Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 4
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2013, part two)
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2013, part two)
North
Florida
(Sent from Jacksonville, Florida, on April 11, 2013)
(Sent from Jacksonville, Florida, on April 11, 2013)
Where
I Went and What I Did
The
second half of February I spent mostly in Gainesville, organizing the
chanting at Krishna Lunch. I also went on a brief visit to
Tallahassee, promoting our Krishna Lunch and temple programs there,
and to Jacksonville, chanting on campus and promoting our Krishna
Club programs there. I share inspiring incidents from these trips. I
had an unusual Nityananda’s appearance day, which I briefly
describe.
I
have quotes from the writings of my siksa
and
diksa
gurus,
Srila Prabhupada and Satsvarupa das Goswami, and notes on recorded
lectures by Niranjana and Radhanath Swamis. I also have notes on
another wonderful lecture by visiting Prabhupada disciple, Amala
Bhakta Prabhu, and notes from lectures of many local speakers.
Chanting
in Tallahassee
At
one point, six of us chanted together at Tallahassee’s Lake Ella
one Saturday. Krishna is kind to give me friends to chant with in so
many cities. One friend had left Tallahassee for Gainesville, but
another had left Gainesville for Tallahassee. One lady came by our
chanting party, wondering where our Tallahassee temple was, and other
people were happy to get sweets and to hear of our vegan/vegetarian
food options in the city.
On
Monday and Tuesday, I chanted at Florida State University, and the
first person I talked to was interested in meditation and came to our
Tuesday Bhagavad-gita
class.
Both days I met someone who had become vegetarian very recently, so I
was able to interest them in our lunch program and cooking classes. I
was pleased each day to have nice conversations with several students
and to distribute many prasadam
sweets.
Chanting
at the University of North Florida
On
Wednesday we chanted for four and three-quarters hours on the green
at the University of North Florida, and at one point nine people were
on the blanket chanting with us. One girl who was a friend of someone
in Krishna Club sat down with us and fell in love with the drum,
playing a nonstandard beat that fit the music. She also chanted Hare
Krishna for the first time, even as she played the drum. She is a
Resident Advisor for a dorm and invited us to do a program there
sometime.
Also
on Wednesday, one young gentleman, originally from Kenya, who
frequents the UNF Library sat on the bench, enjoying the kirtana.
Amrita
invited him to our program, and he came two weeks in a row, taking
Coming
Back, and
talking with the devotees about spiritual topics and giving donations
each time. Later he visited our temple in Alachua several times
before relocating to south Florida for a job opportunity.
A
couple girls sitting on a bench at UNF liked listening to our
chanting for half an hour. When one of them saw our weekly program
was called “Soul Medicine,” she smiled, saying she liked the name
because when she sat down she had a neck and back ache but it went
away with the singing. When we took a break, she thought with alarm,
“Why did they stop?”
Later we taught a beat on the drum to the president of our Bhakti Yoga club who was playing mrdanga for the first time and we taught a Christian girl we talked with earlier in the week how to play the karatalas, also for the first time. Miraculously, in just a few minutes they were both able to play in time as we played harmonium. That was a rarity. I had never seen such a wonder in my thirty years as a devotee that new people would pick up the instruments so fast!
Lord Caitanya is so kind inspire the people with such appreciation and abilities, and to engage us all in His service.
Later we taught a beat on the drum to the president of our Bhakti Yoga club who was playing mrdanga for the first time and we taught a Christian girl we talked with earlier in the week how to play the karatalas, also for the first time. Miraculously, in just a few minutes they were both able to play in time as we played harmonium. That was a rarity. I had never seen such a wonder in my thirty years as a devotee that new people would pick up the instruments so fast!
Lord Caitanya is so kind inspire the people with such appreciation and abilities, and to engage us all in His service.
The
next Wednesday I was out of town, but Amrita Keli said the chanting
on the green was fabulous. One student danced for an hour and a half,
not realizing how fast the time was passing. It is wonderful see
Americans naturally attracted to Krishna consciousness, especially in
the present day.
