Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 15, No. 10
By Krishna Kripa Das
(May 2019, part two)
Simhachalam and Paris
(Sent from Paris on June 1, 2019)
Where I Went and What I Did
Where I Went and What I Did
I
attended the joyous Nrsimha Caturdasi festival at Simhachalam, our
Nrsimha farm in Bavaria, Germany, where Lord Nrsimha is the natural
center of attention, and where the festival crowd grows in size each
year. I took a overnight bus from Munich to Paris, when I did
harinama
every
day for the rest of the month, either in Paris itself, or Sarcelles,
the community in which the Paris ISKCON temple is located, occasionally
chanting
Hare Krishna alone and sometimes with almost twenty devotees. Exalted
guests Janananda Goswami and Vaiyasaki Prabhu visited us in Paris the
last two weeks of May.
I
share quotes from Srila
Prabhupada’s
books and lectures, and quotes from the Free
Write Journal of
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I
share notes on classes by Bhakti
Bhusana Swami, Bhaktivaibhava Swami, Candramauli Swami, Krishna
Kshetra
Swami,
Parividha Prabhu, and
Kadamba
Kanana Swami at
Simhachalam. I include excerpts from Back
to Godhead
magazine articles by
Visakha Devi Dasi, Caitanya Carana Prabhu, and
Guru
Dasa Prabhu (disciple of Bhaktimarga Swami).
I share notes on classes and conversations in Paris by and with
Vaiyasaki
Prabhu, Bhakti Prabhava Swami, Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu, Gaura-Nitai
Prabhu, Sutapa Prabhu, Aksayananda Prabhu, Acarya Prabhu, and
Nitai Caran Prabhu.
I
would like to thank Sutapa, Parividha, and Krishna Caitanya Prabhus
for their kind donations.
Thanks
to Kate and Rufat for their photos of our Paris harinamas,
and
thanks to Yolcu Aziz Kaya for his video of our harinama
at
Garges Sarcelles.
Itinerary
May
19 – July 17: Paris [except BI seminar on evolution in FL: June
6–10]
July
18: London harinama
July
19: Nottingham harinama
and program?
July
20: Sheffield Tramlines harinama
July
21: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
July
23: Sheffield harinama
and program
July
25: Accrington program?
July
26: Liverpool harinama
program?
July
30 – August 3: Pol’and’Rock Festival (formerly Polish Woodstock
Festival)
August
4–5: Berlin harinamas
August
6–12: Vaishnava Summer Festival (Lithuania)
August
13: flights from Vilnius to Olso to Dublin to Montreal
August
14–18: Vaishnava Sanga Festival (Canada)
August
20: Dublin harinama
and
Tuesday Evening Kirtan
August
21–22:
harinamas in
the Newcastle
area
August
23: Janmastami in Newcastle
August
24: Vyasa Puja at Soho Street
August
25: Leeds harinama
and program?
August
27: Sheffield harinama
and program
August
29: Accrington program?
August
30: Liverpool harinama
and program?
August
31: Liverpool harinama
September
1: Liverpool Ratha-yatra
September
2–6: Newcastle area harinama
September
7: York harinama
and program
September
8: Great North Run harinama
(Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
September
9–10: Dublin
September
11–April 2020: NYC Yuga Dharma harinamas
& North Florida Colleges
Chanting
Hare Krishna at the Nrsimha Caturdasi Festival at Simhachalam
I
attended the Nrsimha Caturdasi festival at Simhachalam in rural
Bavaria in Germany from 2009 to 2012, and again in 2015. It was a
wonderful experience I think every devotee should have at least once
in his or her life. I was happy to see my friends from Alachua,
Visvambhara and Dhruva Prabhus, attend for the first time this year,
and they had a great time. Recently I have been in the UK at this
time, but this year the festival was about the time I usually go to
Paris, so I decided to stop at Simhachalam on the way. Simhachalam
used to have only a few devotees, but now there are forty devotees
living at or nearby the temple.
Different
senior devotee visitors
like
Bhaktivaibhava Swami, Bhakti Bhusana Swami, Candramauli Swami,
Krishna
Kshetra Swami, Parividha
Prabhu, Kadamba Kanana Swami, and Devaki Devi Dasi attended this
year. There
were many wonderful kirtans with devotion you could feel.
Here
Parividha
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Simhachalam Tulasi Puja on Nrsimha
Caturdasi (https://youtu.be/H91vmkSIYhg):
Kadamba
Kanana Swami chants Hare Krishna on Nrsimha Caturdasi morning at
Simhachalam (https://youtu.be/7ziqt8ytgSI):
Devotees
at Simhachalam in Bavaria bathe
their deity of Nrsimhadeva in various colorful substances midday on
Nrsimha Caturdasi. Because the temple was packed full I took this
video standing on a bench outside (https://youtu.be/CFt20m162gw):
Candramauli
Swami, Visvambhar Prabhu, and others dance in jubilation on Nrsimha
Caturdasi at Simhachalam (https://youtu.be/eKZHhb_NFTM):
Not
wanting to go for a day without doing harinama,
Harinama Ruci, led by Balavanta Prabhu and a festival devotee, chants
Hare Krishna on Nrsimha Caturdasi afternoon around the Simhachalam
temple (https://youtu.be/2xmMxH7XDYo):
Balavanta
Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chants to Lord Nrsimha on His appearance day
(https://youtu.be/wXUmAiT91oY):
Another
fired-up kirtan for Nrsimha Caturdasi (https://youtu.be/NTF1rh1-46E):
Syama
Rasa Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during the
Nrsimha Caturdasi evening
parikrama
(https://youtu.be/O7KGm3z4oHA):
After
the parikrama, for the pleasure of the Nrsimhadeva, there was
a more elaborate fireworks display than I usually encounter at Hare
Krishna events.
Syama
Rasa Prabhu chants the final Nrsimha kirtan on Nrsimha Caturdasi
(https://youtu.be/j1UzWAvp0kY):
Syama
Rasa Prabhu of chants Hare Krishna as devotees rock Nrsimha deity and
dance with joy at Simhachalam the evening of Nrsimha Caturdasi
(https://youtu.be/UoapskrJICw):
Syama
Rasa Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during the final kirtan on Nrsimha
Caturdasi (https://youtu.be/MYHrEHSTg9g):
The feast was scheduled to be served at 9:30 p.m., but the kirtan continued after that. I wondered why the kirtan kept going on and on. I later learned the pujaris were waiting for the kirtan to end to close the curtains, and Syama Rasa Prabhu was waiting for the curtain to close to end the kirtan! Thus by the tricks of the Lord, we got some extra kirtan in on His appearance day!
