Chant Hare Krishna on the Bus & While Bathing

Here is another sublime jewel from the treasure chest of Srila Prabhupada's teachings. This quote is from a letter to Minoru and Kenji in Tokyo that Srila Prabhupada wrote when he was in Los Angeles on 22 April 1970:

"I am very glad to learn also that you are feeling joy while chanting the mantra Hare Krishna. Yes, it is exactly like this. If anyone chants this mantra in good faith and in simple understanding, then surely this transcendental vibration will act immediately in spiritual bliss. Please therefore continue to chant this mantra as many times as possible throughout the day and night. I do not think there is any inconvenience or loss on your part if you do so all the time. Even when you are walking, you can softly chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, or even when you are on the bus going to somewhere you can also chant. When you are working with your hands you can also chant and when you are resting or going to take rest you can also chant. Even in your toilet room while taking bath you can also chant. In this way there is no limitation or restriction for chanting this Holy Name of God, Krishna, and His Energy, Hara. In doing this business there is no loss, but there is very great gain which is transcendental realization."

These guidelines from Srila Prabhupada are most sublime and wonderful. We can all apply them in our lives for unlimited benefit!

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version

Question: How to Recognize the Bona Fide Guru?

Would you please let me that how we can recognize the perfect bona fide guru. For many days I'm reading your lectures. They are a very good pleasure for me. At present I'm doing PhD in ChaingMai University Thailand. Your lectures inspire me to go under a guru. But in this time many gurus are here and there. So it is very much difficult to identify the bona fide guru. As I'm innocent in religious matters so to test a guru will be sin for me. But as I am hungry is to get company from real guru, I will be very much grateful to you if you would be kind enough to lead me on the path how can I succeed to meet up my spiritual hunger.

Best Regards
Your student

Answer: He Must Be a Devotee of Krishna

I am very happy that you have written to me with this most important question of how to recognize a perfect bona fide guru. Since having a bona fide guru is required if one wants to become liberated from this material existence, finding a bona fide guru is the most important thing to be accomplished in one's entire life.

The bona fide spiritual master is coming in an unbroken chain of spiritual masters going back to Krishna Himself. He is ideal in his own practice of Krishna consciousness and teaches you how to also become an ideal devotee of Krishna. He never claims to be God or that he can teach you how to become God. Instead he always humbly presents himself as the eternal servant of Krishna and teaches that you are also the eternal servant of Krishna.

The bona fide guru advises you exactly in accordance with the principles spoken by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita because he has accepted Krishna as the original guru. The bona fide spiritual master knows what Krishna wants and he engages you in doing exactly what Krishna wants. The mission of the bona fide spiritual guru is the same as the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead: to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world.

I was fortunate to get the shelter of such a bona fide spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He taught me exactly in accordance with the principles of Lord Krishna and instructed me and my Godbrothers that we should also act as spiritual masters for delivering the suffering souls of this age. Therefore if you would like to accept me or one of my Godbrothers as your spiritual master, we can surely guide you on the right path and save you from this material existence.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari