Hearing His Holiness Niranjana Swami’s wonderful talk, I felt we were being elevated to the spiritual world. He quoted from Visnujana Maharaja. Visnujana had a program in which he went by boat along the Ganges River, in Bengal, and chanted the holy names all day, stopping at villages along the way and chanting and speaking and distributing books about Krsna. Once, when I was in Los Angeles recovering from being sick in India, Srila Prabhupada received an issue of Back to Godhead with an article by Visnujana Swami, and he remarked that Visnujana had such nice realizations because he spent so many hours every day chanting.

While Niranjana Swami was speaking, I thought of an instructive incident that took place in Calcutta. The temple president there became very preoccupied in a business that he had started to raise funds for the temple, and meanwhile the temple had almost no money. Somehow, in the course of his absorption in the business, there was some neglect of the devotees in the temple. They were barely surviving. A strong-bodied devotee named Sudama Vipra, who had belonged to the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang, was so famished that he would take the remnants of the ghee wicks that had been burned in the arati and squeeze out whatever little ghee was left, just to get a little more nutrition.

The devotees were just waiting for Srila Prabhupada to come so they could explain the situation to him and get some help. There were not very many devotees in India then, and Prabhupada allowed them to meet him quite freely. And when he came, devotees did meet with him and speak with him. Eventually Prabhupada called a meeting of all the devotees to give them a chance to express themselves. One by one, they spoke about their difficulties. At one stage Tamal Krishna Goswami, the GBC for India, protested: “Srila Prabhupada, my only intention was to execute Your Divine Grace’s will.” And Prabhupada replied a little sarcastically, “Is it My Divine Grace’s will that the devotees should be disturbed?”

Srila Prabhupada listened very patiently and sympathetically to what all the devotees had to say, and he formed a committee to manage the temple. He said that they should meet every week and discuss all the programs and problems–how to do things in the best way–write their resolutions in a book, sign it, and then follow what they decided together.

But at a certain point Srila Prabhupada’s mood seemed to change. He told the devotees, “As long as we are in the material world, there will always be problems, but if we focus too much on the problems, we will forget our real business, which is to become Krsna conscious. Instead of thinking and talking about Krsna, we will think and talk about problems.” Then Srila Prabhupada spoke about himself, how much he had endured to spread Krsna consciousness. He had suffered two heart attacks at sea on the way to America, and in America he had a buzzing in his ears and terrible headaches. “I do not wish even to tell you how much I suffered. But I never complained. My principle was always, ‘Everything for Krsna, nothing for me,” and because that was my principle–everything for Krsna, nothing for me–I never had any complaint.”

Once, Svarupa Damodara dasa, who later became Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, told Srila Prabhupada, “I have just one program, the Bhaktivedanta Institute, and I am always struggling with so many problems, and you are managing the whole society, the whole mission. How do you deal with all the problems?” And Prabhupada replied, “Problems? I don’t see any problems. I only see service to my spiritual master.” That was Prabhupada’s mood, and that was his vision, and if we maintain the same spirit, we will not be inclined to find fault with other devotees or with external arrangements.

Srila Prabhupada was expert in inspiring and accepting service from devotees and potential devotees–everyone. When he first began at 26 Second Avenue in New York City, there was a bum who heard him speak. Srila Prabhupada said, “It doesn’t matter what a person was doing before, what sinful activities. A person may not be perfect at first, but if he is engaged in service, then he will be purified.” Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta describes:

“Suddenly a Bowery derelict enters, whistling and drunkenly shouting. The audience remains seated, not knowing what to make of it.

“Drunk: How are ya? I’ll be right back. I brought another thing.

“Prabhupada: Don’t disturb. Sit down. We are talking seriously.

“Drunk: I’ll put it up there. In a church? All right. I’ll be right back.

“The man is white-haired, with a short, grizzly beard and frowzy clothing. His odor reeks through the temple. But then he suddenly careens out the door and is gone. Prabhupada chuckles softly and returns immediately to his lecture.

” ‘So it doesn’t matter what a person is doing before, if he engages in Krsna consciousness–chanting Hare Krsna and Bhagavad-gita–it should be concluded that he is a saint. He is a saintly person. Api cet suduracaro. Never mind if he may have some external immoral habit due to his past association. It doesn’t matter. Some way or other, one should become Krsna conscious, and then gradually he will become a saintly person as he goes on executing this process of Krsna consciousness. . . . Krsna says that in such conditions, when one has decided to stop all immoral habits and just take to this process of Krsna consciousness, if by chance he does something which is immoral in the face of society, that should not be taken account of. In the next verse Krsna says, ksipram bhavati dharmatma: because he has dovetailed himself in Krsna consciousness, it is sure that he will be saintly very soon.’

“Suddenly the old derelict returns, announcing his entrance: ‘How are ya?’ He is carrying something. He maneuvers his way through the group, straight to the back of the temple, where Prabhupada is sitting. He opens the toilet room door, puts two rolls of bathroom tissue inside, closes the door, and then turns to the sink, sits some paper towels on top of it, and puts two more rolls of bathroom tissue and some more paper towels under the sink. He then stands and turns around toward the Swami and the audience. The Swami is looking at him and asks, ‘What is this?’ The bum is silent now; he has done his work. Prabhupada begins to laugh, thanking his visitor, who is now moving towards the door: ‘Thank you. Thank you very much.’ The bum exits. ‘Just see,’ Prabhupada now addresses his congregation. ‘It is a natural tendency to give some service. Just see, he is not in order, but he thought that, “Here is something. Let me get some service.” Just see how automatically it comes. This is natural.’ ”

Srila Prabhupada was also expert at utilizing, or dovetailing, different things in devotional service. Another time, someone brought a bunch of Mayavadi leaflets, some papers advertising a Mayavadi program. Srila Prabhupada was very strong against the Mayavada philosophy. He often said, “Anyone who says that he is god, he is dog.” So we were wondering what action Srila Prabhupada would take in protest to these Mayavadi leaflets, but he found a way to engage them in Krsna’s service. At the end of the program, when the devotees were distributing prasada to the guests, he had them hand out the Mayavadi leaflets for the people to use as plates for their prasada, thus engaging even the Mayavadis in Krsna’s service.

An interesting event took place some time later, when Srila Prabhupada was in Mayapur. He had taken prasada, and his servant had taken the plate with his remnants into the next room. Soon thereafter, Srila Prabhupada heard sounds of a conflict coming from the next room, so he asked his servant to find out what was happening. When Srila Prabhupada heard the report, he called for his two assistants, Tamal Krishna Goswami and Harikesa dasa, who had been arguing.

It turned out that several days earlier, Tamal Krishna had asked Prabhupada if he could eat what was left in the pots of prasada that had been prepared for Prabhupada, because he found the rice the devotees ate in Mayapur too coarse to digest. Prabhupada had approved Tamal Krishna’s request, but Harikesa, his cook, had previously been instructed by Srila Prabhupada that Prabhupada’s remnants should not be monopolized by his immediate staff but should be distributed to other devotees. Harikesa objected to Tamal Krishna’s taking possession of all the leftovers–thus the dispute.

As related in Hari-sauri’s Diary, “Prabhupada called them both onto the veranda. After hearing their arguments, he managed to resolve the issue to everyone’s satisfaction. . . . He gave his permission for Tamal Krishna to eat what was left in the pots, but also confirmed his desire that his prasadam be distributed. . . .

“Then he went on to explain that the Vaisnava attitude in dealing with one another is one of humility. He gave the example of the pilgrims that come here to Mayapur. As one man comes along the road, another tries to touch his feet. The former shies away from being so honored because he is thinking, ‘I am not a Vaisnava, I am just an ordinary man. I am simply trying my best to become a Vaisnava.’ On the other hand the person who is touching his feet is thinking that unless he gets the dust of a Vaisnava on his head he will not be able to advance.

” ‘Actually,’ Prabhupada said, ‘this is a fact. One has to be blessed by a devotee to become a devotee. And he who is the servant of the servant of the servant–one hundred times removed–is not worse than one who directly serves the guru. If one thinks, “Because I am direct servant, I am better than others,” then he is not a Vaisnava. To offer one’s respects to guru and not to his disciples, this is wrong. This is not Vaisnava. One has to be humble and try to serve all Vaisnavas–not some and not others.’ ”

A situation arose, I believe in New York, in which there was a lot of judging and criticizing among the devotees, and Srila Prabhupada said that we should be very careful about judging other devotees, because we never know what their actual consciousness is and we may not be able to properly assess their consciousness based on external appearances and behavior. He told a story about a brahmana and a prostitute who lived opposite each other on the same street.

All day the brahmana would sit before his window with his Bhagavad-gita, and across the street the prostitute would be doing her business with her customers. One day a calamity occurred and they both died. The Yamadutas and the Visnudutas came, the former to take the sinful soul to Yamaraja to be judged and punished, the latter to take the purified soul to Vaikuntha, the abode of Lord Visnu. When the Yamadutas came to take the soul of the brahmana, he protested. “No, no. You are making a mistake. You are supposed to be coming for the prostitute. The Visnudutas are supposed to be coming for me.” But the Yamadutas replied, “No, we are not making a mistake. All the time you were sitting with your Bhagavad-gita, you were looking out your window at the prostitute, absorbed in her activities. So by your consciousness you are fit to be taken to hell and punished. And the prostitute, all the time she was with her customers, was glancing out the window at you and thinking, “Oh, that pious brahmana is so fortunate. All day he is absorbed in thoughts of Krsna–‘Krsna is driving Arjuna’s chariot, Krsna is speaking the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna’–and in this way she was constantly absorbed in Krsna’s teachings and activities. By her consciousness she is fit to go back home, back to Godhead.”

Srila Prabhupada told this story to make the point that we should be careful about judging devotees–or anyone. We don’t know what their consciousness is. And if we become absorbed in their faults, real or imagined, our consciousness becomes faulty.

On separate occasions, when asked what the devotees should do about quarrelling in temples, Srila Prabhupada gave different but complementary answers. In one instance he said that if each devotee considers that he is a servant of the servants, there will be no fighting. In another case he said that the way to overcome dissention and dissatisfaction and fractions, to become united, was for the devotees to engage together in common activities. And as devotees, our main common activities are chanting and hearing about Krsna, engaging in kirtana, and taking prasada.

