The team of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium is touring Cape Town, South Africa for the purpose of achieving support for the completion of the construction work. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna mantra says, “My dear Lord Krishna, my dear Lord Rama, O energy of the Lord, Hare, kindly engage me in your service.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.69 Purport)
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The Chief Minister of Maharashtra in a message sent on 16th September, praised ISKCON for its ’50 years of glorious achievements and service to humanity’.
He praised ISKCON for the dissemination of what he called the ‘glorious Vedic wisdom including the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam’. The Chief Minister also praised ISKCON’s philanthropic activities and youth preaching programmes.
He concluded his statement by saying: “It is commendable that ISKCON is working with a view to spreading divine Vedic knowledge among the youth.I congratulate ISKCON for taking these social welfare activities, and hope that society will hopefully implement these activities in future also.”
Devendra Fadnavis is the 18th and current Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the state whose capital Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh, Fadnavis became the second youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra at 44.
The full text of his message is attached below.
Niranjana Swami: This morning (Wed, 2016-09-14) I received news that one of my early disciples, formerly from Ukraine, Gopana Daksa devi dasi, left this world in Vrndavana at 15:15, yesterday, September 13, 2016. She was a very serious and sincere disciple, who always displayed great determination in her spiritual life since the day I first met her in the early 1990’s. She relocated to Vrndavana many years ago, and for years, every year she would send me the results of her book distribution efforts. She had great faith in the holy name and in distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books.
In April of this year, when I was first informed about Gopana Daksa devi dasi’s declining health, she sent the following message to me through another devotee in Vrndavana:
“When she gets easier, she thinks that she should go on sankirtana, but for her it became difficult to do because it takes a lot of energy and efforts. Therefore Gopana daksha mataji is asking your permission to suspend sankirtana service for the while. Also she asks your blessings for a quick recovery. Please accept her humble obeisances.”
Despite the fact that her hemoglobin count was seriously low, that she had already had several blood transfusions, that she had to spend so much time in the hospital, and that the possibility of having leukemia was lurking in the background while waiting for test results, Gopana Daksha was still asking permission if she could temporarily suspend book distribution. She was that much determined.
For her sincere efforts in devotional service, Krsna blessed her with the opportunity to leave her body in Vrndavana, in full consciousness, calling out Krsna’s name with her final breath. We pray for her smooth journey back home, to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara.
Hare Krsna
During the questions and answers sessions, I read the following quotes from Caitanya Bhagavata. When I was asked for the references, I said I would post them in a blog. For those who are interested, here they are:
Sri Caitanya Bhagavata, Madhya Khanda, Chapter Five
TEXT 140-141
vaisnava-himsara katha se thakuka dure
sahaja jivere ye adhama pida kare
visnu pujiya o ye prajara pida kare
puja o nisphale yaya, ara duhkhe mare
What to speak of being envious of the Vaisnavas, if one causes pain to ordinary living entities he is considered a fallen low-class person. Even after worshiping Lord Visnu, if a person gives trouble to other living entities, his worship becomes fruitless. Such a person suffers unlimited miseries.
If a person is knowingly or unknowingly envious of a Vaisnava who is engaged in the nonduplicitous service of Lord Hari, his degradation is inevitable. Of this there is no doubt. Apart from this, if even persons claiming to be devotees of Visnu are envious of ordinary living entities and give various troubles to them, they are actually far away from devotional service to Visnu and are not fit to be called human beings. Their worship of Visnu becomes the source of misery. Those endowed with an absense of jive-daya, or compassion for other living entities, and yet proudly consider themselves servants of Lord Visnu achieve the threefold miseries rather than the devotional service of the Lord.
Sri Caitanya Bhagavata, Madhya Khanda, Chapter 19
207-Text 208
“Everyone please give your thoughts to Me. Please hear the truth I will now say. Anyone who neglects My servant and then worships Me is very lowly and degraded. Such a person cuts Me into pieces. His worship is like fire burning My body.
Text 209
“My holy name, which is a kalpa-vrksa tree, destroys anyone who once blasphemes My servant.
Text 210
“The living entities who live in the numberless universes are all My servants. Therefore any living entity who harms another living entity will perish.
Text 211
“You are more dear to Me than My own body. Anyone who offends You will not be able to bear the fate that waits for him.
Text 212
“If a sannyasi blasphemes an innocent person, the sannyasi will fall down. All his piety will perish.”
Text 213
Raising His arms, fair Lord Caitanya declared to the entire world, “Renouncing criticism of others, everyone please chant Lord Krsna’s name.
