Srila Prabhupada- He ( a devotee) should also make friendship with persons who are on an equal level with himself or who have the same understanding that he does. For a devotee, there is no point in making friendships with ordinary persons; he should make friendship with other devotees so that by discussing among themselves, they may elevate one another on the path of spiritual understanding. This is called iṣṭa-goṣṭhī.

(SB 3.29.17p)

The post Friendship with devotees appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada- If a disciple is very serious to execute the mission of the spiritual master, he immediately associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by vāṇī or vapuḥ . This is the only secret of success in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead of being eager to see the Lord in some bush of Vṛndāvana while at the same time engaging in sense gratification, if one instead sticks to the principle of following the words of the spiritual master, he will see the Supreme Lord without difficulty.

(SB 4.8.51p)

The post The Only Secret of Success in Seeing the Supreme Lord appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada- A devotee should also be compassionate to the poor. This does not refer to those who are poverty-stricken materially. According to devotional vision, a man is poor if he is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A man may be very rich materially, but if he is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is considered poor. On the other hand, many ācāryas, such as Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī, used to live beneath trees every night. Superficially it appeared that they were poverty-stricken, but from their writings we can understand that in spiritual life they were the richest personalities.

(SB 3.29.17p)

The post Spiritual poverty : The only crisis that matters appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada- In Bhagavad-gītā there is reference to bodhayantaḥ parasparam , “discussing among themselves.” Generally pure devotees utilize their valuable time in chanting and discussing various activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Caitanya amongst themselves. There are innumerable books, such as the purāṇas, Mahābhārata, Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā and Upaniṣads, which contain countless subjects for discussion among two devotees or more. Friendship should be cemented between persons with mutual interests and understanding. Such persons are said to be sva jāti, “of the same caste.”

(SB 3.29.17p )

The post Bodhayantaḥ Parasparam: The Friendship of Devotees appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

Unless one is associated with devotees, his devotional service does not mature ; it does not become distinct from material activities. The Lord says, satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ (SB 3.25.25). Only in the association of pure devotees can the words of Lord Kṛṣṇa be fully potent and relishable to the heart and ear .

(SB 4.9.11p)

The post Only in the association of devotees appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

Jīva Gosvāmī, commenting on this verse, says that Kṛṣṇa, in His plenary expansion as Paramātmā, is situated in the moving and the nonmoving entities as the Supersoul, so any neophyte devotee who simply gives his attention to the arca-mūrti, the form of the Supreme Lord in the temple, and does not respect other living entities is uselessly worshiping the form of the Lord in the temple.

There are three kinds of devotees of the Lord, and the neophyte is in the lowest stage. The neophyte devotee gives more attention to the Deity in the temple than to other devotees, so Jīva Gosvāmī warns that this sort of mentality should be corrected.

A devotee should see that Kṛṣṇa is present in everyone’s heart as Paramātmā; therefore every body is the embodiment or the temple of the Supreme Lord, and as such, as one offers respect to the temple of the Lord, he should similarly properly respect each and every body in whom the Paramātmā dwells.

Everyone should therefore be given proper respect and should not be neglected.

(BG 9.11p)

The post Respecting Krishna’s hidden abode appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

In spiritual life, one must conduct one’s whole life under the guidance of the guru. Only one who executes his spiritual life under the direction of the spiritual master can achieve the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. If one desires to advance in spiritual life but he acts whimsically, not following the orders of the spiritual master, he has no shelter. Yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi.

(SB 7.12.11p)

The post Only one who executes his spiritual life under the direction of the spiritual master can achieve the mercy of Kṛṣṇa appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada: Any family engaged in Krishna’s service is living not in this material world. Such a home is considered as Vaikuntha . That is the verdict of Bhaktivinode Thakura.

Your husband is already a householder sannyasi because he has no other business than to serve Krishna. You can be living peacefully with husband and children and always engaged in Krishna Consciousness. One should become sannyasa by action, not by dress.

(Letter to Indira  —  London 15 August, 1971)

The post One should become sannyasi by action, not by dress appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching people how to come to the stage of dedicating everything to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 9.27):

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

“O son of Kuntī, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.”

If whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we think and whatever we plan is for the advancement of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, this is oneness . There is no difference between chanting for Kṛṣṇa consciousness and working for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. On the transcendental platform, they are one. But we must be guided by the spiritual master about this oneness; we should not manufacture our own oneness .

(SB 7.15.64p)

The post No difference between chanting for Kṛṣṇa consciousness and working for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.

God is known to be unconquerable, but one who submissively hears the words of a self-realized soul conquers the unconquerable. The conclusion is that if one is serious about liberation, he not only should execute the occupational duties of varṇāśrama-dharma but should also engage in bhakti-yoga by beginning hearing from a realized soul. This process will help the devotee conquer the unconquerable Supreme Personality of Godhead and become His associate after giving up the material body.

(SB 4.24.53p)

The post Why we should daily hear a Srila Prabhupada lecture appeared first on For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna.