"Following the instructions of a devotee is more valuable than following the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly."

Here two qualities of the Supreme person referred by the expression, 'Bhagavan' are given. The qualities are  1. He is the cause of all causes.  2. He is called 'mahavibhuti'. 

One must attempt to engage one's bodily, mental and verbal activities in the transcendental glorification of the Lord, otherwise such activities will remain unchaste and impure. The existence of the conditioned soul can be purified only by the method of engaging mind and speech in the service of the Lord."

So the goal of all Vedas is the Supreme Person indicated by "Bhagavan" and the essence of the Vedas is that one should strive to realize Him by devotional service. The scriptures 'Bhagavad Gita' and 'Bhagavata purana' gives complete knowledge of 'Bhagavan' (Supreme Personality of Godhead). 'Bhagavad Gita' is directly sung by Bhagavan Himself.

" Maharaj always insists that we will become free all diseases if we are attending mangala arati. Even if we are sick and if we die during mangala arati there is nothing more auspicious than that.

Spiritually we are immature like babies and we cannot digest all the Vedas and Vedanta doctrines with our kali yuga consciousness. So Vyasadeva has digested all those esoteric meanings and has given us the milk Bhagavata Purana. Now in Kaliyuga not many of us can understand the Sanskrit verses as well. So His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada has made it more easier for us by translating this great scripture in a language which we can understand

So by worshipping the Lord in His deity form, one is actually meditating on the Supreme Absolute Truth which can lead to the realization of the Supreme Lord who is the Supreme Absolute Truth (SAT). 

"Krishna is completely self-satisfied. Those who become devotees of Krishna, they also become self-satisfied. This is the sign of devotion. If we want to see always whether we are progressing in our spiritual life or not, this is the test. When we become satisfied our position, then the flow of karma stops." 

The etymology of the word 'Bhagavan' is explained in several slokas by the great sage Parashara (who is the father of Srila Vyasadeva) in the Vishnu purana. Srila Vyasadeva explains the glories of the Lord denoted by the term 'Bhagavan' in Bhagavata purana and Bhavagad Gita in a wonderful way.

"One should take shelter of a bonafide liberated soul, the spiritual master, and gradually elevate himself to the spiritual platform and thus become detached from the material world."

We have all been brought up very strictly and frugally. My day starts at 4 am with yoga. I only drink milk, I am a vegetarian and a teetotaler. I read the Vedas everyday. I go the temple for a ten-minute private audience with the deity every morning. I am in bed by 9:45pm. I have always slept well. Since there is nothing on my conscience, sleep comes swiftly."

"In the spiritual world one minus one is also two." So with our Kali yuga brains, if we try to interpret what Krishna does, we would definitely not be able to understand.

"If you do not like a person, you do not have to praise him either but you do not have to condemn him also. You just have to accept him and you just have to serve him.

 when you come to spiritual life, you start clean, stay clean and end clean." This is the way to live our lives.

"When Krishna does not want to give something, you must renounce it. When there is even slightest hesitation over something, please drop it like a ton of weight. When something is going to cause you agitation, please walk away from it.

"We tolerate like anything. We have to tolerate. We have to do only two things in spiritual life. We adjust and we tolerate. We tolerate and we adjust. The whole life is about that."

"This is the starting point for us as devotees. We must seriously think of our current condition." "After I take a class, the advanced devotee takes five minutes more to think about the class. The struggling devotee does not spend extra five minutes thinking about the class.

When material energy is very sweet, we think it is our property. When material energy hurts us, we counteract and in that counteraction lies our misery.

As devotees the reason why we become very upset with each other is because we are working on "I and mine" principle. Srimati Kunti says, bhutaanaam yan mitah kalih. She says, there is only one reason why the living beings have dissension. Why we fight? We fight because of social intercourse.

"One can never decide whose property the body actually is Does it belong to one's parents, who have given birth to it, to one's wife, who gives it pleasure, or to one's employer, who orders the body around? Is it the property of the funeral fire or of the dogs and jackals who may ultimately devour it? Is it the property of the indwelling soul, who partakes in its happiness and distress, or does the body belong to intimate friends who encourage and help it?

Don’t wait for bad habits to grow in you, drop them while you have control over it else they will get control you.

"To surrender unto the Lord through the transparent medium of the spiritual master is to attain complete freedom of life."

Dear Vaishnavas,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.

The following is the concluding part of the notes from His Holiness Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj’s class on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 4.6.47, given in London, July 11, 2008. Maharaj gives the cure for the five unwanted qualities mentioned.

In the previous offering we heard from Maharaj as to how:

The five unwanted qualities are as follows: 1. Thinking differently (prthag-dhiyah); 2. Attachment to fruitive activities (karma-drshah); 3. Being mean-minded (duraashayaah); 4. Being always pained to see the flourishing condition of others - (parodayenaarpita-hrd-rujo-anisham); 5. Giving distress to other living entities by uttering harsh and piercing words - (paraan duruktair vitudanty aruntudaas).

If we execute devotional service imperceptibly, naturally we will feel ourselves as an instrument in serving the Lord and never will we proclaim that our service is the best when compared to others

instead of having unnecessary expectations from others, just depend only on Lord and offer Him sincere prayers. It is FREE and you can perform it ANYWHERE in this material cosmos, what to speak of this planet ? 

"Be like Kacha. Be patient. Execute your devotional service, but do it on the platform of your obedience to the good Lord, to your elders, to your spiritual master. In this way, there is only one thing that will greet you at the end and that is success." 

Maharaj said, "Don't try to imitate. Try to find your own strata of spiritual life and begin from there. We all have our own strata."

My dear brother, today is the most painful day of My life not because Sita mata has left, but because of the death of Jatayu. A great service has been rendered by My dear most devotee Jatayu. His death has pained Me more than separation of Sita."

"As long as a person is fully in cooperation with the wishes of the Lord, guided by the bonafide brahmanas and Vaishnavas and strictly following religious principles, one has no cause for despondency, however trying the circumstances of life.

We cannot see the Lord by our own mundane activities, or by our own qualification or anything. It is only our spiritual master's instruction which will save us and give us opportunity to please the Supreme Lord Krishna. Again there is a challenge in executing the order of spiritual master, without association of sincere devotees who are seriously practising Krishna consciousness, as we are contaminated with the material modes and we do not have knowledge to glorify the Lord.