Text 214
“I will personally deliver anyone who does not criticize others and who once chants `Krsna!’ That is the truth. It is the truth.”
Text 215
When Lord Caitanya spoke these words, the devotees responded with “Jaya! Jaya! Jaya!”
It is an odd development of the modern world that being excessively anxious about our children is considered a virtue. We consider ourselves good parents if we make life easy for them, reward them for the smallest achievement, and are anxious for their safety and well being at all times.
There is, however, a hidden message in all of this anxious attention and it’s not good. As a teacher and school principal for 20 years, I saw all kinds of kids and all kinds of parents. For those who had confidence in their child, their child did great. Those who worried, who expressed that worry regularly, who tried to ‘fix’ every challenge the child had – their children had a weak sense of self. The hidden message was clear – “My parents are worried because they think I am not competent, I’m not capable.”
Being a mother is not easy. But it’s not that hard either. It is said that if a child has a self-assured and guiding adult in their life, they will grow up to be self-assured and self-guiding adults. Mothering means being there, but also not being there. It is patience, it is trusting that the child will figure it out, and it is watching from a distance as they do so.
There are many aspects to good mothering, but this one is key. We have to give our children the skills and emotional strength to make it through life by letting them experience and learn through real life. And that means letting them experience their own struggles. If we smother them, if we overly fret and protect, then we extinguish the fire of trust and competence. It’s a fine line, but we need to have the maturity and wisdom to make the call.
This famous poem can also inspire us be the balanced and stable parents our children need us to be:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
– On Children by Kahlil Gibran
Each single verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam tastes like transcendental condensed milk of a Surabhi cow mixed with kesar, simply delicious and a nectar most satisfying to even conditioned souls (although it is meant to be tasted by paramhansas – liberated souls). No wonder that, along with Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam is the specific scripture meant for kali-yuga.
I am sharing another transcendental verse and its nectarean purport by Srila Prabhupada, for the pleasure of devotees, describing causeless mercy of Krishna.
yatha tvam krpaya bhutya
tejasa mahimaujasa
justa isa gunaih sarvais
tato ’si bhagavan prabhuh
O my Lord, because You are endowed with causeless mercy, all opulences, all prowess and all glories, strength and transcendental qualities, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone.
(SB 6.19.5)
This verse, more specifically Srila Prabhupada’s purport, describes how kind is Krishna and how He bestows His causeless mercy on His devotees. Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport (I have taken the liberty to break the purport into short sentences) :
In this verse the words tato ’si bhagavan prabhuh mean “Therefore You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone.”
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all six opulences in full, and moreover He is extremely kind to His devotee. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless wants all the living entities to surrender unto Him so that they may engage in His service. Thus He becomes satisfied.
Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless becomes pleased when His devotee offers Him patrampuspam phalam toyam — a leaf, flower, fruit or water — in devotion.
Sometimes the Lord, as the child of mother Yasoda, requests His devotee for some food, as if He were very hungry. Sometimes He tells His devotee in a dream that His temple and His garden are now very old and that He cannot enjoy them very nicely. Thus He requests the devotee to repair them. Sometimes He is buried in the earth, and as if unable to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him. Sometimes He requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world, although He alone is quite competent to perform this task.
Even though the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient,He depends on His devotees.
Therefore the relationship of the Lord with His devotees is extremely confidential. Only the devotee can perceive how the Lord, although full in Himself, depends on His devotee for some particular work. This is explained in Bhagavad-gita (11.33), where the Lord tells Arjuna, nimitta-matrambhava savyasacin: “O Arjuna, merely be an instrument in the fight.” Lord Krishna had the competence to win the Battle of Kuruksetra, but nonetheless He induced His devotee Arjuna to fight and become the cause of victory.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was quite competent enough to spread His name and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon His devotee to do this work.
Considering all these points, the most important aspect of the Supreme Lord’s self-sufficiency is that He depends on His devotees. This is called His causeless mercy.
The devotee who has perceived this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can understand the master and the servant.
I strongly suggest that we go back to the beginning of the purport and slowly and carefully read it again, chewing it slowly this time, relishing the sweet nectar.
Could we see any practical application while reading the purport? Here is some food for thought
-
Do I feel and behave like a master in my day to day dealings or do I take, and feel, shelter of Krishna in every step?
-
When I daily offer bhoga to Krishna then do I make each offering to please Him? (or is to please my own senses?)
