64 principles

Imported quote 15468

The renounced order of life is never meant for begging nor living at the cost of others as a parasite. According to the dictionary, a parasite is a sycophant who lives at the cost of society without making any contribution to that society. The renounced order is meant for contributing something substantial to the society and not depending on the earnings of the householders. On the contrary, acceptance of alms from the householders by the bona fide mendicant is an opportunity afforded by the saint for tangible benefit of the donor. In the sanatana-dharma institution, almsgiving to the mendicant is part of a householder's duty, and it is advised in the scriptures that the householders should treat the mendicants as their family children and should provide them with food, clothing, etc., without being asked. Pseudo-mendicants, therefore, should not take advantage of the charitable disposition of the faithful householders. The first duty of a person in the renounced order of life is to contribute some literary work for the benefit of the human being in order to give him realized direction toward self-realization. Amongst the other duties in the renounced order of life of Srila Sanatana, Srila Rūpa and the other Gosvamis of Vrndavana, the foremost duty discharged by them was to hold learned discourses amongst themselves at Sevakunja Vrndavana (the spot where Sri Radha-Damodara Temple was established by Srila Jiva Gosvami and where the actual samadhi tombs of Srila Rūpa Gosvami and Srila Jiva Gosvami are laid). For the benefit of all in human society, they left behind them immense literatures of transcendental importance. Similarly, all the acaryas who voluntarily accepted the renounced order of life aimed at benefiting the human society and not at living a comfortable or irresponsible life at the cost of others. However, those who cannot give any contribution should not go to the householders for food, for such mendicants asking bread from the householders are an insult to the highest order. Sukadeva Gosvami gave this warning especially for those mendicants who adopt this line of profession to solve their economic problems. Such mendicants are in abundance in the age of Kali. When a man becomes a mendicant willfully or by circumstances, he must be of firm faith and conviction that the Supreme Lord is the maintainer of all living beings everywhere in the universe. Why, then, would He neglect the maintenance of a surrendered soul who is cent percent engaged in the service of the Lord? A common master looks to the necessities of his servant, so how much more would the all-powerful, all-opulent Supreme Lord look after the necessities of life for a fully surrendered soul. The general rule is that a mendicant devotee will accept a simple small loincloth without asking anyone to give it in charity. He simply salvages it from the rejected torn cloth thrown in the street. When he is hungry he may go to a magnanimous tree which drops fruits, and when he is thirsty he may drink water from the flowing river. He does not require to live in a comfortable house, but should find out a cave in the hills and may not be afraid of jungle animals, keeping faith in God, who lives in everyone's heart. The Lord may dictate to tigers and other jungle animals not to disturb His devotee. Haridasa Thakur, a great devotee of Lord Sri Caitanya, used to live in such a cave, and by chance a great venomous snake also was a copartner of the cave. Some admirer of Thakur Haridasa, who had to visit the Thakur every day, feared the snake and gave a suggestion to the Thakur to leave that place. Because his devotees were afraid of the snake and they were regularly visiting the cave, Thakur Haridasa agreed to the proposal on their account. But as soon as this was settled, the snake actually crawled out of its hole in the cave and left the cave for good before everyone present. By the dictation of the Lord, who lives also within the heart of the snake, the snake gave preference to Haridasa and decided to leave the place and not disturb him. So this is a tangible example of how the Lord gives protection to a bona fide devotee like Thakur Haridasa. According to the regulations of the sanatana-dharma institution, one is trained from the beginning to depend fully on the protection of the Lord in all circumstances. The path of renunciation is recommended for acceptance by one who is fully accomplished and fully purified in one's existence. This stage is described also in the Bhagavad-gita as daivi sampad (Bg. 16.5). A human being is required to accumulate daivi sampad, or spiritual assets; otherwise, the next alternative, asuri sampad, or material assets, will overcome him disproportionately, and thus one will be forced into the entanglement of different miseries of the material world. A sannyasi should always live alone without company, and he must be fearless. He should never be afraid of living alone, although he is never alone. The Lord is residing in everyone's heart, and unless one is purified by the prescribed process, one will feel that he is alone. But a man in the renounced order of life must be purified by the process; thus he will feel the presence of the Lord everywhere and will have nothing to fear (such as being without any company). Everyone can become a fearless and honest person if his very existence is purified by discharging the prescribed duty for each and every order of life. One can become fixed in one's prescribed duty by faithful aural reception of Vedic instructions and assimilation of the essence of Vedic knowledge by devotional service of the Lord. (More...)

