Regarding Your Question, Part 6

(Click to enlarge photo of Srila Prabhupada)

"Regarding your question about Lord Caitanya's thinking himself lower than the grass, it should be understood spiritually. The dimension of the spirit soul is 1/10,000 part of the hair tip; so the spirit soul is certainly smaller than the grass. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was teaching us as a teacher, so he represented himself as an ordinary living entity; but as the Supreme Brahman he is greater than anything."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, August 4, 1967)

"Regarding your question about the individual soul becoming all-pervasive, the idea is completely nonsensical rascaldom. Such theory is simply a bluff. Artificially, by means of practical psychology, one can understand very little of another's thinking and feeling. But this is in no way all-pervasive. If any yogi says like that, especially the modern so-called yogis, it is simply falsehood. In however perfect stage of yoga one may be, he may understand something of another's mental condition, but this is never all-pervasive. This all-pervasive consciousness is possible only in the Supersoul."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, January 31, 1969)

"Regarding your two questions, the first, Sri Gadadhar is expansion Radharani and Srinivas is the expansion of Narada Muni, or in other words they are the internal and the devotional energy respectively. The second question, Yes, Rupa Goswami is a Gopi by the name of Rupamanjari, but not all the six Goswamis of Vrndavana are Gopis. The following is a list of some of the principle Gopis, the first eight are called Astasakhi:

1. Lalita 2. Visakha

3. Sucitra

4. Campaklata

5. Rangadevi

6. Sudevi

7. Tungavidya

8. Indurekha

9. Rupamanjari

10. Ratimanjari

11. Labangamanjari

12. Rasamanjari

13. Manjumali

14. Kasturika etc.

You can sing individually the names of the Gopis, there is no harm, but when we sing the prayer 'Sri radha krsna padan sahaguna lalita sri visakhan vitams ca' this includes them all."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, May 27, 1970)

"You inquire why, if the devotee is struggling very hard to be free of the clutches of Maya, then how can he not be interested in such liberation? That is a contradiction. The devotee is not interested in liberation, but in serving; as such, the devotee is already liberated. So liberation is not very important business—it doesn't matter if he is liberated or nonliberated. The idea is that nobody should serve Krishna with motive, even up to liberation, he should serve for service sake. Liberation from Maya means engaging himself in the service of the Lord. So one should strive to become a servant of the Supreme, and in that position he is automatically liberated and free from the clutches of Maya, so when it is said that one should strive to be free from the clutches of Maya, it is simply another way of saying one should strive to be a servant of the Lord, not that being free from Maya is the goal of striving, but that the serving is the goal of striving. Liberation is the constitutional position of the living entity, and that constitutional position is that the Lord is great and that the living entity is subordinate & servant of the Lord. So one should try to extricate himself from the clutches of Maya in order to regain his healthy, normal condition as the servant of Krishna, not just to get himself liberated. But once in this service, he is liberated already. Try to understand."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 27, 1972)

"You ask one question about the nature of books I want you to write as my disciples; on this point, Krsna Consciousness is not limited. Persons like all of the Gosvamis wrote so many books, Viswanath Chakravarty, and all the acharyas wrote books, and still I am writing books. Similarly, also my disciples will write. So any self-realized soul can write unlimited books without deviating from the original ideas."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 28, 1972)

"Regarding your questions, 1) The devotee always takes bodily pains as the mercy of Krishna. 2) Everyone who is chanting Hare Krishna is getting benefit. Sanatan Goswami says that one should not hear from an avaishnava, or non-Vaishnava. So people who are imitating are hearing from a Vaisnava. They are not a Vaishnava, because the Hare Krishna Mantra is introduced by us only into the western world, so whatever they have heard is from a Vaishnava."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, April 2, 1972)

"Regarding your questions you say that amongst the elder disciples there are still symptoms of greed, anger, strife, bickering, etc., but you are one of them. You are one of the old students, so you fall in that group. So the fighting is among that group, but not amongst the real workers."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, September 9, 1972)

"Regarding your questions in the letter of November 18, 1972, you have asked me if the spiritual master is ultimately Krishna, so the answer must be that if you think that way then everyone is Krishna. So why we should think like this? Saktyavesha Avatar means a living entity, but he is specially empowered. Not that he is Krishna. But on account of his exalted position he is honoured as much as Krishna. Not that he is Krishna. That is Mayavadi. He acts in the position of Krishna, but he is not Krishna, he is very dear to Krishna. That is explained: (here the verse was quoted: yasya prasadat bhagavat prasadat . . .) The spiritual master is acting in the position of Krishna because he is the most confidential servant of Krishna."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, December 14, 1972)

"All questions will be clarified if you simply read our books very thoroughly and follow the simple process of devotional service as we have given it to chant regularly and rigidly observe the rules and regulations. This is our principle that the spiritual science becomes revealed to the devotee from within the heart according to the degree of his surrender to Krsna. You are a very hopeful student and intelligent devotee, so you continue to pursue your devotional activities patiently and Krsna will open your path of Krsna consciousness so you will progress more and more."

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, July 25, 1970)

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