Cc Madhya 19.151-164

https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/19/advanced-view/

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Māyā is so strong, too. If people get bad association, they become sentimental and they stop. They can develop all kinds of anarthas, some of which are: "Well, devotional service is antiquated, and there are other more modern ways, although they’re the same old thing, rehashed. It's all been done in previous millenniums." This is just people trying to find ways to explore their spirituality aside from following the four regulatory principles and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Then, after being beaten by Māyā severely, people often come back and realize that they had something very valuable. It's not a great idea, however, to go away for such a long period of time, because one can really lose one's momentum and the opportunity of putting together at least one full lifetime, from pillar to post, where one takes advantage of the process. Which is the best idea.

(excerpt from the discussion)

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CC Madhya 19.118-154

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I had long conversations with Rādhikā Ramaṇa Prabhu when we stayed with him the year Sādhu Saṅga was in Utah. Rādhikā was saying it's the glory of a person, and it makes them more glorified when those after them first of all choose to write about the materials following that luminary. He gave the example of Shakespeare. How many thesis papers have there been in the humanities department about any of Shakespeare's works or his life in general? Millions. And did that eclipse Shakespeare's writings? No. On the contrary, it's a light shining on them saying, "Wow, so many people were writing about him and, you know, taking points from his writings that he must be like the super guy," and he is in literary history.

So his point was, after every ācārya, there are always thousands of commentaries. We only see a few of them, but there are thousands of writings about any luminary, any of the mahātmās who have written, and so forth, and it glorifies them, because, of course, that person made a stir, they hit a nerve. They actually had something potent to say, and therefore there's a lot more to say about it and a lot more to churn within what they said.

Therefore his opinion was and is, that it's the glory of Prabhupāda that more people write about what he said and what he brought to bear—the whole canon of Vedic literatures—and how we can bring it into the modern light so that people can take advantage of it. That shows Prabhupāda's potency.

And case in point was the Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta, because Joseph T. O'Connell, who at the time was the preeminent expert on Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in the academic world, if you read his foreword to the book, he says that very thing: that nobody in the world up to this point, after hundreds of years, has been able to do what Gopīparāṇadhana Prabhu has done, which is to effectively translate what Sanātana Gosvāmī wrote as prose, as commentary, he wrote in Sanskrit, and nobody had been able to take it and put it into a natural flow of language that people could read and understand.

And He said it's perfectly done. He said, "This points to the greatness of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda, that he could attract and then train disciples who could do that." What to speak of how the devotees headed by Hṛdayānanda Mahārāja were able to finish the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Cantos of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, which sometimes people say, "Oh, you don't read those. They're not Prabhupāda's books." But my opinion is, they're as much Prabhupāda's books as before that, because who trained them to talk like that and have a perfect grasp of the siddhānta and to be able to present it in the same mood that comes through the disciplic succession? It shines a light on the greatness of Prabhupāda that somebody was able to be there and continue that, as Prabhupāda asked them to do.

(excerpt from the discussion)

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Cc Madhya 19.17-117

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This is the main stimulus for advancing devotional service: like-minded association with devotees who are more advanced than oneself. And being able to detect that requires one's very deep realization. Because if we don't have a realization, we just take for granted when we're in exalted association. "Yeah, I could do that." Like people, sometimes they watch the Olympics on their television. The guy sets the world record for the pole vault, and the guy sitting there on the couch tells his wife, "Yeah, I could do that. I used to do that when I was in high school."

No appreciation for somebody who's more advanced! And humility means being able to detect the more advanced devotees, people who are more advanced than oneself. And of course, in deep, deep humility, one sees that one can learn from everybody. It's one of the benefits of preaching, going out into the world and seeing how the modes work, and also through the mouths of apparently just ordinary people controlled by the modes of material nature, one gets direction from Kṛṣṇa—how to refine oneself. And one could hear that voice.