Kapittha is a flower which is known in Indian vernacular as kouth. We do not find an English equivalent for the name of this flower, but its fruit is generally not accepted by human beings; it is eaten by monkeys in the forest. Dhruva Maharaja, however, accepted such fruits, not for luxuriant feasting but just to keep his body and soul together. The body needs food, but a devotee should not accept foodstuff to satisfy the tongue in sense gratification. It is recommended in Bhagavad-gita that one should accept as much food as necessary to keep the body fit, but one should not eat for luxury. Dhruva Maharaja is an acarya, and by undergoing severe austerities and penances he teaches us how one should execute devotional service. We must carefully know the process of Dhruva Maharaja's service; how severely he passed his days will be shown in later verses. We should always remember that to become a bona fide devotee of the Lord is not an easy task, but in this age, by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, it has been made very easy. But if we do not follow even the liberal instructions of Lord Caitanya, how can we expect to discharge our regular duties in devotional service? It is not possible in this age to follow Dhruva Maharaja in his austerity, but the principles must be followed; we should not disregard the regulative principles given by our spiritual master, for they make it easier for the conditioned soul. As far as our ISKCON movement is concerned, we simply ask that one observe the four prohibitive rules, chant sixteen rounds, and, instead of indulging in luxurious eating for the tongue, simply accept prasadam offered to the Lord. This does not mean that with our fasting the Lord should also fast. The Lord should be given foodstuff which is as nice as possible. But we should not make it a point to satisfy our own tongues. As far as possible we should accept simple foodstuff, just to keep the body and soul together to execute devotional service. (More...)

These ten items are essential for a neophyte devotee who is beginning to follow the path of devotional service. The next stage is as follows: 11. One should try to avoid offenses in the service to the Lord, and in chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. There are ten kinds of offenses in chanting the Holy Name and they should be avoided. The offenses are: I. Blaspheming a devotee of the Lord; 2. Considering the Lord and the demigods on the same level, or to think that there are many Gods; 3. To neglect the orders of the spiritual master; 4. To minimize the authority of Scriptures (the Vedas); 5. To interpret the Holy Names of God; 6. To commit sin on the strength of chanting; 7. To instruct the Glories of the Lord's Name to the unfaithful; 8. To compare the Holy Name with material piety; 9. To be inattentive while chanting the Holy Name; 10. To remain attached to material things in spite of chanting the Holy Names. 12. One should avoid the association of unholy non-devotees. 13. One should not attempt to have many disciples. 14. One should not take the trouble of understanding various books or to understand partially any particular book, and one should avoid discussing different doctrines. 15. One should be equipoised both in gain and loss. 16. One should not be subject to any kind of lamentation. 17. One should not disrespect demigods, or other Scriptures. 18. One should not tolerate blaspheming the Supreme Lord and His devotees. 19. One should avoid ordinary topics of novels and fiction, but there is no injunction that one should avoid hearing ordinary news. 20. One should not give any trouble to any living creature, including a small bug. (More...)

So this purification process, according to Vaisnava smrti, adau gurvasrayam tato sad-dharma-prcchat sadhu marganugamanam. [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu ] In the beginning one has to accept a spiritual master, bona fide spiritual master. And who is bona fide spiritual master? That is also described in several Vedic scripture. In the Upanisad it is said, srotriyam brahma-nistham [ ]: (More...)

