By Bhakta Srinivas Kumar

Practical Tips for devotees and aspirants to succeed in their spiritual life:

[Based on the teachings of Srila Prabhupada]

1. Start by setting realistic/proper Goals for spiritual and material Life.  Take guidance from senior devotees to help understand your priorities and the way to gradual progress.  If you fail at this level, it can lead you into a vicious cycle of illusory pursuits – e and take you to a place beyond aid.  
2. Decision Making – when there is a clash between the importance of spiritual activities and the temporary material situations, learn how you can give priority to your spiritual activities and minimize your hard endeavors for material benefits.  Endeavors were designed for achieving self-realization.  Address non-spiritual problems and resolve them. But don’t compromise on Krishna Consciousness.  Take help wherever needed.  Srila Prabhupada says, “It is not that we have to cease all activities. Rather, our activities are to be purified, and purified activities are called bhakti. Activities in bhakti appear to be like ordinary activities, but they are not contaminated.”  (Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Introduction)
3. Work on achieving proper balance of spiritual and material activities in your daily routines.
4. Learn and implement the instructions on effective chanting – for both quantitative and qualitative improvement.  Read more of Srila Prabhupada books, hear more lectures and connect with other devotee mentors in the temple.
5. If you are really serious about spiritual life, make sure you do not eat food cooked by people with material consciousness.  Take ONLY PRASADAM.  Else, the progress in spiritual life will be almost zero.  If you really can’t avoid eating outside, then stick to a pure vegeratian, Sattvic diet (food without Onion & Garlic).  Try to gradually stop this habit.  Srila Prabhupada says, “When a devotee distributes prasada, remnants of food offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in order to maintain our spirit of devotional service we must accept this prasada as the Lord’s grace received through the pure devotees.”  (NoI, tex 4, Purport)
6. Increase your participation in temple activities, contemplation on Deities and appreciation of the Beauty and qualities of the Supreme Lord.
7. Be enthusiastic about participating more and more in devotional services – Srila Prabhupada Book Distribution, Cooking for Krishna, Preaching, and other services in the temple.  If you cannot make do any of these, engage more time in reading Srila Prabhupada books and associating with the transcendental sound vibration of kirtans and chanting
8. At any time, do not hesitate to seek guidance of senior devotees, if needed.
9. DO NOT WASTE TIME AND MONEY at any point of time in non-spiritual activities.
10. Associate with sincere and serious devotees; avoid association with materialists and pseudo-devotees in the name of service, which may not be helpful in your spiritual life.  To illustrate the supreme value of spiritual association, Srila Prabhupada writes, “As fire is kindled from wood by another fire, the divine consciousness of man can similarly be kindled by another divine grace. His Divine Grace the spiritual master can kindle the spiritual fire from the woodlike living entity by imparting proper spiritual messages injected through the receptive ear.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 1.2.32, purport)
11. Work towards keeping you body fit and energetic enough for engaging more and more in spiritual activities.  Take up some classes in yoga, pranayama or other basic physical activity.  But you should know why it is important to maintain the body.  Srila Prabhupada warns, “..by bodily exercise, he becomes a little strong. His digestive function becomes very easy, he can eat more. He can enjoy more sex life..”
12. Learn to practice tolerance and perseverence – for yourself and other too.  This will help you understand how to handle success and failure.  Like the Supreme Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita in 2.14, “matrasparsas tu kaunteya sitosna-sukha-duhkhadah agamapayino’nityas tams titiksasva bharata”
13. SERVE the Lord, Guru and devotees. Pray, Depend and Surrender to Krishna and Srila Prabhupada in all situations. That is the summon bonum.

Ultimately, it is our innermost, strong urge to serve Guru & Krishna and become stronger in spiritual life every day, which will set the right mental framework and bring the right attitude.  Relentless effort, tolerance and austerities are compulsory factors in implementing the Goal, day by day, pleasing Guru and Krishna.  When they are pleased, we automatically become happy.