Prayers – Quotes by Bhaktivinoda Thakura

The conditioned soul thinks that all the things related to the false conceptions of “I” and “mine” are his exclusive treasures. Calling them his own, his mind is firmly convinced of this gross delusion. Due to such vanity, I also fell into this material world. Floundering in the ocean of mundane existence like a drowning man, I suffer the pangs of rising and sinking in that ocean. (Śaraṇāgati – Ātma-Nivedana – Song 6) Read More…

This human life is rare, and we should not waste it even for a single day. (The Disgusting Beliefs of the Sahajiyās) Read More…

The Bhāgavata does not allow its followers to ask anything from God except eternal love for Him. (The Bhagavat: Its Philosophy, Its Ethics & Its Theology) Read More…

O my heart, you are a great mischief-maker. You do not like the honest devotees. You like to stay with scoundrels. You think imposters are saints. The imposters make you dance. Look, the people in whom you have so much faith and before whose feet you fall are very cruel. (Kalyāṇa-kalpataru – Upadeśa – song 16) Read More…

O mind, please heed this confidential topic! It is amazing that you bathe in deceit, forgetting that it is donkey urine, believing that it is actually purifying you. Whether you reside in the forest or the house, keep this ass far away, whose urine burns both you and me. (Manaḥ Śikṣā-bhāṣā 6) Read More…

The burden of family life increased day by day, and under its weight I felt my personal progress in life forcibly come to a halt. Old age came and beleaguered me on all sides, making my mind incessantly disturbed… Now please hear me, O Lord! I am utterly helpless. Bhaktivinoda says, “Without Your mercy, everything is lost. Please give me the shelter of Your lotus feet. (Śaraṇāgati – Dainya – Song 3) Read More…