"When numerous candles are lighted it is called Dipabali."

Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating 100's of candles, in different parts of the temple, and offering special Prasad to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the Kingdom of Lord Ramacandra, while Lord Ramacandra was out of His Kingdom due to His 14 years banishment by the order of His father. His younger step-brother Bharata, took charge of the Kingdom and the day on which Lord Ramacandra took back the charge again from His brother, and seated on the throne, this is observed as Diwali function. This is the original idea of Diwali, and Dipabali.Dipabali means the same thing—Dipa means candles, and bali means numerous. When numerous candles are lighted it is called Dipabali. 

Letter to: Hamsaduta — Seattle 10 October, 1968

"Do not remain in darkness, come to the light."

So everyone should try to come to the light. That is Vedic injunction, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, means "Do not remain in darkness, come to the light." Light means knowledge, and darkness means ignorance. So every one of us now in the ignorance that we do not know "What I am." Everyone is in darkness in the concept of body. Ask anyone what you are. He will say, "I am this body. I am Mr. Such and such." "I am Indian." "I am American." This is all bodily description. And we have already discussed. This body is temporary, but I, the spirit soul, I am permanent. I have already experienced that I had my childhood body, I had my babyhood body, I had my boyhood body, youthhood body, I know it, but the bodies are no more existing, but I am existing. So therefore I am permanent, and the body is nonpermanent. Therefore it is said, nāsato vidyate bhāvaḥ: "Permanency is not there in the body." Nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ: "And there is no annihilation of the permanent or the eternal."

 Bhagavad-gītā 2.16 -- Mexico City, February 16, 1975

"We have now finished the English translation of Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī's Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta"

Today, Sunday, November 10, 1974-corresponding to the 10th of Kārtikka, Caitanya Era 488, the eleventh day of the dark fortnight, the Rāma-ekādaśī-we have now finished the English translation of Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī's Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta in accordance with the authorised order of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākur Gosvāmī Mahārāja, my beloved eternal spiritual master, guide and friend. Although according to material vision His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda passed away from this material world on the last day of December, 1936, I still consider His Divine Grace to be always present with me by his vāṇī, his words. There are two ways of association-by vāṇī and by vapu. Vāṇī means words, and vapu means physical presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vāṇī continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vāṇī, not the physical presence. Bhagavad-gītā, for example, is the vāṇī of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Although Kṛṣṇa was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, Bhagavad-gītā continues. 

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. 1975: Concluding Words

"The meaning of life is to enjoy"

Mike Robinson: I see. Can you tell me what you believe to be the meaning of life? Why do we exist in the first place?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: The meaning of life is to enjoy. But now you are on a false platform of life, and therefore you are suffering instead of enjoying. Everywhere we see the struggle for existence. Everyone is struggling, but what is their enjoyment in the end? They are simply suffering and dying. Therefore, although life means enjoyment, at the present moment your life is not enjoyment. But if you come to the real, spiritual platform of life, then you'll enjoy.

Science of Self Realization: Reincarnation and Beyond

"No, no, they are agent of Kṛṣṇa"

Dhanañjaya: So all these cheaters are māyā's agents.

Prabhupāda: No, no, they are agent of Kṛṣṇa. (to passerby:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. But because you want to cheat Kṛṣṇa, therefore they are cheating you. They are not your servant. Mama māyā: "My servant." Just like the police. Police is punishing you not on their own account. Because you are disobedient, you must be punished. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī [Bg. 7.14].

Brahmānanda: The moment we stop cheating Kṛṣṇa, then we can...

Prabhupāda: Then, immediately, he becomes friend. This is the way, going on. The whole arrangement is like that. So long we shall not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, we have to suffer so many ways, different species of life, different condition, different planets. This is going on. [break] ...indirectly forcing that "You be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Otherwise you'll be punished." Why police is so unkind? Because the indirect way is that "You become lawful; otherwise you'll continue to be suffering by us." So intelligent person thinks of it, and he becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious. 

Morning Walk -- September 3, 1975, Vṛndāvana

"We are making them bhāgyavān"

Nitāi: How does one become "bhāgyavān"?

Prabhupāda: Bhāgyavān, opulent... If you earn money, you become bhāgyavān. Bhāgyavān means... The word has come from bhagavān, and bhaga means opulence, six kinds of opulence: riches... Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). So one who possess all these things not exactly like Bhagavān, but partially, according to his position, he's called bhāgyavān.

Nitāi: But in this verse that you just quoted, ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa brahmite kono bhagyavān, how does one come, become to the stage of...