Devotees
offered a nice cake to Lord Nrsimha on His appearance day!
The
cake tasted as good as it looked.
Speaking of sweets, the next day, Lord Nrsimha was actually appareled in sandesh:
Unfortunately, I had an evening bus to Paris, and missed tasting it the next day.
Devotees
chant
Hare Krishna during the Tulasi Puja kirtan the day after
Nrsimha Caturdasi at Simhachalam (https://youtu.be/F881nGduxUY):
Parividha
Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada disciple and performer, chants Hare Krishna
at Guru Puja the day after
Nrsimha Caturdasi, and
lots of lively dancing happens
(https://youtu.be/3cGbqoxbPao):
Devotees
at the
Simhachalam
Nrsimha Festival chant Hare Krishna as Kadamba Kanana Swami gets in
the vehicle taking him to Munich airport. I had a bus from Munich to
Paris, so I caught a ride with him and his party to get closer to the
city (https://youtu.be/cVPF6loKC48):
Chanting
Hare Krishna In and Around Paris
The
first day on harinama in Paris one
man came
across
the busy street at Hôtel de Ville to
tell
me
he attended ISKCON in Myanmar (formerly Burma). He
was in Europe on business in Geneva, but was visiting several
countries while here. His female companion was from Paris. He was
happy to be reminded of Krishna, and he gave a donation.
The
second day on harinama
one
young lady named Kate, happy see us chanting and distributing books,
said she regularly attends the Hare Krishna programs in Hillsborough,
North Carolina.
She
took this
photo of me and Rufat chanting Hare Krishna in front of the Nike shop in Les Halles, and desiring to get a copy for this journal I
later wrote
her on
Messenger, finding her on
Facebook by
searching for “Kate in North Carolina”.
Another day at Les Halles, Marat, a retired Russian devotee based in Paris for many years, and myself chanted for three hours and people gave us 13.81 euros and took four small books, which is actually very good for a two-person harinama in Paris, especially in Les Halles.
Acarya Prabhu, our main Paris book distributor, also had a good day in Les Halles. He became inspired by hearing of the Yuga Dharma Ashram harinama party in New York City distributing sets of several books bound by a ribbon, and in Les Halles he had one of his early successes at that.
While
I was chanting at Garges Sarcelles, the larger of the two train
stations near our Paris temple, one Turkish gentleman, Yolcu Aziz
Kaya, who has a bookstore in Paris, took this video of our party
(https://youtu.be/Ecz57oZyDA0):
One
virtue of singing at Garges Sarcelles is there are a good number of
Bangladeshis living in that region which is just ten minutes from our
temple by bus. A number of them consider themselves Hindu and enjoy
taking part in Krishna worship. One week I was happy to inform three
Hindu Bangladeshis about our Radha Krishna temple in Sarcelles and
its Sunday evening program.
Here
Jagattarini
Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna during the Wednesday kirtan at Yoga
Lyrique,
the new downtown Paris center for “programs on Vedic literature and
philosophy and kirtan concerts and chants of mantras”
(https://youtu.be/eCU7JUBfNa0):
Janananda
Goswami chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles during the
Paris Thursday evening harinama,
devotees sing and dance, and a passerby donates some remnants from
Kentucky Fried Chicken and receives a book
(https://youtu.be/4X0BYknlSGo):
Rohininandana
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and Martine, a favorable
peace worker who devotees had met elsewhere and who happened to pass
by, plays shakers and dances (https://youtu.be/IqHHXvp_u54):
I
decided to chant by the Indian shops in Paris between Gare du Nord
and La Chapelle one day a week as last year. People there always
donate between 20 and 50 euros and take a good number of books, which
is at least twice if not three or four times as good as anywhere else
in Paris. We have books in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Nepali, and
Gujarati, in addition to French, English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic,
and a few others I cannot remember. The last two Fridays in May we
ended up distributing seven small or medium books each week in Tamil.
Last year when I would chant on Sunday, people complained as I
disturbed their day of rest but Friday late afternoon presents no
such problem. I
have a sense that the weekly chanting by the Indian shops stops when
I leave Paris, but I think it should continue at least one day a
week, because of the book distribution, the collections, and the
informing of new people about our Radha Krishna temple in Sarcelles,
all of which are valuable.
On
Friday, Gauranga
Prema Prabhu chanted
Hare Krishna by the Indian shops in Paris
(https://youtu.be/8u-13y3CyFs):
Here
Rufat chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/cs4CqZoSJgg):
Followed
by Marat
(https://youtu.be/UuPRKni75_s):
Of course, I also chanted by the Indian shops.
Saturday
we chanted with a party of nineteen devotees at Hôtel de Ville. The
battery on my phone was dead, so I could not take videos. Many people
showed some appreciation for the kirtan, and about half of these
would take invitations to Yoga Lyrique from me.
I
was so happy that five regulars from the Sunday morning program at
Yoga Lyrique decided to join Gauranga Prema Prabhu and myself for
harinama at
the awesome hill in Paris, Montmartre, located nearby, from
which you can get a good view of the city.
Olivier, in particular, proved to be a wonderful kirtan leader.
Olivier
continued
to chant Hare Krishna, and passersby danced
with devotees (https://youtu.be/Lejp_WsZ0j8):
Gauranga
Prema Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Montmartre in Paris, and a cafe
crowd appreciates (https://youtu.be/92KY3yxkYgE):
Vaiyasaki
Prabhu, famed Srila Prabhupada disciple and musician, chants Hare
Krishna at Yoga Lyrique, the downtown Paris center for sharing Vedic
culture (https://youtu.be/TGua-lz7HaM):
Gaura
Bhakta Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and two guys dance,
one being dragged away by his female companion, thus reminding us of how maya distracts us from Krishna consciousness (https://youtu.be/W0K1FaN4N7k):
Gaura
Bhakta Prabhu chants Hare Krishna and two groups of girls dance
(https://youtu.be/nbOz5mO8ZE0):
Prakash
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and three girls play
shakers, two returning to interact with us a second time
(https://youtu.be/PyyTB1DNYjo):
Rohininandana
Prabhu, who has organized Paris harinamas
on Thursdays and Saturday for several years, chants Hare Krishna with
his party at Les Halles (https://youtu.be/BC-yo-YEXw4):
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
“Since
the Absolute Personality of Godhead is omnipotent, He has both
unlimited and limited potencies. This is the meaning of omnipotent.
