So the devotee of the Lord, he is like a rain cloud, because he is carrying so much water, but that water is coming from an ocean. It’s not that he is carrying his own water. He is getting water from the whole ocean. In the same way a devotee is not carrying his own mercy, a devotee is carrying Krishna's mercy.
April 19, 1992, St. Petersburg
In other words, the nature of spiritual pleasure is real pleasure, whereas the nature of material pleasure, is illusory pleasure. It looks like pleasure, but it is not real pleasure, because it has an end. And when it ends, it ends in misery.
April 18, 1999, Kishiniov
Sometimes when the pure devotees of the Lord enter deep into the ocean of the Lord's pastimes, they temporarily become bewildered, because His pastimes are so deep in meaning, they don’t know which direction to turn first. It’s like being in the ocean. You can’t just superficially scan the Lord's pastimes. They are very, very deep in meaning.
April 17, 1999, Kishiniov
There must be wars, there must be suffering, there must be so much distress, because human society is simply sacrificing for their own sense gratification and therefore they must continue to be bitten by the other bees. Everybody is envious. Everybody is thinking, "no, we want to enjoy these resources, why should you enjoy it exclusively? We also need it. What gives you a right to enjoy these things exclusively?" Therefore they are always stinging one another. Because they do not realize that actually everything belongs to Krishna.
April 16, 1998, Doneck
It may appear that we are not advancing; it may appear that we are even degrading, but if we keep in association, we keep in the boat… Just like a person in the boat… the waves are coming, and he may be thinking “oh, I am really being tossed and turned by these waves”. Yes you are being influenced, but stay in the boat, stay in the association of devotees.
April 15, 2004, Kiev
A Vaishnava is one who cannot tolerate the living entities having to suffer repeated birth and death within the material world. Therefore, based on his compassion, he is always anxious to spread the message of Godhead and to give this knowledge of the Supreme Lord to the forgetful conditioned souls. He also has desire, he also is an individual, but his desire, being full of compassion, is in accordance with the desire of the Lord. Therefore, when a Vaisnava desires to deliver the conditioned souls from the clutches of material nature, then, by His divine grace, the living entity may get the opportunity to once again turn his attention back to the Lord.
Boston, April 1990
When a devotee is actually fixed in Krishna consciousness, he is never bewildered with any change, because he always sees everything in relationship with Krishna.
April 13, 1996, Minsk
All that sense gratification in this life will get you so much suffering in your next life. And the foolish materialist, he looks at that and he is envious. “He is enjoying, I want to enjoy just like he does.” That means "I want to suffer just like he will." Materialistic minded people…
April 12, 1994, Moscow
So although it is nice if you want to increase your austerities -- if it helps you to think of Krishna, and if you do it for His pleasure -- sometimes we are motivated to do things because we are motivated to become free from suffering. But to become free from suffering is not devotional service.
April 11, 2011, Bologna
In other words, the living entity can overcome this influence of material energy, when Krishna removes that energy. Krishna can do it. He can remove all obstacles on the path, Krishna can take all suffering. Another name of Krishna is Mukunda, which means the giver of liberation. One simply must give up his envious position of the Lord.
April 10, 1996, Minsk