Prabhupāda: We are making them bhāgyavān. We are giving them service, how to become bhāgyavān. We are spending our blood, gallons of blood, to make them bhāgyavān. This is the sacrifice of the devotees. Just like you are poor. Somebody, rich man, comes, "All right, take one million dollars from me." You get immediately rich. So it is the devotees' sacrifice that they're becoming... Just like Vāsudeva Datta. He requested Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "My Lord, you have come. Take away all these people, unfortunate people, back to home, back to Godhead. If You think they are so inglorious, they cannot be taken, then give me all their sins to me. I shall suffer. You take them." That is Vaiṣṇava. They are sacrificing everything for these unfortunate rascals.

 Morning Walk -- January 18, 1974, Hawaii

Glories of Pasankusa Ekadashi

The glories of Pasankusa Ekadasi which occures during the waxing moon in the month of September/October is described in Brahmavaivartha Purana in the conversation between Lord Krishna and Maharaj Yudhisthira.

Maharaj Yudhisthira said O Madhusudan what is the name of the Ekadasi that occures during the waxing moon in the monthof September/October. Please be kind and explain this to me .

Lord Krishna replied, O best of the Kings! The name of this Ekadasi is Pasankusa Ekadasi. Now please hear from me the glories of this Ekadasi which distroyes all ones sins. Some people also callthis Ekadasi as Papankusa Ekadasi. One should specially worship lord Padmanabha onthe day of this Ekadasi. This Ekadasi awards a person the heavenly pleasures liberation and his desired results. Just by chanting the holy namesof Lord Vishnu one can attain all the peity of visiting all the holy places on the earth. If a conditioned soul inspite of indulging in varioussinful activities due to illusion takes shelter and offers obeisances at the lotus feet of Lord Hari who is expert in delivering the fallen souls thensuch a person does not have to go to hell.

Those Vaisnavas who criticise Lord Shiva and those Saivaites who criticise lord Vishnu are both undoubtedly go to hell. The resultone obtains by performing one thousand horse sacrifices or by performing one hundred Rajasuya sacrifices can not be equal to the one sixteenth portion of peity one obtains by following this Ekadasi. There is no peity in this world which is equal to the peity earned by observing the Ekadasi. Therefore there is no other day as santified as this day of Ekadasi which is very dear to Lord Padmanabha.

O King! As soon as a person fails to observe Ekadasis the sins begin to reside in his body. This Ekadasi awards its follower the heavenly pleasure ,liberation, freed from deceased condition, beautiful women, wealth and food grains. O maintainer of the earth! If one observesthis Ekadasi and remains awake on that night easily goes to theabode of Lord Vishnu.

Lord Krishna continued O best of the Kings! By observing the vow of this Ekadasi one can deliver ten generations from his mothers family , ten generations from his fathers family and ten generations fromhis wifes family. If a person observes this Ekadasi either in his chilhood or youthhood or in his oldage he does not suffer the miseries of thematerial existence. One who strictly observes this Pasankusa or Papankusa Ekadasi then all his sinful reactions are eradicated and at the end of hislife he reaturns to the abode of Lord Vishnu. If a person gives away gold,sesame seeds, land,cow, food grains,water, umbrella or shoes in charitythen such a person does not have to goo to the abode of Yamaraj. Any one whospents his day wiuthout engaging in pious activities he is like a dead manalthough he is breathing. His breathing is compared to the bellows of the blacksmith.

O best of the Kings! A person who digs well and lakes for the benefit of others, donates land and houses and perform other pious activities such as performing sacrifices is not subjected to the punishment of Yamaraja. As a result of peity only people live long lives, become rich, take birth in high class families and become deseaseless. The purport is that the direct result of observing Ekadasi is to attain devotional service to Krishna and the indirect result is to attain the temporary material benefits.

Ekādaśī Darshan, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda, Jaipur

" learn how to make svāhā for Kṛṣṇa."

"Similarly, everyone who is holding Krsna's money, not returning to Krsna, he is a criminal. He will be punished. How they are punished?

That you have seen. In India, in recent... Everywhere, the same thing is going on. There was war between Pakistan and India.

So all the rich men had to contribute fifty lakhs, fifty hundred thousand, according to everyone's capacity.

Many millions of rupees were collected, and it was put into the gun powder, "Svaha!"- So if you don't execute this svaha, then you will have to execute that "svaha!" That's all. The Vietnam is going on -- svaha! So many young men -- svaha! So much money -- svaha!.So much money—svāhā! You have to do that. Therefore better learn how to make svāhā for Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise you will have to make svāhā for māyā."

Srila Prabhupada, San Diego, 1972

"Any rascal can say"

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Professor Sarkar, a big magician, he kills, cuts people's body, then he joins them.

Prabhupāda: So many things. Magic jugglery is...

Mr. Malhotra: But there are some siddhis also. These siddhi, siddhis.

