don't waste it
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Imported quote 15497 A person in the conditional stage of material existence is in an atmosphere of helplessness, but the conditioned soul, under the illusion of maya, or the external energy, thinks that he is completely protected by his country, society, friendship and love, not knowing that at the time of death none of these can save him. The laws of material nature are so strong that none of our material possessions can save us from the cruel hands of death. In Bhagavad-gita (13.9) it is stated, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duḥkha-dosanudarsanam: one who is actually advancing must always consider the four principles of miserable life, namely, birth, death, old age and disease. One cannot be saved from all these miseries unless he takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is therefore the only shelter for all conditioned souls. An intelligent person, therefore, does not put his faith in any material possessions, but completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Such a person is called akincana, or one who does not possess anything in this material world. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also known as Akincana-gocara, for He can be achieved by a person who does not put his faith in material possessions. Therefore, for the fully surrendered soul who has no material possessions on which to depend, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the only shelter. Everyone depends upon dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification) and ultimately moksa (salvation), but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, due to His magnanimous character, can give more than salvation. Therefore in this verse the words hinarthadhika-sadhakam indicate that although by material estimation salvation is of a quality superior to the inferior interests of religiosity, economic development and sense gratification, above salvation there is the position of devotional service and transcendental love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the bestower of this great benediction. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, prema pumartho mahan: "Love of Godhead is the ultimate benediction for all human beings." Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, the author of Caitanya-caritamrta, therefore first offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu before describing His magnanimity in bestowing love of Godhead.
(More...) Imported quote 17755 So try to possess Krsna like Kuntidevi's... Tvayi me ananya-visaya matir madhu-pate asakrt. Asakrt means... Sakrt means once, and asakrt means continuously. Not that perform Krsna consciousness fifteen minutes' meditation, and then do all nonsense thing twenty-four hours. No, no, no, no. Not that kind of... Twenty-four hours engaged in Krsna consciousness, that is wanted. That is called asakrt. Twenty-four. So you have to make your formula of life in such a way that not a single moment is gone without Krsna consciousness. Avyartha-kalatvam [Cc Madhya 23.18-19]. This is Rūpa Gosvami's... A devotee, a pure devotee of Krsna, he always sees: "Whether my time is wasted unnecessarily?" He should be very much alert: "Why I'm sleeping so much, wasted so much time?" That is devotees, Krsna conscious. "Oh, I am wasting so much time without any engagement of Krsna consciousness?" That is called asakrt. Matir madhu-pate asakrt.
(More...) Imported quote 20066 The value of this human form of life is therefore immense and a moment lost of this life means a loss of immense value. Do not therefore neglect the time that you have been allotted by the laws of Nature and utilize it fully-not in the matter of animal life but in human life. Eating, sleeping, fearing & sense gratifying process are meant for the animal portion of our life, but as human being we have got the special prerogative for searching out the cause of our threefold miseries & to rectify it in this very life without any further loss of time.
(More...) Imported quote 21026 Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated nil and have noted the contents. Please try and work nicely with Mahamsa Svami. He is very nice devotee and he can help you to be engaged in Krishna's service with great enthusiasm. I will be coming there shortly-in April, for a large pandal program. You can see me then. For the time being, try to be very staunch in following all the rules and regulations. Chant 16 rounds daily, attend mangala arati and classes, etc. and you will be very happily engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. Never let a moment go by without engaging in at least one of the nine devotional processes. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher,
(More...)A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Imported quote 21088 Your list of qualifications for choosing candidates for 2nd initiation is very good. Regarding Rudra dasa, he can worship Gaura-Nitai in his home. The most important element for their worship is the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mantra. They can have at least one arati and whatever foodstuffs are prepared can be offered. Regarding my books, everyone should read. I am also reading. Everyone should be engaged 24 hours. That is the sum and substance. How much you should read and how much you should do other types of service, that has to be decided by each individual devotee. Eating and sleeping should be minimized-not a single moment should be misused. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher,
(More...)A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Imported quote 22269 Your suggestion that the devotees visiting Vrindaban engage in preaching and chanting and not in gossiping is very good. I have instructed that this be taken to the GBC and implanted. We have sacrificed our life for Krsna's service, where is there scope for sleeping and gossiping? You can see in my example, not a single moment is wasted. This idleness is the business of the karmis. They can be seen sitting in the park gossiping, "my son-in-law said this,'' "this man has cheated me.'' But it has no place in devotional service, so your suggestion is well made.
(More...) One second of human life wasted in the vain research of planning for happiness in the material world can never be replaced, even if one spends millions of coins of gold. The Bhagavata-dharma or the cult of Srimad-Bhagavatam is perfectly distinct from the way of fruitive activities, which are considered by the devotees to be merely a waste of time. The whole universe, or for that matter all material existence, is moving on as jagat, simply for planning business to make one's position very comfortable or secure, although everyone sees that this existence is neither comfortable nor secure, nor can it ever become comfortable or secure at any stage of development. Those who are captivated by the illusory advancement of material civilization (following the way of phantasmagoria) are certainly madmen. The whole material creation is a jugglery of names only; in fact, it is nothing but a bewildering creation of matters like earth, water and fire. The buildings, furniture, cars, bungalows, mills, factories, industries, peace, war or even the highest perfection of material science, namely the atomic energy and electronics, are all simply bewildering names of material elements with their concomitant reactions of the three modes. Since the devotee of the Lord knows them perfectly well, he is not interested in creating unwanted things for a situation which is not at all reality, but simply names of no more significance than the babble of sea waves. The great kings, leaders and soldiers fight with one another in order to perpetuate their names in history. They are forgotten in due course of time, and they make place for another era in history. But the devotee realizes how much history and historical persons are useless products of flickering time. The fruitive worker aspires after a big fortune in the matter of wealth, woman and worldly adoration, but those who are fixed in perfect reality are not at all interested in such false things. For them it is all a waste of time. Since every second of human life is important, an enlightened man should be very careful to utilize time very cautiously. One second of human life wasted in the vain research of planning happiness in the material world can never be replaced, even by spending millions of coins of gold. Therefore, the transcendentalist desiring freedom from the clutches of maya, or the illusory activities of life, is warned herewith not to be captivated by the external features of fruitive actors. Human life is never meant for sense gratification, but for self-realization. Srimad-Bhagavatam instructs us solely on this subject from the very beginning to the end. Human life is simply meant for self-realization. The civilization which aims at this utmost perfection never indulges in creating unwanted things, and such a perfectional civilization prepares men only to accept the bare necessities of life or to follow the principle of the best use of a bad bargain. Our material bodies and our lives in that connection are bad bargains because the living entity is actually spirit, and spiritual advancement of the living entity is absolutely necessary. Human life is intended for the realization of this important factor, and one should act accordingly, accepting only the bare necessities of life and depending more on God's gift without diversion of human energy for any other purpose, such as being mad for material enjoyment. Such materialistic advancement of civilization is called "the civilization of the demons," which ultimately ends in wars and scarcity. The transcendentalist is specifically warned herewith to be fixed in mind, so that even if there is difficulty in plain living and high thinking he will not budge even an inch from his stark determination. For a transcendentalist, it is a suicidal policy to be intimately in touch with the sense-gratifiers of the world, because such a policy will frustrate the ultimate gain of life. Sukadeva Gosvami met Maharaja Pariksit when the latter felt a necessity for such a meeting. It is the duty of a transcendentalist to help persons who desire real salvation and to support the cause of salvation. One might note that Sukadeva Gosvami never met Maharaja Pariksit while he was ruling as a great king. For a transcendentalist, the mode of activities is explained in the next sloka.
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