Tamala Krsna: They think I'm an Indian. " 'If anyone comes around to our prasadam distribution program, that means he is hungry. If he is hungry, that means he cannot listen to our philosophy. If his hunger is not satisfied, he'll never become Krsna conscious. That is the point. If we just went around with a program of speaking and kirtana, they would come once or twice but they wouldn't see its practical value. But if you give them prasadam daily with kirtana and speaking, eventually you can convince them, "Look, this is our most practical way of life. Why don't you come and live with us completely and work with us?" ' " That's a quote from an article in Back to Godhead. "Though food is far more plentiful in the United States than in India, prasadam appeal seems to work its magic here just as well. The entire movement began only ten years ago in a storefront temple in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Today it owns the largest publishing house of Hindu classics, many in demand for leading university courses. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust in Los Angeles, the world's largest, last year's gross of one million dollars; incense-producing Spiritual Sky Scented Products Company; and Krsna Fashions Incorporated, a wholesale clothing manufacturer. An important portion of the movement's income comes from the contributions of lay devotees, who are successful businessmen. More comes from street-corner solicitation of alms by devotees during kirtana. How significant the last is was shown recently by the closing down of elevator service in the New York center. 'A lot of us are going on pilgrimage to India,' said Alahkara dasa. 'There won't be many around to beg. These elevators cost us $2,200 a month to run. So we're cutting down except for essential services.' " We don't do that anymore. That was the previous mismanagement. Someone had the idea that if you turn off the elevator, that's very good. But I told him if you're not going to run the elevator, then why did you move here? They had people walking up eleven stories, and it was crazy, just to save... Anyway, "These include moving foodstuffs and milk into the building. Much of the food comes from a 350-acre ISKCON-owned dairy farm in Academia, Pennsylvania, one of the six similar facilities in this country and Canada." They show pictures of devotees in the temple, devotees taking prasadam and two lady devotees. "The yoga," it says under the captions, "monks take breakfast by hand in rows on the dining area floor." Here it says, "Saried women devotees dwell in cloister atmosphere of the center." Then "The yoga of devotion: Tilaka of clay paste marks the devotee as a member of ISKCON sect. Central shrine in the temple is the focal point of twice a day services." A picture of Radha-Govinda. " 'Our life is our meditation' said a sikha-ed, saffron-clad monk in the Hare Krsna center. 'Everything we do is offered to Sri Krsna, but in addition to that there is the personal chanting, most...' " [break] "...slung from the devotee's neck. He often counts the beads without taking his hand from the pouch. In the early hours the Hare Krsna center buzzes with a droning sound, difficult to identify by the stranger who does not know that it comes from the monks, who are beginning their required sixteen rounds." They have given everything very detailed. "The personal chanting sometimes occurs in unusual situations-while escorting a visitor to the center, while waiting to complete a phone call, or even during pauses in a conversation." [laughter] Devotees are always chanting. " 'The mahamantra is the only mantra needed' the devotee says. Besides the sixteen rounds, devotees are expected to observe four rules. They must abstain from meat-eating, intoxication, gambling and illicit sex. Illicit sex is defined as any sexual act other than that intended for procreation. Sex outside of marriage is forbidden. Married, full-time devotees may have sexual relationship once a month at a time propitious for procreation. All the devotee's activities are regarded as bhakti-yoga, the yoga of devotion. He regards everything he does as service to God. The name he is given at initiation is followed by the word dasa, 'a servant.' Full-time ISKCON devotees adopt Vedic dress, one objective being to keep others aware of Krsna. Women wear saris, the men dhotis; both may wear shawls. The men shave their heads except for a single lock of hair at the back. [See the article 'The Krsna Cut.'] The lock, called a sikha, identifies the followers of Krsna." Actually, no one can imitate us because no one wants to give up their hair, so no one will try to make believe they are devotees. "Shaving the head announces renunciation of material pleasures. The tilaka is a mark made with clay-two narrow vertical stripes on the forehead meeting in a triangular swatch on the bridge of the nose. It identifies the body as a temple to be used only in the service of God. Full-time students follow a rigorously monastic life. They arise at four a.m. in the morning, begin four hours of prayer and chanting. At nine o'clock they have breakfast, seated cross-legged on mats on the floor. The men eat apart from the women. During the day devotees work at various preaching programs or at regular jobs. At seven p.m. devotional services are held in the center's temple. In Manhattan this features an ornate shrine including representations of Krsna and His consort, Radhe. Both are costumed sumptuously with elaborate care; both wear festoons of flowers. Visitors are cautioned, 'When you go in the temple remember that these statues you see are not representations of the Deities, they are the Deities. Krsna is in everything. Krsna is everywhere.' Temple kirtana." There's a picture. "Eleven-story New York sect's center is former Carmelite Baird home." Picture of the temple. "Services in the temple are attended by about five hundred every Sunday. Many of these are from New York's Hindu population. Frequently husbands bring their pregnant wives, dedicating their unborn child to Krsna. The kirtana begins with the chanting of the maha-mantra, slowly at first and melodiously. Later the chant will speed up as the spirit of the devotion spreads. Often the most rapid and intense chanting is done by a hard-core knot of dhoti-ed men before the curtains of the shrine." The devotees get in one group and start... [laughter] Hard-core devotees. "The rhythm approaches that of an express train, and the atmosphere is apt to remind a lay visitor of an old-fashioned football rally. Some of the onlookers try to keep up with the central group, clapping their hands, swaying their bodies, throwing arms upwards and, among the younger, adapting modern dance steps to the rhythm. When the shrine curtains are drawn back, devotees kneel and press their foreheads..." (More...)

