suddhabhakti

  The mind is always telling us to do this or that. bhrātṛvyam enaṁ tad adabhra-vīryam upekṣayādhyedhitam apramattaḥ guror hareś caraṇopāsanāstro jahi vyalīkaṁ svayam ātma-moṣam Translation This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. O King, please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus feet of the spiritual master and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Do this with great care. Translation This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. O King, please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus f...

  janmādyāḥ ṣaḍ ime bhāvā dṛṣṭā dehasya nātmanaḥ phalānām iva vṛkṣasya kāleneśvara-mūrtinā Translation Just as the fruits and flowers of a tree in due course of time undergo six changes — birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and then death — the material body, which is obtained by the spirit soul under different circumstances, undergoes similar changes. However, there are no such changes for the spirit soul. Purport This is a very important verse in understanding the difference between the spiritual soul and the material body. The soul is eternal, as stated in  Bhagavad-gītā  (2.20) : na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre “For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” The spirit soul is eternal, being freed from waste and c...

  Unless one is able to fix the mind at the lotus feet of the Lord, the mind is impossible to control. As Arjuna says in  Bhagavad-gītā  (6.34) : cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva suduṣkaram “For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it, it seems to me, is more difficult than controlling the wind.” The only bona fide process for controlling the mind is to fix the mind by service to the Lord. We create enemies and friends according to the dictation of the mind, but actually there are no enemies and friends.  Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.   Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām.  To understand this is the preliminary condition for entering into the kingdom of devotional service. (Source:   “Srimad Bhagavatam”, Seventh Canto, Chapter 8 – Text 9  by  His Grace  A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada  ) 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆   🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆 ...

       In  Kṛṣṇa,  Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the five levels of ego covering the self: “Within the body there are five different departments of existence, known as  anna-maya, prāṇa-maya,   mano-maya,   vijñāna-maya,  and at last  ānanda-maya.  [These are enumerated in the  Brahmānanda-vallī  of the  Taittirīya Upaniṣad. ] In the beginning of life, every living entity is food conscious. A child or an animal is satisfied only by getting nice food. This stage of consciousness, in which the goal is to eat sumptuously, is called  anna-maya.   Anna  means ‘food.’ After this one lives in the consciousness of being alive. If one can continue his life without being attacked or destroyed, one thinks himself happy. This stage is called  prāṇa-maya,  or consciousness of one’s existence. After this stage, when one is situated on the mental platform, that consciousness is called  mano-maya. ...

  A devotee cites numerous passages from Vedic literature revealing the crowning glory of the Srimad – Bhagvatam.   BHAGAVATAM IS THE CROWN JEWEL OF ALL REVEALED SCRIPTURES   dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadmn tapa-trayonmulanam srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krte kim va parair isvarah sadyo hrdy avarudhyate 'tra kytibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat   Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva [in his maturity]' is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this ...