In relation to both accepting service from a person and not causing distress to any living entity, there was an incident in Indore, in the state of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. Srila Prabhupada was invited with some disciples to have lunch at the home of a relative of the royal family. There, we were served lunch in a beautiful room with chandeliers and a carved wood banquet table. Srila Prabhupada sat at the head of the table, and I was to his right. I felt very nervous, because the hosts served a really opulent feast, and I was trying to be very controlled, partly because I was afraid of getting diarrhea (something we were all prone to) and partly because I didn’t want Srila Prabhupada to think that I was a sense enjoyer. The prasada was really good but really rich, drenched in ghee.

I got through the meal, but then the host’s elderly father came around the table with second helpings of rasagullas. All the other devotees took seconds, but I refused. I was a brahmacari, and I was being staunch–and showing Srila Prabhupada. But the gentleman really wanted me to take. He repeatedly tried to give me one more, and each time I staunchly refused. Prabhupada saw that the host’s father was becoming disappointed. Finally Srila Prabhupada glanced at me, and with great love and compassion in his eyes and voice, he said, “You can take a sweet to make an old man happy.” And so I accepted another sweet. Srila Prabhupada wanted the old man to be happy, though later one devotee commented that by taking the sweet I had also made another old man happy–Srila Prabhupada.

It was really instructive to be with Srila Prabhupada and see how he, the world acarya and at the same time a spontaneous devotee, responded in different situations.

How Krsna, or a devotee of Krsna, can magnify the service of an aspiring devotee, can be seen in an incident that took place in Bombay. At the time, Srila Prabhupada was still struggling to get the Juhu land, and one morning he was sitting in his room discussing with his leading managers and even some guests how to solve this problem. Suddenly a very rough-looking man appeared at the door. He had a dark complexion and a muscular, sinewy build and was wearing only a simple white cloth around his waist. He was obviously a laborer. As we looked on, he walked into the room, came right up to Prabhupada’s desk–Prabhupada always sat on a cushion behind a low desk–and placed on the table a bunch of flowers that he had collected from somewhere. Then he bowed down, got up, and walked out.

Srila Prabhupada was so moved that he could not speak. For some moments he just looked down, and when finally he did speak, his voice was choked up. He said, “Just see this man; how did he even know I was here? Somehow he heard that there was a saintly person in the house, and he went and collected some flowers, the best he could, and came and presented them as an offering. I am so much moved.” Then he said, “In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati, that if one offers Him even a leaf or a flower with devotion, He will accept it. Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He is moved even by a simple offering of a flower or a leaf, and I am just an insignificant living entity, so how much more I will feel moved.” So, that is Krsna’s nature, and that is Srila Prabhupada’s nature, to take the smallest service and magnify it.

Srila Prabhupada mentioned different categories of devotees. He said that in the lowest category one will find a slight discrepancy in someone’s behavior and make a big thing out of it, in the next category one will see both the good and the bad but give more emphasis to the bad, and in the next category one will see both the good and the bad give equal consideration to both; the more advanced devotee will see both the good and the bad but give more importance to the good, and the highest devotee will see someone do a little service and make a big thing out of it.

Of course, we cannot artificially imitate someone on a higher platform, but by associating with more advanced devotees, we can learn from them how devotees think and feel, and also see practically how they behave–learn from them how to see the good rather than the defects in others and how to appreciate others’ service and not demand anything for ourselves.

One example that comes to mind is His Holiness Niranjana Swami, but I am really torn, because if I use him as an example, he may feel distress, but at the same time, it will be very informative and purifying for us. Because his mood is always to encourage other devotees, he might be willing to tolerate that discomfort, but at the same time, I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. Anyway, I already have, so I better just finish it up quickly.

I had the opportunity to host Maharaja in California and, with a team of devotees, serve him. Being naturally inspired by his presence, we all really wanted to give him the best we could, but once, it came out that we hadn’t provided him something that he could have used, because we didn’t know that he needed it. Two or three things came up like that, and I asked him, “Maharaja, why didn’t you say anything? Weren’t you disturbed by our lacking?” And he replied, “I don’t feel I deserve anything. That’s why I don’t ask, and that’s why I’m not disturbed.” That is a Vaisnava.

Association. I gain so much from the association of my godbrothers, who are so exemplary in so many ways. We shouldn’t think that we can learn only from our guru. We can learn from any devotee who is exemplary in any way. Part of being a servant of the servants is that you learn from the servants you serve–from their examples, their behavior, even small comments they make. They don’t have give a discourse or a class. You can learn from just a few words or a small action or gesture.

It is very purifying, because we come into the material world out of envy of Krsna, and that envy can be very deep-rooted and ongoing for countless lifetimes, but by serving and appreciating devotees and learning from them, from their exemplary behavior and words, we can become purified of that longstanding envy. Glorifying devotees is extremely purifying. In a way, it is easier to glorify Krsna–or Srila Prabhupada or our personal spiritual master–because He is in a different category, but to glorify our godbrothers and godsisters is very purifying, because we can see ourselves as being in the same category, so in a way it is easier for us to fall into bad ways of thinking–being envious and jealous and competing and wanting what they have and wishing we had it, and so on.

The association of my godbrothers has been extremely nourishing and encouraging and purifying for me ever since Srila Prabhupada’s departure. In an exchange I had with Tamal Krishna Goswami in Dallas, he confided in me that even with all his association with Srila Prabhupada and all three initiations–hari-nama, Gayatri, and sannyasa–he still didn’t feel that his relationship with Srila Prabhupada alone was enough to sustain him in his spiritual life. He said that he also felt the need for siksa-gurus, godbrothers whose instructions he took very seriously. And he named a number whom he considered to be his siksa-gurus–Sivarama Swami, Bhurijana Prabhu, and others. At that time my mood was different, because I had put a lot of faith in some godbrothers who had fallen down and left the association of devotees, and after those incidents I practically vowed, “I am never going to put my faith in anyone again–except Srila Prabhupada.”

So I heard what Tamal Krishna Goswami said, and I took it seriously, but it went against my resolution. The next morning, we went for the morning program, and after mangala-arati Goswami Maharaja and all the devotees chanted japa in the temple. The japa was very intense, and there were many nice paintings of krsna-lila on the walls. I was chanting and chanting, going deeper and deeper, when this thought just overpowered my mind–that what Goswami Maharaja had said was true: we can’t do it on our own. I realized, “I can’t do it on my own, just on the basis of my relationship with Srila Prabhupada. I do need siksa-gurus in my life.” And it came to me almost equally clearly that Goswami Maharaja was meant to be my siksa-guru, or at least one of them. I didn’t want to disturb him during his japa, but I felt that I just had to tell him. So I turned to him and said, “I thought about what you said, and I believe it is true. I also need guidance, and I think you are meant to be my siksa-guru.” He gave a knowing glance and a little smile, and we continued with our chanting.

The night before, I had told Goswami Maharaja that I felt very isolated, because at that time some of the biggest leaders in the movement had left, and there was chaos in large geographical areas of the movement. I was trying to deal with things in Mauritius and South Africa, and I wanted godbrothers to come there, but they were dealing with similar crises in other places–England, most of Europe, Australia, and parts of America. So I told Goswami Maharaja, “I really feel isolated in Mauritius and South Africa. No one can come there. I don’t know what to do for association.” He said, “You have to go out of your way to get it.” So if it has to be Kazakhstan, I will come to Kazakhstan–or Ukraine, or wherever. You all are really blessed, because Krsna sends senior devotees to visit you.

Although in general we don’t want to find faults in devotees, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that sometimes in order to protect a dependent devotee from bad association, we have point out the faults of another person. In other words, because the association and service of devotees is so important, we have to be able to distinguish between who is a devotee and who is not. Someone might be regarded as a devotee in popular circles who may actually not be a devotee. He could be a Mayavadi or a pretender or an atheist, and to protect innocent people from such association, we might have to point out who is actually a devotee and who is not. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if any person argues that criticizing such nondevotees is an offense, that person’s association should also be avoided.

One of Srila Prabhupada’s friends in Bombay, Dr. Patel, had been born in a Vaisnava family and followed Vaisnava principles of purity, but he often talked like an impersonalist, and when Prabhupada would accuse him of being a Mayavadi, he would beg to differ: “No, Sir. I am a Vaisnava.”

One day, on a morning walk on Juhu Beach, Srila Prabhupada happened to criticize a famous Indian religious figure whom Dr. Patel revered, and Dr. Patel became very upset. “You cannot criticize like this!” he said. But Srila Prabhupada replied, “I am not saying. Krsna is saying: na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah–anyone who does not surrender to Krsna is a fool, rascal, demon, the lowest of mankind. I am not saying; Krsna is saying.”

Still, Dr. Patel kept insisting, “You cannot criticize like that!” The argument escalated to the point where Dr. Patel was shouting at Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada was actually shouting back. Dr. Patel was a leader among his friends–he was a little intelligent, educated in England, a doctor–but even his friends were catching hold of his arm and saying, “Swamiji has a heart condition. Don’t upset him.” They tried to drag him away. He was shouting, and Prabhupada was shouting, and we all were very disturbed. Finally they pulled Dr. Patel away.

Back in Srila Prabhupada’s room, Tamal Krishna Goswami asked Prabhupada, “Why do you tolerate him? What is his actual position? Is he a Vaisnava? Is he a Mayavadi? What is he?” In response, Srila Prabhupada told a story about a man who could speak fluently in many languages. He came to a place, but nobody could figure out where he was actually from. In whatever language people addressed him, he immediately responded perfectly in that anguage. So it was a big topic among the village people–where he was from. Finally one man said, “I will find out.”

One day that man snuck up behind the speaker of many languages and gave him a very hard whack, and then the linguist began cursing in his original language. Srila Prabhupada said that Dr. Patel was like that. “He can speak like a Vaisnava, he can speak like a Mayavadi, he can speak like a nationalist,” Srila Prabhupada said. “He can speak many different languages expertly. But when I hit him where it really hurt, his real language came out.” So then Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “Well, then why do you tolerate him?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “It is our duty to engage everyone.” That is real compassion.

Of course, Srila Prabhupada accomplished many things in what he did. He also created a lot of interesting discussions for us to hear. And I think he actually liked Dr. Patel, and Dr. Patel actually liked and respected him, but they just had that relationship.

