# Association *On the importance of spiritual association* --- ### Association with Fire > Similarly, if you associate with this transcendental incarnation, sound incarnation of God, then you will be gradually godly. You will be godly. You can become godly with God's association, not by any other material, extraneous thing. No. Just like you can have fire only in association with fire, not with water. — [[spoken/1966/660909le.ny|Lecture on Mahā-mantra, New York, 1966]] --- ### Red Hot Iron Rod > Just like the iron rod. Iron rod, you put into the fire. It gets warm—warm, warmer, warmer. And when it is red hot, then it is no longer iron. Iron it is, but it does not act as iron, but it acts as fire. That iron rod which is red hot in association with fire, you can take that rod and touch anything, it will burn. — [[spoken/1966/660909le.ny|Lecture on Mahā-mantra, New York, 1966]] --- ### Spiritualize Your Existence > Similarly, if you want to spiritualize your vision, if you want to spiritualize your action, if you want to spiritualize the whole constitution of your existence, then you have to associate with the supreme spirit. — [[spoken/1966/660909le.ny|Lecture on Mahā-mantra, New York, 1966]] --- ### No Other Means > And that supreme spirit is very kind, because He is everything. That we have already explained. Everything is interrelated with the Supreme; therefore He is interrelated with sound also. So by God's inconceivable potency, He can present before yourself in sound incarnation. — [[spoken/1966/660909le.ny|Lecture on Mahā-mantra, New York, 1966]] --- ### Second Stage of Devotion > Then next stage is to make friendship, to love God and to make friendship with devotees, and to be merciful to the innocent and to reject the atheist. Four classes of men. You have to offer all your love for Kṛṣṇa and you have to make friendship with the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. — [[spoken/1970/700508ip.la|Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 6, Los Angeles, 1970]] --- ### Innocent Persons > And those who are innocent, just preach this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and try to attract them to Kṛṣṇa. And another class, atheists, don't go there. Don't try there. Hopeless. Not hopeless; for a person who is not very much elevated, for him it is hopeless. — [[spoken/1970/700508ip.la|Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 6, Los Angeles, 1970]] --- ### Cheaters and Cheated > So my Guru Mahārāja used to say, "This world is the society of cheaters and cheated." The members are somebody are cheating, and somebody are cheated. The association of cheaters and cheated. So we want to save them from this society of cheaters and cheated. — [[spoken/1969/690510r1.col|Room Conversation, Columbus, 1969]] --- ### Simply Associate > So please try to realize that this is a very serious movement, and we're not asking you to sign up or pay us anything, but simply to sincerely try it, and you'll immediately feel some benefit. — [[spoken/1968/680816jm.mon|Janmāṣṭamī Lecture, Montreal, 1968]] --- ### Come to the Classes > We are requesting to you that you please come to the classes of the Bhāgavata. Come to kīrtana. By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, you at once are elevated into the spiritual platform. — [[spoken/1968/680816jm.mon|Janmāṣṭamī Lecture, Montreal, 1968]] --- ### Ever-Increasing Ecstasy > Just like when we were chanting here you could feel some ecstasy. Well, this ecstasy grows unlimitedly and infinitely, eternally, if one takes to it. It's not as if you reach some point of enlightenment, and then you're enlightened. No. But it's always eternal, ever increasing. Just like the relationship between ourselves and our spiritual master is eternal and ever increasing. — [[spoken/1968/680816jm.mon|Janmāṣṭamī Lecture, Montreal, 1968]] --- *10 quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on association* [[wiki/quotes|Back to Quotes]]