To be omnipotent, He must have not only unlimited potencies but
limited potencies also. Thus to exhibit His omnipotency He displays
both. The living entities are endowed with limited potency although
they are part of the Lord. The Lord displays the spiritual world by
His unlimited potencies, whereas by His limited potencies the
material world is displayed.” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi 7.116, purport)
“When
one is actually liberated he no longer identifies with the material
world. The symptom of mukti
(liberation) is that one engages in spiritual activities instead of
falsely engaging in material activities.” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi
7.118, purport)
From
Seeing God Within and Without” in “Back
to Godhead, Vol.
53, No. 5 (Sep/Oct 2019) [a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.8.18
in Bombay on April 9, 1971]:
“Nowadays,
accepting sannyasa
life is forbidden because nobody can actually strictly follow the
rules and regulations. Nor has anybody got any inclination to accept
sannyasa.
Therefore in this age sannyasa
is sometimes forbidden. But if you ask, ‘Why have you taken
sannyasa?’
the answer is that this sannyasa
is not karma-sannyasa,
which means simply giving up all ordinary work, rituals, and so on.
This sannyasa
is devotional sannyasa,
or Vaishnava sannyasa.
The Vaishnava sannyasi
is anyone who gives up everything and simply devotes his time for
pushing on the Krishna consciousness movement. He is also a
sannyasi.”
“We
have to work under Krishna’s representative. If we want to be
expert in anything, then we have to work under some expert. Therefore
we accept a guru. We do not serve Krishna directly; we accept a guru.
The principle is that the guru is the representative of Krishna, and
if we work under the guru and if we can satisfy the guru, then
Krishna is satisfied. That is very easy to understand. Suppose in
office you are working under some officer. You have no acquaintance
with the proprietor, but your pay, your promotion will be considered
by the proprietor on the recommendation of this officer. When the
officer will say, ‘Yes, this man has worked very nicely,’ then
your increment of pay and your promotion will immediately be accepted
by the proprietor.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.26.16 in Bombay on December 25, 1974:
“Those
who have forgotten the Supreme Lord and have identified themselves
with this material world, for them, the fearfulness is there.” But
those who are not in the material existence but in the spiritual
existence, or spiritual life, or spiritual activities, for them,
there is no bhaya
[fear].”
“Bhayam is there, fearfulness is there, so long our existence is not
purified. Then there is bhayam.
And when existence is purified, then there is no bhayam,
no fearfulness. Just like Prahlada Maharaja was put to so many trials
or tribulation by his father, but he was never afraid of. This is the
sign of spiritual advancement, because so long I identify myself with
this matter, there will be bhayam,
and when I am out of this conception of material existence, when I
understand that ‘I am spirit soul,’ aham
brahmasmi, then there is
no more bhayam,
no fearfulness.”
“Nature
is working under the influence of time, and that time factor is
enforcing the influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Therefore it is called prabhavam
paurusam prahuh kalam.
This is the influence. You have to abide by the influence of time.
That means influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However,
you deny. Just like crazy fellow: they think that “I have nothing
to do with government laws.” But the influence of government must
be felt when he is arrested and put into the jail. Similarly, by time
factor we may do something now without any fear, but time factor will
place me in the fearful condition without any fail.”
“The
more we possess asat-vastu—asat-vastu
means the material things—there will be more anxiety. Therefore,
according to Gaudiya Vaishnava principle, Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
life and His next disciples’, the Gosvamis’, life is to
completely get free from any material possession.”
“So
in order to get out of this fearful situation of life—that is
material life—if we take shelter of the lotus feet of
abhaya-caranaravinda re,
Krishna, then this bhayam
element, fearfulness element, will be completely nil.”
“This
Krishna consciousness begins: srnvatam
sva-kathah krishnah.
Simply these centers are created to give chance to the people in
general to hear about Krishna. Srnvatam
sva-kathah krishnah.
Because as soon as we hear about Krishna attentively and try to
assimilate it, then the purification of the heart begins.”
“So
sri-krishna-sankirtanam
is so nice. It has no expenditure, no loss; simply gain. If you
kindly hear sri-krishna-sankirtanam,
if you cannot chant Sri Krishna, the holy name of Krishna, you are so
reluctant, or if you cannot . . . because that requires little
fortune—if we simply hear, that will also help us.”
“Bhakti means when you are designationless, purified in Krishna
consciousness, then, when your senses are purified, the senses are no
more material. In our contaminated state, our senses are acting in
designation. ‘I am Indian. I have to work for India. The others
must go out of India.’ Or others are thinking, ‘Now your visa is
finished. Now you can go out. You cannot stay here.’ This is all
due to designation. But real life is designationless. The United
Nation is working, but there is not… They are not working on the
platform of becoming designationless. They want to keep the
designation. They are struggling there to become united for the last
twenty years. And the… We have seen in New York the United Nation
center, only the flags are increasing. Because unless one becomes
designationless, no designation, there cannot be any unity.”
“Nothing
belongs to us. Everything belongs to Krishna. If we accept Krishna
the center, and we work under His direction, as it is said in the
Bhagavad-gita,
our life is successful, our whole program is peaceful. All
tranquility, everything, is there.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.2.28–29 in Vrindavan on November 8, 1972:
“Krishna
also says in the Yoga chapter, Sankhya-yoga
chapter, Krishna says, yoginam
api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana sraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me
yuktatamo matah [Bg.
6.47] He’s yogi. That is yogi. Not for health’s sake, or curing
the liver disease or reducing fat, yoga system. This is not yoga
system. But people are so much absorbed in the bodily concept of
life, everything they want with this, in connection with this body.
That’s all. Instead of vasudeva-para
yogah [Vasudeva is the
goal of yoga], they..., there is sarira-para
yogah [the body is the
goal of yoga]. Sarira-para
yogah. Farce. These are
all farce.”
“Just
like Darwin’s theory. He has no knowledge. He’s simply studying
this body. That’s all. So one who is interested to study this body,
he has been described in the sastra
as ass and cow.”
From
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,
Madhya-lila 19.175:
[Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu said:] “If one is infected with the desire for
material enjoyment or material liberation, he cannot rise to the
platform of pure loving service unto the Lord, even though he may
superficially render devotional service according to the routine
regulative principles.”
From
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi-lila
1.50, purport:
“Refraining
from sensual enjoyment, one should voluntarily accept all sorts of
difficulties for spiritual realization. This is called tapasya.
