Niranjana Swami's Quote Of The Day

Topic

July 30

We must know how to associate with devotees. Association does not mean physical proximity or simply working with devotees. Devotees will not have any affection to work together, unless they have affection for hearing and chanting together. If they simply work together, they will see the other devotees in terms of their role in their work. Because they have no other relationship than the role they are playing at work, they will start to find faults in one another, not having any other basis for association. Association is coming together to increase our Krishna consciousness. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “Association begins when there is affection.” By hearing and chanting together, this affection will develop. When we have affection for the six kinds of devotee relationships, we will not have affection for materialistic people, and so we will not become contaminated; and will be able to remember Krishna.
(LFD Vol 3, Real Dependence, Pg 89 and Pg 90)

July 29

The more we depend on the Lord, the more we will begin to experience internal satisfaction. The more we experience internal satisfaction, the less we need to externally satisfy the demands of the body. We will then have more time to remember the Lord, giving us increasing internal satisfaction. If you are getting spiritual satisfaction, if you are experiencing your devotion increasing, if you are experiencing Krishna’s presence in your life, and if you are seeing that your attachment to material things is diminishing, then you know you are engaged in devotional service.
(LFD Vol 3, Real Dependence, Pg 89, 1st paragraph)

July 28

In the material world, we are always trying to prove that somebody else is to blame for our suffering. Somebody who lives in this kind of consciousness lives in hell because he can never think of Krishna. He is always trying to do different things to change the situations externally, but this only creates more problems for himself. He is creating his own suffering because he refuses to see Krishna’s hand. Therefore, Krishna consciousness means changing this consciousness. When we change our consciousness from mundane consciousness to Krishna consciousness, Krishna helps.
(LFD Vol 3, Full Surrender, Pg 82, 4th paragraph)

July 27

This is how to live a life of dependence—by learning how to see Krishna’s presence in everything, and by being dependent upon Him in all circumstances—whether in happiness or distress and whether in difficult times or easy times. In fact, the devotee is even afraid of easy times, because in the easy times it is easier to forget the Lord. Knowing that, the Lord helps His devotees accordingly. Krishna knows the best way to help His devotees. He will therefore put His devotees into a difficult situation so that they can remember Him. It is for our benefit. He knows exactly what His devotee needs to advance in spiritual life, and if Krishna does it, we should accept it.
(LFD Vol 3, Full Surrender, Pg 82, 3rd paragraph)

July 22

Sometimes people misunderstand, thinking that to live completely dependent upon the Lord means to not do anything themselves, and just wait for the Lord to provide. A parasite is something that depends upon somebody else’s mercy. It lives off the work and efforts of others, but does not contribute anything itself. Prabhupada explains in Bhagavad-gita that devotees are not idle parasites. Everybody has some work to perform, and those who do not perform their work are a disturbance to society. Thus, we must perform our duties, but the perfection of our duties is to do it for the satisfaction of the Lord. This is what distinguishes the devotee from the non-devotee.
(LFD Vol 3, Full Surrender, Pg 81, 4th paragraph)

July 21

If we are too afraid, we do not have to say to the Lord, “Do with me as You like.” We can just pray, “Let me remember You under all circumstances.” Remembrance of the Lord is the safest place for us. If we can remember the Lord, then we can see the Lord in everything, and thus we will feel sheltered, safe and protected. The Lord will never do anything that will not help His devotee. Everything He does for His devotee is always for their benefit. We must practice cultivating that faith in the Lord. With that faith, we can be satisfied.
(LFD Vol 3, Full Surrender, Pg 81, 2nd paragraph)

July 20

We must not think that only if Krishna brings everything to our doorstep, then we will serve Him. By making such a condition, the devotee actually expresses to Krishna that more important than the service are his necessities, and that is his condition for Krishna’s service. Krishna is very much inclined to those devotees who only want to serve Him.
(LFD Vol 3, Full Surrender, Pg 80, 3rd paragraph)

July 19

When a devotee takes that position of desiring the opportunity to serve the Lord, the Lord maintains him by giving him service. Everything else he needs is automatically there, because the Lord is very eager to take care of His devotee. Mixed devotees, however, do not realize that. They think that they have to take care of all their material needs first before they can do some service, but the Lord is very much inclined to those devotees who are fully dependent upon Him. The Lord had told Srivasa Pandit, “Even if the Goddess of Fortune becomes impoverished, I will personally carry on My head everything that you need directly to your doorstep. You will never be in need."
LFD Vol 3, Full Surrender, Pg 80, 1st paragraph

July 13

Devotional service is not calculated according to quantity—that only if there is large quantity will the Lord be pleased. We understand that it is the quality of the offering which pleases the Lord.

Budapest -- October 11, 2009.

July 12

"Doing more" doesn't always necessarily mean that we are physically active. We also can do more by understanding or connecting our activities to pleasing Krishna. We can chant more, we can remember Krishna more, we can pray more. There are many things that one can increase that will be pleasing to Srila Prabhupada and ultimately will be pleasing to Krishna. It's not necessarily a fact that just by doing more physically that we will be able to obtain the result of all of these efforts together.

Minsk - November 5, 2009

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