suddhabhakti

  Anything used in the Lord’s loving service is understood to be spiritual.   That which one intends to use for one’s personal sense gratification is called material property, whereas paraphernalia to be used in the Lord’s loving service is understood to be spiritual. One should give up all one’s material property by utilizing it completely in the devotional service of the Lord. A person who owns a luxurious mansion should install the Deity of the Lord and hold regular programs to propagate K ṛṣṇ a consciousness. Similarly, wealth should be used to build temples of the Lord and publish literature scientifically explaining the Personality of Godhead. One who blindly renounces material property without utilizing it in the service of the Lord does not understand that everything belongs to the Personality of Godhead. Such blind renunciation is based on the material idea that “This property could belong to me, but I don’t want it.” Everything, in fact, belongs to God; knowing t...

 pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṁ kathāmṛtaṁ śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam punanti te viṣaya-vidūṣitāśayaṁ vrajanti tac-caraṇa-saroruhāntikam Translation Those who drink through aural reception, fully filled with the nectarean message of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved of the devotees, purify the polluted aim of life known as material enjoyment and thus go back to Godhead, to the lotus feet of Him [the Personality of Godhead]. Purport The sufferings of human society are due to a polluted aim of life, namely lording it over the material resources. The more human society engages in the exploitation of undeveloped material resources for sense gratification, the more it will be entrapped by the illusory, material energy of the Lord, and thus the distress of the world will be intensified instead of diminished. The human necessities of life are fully supplied by the Lord in the shape of food grains, milk, fruit, wood, stone, sugar, silk, jewels, cotton, salt, water, vegetables, etc., in sufficient ...

  Sri Yudhisthira Maharaja said,  “Oh Supreme Lord, what is the name of that  Ekadashi  that occurs during the dark fortnight (krishna paksha) of the extra, leap-year month of Purushottama. What is the process for observing it properly? Kindly narrate all of this to me?” Lord Krishna, replied, “Oh Yudhisthira, this meritorious day is called Parama Ekadashi. It bestows the great benediction of an enjoyable life and release from birth and death. The process for observing it is similar to that for observing the Ekadashi that occurs during the light part of this month of Karttika. I will now tell you a wonderful story, I heard from the great sage in the city of Kampilya. Once a pious brahmin named Sumedha resided in Kampilya with his wife, Pavitra, who was devoted to her husband. On account of having committed some sin in his previous life, Sumedha was without any money and he hardly had adequate food, clothing, or shelter. His wife continued to serve Sumedha faithfully ...