An enjoyer of the senses can never realize God, godliness or the
science of theistic knowledge.”
“It
is the statement of Carvaka Muni that one should beg, borrow or steal
money to purchase ghee and enjoy life (rnan
krtva ghrtam pibet).
Thus even the greatest atheist of India recommends that one eat ghee,
not meat. No one could conceive of human beings’ eating meat like
tigers and dogs, but men have become so degraded that they are just
like animals and can no longer claim to have a human civilization.”
From
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi-lila
7.120, purport:
“The
mission of human life, as described in the Bhagavad-gita,
is to surrender unto the Supreme Lord and become His devotee, but the
Mayavada philosophy misleads one to defy the existence of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and pose oneself as the Supreme Lord. Thus it
has misguided hundreds of thousands of innocent men.”
From
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi-lila
7.141, purport:
“We
have opened hundreds of centers all over the world just to give
people in general a chance to hear about Krishna and accept Krishna’s
prasadam.
These two processes can be accepted by anyone, even a child. It
doesn’t matter whether one is poor or rich, learned or foolish,
black or white, old or still a child — anyone who simply hears
about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and takes prasadam
is certainly elevated to the transcendental position of devotional
service.”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Free Write Journal #40:
“Prabhupada
said in 1966 that there was enough Krishna conscious literature that
we couldn’t finish it if we read twenty-four hours a day.”
“The
many demons who come to kill Krishna are delivered by Him, and He is
never endangered. He destroys their bodies, like a child breaking a
toy. And so the demons provide sport but no disruption of peace.”
“I
advise against 50-year-olds getting married again; for social life,
they should mix intimately with likeminded devotees. Remarrying at an
advanced age is not conducive to the renunciation that should be
occurring at that stage of life.”
“I
say we should renounce—but we have to do something. There are many
alternatives. Instead of lamenting that we are lonely and not cared
for, we should depend on Krishna in a practical way. We should find
out likeminded devotees and engage with them in devotional activities
like kirtana,
reading Prabhupada’s books, and listen to live lectures from around
the world. If one is not living near a temple, one can pick up by
computer with live presentations all day long from ISKCON centers
around the world. This can be very fulfilling and interesting, even
for one who is invalid or who lives alone.”
Bhakti
Bhusana Swami:
Harikesa
was paranoid about the possibility of third world war, and thus he
purchased this farm out in the middle of nowhere. He was advised to
worship Lord Nrsimha because of having a problem with ghosts, so we
had to have an altar for the deity he traveled with. Krishna Kshetra
Prabhu advised we get a permanent Nrsimha deity for the farm here,
and the worship has progressed over the years.
I
have not been to this festival here for years, but seeing how
important this festival is, I promise to come every year from now on.
Bhaktivaibhava
Swami:
The
asuras
[demoniac] have just
the opposite tendency of the devotees. Thus we can expect opposition
when we promote Krishna consciousness in society.
Lord
Krishna is always reciprocating with us. If you think “nothing
belongs to God” then Krishna will reciprocate by not letting
anything belong to you by taking everything away from you in the form
of death.
Because
of Krishna’s reciprocation, in the higher planets, where they
understand more that Krishna is the supreme controller, they are less
affected by the miseries of birth, old age, and death.
The
last attempt of Hiranyakasipu to kill Prahlada was to wait until he
was asleep and have him tied up with the naga-pasa
[snake
ropes] and thrown in the ocean. The ocean washed him ashore, and the
ocean personified praised his devotion to Lord Vishnu. Narayana
sent Garuda to devour the naga-pasa
and
thus free Prahlada.
Candramauli
Swami:
Although
Srila Prabhupada mentions that each of the nine processes are equal,
later in the purport of the verse describing the nine processes he
mentions the necessity of regularly chanting the quota of Hare
Krishna maha-mantras
in
addition to whatever is our favorite devotional service.
Pralambasura
represents attraction the to opposite sex, and Dhenukasura represents
the burden of the struggle to attain mundane knowledge.
When
the Lord is insistent, the devotee cannot get away without accepting
a benediction. So it was with Prahlada.
Srila
Prabhupada makes it clear that if one has envy, one is living in the
material world. If one is without envy, one is living in the
spiritual world.
Any
service can be done in the mood of giving Krishna consciousness to
others.
Srila
Prabhupada said he saw his spiritual master only nine or ten times
but he only asked one question, “How can I serve you?”
The
devotee knows if the Lord allows someone to act as an enemy, there is
some reason behind it. The Lord may want the devotee to become
purified, to gain some knowledge, or to become more humble.
One
who blames someone for acting irreligiously shares in the reaction.
When
Srila Prabhupda would speak about Prahlada Maharaja, sometimes he
would cry seeing the extent of his devotion and his compassion.
A
Vaishnava searches out ways to serve the devotees of the Lord.
There
should not be something material that I think I need to be Krishna
conscious.
Every
other position is taken, so you have to be yourself.
Canakya
Pandit says there are three things you should always be satisfied
with, food, wife, and money, and there are three things you should
never be satisfied with, chanting the holy names, hearing the glories
of the Lord, and charity.
It
is said the perfection of love of God is so valuable, you should try
for it 10,000 times.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura says
that envy is
the worst of the six material qualities of lust, greed, anger,
illusory, and madness, and contains
all the others.
Krishna
Kshetra Swami:
Prahlada
gave us varieties of devotional engagements. He also gave them to his
father, but his father would not appreciate them.
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura said we should appreciate Hiranyakasipu because if
he did not cause all the trouble he did, Nrsimhadeva would have never
appeared, and we would not be having this festival.
The
acaryas say
that the Kumaras were qualified to pass through the first six gates
of Vaikuntha, which represent six kinds of opulence, but they did not
yet have the qualification of bhakti
needed
to pass through the seventh gate.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura says we worship Nrsimhadeva because he kills our inclination
toward performing activities for our own enjoyment.
Through
these nine kinds of devotional services we can come to feel the
presence of the Lord in our hearts.
Parividha
Prabhu:
The
first drama in history was staged to celebrate the victory of the
demigods over the demons. The demons, not wanting to be ridiculed,
sent ghosts to enter the bodies of the actors to disturb them. Since
then to counteract this, before a drama begins, an arati
to
the stage is performed.
If
you do some effort to distribute Krishna consciousness, that much
mercy you give out, you will receive.
