May 2015 – Light of Godhead

SB 1.2.8-10: Need of the spirit soul

SB 1.2.8: The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead

The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead. There is a dormant affection for God within everyone; spiritual existence is manifested through the gross body and mind in the form of perverted affection for gross and subtle matter.

light-of-godhead2015-06-24T22:04:33+00:00May 22nd, 2015|Categories: Canto 1, Dharma, Simple living high thinking, Srimad Bhagavatam notes|Tags: Performing duty|

Scorpion and the sage

Speaker: Radhanath Swami
Source: Advent of Kali-yuga

We know that great sages by nature are paradukha dukhi. That means their only sorrow is the sorrow of others. They only live for the welfare of others. They are even willing to suffer, to be humiliated and sometimes even be killed for the welfare of others. There’s a story where a sage was sitting on the bank of the Ganges and saw a scorpion drowning. So he picked up this scorpion to save him but the scorpion just stung him. Of course the

light-of-godhead2015-09-21T22:04:32+00:00May 21st, 2015|Categories: Compassion, Dharma, Stories, Videos|Tags: Sage, Scorpion, Sting|

Higher taste

Speaker: Premanjana Dasa
Source: The Affection of Srila Prabhupada

Haridas Prabhu had the habit of stealing money from the temple; he had a habit for stealing. He used to get money for the deity kitchen, devotee kitchen etc. As a habit, he generally used to steal Rs. 1 or Rs. 2 (in 1972) it used to be a ‘very big thing’ at that time.

There was one such incident that Haridas recalls, “Srila Prabhupada was here as he used to come to Hare Krishna Land. He used to get extra

light-of-godhead2015-11-01T05:57:53+00:00May 21st, 2015|Categories: Affection, Haridasa Thakura, Higher taste, Pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, Videos|Tags: Chocolate, Halwa|

Pavarga – material conditional life

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: Everyone can serve Krishna

So Suta Gosvami is describing the purpose of religiosity. Dharmasya hy apavargyasya. Dharma, to accept a system of religion means to accept the path of liberation. Apavargyasya. This apavarga is very significant word. Pavarga and apavarga. Pavarga means pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. In grammatical ways, ka, kha, ga, gha, ka-varga, ca-varga, ta-varga, ta-varga, and pa-varga. Five vargas. Vargiya varnas. And there are antah-stha varnas. This is grammatical.

So dharmasya hy apavargyasya. “A” means negation, negation of pavarga. Pa means parisrama,

light-of-godhead2015-05-22T04:55:07+00:00May 21st, 2015|Categories: Dharma, Material existence|Tags: Apavarga, Pavarga|

It is natural to serve

Source: Breaking Ground

Suddenly the old derelict returns, announcing his entrance: “How are ya?” He is carrying something. He maneuvers his way through the group, straight to the back of the temple, where the Swami is sitting. He opens the toilet room door, puts two rolls of bathroom tissue inside, closes the door, and then turns to the sink, sits some paper towels on top of it and puts two more rolls of bathroom tissue and some more paper towels under the sink. He then stands and turns around

light-of-godhead2015-09-14T06:27:11+00:00May 21st, 2015|Categories: Pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, Service attitude, Videos|Tags: Bathroom tissue, Bum|

Real starvation

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: Relieving Our Bodily Burden

Real starvation is of the soul. The soul is not getting spiritual food. Here, in this meeting, this is meant for giving to the starving spirit soul. And as soon as you get some spiritual food, then we become happy. That is the situation. Yayatma suprasidati. Unless you get spiritual food there cannot be satisfaction of the real soul. The same example, within the cage there is the bird. If you simply wash the cage very nicely and cover it and paint

light-of-godhead2015-08-31T21:11:47+00:00May 21st, 2015|Categories: Analogies, Real satisfaction, Videos|Tags: Bird in the cage, Encagement, Freedom, Starvation|

Karna deceives his guru Parshurama

Speaker: Gopal Jiu Publications
Source: Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu

