Introduction to Purify My Life | Next: The Line of Spiritual Teachers ≫

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Introduction to Purify My Life

Welcome to Purify My Life.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us the gift of his personal presence, his example, and his translations and explanations of the greatest spiritual literatures ever revealed to humankind.  He came in a lineage of pure souls who could offer real religion to mankind.  He gave us a lifestyle based on God Conscious culture, he gave us meaning and purpose, and invited us to the highest goal of human life, reawakening our dormant love of God, Krishna, with the open invitation to return to the self-effulgent Kingdom of God after exiting this present body.  This gift that he imparted unto us impacts every moment, every breath, and every life decision for his sincere followers.

Before proceeding to the subject matter of the Purify My Life series, it is highly recommended, actually imperative, for us to have more of a glimpse into the personhood of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the gifts that he offered to us at great personal sacrifice.  We have written a brief biographical synopsis of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s life, mood, mission and teachings that is available on PurelyPrabhupada.com.  The link to this essay is available below. We would like for you to also partake of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s gift, and make your life transcendentally joyful.

Krishna Consciousness is the science of self-realization and transcends all popular religions and faiths in the common definition.  It is not a religion in the vision of the world, because worldly religion creates a lack of unity or even animosity.  Faith, or the concept of religion as the world understands it, can be changed by the very nature of its sectarianism.   Real religion means to re-align ourselves with the Supreme Lord and to follow His laws.  That is universal, unchanging Truth, and has nothing to do with sectarian differences.  Anything that claims to be religion but does not have God, and the following of His laws, at the center, is simply cheating.  It is false religion.

Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted us to re-establish the Vedic culture, which existed on this planet for millions of years.  “Vedic” refers to the highly advanced, traditional culture based on instilling real knowledge of the soul into every living being so that the perfection of life may be achieved.  This Vedic culture respects all living entities, not just the humans. We do not need to create something new, but rather, to re-create the culture that was originally given by the Lord Himself for the gradual upliftment of society.  In the Vedic culture, the entire lifestyle is meant for the glorification of God and cultivating our Krishna Consciousness.  Real culture is that which promotes Krishna Consciousness, or God Consciousness. All good qualities will become manifest in the heart and mind of the person who is cultivating the science Krishna Consciousness.

Although we cannot include everything in our Purify My Life presentations, our intention is to introduce you to some authorized practices and understandings that will support you in your own home practice of Krishna Consciousness.  You may be satisfied with what is presented herein or you may opt to communicate with us for more information and devotional association.   Whatever your inspiration, we cannot encourage you enough to delve into the literary library that Śrīla Prabhupāda provided for us, learn more, and simply relish and cherish the nectarean mellows that are non-existent in this world of matter.  Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings open the door to the spiritual kingdom, as the spiritual kingdom is the source of these teachings. The artwork within the volumes, Śrīla Prabhupāda described as “windows to the spiritual world.”  These books are predicted to be the “lawbooks for the next 10,00 years,” and are so potent, that even by simply touching one of them, a person makes great spiritual progress.

For your ease of reading the printed file that accompanies each video presentation, we have linked to a very simple Sanskrit pronunciation guide.  A more complete guide is available at the end of most of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.

The following, by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, a predecessor spiritual master in the devotional lineage, is taken from an essay that first appeared in the Thākura’s monthly journal Sajjana- toṣaṇī, published in the 1880s.  Herein, he is making reference to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Who is the Lord Himself, and Who advented just over 500 years ago to spread the chanting of the Holy Names (Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare) and to teach by His example devotional principles and practices.  These are the words of Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura –

“The religion preached by Caitanya Mahāprabhu is universal and not exclusive. … The principle of kīrtana as the future church of the world invites all classes of men, without distinction of caste or clan, to the highest cultivation of the spirit. This church, it appears, will extend all over the world and take the place of all sectarian churches, which exclude outsiders from the precincts of the mosque, church, or temple.

Lord Caitanya did not advent Himself to liberate only a few men of India. Rather, His main objective was to emancipate all living entities of all countries throughout the entire universe and preach the Eternal Religion. Lord Caitanya says in the Caitanya-Bhāgavata: “In every town, country, and village, My name will be sung.” There is no doubt that this unquestionable order will come to pass. …

Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German, and American people will take up banners, mṛdaṅgas, and karatālas, and raise kīrtana throughout their streets and towns. When will that day come?”

There is a scarcity now of devotees of God.  If we try to understand God scientifically and become a devotee of God, a lover of God, our lives become successful.  God is one and religion is one.  Real religion means love of God.  If we develop our love of God, automatically we will develop our love for all living beings.

Our efforts at Purify My Life are meant to assist you on your journey of discovering real religion and real culture, and applying those principles in a practical way so that you can achieve the perfection of life- the joyful reawakening of your original relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PurelyPrabhupada.org