We should be have a clear plan of development

What are we doing as individuals? Where are we going? And what are we doing here for Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission?

Devotees are most important, then with inspiration, hard-work and determination the movement will spread and go forward.

(H.H. Sivarama Swami - Sabbatical 2004 Darshan)

Sufferings of the people in Kali yuga

There are sufferings from internal diseases, separation from those near and dear, and anxieties for maintaining the status quo.

(SB 1.16.19 - Purport)

Take precautions against symptoms of Kali

The symptoms of Kali are:

(1) illicit connection with women, (2) indulgence in meat-eating, (3) intoxication and (4) taking pleasure in gambling. The age of Kali literally means the age of quarrel, and the abovementioned four symptoms in human society are the root causes for all kinds of quarrel.

In the rainy season, rain is predestined, and yet people take precautions to protect themselves i.e. they take an umbrella.

(SB 1.16.10 - Purport)

Real ksatriyas rejoice at chance to fight

A perfect ksatriya king is always jubilant as soon as he gets a chance to fight, just as a sportsman is eager when there is a chance for a sporting match.

(SB 1.16.10 - Purport)

Life is too short: Hear what is worth hearing

Any topic, however pleasant, is not worth hearing if it is devoid of its relation to Krsna.

(SB 1.16.6 - Purport)

Lord provides service through agency of His devotees

We daily chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra - asking the Lord "please engage me in your service".

The Lord naturally reciprocates with our daily request through the agency of His devotees. Therefore, wherever possible, we should not deny/reject this mercy - else the Lord will just withdraw it.

If service comes our way - we should do our very best to grab hold of it and do it well.

When times are tough

• We need to well-behaved and try not to aggravate the situation (although this is very hard).
• We should see it as an opportunity to grow.
• We should see Krsna as a blacksmith - He lights us up and beats us to tranform our iron-like hearts to gold, but this takes time, alot of beating and many changes on our part.

(H.H. Sacinandana Swami)

Vedic approach to Relationships

1. Approach -> initial attraction
2. Get to know -> likes/dislikes/doing service together
3. Question -> can it/does it work?
4. Commitment -> take responsibility to serve each other
5. Intimacy -> only here is there any closeness

Unfortunately - Western culture goes from (1) straight to (5), then when they do get to know each other (2) they realise it is not going to work by which point it is too late - the heart is broken.

(H.H. Sacinandana Swami)

Homosexuality & KC

Srila Bhakti Tirtha Swami writes about this at some length in his "Spiritual Warrior II - Transforming Lust into Love" book. Refer to Chapter 1, entitled "Sex and the Leadership Crisis" for more details. Below are some essential quotes which really helped me understand the subject:

• "Another manifestation of misdirected sexuality in modern society is the growing number of homosexual and bisexual people all over the world. We might wonder why this occuring. Of course, we should not be homophobic, nor should we condemn anyone. Everyone is looking for love."
  
• "From a spiritual perspective, another explanation for homosexuality or bisexuality lies in reincarnation. Those who are not properly integrated in one life can find themselves in the next life with a male consciousness in a female body, or vice versa."
  
• "In many cases, if a person has demonstrated excessive masculine or feminine energy in one life, or strong hatred for one sex or ther other, these patterns will persist in the next life - even in a body of the opposite gender. This can encourage a homosexual lifestyle."
  
• "There is nothing wrong with having affection for someone of the same gender. However, the difficulties arise when this affection seeks sexual expression. Sex means that the partners are ready to care for what is produced from their union. What naturally results from a sexual relationship is the birth of a child. Any other use of sexuality is unnatural and entails negative consequences."

Lessons from Bharata (Lord Rama's brother)

Whilst Lord Rama was in exile, Bharata faithfully overlooked the kingdom of Ayodhya. He ensured that this service was done properly and so by Rama's mercy, Ayodhya flourished. He always kept Lord Rama's wooden shoes on the throne to remind him of his service.

As soon as Rama returned, Bharata offering Lord Rama His wooden shoes, stood before Rama with folded hands. Rama immediately embraced Bharata with both arms, bathing Him with the tears in eyes, for a long time.

Lesson: we should perform our service with this mood of pleasing the Lord and when the Lord, by His own sweet will, so desires to reveal Himself, our mood should be that of humility and gratitude. Srila Prabhupada said "act in such a way that God wants to see you."