Visakha
Devi Dasi:
“According
to Srila Prabhupada and the scriptures, satisfaction comes by
desiring and amassing, not more, but less, and thoughtful people come
to a similar conclusion. In a December 15, 2017, New
York Times
article called ‘My Year of No Shopping,’ author Ann Patchett
writes, ‘Once I stopped looking for things to buy, I became
tremendously grateful for the things I received. . . . It doesn’t
take so long for a craving to subside, be it for Winstons or gin or
cupcakes. Once I got the hang of giving shopping up, it wasn’t much
of a trick. The trickier part was living with the startling abundance
that had become glaringly obvious when I stopped trying to get more.
Once I could see what I already had, and what actually mattered, I
was left with a feeling that was somewhere between sickened and
humbled. . . . There’s a reason that just about every religion
regards material belongings as an impediment to peace.’
“Srila
Prabhupada concurs: ‘People must be taught how to be satisfied with
only what they need. In modern civilization there is no such
education; everyone tries to possess more and more, and everyone is
dissatisfied and unhappy.’ (Srimad-Bhagavatam
8.19.21, Purport) And: ‘Satisfaction of the mind can be obtained
only by taking the mind away from thoughts of sense enjoyment. The
more we think of sense enjoyment, the more the mind becomes
dissatisfied. In the present age we unnecessarily engage the mind in
so many different ways for sense gratification, and so there is no
possibility of the mind’s becoming satisfied.’ (Gita
17.16,
Purport)”
Vaiyasaki
Prabhu:
Kirtan
is glorification. And the person most worthy of glorification is
Krishna.
We
have divine love in our heart, but it does not come out, being
restricted by all the negative things also in our heart.
When
we chant the mantra we connect with the spiritual world because the
mantra is a divine sound coming from the spiritual world.
The
mantra is like a rope pulling us out of the quicksand of the material
world.
You
get out of the mantra what you put into it. Thus it is best to put
100% into it.
Why
do we not put everything into it? We have been cheated by so many
people for so many lives that we do not even trust God.
When
Krishna says there is no doubt, as he does often in Bhagavad-gita,
He is saying, “Trust me.”
Kirtan
is not just chanting. Japa
is just chanting. Kirtan is different.
Japa
is like page, and kirtan like a book. You can tear a page but not a
book.
The
leader sings the mantra, and it enters the ears of the audience and
inspires them and they sing and the inspired singing inspires the
leader to sing in a more inspired way, and it goes on in that way
increasing in inspiration.
Kirtan
is like puja
[worship] to the deity of the mantra.
People
are atheistic because they do not want to have a relationship with
God, and so God disappears from their life to fulfill their desire.
I
decided to develop my relationship with Krishna by thanking Him for
all the gifts He has given me by giving Him a gift in return. I
decided to offer beautiful melodies to say thanks.
Whatever
you do for Krishna do it with the mantra, for the mantra is
nondifferent from Krishna.
If
we are doubtful about God’s existence, we can in a quiet place say
to God, “I do not know if You exist or even if You can hear me, but if
You can, give me an unmistakable sign.” I told this to someone, and in
three or four days she contacted me very excited because she received
a sign.
Kadamba
Kanana Swami:
Although
Hiranyakasipu displays great affection for his son, as soon as his
son was considering there was someone greater than himself, he was
ready to kill him. This indicates that he was only concerned with his
own honor.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura advised that we pull out the weeds of material desires that
threaten our creeper of devotion, but here we are advocating worship
Nrsimhadeva to destroy obstacles.
There
is a difference between devotional service in bhava
and
in prema. In
bhava there
are still traces of suffering due to Vaishnava aparadha
but not in prema.
There
are six Puranas in
ignorance and six in passion. There are five in goodness, and one
amala Purana,
Srimad-Bhagavatam. So
we view Prahlada Maharaja as depicted in the pages of
Srimad-Bhagavatam,
the
spotless Purana.
At
the end of one’s fifth year, one begins to understand a little how
things are working, and so it is the time to begin education. If we
learn devotional service at that age, that will benefit our whole
life.
Devotional
service is the only occupation that can bring us satisfaction. All
other engagements bring about suffering.
Demoniac
people imagine they are being taught how to attain happiness when
actually they are being taught how to suffer.
Children
because of their inexperience can easily be misled into sense
gratification bringing immediate happiness.
Once
Srila Prabhupada said that the entire material world is anartha,
unwanted.
He
liked the phrase “a fool’s paradise.”
How
was Prahlada able to instruct his demoniac classmates? Although he
was also a child, he was a self-realized child who was himself
instructed by Narada Muni, who is considered empowered by the Lord
with bhakti-shakti, and
he transmitted that to Prahlada. Prahlada had such deep faith it was
convincing them. He knew there was nothing of value in this material
world and only devotional service was substantial.
There
was a temple commander in Vrindavan who used to beat the dogs to keep
them out of the ashram. Once after I had just taken rest, I heard
this beaten dog crying. I came out of the ashram, grabbed the stick
from the temple commander, and said, “If you do that again, I will
break every bone in your body.”
I
was on a flight where the plane was rocking the entire time. I was in
such anxiety, I chanted sixteen rounds in a single hour. I have not
been able to do that since.
If
we are released from this unholy alliance with this body, we should
be happy.
In
addition to hearing, thinking about and assimilating the message is
important. The body is secondary, and everything in relationship with
the body is therefore also secondary.
Time
is there in the spiritual world, in that things happen in a sequence
and there are beginnings and endings, but time is not predominant as
it is in the material world. In the spiritual world, rasa
[the
taste of spiritual relationships] predominates.
Schools
that kill the natural urge of the soul to serve the Lord in great
happiness are slaughterhouses.
We
are damaged by our demoniac education. We have to repair so much
damage.
We
are teaching transcendental knowledge in a demoniac society so there
will be challenges.
If
you have strong sanga
and strong kirtana,
the
kids will benefit and we will be successful.
From
a car conversation:
Jagadisa
Prabhu (the driver): How do we stop being focused on just survival?
Kadamba
Kanana Swami: At your meetings, limit your discussion of present
operations to half an hour or forty-five minutes, and use the rest of
the time for creativity and development.
Involve
everyone in the discussion from the beginning so they will be behind
what you ultimately decide to do.
I
hope to arrange for accredited courses in the Brooklyn temple that
will teach people Vedic knowledge that is of practical use in their
lives. I also hope to have conferences there.