Prabhupāda: That is siddhi, magic also siddhi. You are successful businessman, that is also siddhi. That is also siddhi. Yatatām api siddhānām [Bg. 7.3]. Even one is siddha, he cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. That is said, yatatām api siddhānām [Bg. 7.3]. Even one is siddha, still he cannot understand Kṛṣṇa.

Mr. Malhotra: But if he goes to āśrama, where and everybody sits there, the big Kṛṣṇa statue is there. In his room personal room Kṛṣṇa statue...

Prabhupāda: If he is at all devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he will never say that he is Bhagavān. That is foolishness. That very assertion is foolishness.

Mr. Malhotra: But Bhagavān, they don't call them Bhagavān.

Prabhupāda: That they write in the books. They don't call, but write in the books.

Hari-śauri: There was one article in the Blitz where they quoted him saying, God is man and man is God.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He said he is the incarnation for this age.

Prabhupāda: And where is the evidence? Anyone can say, "I am incarnation." (laughter) Any rascal can say.

Room Conversation with Life Member, Mr. Malhotra -December 22, 1976, Poona

"He is no more debtor to anyone"

Prabhupāda: Oh. [break] ...Dakṣa accused Nārada that "My sons were not out of the three kinds of debts." One debt is debtor to the saintly sages. Just like we are reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we are indebted to Vyāsadeva. He has given such literature, and we are taking advantage of it. As such, especially the brāhmaṇas, they have got indebtedness to big sages and saintly person. They receive knowledge from them. And they are indebtor to the demigods. Therefore they have to perform yajñas. And they are indebtor to their father because the father has brought them to this world. So in this way, especially a brāhmaṇa is indebted to demigods, the past sages, and the father. So the indebtedness to the sages is performed by becoming brahmacārī, and to the demigods by offering sacrifices, and to the father by begetting children, to continue the progeny. So Nārada Muni was accused that "You keep them indebted to these principles, so how they can be liberated? Simply by dressing like you, (laughs) a mendicant?" Accusing. But perhaps he did not know. There is another version in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṛṇāṁ

nāyam ṛṇī na ca kiṅkaro rājan

sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ saraṇyaṁ

gato mukunda parihṛtya...

 [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.5.41]

Anyone who has fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he is no more debtor to anyone. And Kṛṣṇa says that "You surrender to Me, and I shall keep you protected from all kinds of..." Because if you don't repay your debts, then you become sinful. But Kṛṣṇa says, "I shall protect for all kinds of sin." So if anyone has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he is no more debtor to anyone. He is immune from all obligation. His only obligation is to Kṛṣṇa.

 Morning Walk -- July 1, 1975, Denver

"Your first and foremost business is to become Krsna conscious"

Prabhupada: The Krsna consciousness movement is teaching all over the world this philosophy, that your first and foremost business is to become Krsna conscious. There is no question of so-called economic development, sense gratification. No. These are not important things. There are many missionaries, they open hospitals or similar philanthropic activities, but we never do that. So many friends advised me to open some hospitals, dispensaries. Oh, I flatly said that "We are not interested in the hospitals." There are so many hospitals. So people who are interested in hospitals, they can go there. Here is spiritual hospital. The disease is the other hospitals, they cannot stop death, but our hospital can stop death.

Devotees: Jaya! Hari! Hari!

Prabhupada: This is our hospital. We are therefore not interested with this kind of hospital. Our this hospital is treating the materially affected patient to get out of his four kinds of miseries: janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi [Bg. 13.9]. One type of disease is to take birth; another, death; another, old age; another, disease. So we want to stop.

 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.15 -Dallas, March 4, 1975

"Anger means lust"

Upendra: Prabhupāda, what is the nature of anger? How is anger...

Prabhupāda: Anger means lust. When you are lusty and your lust is not fulfilled, you become angry. That's all. It is another feature of the lust. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. When you are too much influenced with the modes of passion, you become lusty. And when your lust is not fulfilled, then you are angry, next stage. And next stage is that there is bewilderment. And then next stage is praṇaśyati, then you are lost. Therefore one has to control this lust and anger. This controlling means you have to put yourself in the modes of goodness, not in the modes of passion. There are three modes of material nature: modes of ignorance, modes of passion and modes of goodness. Therefore if anyone wants to know the science of God, then he has to keep himself on the modes of goodness. Otherwise he cannot. Therefore we are teaching our students that "You don't do this, you don't do this, you don't do this, you don't do this," because he has to keep himself on the modes of goodness. Otherwise he'll not be able to understand. Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be understood on the platform of ignorance and passion. The whole world is under the influence of ignorance and passion. But this method is so simple that if you simply follow the four principles of restriction and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you are immediately surpassing all the modes of material nature. So the anger is on the platform of passion.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968