Out of sheer misunderstanding, some transcendentalists think that knowledge and renunciation are necessary for rising to the platform of devotional service. This is not so. The cultivation of knowledge and the renunciation of fruitive activities may be necessary to understand one’s spiritual existence in relation to the material conception of life, but they are not […]

Prabhupada: So we have to elevate ourselves from material devotional stage to the second platform when one can understand what is a devotee, what is a nondevotee, what is God, what is atheist. These discriminations are there. And in paramahamsa stage there is no such discrimination. He sees everyone is engaged in service of the […]

Revatinandana: We always encourage chanting Hare Krsna, is that so? Prabhupada: Yes. That is the only method in this age. By chanting Hare Krsna, one’s… The reservoir of understanding will be cleared. And then you, he can receive, he can receive the spiritual knowledge. Without cleansing the heart it is very difficult to understand and […]

One who is engaged in devotional service has not the least fear in material existence. This is because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supersoul and friend of everyone. One who knows this secret is actually educated, and one thus educated can become the spiritual master of the world. One who is an actually […]

Those who perform severe austerities and penances, those who give away all their possessions out of charity, those who are very famous for their auspicious activity, those who are engaged in meditation and mental speculation, and even those who are very expert in reciting the Vedic mantras are not able to obtain any auspicious results, […]

The Lord is the Supersoul seated in everyone’s heart, and He acts as the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within. However, He gives direct instructions only to the advanced, pure devotees. In the beginning, when a devotee is serious and sincere, the Lord gives him directions from within to approach a bona fide spiritual master. When […]

The sunrays are open to everyone, but the capacities of the receptacles differ. Foolish people think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy. Factually the pure devotees who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are not a mercantile community. A mercantile house renders service to someone in […]

When one serves a Vaisnava unknowingly, one still gets the good result, and if one unknowingly insults a Vaisnava, one suffers the bad result. A Vaisnava is especially favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Pleasing him or displeasing him directly affects the pleasure and displeasure of the Supreme Lord. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, in […]

You have asked about Gaura Nitai deity worship by the householders in Los Angeles. That is for those who live far away from the temple and cannot attend. Otherwise, such worship is redundant; there is already deity worship going on in the temple and they should attend the aratis, not install their own deities. From […]

Your final question is how can you become a pure devotee, and the answer to this is given in Bhagavad-gita. Krishna instructs Arjuna that the mahatma, the pure devotee, is he who has fully surrendered himself unto the spiritual nature. And how can we tell if one is completely surrendered unto the spiritual nature? He […]

We have to understand that Krsna is the only enjoyer. The consciousness of this is developed in a Krsna conscious temple where the central point of all activities is Krsna. All cooking is carried on for Krsna, not for one’s own purposes. Ultimately we shall eat the prasada (offered food), but when we cook we […]

In the Brhad-vamana Purana, the Lord says, “Although I have many fascinating pastimes, whenever I think of the rasa-lila, which I perform with the gopis, I become eager to have it again.” From The Nectar of Devotion, by Srila Prabhupada