The next story also involves Dr. Patel and shows how Prabhupada appreciated his disciples and protected them. When Dr. Patel first heard about the devotees, we had just come to the Juhu land and were living in very simple tents. It became so hot that devotees often just slept outdoors, and they were getting bit by mosquitoes, and some got malaria, jaundice–so many diseases. Dr. Patel was really impressed by their sacrifice and surrender, so he took up a collection to give each devotee a thin mattress, a pillow, a mosquito net, and a blanket for the winter. He was a proud man, but he went to the big cloth market in Bombay, from stall to stall, to beg, and eventually he presented twelve sets, for all the devotees.

If you’ve ever lived in an ashram, you know how it is. After a while, one blanket went missing, then two pillows disappeared, and gradually the hard-earned gift that Dr. Patel had begged for the devotees was down to just a few remnants. And finally, the last mosquito net, the last pillow, the last blanket, and the last mattress all disappeared–there was not even a trace, not a single thread.

So one day, again on a morning walk, Dr. Patel brought up the topic of his gift of the twelve sets of bedding, complaining to Srila Prabhupada that the devotees hadn’t take care of them and that now nothing was left. Srila Prabhupada replied, “You know the reason? These boys and girls who have come to serve me don’t identify with the body. They don’t care if they have a mattress or a pillow or a mosquito net or a blanket. As long as they can chant the holy name and serve their spiritual master, they’re satisfied.” And then he said, “That moksa that you are so eager to get, they already have.”

In a very skillful and intelligent way, Srila Prabhupada had expressed his appreciation for the devotees, and he had spoken in such a way as to humble Dr. Patel and make him understand how exalted the devotees actually were. Of course, as we’ve matured, we’ve understood more about the principle of yukta-vairagya, about taking care of Krsna’s property–not for our sense gratification, but for Krsna’s service. But still, what Srila Prabhupada said was true.

So, Srila Prabhupada was merciful to us, his disciples, and he was merciful to Dr. Patel. He was merciful to everyone. He was an ocean of mercy. And if we can come close to that ocean, if some waves from that ocean hit us and eventually carry us into that ocean, our lives will be perfect, and we will be able to touch others with some waves from that ocean, and they will also benefit.

Hare Krsna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami, September 5, 2010, Sri Vrindavan Dham, Kazakhstan]

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9857

The Ramayana character Maricha was faced with choosing who would kill him.

By Chaitanya Charana Dasa

Knowing he’d be killed by Ravana or Rama, Maricha acted with spiritual knowledge, but worked against the purpose of such knowledge.

We all are going to die one day. This is one of life’s hardest truths – hard to endure and hard even to contemplate. Equipping us to face this reality, Gita wisdom explains that at our core we are eternal souls; death is an event that happens only to our bodies, not to us.

Seen in this light, death is not a termination but a transition. Where do we go after death? That is determined by how we live and how we leave – by the consciousness we have at the time of death, which in turn is determined by the consciousness we cultivate throughout our life. If we die remembering God, we attain Him (Gita 8.5)

The Ramayana depicts a fascinating character, named Maricha, who uses his knowledge about one’s postmortem destination to make a decision that is life-defining, in fact, life-ending. Whether his decision was right or not is open to debate – a debate that reveals the difference between self-centeredness and God-centeredness in the application of spiritual knowledge.

Self-Fulfilling Fear

Maricha appears first in the Bala-kanda, the first book of the Ramayana, wherein Rama is still young and unmarried. The Ayodhya prince has gone to the forest with the sage Vishvamitra to protect the sage’s sacrifices from being desecrated by demons. When Maricha along with the demoness Tadaka and her son Subahu attack Vishvamitra’s sacrifice, Rama and His brother Lakshmana counter the demons. Rama slays Tadaka and Subahu, but Maricha is spared, being hit by a blunt arrow shot by Rama. Though blunt, the arrow is so forceful that it hurls him a long distance away. Maricha, a demon powerful enough to hurl trees far away with the force of his arms, finds himself hurled far away by the force of Rama’s arrows.

The trauma of the forced flight leaves Rama’s awesome power forever impressed in Maricha’s mind. Experiencing Rama’s incomparable and unbearable power, he has a change of heart induced by fear. Recognizing that he will never be able to counter Rama’s power, he decides to give up his demoniac way of life and atone for his past misdeeds by becoming an austere sage. He lives on simple forest fare, chants mantras, and meditates on higher spiritual reality, yet he lives in constant fear of Rama. Such is his fear that even hearing the syllable Ra petrifies him, for he dreads that the sound of that syllable will be followed by the person Rama, who will kill him. Maricha understands that Rama is God descended in human form to this world, but he doesn’t understand that God is benevolent, not malevolent.

Whatever we fear fervently, we may draw towards ourselves by that concentrated negative mental energy of fear. Because our fears can become self-fulfilling, they can sabotage us by bringing upon us the very things we dread. Of course, our thinking about a thing doesn’t alone make it happen. But our obsessive thinking can make us act and can set up the circumstances that induce that thing to happen. Maricha, who lives constantly in fear of Rama’s arrows, eventually dies by those arrows, despite performing his austerities to avoid that fate.

Constrained into Conspiracy

To understand and analyze how this happens, we pick up the Ramayana narrative at the point when the demon-king Ravana is scheming to abduct Rama’s consort, Sita. Having heard of Rama’s formidable prowess, Ravana decides to avoid a head-on confrontation with Rama. He hatches a conspiracy for sidelining Rama and conscripts Maricha into it.

Maricha is a specialist at shape-changing. Many demons have shape-shifting abilities, but Maricha’s are extraordinary even among demons. Knowing this, Ravana goes to Maricha and tells him about the scheme. His normal fear on hearing the name of Rama heightens to terror when he hears about Ravana’s plan to abduct Rama’s wife.

Vehemently and desperately, he urges Ravana to avoid provoking Rama, for the Ayodhya prince’s power is unmatchable. Cautioned by Maricha’s assessment of Rama’s power, Ravana reluctantly abandons his plan.

Ravana had wanted to abduct Sita primarily because he saw her as a means by which he could get back at Rama for having destroyed the demons he had stationed at his outpost at Janasthana. Women are often treated as pawns in the power games of men, but then, women too treat men as pawns in their power games. Little did Ravana know that he was soon going to become a pawn in the hands of his sister, Surpanakha.

The demoness, who feels she was dishonored by Rama, wants Ravana to punish Him. When Ravana remains reluctant, she incites him by describing Sita’s devastating beauty, and the lusty demon’s intelligence soon lies devastated. He resolves to abduct Sita and again goes to Maricha, ordering him to assume the form of an attractive deer, go the forest where Rama and Sita are living in exile, and lead Rama away, thus leaving Sita unguarded.

When Maricha protests against the foolhardy plan, Ravana silences him with an ultimatum: Do as I say, or I will kill you. Hearing Ravana declare haughtily that he has come to order Maricha and not to hear his suggestions, Maricha realizes that the demon king is beyond listening to any good counsel and reluctantly agrees to go along with Ravana’s scheme. He reasons that his death is inevitable – so he might as well choose the best death. Dying at the hands of Rama will lead to his elevation, possibly even liberation, whereas dying at the hands of Ravana will take him to some unknown destination.

Resigning himself to fate, Maricha assumes the form of an irresistibly attractive deer. He starts playing near Rama’s hermitage, thereby attracting Sita’s attention, and Sita begs Rama to get her the deer as a pet. Rama moves to catch the deer, but it flees, and Rama follows. The deer keeps bounding away, suddenly jumping huge distances, suddenly disappearing and reappearing at a distance, and doing things impossible for ordinary deer. Rama’s suspicion about the identity of the deer increases, and finally, when the deer has led Him far into the forest, He decides to shoot it. On being struck by Rama’s arrow, the deer yells in Rama’s voice, “O Lakshmana, O Sita, help!” Hearing this, Rama realizes that the deer’s drawing Him away from Sita was a plot by the demons to catch her unguarded. Alarmed, He begins to turn around to rush back to his hermitage. As He turns, Maricha breathes his last. While dying, he beholds Rama and achieves his purpose of dying in Rama’s presence. But he dies while working against Rama’s purpose.

Self-centered or God-centered

The great nineteenth-century bhakti saint Bhaktivinoda Thakura lists in his book Chaitanya-shikshamrita four motivations with which people approach God: fear, personal desire, duty, and love. When we approach Him out of fear or personal desire, we are largely self-centered, thinking, ‘What can God do for me?” Connecting with God at any level is better than living a godless life. Still, a dutiful connection is on a higher level, and an even more mature devotional connection – when we approach God to serve Him for His pleasure – is the ideal.

At one level, Maricha’s reasoning that dying at Rama’s hands is better than dying at Ravana’s hands reflects his spiritual knowledge. He knows that he will continue to exist after death and that his postmortem destination will be favorable by dying in Rama’s presence.

However, at another level, his failure to consider whether he is working for Rama’s purpose or against it reflects that he hasn’t internalized the purpose of spiritual knowledge – to rise from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. Despite his spiritual knowledge, he doesn’t think of Rama and Rama’s service; he thinks only of his own elevation and destination. Because of his self-centeredness, he perceives God as a tool for his elevation, not as the purpose of his elevation. Bhakti wisdom explains that we are God’s eternal parts and when we learn to love him selflessly we find life’s highest satisfaction. We become absorbed in the Lord’s loving service, an absorption that eventually elevates us to His eternal abode for a life with Him in eternal love.

Though Maricha had spiritual knowledge, his consciousness was materialistic, and he saw God as a tool for our elevation. He ended up working against the person he should have been serving.

Could he have done anything differently? Wasn’t he left with no choice when Ravana threatened him with death if he refused to cooperate? Yes, his choices were restricted, but still he could have used his intelligence. He could have gotten away from Ravana by agreeing to go along with the demon’s scheme, but taking shelter of Rama. He could have alerted Rama to the conspiracy that was afoot and could thus have  helped foil the abduction of Sita. Rama would surely have protected him – as He protected another demon who sought his shelter. Later in the Ramayana, just before the final battle between Rama and Ravana, Vibhishana, a younger brother of Ravana, came over to Rama’s side, being appalled by Ravana’s unrepentant viciousness. Though Vibhishana was not explicitly threatened with death by Ravana, he knew well what that demon would do to those he considered traitors – kill in the most heartless and cruel way possible. Despite the risks, Vibhishana followed his intelligence and conscience. In contrast, Maricha simply obeyed Ravana in his fiendish scheme to abduct a virtuous lady.