Lord
Nityananda’s Appearance Day
The
devotees who were to drive me home to Gainesville were sick, and so I
ended up celebrating Lord Nityananda’s appearance day in
Jacksonville. The devotees who organize the programs at University of
North Florida impressed me on Lord Nityananda’s appearance by
spending two hours in the morning reading Caitanya-caritamrita and
Nityananda Caritamrita, and talking about Lord Nityananda.
Then in the afternoon, other Alachua and Jacksonville friends
impressed me by their enthusiasm to do congregational chanting of the
holy name at the Jacksonville stadium before the crowds attending the
Monster Truck Jam, instead of attending the festival in Alachua. Lord
Nityananda appeared to deliver the most fallen, and I could not help
but think that people who take pleasure in watching monster trucks
smash into each other fit into that category. One friend told me that
last time he went to such an event he was nine-years-old. It was a
tough crowd to distribute pamphlets to. You had to watch and make
sure the people did not throw them out when you were not looking. On
the bright side, in front of the devotees’ chanting party, one man
danced joyfully with his young daughter. Later she and a friend
joined with some of the devotee ladies and danced for quite sometime
with them. It was definitely an unusual day, but I think that in the
ultimate issue Lord Nityananda Prabhu was pleased by all our attempts
to glorify Him and to share His mercy, and that made it worth it.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.24.8,
purport:
Not
caring what will happen in the next birth, gross materialists are
simply busy enjoying during the present short span of life. A
Vaisnava is always anxious to give all such bewildered materialists
the real happiness of spiritual bliss.
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.24.19,
purport:
When
one becomes a pure devotee in love, he may also be blessed with a
good material position by the will of the Supreme Lord. However, one
should not mistakenly think that the material opulence of a devotee
is the result of his devotional service. The real result of
devotional service is the awakening of pure love for the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, which continues under all circumstances.
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.13.3–4,
purport:
When
the intrigue of the Battle of Kuruksetra
was
going on, she [Gandhari] was not in favor of fighting with the
Pandavas; rather, she blamed Dhrtarastra, her husband, for such a
fratricidal war. She desired that the state be divided into two
parts, for the sons of
Pandu and
her own.
from
Caitanya-caritamrita
(Antya 3.178):
Haridas
Thakura, however,
said that the desired result of chanting the holy name of the Lord is
not that one is liberated from material bondage or freed from the
reactions of sinful life. The actual result of chanting the holy name
of the Lord is that one awakens his dormant Krishna consciousness,
his loving service to the Lord.
from
notes by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami on a Prabhupada lecture on
Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.25.23 given on November 23, 1974, in Mumbai:
“When
the sravanam-kirtanam
is about Krishna, then there is no suffering or unhappiness. Other
hearing and talking will not reduce suffering. Devotional service is
so nice that even in the material world, the devotee will not suffer
material miseries. Because his mind is absorbed in thought of
Krishna, he does not suffer.”
from
The
Nectar of Devotion:
When
a devotee is never tired of executing devotional
service and is always engaged in Krishna conscious activities,
constantly relishing the transcendental mellows in relationship with
Krishna, he is called perfect.
. . . Anyone
who becomes
exhilarated by hearing of the pastimes of Lord Krishna when He was
present on this earth with His associates is to be understood as
nitya-siddha,
eternally
perfect.
from
a lecture:
Lord
Caitanya taught there is a goal beyond liberation, love of Godhead.
Krishna
says anything other than surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna is
not real dharma.
One
cannot say, “I do not accept the laws given by the state. I will
make my own laws.” So in the same way, we cannot make our own
dharma. Dharma is given by God.
Krishna
is not speaking just to the Hindus. He is speaking to everyone as the
father of all living beings.
This
Krishna consciousness movement is very important because people are
not understanding they are spiritual souls and not their bodies.
