Great Throughts Treasury

"Unless one is a completely pure devotee, one cannot enjoy the transcendental bliss derived from chanting and dancing in the ecstasy of the sankirtana movement. Such ecstasy is not possible for an ordinary devotee."

"We should know in perfect consciousness that human life is bestowed upon the conditioned soul to achieve spiritual success and the easiest possible procedure to attain this end is to chant the holy name of the Lord."

"Vidura who knew this said to Dhritarƒshthra: 'O King, [dear brother], please withdraw yourself without delay, just see how fear has taken the lead in your life."

"What is difficult to achieve for determined men who have taken refuge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's lotus feet? His feet are the source of sacred rivers like the Ganges, which put an end to the dangers of mundane life."

"We speak about an orbit of the sun, about an orbit of the other planets, the orbit of the stars [in our galaxy around Sagittarius A in the sky], the orbit of the moon o Vidura, and the orbit of the earth as being a single [but differently named] year [resp. a celestial year, a planetary year, a galactic year, a lunation and a tropical year]."

"What else but Your divinity, that as a partial representation [the Paramƒtma] dwells in as well the animate as the inanimate, would give us the knowledge of the threefold of Time, of past, present and future? In order to be freed from the threefold misery [as caused by oneself, nature and others] we as individual souls engaged on the path of fruitive activities have to surrender to that divinity."

"When [in the beginning of creation] the seven primary elements [the five material elements, ego and cosmic intelligence - the mahat-tattva] were not yet mixed, [the Lord,] the origin of creation endowed with kƒla, karma and guna [time, workload and the modes] entered the universe."

"What is the power of Lord?s name ? The process of chanting the holy name of the Lord is so powerful that by this chanting even householders can very easily gain the ultimate result achieved by persons in the renounced order."

"When a Vedic mantra is chanted within the mouth so that only the chanter can hear, the chanting is called japa. But when such mantras are chanted loudly, it is called kirtana."

"When one's thinking by the practice of yoga is purified and controlled, one should looking at the tip of one's nose meditate upon the Supreme Lord His form and measure of time [a mechanical clock or waterclock fixed on the sun's summit with the division of time according to the Bhƒgavatam]."

"When she once went out at night to milk a cow, she was bitten in the leg by a snake on the path and thus fell victim of the supreme time."

"When the king of the Yavanas heard the daughter of Time express herself in these words, he, according to the will of God prepared to do his duty in the private sphere, addressed her with a smile:"

"Whenever one desires to give up one's body o King, one should as a sage, without being disturbed, comfortably seated and with one's thinking unperturbed by matters of time and place, in control of the life air restrain the senses with the help of the mind."

"Why else would there be that misfortune with the presence of Yudhishthhira, the son of the ruler of religion, BhŒma with his mighty club, Arjuna carrying his GƒndŒva and our well-wisher Lord Krishna?"

"Whoever sees Lord Krishna sees a festival. His face and body are fully satisfying for everyone to see."

"'With His effulgence He divides the time in the light and dark period of the month [s'ukla and krishna]. May He, that divinity of the moon and the grain to be distributed to the forefathers and the gods, may that King of All People, remain favorably disposed unto us.'"

"With sword in hand, intelligent men cut through the binding knots of reactionary work (karma) by remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

"With the effect of Eternal Time [kƒla] upon the three modes of this illusory energy, the Supreme being, He who essentially is spiritual, generated the virility [the valour, the manliness, the power] by [entering the universe as] the person [as the Purusha]."

"With the Time that roused the karma into activity, soon from the original self [of Vishnu] with that [agitation] a lotus bud appeared that just like a sun illumined the vast waters with its effulgence."

"With one-pointed attention, one should constantly hear about, glorify, remember and worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of the devotees."

"With the Fortunate One constantly at one's side abiding by a spirit of pure goodness [free from passion and ignorance], the world around oneself [the so-called 'here and now'] that [with all those impressions] can be as dark as the [new] moon, thus being connected will manifest itself crystal clear."

"Without being self-controlled, without being disciplined and without being fully obedient, no one can become successful in following the instructions of the spiritual master and without doing so, no one is able to go back to Godhead."

"Without perfect knowledge, one cannot act perfectly."

"You are never divided under the influence of time, yet You, in Your eternal intelligence o Master, call me in for consultation, as if You would be bewildered. But that is never the case. That boggles my mind, o Lord."

"You didn't kill the Yakshas, nor killed the Yakshas your brother, for it is the Time that is really the master of annihilation and generation of all living beings."

"You who in Your compassion by Your expansions are visible for the humble devotees, are - with the necessary respect of time - always remembered by one's devotional service o destroyer of all inauspiciousness."