Does liberation mean your ideal self in your (Atma) relation with Supreme Lord, as to what you would be doing if you were not imprisoned by the material energy?Every one of the jivatmas have a unique and special relationship with the Lord. If someone is in that exact service to the Lord even though imprisoned in the human body, is that person already liberated?
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Hare Krishna Shravan Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
i am sure that You know everything better than me.
anyways, why we wait and not go to Sankirtanas?
we have to understand that there are different types of services. For example, Krishna told to Arjuna to fight not to go to the forest. He told that Your fight is the same with the yagya of a brahmana. Your Gandiva is butter...You Yourself is a brahmana which performs that yagya.
Lord Gouranga told to one brahmana not to leave home and family but stay as he is and chant the Holy Names of Krishna.
You are fortunate that You have such like service.
But in the eyes of Krishna even cleaning a Temple is equal to worshiping Deities. Here the type of consciousness. Simple housewife may be more elevated than a naishtika brahmachari just by being fully engaged in her household duties and always chanting the Holy Names.
As like Vishnu Priya Mata. Her duty was to chant one round and take one grain of rice, 2nd round 2nd rice. In this way in the end of the day cooked and offered to Her Deity Prarana Prabhu and Her heart was full for love.
Also one Devotee goes out to distribute books, or Sankirtana other has to stay at the Temple and to cook for those Devotees. In this way everyone does the service to which one is capable.
Your servant,
Hare Krishna Sravan Prabhu,
It is surely that being even here one can be in Vrindavan. Because of that the Society which Srila Prabhupada built up is called "Krishna Consciousness". For a pure Devotee who has love to Krishna, who is in bliss remembering His Holy Names no matter where he is. Whether in hell or anywhere he feels bliss chanting the Names.
And it is Vrindavan Consciousness. Vrindavan Consciousness means that You always remember Krishna and never forget Him.
Our goal and the machine for achieving that goal is the same thing the Holy Names. We chant the Holy Names in order to chant more in the future also. But for a yogi or gyani the goal and the machines are different. Yogi performs austerities and after some times leaves them. But the process of Bhakti is so pleasing that we do it forever.
There are nearly 5-6 stages of Bhakti which we can find in Shikshashtaka.
In the beginning a new Devotee has shradha some faith and in that stage he can feel the sweetness of this practice.
Then comes the understanding of durdaivam idrisham ihajami nanuragah that how unfortunate i am that i do not feel any taste to the Holy Names.
Then he learns in which mood he should to chant:
trinad api sunichena...humble than a blade of grass, tolerant than a tree, respect everyone not wait for respect to own self. in this mood we can chant the Holy Names purely.
then Devotee starts to feel real taste of the Holy Names and he starts to loose his desires for this material world. it is the stage of strong faith - nishtha.
then real bhava then only real love for Krishna.
Sadhaka some times may feel taste for Holy Names but sometimes may not feel. even thou he should continue his practice. but a person who achieved real love for Krishna always feels bliss. Always.
Your servant,
Am I to understand that following the first instruction, Sankirtana (which leads to other elevated stages of Bhakti), we are immediately transported to Goloka Vrnkdavan?
If so why are many devotees waiting to leave this body to be transported, hopefully to Goloka Vrnidavan?, when they can simply go out and join the nagar Sankirtan party?
Hare Krishna Shravan Prabhu, please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
In Bhagavad Gita Krishna explains the qualities of a liberated person. That he is equally sees a Brahmana, an elephant, a dog, dog eater... Also that for him there is no difference between enemies and friends, gold and iron, cold and heat, happiness or distress, gain or loss...it means that he sees himself as a soul not this body. And seeing the Paramatma in his heart he is always in bliss.
But liberation is not the highest stage Krishna adds next.
Bhakti!
As an example of liberated persons in the history You may refer to Jada Bharata Maharaja for whom was meaningless his brahmanical birth, his bodily beauty, prestige...
Shukadeva Goswami
Prahlada Maharaja
...
