It is not austerities by themselves which capture Krishna's attention, it is austerities aimed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. That is what captures Krishna's attention. Therefore, everything else is a show.
October 22, 1992, Moscow
Every living being is a unique individual, and what makes them unique is their unique relationship with Krishna.
October 21, 1993, Novosibirsk
Sleeping in the spiritual world is in the state of dreaming, but that dreaming is only about Krishna. And Krishna is dealing with each of His devotees even in their dreams. Even Krishna dreams.
October 20, 2006, Kiev
The Lord is the possessor of all opulence, He displays His full opulences most completely in Vrindavana, because He displays Himself as subordinate to the love of His eternal associates. This is considered to be His greatest opulence.
October 19, 2008, Hartford, USA
This is the nature of the loving relationship between the Lord and the devotee: the Lord simply accepts the essence of the devotee's attitude, his loving service, and the desire to please Him. And when the Lord accepts the offering, that is the complete fulfillment of the offering.
October 18, 2009, New Vraja Dhama
Seeing everything connected to Krishna means that we also must be connected, for without that connection, it is difficult to see.
Riga SB 1 1 22
Bhaktivinode Thakur explains that it is the Lord's pleasure that is the goal and not the austerities, and if at any time one perceives that the Lord is not pleased by one's austerities, then one should re-evaluate such austerities and put them back in perspective so that one does not foolishly think that it is pain in it itself which is pleasing to the Lord.
October 16, 2012, Budapest
A devotee is confident because he always expects the mercy of the Lord. This is his confidence. But just how that mercy will manifest, it takes proper consciousness to be able to see this mercy.
October 15, 2001, Kiev
How can anyone be a genuine friend when he is thinking of himself first? He has to give up this selfish mentality, then he can be a real friend of all living entities. Only a devotee can give up this selfish mentality. A devotee can give up this selfish mentality because he doesn’t need anything from anyone. He has found out how to become satisfied without having to need anything from anyone, because he knows that there is only one thing he really needs, which is to establish his relationship with Krishna.
October 14, 1993, Perm
The temples are actually meant for guests. The temples actually are not meant for our eating and sleeping. Of course we may eat and sleep while we are there, but we should be conscious of the fact of what the real purpose of the temple is. Prabhupada said for ourselves, we can live under a tree, but actually we have these temples for bringing people to give them Krishna consciousness. Therefore this is the real purpose of the temple.
October 13, 1997, Almaty