At yet another level, the various characters in the Lord’s pastimes can be seen transcendentally – they are furthering His pastimes by acting as needed, sometimes congenially and sometimes inimically. Simultaneously, if we wish to learn ethical lessons from those pastimes and thereby make wiser decisions in our own lives, we can learn a valuable lesson from Maricha. He serves as an excellent example of a person whose knowledge is nullified by his lack of understanding its purpose. Thus he antagonizes the person who is the purpose of that knowledge.

Another bhakti saint, Rupa Goswami, an illustrious predecessor of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, offers a relevant insight in his classic devotional guidebook Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu. He states that only those activities performed with a favorable disposition towards the Lord, when one seeks to please Him, are considered devotional activities. When the Lord’s service is not the intention, then what is performed is not devotional service, even if performed in relation to Him. Though such action may lead to some elevation in one’s postmortem destination, devotees don’t seek an elevation divorced from devotion. That’s why Maricha is never considered a model of devotion, whereas Vibhishana is.

When we practice bhakti, our focus is not so much on how we die but how we live – not at whose hands we die, but for whose hands we live and, if necessary, die. The person for whose hands we live and die is the person for whose purpose we dedicate our life. Srimad-Bhagavatam states that the Lord executes His will sometimes through His own hands and sometimes through the hands of His devotees, those who work for Him. The process of bhakti-yoga helps us become the Lord’s hands. When we become devoted, we’re concerned not so much with our pleasure in this life or even our destination after this life – we’re concerned primarily with our Lord’s purpose and His service. To live for Him and to die for Him – that is the purpose and perfection of devotion.

Another character with whom Maricha can be contrasted is Jatayu, who died just a few hours after Maricha. Jatayu was an aged vulture who attained martyrdom while trying to stop Ravana from abducting Sita. Rama felt deeply indebted to Jatayu for his death-embracing service. Rama Himself performed the last rites for Jatayu, just as a son would perform them for his father. Though Jatayu was killed at the hands of a demon, he died for the hands of the Lord, working for His purpose. In fact,  he died in the hands of the Lord – he breathed his last with his head resting on Rama’s lap and his eyes beholding Rama’s divine face. With such a supremely auspicious departure, he attained the supreme destination.

In whose presence we die is not as important as for whose purpose we die – and for whose purpose we live. How to live in devotion, risking death for the Lord’s sake, is exemplified by Vibhishana. And how to leave in devotion, embracing death for the Lord’s sake, is exemplified by Jatayu.

The integrated understanding of both spiritual knowledge and the purpose of spiritual knowledge is best achieved through the living bhakti tradition, whereby we can learn through both relevant exposition and living examples how to practice bhakti in our own lives.

Source: https://btg.krishna.com/death-at-whose-hands-or-for-whose-hands/

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

In the latest testament to its unwavering dedication to spiritual, cultural, and societal advancement, the Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) in Kolkata, India, was honored with the prestigious Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Social Impact Award in the category of preserving intangible heritage on March 12th, 2024. The award was presented by the Honorable Governor of West Bengal, CV Anand Bose, with Balarama Lila Das, Head of Development, accepting this esteemed recognition on behalf of the research center.

Established in 2019, the ICC Social Impact Award is an initiative of the Indian Chamber of Commerce aimed at commending organizations that pioneer innovative initiatives profoundly impacting social development and progress. Recipients of this coveted award are selected from a broad spectrum of corporate, voluntary, and other entities based on their distinctive and impactful contributions to the social landscape.

BRC has been honored with this award for “Preservation of intangible cultural heritage for an inclusive and sustainable planet” recognizing its enduring dedication and outstanding contributions in preserving ancient manuscripts and documents, nurturing cultural heritage, and making noteworthy strides in the social arena.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/bhaktivedanta-research-center-brc-honored-with-icc-social-impact-award/

A former student of psychology traces his life, from childhood to now from looking up to others to looking into himself.

On June 17, 1959, with summer vacation just a few days away, I walked onto my grammar school playground in a lighthearted mood. Just then my best friend Billy rushed over to me with wide eyes. Did you hear the news?!”

“What news?”

“This morning Superman killed himself! He shot himself in the head with a luger!”

At first I thought Billy was kidding, but soon I noticed that everyone in the yard was talking about the story George Reeves, TV’s Superman, had committed suicide. II couldn’t believe it. A hero how could a hero do that? I couldn’t believe it. A hero how could a hero do that?

As Emerson said, “It is natural to believe in great men.” And in his book, The Hero, American Style, Marshall William Fishwick remarks that “people are ineffective without leaders. The search for paragons is inherent in human nature.” In an article inToday’s Health magazine, social critic Marya Mannes goes a little further. She says, “Unless we have some image of human greatness, of human excellence, to build on, we shall find it difficult to be animated by great dreams. We will be only moles burrowing in the darkness.”

For its part, modern psychology calls its equivalent of the hero or paragon the “ego ideal.” A person forms his ego ideal by picking out traits of parents, friends, and others in the society at large. Researchers are quick to point out that healthy models make for healthy people, while sick models, like Hitlers and Stalins, make for sick people and a sick world.

Social commentators are concerned about today’s shortage of inspiring, healthy models. “Where Have All the Heroes Gone?” asks Edward Hoagland in The New York Times Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report talks about “The Vanishing Hero.” So perhaps I was right, back there on the school playground, in feeling I’d been let down.

By the time I’d entered high school, most fictional heroes struck me as cardboard characters. I had to pass them by. Now, political leaders, past and present, replaced them. Then, in my freshman year of college, in 1965, the Watergate mood hit me early.

On the afternoon when Georgetown University played host to some members of Congress, I was one of the first students to trot up the steps of Harlan Hall. My mind was filled with anticipation. I wanted to get involved in government; it seemed a good way to work with people. During my first few months at school, I’d absorbed as much as I could of the theory and history of government, and now came a bonus the chance to talk with the people who were making the history I was studying.

As I stood on the thick red carpet, the university’s past presidents stared down at me from their portraits on the old wood walls. Even their grave faces couldn’t douse my enthusiasm. In less than forty minutes I’d be sharing the room with the country’s leaders.

While I was thinking this way, a congressman dressed in a blue blazer bounded up the steps and walked hurriedly across the room. Several friends and I approached him and started asking questions, but he seemed totally intent on wherever he was going. He never slowed down.

“Boys,” he said, “I’m a Johnson Democrat. That answers all your questions. Now, where’s the bar?”

As we stood there openmouthed, the congressman glided past us and ordered a bourbon on the rocks,

My other brushes with politicians only reinforced this first bruised impression. With the world so much in need of unity and cooperation, I felt turned off by so much small-mindedness. It all seemed like a cheating, losing game, and I didn’t want to play it. So after my sophomore year I opted for a change psychology.

At least psychology could tell you something about what was going on inside people. What surprised me was that all this inside knowledge of human nature just seemed to turn psychologists into pessimists. I’ll never forget the day when one of my best professors, Dr. M., compared human beings to lemmings.

“The lemming is a peculiar breed of rat that lives in Scandanavia,” said Dr. M. in his usual intense way. “Every so often it seems to happen without any rhyme or reason one lemming starts running frantically across the countryside. This ‘running fever’ spreads to the other rats, and soon a kind of mass hysteria infects them. For months and months they migrate, only to reach the coastline and a dead end.

” ‘Dead end’ that’s really what it is. Without hesitating, the lead lemming leaps into the sea, and all the rest follow him. The few that survive produce some more, and then they go through the suicide sequence all over again.

“Maybe we’re like the lemmings. World Wars I and II, Vietnam, the Middle East,… World War III it’s a frightening thought, but if you look at our record,… maybe that’s the best we can do.”

In his book Motivation and Personality, psychologist Abraham Maslow talked about this kind of thinking. He chided not only psychologists but also many others in the intellectual community for denying “the possibility of improving human nature and society, or of discovering intrinsic human values, or of being life-loving in general.” During my college days I empathized with Maslow’s criticisms. Yet even more appealing to me were his positive insights about human potential.

Early in his career, Maslow had become disgusted with modern psychology’s obsession for studying mental disease. He felt that the study of sick and crippled persons could only produce a sick and crippled psychology. Maslow reversed this trend by researching the dynamics of health. He wrote,

If we want to know the possibilities for spiritual growth, or moral development in human beings, then I maintain that we can learn most by studying our most moral, ethical, or saintly people.

Maslow’s research reached its height in his description of the fully healthy or “self-actualized” person. In Towards a Psychology of Being, he wrote, “In these healthy people we find duty and pleasure to be the same thing, as is also work and play, self-interest and altruism.” In an earlier essay he had pointed out,

For such people virtue is its own reward…. They spontaneously tend to do right because that is what they want to do, what they need to do, what they enjoy, and what they will continue to enjoy.

The self-actualized displayed clearer perception of reality, more openness to experience, greater spontaneity, and a firmer sense of identity. They also possessed greater creativity, treated different kinds of people equally, and had a greater ability to love. They valued justice, simplicity, beauty, individuality, joy, and honesty.

The more I read about self-actualization, the more I liked it. But there was one hitch. Maslow didn’t know how the self-actualized got that way:

We simply do not have available today enough reliable knowledge to proceed to the construction of the One Good World. We do not even have enough knowledge to teach individuals how to love each other.

I still wanted self-actualization, but naturally I didn’t know how to get there either.

By this time I was in my senior year. Most of my classmates (even those who shared my feelings) kept themselves busy by applying to graduate schools or jockeying for a job. I could have forgotten my predicament that way and buried myself in some institutional cubbyhole, but something inside me refused to allow it. “You can’t fool yourself. You’ll never be happy by doing that.” With mixed emotions, I kept to that conclusion.

In other words, in so many ways this was a frightening decision to make. There were so many nagging questions. “Will I become an oddball and cut myself off from my family and friends?” “How will I support myself?” “Will I get into something worthwhile, or will I just wind up getting nowhere fast?”

