A regulated life is very important

Hare Krishna
I can understand from the questions people ask that most are not regularly reading Srila Prabhupada's books. If we are not reading Srila Prabhupada's books every day we are missing out on so much. The only way we can make advancement in spiritual life and ultimately get out of this miserable material world and go back home back to Godhead is by the association of a pure devotee of Krishna. Only one who is already liberated and situated on the topmost spiritual platform is qualified to guide us so we can act in such a way that we can also ultimately achieve the same perfection.

And such a great soul is very rare. We may not get the opportunity to associate with such a great soul in millions and millions of births... But now we are so fortunate that we have Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada has so mercifully put everything into his books. He is living in his books and when we read Prabhupada's books we are getting his direct personal association. If we have any difficulty or any question we need answered all we need to do is pick up one of Srila Prabhupada's books and read it. The perfect answer will always be there, as long as we keep reading to find it.

Here I want to include some of the things Srila Prabhupada himself says about the importance of reading his books.

"You may please me the most by reading my books and following the instructions therein and by becoming fully Krishna Conscious in this lifetime."

"I am very much stressing at this point that all of my students shall be very much conversant with the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness, and that they should read our books very diligently at least one or two hours daily and try to understand the subject matter from varieties of angles."

"Be sure and read my books very carefully, Bhagavad-gita, then Srimad-Bhagavatam, and then Caitanya Caritamrta. You should read every day without fail and become fixed in our philosophy."

"I am pleased to hear that you are chanting 16 rounds daily and reading my books regularly and following the four rules. In my books the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness is explained fully so if there is anything which you do not understand, then you simply have to read again and again. By reading daily the knowledge will be revealed to you and by this process your spiritual life will develop. Krishna Consciousness is not a hackneyed thing but it is something which is our natural and original consciousness. Presently our consciousness is clouded just like a mirror becomes covered with dust So the cleansing process is this chanting and hearing and doing some service and trying to please the Spiritual Master. By this process our consciousness becomes clear and we are able to understand everything."

"Who is my father, how he is, how great he is, what is his qualification, what does he do, what is his father's name, what is his address—that you can understand from Bhagavad-Gita. Therefore it is essential that everyone should read Bhagavad-Gita. Simply to know God is great, that is also good. He is accepting the greatness of God. But if you want to know in detail how great He is, to what extent great He is, how the actions of His greatness are going on, how His activities of greatness are going on, then you read Bhagavad-Gita."

"For further understanding of this religious process, I would recommend that you read our three books, namely Sri Isopanisad, Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, and Easy Journey to Other Planets. When you have finished them, you can read Srimad-Bhagavatam and Teachings of Lord Caitanya. Besides these we have many other books and our Back to Godhead magazines, in which we fully describe this religion only. So please read them one after another, and whenever there is a question you may write to me, and I shall be very glad to answer you as far as possible."

"Regarding my books, everyone should read. I am also reading. Everyone should be engaged 24 hours. That is the sum and substance. How much you should read and how much you should do other types of service, that has to be decided by each individual devotee. Eating and sleeping should be minimized—not a single moment should be misused."

"Thank you for reading my books and appreciating them. Please continue to do so. That will help you advance nicely in spiritual life. By reading my books and chanting Hare Krishna, your life will become perfect."

"As a Sannyasi and GBC your first duty is to read my books. Otherwise how will you preach? In order to remain steadily fixed in Krishna consciousness there must be a sound philosophical understanding. Otherwise it will become only sentiment. Whenever you find time please read my books."

"I have written many books already which are full of the different aspects of this deep philosophy of Krishna Consciousness. I request you to study them carefully and you will find a treasure house of scientific information in relation to the ultimate goal of life and conquering the major problems of life, birth, death, old age, and disease." 

"I am pleased to know that all of you are enthusiastically engaged in distributing our books. In this modern Godless civilization, everyone is greatly suffering due to lack of the real knowledge of Krishna consciousness, and our task is very great and very important. We must deliver this pure science of God to everyone and give them the chance to make their lives successful. So you continue this book distribution program very nicely, and at the same time take advantage of these books yourselves. Not that you just distribute but neglect reading them yourself. Always read them, especially Krsna book. Every time you have a spare moment, you should read. This will help you to advance in Krishna consciousness, and will give you the ability to convince others also." 

"Srimad-Bhagavatam means everything in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whether we hear the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Lord or we hear about the character, reputation and activities of His devotees, they are all one and the same. Neophyte devotees simply try to understand the pastimes of the Lord and are not very interested in hearing about the activities of His devotees, but such discrimination should not be indulged in by any real devotee. Sometimes less intelligent men try to hear about the rasa dance of Krsna and do not take care to hear about other portions of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which they completely avoid. There are professional Bhagavata reciters who abruptly go to the rasa-lila chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam, as if other portions of Srimad-Bhagavatam were useless. This kind of discrimination and abrupt adoption of the rasa-lila pastimes of the Lord is not approved by the acaryas. A sincere devotee should read every chapter and every word of Srimad-Bhagavatam, for the beginning verses describe that it is the ripened fruit of all Vedic literature. Devotees should not try to avoid even a word of Srimad-Bhagavatam."

"You should be always alert in understanding the sastric conclusions that will help you, otherwise we can be misled by bogus philosophies. I am very pleased that you are studying the books. This will make you happy and successful."

"Please perform your service of training up the new men very carefully. Present the philosophy of Krsna consciousness as it is. There is no need to add anything or take anything away. As it is. They must learn to strictly follow the four regulative principles and chant 16 rounds minimum every day, avoiding the 10 offenses. The new men should also go out for samkirtan, chanting or distributing my books. This will make them strong. Also, they must study my books at least three hours a day(including classes)."

"If you want to stay in Krsna Consciousness you will have to develop firm faith in Guru and Sastra. Therefore, you must study my books very scrutinizingly, follow the four regulative principles very strictly and chant 16 rounds daily avoiding the ten offenses. Don't take this movement as something cheap."

Please carefully read these quotes from Srila Prabhupada and apply them in your life. 

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Madhudvisa dasa