S.B. 5.19 intro and more

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Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances at the lotus feet of

Srila Prabhupada.

om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.19

"A Description of the Island of Jambudvipa"

The following is a partial post of Srila Prabhupada's introduction

to this chapter :

"This chapter describes the glories of Bharata-varsha, and it also describes

how Lord Ramachandra is being worshiped in the tract of land known as Kimpurusha-varsha.

The inhabitants of Kimpurusha-varsha are fortunate because they worship

Lord Ramachandra with His faithful servant Hanuman. Lord Ramachandra exemplifies

an incarnation of Godhead who descends for the mission of paritranaya

sadhunam vinashya cha dushkritam - protecting the devotees and destroying

the miscreants. Lord Ramachandra exhibits the actual purpose of an incarnation

of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the devotees take the opportunity

to offer loving transcendental service to Him. One should surrender fully

to the Lord, forgetting one's so-called material happiness, opulence and

education, which are not at all useful for pleasing the Lord. The Lord

is pleased only by the process of surrender unto Him...

All the conditioned living entities are evolving within

the universe in different planets and different species of life. Thus one

may be elevated to Brahmaloka, but then one must again descend to earth,

as confirmed in Srimad Bhagavad-gita... Any place where one cannot hear

about the Supreme Personality of Godhead from realized souls, even if it

be Brahmaloka, is not very congenial to the living entity. If one who has

taken birth in the land of Bharata-varsha as a human being does not take

advantage of the opportunity for spiritual elevation, his position is certainly

the most miserable. In the land known as Bharata-varsha, even if one is

a sarva-kama-bhakta, a devotee seeking the fulfillment of some material

desire, he is freed from all material desires by his association with devotees,

and ultimately be becomes a pure devotee and returns home, back to Godhead,

without difficulty..."

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>From Srila Prabhupada's book Elevation to Krsna Consciousness,

chapter 5 "Knowing Krsna's Energies"

"...In other words, Lord Sri Krsna is the property of His pure

unconditional devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Krsna

to another devotee; Krsna is never obtainable directly. Lord Caitanya therefore

designated Himself as gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah,

or "the most obedient servant of the servants of the Lord, who maintains

the gopi damsels at Vrndavana." A pure devotee therefore never approaches

the Lord directly, but tries to please the servant of the Lord's servants,

and thus the Lord becomes pleased, and only then can the devotee relish

the taste of the tulasi leaves stuck to His lotus feet. In the Brahma-samhita

it is said that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar

of the Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His

pure devotee. In Vrindavana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of

Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krsna. Srimati Radharani

is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling

the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy

of Radharani is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once

She recommends such a devotee to Lord Krsna, the Lord at once accepts the

devotee's admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore,

that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee

than that of the Lord directly, and by one's doing so (by the good will

of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will

be revived...."

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>From Srila Prabhupada's purport on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.8.6

" One who is not a pure devotee of the Supreme Lord Krsna is not completely

cleansed in the heart. But a perfectly cleansed person never quits the

devotional service of the Lord. In discharging such devotional service,

as ordered by Brahmaji to Narada in the preaching of Srimad-Bhagavatam,

sometimes a representative of the Lord engaged in preaching work meets

various so-called difficulties. This was exhibited by Lord Nityananda when

He delivered the two fallen souls Jagai and Madhai, and similarly Lord

Jesus Christ was crucified by the nonbelievers. But such difficulties are

very gladly suffered by the devotees in preaching because in such activities,

although apparently very severe, the devotees of the Lord feel transcendental

pleasure because the Lord is satisfied. Prahlada Maharaja suffered greatly,

but still he never forgot the lotus feet of the Lord. This is because a

pure devotee of the Lord is so purified in his heart that he cannot leave

the shelter of Lord Krsna in any circumstances. There is no self-interest

in such service."

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from My Relationship With Lord Krsna, by His Holiness Satswarupa das

Goswami

"Dear Lord, it seems that my main purpose in coming here is to seek

You. I know preachers are supposed to be interested in rescuing the fallen

souls. Once a devotee wrote to Srila Prabhupada that New York City is uninhabitable

for humans. Srila Prabhupada replied: "A devotee is satisfied whether in

Vaikuntha or in hell. His satisfaction is not the particular place, but

his sincere service attitude toward Krsna."

I am here, and I want to make it meaningful. Therefore,

I am looking for You even here. I am alone today. When I am alone, I am

able to be more thoughtful. I can drop the unnecessary burdens of controversies

and other dealings. I can give You my attention. Let me call for You from

this promontory rock." (p.66)

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" Namacarya Haridasa Thakura continued, "If one offenselessly utters

the holy name even imperfectly, one can be freed from all the results of

sinful life."

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Begging for the mercy of Srila Prabhupada

your fallen servant.....

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