At the same time, I knew that something was missing, from my life and from the lives of most people. I wanted to ferret out that “something.”

Searching

I climbed the stairs out of the dungeonlike subway, not far from the West Village. It was October 16, 1969. After jogging four blocks, I arrived at 735 Spring Street. I tried to open the door, but it was bolted shut. I rang the bell, and soon someone was peering through the peephole. “What’s your name?” said the muffled voice. I replied (as I’d been instructed), “Danny the Red.” The door creaked open, and a smiling brunette with glasses and a collegiate sweater greeted me. Behind her stood three men with baseball bats. She continued the interrogation.

“Who sent you?”

“I met Mark Folsom up at Columbia, and he suggested that I come down and check things out.”

At the mention of “Mark” the three men dispersed and the girl’s smile widened.

“Good. My name’s Andrea. Let me introduce you to Ted Gold.”

Blotched mimeograph paper, crumpled coffee cups, pop bottles, and hundreds of crushed cigarette butts littered the brick floor of Ted Gold’s office. The walls were plastered with posters of the revolutionary masses and the pantheon of armed struggle Lenin, Mao, Castro, and Che Guevara. Ted Gold himself had reddish hair, thick glasses, and an energetic though ruffled air about him.

“What do you know about communism?” he asked. No pleasantries.

“Just what I’ve learned in college and from a few books I’ve read.”

Gold’s line of vision sank to the floor, then honed back in on me.

“Communism means violent revolution,” he said. “There’s no redeeming value in this capitalistic society none.”

“None?”

“None! Insurance, welfare, social security these are all stopgap measures designed to tranquilize the masses and prevent them from rising up and smashing their oppressors. There’s nothing of value in this society-NOTHING! Our job is clear. We must tear this rotten structure down brick by brick until nothing can stop the revolution.”

Since the main purpose of my visit was to hear about the radical movement’s vision of the perfect society, I asked, “After you’ve torn everything down, what will you replace it with?”

Gold fidgeted. It appeared I’d asked the wrong question.

“We don’t have time to worry about things like that. All we have to do is rip this society apart. What happens after the revolution will take care of itself.”

“That’s all you can tell me?”

“So you’ll help us tear it down?”

“I don’t know. Let me think about it.”

He didn’t care for my answer, and I hadn’t cared for his. Since he wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me any more, I left.

Almost five months later, on March 7, 1970, a headline in the New York Times read, “Townhouse Razed by Blast and Fire; Man’s Body Found.” The firemen theorized that a gas leak had triggered the blast, but the man’s body was too disfigured for immediate identification. Then, two days later, the Times ran Ted Gold’s picture and tagged him as the disaster’s victim. Familiar with Gold’s radical background, the police decided to keep sifting through the debris. Finally, on March 11, the Times front page said, “Bombs, Dynamite, and Woman’s Body Found in Ruins of 11th St. Townhouse.” According to Chief Inspector Albert Seedment, “The people in the house were obviously putting together the component parts of a bomb, and they did something wrong.”

For two years I’d been searching for a workable solution to the problematic life I saw all around me but without much success. I was beginning to sense that, though billed as a haven of peace and love, the so-called counterculture harbored about as much narrow-mindedness as there was anywhere else.

The first real light appeared in the spring of 1971, when I started investigating Eastern meditation. The descriptions of enlightened meditators closely matched Maslow’s ideal of the self-actualized person, and there was a practical way to get there.

The cultural difference didn’t really bother me much. Although I wasn’t a very religious person, I’d sometimes thought, “I don’t know what truth is, and I don’t care if a red, white, black, yellow, or brown man speaks it or if it comes from the north, south, east, or west. All I know is, I want it.”

From the start, I sensed the power of turning inward, the power of meditation. At one and the same time, I was becoming more aware of my inner self and more aware of the people and events around me. Yet I noticed that many spiritualists, including big teachers, became not so much self-realized as self-serving.

For instance, after you had gained a little spiritual power, the next step the “in” thing to do was to admit that you were really God, posing for now as a mere mortal. It got to be sort of dizzying, meeting all these yogis who were actually God. Then gradually it began to make sense. If you were God you could pretty much get what you wanted. God doesn’t have to ask twice. But, to be fair, these divine debauchees provided some of the best comedy I’d ever seen.

For example, one day during the summer of 1972, at a green-lawned country retreat, I was sitting in on a verbal meditation. The Great One said, in a sonorous voice, “Feel that you are that same power that has manifested innumerable suns, moons, and stars…. Feel yourself creating and maintaining innumerable … owwwwWWWWW!!” All at once a severe toothache jolted the Great One’s jaw. The meditation seemed to be ending a little sooner than the supreme will had ordained, but perhaps toothaches were just a divine entertainment. His other pastimes included phobias for mosquitoes, airplanes, and death. And, to make matters worse, the Great One was in constant anxiety about whether the United States government would grant him immigration status.

Nonetheless, I stayed convinced that meditation could awaken the self. All I had to do was find a way to practice it purely. I carried on as well as I could. Then, one day in the spring of 1973, I was walking through the Port Authority Bus Terminal, on 40th Street, to catch a Greyhound to the Catskill Mountains. The noise level at the terminal was high hundreds of arriving and departing buses, honking taxicabs, and bustling travelers.

Suddenly, above the tumult, I heard a woman’s voice call out, “Hey, yogi!”

I stopped dead in my tracks. You didn’t have to be clairvoyant to tell that I was interested in yoga and meditation. My white pants and Indian shirt were giveaways. Still, I couldn’t help thinking, “Who cares about yoga in the Port Authority?” I turned around and saw a smiling young American woman dressed in an Indian sari. She had a travel bag across her shoulder.

“Hare Krsna,” she said, folding her hands together in a traditional, prayerlike greeting.

“Hare Krsna,” I replied.

“My name’s Daiva Sakti. What’s yours?”

“Daniel.”

During our pleasant conversation, I told her that two years ago I’d married a girl who also meditated.

“Do you have any children?”

“Yes, a baby boy named Maitreya.”

When Daiva Sakti heard that name, her face lit up in near ecstasy.

“Maitreya!” she said, reaching into her travel bag. “Have a look at this book. It’s about the great Vedic sage Maitreya.”

“Maitreya was a Vedic sage? But don’t the Buddhists consider him to be the coming Buddha [enlightened one]?”

Daiva Sakti smiled. “Twenty-five hundred years before Lord Buddha appeared, the sage Maitreya lived in India, and this book has his teachings.”

This revelation whetted my curiosity so much that I offered to buy the book. I handed her a ten-dollar bill, said “Thank you,” and rushed off to catch my bus. As soon as I’d settled into my recliner, I absorbed myself in reading. This book was so attractive that it took me only three days to finish.

To my delight, the book told about the irrationality of trying to be God. “God is conscious of everything past, present, and future, and also of each and every corner of His manifestations, both material and spiritual.” But as for the ordinary person, he “does not even know what is happening within his own personal body. He eats his food but does not know how this food is transformed into energy or how it sustains the body.”

The author. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, recommended bhakti-yoga (unselfish loving service) as the sure cure for all forms of egotism. My college friends and I had joked that newspaper headlines should herald the big ego as public enemy number one. Now the idea of conquering the big ego by bhakti-yoga captivated my mind. Srila Prabhupada said that this service attitude was “dormant in everyone … the natural inclination of every living being,… the highest perfection in life.”

I recalled how I’d enrolled in college with the idea of landing a job in public service. All my life I’d been serving someone or something my parents, my teachers, my friends (even my car). Srila Prabhupada pointed out how big businessmen had to serve their customers and the president had to serve his country. It seemed that no matter what I did, it would be some sort of service. And, as Srila Prabhupada said, you could reach the ultimate state of consciousness by directing your service toward the complete whole, or Krsna.

I was able to pick up the logic of practically everything Srila Prabhupada wrote. His students, who were making Krsna consciousness available in such hectic places as the bus terminal, also impressed me. Nonetheless, my experiences with counterfeit groups made me reluctant to get involved. It was only after several months of thinking and reading Krsna conscious books that I decided, in the winter of 1973, to check into this process more closely.

Practicing Krsna Consciousness

According to the ancient Vedic literature (which the Krsna consciousness movement publishes, in English) your personality depends on the kind of sound you hear. Loving, truthful, spiritual sound creates a loving, truthful, spiritual personality; self-motivated, materialistic sound creates a self-motivated, materialistic personality. When I thought about it, I realized that perhaps I’d never heard a spiritual sound in my life.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Generally, spiritual sound is called mantra. Man means “mind,” and tra means “release.” A mantra, then, is a sound vibration that can release the mind from self-centered, material thought processes. Chanting mantras was nothing new to me; for more than four years I had chanted all kinds of mantras. Yet chanting the Hare Krsna mantra Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare-gave me astonishing results. I wanted to cleanse and refresh my mind and heart, and chanting Hare Krsna was like taking a shower on the inside.

Also, I observed how the benefits of chanting Hare Krsna carried over into the everyday lives of other chanters. And my own experience was similar to that of my friend Howard Resnick, who said, “I didn’t follow any particular leader. I just saw that chanting Hare Krsna was a bona fide process, and that people who practiced it were becoming happy.”

After I started chanting, my personality started developing rapidly. Having chanters as friends helped. Instead of wasting time in small talk, they were thinking about “Who am I?” and “What’s the best thing I can do with my life?” The all-embracing scope of Krsna consciousness especially pleased me.

At least seven years earlier, I’d seen how pettiness and the party spirit cause most of the world’s conflicts. Now, by chanting I experienced each person as part of a harmonious whole (God). Deep inside I felt the same as everyone else, and at the same time completely unique. I felt more united with other people, and, paradoxically, more of an individual. Instead of being at loggerheads, in Krsna consciousness the group and individual enhanced each other. And I saw that simply by chanting, thousands of people were realizing this ideal in their own lives.

Already, I’d found that almost every theme sounded by progressive thinkers (like Maslow) came in for full development in the techniques and literature of Krsna consciousness. I wanted to share my realizations, so I started lecturing about Krsna consciousness in grammar schools, high schools, and colleges. At first, many of the listeners had their doubts, but after an explanation, the majority found Krsna conscious methods and goals agreeable. Many teachers told me that their students had reacted with more interest to my presentation than to any other class in the semester. Gradually I realized that I was touching upon that missing “something” I’d felt the need for during my own college years.

