Relationship with Krishna - an essential subject

Nothing is more sweet and beautiful than having a eternal relationship with God. People in the material world spend their whole life trying to build relationships with their wives, children, friends and sometimes even enemies. It is a very sad fact that the results of building such relationships so many times end in anxiety, suffering, disappointments and sometimes fear. All these relationships we have in this material world is an illusion. The only true relationship for the jiva (soul) is our eternal relationship with God. Everyone is trying to adjust to the distressed conditions of material existence, but the basic problems cannot be solved unless one is in an intimate relationship with God. When we develop our eternal relationship with Krishna and surrender ourselves onto him, He takes care and protects us. He is our only true friend and shelter.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Relationship with Krishna category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 7 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		By culturing devotional service, the devotee gradually comes to understand his actual relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding of one's pure spiritual position is called svarūpopalabdhi, and when one attains that stage he can understand how he is related with the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a servant or friend or as a parent or conjugal lover. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.23.18)



vanipedia.org 		Devotees are related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in any of five transcendental mellows—namely neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parenthood and conjugal love. These relationships with the Lord are eternal, and therefore nitya-siddha devotees do not have to strive to attain the perfectional stage by executing regulative devotional principles. They are eternally qualified to serve Kṛṣṇa. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 25)



vanipedia.org 		One should not artificially try to establish some relationship. In the premature stage it is sometimes found that a lusty, conditioned person will artificially try to establish some relationship with Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love. The result of this is that one becomes prākṛta-sahajiyā, or one who takes everything very cheaply. Although such persons may be very anxious to establish a relationship with Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love, their conditioned life in the material world is still most abominable. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 40)



vanipedia.org 		If one is conscious of his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can utilize one's material assets, such as great learning and beauty and exalted ancestry, for the service of the Lord; then such assets become glorious. In other words, unless one is Krishna conscious, all his material possessions are zero, but when this zero is by the side of the Supreme One, it at once increases in value to ten. Unless situated by the side of the Supreme One, zero is always zero; one may add one hundred zeros, but the value will still remain zero. Unless one's material assets are used in Krishna consciousness, they may play havoc and degrade the possessor. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.3.17)



vanipedia.org 		One can calculate Him exactly; every action of the Lord is bewildering to the common man. He cannot be understood by the Vedic knowledge, but He can be easily understood by the pure devotees because they are intimately related with Him. The devotees therefore know that although He appears amongst the animals, He is not an animal, nor a man, nor a ṛṣi, nor a fish. He is eternally the Supreme Lord, in all circumstances. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.30)



vanipedia.org 		By the grace of the Lord one is allowed to enjoy this material world, but when one is disgusted with material enjoyment and is frustrated, and when one sincerely surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, then the Lord is so kind that He frees one from entanglement. Krishna says, therefore, in Bhagavad-gītā, "First of all surrender, and then I will take charge of you and free you from all reactions of sinful activities." Sinful activities are those activities performed in forgetfulness of our relationship with the Lord. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.10)



vanipedia.org 		The cosmic manifestation, which is made of the material elements, has no power to act unless it is moved by the superior energy, the living entity. The conditioned life of the living entity is due to forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord in the superior energy. When that relationship is forgotten, conditioned life is the result. Only when a man revives his real identity as the eternal servitor to the Lord does he become liberated. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 3)


Relationship with Krsna - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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