Great Throughts Treasury

"Please inform me, o reservoir of all riches, about the reason of your sadness that reduced you to such a weakness. Or has o mother, powerful Time stolen away from you the good fortune that was even extolled by the enlightened souls?"

"Pure devotional service is so spiritually relishable that a devotee becomes automatically uninterested in material enjoyment. That is the sign of perfection in progressive devotional service. A pure devotee continuously remembers the lotus feet of the Lord Sri Krishna and does not forget Him even for a moment, not even in exchange for all the opulence of the three worlds."

"Remembrance of Krishna is not possible for the impure soul who has not practiced Krishna consciousness in devotional service. Therefore, one should practice Krishna consciousness from the very beginning of life. If one wants to achieve success at the end of his life, the process of remembering Krishna is essential. Therefore, one should constantly and incessantly chant the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra."

"Sex life is compared to the rubbing of two hands to relieve an itch. Grhamedis, so-called grhasthas who have no spiritual knowledge, think that this itching is the greatest platform of happiness, although actually it is a source of distress. The krpanas, the fools who are just the opposite of brahmanas, are not satisfied by repeated enjoyment. Those who are dhira, however, who are sober and who tolerate this itching, are not subjected to the sufferings of fools and rascals."

"Prithu Maharaja is very emphatic in this connection ? only an animal can give up the practice of chanting Hare Krishna. Those who are not animals but actually intelligent, advanced, human, civilized men cannot give up this practice of continually chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."

"Simply by accepting the sankirtana movement and chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the fallen souls of this Kali-yuga will be delivered."

"Sincerely Searching For Spiritual Salvation"

"Some imagine this great army of luminaries to be a s'is'umƒra [a dolphin] and describe it, concentrated in yoga, as [that what can be seen of] the Supreme Lord Vƒsudeva [see also a picture of the celestial sky as factually seen in a telescope]."

"Some o king, explain that karma [the work load of fruitive activities] as arising from one's particular nature or as brought about by others o protector of men. Some say it's due to time, others refer to fate, while still others ascribe it to the desire of the living entity."

"Sometimes also, in the dark of night driven by a momentary whirlwind of passion, he copulates with an alluring woman. In total neglect of the rules [a higher vision] he then, blinded by the strength of that passion, notwithstanding the divinities [of the sun and moon], loses all notion in being overcome by a mind full of lust."

"Someone who takes away the money, the wife or children of someone else is sure to be bound with the fetters of time by the most terrible men of Yamarƒja and by force to be thrown into the hell of Tƒmisra ['the darkness']. Having landed in that darkest of all conditions being deprived of food and water, beaten with sticks and scolded, he sometimes, in his desperation, loses his consciousness because of the severe punishments received."

"S'rŒ S'uka said: '1.3 million yojanas above them [the stars of the sages] one finds that supreme abode of Lord Vishnu which is praised in the mantras of the Rig Veda. It is the source of life of all entities that live from this moment till the end of creation. There the great devotee Dhruva, the son of Uttƒnapƒda resides even today. His glory of obedient devotion I've described already. Agni, the fire-god, Indra the king of heaven, the founding father who is the Prajƒpati, Kas'yapa as also Dharmarƒja, in unison full of respect move around that place keeping it to heir right [see 4-9]. For all the restless luminaries such as the planets and the stars that place constitutes the incandescent radiating pivot that is established by the Lord. The inconceivable, all-powerful force of Time is considered the cause of their revolving. The luminaries keep their positions, just like three bulls that for threshing rice are yoked to a central pole [at fixed distances]. Moving in their orbits they have a fixed position relative to the inner and outer rims of the wheel of time, the same way as the planets around the sun keep their positions. Holding on to Dhruvaloka till the end of the creation, they revolve in the sky as if they're driven by the wind, just like heavy clouds and big birds do who controlled by the air move their bodies around in respect of their previous positions. Thus the luminaries behave consequentially, by the combined effort of material nature and the Original Person, the way they always have and never collide with the earth."

"Spending fifty percent for the service of the Lord or for propagation of spiritual knowledge in society by way of the sankirtana-yajna is the maximum display of human mercy."

"Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the inaugurator of the sankirtana movement, anyone who performs sankirtana to please the Lord is very, very glorious. Such a person has perfect intelligence, whereas others are in the ignorance of material existence."

"That dvŒpa has one mountain range named Mƒnasottara that separates the varshas on the inner and the outer side. Measuring a 10.000 yojanas high and wide, it harbors in its four directions the cities of the four demigods ruling there [Indra, Yama, Varuna and Soma]. The chariot of the sun god S–rya, circumambulating mount Meru on its highest point, moves around in an orbit that calculated in terms of the days and nights of the demigods [**] consists of one complete year."

"Srimad Bhagavatam it is repeatedly and clearly said that the essence of religion in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Krishna."

"That Unborn One, the Father of Creation, has, o King, at present descended in this world in a form of [the all-devouring] Time in order to eliminate all the enemies of the enlightened."

"The [sum total of manifestation] which thus constitutes a plenary expansion of guna, kƒla and [jŒv]-ƒtmƒ, forms the range of sight of the Personality of Godhead. It is the reservoir, the reason for existence, the self, of the many differentiated life forms of this universe that urges on creative effort."

"The air, also transformed by the extremely powerful ether, gave rise to the form of light and [the bio-electricity] of sense perception by which the world is seen."

