Niranjana Swami's Quote Of The Day

Topic

January 20

We cannot force shelter upon conditioned souls, but by our own perfect behavior, we can encourage them to respect what we are doing and to begin to desire the peace a Vaisnava brahmana feels. No one can order another to listen to his or her instructions, but we can attract people to Krishna by our nonenvious dealings with one another and with the nondevotees. We can be prepared for people to approach us by increasing our scriptural knowledge and being prepared to speak truthfully and sastrically, without duplicity. Attaining these qualities is the real ladder of success, not climbing from temple devotee to temple president to GBC member.
Lectures from a disciple Vol 1, Pg 73, last Paragraph

January 19

Preaching does not mean pointing out others’ faults and shortcomings. That isn’t preaching, but faultfinding. Preaching means to encourage the spark of Krishna consciousness in others, and maintaining faith that the development of Krishna consciousness will automatically eliminate any bad qualities they may have. The Bhagavatam states, yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana, devotees develop all good qualities.
Lectures from a disciple Vol 1, Pg 72, 4th Paragraph

January 18

I have seen a tendency among devotees to have a difficult time overlooking others’ faults. Such devotees often complain about the behavior of others or quarrel among themselves. They also have personal motivations in executing their service. Jiva Gosvami explains that the solution to these problems is to see Krishna within everyone’s heart. A preacher has firm faith in Krishna’s presence in the hearts of others, and he takes whatever opportunity is available to fan the spark oftheir own awareness of that fact. By seeing Krishna situated in someone else’s heart, a preacher can then direct that person in how to make progress in devotional life.
Lectures from a disciple Vol 1, Pg 72, 3rd Paragraph

January 17

When we speak about coming closer to the spiritual master, we do not mean necessarily by physical proximity, but rather through service. This means that we become a more effective instrument in his hands. The spiritual master is interested in preaching, because it is his responsibility to expand the world’s awareness of Krishna’s glories and to give devotional service to others. The disciple who wishes to come closer to him will assist him in his mission. This means that he or she agrees to accept the burden of preaching responsibility so that the spiritual master can more effectively spread Krishna consciousness.

Lectures from a disciple Vol 1, Pg 71, 2nd Paragraph

January 15

There are devotees who think that coming closer to the spiritual master means getting the opportunity to put on his shoes. But how many disciples can put on the guru’s shoes at one time? Becoming close to the spiritual master means understanding his heart, always meditating on his mission, and serving accordingly.
Lectures from a disciple, Vol 1, Pg 68, last paragraph

January 14

Association with the spiritual master is in two forms: vapuh (personal presence) and vani (through his instructions). Associating with the vapuh helps develop the ability to associate with vani. Thus we should seek our spiritual master’s personal association. Then, when we hear his instructions, we can carry out our real business of following them. We want to associate with the spiritual master so we can hear. By hearing we will develop our faith in his instructions. If we are in his presence, we will also be able to see his example of applying his own guru’s instructions. That too helps us develop our faith. Certainly if we are fortunate enough to come into our spiritual master’s presence, we should take advantage of the opportunity in order to strengthen our ability to follow his vani.
Lectures from a disciple, Vol 1, Pg 68, 3rd paragraph

January 13

It is natural that the spiritual master will forgive the disciple, especially if the disciple is sincere in his apology. But the forgiveness is not cheap. The disciple has to actually be really prepared to beg forgiveness for his particular mistakes and promise not to do them again. Then real forgiveness is possible. The disciple must be convinced that he doesn't want to make the same mistake again and the spiritual master must be patient and forgiving.
Lectures from a disciple, Vol 1, Pg 67, last paragraph

January 12

The spiritual master doesn't want to see his disciples suffer. He doesn't like to see anyone suffer. That's why he preaches Krishna Consciousness. He preaches because he hopes that if his disciples hear his instructions, they can avoid suffering. Sometimes the disciples are persistent in their wrongdoing and the spiritual master cannot help them. He must let them go their own way until they have suffered enough to want to again take up his instructions.
Lectures from a disciple, Vol 1, Pg 67, 3rd paragraph

January 11

What the spiritual master is examining is the heartfelt submission (of a potential disciple) in any condition of life (whether in Household life or temple life), because without submission there cannot be any transfer of transcendental knowledge. Tad viddhi pranipatena, pariprasnena sevaya: a disciple must inquire submissively and render service. That is the system that Krishna Himself established for those who wish to give and receive transcendental knowledge.
Lectures from a disciple, Vol 1, Pg 64, last paragraph

January 10

To be able to submit properly, it helps to understand both how the mind works and how the superior dictation can help us. Superiror dictation will cause the mind to protest, but if we pursue the order with faith in the superior authority, we will be able to defeat th mind. Such faith and obeidience to the guru's order will purify our intelligence further.
LFD Vol 1, What is real criterion for making proper decisions in our conditioned position?, Pg 67, last paragraph.

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