Greetings to all respected Matajis and Prabhujis. I extend my heartfelt regards to everyone who is reading this message. Dear Prabhuji/Mataji, I am reaching out to seek your guidance. I am in search of a fellow devotee who can help me navigate my spiritual journey. Although I feel a lack of devotion in my life, there is something about Krishna that has always intrigued me. I have started seeing things differently, but I feel stuck in moving forward. Nevertheless, I believe that I can open up to you, Mataji/Prabhuji, and share my thoughts and feelings, trusting that you will provide me with the guidance I seek. 😊 However, I prefer to keep our conversations private and not discuss them openly here. .............. I have tried reaching out to some devotees for a chat, but it seems they are busy or not active online. Nonetheless, I am grateful to have found this platform. By the way, I am looking for someone who can respond to my messages and engage with most of my queries. I understand that this platform may not be the best for spiritual growth, limiting my ability to express my true emotions. I also understand that you may not be very active on social media due to your service commitments. But your guidance means a lot to me, and I am willing to wait patiently for your response, no matter how long it takes 😇. If devotion is meant for me, I trust that it will unfold, guiding me on my journey and deepening my understanding of life. I have many questions that I believe only a true guru and devotee like you can help me with, so that I can grow personally and eventually help others too. By the way, my name is Rajat Kumar, but most people call me Goldie. 🙂 I am a 17-year-old student living in Delhi, and I am thinking about how I can contribute to ISKCON and society. As I learn more about spirituality, I hope to give back, lead a devoted life, and make it a part of my daily routine. However, I feel that where I am right now does not fully support this path. 😔 I hope you don't mind me reaching out. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 🙏 Please message me privately. .......... I hope my message doesn't come across as odd, and I apologize if I have made any mistakes in my communication. Haribol!
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Replies
Hare Krsna Goldie Prabhu,
PAMHO.
Welcome to Krsna Consciousness, to ISKCON and to this forum.
Completely agree with Jan Mares prabhu. If you could connect offline with some devotees locally, that would be best. However, that doesnt take away online sanga. You may please contact me - on my inbox. I can then share my number with you.
There are a lot of people who are connected online like this and we all grow together.
These are formative years for you, and if you learn to keep Krsna in the centre of your life, then whatever your endeavour, you will be able to handle both success and failure with a level head.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD
My best advice for you is to get to know local devotees and to choose some you trust as your informal guide. Only a benefactor who knows you well can give you valid answers to confidential matters.
Be polite and service-oriented (sevonmukha) toward Vaisnavas. That's the way to success in life, illustrated in my favorite story from the biography of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura by Bhakti Vikasa Swami. It shows how bhakti-yoga works. One could also call it 'a Zen story of teaching by non-teaching'.
"The vice-chancellor of the Benares Hindu University, a very famous man of his time, named Madan Mohan Malaviya came to the Gaudiya Math and had some intricate, philosophical questions to present to Sarasvati Thakura. Sarasvati Thakura said, "I won't answer you, but you should ask the devotees who are washing the arati paraphernalia."
The scholar then said, "No. I am asking very difficult questions on Vedanta: They won't be able to answer!" However, Sarasvati Thakura insisted that he go and ask those pujaris, who were cleaning the Deity paraphernalia at that particular time.
So, being submissive to the will of Sarasvati Thakura, he went to ask them. When he approached them, they said, "Well now we're busy washing these plates, but please help us, and when we've finished then your question will be solved." Even though he was such a famous, respectable man, he agreed to join in and help do this humble service. After all the brass was cleaned, he returned to Sarasvati Thakura without saying anything more to the pujaris. Sarasvati Thakura then asked him, "Did you get the answer to your questions?" Madan Mohan Malaviya replied, "Yes, even without discussion. When I was helping clean the arati paraphernalia the answers automatically came in my mind."
Sarasvati Thakura then replied, "Yes. The philosophy of Krsna consciousness can be understood by a service attitude, not by any amount of intellectualism. 'Sevonmukhe hi jihvado...' Just by reading books and reciting slokas - that won't help you. Serving God will give us all the answers to the questions in the sastras. My guru, Gaura Kisora Das Babaji, was not literate, not a pandit, but all the slokas and siddhantas came to his mouth, because he was sevonmukha - inclined to serve Krsna."
All the best.
Hari Hari
ys J.
Hare Krishna, Prabhuji.
Thank you so much for sharing this story with me. I am uncertain about what the future holds for me, but I will strive to find my answers within my current environment. I plan to begin contributing to Krishna's service and humanity as soon as possible. I can sense a divine energy around me, and I believe that I will discover all the answers I seek. It feels like I have already found some answers, even though they haven't fully materialized, I can only sense their presence. Thank you very much.
Prabhuji, my humble respects to you.
Haribol.