Imported quote 24189

"On the path of regulative devotional service, one must observe the following items: (1) One must accept a bona fide spiritual master. (2) Accept initiation from him. (3) Serve him. (4) Receive instructions from the spiritual master and make inquiries in order to learn devotional service. (5) Follow in the footsteps of the previous acaryas and follow the directions given by the spiritual master. (More...)

One may be able to perform one item or many items, according to one's capacity, but it is the principal factor of complete attachment to devotional service that makes one advance on the path.

These five items, mentioned after the thirty-nine, are very important and essential. If one can simply discharge the last mentioned five items, even if they are not done sufficiently, one can be elevated to the highest perfectional stage. One may be able to perform one item or many items, according to one's capacity, but the principle factor of one's complete attachment to devotional service makes him advance on the path. There are many devotees in history who' attained the perfection of devotional service simply by discharging the duties in one item. And there are many other devotees, like Maharaj Amburish, who executed all the different items. (More...)

Out of these sixty-four items, five items-namely, offering water to the tulasī tree, hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, associating amongst the devotees, saṅkīrtana and living in Mathurā-are very important.

He mentions the basic principles as follows: 1) accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master, 2) becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning how to discharge devotional service from him, 3) obeying the orders of the spiritual master with faith and devotion, 4) following in the footsteps of great acaryas (teachers) under the direction of the spiritual master, 5) inquiring from the spiritual master how to advance in Krsna consciousness, 6) being prepared to give up anything material for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna (This means that when we are engaged in the devotional service of Krsna, we must be prepared to give up something which we may not like to give up, and also we have to accept something which we may not like to accept.), 7) residing in a sacred place of pilgrimage like Dvaraka or Vrndavana, 8) dealing with the material world only as far as necessary, 9) observing the fasting day on Ekadasi, and 10) worshiping sacred trees like the banyan tree and others. (More...)

These ten items are preliminary necessities for beginning the discharge of devotional service in regulative principles. In the beginning, if a neophyte devotee observes the above-mentioned ten principles, surely he will quickly make good advancement in Krsna consciousness. (More...)

The next set of instructions is listed as follows: 1) One should rigidly give up the company of nondevotees. 2) One should not instruct a person who is not desirous of accepting devotional service. 3) One should not be very enthusiastic about constructing costly temples or monasteries. 4) One should not try to read too many books, nor should one develop the idea of earning his livelihood by lecturing on or by professionally reciting Srimad-Bhagavatam or the Bhagavad-gita. 5) One should not be neglectful in ordinary dealings. 6) One should not be under the spell of lamentation in loss or tribulation in gain. 7) One should not disrespect the demigods. 8) One should not give unnecessary trouble to any living entity. 9) One should carefully avoid the various offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord, or in worshiping the Deity in the temple. 10) One should be very intolerant towards the blasphemy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, or His devotees. (More...)

Without following the above-mentioned ten principles, one cannot properly elevate himself to the platform of sadhana-bhakti, or devotional service in practice. Altogether, Srila Rūpa Gosvami mentions twenty items, and all of them are very important. Out of the twenty, the first three-namely, accepting the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, taking initiation from him and serving him with respect and reverence-are the most important. (More...)