(excerpt from the discussion)

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Jīva Goswāmī says that this verse, "Sarva-dharmān parityajya," is the solace of all devotees, and they think about it again and again: "How Kṛṣṇa, by speaking this verse to Arjuna, saved the whole world!" If you ever fear, feel left out, frustrated, abused, confused, or angry with your lot in life, consider this verse. And consider Draupadi putting our hands high in the air and saying, "He Govinda!"

This is the sum and substance of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā: "To seriously consider surrendering completely to Kṛṣṇa". We may feel, as Prabhupāda mentioned in the purport, "How might I do this?" But he says, "Such a consideration is useless. Just do it." And if you can't do it, as my mom used to tell me, "Why don't you sit there and think about it?"

It's an amazing experience if you think about this verse. If you sit down to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and then you think, "Sarva-dharmān parityajya. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I'm helpless. He's offering to handle all my affairs. What if I really did surrender? What if I just let go of every conception of helping myself? And I simply thought, Kṛṣṇa, I leave it all to you. I'm sold out 100% to you, and I'll just live my life like that from now on."

If you just think about it, you'll feel exhilarated. You might not even do it in that very second, but thinking about it and doing it is almost exactly the same thing.Therefore, Kṛṣṇa saved us. He saved the whole world just by speaking this verse. And if you can put it in a locket around your neck—if you can imprint it on your consciousness and breathe it at every moment and think, "My only solace in life is Kṛṣṇa speaking this verse and offering me an opportunity to accept Him wholly and solely as my maintainer, protector, and the soul of my soul"—that's where real happiness will come from.

(excerpt from the talk)

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Cc Madhya 19.1-16

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When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started for Vṛndāvana through the forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa, Rūpa Gosvāmī left home and sent news to Sanātana that he was leaving with his younger brother (Anupama Mallika) to meet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī finally reached Prayāga and met with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for ten successive days. During this time, Vallabha Bhaṭṭa extended an invitation to the Lord with great respect. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī to Vallabha Bhaṭṭa. After this, a brāhmaṇa scholar named Raghupati Upādhyāya arrived and discussed Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the Lord. Kavirāja Gosvāmī then extensively describes the living condition of Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana at Vṛndāvana. During the ten days at Prayāga, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was instructed by the Lord, who gave him the basic principles of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. The Lord then sent Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī to Vṛndāvana. The Lord Himself returned to Vārāṇasī and stayed at the home of Candraśekhara.

(excerpt from Chapter discussion)

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Cc Madhya 18.128-229

https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/18/advanced-view/

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I was once on an airplane ride from San Francisco to Hawaii, en route to India — it was a stopover along the way. And they had a talent show on the plane. They asked if anybody had a talent — if so, they could come up and, you know, do their thing. A few people volunteered and went up there.

There was a comedian, then a breakdancer, and someone did a magic trick.

I was a brahmacārī. I got up and chanted the Brahma-saṁhitā on the plane — and I won.They gave me two tickets to the Botanical Gardens in Hawaii. So yes... it always pays to learn verses.

(excerpt from the discussion)

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When we come to see Kṛṣṇa and He glances on us and we see His beautiful form, then we are looking at the ultimate object of meditation. If we drive through Jaipur, we'll see many signboards, and everyone's trying to catch our attention to look at something. Maybe there's Coca-Cola, and they have a picture of some attractive-looking person drinking sugar water. They are not going to look so good in a few years, I guarantee you. And they are hoping that that will catch our attention and we'll say, "Okay, I would like to look like that." And everywhere we look, there's something for our eyes to fall upon.

So the perfection of the eyes is to come and see Kṛṣṇa in the temple, and then chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. And these two things together—coming and seeing Kṛṣṇa, worshiping Kṛṣṇa, ringing the bell, bowing down, offering flowers, and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa—these are like two tracks on a train track. And where does the train go? Straight back to Goloka Vṛndāvana.