Our
love has become spread out to our nation, our relatives, our friends,
but it must become concentrated on Krishna.
Previously
it was considered abominable to become a drunkard. Now it has become
a fashion.
Our
only request is that you take up this chanting of Hare Krishna.
People
should take this Krishna consciousness movement very seriously.
Lord
Caitanya’s movement is meant for both the common men and the
educated. The common men can simply chant Hare Krishna, and the
educated can study our vast literature.
Vasudeva
wanted a son like Krishna, but Krishna is without an equal, and so He
Himself appeared as the son of Vasudeva.
The
mahatma
is not under the control of the material energy but under the
protection of the spiritual energy. His symptom is that he has no
other activity besides the service of the Lord.
The
whole Vedic civilization is to engage people in pious activities
because by engaging in pious activities they will one day come to the
point of bhajana.
There
are many Bhagavans, but Krishna is the original.
We
are telling people, “You are the son of Krishna, a most important
personality. Why not go to your home? Why are you rotting in this
material world?” People have to understand they are rotting in this
material world.
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.1.4–5:
Atheists
try to conceal the hand of God, which is present in every creation,
but they cannot explain how all these creations could come into
existence without a competent intelligence and almighty power behind
them. Simply to imagine or speculate is a waste of time. In
Bhagavad-gita
(10.8),
the Lord says, aham
sarvasya prabhavo:
“I am the origin of everything.” Mattah
sarvam pravartate:
“whatever exists in the creation emanates from Me.” Iti
matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah:
"When one fully understands that I create everything by My
omnipotence, one becomes firmly situated in devotional service and
fully surrenders at My lotus feet."
Niranjana
Swami:
The
result that a devotee aspires for is that Krishna may be pleased by
his efforts in devotional service.
Krishna
is only pleased by unflinching, unalloyed devotional service.
Most
of our obstacles are within our heart and can be cleansed by Krishna
who becomes pleased by the devotees’ service of hearing and
remembering Him.
Srila
Prabhupada explains that anxiety is a feature of this world, and you
can choose either to have material anxiety or to have spiritual
anxiety.
If
we are consciousness of our subservient position in relationship to
the Lord, then we will be without [material] anxiety in this world.
A
good result will ultimately manifest if we accept our position as a
servant of Krishna.
Krishna
is the supreme plan maker. I have my plans and Krishna has His plans,
and Krishna always has the final decision.
Srila
Prabhupada writes in his journal in February 1966 after a recording
session with some friends, “Haridas Thakura has said that anyone
who hears these holy names, even animals and beasts, can be
attracted. Today I have personally witnessed the statement of Haridas
Thakura. The Americans have been become attracted by the chanting.
This is all Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. It is not my credit.”
Krishna
as our best friend can take care of our needs, but we need to
remember Him. He can make a much better arrangement to remove our
obstacles than we can ourselves because of his perfect knowledge.
Srila
Prabhupada used a story of the train conductor asking for his son’s
ticket, and his son being bewildered until he took shelter of his
father to show how when we take shelter of Krishna all anxiety goes
away.
Radhanatha
Swami:
from
a lecture on Lord Nityananda:
The
conception that something is lovable exists is because of Krishna.
Service
is so great that the Lord also desires to engage in service to show
that pure unalloyed service is the ultimate experience.
Laksmana
entered the forest for 14 years, simply to serve Lord Rama. It is
said He remained awake for the entire time so as not to miss a chance
to serve the Lord.
A
real spiritual master teaches how to surrender to Krishna.
Ekacakra
was experiencing a drought until Lord Nityananda Prabhu appeared, and
then it rained pleasingly and all vegetation flourished.
The
only play Nityananda Prabhu would engage in was to enact dramas of
the pastimes of the Lord.
To
execute His mission of assisting Lord Caitanya in His mission, Lord
Nityananda would have to leave home. But He had such loving parents,
how was it possible? Thus by the Lord’s arrangement, a sannyasi
came
who begged Hadai Pandit for his son in charity to be his assistant.