The next important items are as follows: 1) One should decorate the body with tilaka, which is the sign of the Vaisnavas. (The idea is that as soon as a person sees these marks on the body of the Vaisnava, he will immediately remember Krsna. Lord Caitanya said that a Vaisnava is he whom, when seen, reminds one of Krsna. Therefore, it is essential that a Vaisnava mark his body with tilaka to remind others of Krsna.) 2) In marking such tilaka, sometimes one may write Hare Krsna on the body. 3) One should accept flowers and garlands that have been offered to the Deity and the spiritual master and put them on his body. 4) One should learn to dance before the Deity. 5) One should learn to bow down immediately upon seeing the Deity or the spiritual master. 6) As soon as one visits a temple of Lord Krsna, one must stand up. 7) When the Deity is being borne for a stroll in the street, a devotee should immediately follow the procession. (In this connection it may be noted that in India, especially in Visnu temples, the system is that apart from the big Deity who is permanently situated in the main area of the temple, there is another set of smaller Deities which are taken in procession in the evening. In some temples it is the custom to hold a big procession in the evening with a band playing and a nice big umbrella over the Deities, who sit on decorated thrones on the cart or palanquin which is carried by devotees. The Deities come out onto the street and travel in the neighborhood while the people of the neighborhood come out to offer prasadam. The residents of the neighborhood all follow the procession so that it is a very nice scene. When the Deity is coming out, the servitors in the temple put forward the daily accounts before Them: so much was the collection, so much was the expenditure. The whole idea is that the Deity is considered to be the proprietor of the whole establishment, and all the priests and other people taking care of the temple are considered to be the servants of the Deity. This system is very, very old and is still followed. So, therefore, it is mentioned here that when the Deity is on stroll the people should follow behind.) 8) A devotee must visit a Visnu temple at least once or twice every day, morning and evening. (In Vrndavana this system is followed very strictly. All the devotees in town go every morning and evening to visit different temples. Therefore during these times there are considerable crowds all over the city. There are about 5,000 temples in Vrndavana City. Of course it is not possible to visit all the temples, but there are at least one dozen very big and important temples which were started by the Gosvamis and which should be visited.) 9) One must circumambulate the temple building at least three times. (In every temple there is an arrangement to go around the temple at least three times. Some devotees go around more than three times: ten times, fifteen times-according to their vows. The Gosvamis used to circumambulate Govardhan Hill.) 10) One should circumambulate the whole Vrndavana area. 11) One must worship the Deity in the temple according to the regulative principles. (Offering aratrika, prasadam, decorating the Deity, etc.-these things must be observed regularly.) 12) Rendering personal service to the Deities. 13) Singing. 14) Sahkirtana. 15) Chanting. 16) Offering prayers. 17) Reciting notable prayers. 18) Tasting maha-prasadam (food from the very plate offered before the Deities). 19) Drinking caranamrtam (water from the bathing of the Deities which is offered to guests). 20) One must smell the incense and flowers offered to the Deity. 21) One must touch the lotus feet of the Deity. 22) One must see the Deity with great devotion. 23) One must offer aratrika at different times. 24) One must hear about the Lord and His pastimes from Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Bhagavad-gita, and similar books. 25) One must pray to the Deity for His mercy. 26) One should remember the Deity. 27) One should meditate upon the Deity. 28) One should render some voluntary service. 29) One should think of the Lord as his friend. 30) One should offer everything to the Lord. 31) One should offer a favorite article (as food or a garment). 32) One should take all kinds of risks for Krsna's benefit. 33) In every condition, be a surrendered soul. 34) Pour water on the tulasi tree. 35) Regularly hear Srimad-Bhagavatam and similar literature. 36) Live in a sacred place like Mathura, Vrndavana or Dvaraka. 37) Offer service to Vaisnavas (devotees). 38) Arrange your devotional service according to your means. 39) In the month of Karttika (October and November), make arrangements for special services. 40) During Janmastami (the time of Krsna's appearance in this world) observe a special service. 41) Do whatever is done with great care and devotion for the Deity. 42) Relish the pleasure of Bhagavatam reading amongst devotees and not amongst outsiders. 43) Associate with devotees who are considered more advanced. 44) Live in the jurisdiction of Mathura. 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Now, the total regulative principles come to an aggregate of sixty-four items. As we have mentioned, the first are the primary ten regulative principles. Then come the secondary ten regulative principles, and added to these are forty-four other activities. So altogether there are sixty-four items for discharging the regulative practice of devotional service. Out of these sixty-four items, five items-namely, offering water to the tulasi tree, hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, associating amongst the devotees, sahkirtana and living in Mathura-are very important. (More...)

The sixty-four items of devotional service should include all of our activities of body, mind and speech. As it was stated in the beginning, the regulative principle of devotional service enjoins that all of our senses must be employed in the service of the Lord. Exactly how they can be thus employed is described in the above sixty-four items. Now, Srila Rūpa Gosvami will give evidences from different scriptures supporting the authenticity of many of these points. (More...)

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