dust from lotus feet required
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Imported quote 13602 O respectable personalities present here, I beg the blessings of all of you that I may perpetually carry on my crown the dust of the lotus feet of such brahmanas and Vaisnavas until the end of my life. He who can carry such dust on his head is very soon relieved of all the reactions which arise from sinful life, and eventually he develops all good and desirable qualities.
(More...) Imported quote 13604 "One who has unflinching devotional faith in Krsna consistently manifests all the good qualities of Krsna and the demigods. However, he who has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no good qualifications because he is engaged by mental concoction in material existence, which is the external feature of the Lord." (Bhag. 5.18.12) So-called educated philosophers and scientists who are simply on the mental platform cannot distinguish between what is actually sat, eternal, and what is asat, temporary. The Vedic injunction is asato ma jyotir gama: everyone should give up the platform of temporary existence and approach the eternal platform. The soul is eternal, and topics concerning the eternal soul are actually knowledge. Elsewhere it is said, apasyatam atma-tattvam grhesu grha-medhinam: those who are attached to the bodily conception of life and who thus stick to life as a grhastha, or householder, on the platform of material sense enjoyment, cannot see the welfare of the eternal soul. Prahlada Maharaja confirmed this by saying that if one wants success in life, he should immediately understand from the right sources what his self-interest is and how he should mold his life in spiritual consciousness. One should understand himself to be part and parcel of Krsna and thus completely take shelter of His lotus feet for guaranteed spiritual success. Everyone in the material world is in the bodily conception, struggling hard for existence, life after life. Prahlada Maharaja therefore recommended that to stop this material condition of repeated birth and death, one should go to the forest (vana).
(More...) Imported quote 14290 One has to awaken his Krsna consciousness by first regretting his past deeds. Just as King Puranjana began to flatter his Queen, one should, by deliberate consideration, raise himself to the platform of Krsna consciousness. To attain such an end, one must touch the lotus feet of the spiritual master. Krsna consciousness cannot be achieved by self-endeavor. One must therefore approach a self-realized Krsna conscious person and touch his lotus feet. Prahlada Maharaja therefore said:
(More...) One cannot come to the precincts of Krsna consciousness unless he touches the dust of the lotus feet of a person who has become a mahatma, a great devotee. This is the beginning of the surrendering process. Lord Krsna wants everyone to surrender unto Him, and this surrendering process begins when one touches the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master. By sincerely rendering service to a bona fide spiritual master, one begins his spiritual life in Krsna consciousness. Touching the lotus feet of a spiritual master means giving up one's false prestige and unnecessarily puffed-up position in the material world. Those who remain in the darkness of material existence due to their falsely prestigious positions-so-called scientists and philosophers-are actually atheists. They do not know the ultimate cause of everything. Although bewildered, they are not ready to surrender themselves to the lotus feet of a person who knows things in their proper perspective. In other words, one cannot arouse Krsna consciousness simply by his own mental speculation. One must surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Only this process will help one.
(More...) Imported quote 15686 These Krishna conscious persons are free from all material desires. Those who are liberated theoretically simply know that the living entity is not made of any material element. Although they may be classified amongst the liberated souls, they have desire. They have the desire to become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such persons are very much attached to the ritual performance of the Vedic injunctions, and to righteous activities, in order to enjoy material welfare. And even when some of them are out of material enjoyment, they want enjoyment in the spiritual world, to merge into the existence of the Supreme Lord. And some of them are also desirous of getting the perfection of mystic powers, known as the Yoga principles. So long as all these desires are within the heart of a person, he cannot understand the nature of pure devotional service, and on account of being agitated by such desires, he is not peaceful. So long as there is any desire for material perfection, he cannot be at peace. The devotees of Lord Krishna are not desirous of material achievement, and as such they are the only peaceful persons within this material world. This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagwatam, Sixth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, 4th verse: It is said there as follows: "O great sage, out of many millions of liberated persons, and persons who have achieved success in mystic Yoga powers, one who is completely devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is therefore very peaceful is very rarely to be found."
(More...) Unless one is fortunate enough to have the dust of the lotus feet of a mahātmā on one's head, there is no possibility of perfection in spiritual life. It is my good fortune that I have been able to see you because you cannot easily be seen by persons who have not subdued the mind or controlled the senses. I am all the more fortunate to have touched with my head the blessed dust of your feet.
(More...) The perfection of transcendental life can be achieved simply by touching the holy dust of the lotus feet of a holy man. In the Bhagavatam it is said, mahat-pada-rajo-'bhisekam, which means to be blessed by the holy dust of the lotus feet of a mahat, a great devotee. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, mahatmanas tu: Those who are great souls are under the spell of spiritual energy, and their symptom is that they fully engage in Krsna consciousness for the service of the Lord. Therefore they are called mahat. Unless one is fortunate enough to have the dust of the lotus feet of a mahatma on his head, there is no possiblity of perfection in spiritual life.
(More...) The parampara system of disciplic succession is very important as a means of spiritual success. One becomes a mahat by the grace of his mahat spiritual master. If one takes shelter of the lotus feet of a great soul, there is every possibility of his also becoming a great soul. When Maharaja Rahūgana asked Jaḍa Bharata about his wonderful achievement of spiritual success, he replied to the King that spiritual success is not possible simply by following the rituals of religion or simply by converting oneself into a sannyasi or offering sacrifices as recommended in the scriptures. These methods are undoubtedly helpful for spiritual realization, but the real effect is brought about by the grace of a mahatma. In Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's eight stanzas of prayer to the spiritual master, it is clearly stated that simply by satisfying the spiritual master one can achieve the supreme success in life, and in spite of executing all ritualistic performances, if one cannot satisfy the spiritual master, he has no access to spiritual perfection. Here the word akrtatmanam is very significant. Atma means body, soul, or mind, and akrtatma means the common man, who cannot control the senses or the mind. Because the common man is unable to control the senses and the mind, it is therefore his duty to seek the shelter of a great soul or a great devotee of the Lord and just try to please him. That will make his life perfect. A common man cannot rise to the topmost stage of spiritual perfection simply by following the rituals and religious principles. He has to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and work under his direction faithfully and sincerely; then he becomes perfect, without a doubt.
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