Every parent in Ekacakra wanted to offer their son as a replacement
as they loved Nitai so, but the sannyasi
had
disappeared.
When
Nityananda on His tour saw the Shaivites and the Vaishnavas fighting,
He who is the source of both Shiva and Vishnu laughed.
When
He encountered Madhavendra Puri, He exclaimed, “I have traveled so
far and seen so many pilgrimage places, but I have not yet seen such
ecstatic love for Krishna as you have.”
Laksmipati
Tirtha worshiped Balarama who appeared in a dream and told him to
initiate a brahmana
who
would soon appear.
Lord
Nityananda lived in Vrndavana, playing with cowherd boys and cows,
and waiting for Nimai Pandit to inaugurate His sankirtana
movement.
Lord
Nityananda did not preach until He got the order from Lord Caitanya.
This supreme humility has its origin in God Himself. He did not want
to consider Himself the doer of His activities.
Srila
Prabhupada told a reporter, “My only qualification is I am simply
repeating the words of my spiritual master.” When asked if he was a
pure devotee or if he was perfect,
he
explained, “I may or may not be a pure devotee or be perfect, but
my words are perfect because I am repeating my guru’s words.”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
from
Yellow
Submarine, #213:
“A
quiet afternoon,
the hours go by slowly.
This is preaching too,
hearing gentle sounds
and trying to speak from the heart,
if you can find your heart.
Staying by the Lord
in a safe place,
the yellow submarine. From here
you can see eternity if you become
quiet enough and listen.
He’s just by your side,
and you can relax.
He’s coming through the ether,
and your pulse is beating softly.
the hours go by slowly.
This is preaching too,
hearing gentle sounds
and trying to speak from the heart,
if you can find your heart.
Staying by the Lord
in a safe place,
the yellow submarine. From here
you can see eternity if you become
quiet enough and listen.
He’s just by your side,
and you can relax.
He’s coming through the ether,
and your pulse is beating softly.
“Why
don’t you go out?
I can hardly walk.
I’m content to sit and
hear His voice coming
to me in music muted.
It’s another day to be
with Krishna and write
your realizations for
your friends, your virtual friends.”
I can hardly walk.
I’m content to sit and
hear His voice coming
to me in music muted.
It’s another day to be
with Krishna and write
your realizations for
your friends, your virtual friends.”
from
Viraha
Bhavan, February
24, 2013:
Japa
is easy but
to do it seriously is difficult.
I was successful in keeping out
other thoughts except utteringharinama. I tried to
do it with attention and
devotion.
to do it seriously is difficult.
I was successful in keeping out
other thoughts except utteringharinama. I tried to
do it with attention and
devotion.
Amala
Bhakta Prabhu:
When
people have a unified aim, it is easier for them to work
cooperatively.
Devotional
service is its own reward because it brings the mercy of the Lord,
and for one who has the mercy of the Lord, what is there left to
attain?
We
build up our bodies by working out and become so proud of our
abilities, thinking we are invincible, but then a microscopic
organism comes by and knocks us out for two weeks. Despite our pride,
we have to admit that the person who made the virus is superior to
us.
Everyone
wants to live forever. They may say they do not want to live forever,
but whenever there is some problem with the body, they are always
going to the doctor. Why? Because they want to live forever. Why do
we want to live forever? Because as souls we really do live forever.
We
suffer from stress because our attachment to our body, but by
spiritual practice that can be reduced.
It
is very difficult [as a lecturer] to compete with prasadam
[spiritual
food].
Once
the Bhagavatam
speaker
told one of the listeners who remained awake during the class to
awaken the person next to him. The listener replied, “You put him
to sleep. You can wake him up.”
If
you are fully self-realized, you will get guidance from the Supreme
Lord within how to help your dependents make advancement. In fact, if
you become self-realized, you can truly benefit everyone.