Bhakti
Prabhava Swami:
One
book distributor told an Indian Christian that Krishna considered him
a vimudha [a
big ass] because he had no interest in purchasing a Bhagavad-gita.
The
man was so offended, he called a policeman, and exclaimed, “This
man called me a vimudha!”
My advice to you is to never call an Indian a vimudha.
Krishna
says the soul is not the doer in verses 13.30, 3.27, 5.8–9, and
5.14. In Bg. 5.15, He says He is not the doer either. In Bg. 18.14,
he mentions five factors of action, and says that one who does not
consider these is not intelligent (Bg. 18.16).
Krishna
controls the three modes as the Paramatma, seated in everyone’s
heart.
A
devotee is conscious that Krishna is the supplier of remembrance,
knowledge, and forgetfulness.
The
Supersoul tells the demigods, “Here is a guy who wants to move his
body.” Different demigods control different parts of the body.
Sometimes
it becomes very clear that we are not the doer. The functioning of
our heart and our digestion happen without our control. The thoughts
that arise in our mind appear under the control of the Paramatma.
The
Supersoul controls the gross body, the subtle body, and the senses.
Visvanatha
Cakravarti Thakura says the doer is the false ego. Baladeva
Vidyabhusana says the doer is the spirit soul who desires.
The
advanced devotee observes desires arise in his mind while the
conditioned soul considers the desires to be his own.
Descartes
said, “I think and therefore I am,” but that is not Krishna’s
philosophy because He does not consider the self to be the mind.
We
cannot fulfill all our desires, thus we have many unfulfilled desires
from previous lives. Krishna recalls these, and fulfills them one by
one.
The
spiritual soul is incapable of having material desires, but it
becomes a bewildered soul when it identifies with the thoughts that
arise in the mind.
A
devotee is not surprised when Krishna changes his plans. What happens
he considers to be Krishna’s mercy.
We
should always be engaged in devotional service to the Lord offered
without interruption. When there is a gap and we seek to fulfill our
own desires, we are separated from the devotional service of the
Lord.
We
know what it means to be under the control of the material energy
because we have so much experience in this life.
In
our conditioned state, it is not possible to understand what the
liberated state is actually like.
In
yogamaya, we
forget that Krishna is God, but we do not forget Krishna.
It
is nice to understand that we are a spiritual soul but beyond that
what are we actually?
Yogamaya
assists
those in Vaikuntha who want a more intimate relationship with
Krishna.
Few
persons were able to understand the plan of Krishna when He was
present in this world. Gandhari, when Krishna and the Pandavas went
to console her and her husband after the battle, said, “I know who
is responsible for organizing the battle of Kurukshetra. It is you,
Krishna. I curse your whole dynasty to be vanquished.” Krishna
replied, saying that He was wondering about what to do with His
dynasty, as it was becoming too powerful and was becoming a potential
burden for the earth.
Nitai
Gaurasundara Prabhu:
Krishnadas
Kaviraj Goswami because he is highly advanced in Krishna
consciousness sees everyone as greater than himself, and thus he had
many spiritual masters.
Brahma
had an easier job of performing tapasya
than
ourselves because at that point in the creation, there were
practically no objects of sense gratification manifest to distract
him.
Even
if we do have the good fortune of hearing the Lord in the heart, we
are so distracted by so many things, we do not listen.
People
have practically just a few moments to listen to us, and then they
are distracted. If we can speak to their hearts, they may listen a bit
longer.
If
on book distribution we perfect the art of attracting people in a
superficial way, we may be successful for sometime, but it is likely
we will be carried away by illusion as many book distributors have
been in the past.
The
more one distributes books out of duty, the more one sees the
presence of Krishna in that activity.
If
we are surrounded only by sinners, how can we can become inspired to
perform hardships for self-realization?
Fortunately
Lord Caitanya has made it easy, and if we become attached to service
of His powerful devotees as much temptation that surrounds us so much
protection will be there.
If
the bhajananandi mood
creeps too much into our institution, we will not have the inclination
to go out and share Krishna consciousness.
Srila
Prabhupada was fearless in sending his disciples out in public to
share Krishna consciousness because he was completely convinced they
would be protected by the whole chain of previous spiritual teachers.
Srila
Prabhupada said that someday the historians will write in their books
that this movement saved the world from its destructive course. That
is not a small thing, and we have the opportunity to be part of it.
As
a new devotee in Montreal, they engaged me in peeling potatoes. After
three hours, I was wondering how long this would go on. The devotee
next to me said something I will never forget, “Be transcendental.
We are on the transcendental platform here.”
If
you want to complain, you can complain all day, even in the temple.
If, however, you consider that the devotees surrounding you are your
best friends in your struggle against maya,
it
will be easier.
As
a leader in France for many years, it was a struggle for years to
accomplish anything. I would take shelter that Srila Prabhupada said,
“If you cannot increase this movement, at least maintain what I
have given you.”
Praying
for the Lord to send people and to help us to be more sincere
ourselves will help. Working on improving our dealings with those
around us is something we can practically do that will be beneficial.
Caitanya
Carana Prabhu:
From “Dasaratha’s Dilemma” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
53, No. 5 (Sep/Oct 2019):
“If
we too [as Dasaratha,
the father of Lord Rama did,] respond
to adverse destiny by sticking to our dharma and absorbing ourselves
in our Lord, destiny’s ultimate benevolence will eventually become
manifest.”
Gaura-Nitai
Prabhu:
The
great warriors are always listed in the history books, thus Krishna
wanted Arjuna to fight and be victorious and become famous.
It
is odd that people speak of fighting for peace.
Krishna
created the world, and thus He created the problems and He knows how
to solve them.
“Das”
means always servant, not part time master and part time servant.
A
life meant for no purpose is not worth saving.
If
we are servant, we never know what service we will get from Krishna.
Vrtrasura was sent to be the leader of the demons and fight against
the demigods.
We
are part of this movement, and we do whatever we can to help out.
Nowadays
practically no one fights out of chivalry. People fight for wealth,
property, fame, etc. Perhaps a boxer who is so rich he does not need
the money may fight out of chivalry.
The
higher taste is serving Krishna’s pastimes. Wherever we are, we
just want to fulfill Krishna’s desire. Vrtrasura had this desire
that Vishnu’s desire be fulfilled, that Indra be victorious and the
Vrtrasura himself be killed and go back to Godhead.
Everyday
we are lacking Krishna’s visit, we are not successful.
