha. Atheistic people may call it that the Jagannatha Murti was made of wood, and the car was also made of wood, but the spiritual bliss can be exacted from anything, simply in Krishna Consciousness. Even accepting the whole affair as wooden, a Krishna Consciousness person can understand that wood is nothing but display of Krishna's energy. So it is the Krishna Consciousness energy that gives us transcendental bliss, just like it is the electric energy passing through copper cable which gives us electric light and heat. Simply the Krishna Consciousness electric energy can immediately be attractive by developing our sense of Krishna Consciousness, which I am sure you are experiencing gradually how easily it can be done.

One who is in personal touch with Krishna, their spiritual bliss is incomparable. The spiritual bliss derived from impersonalist realization is just like a drop of water in the presence of the Atlantic Ocean.

Letter to Gurudasa -- Los Angeles 14 December, 1968:

It is very much encouraging to me to hear of so many activities of performing kirtana there. Kirtana is the universal principle, therefore, if you chant Hare Krishna offenselessly, that is to say, avoiding the 10 kinds of offenses, the vibration is sure to act. And anywhere this vibration is made, it will be liked because it is done on the spiritual platform. And on the spiritual platform, there will be certainly agreement. So long one is on the material platform, there is no agreement. So our movement is directly taken to the spiritual platform. So do it nicely, offenselessly, and it will be successful anywhere.

It is just like that in the milk, there is butter, but if you want concentrated butter, you have to churn milk and take out the butter. Similarly, Krishna is spread everywhere by different potencies but when there is question of love, we have to be in direct touch with Krishna. That is personalism. The heat of the impersonalist sunshine and the heat in the sunglobe is far different. One who is in personal touch with Krishna, their spiritual bliss is incomparable. The spiritual bliss derived from impersonalist realization is just like a drop of water in the presence of the Atlantic Ocean. That is the difference between personalism and impersonalism.

1970 Correspondence

If anyone chants this mantra in good faith and in simple understanding, then surely this transcendental vibration will act immediately in spiritual bliss.

Letter to Minoru, Kenji -- Los Angeles 22 April, 1970:

I am very glad to learn also that you are feeling joy while chanting the mantra Hare Krishna. Yes, it is exactly like this. If anyone chants this mantra in good faith and in simple understanding, then surely this transcendental vibration will act immediately in spiritual bliss. Please therefore continue to chant this mantra as many times as possible throughout the day and night. I do not think there is any inconvenience or loss on your part if you do so all the time. Even when you are walking, you can softly chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, or even when you are on the bus going to somewhere you can also chant. When you are working with your hands you can also chant and when you are resting or going to take rest you can also chant. Even in your toilet room while taking bath you can also chant. In this way there is no limitation or restriction for chanting this Holy Name of God, Krishna, and His Energy, Hara. In doing this business there is no loss, but there is very great gain which is transcendental realization.