Even
God Himself appears as an ordinary person most of the time, except
for a few occasions when He exhibits His superhuman opulence.
Charity,
patience, and humility are virtues that can help us in
self-realization.
We
cannot dictate to Krishna when He will let us understand something.
We
should see the Bhagavad-gita
with reverence.
The
biggest sin is to forget the Lord.
Best
is if we chant as if we are crying out for Krishna’s assistance.
To
feel the closeness, nearness, and presence of Krishna is the best
thing, and when you get that you want to share it others, your
family, your friends, and the people in general.
Srila
Prabhupada’s words were floating on his divine energy.
If
we start thinking I am better than him and I am better than him, then
we became a materialist again.
If
we have a residence in the USA and another in Italy, and yet another
residence somewhere else, we become very proud of our good fortune,
but Krishna has a residence in every atom.
Kalakantha
Prabhu:
at
Dr. Dina Bandhu Prabhu’s marriage:
In
marriage, like anything, if we approach it in the mood of enjoying,
we will fall flat on our face, but if we approach it in the mood of
service, we will be successful.
If
we put Krishna in the center and make our house a temple that will
take the edge off any conflicts we may have.
Prasannatma
Prabhu:
The
love we have for our family, our nation, our dog, is incomplete and
temporary. It is all finished in a moment and that moment is death.
Sometimes the relationships end before death, there is divorce, or we
transfer from one school to another, ending our friendships with
people from the previous school.
Different
goswamis
give different explanations of the maha-mantra
which are all true.
Lord
Caitanya did not ask us to love Himself, but to develop love for the
Divine Couple, Radha-Krishna. First we meditate on Lord Gaura, and
then we meditate on Radha-Krishna.
We
follow Rupa Goswami and Raghunatha Goswami. We do not want to follow
Madhvacarya, Ramanujacarya, Nimbarkacarya. We respect them all, but
we are determined to follow Rupa Raghunatha.
Imagine
Krishna cannot get something. Krishna is the supreme controller, and
yet there was something He could not get, the experience of
Radharani’s love for Himself. Thus He came as Lord Caitanya to
experience this.
Gandhari
never saw her 100 sons because of her voluntarily blindfolding
herself so as not to excel her blind husband. What an austerity for a
mother to perform! She was so determined.
When
you do austerity you get much power. When you do not do austerity,
you do not have much power.
The
first word that was heard in this universe was “tapa”
(austerity).
In
France, when the government imposes some restriction, people go on
strike, and chant “No austerity! No austerity!”
In
America, people are eating anything at any time, boiled peanuts,
chocolate candy, chips, etc.
In
material life, people eat a little for breakfast, a little for lunch,
and have a big dinner, while the devotee takes just a little at night
so he can get up early and perform spiritual activities.
Ranjit
Prabhu:
Constant
engagement (satata-yuktanam)
is
not possible without loving ecstasy (priti-purvakam).
I
recommend rereading Srimad-Bhagavatam.
It
is very rewarding. You will encounter a lot of things that you forgot
along the way.
Krishna has newer
and newer beauties that are beyond our understanding and experience.
Krishna was not
attracted by the incomparable beauty and feminine charms of His
queens but by their pure devotional service to Him.
Sometimes very
sincere Christians would approach me to save me. Sometimes I would
joke with them saying, “There are two kinds of people. Those who
know and those who do not know. For those who know, no explanation is
necessary, and for those who do not know, no explanation is
possible.” It would sometimes frustrate them as they did not have
an answer to it. To some extent that statement is true, but it also
inaccurate because the desire of the pure devotee is so powerful that
those who do not know can be enlightened.
Devotees
would present different philosophies, and Srila Prabhupada would
analyze them from the viewpoint of Krishna consciousness. Later some
devotees realized that original presentations of the philosophies
were incorrect, and asked if he would be willing to do it again, and
he valued that project so much that it did it again. The second
formulation is in Quest
for Enlightenment.
