“An old woman in Vrindavana, present at the time of Krishna’s pastimes, once stated in surprise: ‘How wonderful it is that Krishna, who owns the hearts of all the young girls of Brajabhumi, can nicely speak the language of Brajabhumi with the gopis, while in Sanskrit He speaks with the demigods, and in the language of the animals He can even speak with the cows and buffalo! Similarly, in the language of the Kashmere Province, and with the parrots and other birds, as well as in most common languages, Krishna is so expressive!’” (The Nectar Of Devotion, Ch 21)

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“What about this issue with people who have difficulty pronouncing Sanskrit words? Sometimes I see something happen in real life that I want to relate to a story from shastra, but I hesitate to bring it up to others since they will have…

“Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 6.17.28)

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नारायण-पराः सर्वे
न कुतश्चन बिभ्यति
स्वर्गापवर्ग-नरकेष्व्
अपि तुल्यार्थ-दर्शिनः

nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
na kutaścana bibhyati
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ

“Does not the threat of eternal damnation concern you in the slightest? No one can validate with visual evidence; I will concede that. We do not have video confirmation of the suffering in the hellish region for ignoring the call to accept a certain savior. We won’t even cover the people who never get the chance to make that choice, where life gets in the way and they don’t live long enough to even contemplate the opportunities available…

“For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Mukunda or the giver of mukti, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoofprint. Param padam, or the place where there are no material miseries, or Vaikuntha, is his goal, not the place where there is danger in every step of life.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.14.58)

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समाश्रिता ये पदपल्लवप्लवं
महत्पदं पुण्ययशो मुरारे:
भवाम्बुधिर्वत्सपदं परं पदं
पदं पदं यद् विपदां न तेषाम्

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ
mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ
padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

“What would you say to the people that don’t want anything to do with religion? They are happy with life, as it is. Whatever it is they are doing, they are content. Plenty…

“Suta Gosvami said: Thus Bhishmadeva merged himself in the Supersoul, Lord Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with his mind, speech, sight and actions, and thus he became silent, and his breathing stopped.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.9.43)

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सूत उवाच
कृष्ण एवं भगवति
मनो-वाग्-दृष्टि-वृत्तिभिः
आत्मन्य् आत्मानम् आवेश्य
सो ऽन्तःश्वास उपारमत्

sūta uvāca
kṛṣṇa evaṁ bhagavati
mano-vāg-dṛṣṭi-vṛttibhiḥ
ātmany ātmānam āveśya
so ‘ntaḥśvāsa upāramat

“I know that in my experience, forgiveness is difficult. That probably explains the reason people of other faiths tend to harp on it. Forgive and forget. Let bygones be bygones. Don’t harbor resentment. Let go of the past.

“Well, that is easier said than done. For me in particular, I have a difficult time setting aside political differences. I follow the news closely. Not necessarily what the corporate media types push upon us, but digging deeper into the issues. I try to…

“Suta Gosvami said: Thus Bhishmadeva merged himself in the Supersoul, Lord Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with his mind, speech, sight and actions, and thus he became silent, and his breathing stopped.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.9.43)

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सूत उवाच
कृष्ण एवं भगवति
मनो-वाग्-दृष्टि-वृत्तिभिः
आत्मन्य् आत्मानम् आवेश्य
सो ऽन्तःश्वास उपारमत्

sūta uvāca
kṛṣṇa evaṁ bhagavati
mano-vāg-dṛṣṭi-vṛttibhiḥ
ātmany ātmānam āveśya
so ‘ntaḥśvāsa upāramat

“You will often hear others lament when the end is approaching. That is to say when they know they are on the verge of moving on to the next life, they review the one they just experienced. The regrets come to mind, for whatever reason. That which they wanted to do but never got around to. Those places they wished to visit, those people they wanted to see, those words they said but later regretted.

