1. My Lord, I am worthless

    ...any language, you should submit, and you should feel that, that "I am worthless. My Guru Maharaja has given this chance to serve Krsna, to offer Krsna... My Lord, I am worthless. I have no capacity to serve You. But on the order of my Guru Maharaja, I am trying to serve You. Please do not take any offense. Accept whatever I can do. That's all. That is my request." That mantra is sufficient. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita,...
  2. No need of so-called millions of stars

    As soon as we say that "If you want to become my disciple, you will have to give up four things: no illicit sex, no intoxication up to drinking tea and smoking cigarette, no meat-eating and no gambling," and they criticize me, "Swamiji is very conservative." And if I say that "You can do all nonsense, whatever you like. You simply take this mantra and give me $125," they will like. Because in America, $125 is nothing. Any man...
  3. Kirtan nectar

    In Your Divine Grace's garden in Los Angeles, I was seated amongst a few disciples at your lotus feet ("the disciple learns love from the spiritual master"). We were softly chanting japa, waiting for you to speak something (revelation). The joyful sound of kirtana was coming from the temple room, and you said (by your causeless mercy), Was it you, Gargamuni? Or was it someone else who asked me if these kirtanas were disturbing me in the garden? "You...
  4. From St. Louis Vyasa-puja offering 1985

    (Written by Sura dasa) I remember the first time we received some instruction, about twelve years ago. Many traveling sankirtana parties had gone to Los Angeles to see and hear Your Divine Grace. It was an early January, Friday morning, which meant in those days a maha-sankirtana day. The lectures for the past few days spoke of the devotees' deathlessness. You compared the devotee's death to the kitten in the mouth of the cat, whereas the nondevotee's death meant the rat...
  5. “Swami, How They Love You”

    (From Prabhupada Meditations by SDG) In the late 1960s, one of Srila Prabhupada's arrivals into New York was featured in the New York Daily News. They published several photos of devotees surrounding Swamiji at the airport, offering him garlands and dancing joyfully. The headline was, "Swami, How They Love You." Although it was a pun on the Al Jolson song, "Swanee, How I Love You," the phrase, "Swami, How They Love You" captured the essence. Even the News reporter saw...
  6. Feeling pain, Krsna comes down

    Pure consciousness means to understand that "I am very much intimately connected with Krsna as part and parcel." Just like my finger is very intimately connected with my body. Intimate... If there is little pain in the finger, I become so much disturbed because I have got intimate connection with this finger. Similarly, we have got intimate connection with Krsna, and we are fallen. Therefore Krsna also feels little pain, and therefore He comes down:
  7. Fasting on Janmastami: Tapasya must be there

    Bhakti-yoga therefore requires little tapasya, not playthings, tapasya, that "We are addicted to so many sinful activities. We must give it up." That is tapasya. "We must observe fasting on ekadasi day, on Lord's birthday." These are tapasya. If we do not... "We must chant sixteen rounds. We must observe the rules and regulations." This is tapasya. Don't make God very cheap thing: "Oh, it is very cheap thing." No. It has been made very easy for the Kali-yuga...
  8. When was Janmastami?

    The question arose: When was Janmastami? Our calendar, put out by Pradyumna, said it was one day in the West and a different day in India. By astrological calculation he had worked out the world in time zones, and those who lived West of a particular time zone would observe it on the following day. Seeing the confusion, you said the calculation was "over-intelligent," and whatever day it was celebrated on in India, it should be celebrated the same...