So this is a little bit about the relationships which exist between the servant and the master. The servant always thinks himself as servant, and the Lord sometimes places that servant in the position of His master.
December 25, 1997, Tallin
Krishna is very much inclined to give Himself. But if we want to have Krishna, then we have to please Krishna. To please Krishna means to give up all ideas for our own happiness and we have to exclusively think of Krishna's happiness.
December 24, 1997, Tallin
To see Krishna everywhere means to see Krishna in everything. To see Krishna everywhere doesn't mean that all we see is Krishna's face and it creates a very big difficulty in life because we can't see anything else. Seeing Krishna in everything means seeing everything in connection to Krishna.
December 23, 1997, Tallin
We must get devotional service from somebody who has devotional service, but at least we must develop the desire to obtain it. If one does not have that desire to obtain it, then one will not be able to ever understand the mysteries of devotional service.
December 22, 1997, Riga
Whether you are distributing books, hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, reading books, worshiping the Deity, or chanting the holy names, by any of these activities, you can please Guru and Krishna-- not "just" by distributing books. The stimulus to please Them, however, will come from your appreciation of what They are giving to you. This is natural.
December 21, 2000, Letter
The deeper the spiritual experience we get from serving and chanting, the deeper our gratitude becomes, and with that, the desire to reciprocate by our service with those who are inspiring us to chant. We must always look to deepen this experience, and that happens by serving those who help us to increase our faith in the holy name.
December 20, 2006, Letter
It's a fact that having been cheated for so many lifetimes, it's hard to surrender to an authority. But that is not the only reason why we do not surrender. We should only rebel towards a superior devotee if we are asked to do something which is against devotional principles. If we were really Krishna conscious, we would never feel inclined to rebel, no matter how we were dealt with.
December 19, 1988, Letter
The spiritual master is always with the disciple in the form of instruction. That is how the spiritual master is always with his disciple. And when the disciple remembers the instruction, then the spiritual master is present. If disciple forgets the instruction, because he has forgotten the instruction, the spiritual master may not necessarily be present.
December 18, 1994, Odessa
Only Krishna consciousness can give us shelter. Only Krishna consciousness can enable somebody to continue despite so many difficulties and not become disturbed.
There is no other way that one can actually continue in this material world and not become disturbed. Only a devotee can be peaceful. It is not possible for anybody else.
December 17, 1994, Odessa (for sankirtana devotees)
A personalist sees everyone in terms of their relationships with Krishna. So when he sees other living entities, he sees "oh, yes, all these living entities belong to Krishna." He doesn't think "how I can enjoy?" He simply thinks how Krishna can enjoy in the association of all these living entities. "I want to increase Krishnas pleasure, so let me increase pleasure of the Lord by increasing His association with all of these living entities and let me preach in such a way that they all can go back to Godhead. If they all can go back to Godhead, then certainly the Lord will be very much more pleased than He would be by an insignificant person like me."
December 16, 1994, Odessa