-
Am I surrendered to Krishna (or my spiritual master) and properly engaged in His service. Do I even desire to surrender to Krishna? Can I take some steps to progress in that direction. Rather than endlessly waiting for some future ‘favourable’ circumstances can I make a small beginning today?
-
Can the Lord depend upon me for any task? Have I purified my consciousness by endeavoring to daily chant offenselessly and by being sincere & serious in my sadhna bhakti.
-
Do I have even have a desire to become His (or His instrument’s) instrument. If Yes, then do I share my desire with Krishna by daily praying to Him for the same?
-
Which special devotee Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sent : Srila Prabhupada! (phew! this was easy)
-
Do I feel causeless mercy of Lord, and His devotees, on me or am I busy speculating being a victim of family, job, circumstances,……
-
Do I understand, and hence relish & taste, the sweet relationship between Krishna and His devotees or do I read such pastimes merely as stories from which I try to take ‘moral of the story’?
-
And, last but not the least, am I reading, and tasting, and relishing, Bhagavatam daily ? How much time does it take to read one verse, and its purport, daily? Do I get the time to read newspaper (or browse internet) daily?
But I am a conditioned soul?
Srimad-Bhagavatam is so carefully presented that a sincere and serious person can at once enjoy the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge simply by drinking the nectarean juice through the mouth of Sukadeva Gosvami or his bona fide representative.
(SB 1.1.3p)
All glories to the causeless mercy of Krishna.
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Mahavrata Devi Dasi: Maharaja spoke on the need for Nigerians to shun any forms of violence and take to Krishna consciousness. He advised Nigerians to stop the killing of animals so that they can remain peaceful.
This is our new bronze pot :-) It’s weight is 1090 kg and capacity is 1350 liters…price..almost 8 lakhs..
brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151)
Life after life, we are travelling through this material universe. Sometimes we reside in higher planetary systems and sometimes we reside here, in the middle planetary systems. Krsna is said to be neutral. This is very interesting because elsewhere in the Gita it says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram hetunanena kaunteya jagad viparivartate (Bhagavad-gita 9.10), that everything in this universe is going on under Krsna’s control. This is a fact because we are dealing with the energies of Krsna but Krsna is also neutral. Why is it so? Because all Krsna’s desires are directed to spirit and not to matter. Therefore, Krsna’s desires are aimed at the spiritual world, are aimed at the living beings who are also spirit. Krsna has no desire for this material world. In fact, the material world was the desire of the living being who wanted to be independent from Krsna then Krsna provided.
Srinivasa Acarya describes kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī (Prayers to the Six Goswamis). He says that the six goswamis are always engaged in Krsna utkirtan, not just Krsna kirtan. Krsna utkirtan means loud kirtan, loudly chanting the holy names of the Lord, loudly glorifying the Lord. Krsna utkirtan and gāna-nartana-parau, they are chanting and nartana, they are dancing also.Premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī, they are fully absorbed in the ocean of transcendental love. So this ocean of transcendental love exists between Krsna and his devotees. It exists between Krsna and the devotees in the spiritual world and it also exists between Krsna and the devotees in the material world. Loving exchange – as the devotee makes offerings to Krsna, Krsna also makes offerings to the devotee.
But offerings to Krsna cannot be cheap. One should not have a business mentality. In India, in Vrindavan, there are money changers. At the money changers, for one rupee, you can get a hundred one paisacoins. Now, in India, for a long time, one paisa coins are no longer in circulation. They do not use them anymore, no shop will take a one paisa coins but the money changers have all the one paisa coins. People buy one paisa coins and put them in donation boxes or they put them on the altar. Temples have all the one paisa coins and the only thing the temples can do is sell them to the money changers. What can I say!? So we had kilos and kilos and kilos of one paisa coins in Vrindavan. Anyway, it is going on and we pray, ‘Jaya jagadisha hare, ham ko ek lakh chaahe,’ for this one paisa, we want hundred thousand, one lakh of rupees! So that is business.
Krsna acts neutral in the material world. Krsna is not really neutral. In another sense, he not neutral at all. Krsna has a very strong desire that every living being returns to the spiritual world and that every living being returns to the eternal pastimes. BUT as long as the living beings remain preoccupied with their material activities, Krsna remains neutral. He is witnessing – anumanta. He is overseeing – upadrasta. Yes, some enjoyment will come and some frustration will come. He knows, he is tri-kala-jnana, he knows past, present and future. He knows there is more to come. He knows you already went through so much. But is it enough? Is it enough to come to the point where you say, “Krsna, I am yours”? Prahlad was young but he said, “Krsna, I am yours.” Bhismadev was old and Bhismadev said, “Krsna, I am yours.” But in all cases, Krsna did not immediately give up that neutrality which he reserves for the conditioned souls. Oh, no. He wanted to see genuine offerings, genuine devotion first.
