Srila Prabhupada - Vedic Teachings

  A sea of Peace and Joy and Light Beyond my reach I know. In me the storm-tossed weeping night Finds room to rage and flow. I cry aloud, but all in vain; I helpless, the earth unkind! What soul of might can share my pain? Death-dart alone I find. A raft am I in the sea of Time; My oars are washed away. How can I reach the clime Of God’s eternal Day? But hark! I hear Thy golden Flute; Its notes bring the Summit down. Now safe am I, O Absolute! Gone death, gone night’s stark frown! (The poem was written by the master who was my master before Srila Prabhupada)

  Prabhupāda: That... The...suffering is there. Suppose you are in the ocean. It is suffering, but if you have got a good ship, you may think that: "I'm very well situated." That good ship also can sink at any moment. Suffering is always there. You cannot avoid the suffering. Because you are in the ocean. Suppose you are in the air in a very nice plane. Does it mean you are secure? Any moment it can be... There is dangers everywhere. Therefore this place is always dangerous. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām (SB 10.14.58), always dangerous. So the real intelligence means you have to find out where there is no danger. That is the... Where there is real happiness. In the material world, we cannot have happiness. Svarūpa Dāmodara: So without the proper guidance... Prabhupāda: Hmmm? Svarūpa Dāmodara: Without the proper guidance...? Prabhupāda: Yes, everything requires guidance. You are working in the laboratory under guidance. Similarly, everything requires guidance. Just ...

  “It is the mercy of Krishna that you are getting fair warning of your nearing death. Now, you must become very serious to prepare to meet death without fear of being fully absorbed in the lotus feet of Krishna. You must be very careful and always praying to Krishna that you will not forget Him at the time of dying. If your heart is weak, do not take part in so much active service. It will be better for you to chant more, read books, eat less—like that you can engage yourself. Everyone has to die sometime, but the problem is that most men your age are thinking, "I will live another fifty years", but now you have been informed that in your case, you will not live so long. Take advantage of this advance notice, consider it a blessing and prepare yourself to go back to home, back to Godhead.” (SP Letter to Audolomi -- Honolulu 6 February, 1975)  

„Human activities diseased by a tendency toward sense gratification have been regulated in the Vedas under the principles of salvation. This system employs religion, economic development, sense gratification and salvation, but at the present moment people have no interest in religion or salvation. They have only one aim in life-sense gratification-and in order to achieve this end they make plans for economic development. Misguided men think that religion should be maintained because it contributes to economic development, which is required for sense gratification. Thus in order to guarantee further sense gratification after death, in heaven, there is some system of religious observance. But this is not the purpose of religion. The path of religion is actually meant for self-realization, and economic development is required just to maintain the body in a sound, healthy condition. A man should lead a healthy life with a sound mind just to realize vidya, true knowledge,...

  "Now because we have got this material body, we have come in contact of this external energy, material energy, we have got this material body; therefore we are engaged in struggle for existence with mind and the material senses. That is our position. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi-prakṛti-sthāni. Prakṛti-sthāni means material; karṣati, hard struggle. So this is our position. And if you want to get out of it . . . if you are foolish that, "Whatever it is, that's . . . let it . . . let us enjoy now. Don't talk talk of all these . . ." oh, that is another thing. But those who are sensible, those who are actually after knowledge, those who actually want a solution of this material miserable condition of life, they must take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only remedy. Kṛṣṇa nāma kara āra saba miche. Simply take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. All other things are simply illusion, false. Palaibe phat yei jo mache piche. You cannot escape. The death is awaiting...

  „And death may take place at any time. There is no guarantee that after so much time you'll die. At any moment, you can die. Death, there is no guarantee. But it is a guarantee that you must die. That is guaranteed. But when you will die, that is not guaranteed. Therefore we must be prepared for death at any moment. Therefore a devotee is not afraid of death. He knows that death may come at any moment. We are . . . nowadays, it has . . . the death is very cheap. Because we are using this motorcar, these aeroplanes, so many things, ships and other things for transportation, and there is, every moment there is danger of accident, collapse, everything. So death is now very cheap. So we must be prepared for death at any moment. There is no guarantee that, "I am not yet old enough. I am not yet eighty years, ninety years. Why shall I die?" No. You may be twenty years, twenty-five years or younger than that. Death is assured, and it can take place at any moment.” (7...

  "Prabhupāda: You can fight against death very nicely, but you cannot stop death. These are the problems. But there is no education in the modern civilization how to stop death, how to stop disease, how to stop old age, how to stop birth, how to attain eternal life, how to attain blissful life. They have no education. But this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, although it appears a new movement in your country, but it is known to the world. But nobody had previously attempted to put these ideas and movement in practical shape. So that I am doing. That I am attempting. And with this mission, I have come to your country with the hope that if the American people take it very seriously, then it will be the greatest contribution to the world. So I have already published this, my magazines and my books, in this connection. So if people take advantage of this movement, try to understand these books, they will be benefited greatly. So that is the basic principle of my teaching. It is the mos...

  „So there is a Hindi proverb, that duhkse sab hari bhaje, sukse bhaje kol, sukse ajar hari bhaje, duhka ase hay… Means "When one is in danger, he remembers God, and when he is in happiness, he forgets God. Therefore if he remembers God always, then where is danger?" So our business is to become God conscious. Then there will be no anxiety. So we are preaching that idea, that you become God conscious. Death is there. You cannot save yourself. Either you are on the land or on the plane, death will be there. You must be prepared for the death. But if by practicing remembering God, even at the time of death you continue to remember God, then life is successful. Death will be there. You cannot stop that. Ante narayana-smrtih (Srimad-Bhgavatam 2.1.6). So if at the time of death we can remember God, then our life is successful. Therefore, before death we shall mold our life in such a way that always thinking of God. Man-mana bhava mad… Satatam cintayanto mam. Satatam kirtayanto ma...