Niranjana Swami's Quote Of The Day

May 5

We must start with obedience, because without obedience it is not possible to understand the guru’s instructions. The spiritual master expects the disciple to maintain an attitude of obedience. He doesn’t want the disciple to concoct his own set of instructions to follow. The spiritual master has already given the instruction. We may or may not understand the import of the instructions, but if we carry them out in pure faith, we can realize everything in Krishna consciousness. We exhibit our obedience by following the spiritual master’s instructions and rendering service. All other realizations come from that.
(Lecture SB 4.2.21, Moscow 10.27.1996)

May 4

When we receive initiation, you take vows before guru and Krishna. When the spiritual master asks the disciple to recite his vows, He is not simply testing to see whether the disciple remembers the four regulative principles. We recite these vows so that we can be sure to understand what it is we are committing ourselves to before guru, Krishna, the Vaishnavas, and the sacrificial fire.
(Lecture- Novosibirsk, 10.13.94)

May 3

Becoming a brahmana is not simply a position. Becoming a preacher should not be one either. We don’t become preachers by being given a title. We become recognized as preachers by the way we deal with other living entities. There is nothing external about it. We become preachers by surpassing the stage of kanistha and rising to a more advanced platform.

May 2

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.

May 1

We should never consider the spiritual master to be an ordinary person. He is not simply an advisor, equal in power with our own mind’s desires. We should not think of the spiritual master as someone whose instructions we can accept or reject at will. If we think like this, we have not actually accepted a spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada says that instead we have accepted a pet guru. Keeping the guru as a pet is not recommended. A guru is not someone to be taken around and displayed. We are not meant to use the spiritual master to serve our own purposes. We should be careful, therefore, when we accept initiation, to understand the spiritual master properly. He is Krishna’s representative, and His instructions come from Krishna Himself.
(Lecture- Novosibirsk, 10.13.94)

April 30

If we form our lives around the guru’s instructions, we will gradually come to hear the Lord in the heart and follow Him perfectly. Krishna states in Bg. 6.7 that “for one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquility. ” We conquer the mind not by whimsical activity but by engaging in the Lord’s service under our guru’s direction.
(Lecture SB 1.8.29 St.Peterburg)

April 29

As long as we are conditioned and we have not established our eternal connection with the Lord, we are incomplete. And because we are incomplete we are always looking for something to compensate for that incompleteness. Only those who are self-satisfied are complete, and how can one be self-satisfied, unless he understands who he really is? Jivera svarupa haya — kṛṣṇera nitya-dasa -- One is the eternal servant of Krishna, but if one doesn’t understand, or doesn’t act in that capacity, then one cannot feel satisfied.

April 28

It is due to the presence of Krishna's name that the mantra becomes potent and ultimately it is Krishna's name which will bring us to the lotus feet of Krishna. So chanting the Holy Name of the Lord is the means and the end. We chant Hare Krishna mantra in order to continue to chant Hare Krishna.

April 27

We should all aspire that we can live this life in subordination to a devotee of the Lord, and give up the foolish idea that we can be independent in this material world. It cannot happen. And the only way to become free from that illusion is to take shelter of the mercy of the devotees.

April 26

We should not think that the dictations of Supersoul are in any way different from the dictations of the spiritual master. To think that is foolish. If we find that the two sets of instructions are different, we should know that we are not hearing the Lord in the heart but only our imagination shaped by our material attachments.
(Lecture SB 1.8.29 St.Peterburg)

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