I asked many teachers to assess the current student mood. They said, almost without exception, that the students of the mid-1970s had turned apathetic. Apparently the questioning, questing spirit of the ’60s had gone away. But how could anyone blame the students? Who could they look to unstable movie and TV stars, unprincipled politicians, unsure teachers, self-destructive revolutionaries, self-indulgent saviors? Old or new, the heroes were tarnished. Still, when I talked with the students about the pleasure of spiritual living, glimmers of excitement played on their faces.

By 1975 I was ready to fill out my personal observations about Krsna consciousness with scientific evidence. Psychology seemed like a natural approach to take, so I invited several psychologists with no prior experience of Krsna consciousness to study the effects of chanting Hare Krsna. The findings of Drs. Allen Gerson and Ronald Huff, along with interviews I conducted, confirmed my impression that chanting produces a state of human health that modern psychology is just beginning to imagine.

Here are some highlights of the research. Dr. Gerson, a practicing clinical psychologist who also specializes in psychological testing, reports that chanters “are more keenly aware and have sharper mental cognitions.” Richard Arthur, an instructor of English at Rutgers University, brought to mind Maslow’s self-actualized person when he told me, “Chanting makes me more aware of what to do and what not to do. And now, I naturally feel happy about doing the right thing.”

In addition, the psychologists found chanters brimming with self-confidence. Art director Nathan Zakheim affirmed to me, “After years of being a closed-in person and trying to protect myself from experiences, now I’m really different. Chanting makes me so exuberant that I sail through situations that used to stymie me.” Dr. Gerson notes that chanters are seldom if ever bored, but “are always in a state of discovery that allows them to see things more vividly.”

Also, Dr. Gerson detected that chanting promotes creativity in all spheres of life. “I’m astounded,” he said, “with the percentage of creative people among chanters.” Daniel Clark, a thirty-five-year old filmmaker who has been chanting Hare Krsna for ten years, told me how chanting affected his creativity. Clark said, “Before I started chanting, I thought myself limited to films, but now I see that I have a talent for writing, lecturing, acting. You can do anything, in a sense. You don’t become a superman, but all your hang-ups go away. Then you find that your capabilities as a spiritual person are very great.”

Robert Grant, a successful young publishing executive, says that chanting even improves business aptitude. “Now I’m doing all kinds of things management, publishing, working with artists things I’ve never done or displayed any skill for. I find that chanting Hare Krsna gives me the insight on how to do it.”

As housewives like Mrs. Stephanie Lindberg have found, chanting inspires people to give their daily routines a creative touch. Mrs. Lindberg related to me, “Now my mind is bubbling with new ideas. By chanting I experience a freedom that makes my life more creative and stimulates me to use my talents in ways I never thought of before.” Mr. Grant reported a similar feeling to me when he said, “I feel some connection with God that makes me do things in a spontaneous, joyful, uninhibited way.” It’s interesting to note how these experiences recall those of the ancient sages. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam Dhruva Maharaja delights, “Krsna, You have enlivened all my sleeping senses my hands, legs, ears, touch sensation, life force, and especially my speech.”

The psychologists verify that chanters enjoy a strong sense of identity and uniqueness. Dr. Ronald Huff (a clinician with an extensive background in bio-feedback) notes “greater individuality in the way chanters relate to the external experience, indicating greater uniqueness.” After more than fifty case studies, Dr. Gerson concludes, “Chanters have a clear sense of identity. They know who they are in relationship to the universe, where they’re going, and how they can improve themselves and the world around them.”

A secretary, Heather Payne, disclosed to me that chanting allows her “to overcome any prejudices I may have felt toward people.” Here, both psychologists score the Krsna conscious process highly. Says Dr. Gerson, “The democratic character structure [the ability to treat people fairly] comes through strongly in chanters.”

With this greater tolerance, chanters naturally have more ability to love. Richard Arthur told me that in his better moments of chanting, “I relate to people on the basis of love, and I can feel them pick up on it.” Judy Guarino, an illustrator in her early thirties, remarked, “I experience affection for people I’ve never known before. Now I’m able to be a better friend.” According to Dr. Huff, “Parents who chant enjoy more expressions of mature and meaningful affection with their children.” Dr. Gerson describes chanters as “open, friendly, warm, and outgoing as a group, as well as individually.”

In fact, chanters report that their love approaches what Daniel Clark called “cosmic a love of the whole world with all its human beings, animals, and plants, and ultimately for God.”

So research shows chanting the Hare Krsna mantra to be a scientific, effective means for liberating human potential. Chanting works for men and women, young and old, rich and poor, black and white. Oriental and Westerner. Also, as the record demonstrates, chanting has brought people self-realization for thousands of years.

What’s been so convincing for me is that whereas other processes always turned stale, the Krsna conscious experience keeps getting fresher and fresher. Every other process I tried seemed to yield results at first, but I always reached a point where I couldn’t or wouldn’t go any further.

In Krsna consciousness the progress has been steady without any signs of stopping. Krsna consciousness has given me a deep feeling of self-satisfaction and contentment. Often I check my progress, and it always amazes me how well my body, my emotions, my mind, my intelligence, my soul, all of me feels about chanting Hare Krsna.

If you find something good, you want to share it. And Krsna consciousness is the best thing I’ve found. Of course, as Srila Prabhupada says, it’s inevitable for mankind to evolve to higher consciousness. Yet, as he also says,

Why do others have to wait for thousands and thousands of years to attain these heights? Why not give them the information immediately in a systematic way, so that they may save time and energy?

That makes sense to me. And, as progressive thinkers past and present have discovered, giving yourself to this kind of work is sheer pleasure.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=100349

I was not disdainful towards wearing any standard dhoti. I secured a pair of yogi pants because it was totally practical to use them for our practice. The Durban's version of "The Age of Kali" calls for a swivelling office chair for our leading man playing Kali and I was to demonstrate some fancy moves with the chair. Has anyone ever tried to go up and down a ladder with either a dhoti or sari? Not advisable! Some thing with an office chair on wheels.

Discovering Spiritual Knowledge

There is a general perception that the modeling industry is far from goodness and that it has been vulgarized. In your Instagram profile, you expressed gratitude to a number of people and shared that your path was different. Could you please tell us more about that?

I agree that modeling is far from goodness. At the same time, I think it all depends on a person. If you see the negative in everything, then you will be surrounded by the negative. Similarly, if you see positivity in everything, then you will be surrounded by the positive. That is number one. Number two, spiritual practice plays a big role. Since I discovered it, my surrounding has changed dramatically. In the same manner, my work clientele has changed as well. I started attracting vegetarians, people who were interested in spirituality, and spiritually practicing people. As you can see, everything depends on us. If we know how to think and act right, then we can survive even in this kind of environment. I do not consider my work to be bad. Good things exist everywhere, and I do my best to maximize them. However, I cannot say that I want to be a model for the rest of my life. Actually, I have much more exciting plans for the future.

You travel a lot and meet a lot of people, do you think they are interested in any philosophy? Do you get to talk to them about anything?

Absolutely! That is yet another reason why I love my work, as it gives me multiple opportunities for preaching.  When you are simply out there with a japa bag, everybody wants to come up to you, and that is a good reason for a half an hour conversation! What’s this bag? What are beads? What is japa? The last trip to Hanjoy, China turned out to be very special. Many people became interested in karma: how it is created, how to avoid bad karma, and how to improve one’s karma. I was so happy to tell them about that! While I am still new to this and there are many things I do not know, it is so cool when you know an answer to a particular question. That is how I get to preach while I am out traveling. At the same time, there are people who refuse to accept this philosophy, but I do not force them to be engaged in a conversation, because it is our personal business – to accept or not accept it.

HG Caitanya Chandra prabhu a leading disciple of HH Gaura Govinda Mahraja left this world around 1:56 (IST) 30 March 2024
late night of the 29th March he was taken from the hospital in Bhavanesvara to Gadai Giri Temple where he has been the leader for many decades. Still alive although in a coma. on arrival all support was removed and for a few minutes he breathed on his own accord. After around 10 minutes he came out of coma and suddenly smiled. surrounded by hundreds of devotees chanting the holy names he quit his body in his beloved Prabhu data desa.
He preached widely in Orissa, Switzerland and other countries – he initiated many devotees and inspired thousands with his deep and powerful Katha.

“Update on HG Caitanya Candra prabhu,initiating guru and president of Gadai Giri temple, who has been in ICU in Bhuvansevara hosptial for over one month. He is the senior disciple of HH Gaura Govinda Maharaja and has many disciples in Orisssa, Europe and elsewhere. He has been suffering severely from pneumonia and being diabetic the condition deteriorated leading to hospitalisation. other complications developed and now his condition is extremely serious. Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts. .

Update from Bhuvanesvara —
Chaitanya Chandra prabhu’s condition started to deteriorate from last night as said by doctors.

As per the opinion of the doctors his condition is declining. Disciples are thinking to bring him to Gadei giri and provide him medical support there. However his condition is such that he cannot be moved from the hospital at the moment.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=112469

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

On March 20th, 2024, Raasbhakti Devi Dasi (Dr. Aditi Mishal) received the esteemed international award, “Outstanding Women in Global Sustainable Development – 2024.” The honor was awarded to her by the Global Alliance of Sustainable Development Foundation at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW68) held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. 

The distinguished presentation of this award was carried out by Hon. Mr. Zhang, Chairman of the Global Alliance Foundation for Sustainable Development, alongside esteemed counterparts, including Ms. Cerci Lyu, Ms. Cheri Xie, Ms. Mei Yu Liao, and Ms. Winei, underscoring a collective dedication to nurturing a more sustainable and equitable global milieu.

Raasbhakti Devi Dasi is a disciple of Radhanath Swami, is a GRI certified Sustainability Professional, and serves as the Director at the Centre for Sustainability, ATLAS SkillTech University. Holding a Ph.D. in Sustainability-Green Behavior, she is credited with a patent for the Smart Toilet Tracking System. She holds copyrighted works focusing on Empowering Sanitation Decisions with Global System Science for Sustainability.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/raasbhakti-devi-dasi-receives-prestigious-award-at-uncsw68-event/

From Back to Godhead

When the 2017 Super Bowl game, the summit of American professional football, was held in Houston, a devotee convinced me and a few others to try to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books at a huge pregame event downtown. Venturing into the passionate, teeming crowd, we sold a few books, but not so many. This experience reinforced what was already obvious: mundane sport certainly has a powerful allure. In fact, every year over six hundred billion dollars are spent worldwide on the sports industry, which caters to an ever more fervent fan base.