So we are all on that train right now. Just look around—all the compartments are not even filled. We can put more people on this train! And the way the train goes, you load everybody on, and the way the train goes, you go see Kṛṣṇa, and then you chant, Hare Kṛṣṇa. And then the train takes you back home, back to God, and you forget about all the Coca-Cola signs in the world and all the clamor here in the material world. It’s Much Ado About Nothing. There's nothing really going on in the material world that is of interest to the soul whatsoever. It's a big fake out. So we have this opportunity together that's quite exhilarating. Don't you think? We could do this for days! Yes, we could do it for months!

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There are various levels of chanting, and two of them can be identified as attentive chanting and inattentive chanting. So, attentive chanting means that I'm very much aware that I'm chanting. I'm also hearing the syllables, aware of the name, the quality of it; there's some engagement of my mind.

And inattentive chanting means it's like idling a car—the car is idling, and then you're doing something else. We can be chanting, the lips moving, and the sound going out, but my mind can be attached to another process. For instance, I might be thinking about the fact that I forgot to buy ginger and have to go to the store, or any other number of things—an email that I didn't send. That's where my mind is actually engaged, but the mouth is going, sound is coming, but I'm not attentive, not attached.

Attention means ten. It's the same word that's in tendon. A tendon attaches the muscle to the bone. And when we have attention to the Holy Name, there is present engagement at the very moment, and I'm not thinking of something else.

So, in practicing chanting, it can be very helpful to be just aware of which stage I'm in. Am I in the attentive state, or am I in the inattentive state? Not attentive to the Holy Name, or attentive to the Holy Name? And if I keep checking in with that and seeing, "Am I attaching to it? Am I engaging with the Holy Name with my mind right now, my awareness," then I'm likely to feel enlivened and not want to stop chanting. And if I'm not aware of it, if I'm thinking of something else, there is a point at which, during japa period, I'll think, "I've got to go. I just got to go somewhere," because I can't stay here.

So, those are the two things that one can be aware of that can be really helpful. This makes it simple: just keep coming back to the attention, giving attention to the Holy Name. Just ask yourself, "What stage am I in? Attentive or inattentive?" And then use your free will to move back into the attentive stage.

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O Lord Damodara, I first of all offer my obeisances to the brilliantly effulgent rope which binds Your belly. I then offer my obeisances to Your belly, which is the abode of the entire universe. I humbly bow down to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani, and I offer all obeisances to You, the Supreme Lord, who displays unlimited pastimes.

(Translation,verse 8)

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Cc Madhya 18.67-127

https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/18/advanced-view/

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I just heard Prabhupāda saying this morning about what it means to be a Rūpānuga. And he said that Rūpānugas back everything up with śāstra. That means, when you back things up with śāstra, you are staying accountable. If we don't give the correlating śāstra, we go off road or speculate. Prabhupāda was very clear about it, and he set an example for this constantly. When he would give darśans, he had this phrase, "Find out that verse." Prabhupāda knew where the verse was, he even knew the verse, but he would tell his assistant to find out that verse, and they would scramble to find it, open the book, and find the verse, and then say it, because Prabhupāda was demonstrative about the fact that whatever statement he was making, he was following śāstra.

And it can be that somebody will give a talk, and then they don't refer to it, and it leaves one hanging a little bit. So, on the positive side, Prabhupāda set the example, and he wanted us to be śāstra-sunipuṇa, which means to see the interconnectedness of all the śāstras, and be able to refer to śāstra whenever we bring up spiritual points.

And he gave this example: He said, 'When you go to court as a lawyer, you have to be able to back up your legal theory from the law books. So, if you go in and you just say, 'I think this guy is guilty,' and the judge says, 'Why?' ' And you say "I don't know, I just feel like that,' then you don't have any case. You have to be able to show evidence and also show legal theory from the books.' Prabhupāda said, 'We should know these books, the canon that we've been given, the way a lawyer knows his books.

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