CONTENTS:
- FALL IN LOVE WITH KRISHNA
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. FALL IN LOVE WITH KRISHNA
The purpose of yoga is to become united with Krishna and what is the best way to become united with Krishna. 
Through love and that love is bhakti. Bhakti is pure and in simple words means love and when that love is for Krishna, it is called bhakti and when that love is expressed through certain love and its expression. It is not just I love you and you love me. It is not that just some empty words. There must be some substance. Ok, you love me what are you going to do about it? You say that you love me and would you give me your bank account? Sometimes Prabhupada used to say that some people used to come from Calcutta to Mayapur, they used to come and they wanted to surrender.
And Prabhupada’s question used to be, “What would you be doing with your money?” “Oh, I gave my money to my children”. “So, you gave your money to your children and you have come here to become a burden. That’s not fair!” If you really want to surrender, surrender with wherever your heart is not just some empty false or fake surrender. Because, one thing, we must remember, we can’t cheat Krishna or we can’t fool Krishna. He’s sitting right in the heart. And he knows us better than we do. He knows more than us, what’s going on inside of us. With that understanding we must approach Krishna and that is the actual meaning of the "Krishna’s stealing the garments of the gopis”. Krishna stole the garments of the gopis. The way, they are approaching Krishna, we should be completely naked, nothing to hide and that is the surrender, so that is the meaning of bhakti.
[BG 7.1]
sri bhagavan uvaca
mayy asakta manah partha yogam yunjan mad asrayah
asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu
TRANSLATION
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear o son of Prtha, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt."
What is the simple meaning of this verse? Your mind fully attached to me. What does it mean? When does the mind become fully attached to somebody? When, we have love for that person. It is due to our love that our mind becomes attracted to him and naturally completely attached to him, obsessed with him. So, what is the best way of knowing Krishna? By developing love for Krishna. When we develop love for Krishna then our heart will be completely absorbed in his thoughts. When we fall in love with Krishna, then, whatever we do, we simply would want to do it more. That is, what love means and then only will we get to know Krishna. What does it mean, “we’ll get to know Krishna?” Krishna will reveal Himself to us. What is the best way to know someone? When the person comes and stands in front of us, then you get to know him. Getting to know Krishna means Krishna will come and reveal himself to us. And, that will happen only, when we develop our love for Him. Krishna is assuring Arjuna now.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA’S APPRECIATION
The more we recognize and appreciate the glory of Srila Prabhupada the more we will be able to appreciate of the activities of Supreme Personality of Godhead, because Srila Prabhupada came to give the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The mercy of the Lord flows through Srila Prabhupada, the most bona fide representative of the Lord.
(Excerpt from Prabhupada Realizations)
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
When we develop love for Krishna then our heart will be completely absorbed in his thoughts. When we fall in love with Krishna, then, whatever we do, we simply would want to do it more. That is, what love means and then only will we get to know Krishna.
(The content of this E-magazine was based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on 1 December 2010 at Vail, Colorado, US)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)