Narada was only five years old when his mother died of a snake bite. Somehow or other, he had served some great guests at home – great saintly personalities, Bhaktivedantas, great devotees who were fully knowledgeable of the Vedic conclusions. With the permission of these sages, he had taken their remnants. Then the sages had given him instructions; they had told him how to meditate actually. After the sages left, Narada remained alone with his mother. Then early one morning, as his mother went out to milk the cow, she got bitten by a snake and died. Although the boy was shocked and obviously affected by the death of his mother because of the transcendental instruction of the sages, he remembered, “The Supreme Lord is my shelter.”
Therefore, he went to the forest and sat down under a tree and meditated on the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord at first did not respond. Narada was meditating and meditating and meditating but there was no sign from the Lord. Did the Lord even exist? Was he really there? How could he know that it was not all imagination? All that meditation and yet no sign.
Then, suddenly, the boy saw the Lord very clear in the eye of the mind. It was so clear as if he was really there. Next moment, he opened his eyes and he saw that the Lord was there. Then the Lord disappeared. That was too much for a five-year-old, “How can you disappear? I have done all this and now you were here and now you are disappearing.” He became angry. So then the Lord returned and the Lord said, “You have meditated but you are not yet completely qualified, not yet completely pure. Therefore, in this life, you will not see me anymore but if you continue your practices, then at the end of your life, then you will again see me and you will attain a spiritual body…” So in this way, the Lord returned to neutrality. Again, even with his devotee, he was maintaining this neutrality which he normally reserves for the materialist. Why so? To test us… Are we really serious? We are chanting but we you really want it? Or is it just rock n roll? Are we ready to give our life? Onepaisa is not enough. Krsna is not that cheap!
Verse 4.20: Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independent, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings.
As someone who spent numerous years studying Science, the scientific method is ingrained in my head. You start off with an objective, follow it up with a hypothesis, design the tests and run the experiment, collect and analyze your observations and draw a conclusion.
You can imagine my surprise when I realized that the process of bhakti yoga is actually very scientific! Specifically, the teachings of the Gita. What may throw readers off, as I personally discovered, is the fact that sometimes the expected results are given before the objective is presented in said text. It's important to remember at such times, that this is due to the fact that Arjuna was already following the path of bhakti and that's why Krsna didn't need to get into all the details.
It's kind of like coming into a conversation when you haven't heard the beginning. You can get an idea and start to surmise what the gist of it is, but if you don't have someone walk you through the background, you'll never get the full picture. For anyone who has read the Gita on their own and tried to make sense of it, perhaps you are nodding your head in agreement.
Again, this only serves to reiterate the need for a teacher who has themselves been taught the Gita and is practically applying it in their own lives. In fact, as we will hear shortly, the need to evaluate a genuine bhakti teacher is done by observing their behavior and noting the results.
Here the conclusion obtained from performing the bhakti experiment of "working without being attached to the results" is given: one feels ever satisfied and independent. Independent from what? From the rolling waves of happiness and distress. One instead feels peaceful and calm.
Now for anyone who has worked in or run labs, you'll remember that you need to perform the experiment a minimum of three times and get the same result three times for it to be valid. From personal experience, I'll tell you - it's very rare to get the same result three times in a row! That's because the procedure needs to be followed exactly and the conditions have to be replicated perfectly. The same holds true for the bhakti experiment of working without attachment to the results.
If one doesn't follow the methods and conditions outlined in the Gita, then it is only natural that the result will not be the same. Practically this translates to: don't give up! If the experiment doesn't work for you, it could mean that something is off. Don't blame the method (as any lab researcher/scientist will tell you!), but go back and analyze what you did.
The outcomes from this bhakti experiment vary depending on what you put into it. So if you sincerely want to get the results outlined in the Gita, such as those of peace, satisfaction and happiness, you have to follow the method given accurately. Good luck and feel free to share what you come out with in the comments below!
Source:http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2013/09/the-bhakti-experiment.html
Of late, there are some devotees I know, who are having difficulties in life; health issues, impoverishment, depression, etc. Sometimes I am asked for advice or support. I generally don’t like to give advice, as I consider myself fallen by nature. But thinking along these lines of ‘advice and support’ I did a search in Srila Prabhupada’s books to see how a devotee of the Lord deals with suffering. I have posted a couple of nice verses that deal with the Lords Mercy.