One
devotee who was very sick, chanted with great concentration and
intensity, so much so that Krishna actually visited her and sat next
to her, and leaned against her. She just chanted, not knowing what
else to do. At the end of her prescribed chanting, Krishna smiled and
left. Her guru told her that was to increase her desire for Him and
thus intensify her practice.
The
demigods each have their carriers they ride to go into battle. For
Indra an elephant and for Shiva a bull. What carriers are we using to
go to the battlefield? The metro and the RER [the regional subway
serving Paris and its region].
The
secret of distributing sets of books to businessmen is to understand
they are motivated by fame, and if they know their friends gave a
good donation for them, they will also.
We
must convince the people of the value of the books in their language.
Explain that he books tell how to get the full happiness, the full
consciousness, that is possible in human life, whatever is most
attractive to them.
If
we glorify the books in a straightforward way, when they open the
books, they will not be disappointed.
You
can say the books are for the most intelligent people or for the
leaders of society for this is all true, but do not misrepresent them
as being something they are not.
From
an istagosthi:
If
we are routinely late for mangala-arati,
it
can indicate we are not thinking of the deity as a person.
Sutapa
Prabhu:
One
disciple of Srila Prabhupada wrote him a letter soon before he left
this world saying he wished he could trade his youth for Srila
Prabhupada’s old age so Srila Prabhupada could go on preaching.
Srila Prabhupada appreciated the disciple’s loving sentiment, but
said that how much they loved him would be shown by how they
cooperate to spread this movement in his absence.
This
shows that it is easier to embrace old age and death than it is to
give up the false ego.
The
Lord was not impressed with the Precetas’ 10,000 years of austerities in
the water as much as He was by their friendly cooperation.
So
many demons came to Vrindavan but actually they did not cause as much
trouble as Brahma and Indra, the demigods.
In
Brhad-Bhagavatamrita,
Brahma said although both he and Indra caused distress to Krishna in
Vrindavan, he caused more distress by separating Krishna from His
devotees, the cowherd boys.
There
is an African proverb saying if you want to walk fast, walk alone,
but if you want to walk far, walk with others.
Despite
being pure devotees and despite being in the presence of Krishna, the
Pandavas each had different idea about what to do with Asvatthama,
who had killed their children. So if we are not pure devotees and if
Krishna is not personally present it is no wonder that we disagree.
What
to do to cooperate better?
At
least be friendly to each other.
Engage
in the six kinds of loving exchanges.
Each
individual must be overcoming their anarthas
[unwanted
qualities].
Each
must understand the importance of the mission.
Fifteen
years ago we started having all the brahmacaris
eat
meals together in the brahmacari
ashram,
and that act had great impact improving the devotees’
relationships.
It
is our job to encourage the other devotees to purify themselves.
Jayananda
Prabhu visited a devotee who had left the temple and worked in a
butcher shop, and ignoring his blood stained apron, Jayananda gave
him a hug, and that devotee said later that he came back only because
of Jayananda’s loving interaction.
There
is a German proverb: “Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as
he is. Treat him as he could be, and he will become as he could be.”
Internal
discord is our greatest enemy.
Disunity
in the leadership is especially bad.
Leadership
has to have sensitivity and spirituality in addition to strength. In
the Pandavas, Bhima had strength, Yudhisthira had sensitivity, and
Arjuna had spirituality.
In
leadership in a diverse group, here is a strategy: We have respect for everyone. We have to agree on a course of action. We have to
cooperate to carry out the action.
Aksayananda
Prabhu:
We
are searching for transcendental emotions. Chanting mantras, like
Hare Krishna, can help us.
A
sage considers the result of an action before performing it.
People
in general think if something bad does not happen immediately as a
result of performing an act, then it is OK, but they do not consider
what may happen in the future.
The
conceptions of ourselves that our society encourages us to accept are
temporary, based on our body which ends at death, and thus are
illusory.
We
constantly search for a perfect person to have a relationship with
this person.
If
we are part of a couple, in the course of the day, we can count the
conflicts that arise. This is natural as we are all different
individuals with different opinions.
Because
we are imperfect we do not have perfect relationships although we
desire to, and we usually blame our partner for the defects in our
relationships.
When
we have a relationship with Krishna, He helps us elevate ourselves to
a higher degree of perfection.
While
we are in touch or connection with Krishna, we attain the qualities
He has, and that is our perfection. Thus loss of our connection with
Krishna is the cause of all our defects.
Yoga
deals not with the state of our body but the state of our spirit.
Yoga
refers to our connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No
other connection can be considered yoga.
When
we are in the presence of someone we have a relationship with, we
consider ourselves in terms of the relationship which we have that
person. In the same way, in the presence of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, we attain the self-realization of thinking ourselves as
His eternal servant.
To
be religious it is not sufficient to believe in God, one must follow
the instructions of God.
Some
people, who consider themselves religious, are only interested
in what God can do for them.
In
the Vaishnava tradition, one can have very strong emotions for God in
a particular relationship, like that of master, friend, son, or
husband. There are many examples in the sacred literature of
different devotees in these different relationships.
People
worship Krishna for less important things because they do not know
that Krishna can give us perfect relationships.
In
course of practicing bhakti-yoga
we
come to understand our true nature and become self-satisfied. We did
not care about any external condition because we are satisfied
because of our connection with Krishna.
There
are three levels of emotions, those in the gross body, which are
experienced in particular parts of the body, those in the subtle
body, which are temporary and have some relationship with our gross
body and which those who do not know of the spiritual level sometimes
consider spiritual, and genuine spiritual emotions.
If
the emotion is in connection with Krishna, it is considered to be
spiritual and is experienced with all the senses.
Often
when we chant Hare Krishna in the street, the more complicated one’s
mind is, the less time one will be able to stay and hear the
chanting, while people who are more simple and uncomplicated,
appreciate more and stay longer.
Vrtra
in Vrtrasura means something that covers everything.
People
calculate others in relationship to their own bodies.
People
conclude Krishna really exists when He gives them a slap or helps
them get out of a jam.
Demons
are persons who fight against God’s will. They may appear
soft-hearted, or they may give in charity. They may accept God is the
supreme power, but still they go against His will.
Vrtrasura
is considered a demon because he fought against the demigods who are
representatives of God.
Indra
got angry with Visvarupa thinking, “I am paying for this sacrifice
but half of the oblations being done for the demons.” Thus he
killed him and was tormented by the reaction of killing a brahmana
for
a year, having to hide in the filament of a lotus flower.