Your servant,
Replies
Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
i am sure that You know everything better than me.
anyways, why we wait and not go to Sankirtanas?
we have to understand that there are different types of services. For example, Krishna told to Arjuna to fight not to go to the forest. He told that Your fight is the same with the yagya of a brahmana. Your Gandiva is butter...You Yourself is a brahmana which performs that yagya.
Lord Gouranga told to one brahmana not to leave home and family but stay as he is and chant the Holy Names of Krishna.
You are fortunate that You have such like service.
But in the eyes of Krishna even cleaning a Temple is equal to worshiping Deities. Here the type of consciousness. Simple housewife may be more elevated than a naishtika brahmachari just by being fully engaged in her household duties and always chanting the Holy Names.
As like Vishnu Priya Mata. Her duty was to chant one round and take one grain of rice, 2nd round 2nd rice. In this way in the end of the day cooked and offered to Her Deity Prarana Prabhu and Her heart was full for love.
Also one Devotee goes out to distribute books, or Sankirtana other has to stay at the Temple and to cook for those Devotees. In this way everyone does the service to which one is capable.
Your servant,
It is surely that being even here one can be in Vrindavan. Because of that the Society which Srila Prabhupada built up is called "Krishna Consciousness". For a pure Devotee who has love to Krishna, who is in bliss remembering His Holy Names no matter where he is. Whether in hell or anywhere he feels bliss chanting the Names.
And it is Vrindavan Consciousness. Vrindavan Consciousness means that You always remember Krishna and never forget Him.
Our goal and the machine for achieving that goal is the same thing the Holy Names. We chant the Holy Names in order to chant more in the future also. But for a yogi or gyani the goal and the machines are different. Yogi performs austerities and after some times leaves them. But the process of Bhakti is so pleasing that we do it forever.
There are nearly 5-6 stages of Bhakti which we can find in Shikshashtaka.
In the beginning a new Devotee has shradha some faith and in that stage he can feel the sweetness of this practice.
Then comes the understanding of durdaivam idrisham ihajami nanuragah that how unfortunate i am that i do not feel any taste to the Holy Names.
Then he learns in which mood he should to chant:
trinad api sunichena...humble than a blade of grass, tolerant than a tree, respect everyone not wait for respect to own self. in this mood we can chant the Holy Names purely.
then Devotee starts to feel real taste of the Holy Names and he starts to loose his desires for this material world. it is the stage of strong faith - nishtha.
then real bhava then only real love for Krishna.
Sadhaka some times may feel taste for Holy Names but sometimes may not feel. even thou he should continue his practice. but a person who achieved real love for Krishna always feels bliss. Always.
Your servant,
Thank you for your answer Bhaktin Maral mataji,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
Am I to understand that following the first instruction, Sankirtana (which leads to other elevated stages of Bhakti), we are immediately transported to Goloka Vrnkdavan?
If so why are many devotees waiting to leave this body to be transported, hopefully to Goloka Vrnidavan?, when they can simply go out and join the nagar Sankirtan party?
Thank you for answering my question, I would like to clarify my question better.
As a devotee I dont care for liberation in the sense of escape from rebirth. I meant back to Godhead.
Can one be back to Godhead even though still on the earth?
When we are performing Harinam / nagar sankirtana, is that not experience of Goloka Vrindavan?
If so, is it not that we are in the human body and back to Godhead at the same time?
In Bhagavad Gita Krishna explains the qualities of a liberated person. That he is equally sees a Brahmana, an elephant, a dog, dog eater... Also that for him there is no difference between enemies and friends, gold and iron, cold and heat, happiness or distress, gain or loss...it means that he sees himself as a soul not this body. And seeing the Paramatma in his heart he is always in bliss.
But liberation is not the highest stage Krishna adds next.
Bhakti!
As an example of liberated persons in the history You may refer to Jada Bharata Maharaja for whom was meaningless his brahmanical birth, his bodily beauty, prestige...
Shukadeva Goswami
Prahlada Maharaja
...
Your servant,