Afterwards Rama sat at the feet of His spiritual master, Vasistha, when Bharata came before Him and requested "My dear elder brother, please immeditely install Youself upon the royal throne without further delay."

Lesson: under the guidance of a spiritual master, we should immediately install Lord Rama on a jeweled throne in our heart.

(excerpts and inspiration from "Ramayana - The story of Lord Rama" by His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami)

You have to fly your own plane at death

When flying an airplane, one cannot take care of other planes. Everyone has to take care of his own plane, and if there is any danger, no other plane can help another in that condition. Similarly, at the end of life, when one has to go back home, back to Godhead, everyone has to take care of himself without help rendered by another. The help is, however, offered on the ground before flying in space. Similarly, the spiritual master, the father, the mother, the relatives, the husband and others can all render help during one's lifetime, but while crossing the sea one has to take care of himself and utilize the instructions formerly received.

(SB 1.15.50 - Purport)

Lord's departure is like setting of Sun

The setting of the sun does not mean the end of the sun. It means that the sun is out of our sight. Similarly, the end of the mission of the Lord on a particular planet or universe only means that He is out of our sight.

(SB 1.15.33 - Purport)

Doubts of duality due to misidentification with body

Doubts of duality begin from the misconception of the material body, which is accepted as the self by less intelligent persons. The most foolish part of our ignorance is our identifying this material body with the self. Everything in relation with the body is ignorantly accepted as our own. Doubts due to misconceptions of "myself" and "mine" — in other words, "my body," "my relatives," "my property," "my wife," "my children," "my wealth," "my country," "my community," and hundreds and thousands of similar illusory contemplations — cause bewilderment for the conditioned soul.

(SB 1.15.31 - Purport)

Seeing the naked forms of our material desires

Material desires in the mind are the trash of material contamination. By such contamination, the living being is faced with so many compatible and incompatible things that discourage the very existence of spiritual identity. Birth after birth the conditioned soul is entrapped with so many pleasing and displeasing elements, which are all false and temporary. They accumulate due to our reactions to material desires, but when we get in touch with the transcendental Lord in His variegated energies by devotional service, the naked forms of all material desires become manifest, and the intelligence of the living being is pacified in its true color.

(SB 1.15.29 - Purport)

Good or bad action?

An action is thus judged by the Lord's pleasure or displeasure. There is no room for personal whims; we must always be guided by the pleasure of the Lord.

(SB 1.15.24 - Purport)

Disobediance of Lord's established rules causes war

Not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Lord. Whenever, therefore, there is disobedience of the established rules enacted by the Lord, there is war between men and nations. The surest way to the path of peace, therefore, is dovetailing everything to the established rule of the Lord. The established rule is that whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we sacrifice or whatever we give in charity must be done to the full satisfaction of the Lord.

(SB 1.15.24 - Purport)

Feed children, elderly, brahmanas, the hungry and then oneself

It is the duty of a householder to feed first of all the children, the old members of the family, the brahmanas and the invalids. Besides that, an ideal householder is required to thrice call for any unknown hungry man to come and dine before he himself goes to take his meals.

(SB 1.14.43 - Purport)

Contact between man and woman

The higher-caste men, namely the brahmanas and ksatriyas, could accept a woman of the vaisya or the sudra community, but a man from the lower castes could not contact a woman of the higher caste.

A woman approaching a man for contact should never be refused, but at the same time the discretion as above mentioned may also be considered.

Contact between man and woman is natural, but that also must be carried out under regulative principles so that social consecration may not be disturbed or unwanted worthless population be increased for the unrest of the world.

(SB 1.14.42 - Purport)

Cow protection + brahminical culture = prosperity

Without cow protection and cultivation of the brahminical qualities in human society, no human civilization can prosper at any length.

(SB 1.14.34 - Purport)

Lord's family size just highlights His Supremacy

Lord Krsna married 16,108 wives, and each of them had ten sons. Therefore 16,108 x 10 161,080 sons. They all grew up, and each of them had as many sons as their father, and the whole aggregate was something near 1,610,800 family members of the Lord.

It is not astonishing that the Lord maintained a visible family consisting of so many members.

(SB 1.14.31 - Purport)