The mountains, although being struck by torrents of rain during the rainy season, are not shaken, just as those whose hearts are dedicated to the transcendental Personality of Godhead are never disturbed, even when harassed by great misfortune. (Light of the Bhagavata 12)
Because a person who is spiritually advanced accepts any adverse condition of life as the mercy of the Lord, he is completely eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom. Even though a person takes to the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, he may sometimes become diseased, impoverished, or disappointed by life’s events. A true devotee of the Lord always considers these sufferings to be due to past sinful activities, and thus without becoming disturbed he patiently awaits the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Such devotees are compared to high mountains, which are never agitated in any way, even when struck by powerful torrents of rain in the rainy season. Rather, such devotees remain humble in spiritual enlightenment. Free from pride and envy, they easily gain the mercy of the Lord and go back home, back to Godhead.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Canto One, Chapter 5, Text 19
na vai jano jātu kathañcanāvrajen
mukunda-sevy anyavad aṅga saṁsṛtim
smaran mukundāṅghry-upagūhanaṁ punar
vihātum icchen na rasa-graho janaḥ
na—never; vai—certainly; janaḥ—a person; jātu—at any time; kathañcana—somehow or other; āvrajet—does not undergo; mukunda-sevī—the devotee of the Lord; anyavat—like others; aṅga—O my dear; saṁsṛtim—material existence; smaran—remembering; mukunda-aṅghri—the lotus feet of the Lord; upagūhanam—embracing; punaḥ—again; vihātum—willing to give up; icchet—desire; na—never; rasa-grahaḥ—one who has relished the mellow; janaḥ—person.
TRANSLATION
My dear Vyāsa, even though a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes falls down somehow or other, he certainly does not undergo material existence like others [fruitive workers, etc.] because a person who has once relished the taste of the lotus feet of the Lord can do nothing but remember that ecstasy again and again.
PURPORT
A devotee of the Lord automatically becomes uninterested in the enchantment of material existence because he is rasa-graha, or one who has tasted the sweetness of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. There are certainly many instances where devotees of the Lord have fallen down due to uncongenial association, just like fruitive workers, who are always prone to degradation. But even though he falls down, a devotee is never to be considered the same as a fallen karmī. A karmī suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself. The sufferings of an orphan and the sufferings of a beloved child of a king are not one and the same. An orphan is really poor because he has no one to take care of him, but a beloved son of a rich man, although he appears to be on the same level as the orphan, is always under the vigilance of his capable father. A devotee of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes imitates the fruitive workers. The fruitive workers want to lord it over the material world. Similarly, a neophyte devotee foolishly thinks of accumulating some material power in exchange for devotional service. Such foolish devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action, the bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and so he comes to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set right to execute his devotional service.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that such fallen devotees are given a chance to take birth in a family of highly qualified brāhmaṇas or in a rich mercantile family. A devotee in such a position is not as fortunate as one who is chastised by the Lord and put into a position seemingly of helplessness. The devotee who becomes helpless by the will of the Lord is more fortunate than those who are born in good families. The fallen devotees born in a good family may forget the lotus feet of the Lord because they are less fortunate, but the devotee who is put into a forlorn condition is more fortunate because he swiftly returns to the lotus feet of the Lord, thinking himself helpless all around.
Pure devotional service is so spiritually relishable that a devotee becomes automatically uninterested in material enjoyment. That is the sign of perfection in progressive devotional service. A pure devotee continuously remembers the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and does not forget Him even for a moment, not even in exchange for all the opulence of the three worlds.
Source:https://theharekrishnamovement.org/2016/09/25/the-lords-mercy/
Verse 4.21: Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions, and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions.
Although we have so much in terms of technology, facilities and entertainment, dissatisfaction is running rampant in the world today. Conversations seem to be peppered with the phrase "Life is really complicated these days," and are frequently accompanied with a long suffering sigh!
How did we make our lives so complicated and what can we do to make it more simple?
It's a question that so many people ask these days and today we find the answer in the Gita. Our lives become complicated....
When we try to claim proprietorship over something, someone or someplace
The moment we do so, we immediately inherit complications.
In simple words, proprietorship means claiming something is "Mine". As was explained in the 'Attachment Trap', as soon as we identify ourselves with something (i.e. become attached to it) it can pave the way to lust, anger, delusion etc... if we don't approach it with the right attitude.