One day, when Sri Parshurama experienced some fatigue due to fasting, he thought of taking rest. Out of affection, he took rest in Karna’s lap. At that time, a deadly stinging carnivorous insect, who would feed on the blood and flesh of others climbed onto the lap of Karna and pierced the leg of Karna with his stinger. Due to the wound caused by the sting, Karna’s leg started slowly bleeding. Karna did not move even a bit, although he was

light-of-godhead2015-06-09T15:14:10+00:00May 21st, 2015|Categories: Brahmana, Karna, Ksatriya, Parasurama, Stories, Tolerance|Tags: Cheating, Insect, Sting|

SB 1.2.6-7: Complete satisfaction

SB 1.2.6: The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

A living being’s sustenance of existence is to coordinate his activities with his eternal relation with the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the central pivot of living beings, and He is the all-attractive living entity or eternal form amongst all other living beings or eternal forms. Each and every living being has his eternal form in the spiritual existence, and Kṛṣṇa is the eternal attraction for all of them. Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole, and everything else is His part and parcel. The relation is one of the servant and the served. It is transcendental and is completely distinct from our experience in material existence.This relation of servant and the served is the most congenial form of intimacy. One can realize it as devotional service progresses. Everyone should engage himself in that transcendental loving service of the Lord, even in the present conditional state of material existence. That will gradually give one the clue to actual life and please him to complete satisfaction.

light-of-godhead2015-09-07T22:46:59+00:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Canto 1, Detachment, Knowledge, Real satisfaction, Srimad Bhagavatam notes|

If Krsna is not satisfied we starve

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: Senses On Strike

There is a story in the Hitopadesa: Udarendriyanam. Udara. Udara means this belly, abdomen, and indriya means senses. Udarendriyanam. What is that? All the different parts of the body, hands, legs, fingers and everyone, they held a meeting, that “We are working day and night, and this rascal abdomen is sitting down and eating only. (laughter) He is doing nothing. We are collecting everything, and putting into the stomach, and he is eating, very…, sitting nice. So strike: ‘We shall not work.’

light-of-godhead2015-05-22T05:00:31+00:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Analogies, Real satisfaction, Senses, Service attitude|Tags: Senses on strike|

Durvasa muni visits the Pandavas

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: If Krishna Says All Right…

If you simply satisfy Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you satisfy all others. Tasmin tusto jagat tustah. Just like you know the story, in Mahabharata, that Duryodhana planned… Duryodhana… Once Duryodhana satisfied Durvasa Muni very nicely, and Durvasa Muni wanted to give him some benediction, “Now you take some benediction, whatever you like.” So Duryodhana was very cunning. His only aim was how to cheat the Pandavas. So he

light-of-godhead2015-10-10T23:01:35+00:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Durvasa muni, Lords protection, Pandavas, Stories, Videos|Tags: Real satisfaction|

At least lift your anchor

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: At Least Lift Your Anchor

Perhaps you all remember that a bridegroom party was to go to the bride’s home. In India the marriage party, bridegroom party, the bride, his father, his relatives, go with the bride, bridegroom, to the bride’s home, and the marriage ceremony takes place there in the presence of all kinds of relatives. That is the system. So the marriage was to take place in a different village some miles away, and in Bengal the land is full of rivers. The rivers are

light-of-godhead2015-09-28T21:32:59+00:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Analogies, Material enjoyment, Videos|Tags: Anchor, Boat, Marriage Party, Motivated|

Real tolerance – being dutiful in all circumstances

Speaker: Radhanath Swami
Source: Pure Devotional Service

One time a professor, scholar, Indian man asked Srila Prabhupada, “Krsna says in Bhagavad-Gita matra sparsas tu kaunteya (BG 2.14) yet we see Subhadra weeping when Abhimanyu was killed, Arjuna weeping after having heard the Bhagavad Gita. Why was he so disturbed? He wasn’t supposed to be disturbed. After all, body is a temporary thing, his soul wasn’t killed”. Srila Prabhupada said, “It is natural. The body is the medium by which we communicate with the soul. It is natural when parent(s)

light-of-godhead2015-06-10T05:43:17+00:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Abhimanyu, Arjuna, Pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, Tolerance|Tags: Battle of Kurukshetra, Dutiful|