Kirtan Guide

My Advice

by Bhagavān Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur.
The following Bengali quotations were published in
Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan, Volume 10, Issue 7, 1956

As written in Śrīmān Mahāprabhu’s Śikṣāṣṭakam, “Paraṁ vijayate Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam: may Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam be supremely victorious!” This is the Gauḍiyā Maṭh’s only objective.

The recipient of all service, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the only enjoyer; everyone other than Him is to be enjoyed by Him.

Everyone, other than the Lord’s servants, is ignorant and self-destructive.

Practising tolerance is a resident of the Maṭh’s foremost duty.

Devotees who follow Śrī Rūpa do not believe in their own strength, and they ascribe all greatness to its origin.

Chanting Śrī Harināma and meeting the Lord are one and the same.

Those who follow muddled religious principles cannot serve the Lord.

By establishing printing presses, publishing devotional literature, and organising saṅkīrtanam programmes one will truly serve Śrī Māyāpur.

Everyone should serve the Lord unitedly, being intent upon the same ideal.

A place in which the Lord is discussed is a holy place.

We are not moralists or sinners, scholars or illiterates. We are carriers of the shoes of the Lord’s sincere servants who are initiated into the mantra, “Kīrtanīyā sadā Hariḥ: the Lord’s Name is to be chanted constantly.”

Do not criticise the characters of others; purify yourself. This is my advice.

In the policy of Mahāprabhu, we do not find the policies of the kṣatriyas, vaiśyās, śūdras, or yavanas. We understand from His teachings that He supported the highest of the ṛṣis’ policies. Following His lead, we also will support Brahmā’s policy: Bhāgavat-dharma.

Serving the residents of Vraja who are heartbroken in separation after Kṛṣṇa’s departure for Mathurā is our highest ideal.