One
way of giving birth is through a sacrifice. Because Vrtrasura was
born of the fire of sacrifice, he was considered the son of the
performer of the sacrifice.
When
devotional service awakens in our heart, we have no taste for
material existence.
Although
engaged in varieties of devotional service, we still are reluctant to
have Krishna make decisions for us, and thus it is still difficult
for us to surrender to Krishna.
We
tend to identify ourselves with our activities in addition to our
bodies.
Being
attached to the results makes it difficult to offer the result to
Krishna. If we see Krishna as the one who gives us the money
originally then it is easier to offer it to Him.
Our
love and devotion are ours, and we can choose to offer them to
Krishna. If we do not have much love and devotion, we can offer our
sincerity.
Acarya
Prabhu:
It
is important we are honest about our position regarding material
attachment because Krishna is witnessing.
We
can see the amazing transcendental position of Vrtrasura when we
consider he was surrounded by attacking enemies and at the same time
all his associates were deserting the battle, but he was not in
the least disturbed in his consciousness.
Krishna
is expert is showing us our anarthas.
That
is His mercy.
Even
those in the Bhagavatam
who are not yet pure devotees, if they have some connection with Krishna,
they can have some amazing qualities.
Krishna
feels indebted to and rewards those who try to follow His pure
devotees or the injunctions of the scriptures by giving such people
divine qualities.
Bhakti
is
not hindered by any circumstance in the material world.
Everything
can be appear to be very wonderful in our life, and then everything
can change all of a sudden. This is Krishna’s mercy to show us the
real nature of this world and to inspire us to take complete shelter
of Him.
We
are heavily burdened by the reactions to our fruitive activities, but
by giving these fruits to Krishna, we can become relieved from this
heavy burden.
When
we are speaking on behalf of Krishna we can really touch people’s
hearts.
Srila
Prabhupada explained that he was successful because he was repeating
Krishna’s words although for hundreds of years people came from
India to America but were not able to influence anyone to become
Krishna consciousness. He further said that spiritual life is simple,
that you have only to repeat what is mentioned by the acaryas
and
Krishna.
Narada
had good qualities to take advantage of the association of the
devotees [not being distracted by play, etc.], and he was determined
to execute their instructions, thus he easily attained success.
Only
one who is liberated can bring one to the other side of conditioned
life.
Both
Brahma and the insignificant ant are criminal because they have plans
to enjoy Krishna’s property.
The
sastra is
to restrict us from the enjoying spirit. Instruction is not required
to enjoy intoxication or illicit sex but rather for the opposite.
Varnasrama
is
to regulate our life to bring it into relationship with Krishna.
The
two sons of Kuvera were so intoxicated that even in the presence of
Narada they did not properly cover their naked bodies, until Narada
spoke, cursing and ultimately blessing them.
The
essence of a pure devotee is he is remembering the Supreme
Personality of Godhead 24 hours a day.
Guru
Dasa Prabhu (disciple of Bhaktimarga Swami):
From “A Meditation on the Importance of True Humility” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
53, No. 5 (Sep/Oct 2019):
“The
Tao Te Ching advises that humility is the best policy. One quote I
like is translated as follows: ‘If the sage wants to stand above
people, he must speak to them from below. If
he wants to lead people, he must follow them from behind.’ (Chapter
66)”
“Jesus
also advised humility. He said, ‘So the last shall be first, and
the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.’ Matthew (King
James Version) 20:16.”
“Last
year I heard a talk about this same principle at a conference in San
Francisco attended by hundreds of defense and corporate lawyers. We
were told how the U.S. Marines follow this principle – they eat
together by reverse rank order. The newest private eats first. The
general eats last. It is not a written rule but is a tradition going
back for centuries.”
“False
pride in ourselves or in our knowledge makes us miserable. Humility
is liberating. When I think about how small I am and how little I
actually know, it is liberating, like a weight lifted off my back. I
am not in control, so why worry? Stress at work? Stress at home? It
will all pass. It is just material nature and time playing their
usual tricks. All of our stresses and insecurities are like a
fleeting shadow play. Shakespeare said it well: ‘All the world’s
a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their
exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.’
“We
all have our parts to play at various stages of life, but unlike the
actors in a Shakespeare play, we forget we are acting and think we
are the character we are playing.”
“True
humility does not mean self-hatred. It’s an acknowledgment of our
own limitations, and that is all. As I have heard some wise friends
say, one who is humble does not think less of himself, but thinks of
himself less. We should seek that humility which does not diminish
our sense of self-worth but abhors narcissism and self-promotion.”
“Finally,
the value of humility in our spiritual quest is that it opens our
minds and hearts to instruction from higher authorities. If we do not
have humility, we close the door to learning. Spiritual sources of
knowledge are guru, sadhu,
and sastra.
It’s easy to feign respect for these higher authorities and put on
a show of humility; it’s not as easy to truly achieve that
humility. Without achieving it, who are we fooling? We might fool
others, and we might fool ourselves, but we can’t fool the
Paramatma in our hearts, the Supersoul who sees and knows all.
Ultimately only the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the witness who
actually matters – and we can’t fool him. So why try?”
Nitai
Caran Prabhu:
From
an ista-gosthi:
My
mother visited New Vraja farm community in Hungary for five days. She was impressed with the
cleanliness and organization and said, “Now I see why you are with
the devotees.”
In
conversation with other devotees, I learned that if I do not listen
to my authorities that I am listening to my mind. I learned I have
fear that if my authorities are wrong something bad will happen.
Mahatma
Prabhu writes in his book that during japa
we
should meditate on Krishna’s lila
[pastimes] not our lila.
-----
Mahavishnu
Goswami from Gujarat inspired me to memorize whole chapters of
Bhagavad-gita back in the early 1990s. The hardest to memorize
was Chapter Eleven, the Universal Form, which took me three years.
Reviewing it recently, I notice it is still the greatest challenge.
Chapter Eleven does contain a very special verse, text 54, revealing
that the Supreme Lord can only be understood, and even seen
personally, by performing unalloyed devotional service. The word
ananyaya stresses that the devotional service cannot be mixed
with anything else. Thus this verse is more emphatic than the more
often quoted verse, Bhagavad-gita 18.55, which stresses that
Krishna can only be known by devotional service.
bhaktya
tv ananyaya shakya
aham
evam-vidho ’rjuna
jñatum
drastum ca tattvena
pravestum
ca paran-tapa
“My
dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood
as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in
this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.”
(Bhagavad-gita 11.54)