“Heartbreaking it is when such a person…

“Suta Gosvami said: Thus Bhishmadeva merged himself in the Supersoul, Lord Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with his mind, speech, sight and actions, and thus he became silent, and his breathing stopped.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.9.43)

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सूत उवाच
कृष्ण एवं भगवति
मनो-वाग्-दृष्टि-वृत्तिभिः
आत्मन्य् आत्मानम् आवेश्य
सो ऽन्तःश्वास उपारमत्

sūta uvāca
kṛṣṇa evaṁ bhagavati
mano-vāg-dṛṣṭi-vṛttibhiḥ
ātmany ātmānam āveśya
so ‘ntaḥśvāsa upāramat

“You will often hear His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada denounce the achievement of merging into the Absolute Truth. This is a kind of liberation, or mukti. Vedic teachings go beyond blind faith and hoping for an afterlife that is heavenly or good. That is to say there is much more detail into the nature of living moving forward, after this life completes.

“If you are actually realized in the self, in knowing the difference between matter and spirit…

“As long as one does not inquire about the spiritual values of life, one is defeated and subjected to miseries arising from ignorance. Be it sinful or pious, karma has its resultant actions. If a person is engaged in any kind of karma, his mind is called karmatmaka, colored with fruitive activity. As long as the mind is impure, consciousness is unclear, and as long as one is absorbed in fruitive activity, he has to accept a material body.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 5.5.5)

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पराभवस् तावद् अबोध-जातो
यावन् न जिज्ञासत आत्म-तत्त्वम्
यावत् क्रियास् तावद् इदं मनो वै
कर्मात्मकं येन शरीर-बन्धः

parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto
yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam
yāvat kriyās tāvad idaṁ mano vai
karmātmakaṁ yena śarīra-bandhaḥ

1. Application for a scholarship

“I cannot explain to you the level of sadness. Defeated, and for no good reason. They had announced the timeline on the loudspeaker in…

“Then I, resembling a cloud and having molten-golden earrings, made my way into Vishvamitra’s ashrama, for I was very proud of my strength due to the boon given to me by Lord Brahma. As soon as I entered, Rama quickly noticed me and raised His weapon. Though He saw me, Rama strung His bow without any fear.” (Maricha speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 38.16-17)

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ततोऽहं मेघसङ्काशस्तप्तकाञ्चनकुण्डलः।
बली दत्तवरोदर्पादाजगाम तदाश्रमम्।।
तेन दृष्टः प्रविष्टोऽहं सहसैवोद्यतायुधः।
मां तु दृष्ट्वा धनुस्सज्यमसम्भ्रान्तश्चकार सः।।

tato’haṃ meghasaṅkāśastaptakāñcanakuṇḍalaḥ।
balī dattavarodarpādājagāma tadāśramam।।
tena dṛṣṭaḥ praviṣṭo’haṃ sahasaivodyatāyudhaḥ।
māṃ tu dṛṣṭvā dhanussajyamasambhrāntaścakāra saḥ।।

Friend1: You know what I was thinking the other day?

Friend2: No.

Friend1: That if the bad people of this world just left everyone else alone, there would be peace and prosperity. Maybe not at a perfect level, but one that is significantly superior to the conditions today.

Friend2:…

“Even if I stay with You for hundreds of thousands of years, I shall not feel any loss. Even residence in the heavenly realm is not preferred by me.” (Sita Devi speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 27.20)

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एवं वर्षसहस्राणां शतं वाऽहं त्वया सह।
व्यतिक्रमं न वेत्स्यामि स्वर्गोऽपि न हि मे मतः।।

evaṃ varṣasahasrāṇāṃ śataṃ vā’haṃ tvayā saha।
vyatikramaṃ na vetsyāmi svargo’pi na hi me mataḥ।।

“I was recently reading the section in the Ramayana where Sita Devi makes the case to her husband for accompanying Him in the exile period of fourteen years. This was a remarkable decision on so many levels, not the least of which is juxtaposition in lifestyles. The dramatic shift from a royal palace with servants to take care of your every need to a place full of bugs and mosquitos, with barely anything enjoyable.

“The…