Why are sports so popular? According to Vaishnava teachings, everything here, including the sporting propensity, is an imperfect or distorted reflection of the original, blissful activities of all-attractive Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, although in this material realm sports may be attractive, their charm is illusory. We can’t enjoy the Real Thing here. At best we can try to squeeze pleasure out of a perverted representation, like a mirage in the desert.

When it comes to genuine, pure fun or sport, Lord Krishna is the unrivaled champion, the unabashed connoisseur, as we see in Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.18.19: “Krishna, who knows all sports and games, then called together the cowherd boys and spoke as follows: ‘Hey cowherd boys! Let’s play now! We’ll divide ourselves into two even teams.'”

Ravindra Svarupa Dasa has explained how the Lord’s pleasure in sport or play, unlike ours, is not materially motivated or contaminated; it is transcendentally ecstatic and pure:

God is playful: the Sanskrit term for divine activity is, in fact, lila – play. By His inconceivable power God seamlessly unites in His descents very serious purpose (to save humanity) with sheer sport. Thus, as Matsya [His incarnation as the divine fish], He frolics in the waves of the deluge; as Varaha [the transcendental boar-avatara] He enjoys a good fight. In all descents we see Him delighting in drawing out the possibilities of a particular role, a player in a play. The idea of lila captures a defining element of divine activity: it is unmotivated. All human acts spring from motives, desire for what we lack or fear we will lack. But God already has everything. He has nothing to gain or lose. (“The Descent of God,” Back to Godhead, May 1985)

The Tenth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.44.29) describes how Krishna and Balarama celebrated Their victory over King Kamsa’s demoniac wrestlers Canura, Mushtika, Kuta, Sala, and Toshala: “Krishna and Balarama then called Their young cowherd boyfriends to join Them, and in their company the Lords danced about and sported, Their ankle bells resounding as musical instruments played.” The purport to this verse, by Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, notes: “Nowadays we see that in championship boxing matches, as soon as there is a victory, all the friends and relatives of the victorious boxer rush into the ring to congratulate him, and often the champion will dance about in great happiness. Exactly in this mood, Krishna and Balarama danced about, celebrating Their victory with Their friends and relatives.”

Scriptures describe how when Krishna dances playfully on the hoods of the poisonous serpent Kaliya, the demoniac snake is humbled and purified. The Bhagavatam (2.7.34–35) says that even when Krishna kills inimical attackers – humans like the evil King Kamsa or animals such as the aggressive bull-demon Arishtasura – “The demons, thus being killed, would attain either the impersonal brahmajyoti or His personal abode in the Vaikuntha planets.”

Indeed, Lord Krishna’s sportive lilas yield only spiritual benefit and bliss for everyone, even “spectators” like you and me when we simply read or hear about them. In the material world, however, anyone who tries to imitate the Lord’s sporting nature becomes implicated in the law of karma. For example, unlike the entirely positive results when Krishna killed the bull-demon, when a bullfighter kills a bull the result is suffering for the bull and the bullfighter. The spectators become implicated in the karma as well.

Another problem is that nearly all the athletes we admire or idolize are not pure devotees of the Lord, and are thus unworthy of the inflated adulation they often receive. For example, even though millions of fans once practically deified the well-known American football player O. J. Simpson for his athletic skill, he was charged with murder and later imprisoned for another crime and is no longer considered a hero. Many professional, amateur, even Olympic athletes – supposed role models or heroes – have been prosecuted for doping, cheating, spousal abuse, and even homicide. Such athletes may entertain us, but they cannot free us from the material world, which, as Krishna explains to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita 8.15, is duhkhalayam ashashvatam, a place of misery and impermanence. Try as we might we can’t really win here, and even if we do, none of us can enjoy our hard-earned victories for long.

Wasting Time

As a compassionate Vaishnava, Srila Prabhupada was para-duhkha-duhkhi, unhappy to see others’ suffering. Once, on a morning walk near a golf course in Dallas, he asked, “What are these men doing?”

When told that they were playing golf, with a tear in his eye Prabhupada declared, “See how they are wasting their time, hitting this little ball.”

The Christian evangelist Billy Graham once implied that sports are ultimately less important: “God answers my prayers everywhere except on the golf course,” he joked.

For any soul fortunate enough to have attained a human birth, Prabhupada regarded mundane sports as simply a waste of time, one among many futile attempts at happiness through sense gratification.

“In this age,” he wrote, “men are victims not only of different political creeds and parties, but also of many different types of sense-gratificatory diversions, such as cinemas, sports, gambling, clubs, mundane libraries, bad association, smoking, drinking, cheating, pilfering, bickerings, and so on.” (Bhagavatam1.1.10, Purport)

Of course, participatory sports do provide exercise and recreation, but serious devotees understand that mundane sport – including watching spectator sports – can be subtly or grossly polluting. Although often touted as good clean fun, major spectator sports are often connected with vikarma, or sinful, prohibited activities, through the products sold by their sponsors. Because sport in this world originates in Krishna, who is all-attractive, it can attract us. But we should be aware that it can serve as one of the many weapons of mass distraction of Mayadevi, a dear servant of the Lord whose task is to test our priorities by offering illusory allurements.

If we see in mundane sports occasional flashes of beauty, exuberance, heroism, excitement, drama, spontaneity, creativity, determination, great teamwork, and brilliant tactics – the skill, artistry, or prowess of a Pele, Muhammad Ali, Michael Phelps, Martina Navratilova, or Usain Bolt – we can remember that Krishna tells us, “Know that all opulent, beautiful, and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor” and “I am the ability in man.” (Gita 10.41, 7.8)

Lord Krishna, however, does not want us to loiter in the material world trying to extract a mere spark of His splendor through perverted reflections in materialistic stadiums or on dazzling television screens. He beseeches us to attain His padam avyayam, or eternal spiritual realm, as Srila Prabhupada explains:

That padam avyayam, or eternal kingdom, can be reached by one who is nirmana-moha. What does this mean? We are after designations. Someone wants to become “sir,” someone wants to become “lord,” someone wants to become the president or a rich man or a king or something else.… Designations and attachments are due to our lust and desire, our wanting to lord it over the material nature. As long as we do not give up this propensity of lording it over material nature, there is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of the Supreme, the sanatana-dhama. That eternal kingdom, which is never destroyed, can be approached by one who is not bewildered by the attractions of false material enjoyments, who is situated in the service of the Supreme Lord. One so situated can easily approach that supreme abode. (Gita 15.5, Purport)

False Designations

We already have plenty of material designations: man or woman, American or Russian, black or white, Hindu, Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Do we really need to create more for ourselves? These superficial, material self-conceptions simply divide and bewilder us, causing us to forget our real spiritual identity. To get out of this dangerous material world, we must be free of all such false designations, or upadhis. Clearly, if we really want to enjoy transcendental sports with Lord Krishna and His friends in the spiritual world, we have to “give up this propensity of lording it over material nature” – and the attempt to enjoy mundane sports is rooted in just that propensity.

When we identify with worldly sports, we are simply concocting more unnecessary, artificial material designations for ourselves. We proudly wear T-shirts glorifying our favorite sports team. Although these teams carry imaginary names, many are fittingly named after animals or various creatures, and we often consider the players our heroes.

Real Heroes

In his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.25.25, Srila Prabhupada notes, “Material activities are false heroic activities, whereas restraining the senses from material engagement is great heroism.” In a letter in 1975 to a devotee who was distributing his books, Prabhupada suggested that even greater heroism than controlling one’s own senses is giving others transcendental knowledge. “During war time, a farm boy or ordinary clerk who goes to fight for his country on the front immediately becomes a national hero for his sincere effort. So Krishna immediately recognizes a preacher of Krishna consciousness who takes all risks to deliver His message.”

In his book Our Family Business, Vaisheshika Dasa explains that a true hero – a genuine champion – is “an ambassador of goodwill,” a sincere servant of the Lord who helps countless losers rise above the illusory game of material life altogether by introducing them to Krishna consciousness, especially through Srila Prabhupada’s books. The miracle of this transcendental literature is that if even convicted athletes, or you and I, are somehow blessed to read and follow it – in a dingy jail cell, a temple ashram, or a fancy penthouse – any of us can become actual winners. Our petty infatuation with illusion’s endless games, lifetime after lifetime, can come to an end, and one day we can participate in the real thing: we can sport face-to-face with Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate sportsman.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=65072

“Maybe I was just made evil,” says Kimberly to herself. That leads to another thought. “Maybe some people are made good. Like Heather. Everything always seems to go right for Heather. God seems to like her.”

Kimberly’s not a theologian, but she’s contemplating something that Western theologians have discussed for centuries without reaching any definite conclusions. The question is this: Does God choose certain individuals or groups for salvation? In other words, are there chosen people? And, alternatively, are certain persons selected for condemnation?

The technical term for the matter under discussion is predestination, a word which implies that our final destination, be it heaven or hell, is programmed into our souls from the beginning of our existence. Thus the question of predestination is closely connected with the concept of free will.

A lot has been spoken and written about all this, but most of it is highly speculative. Not surprisingly, many of the views expressed contradict each other.

Speaking of the Judeo-Christian tradition, C. T. McIntyre writes in his article on predestination in The Encyclopedia of Religion, “Advocates of all positions have appealed to the scriptures, although the scriptures do not contain doctrines of free will and predestination, nor even these words.”

It would be too bad, however, if we had to rely on theological speculators to answer such questions. It’s hard to trust them, because the human mind is so limited and prone to error. That’s why God gives scriptures in the first place.

According to the sages of India. God has given different scriptures to different people at different times and places according to their level of understanding. Some scriptures therefore give more information than others. The Bible and the Koran, for example, give only very limited information about the soul and the important questions of free will and predestination. The Vedic scriptures of India, however, give more detailed information, which will help us examine these questions without going off into the insecure realm of imagination and speculation.