There's the potential for things to get complicated....fast!
So what can we do to make things more simple?
When we let go of any sense of proprietorship, recognizing that everything is the energy of the Divine and is on loan to us from Him, a huge burden is removed from our shoulders. Instead of seeing people and things as possessions to own and control for our own pleasure, we start to see everything as they really are - people and things that are worthy of our respect. Instead of trying to gain happiness from them, our mindset changes to how we can give happiness to the one who has given us all these treasures.
Gratitude starts to awaken within our hearts. Things that we may have perceived as obstacles transform into gifts and lessons and our lives become peaceful and happy.
That's what a life less complicated is really about. It's about living a life where our hearts are filled with gratitude and lightness. The only thing we need to do is: appreciate more and think about ourselves less.
Source:http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2013/09/a-life-less-complicated.html
Srimati Radharani, the eternal divine consort of Sri Krishna, is known as the Queen of Vrindavan. Vrindavan is where Krishna loves to be, because of Her love – and the love of all those who live there.
Vrindavan is at the center of the lotus of the spiritual world – no place is sweeter or more beautiful because it is saturated in the purest, most intimate love for Krishna. It is there that every word is a song, and every step is a dance. And the flute is Krishna’s constant companion.
As we approach Radhastami (details here) we can relish Vrindavan and Radharani’s love for Krishna and be inspired to seek shelter and inspiration there. It is asked – As Krishna plays the flute to call Radharani, why is He still playing His flute on the altar if Radha is standing beside Him. Who is He calling? It is answered that He plays the flute to call all of us.
Don’t go down to the banks of the Yamuna
and hear Krishna’s flute
for your life will never be the same
The bamboo flute causes rivers to flow backwards,
stones to melt, and animals to stand still,
Some tunes call the cows home and others,
especially the fifth note, pulls the hearts of the gopis
to the dark forest, to meet their Lord
and they dance and dance until the sun comes up
and then curse the sun and run home
brimming with love and happiness
The flute calls all of us
If we listen, if we allow ourselves to hear
It is softer than breath, and quieter than a heartbeat
It is hidden deep within the sacred names of Krishna,
Just try to hear yourself chant sincerely, Prabhupada said
Trust the mantra to lead us to the right place
To bring us to life – in love, in service, in essence
In relationship with Krishna.
Verse 4.22: He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady in both success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions.
One's desires and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps
For regular readers, you might recognize this phrase. It's one of my favorites and one that I quote often.
Today though, I viewed this phrase in a whole new light which caught me off guard. Ever feel like you've gotten all you can out of something? That you just can't learn anymore? Well...I definitely used to think that about the above mentioned phrase. So you can imagine my surprise when a new insight suddenly came to me.
I always used to think that "the company one keeps" referred to individuals. Reflecting upon the fact that lately I've been experiencing the words of the Gita come to life, suddenly a whole new context to the words "company" unveiled itself:
"The company one keeps is not only limited to the people we associate with; it also includes the books we read and the environments we expose ourselves to."
That's how subtle the soul is. When we are constantly exposed to something, we naturally become affected by it. Reading and writing about working without attachment has become such a constant fixture in my life, that I can't help but think about it more frequently!
I invite all of you to perform an experiment. Make the time for the next five days to absorb yourself in reading about one topic that uplifts you. Perhaps it can be on a quality that you hope to develop or a habit you would like to form. Spend ten minutes reading about it and at the end of the five days, take note of how often you think about it. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that you've already made some positive progress.
Source:http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2013/09/the-company-one-keeps.html
The Sacred Texts tell us that without receiving mercy from the Spiritual Master and from the Supreme God it's impossible to overcome for good the egoistic attachment toward mundane things. In order to succeed, not only we need to have received divine benevolence, we must have kept it too.
In which way we can receive mercy? Firstly by seeking it ardently, and behaving consequently, by dedicating ourselves with diligence and faith to spiritual practices and so awaken Love and Awareness.
And in which way we can keep it? By offering it to others. Then and only then, through constant and coherent efforts toward achieving Bhakti in our lifespan, we will be increasingly able to discriminate reality from illusion, the essence from appearance, the eternal from ephemeral.
Mice see the cheese but not the trap. In the same way conditioned souls see the promises of pleasure in this world's things, but hardly can understand that this pleasure hides a trap. A mortal trap.
