My personal vision is to help devotees develop a taste for the Holy Name; help them to become more absorbed in understanding Srila Prabhupada's books—his books in relation to the previous acaryas; to help them overcome any inconsistencies that they may see due to their imperfect understanding of Srila Prabhupada's books, and to inspire the devotees to chant their rounds and follow the four regulative principles.
MKV, Vol 3- Pg 5, Individual Interview Report
One of the clouds of anarthas is called hrdaya-thapaya, which is the weakness of heart; and there were four types of weakness of heart: Attachments to those things that have no relationship with Krishna; the tendency to find faults in others; envy; and the desire for recognition. So, this is considered to be anartha. One, therefore, has to practice not desiring recognition, with his intelligence. A devotee, who is actually on the platform of nistha, is naturally humble. Even though he has many reasons to be proud, he always thinks himself to be worthless.
MKV, Vol 2- Pg 47, Five Obstacles of Nistha-Bhakti (Lecture: Kiev, Ukraine—29/4/01)
Pranali means, “the means to achieve,” and siddha means “perfection”. Sometimes people think that this siddha-pranali can be achieved simply by receiving some mantra and one can immediately achieve one’s siddhasvarupa—his eternal relationship with the Lord. However, in this verse of Siksastaka, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta says, “trnad api sunicena.. is our siddha-pranali, because it is not just simply the receiving of the mantra, but it is a character, or the qualities of the individual, in order to actually achieve perfection. In other words, one cannot think that he has achieved siddha if he is devoid of humility. If he is incapable of giving respect to others, he is not tolerant; he is full of false pride and prestige. All these characteristics are the complete antitheses of perfection. The reason why this is the siddha-pranali, is because one has to display all of these qualities, if one wants to achieve the real perfection.
MKV, Vol 2- Pg 44, Five Obstacles of Nistha-Bhakti (Lecture: Kiev, Ukraine—29/4/01)
Where you serve is less of a concern for me, as long as you are practicing the principles, which I have described above. Wherever you are, you must hear. Without hearing, you will lack inspiration to serve on the platform of vaidhi-sadhana-bhakti. Srila Rupa Gosvami explains that on the spontaneous platform, the inspiration comes from one's spontaneous attraction to the service itself. On the platform of vaidhi-sadhana, the inspiration comes from the instructions of the spiritual master and from the scriptures. On both platforms of bhakti, there must be inspiration. If you are not hearing and are not associating with those who are giving you inspiration, then you must seek it out.
MKV, Vol 2- Pg 18,(Letter From Niranjana Swami)
We should not think that we can progress in devotional service if we are chanting mechanically. Bhakti cannot be generated by a mechanical process. Bhakti is eternal, which means that it has neither beginning nor end. Therefore, as Rupa Gosvami desribes, “Such devotion eternally exists within the heart of every living entity.” What will awaken that devotion? Our bhakti is awakened by coming in contact with the bhakti in the heart of a devotee. What will increase that bhakti? Continued association with bhakti will increase bhakti. Therefore, our sadhana bhakti must be executed WITH A DESIRE TO INCREASE OUR BHAKTI. If we forget to execute our sadhana bhakti in this consciousness, then we must daily hear as well.
MKV, Vol 2- Pg 17,(Letter From Niranjana Swami)
Chanting is the most important of the nine processes of bhakti. Certainly, preaching is chanting. In other words, when we are preaching the glories of the Holy Name, the glories of Krishna’s qualities, and the glories of the Lord's pastimes, that is also chanting. Therefore, in this respect, I naturally would like to see you preaching, but a preacher must have an internal life as well, if he wants to continue to preach. This means we must always be trying to improve the quality of our chanting. We should chant with a serious desire to make progress in devotional service. We should be careful to not allow our chanting to become routine, ritualistic chanting. When we chant, we should chant with a desire to chant purely, without any offense, and free from anarthas. This requires practice, and it must be practiced daily.
MKV, Vol 2- Pg 17,(Letter From Niranjana Swami)
Q-It seems like a contradiction—that in one place it says that the highest service is service to the spiritual master and in another place, it seems as though serving Krishna is higher.
A- There is no contradiction, if the spiritual master is one who is always connected to Krishna's service. Serving the spiritual master is serving Krishna. It depends upon the spiritual master's transparency. In the material world, it is the duty of the spiritual master to awaken this service-attitude and to train the disciple in this service-attitude toward the Lord. It begins by giving relevant instructions for the disciple's progressive advancement in spiritual life. By following these instructions, the disciple qualifies himself for Krishna's service. Therefore, serving the spiritual master is essential to become qualified to serve Krishna. Ultimately we are all servants of Krishna, and everyone has a service according to their particular relationship with Krishna
MKV, Vol 2- Pg 15, (Q/A Meeting With Disciples, Divnomorsk—6/10/01)
"Opening our heart also means to express love. Rupa Gosvami describes in Sri Upadeshamrita that offering gifts and revealing one’s mind in confidence are exchanges of love. Therefore, an open heart means to be open to having loving exchanges. However, there cannot be loving exchanges when we always think, “What are they going to do for me?” There is no love in that; it is business. Loving exchanges can only exist when we think about keeping our hearts open—“How can I serve others?” Having an open heart means being eager to serve others.
Caitanya Caritamrita Lectures Book, Adi Lila: 8.62 Kiev—May2, 2000, Pg 106
A Vaisnava wants to serve the Lord and His devotees, and because he has that kind of mentality, others become eager to serve him. The real secret in getting others to assist is having this real Vaisnava mentality. Then others think, “Oh, just see, he is so kind towards us. He just wants to serve. How can I accept service from him? Let me do something to serve him! I am embarrassed to have to accept service from him. He is always trying to serve. He is always thinking of the welfare of others. He is never thinking of himself. Let me do something for him!” That is how a society of Vaisnavas grows very naturally and how loving exchanges become manifest. Cultivation of this consciousness is the responsibility of each and every one of us.
Caitanya Caritamrita Lectures Book, Adi Lila: 8.62 Kiev—May2, 2000, Pg 104
Haridäsa Pandita always saw others as having no faults. How did he do this? He engaged his heart and soul only in satisfying the Vaisnavas. He was thinking, “I have such a wonderful opportunity to serve Vaisnavas since I am surrounded by them.” He was always looking for different ways to render service, as opposed to always trying to find different ways to get others to serve him, which is completely the opposite mentality of a Vaisnava.
Caitanya Caritamrita Lectures Book, Adi Lila: 8.62 Kiev—May2, 2000, Pg 104