Daily Archives: December 8, 2012

by Nityananda Rama dasa

Some of the benefits of hearing/reading Bhagavad Gita

December 8, 2012 in Articles, Damaghosa Dasa by Nityananda Rama dasa

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The Glories of Bhagavad Gita
from the Hari-bhakti-viläsa 6.214-228
skände avanté-khaëòe çré-vyäsoktau – gétä sugétä kartavyä kim anyaiù  çästra-vistaraiù yä svayaà padma-näbhasya mukha-padmäd viniùsåtä In the  Skanda-puräëa, Srila Vyasadev says, “Memorize and sing sweetly this  Bhagavad-gétä. What need is there to elaborate on other scriptures? She  has descended directly from the lotus mouth of Lord  Padmanabh.”
sarva-çästra-mayé gétä sarva-deva-mayé yataù sarva-dharma-mayé yasmät  tasmäd etäà samabhyaset The Bhagavad-gétä contains the essence of  all literatures. It is the sum total of all the demigods and the sum total of  all religion. Therefore, one should study the  Bhagavadgétä thoroughly.
çälagräma-çilägre tu gétädhyäyaà paöhet tu yaù manvantara-sahasräëi  vasate brahmaëaù pure
One who recites a chapter from the Bhagavadgétä in front of a  sälagräma-silä resides for a thousand manvantaras in Lord Brahma’s  abode. teneñöaà kratubhiù sarvair dattaà tena gaväyutam gétäm  abhyasyatä nityaà tenäptaà padam avyayam Such a person attains the  result of donating ten thousand cows and the result of conducting  all Vedic sacrifices. Those who constantly study the Bhagavad-gétä attain  to the eternal spiritual world.
gétädhyäyaà paöhed yas tu çlokaà çlokärdham eva vä bhava-päpa-vinirmukto  yäti viñëoù paraà padaà By reading a chapter, a verse or even half a  verse from the Bhagavad-gétä, one is liberated from all sins and attains the topmost destination of Lord Vishnu’s planets.
yo nityaà viçva-rüpäkhyam adhyäyaà paöhati dvijaù vibhütià deva-devasya  tasya puëyaà vadämy aham A brahmin who studies the tenth and  eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä attains the following result [as  described in the next verse].
vedair adhétair yat puëyaà setihäsaiù purätanaiù çlokenaikena tat puëyaà  labhate nätra saàçayaù äbrahma-stamba-paryantaà jagat-tåptià karoti  saù viçva-rüpaà sadädhyäyaà vibhütià ca paöhet tu yaù By studying  a single verse from these two chapters one attains the same result as  studying all the Vedas
Itihäsas and Puräëas, of which there is no doubt. One who  studies the tenth and eleventh chapters enjoys all pleasures enjoyed by all  living entities — from the ordinary blades of grass up to Lord  Brahma.
ahany ahani yo martyo gétädhyäyaà paöhet tu vai dvätriàçad-aparädhäàs tu  kñamate tasya keçavaù Lord Keshava forgives all thirty-two kinds of  offenses for a mortal who recites a chapter of the  Bhagavad-gétä.
likhitvä vaiñëavänäà ca gétä-çästraà prayacchati dine dine ca yajate  harià cätra na saàçayaù There is no doubt that those who copy and  gift this literature to the devotees of the Lord attain the same result as  worshiping Lord Hari daily.

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by Nityananda Rama dasa

Studying Prabhupadas books from different angles of vision–most important

December 8, 2012 in Articles, Damaghosa Dasa by Nityananda Rama dasa

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Hare Krsna-pranams to all
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Below we have 6 letters Prabhupada wrote to disciples indicating the
importance of daily reading his books, especially Bhagavad Gita.
If you get knowledge, automatically tapasyä will follow, and then  you will make advancement in spiritual life. So to get knowledge is the  first item for anyone who is hoping to find his perfection of life.  Therefore, I advise you to daily read our books as far as possible and try to  understand the subject matter from different angles of vision  by discussing frequently with the devotees at the New York temple. (Letter to Bob, 16 June 1972)
Therefore, I recommend you to read our books more and more and  try to understand the subject matter from different angles of vision and be  always discussing it with your god brothers even while you are working  at the press, and when you are working and you cannot read, then listen to  the tapes of my lectures and hear in that way. (Letter to Bhargava, 13 June  1972) I am very much stressing nowadays that my students shall increase  their reading of my books and try to understand them from different  angles of vision. Each çloka can be seen from many, many angles of vision,  so become practiced in seeing things like this. If we are selling the books  but we do not know what is inside the book, then that will be a farce,  especially if you are preaching and selling books to the students of  Edinburgh. (Letter to Tribhuvanatha, 16 June 1972)
I am very much stressing at this point that all  of my students shall be very much conversant with the philosophy of  Krishna consciousness, and that they should read our books very diligently  at least one or two hours daily and try to understand the subject matter  from varieties of angles. We are holding our morning class in Los Angeles  in the temple and I am speaking from 7 to 8 am, and the process is that we  are going through some chapters of Srimad Bhägavatam by taking one sloka each  day, and reading the Sanskrit aloud. Each word is pronounced by me and  repeated by the students and then all
together we chant the sloka several times until we have learned it. And then we discuss the subject matter very minutely and inspect it from  all angles of approach and savor the new understandings. So you introduce  this system in all of the centers in your zone and you will discover that  everyone becomes very much enlivened by these daily classes. Read  one sloka and discuss and then go on to the next sloka on the next day,  and so on, and even you discuss one verse each day it will take you fifty  years to finish the Srimad Bhägavatam in this way. So we have got ample  stock for acquiring knowledge. And if the students get knowledge more and  more, they will automatically become convinced and very easily perform  their duties for tapasyä or renunciation of the material bondage, and that  will be their successful advancement in Krishna consciousness. So I  want that advancement amongst all of my students, so you are responsible  that the standard will be maintained. (Letter to Madhudvisa, 16 June  1972)
Your first job should be to make sure that  every one of the devotees in your zone of management is reading regularly  our literature and discussing the subject matter seriously from different  angles
of seeing, and if they are somehow or other absorbing the knowledge  of Krishna consciousness philosophy. If they are fully educated in  our philosophy and if they can get all of the knowledge and study it from  every viewpoint, then very easily they will perform tapasyä  (renunciation) and that will be their advancement in  Krishna consciousness. (Letter to Satsvarupa, 16 June  1972)
So especially you must encourage the students to read our books  throughout the day as much as possible, and give them all good advice how to  understand the books, and inspire them to study the things from  every point of view. In this way, by constantly engaging our tongues in  the service of the Lord, either by discussing his philosophy or by chanting  Hare Krishna, the truth is that Krishna himself will reveal himself to us and  we shall understand how to do everything properly. (Letter to  Hamsaduta,22 June 1972)
Yes, this program is very nice to try to  attract the attention of the students seriously. That will be a great  success. They should put intelligent questions and they should be answered  properly with reference to modern science and philosophy. That will be  very much convincing. I think if you read our books thoroughly you will  get a supply of material to answer all the questions. Now I am  preparing one book answering all types of philosophical arguments.  Every morning, Shyamsundar is putting questions from different angles of  vision beginning from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc. and we are  trying to answer. We shall discuss also Marx philosophy of communism. It  will require some time but I wish that all our preachers should be well  versed with all philosophical ideas and after studying all philosophical  points of view we will put Krishna Conscious philosophy on the top. (Letter to Madhudvisa, 15 September  1971)
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