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I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupda, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvmi. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
I offer my obeisances to Sri Krishna Caitanya, Prabhu Nitynanda, Sri Advaita, Gaddhara, Srivsa and all others in the line of devotion.
My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION SECTION 4: The purpose of the human form of life is to inquire into the Absolute truth. But how do we acquire perfect knowledge about the Absolute Truth? There are three ways of acquiring knowledge. They are pratyaksha pramana Knowledge through direct sense perception anuman praman Knowledge through inference and shabda praman - Knowledge through the word of authority. Human beings have four defects i.e., to commit mistakes, tendency to cheat, being illusioned and imperfect senses. Hence, the results of pratyaksha pramana and anumana pramana are fallible. Shabda pramana is hearing from bonafide authority. We rely on authorities even in our day-to-day life. For instance there are doctors for every part our body and some for parts we do not even know about. To gain knowledge, we go to teachers in schools and colleges. We place our lives in the hands of a total stranger, be that a doctor, an auto-mechanic or a bus-driver.We are already accepting so many authorities in different fields. Why? Because we have no choice It saves time and inconvenience It is safe. There are 2 systems of gaining knowledge inductive and deductive. Inductive knowledge is to try to know things by the imperfect mind and intelligence. Deductive knowledge is shabda pramana, which is the best and only way to get perfect knowledge. The perfect knowledge is the scripture, which is the sound representation of God i.e., Sruti. It is received by hearing from authority. Vedas are the original scriptures. In Sanskrit, Vedameans knowledge. Vedic scriptures are infallible as it comes from perfect source. It is apaurusheya i.e., any ordinary human being subject to the four defects does not give it. Scripture is compared to an instruction manual, which has definite guidelines as to how we should conduct ourselves. However, in order to apply the principles given in the scripture appropriately, we need to take guidance from a bonafide Guru/spiritual master. Qualifications of a bona fide spiritual master are Comes in proper parampara. Sampradaya vihina ye mantras te nisphala matah Have realized the conclusion of the scriptures by deliberation Be fixed in devotional service of the Lord Have controlled senses Be an acharya (teach by personal example) Discovery 1. What are the four defects in human beings? 2. What are the different ways of acquiring knowledge? Understanding 1. Which is the most effective way to acquire knowledge of absolute truth? 2. Why do we rely on the authorities? Application 1. We see that sometimes there are many authorities in the spiritual field. How can we choose the authority to put our faith in?
SRI NAMAMRITA
O king, for those with little pious credit, faith in Govinda, the holy name, and the Vaisavas never arises. [ ]
, Sri
O Lord, this material body is a place of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths leading to death. Somehow we have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable. It is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world. But You, dear Krishna, are very kind to us and have given us such nice prasdam just to control the tongue. Now we take this prasdam to our full satisfaction and glorify YouSri Sri Rdh and Krishnaand in love call for the help of Lord Caitanya and Nitynanda.