How to be detached from the world and its overwhelming beauties? How can we resist when we see something appealing, pleasing, good smelling and shining? We should think about it in connection to God. It is difficult to deny this world; the more we deny it the more we are attracted to it, risking to become hypocrites who refuse the world's attractions outwardly while inwardly craving them (Bhagavad-gita III.6). Therefore we should not refuse this material world's beautiful things, but to use them to serve God with Love, correlating them to our spiritual origin, and living them in the vision of eternity. Accordingly, in any circumstance of our life we can connect to the Lord and to our deepest spirituality. Even bitter experiences, the biting words we received, the mistakes we made, at the end can turn into gifts, only if we can learn from the lessons they offer us. Gratitude and appreciation can permeate everybody and everything appear in this world, because we make use of every experience to get closer to God.
This gratitude can be felt and can be expressed both when we receive "good things", and when we get "bad things", being conscious that the light of the day cannot be appreciated without the night's darkness.
As you would expect, it is necessary that we learn how to discriminate between vice and virtue, between good and evil, so we can choose once far all righteousness and be firm in sattva-guna, but also we must be aware that Reality is beyond. It is that pure spiritual dimension in which mundane good and evil are transcended, and they merge in the "sommum bonum": the supreme goodness beyond duality. And supreme goodness is unconditioned pure Love that change and purify everything. Such dimension can be reached when any desire we have becomes an offering to the Lord and all our perceptions are dedicated to His service.
By living in this perspective we will find treasures around each corner, hidden in any occurrence of our life. And we will walk toward death full of gratitude because we understood that by practicing Bhakti even death leads us to life.
Source:http://matsyavatara.blogspot.in/2013/09/school-of-life-how-to-learn-from-good.html
The following is an excerpt from a lecture given by Srila Prabhupada in London in 1969:
So our today prayer to Rādhārāṇī…We pray to Rādhārāṇī because She is the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means “all-attractive.” But Rādhārāṇī is so great that She attracts Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, and She is attracts Kṛṣṇa. So what is the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī? We should try to understand this today and offer our obeisances to Rādhārāṇī – Rādhe vṛndāvaneśvarī.
tapta-kāñcana-gauraṅgī rādhe vṛndāvaneśvarī vṛṣabhānu-sute devī pranamāmi hari-priye
Our business is “Rādhārāṇī, You are so dear to Kṛṣṇa. So we offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”
Rādhārāṇī is Hari-priyā, very dear to Kṛṣṇa. So if we approach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī, through the mercy of Rādhārāṇī, then it becomes very easy. If Rādhārāṇī recommends that “This devotee is very nice,” then Kṛṣṇa immediately accepts, however fool I may be. Because it is recommended by Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa accepts. Therefore in Vṛndāvana you’ll find all the devotees, they’re chanting more Rādhārāṇī’s name than Kṛṣṇa’s. Wherever you’ll go, you’ll find the devotees are addressing, “Jaya Rādhe.” You’ll find still in Vṛndāvana. They are glorifying Rādhārāṇī. They’re more interested, worshiping Rādhārāṇī. Because however fallen I may be, if some way or other I can please Rādhārāṇī, then it is very easy for me to understand Kṛṣṇa.
Otherwise, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁkaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ (Bg. 7.3). If you go by the speculative process to understand Kṛṣṇa, it will take many, many lives. But if you take devotional service, just try to please Rādhārāṇī, and Kṛṣṇa will be gotten very easily. Because Rādhārāṇī can deliver Kṛṣṇa. She is so great a devotee, the emblem of mahā-bhāgavata. Even Kṛṣṇa cannot understand what is Rādhārāṇī’s quality. Even Kṛṣṇa, although He says vedāhaṁ samatītāni, “I know everything,” still, He fails to understand Rādhārāṇī. Rādhārāṇī is so great.
Verse 4.24: A person who is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.
When reading this verse today, my attention was captured by the word "offer".
In one sense, the whole world revolves around offerings. Whether working or in school, we are constantly "putting forth something for consideration or acceptance". When we are applying for a job, we are offering our services and intelligence to work. When we enter into and maintain relationships, we offer our heart and emotions.
In fact, one could say that every minute of every day is filled with offerings.
After all, it is one of the main functions of the mind. The mind is constantly putting forth ideas and thoughts as to how we can increase our happiness and minimize distress.
But the mind's offerings are often limited. Unless exposed to the culture of gratitude and selflessness, it can be difficult to comprehend the concept of "offering one's life in service." And that, ultimately, is what yoga is all about.