Leibniz said that
every thing has purpose in the universe and the purpose of the entire
universe is to know the creator of the universe. Srila Prabhupada
very much liked that philosophy.
Jung lamented that
philosophy was no longer a way of life. He felt the rites of many
religions had became unintelligible in the modern world.
Subuddhi
Krishna Prabhu:
In
Bangalore, one guest loved the kitri
so
much he asked for the recipe which I obtained for him from the cooks.
When he made it himself, he complained it did not taste the same. I
asked if he offered it to Krishna, but he had not. I gave him the
mantras to offer it, and he tried again. It was better but not good
enough. I asked if he just offered it so he could eat it, or if he
had really offered it with devotion. He realized he had not done it
with devotion, so he tried again, this time successfully. Thus we can
see practically there is a difference between prasadam
[food
offered to Krishna with devotion] and ordinary food.
Prema
Manjari dd:
Just as in a dream
something completely illogical can happen at any moment, in our
conditioned life, although our situation appears very stable, the
reality is that something completely illogical can happen at any
moment.
When the fiery demon
started approaching Ambarisa Maharaja in order to kill him, Ambarisa
Maharaja did not appeal to the Lord for protection. He merely
continued thinking of the Lord as usual.
It
is difficult to be surrendered to the Lord at every moment until one
has developed one’s love for Him.
Madhava
Prabhu (from Alachua):
We are giving up bad
habits and developing new ones, so sometimes we act in a bad way and
sometimes in a good way. Krishna does not take that too seriously if
we are engaged in His service in devotion.
Srila Prabhupada
describes what he means by an accidental falldown. If you were a
smoker, and you accidentally associate with other smokers and you
light up a cigarette, and later you feel bad, thinking “what have I
done?” then it is forgiven. But if you think now I am a devotee, I
can smoke like anything and it will all be forgiven, that is
cheating.
comment by
Tulasirani dd: Mother Laksmimoni would explain that if a sinful act
is premeditated then it is not an accident.
Tulasirani
dd:
There
are austerities in devotional service like chanting, which are
joyful, and others, like getting up for mangala-arati,
where you have to grit your teeth. If you just do the austerities
where you have to grit your teeth and not the joyful ones, then you
will lose your taste for devotional service, so there has to be a
balance.
It
is not possible to absorb your mind for eternity in a stagnant
object, but Krishna’s qualities are always increasing and
captivating the mind more and more.
They
do not have cell phones in the spiritual world. Krishna plays
different tunes on his flute to call different groups of friends.
The
gopis
were
envious of Krishna’s flute, for the flute constantly had Krishna’s
association while they only did sometimes.
We want to become an
instrument like a flute that Krishna can play and attract people back
to the spiritual world.
Govardhana Hill
adjusts the temperature of the rocks on its slopes to facilitate the
pastimes of Krishna according to the season.
When you are humble
it changes people’s hearts.
Vaishnava
das Prabhu:
I see in the five
years I have practiced I have improved. The mind is less of a
disturbance.
Sometimes we try to
act better just to look good to others, but that is not actually
required, for in reality, just by engaging in devotional service we
will attain all good qualities.
In
Chapter Twelve of Bhagavad-gita
many
good qualities of a great devotee, such as tolerance in the face of
dualities are described, and in the Srimad-Bhagavatam,
there
are examples like Maharaja Pariksit and Maharaja Ambarisa, who were
not disturbed by extreme difficulty.
Gopala
Prabhu:
Krishna wanted to
show that worship of Indra is not necessary but that worship should
be directed to Krishna or Vishnu. Thus he advised his father not to
perform sacrifice for Indra but instead to worship Govardhana Hill
which sustained them. As Krishna is not different from Govardhana
Hill, he was actually engaging them in Vishnu worship.
Although Krishna
killed the many demons who would daily come and harass His associates
in Vrindavana, He merely humiliated Indra, who inundated Vrindavana
with torrential rain, by lifting Govardhana Hill, because Indra was a
devotee at heart.