"The aggregate of such a 'day' and 'night' is called an ancestral [traditional and solar] month with two of them forming a season. There are six of them [resp. 'cold' or hemanta, 'dew' or s'is'ira, 'spring' or vasanta, 'warm' or grŒshma, 'rainy' or varshƒs and 'autumn' or s'arad, counting from December 22] corresponding to the movement of the sun going through the southern and northern sky."

"The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is recommended even for persons who commit offenses, because if they continue chanting they will gradually chant offenselessly."

"The characteristic traits of one's [reason in this state of Krishna or natural time] consciousness thus are similar to those of the natural state of pure water: clarity, invariability and serenity."

"The conditioned living entity is satisfied in his own particular species of life, while deluded by the covering influence of the illusory energy, he feels little inclined to cast off his body, even when in hell, for he takes delight in hellish enjoyment."

"The demigods said: 'You, o mighty one, must be knowing about this darkness we are so very afraid of. Your supreme divinity is not affected by time and thus nothing is hidden for you."

"The dust of Krishna's lotus feet, which is the source of holiness for all places of pilgrimage, is worshiped by all the great demigods."

"The first avatƒra of the Lord is the Original Person: [Mahƒvishnu or Kƒranodakas'ƒyi Vishnu. He forms the basis of] spacetime [kƒla svabhavah, the original nature of time], cause, effect, the elements, the modes, as also the ego, the senses and the mind. These together constitute the diversity of the complete whole of all that moves and doesn't move of the universal being [also called Garbhodakas'ƒyŒ Vishnu]."

"The electrified water thus created due to the transformation of the Supreme Spirit [of the ether] glancing over the earth, led to the creation of the quality of smell with the partly uniting of the external energy with eternal time."

"The entire Krishna consciousness movement is based on the principles of the sankirtana movement inaugurated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore one who tries to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the medium of the sankirtana movement knows everything perfectly."

"The great secret of it all is that material existence dissolves in what we do not see as yet and have been seeing in the past, just like during one's sleep; in other words, everything that happened in the past, happens in the present and is going to happen in the future is but a dream.'"

"The hand of the Lord is seen everywhere. All material elements as well as all spiritual sparks emanate from Him only."

"The infinitesimal particles and their combinations, the planets, the heavenly bodies [like the moon] and the stars, all rotate in the universe, to return in a year in the Almighty [cyclic order] of eternal of time."

"The flowers work just like a woman who with her sweet scent of flowers suggests the safety of a household existence as being the result of an innocent desire for sensual pleasures such as the plucking of flowers. Thus one fulfills one's desires [alike the deer] in always being absorbed in thoughts of sex with the wife and pleasures to the tongue. The sound of the different bumblebees that is so very attractive to the ears compares to the most attractive talks of the wife in the first place and also the children that occupy one's mind completely. The tigers together in front of him are alike all the moments of the days and nights that unnoticed in enjoying one's household take away one's life span. And from behind there is the hunter taking care not to be seen who crouches upon him like the superintendent of death by whose arrow one's heart is pierced in this world. You should see yourself in this as the one whose heart is pierced o King."

"The influence of the Original Personality of God is said to be the time factor that is feared by some who are being deluded by the ego of being in contact with the material nature of one's individual existence."

"The human body is rarely achieved and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection."

"The Lord has provided food for both the elephant and the ant. All living beings are living at the cost of the supreme Lord."

"The Lord is very satisfied with His devotee when the devotee greets other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship, and equality."

"The Lord of Eternal Time, the controller of the deluding potency of matter [mƒyƒ] thus took upon Himself, from His own potency spontaneously appearing in different obtained [guna] forms, the workload [karma] and specific nature [or svabhƒva, of the living entity]."

"The main purpose of sannyasa life is to be in constant companionship with the Supreme Lord, either by thinking of Him within the heart or hearing of Him through aural reception."

"The Lord's beauty is compared to rainfall because when the rain falls in the rainy season, it becomes more and more pleasing to the people."

"The movement of material nature without its interaction of the modes and its specific qualities, o daughter of Manu, is the time from which we here know Him, the Supreme Lord."

"The nectar of Krishna's words and the descriptions of His activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent."

"The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service."

"The manifestation of unadulterated devotional service is exhibited when one?s mind is at once attracted to hearing the transcendental name and qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is residing in everyone?s heart."

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

"The people gradually were acquiring godless habits as wantonness and such. The king facing these serious matters and bad omens, spoke with his younger brother about it."

"The One [Lord of Time] who differing from all that was created moves by the name of Eternal Time, who by means of His energy in different ways brings to life the seeds of creation and who during the day dissipates the darkness of the living entities, should be offered respect with attention for all His five different types of years, so that one thus with one's offerings brings about quality in one's material existence.'"

"The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord's pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body and the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasi leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing."

"The philosophically inclined should for that reason endeavor only for that which is not so much found wandering from high to low. In the course of time, the time that is so impetuous and subtle, one will automatically everywhere find the enjoyment - as good as the miseries - as a result of one's work."

"The Sankirtana movement we have started offers the best process for becoming purified of all sinful reactions and coming immediately to the platform of spiritual life."

"The sankirtana of Krishna's names is praised as the best and most powerful means to attain the treasure of Krishna prema [pure love for Krishna]. It is like a potent mantra that can attract precious objects from a distance."