# Spiritual Progress *On advancing in devotional life* --- ### Never Lost > The transcendental process is so nice that if you finish 50% in this life. So, you will begin in your next life from 51%. It will never be lost. Your material acquisition will be lost, will be finished with the loss of your body. But spiritual acquisition will not be finished. So, whatever you acquire 10%, 20%, 25%, 50%. But better to achieve cent per cent in this life. Don't wait for the next life. — [[spoken/1966/661128bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 9.14–15, New York, 1966]] --- ### Rules and Regulation Learned Automatically > So rules and regulation automatically was taught. So that rules and regulations is not very important. The important is... The thing is that we must take up. The first rules and regulation is that we must have some attachment for this. Attachment for this. Then, automatically, rules and regulation we shall learn. There will be no difficulty. — [[spoken/1966/660909le.ny|Lecture on Mahā-mantra, New York, 1966]] --- ### Gradual Manifestation > So these are spiritual conception. When we gradually make our progressive advancement, these things will be realized. But for the present we can take this instruction from authorized scripture. — [[spoken/1966/660909le.ny|Lecture on Mahā-mantra, New York, 1966]] --- ### Beginning from Childhood > According to Vedic civilization, therefore, a child—he may be a king's son or a poor man's son—must go to gurukula and live for some time under the training of the spiritual master to be very thickly connected with Nārāyaṇa and Kṛṣṇa. — [[spoken/1970/701215sb.ind|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.27, Indore, 1970]] --- ### Trained Up in Childhood > So if a child is trained up in that way, then he becomes automatically Kṛṣṇa conscious. And if a child becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious up to the age of twenty, twenty-five years, then naturally he becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So when he enters his family life, although he accepts wife and children, he cannot forget Kṛṣṇa. — [[spoken/1970/701215sb.ind|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.27, Indore, 1970]] --- ### Varṇāśrama-dharma System > This is the system of varṇāśrama-dharma—four kinds of varṇas and four kinds of āśrama. It is very scientific. The whole idea of human civilization should be how to push one to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to Viṣṇu. — [[spoken/1970/701215sb.ind|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.27, Indore, 1970]] --- ### Poor Soul and Great Soul > Poor soul and great soul. Poor soul means, ah, they have got this opportunity of becoming great soul, but they misuse it, they are called poor soul. This human form of life the soul is equal in every living being, but it is covered by this material energy and as the covering is moved by enlightenment of knowledge, purity of consciousness. We become greater and greater and ultimately, we become great soul. — [[spoken/1966/661128bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 9.14–15, New York, 1966]] --- ### Second Platform > So we have to elevate ourselves from material devotional stage to the second platform, when one can understand what is a devotee, what is a nondevotee, what is God, what is atheist. These discriminations are there. And in paramahaṁsa stage there is no such discrimination. — [[spoken/1970/701219sb.sur|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.34–39, Surat, 1970]] --- ### Paramahaṁsa Stage > Paramahaṁsa is a stage who is above all rules and regulations. That's all. But one thing you can simply know, a paramahaṁsa is a stage who is above all rules and regulations. That's all. So we haven't got to imitate the activities or... A paramahaṁsa is a position, exalted position. They are very rare to be visible, because they do not care to come in the society. — [[spoken/1970/701219sb.sur|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.34–39, Surat, 1970]] --- ### Don't Imitate Paramahaṁsa > So there are so many things. So we haven't got to imitate the activities or... A paramahaṁsa is a position, exalted position. They are very rare to be visible, because they do not care to come in the society. So..., and if you want to know about the paramahaṁsa, the sthita-prajñā description in the Bhagavad-gītā, I think, in the Twelfth Chapter, you can know it. — [[spoken/1970/701219sb.sur|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.34–39, Surat, 1970]] --- *10 quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on spiritual progress* [[wiki/quotes|Back to Quotes]]