There are three ways
material desires are “fulfilled”:
- You do not get it.
- It is not what you thought it would be.
- It is what you wanted, or even better, but it does not last.
Dr.
Dina Bandhu Prabhu:
If
we are not fixed on the Supreme, our minds will pursue sense
enjoyment.
On
the spiritual path, we must be moving forward, otherwise we will end
up moving backward.
If
we cultivate a relationship with Krishna through yoga, our
relationships with other people will automatically improve.
Srila
Prabhupada says that if we take one step to Krishna, He will take ten
steps to us, but we cannot understand how Krishna will take ten steps
toward us until we take that one step toward Him.
It
is not if Krishna will reciprocate but when.
Lindsey:
Regarding my trip to the Alachua temple for the weekend, I found
everything I needed was supplied. I just had to desire to go there.
Amrita
Keli devi dasi: We chanted several hours on New Year's Eve in
Alachua, then slept five hours, and drove to JAX and chanted two or
three hours at the football game, and then we drove to St. Augustine,
and chanted several hours in the afternoon. When I returned to
Jacksonville my body was wiped out, but I was so happy because of all
the chanting which was more than I ever do. I can see Krishna really
reciprocates when we go a little beyond what we think is our limit.
Joseph:
We always think we do not have time for a spiritual practice, but we
find when we make time for a spiritual practice, we still have enough
time to do the other things we need to do.
It
is a phenomenon that the more people who have the same delusion the
more difficult it is to classify it as a delusion. The delusion of
maya
that
we are the body and not the soul is such a widespread delusion.
If you are wearing
handcuffs, you have to approach the person who has put them on you in
order to get free. Our bondage to the material world is like that. We
have to please the Lord to get free.
To understand the
message of Krishna we have to hear it through Arjuna’s ears. In
other words, we have to accept it as Arjuna did.
comment
by Lovelesh: I encountered some web sites discussing popular
translations of Bhagavad-gita
and I found that often Bhagavad-gita
As
It Is is
number one.
If someone claims to
be representing a religious tradition, he should have a good
understanding of the soul, for that is one of the ABCs.
comment by Kimani: I
was looking for a mantra and found the Hare Krishna mantra in a book.
I found it helpful in cleansing my heart and removing obstacles in my
life. It brought me happiness that was not available in my life
before.
Hanan
Prabhu:
The
ability to tolerate provoking situations is the quality of the
greatest.
The
saying “push my buttons” is interesting to me as a non-English
speaker. It seems to imply we are like machines like computers that
can be controlled by pushing buttons.
Karma
is what happens to you, and free will is how you react.
Researchers
says we have 32,000 thoughts going through our minds each day.
Krishna advises how to deal with them: “A
person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires — that
enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is
always still — can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives
to satisfy such desires.”
(Bg. 2.70)
Srila
Prabhupada advises that we should not become angry at the agent of
our karma. One example that illustrates the foolishness of becoming
angry at the agent of karma is this: Suppose the postman comes and
gives you a letter from Bank of America that states you owe the bank
$20,000, and you become angry and take a stick and start beating the
postman.
Kunti
suffered greatly, perhaps more than anyone else in the Bhagavatam,
so
she is qualified to talk about it. After suffering many calamities
caused by Duryodhana, during the Battle of Kurukshetra, she had to
witness one son (Arjuna) killing another son (Karna), which is a
terrible thing for a mother to see.
In the Israel army
they have a person who has lost a son himself inform a family that
their child has died, for such a person can empathize with their
situation.
If we tell Krishna,
“Tomorrow,” in response to his invitation to surrender. He will
say, “Ok. Tomorrow, then.”
------
vande
sri-krishna-caitanya-
nityanandau
sahoditau
gaudodaye
puspavantau
citrau
san-dau tamo-nudau
I offer my
respectful obeisances unto Sri Krishna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda,
who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the
horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus
wonderfully bestow benediction upon all. (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.2)