For some, including myself, contemplation of this "career path" can bring up a lot of insecurities and revelations as to where we place our faith and trust. Offering one's life in service, from the yoga perspective, is not just dedicating oneself to a job. It's about utilizing this life to realize who we really are and why we are here. That is - realizing that we are spiritual beings having a material experience.
It requires deep introspection and a willingness to confront our frailties. It takes courage, proper guidance and support to realize that we are not in this world just to enjoy it but to learn from it. By being able to see the lessons that are ever present in all opportunities and experiences that we undergo, we start to learn that there is more to life than just satisfying the senses. It is then that the desire to go deeper burns stronger and we in turn can really start tuning into who we really are through the wisdom of great texts such as the Bhagavad gita. That knowledge, when realized, allows us to become empowered instruments to help others and affect positive change in this world.
But that first step requires a leap of faith to dig deep. Are you ready?
Dear devotees, please accept my obeisances;
All glories to Shrila Prabhupada and Shri Shri Radha Govinda Deva.
Jaya Shri Shri Nityananda Gauranga!
Jaya Shri Jagannath, Shri Baladeva, Subhadra Maharani Shrimati!
I hope to find you in good health and spiritually inspired.
Some days ago my dear disciple - Omkrishna Mataji - left the body and this mortal world and headed for the supreme eternal abode of Shri Krishna.
The two sons, daughters in law and grandchildren attended to her all the time in high spiritual consciousness, lovingly and with devotion.
Besides being herself a sincere devotee, Omkrishna Mataji had the great blessing in this life to live in a family of special devotees, all of them very dear to me.
One of her sons was next to her at the very moment she passed away, and has accompanied and sustained her by chanting uninterruptedly the Holy Names.
My most fervent prayers go to this disciple so dear to me, who was always cheerful, playful and joyful, who was so moved every time we met, and I’m also asking you to pray for her too.
I pray she can soon play happily in the company of Lord Krishna and His eternal companions and friends.
With deep emotion,
Matsyavatara dasa
Source:http://matsyavatara.blogspot.in/2013/10/the-great-departure.html
We are not free to live life just as we want to: prakrteh kriyamanani, gunaih karmani sarvasah, the bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities which are in actuality carried out by nature, Bhagavad-gita 3.27.
Rather, there is a script and this script is going along even though we have so many desires. In the middle of all that, “I want this, I want that. I want to be here, I want to be there. I want to do all these things.” But ultimately, the script will determine what we are allowed to do and what we are not allowed to do, where success will be and where failure will be. With time, we begin to realize more and more that things are not in our control because with time, we see in so many situations that we wanted things and it did not happen. We are controlled by the material energy, simply by circumstances.
Sometimes, we are successful and we are surprised. It was something very difficult and it worked; everyone says, “Wow, you did that very expertly.”
But actually the truth is, it just happened, somehow or other, it just happened and was successful. Other times, you work so hard, you know you worked so hard and it was just not successful, “It is just not logical. I’ve done it a hundred times and it worked a hundred times. Now it’s just not working; why not?”So like this, we are in the material world, depending on the arrangement of Krsna and who is providing things to us through the material energy.
Spiritual life is different. In spiritual life, you can be sure. In material life, you are never sure. You never know, you cannot be sure about anything in material life but in spiritual life you can be sure, actually. The result is guaranteed; it is certain.
When you engage in devotional service, success will be there, etavaj janma-saphalyam (CC Adi 9.24), if you want to make this life successful, dehinam iha dehishu (CC Adi 9.24), while we are now in this body, then use it in the service of Krsna. Then surely, it will be successful. This is the injunction of scripture.
Of course the dying always make us stop
those dying and those left behind
stuck in a time frozen into itself
as the everyday world disappears
and we are at once pushed into the present
and all that facing an ebbing life brings.
Life totters like a drop of water on a lotus flower
sparkling in it’s beauty while present
and then gone, in an instant
gone forever in that form it took
but not gone completely
the soul begins a new journey and we ask
where do we come from and
where do we go?
destiny is not arbitrary; we have a part to play
where we are now and what we do
makes the path ahead
who does not want to be free
from the chains of destiny that bind us
as this young man, a freedom lover,
is now bound to the hospital bed with tubes
and life keeping machines.
It’s a stark world we live in, merciless in it’s karmic clock
and we idle away the time thinking it will never happen to us
we are fools that live half lives
we need to wake up and sing another song
we need to let the caged bird fly
to know thyself in the quiet moments of lost love
and seek shelter within
we need to speak to the Lord in heart
and listen
for the wise are awake to the movements of the soul
and life is not lived until death has been around.