The basic message of Vedic literature on the question of predestination is that the choosing is done by the individual soul and not by God. We are choosing people, not chosen people.

God says He is neutral. In Bhagavad-gita (9.29), Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, says, “I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all.” We could say that God is the original equal opportunity employer.

Yet Krishna goes on to state in that same passage of the Gita, “But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” God exhibits no special favoritism to any particular person or group. But if someone voluntarily behaves in a friendly way toward Him. He responds in kind.

Now one might object: “Ha! So if you’re not friendly to God, then He zaps you, right? That’s not very cool.” But no, you zap yourself, so to speak.

The Vedanta-sutra (2.1.34) says vaishamya- nairghrinye na sapekshatvat tatha hi darshayati: The Lord neither hates nor likes anyone, though He appears to.” He surely does appear to, one might be tempted to say.

The reason God appears to hate one person and like another is related to the fact that He arranges to fulfill the desires of each individual, giving each his or her justly deserved reward or punishment A perverted desire yields a bad result A good desire yields a good result. Mixed desires yield mixed results. Because the results come by God’s arrangement it looks like He is to blame. But He’s not really.

Consider the example of a judge. One person comes before the judge and receives an award of a million dollars in a lawsuit against an insurance company. Another person comes before the judge and is sentenced to ten years in prison for fraud. The judge is responsible for neither the award of a million dollars nor the ten-year prison sentence. The law is there, and in the final analysis the persons who come before the judge have by their own behavior determined the results they will receive. The judge is neutral—at least he should be.

One difficulty with the suggestion that God is fulfilling our desires is that we do not appear to always get from God what we consciously want. If I want a million dollars, then why don’t I get it? Right away!

The reason is that the results of our desires and activities accumulate over the course of many lifetimes, as we take on one material body after another. If in a past life we unlawfully deprived others of wealth, we may now have to suffer for that by having unfulfilled desires for riches. In other words, what we desire is weighed against what we deserve.

Another consideration is that the desire to get rich quick by demanding large amounts of cash from God is a perverted desire. Our desires are evaluated according to a standard not of our own making. And it is according to that standard, whatever it may be. that the results of the specific desires are calculated. Maybe those results will match up with our expectations, and maybe they won’t. But as the Bhagavad-gita teaches, whatever we get is exactly what we deserve, which might be the pain of poverty, or a struggling middle-class existence, or being rich but not rich enough.

So to sum up. God sets up the system but is not responsible for what we get. The responsibility lies squarely with each one of us. As Krishna says in the Gita (4.13), “Although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer.” He also says in the Gita (9.9), “I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral.” And in Chapter Thirteen He says, The living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.”

Now, if you want to criticize God for setting up the system as He did (so that we get bad results for certain desires and actions), you can. But it really doesn’t do much good. Srila Prabhupada says it well in his purport to Srimad- Bhagavatam 7.2.39:

The Lord does not create this material world at anyone’s request …If one argues. “Why does He act in this way?” the answer is that He can do so because He is supreme… .The answer is that to prove His omnipotence He can do anything, and no one can question Him. If He were answerable to us concerning why He does something and why He does not. His supremacy would be curtailed.

Certain people will be satisfied with a statement like this; others will feel extreme dissatisfaction, even repulsion. Here we are getting to the heart of the whole question.

By nature we are capable of liking God or disliking Him, of obeying His orders or disobeying them. More accurately, according to the Vedas our natural position is to serve God with love; and if we so desire we can give up that position and attempt to serve our own selfish desires.

The Vedic literature gives reliable information about the fundamental nature of the living being. The Vishnu Purana states:

vishnu-shaktih para prokta
kshetrajnakhya tatha para
avidya-karma-samjnanya
tritiya shaktir ishyate

“The potency of Lord Vishnu is summarized in three categories, namely the spiritual potency, the living entities, and ignorance. The spiritual potency is full of knowledge; the living entities, although belonging to the spiritual potency, are subject to bewilderment; and the third energy, which is full of ignorance, is always visible in fruitive activities.”

In other words, God has three main energies: the spiritual energy, the energy composed of the innumerable living entities, or souls, and the material energy. The living entities are known as the tatastha-shakti, or the marginal potency of the Lord, because they have the ability to identify with either matter or spirit to exist in full knowledge or in total illusion.

By nature, however, the soul belongs to the spiritual potency. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (15.7), wherein Lord Krishna says, mamaivamsho jiva-loke jiva- bhutah sanatanah: “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts.”

We have always been around. As God has always existed, we have always existed. Some theologians speculate that the soul comes into being when the present body comes into being. This is not only illogical (how can something eternal have a beginning?) but unsupported by scripture.

The Vedic scriptures further state, vasanti yatra purushah sarve vaikuntha-murtayah: “In the spiritual planets everyone lives in bodies featured like the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s.”

So if in our original condition we were eternal beings living in the spiritual world, in spiritual bodies like God’s, then what happened to us? What are we doing here. subject to birth and death?

An obvious question and a good one. Lord Krishna tells us in Bhagavad-gita (7.27).

iccha-dvesha-samutthena
dvandva-mohena bharata
sarva-bhutani sammoham
sarge yanti parantapa

“O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate.”

So one component of the reason for our being in the material world rather than the spiritual world, our real home, is that at some point we developed a desire to enjoy separately from the Supreme Lord, Krishna. Instead of serving Him with love, we desired to serve our own false ego. Although Krishna knows we can never be satisfied without serving Him in our natural position. He nonetheless respects our independence and free will and allows us to act out our impulses to enjoy separately from Him in the material world.

A second component of the reason for our being in the material world is our hatred for, or envy of, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One aspect of envy is the desire to usurp the position of the envied person. For example, if one envies a wealthy person, one may desire to become the enjoyer of that person’s wealth. Similarly, the envious soul may desire to take the Lord’s position as the supreme enjoyer. This necessarily involves partial or total forgetfulness of God’s existence.

One thing to keep in mind is that no one can honestly say, “The devil made me do it” According to the Vedas, God has no competitor battling with Him for souls. God is described asamaurdhva, “having no equal or superior.” If we are apart from God, we can blame no one but ourselves, our own desire and hatred.

There is no irreversible, eternal condemnation. Each soul always has the opportunity to exercise its free will. If a soul is “eternally” condemned, it is only because of its own continuing unwillingness to love God. One can always turn back to God, even from the most fallen position. Srila Prabhupada explains:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead expanded Himself into many for His ever-increasing spiritual bliss, and the living entities are parts and parcels of this spiritual bliss. They also have partial independence. but by misuse of their independence, when the service attitude is transformed into the propensity for sense enjoyment, they come under the sway of lust. This material creation is created by the Lord to give facility to the conditioned souls to fulfill these lustful propensities, and when completely baffled by prolonged lustful activities, the living entities begin to inquire about their real position.

Although the Vedic literature doesn’t talk of Satan, or the devil, it does describe Maya, the goddess in charge of the material energy. Maya is a servant of Lord Krishna who performs the unpleasant but necessary task of creating the temporary world of illusory happiness and distress for the souls who desire to forget Krishna and enjoy themselves apart from Him. And if a soul somehow develops a desire to return to Krishna, Maya is always there to test him with allurements: “So you think you love God? Well what about this … ? And this … ?”

So if that’s our position now, then what is to be done? The answer is simple. We should use our independence to reestablish a friendly relationship with the Supreme Lord, Krishna, and thus end our unpleasant stay in the material world. This is the most important business of human existence.

We should choose to make ourselves pleasing to God. And everyone has an equal opportunity to do that. It is not that any particular group of people has a monopoly on salvation.

Every soul has the opportunity to achieve the highest goal. pure love for God. In his introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Srila Prabhupada explains, “The ways and the means for ultimate realization, ultimate attainment, are stated in the Bhagavad-gita, and the doors of this knowledge are open for everyone. No one is barred out. All classes of men can approach Lord Krishna by thinking of Him, for hearing and thinking of Him are possible for everyone.”

Lord Krishna Himself says in the Gita (9.32), “Those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth … can attain the supreme destination.” It doesn’t matter if one is male or female, higher or lower in social status.

The real chosen people are those who choose to endear themselves to God by their behavior. And in the Bhagavad- gita (12.20) Lord Krishna explains who is dear to Him: “Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.”

The imperishable path of devotional service begins with hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya taught the simple method of awakening love of God through the congregational chanting of His holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna , Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Lord Caitanya was Krishna Himself, appearing as a devotee of Krishna. In other words, He was God showing by His own example how to please God.

Lord Caitanya prayed, “O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.”

When a devotee petitions Krishna in this way. Krishna responds. He says in Bhagavad-gita (12.6-7): “Those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pritha—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.”

One can best meditate upon Krishna and fix one’s mind upon Him by chanting His holy names. In this way one can escape the cycle of birth and death and become situated at Krishna’s lotus feet Lord Caitanya prayed:

O my Lord, Your holy names alone can render all benedictions to living beings, and thus you have hundreds and millions of names, like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

Here Lord Caitanya is revealing our problem. We are trapped in the material world because we misused our independence. Even so, Krishna has made it possible for us to return to our original position simply by chanting His holy names. The method is easy; even a child can perform it. And it is guaranteed to be effective. Yet we are so unfortunate that we are not attracted to chant. We remain reluctant, attracted to other things.

Still, Krishna is non-different from His name. And in the form of His name, He is waiting for us to choose to accept Him into our hearts once more. If we can do so, we shall also enter into Krishna’s heart. Krishna says in the Srimad- Bhagavatam (9.4.68).

The devotees are always in My heart, and I am always in the hearts of the devotees. The devotee does not know anything beyond Me, and I also cannot forget the devotee. There is a very intimate relationship between Me and the pure devotees. Pure devotees in full knowledge are never out of spiritual touch. and therefore they arc very much dear to Me.

So, although we are “choosing people,” in a sense there are also chosen people—the devotees. Because they have chosen God, God has chosen them. And He guarantees that their destination will be His eternal, spiritual abode.

“Is chanting all that your religion does? Don’t you do welfare or anything like that?”

Alex, my barber, works at the Pilatos salon in Queens, New York, on the cusp of a Hispanic neighborhood. The salon has mostly Latino hairdressers and clients, and it is bright and upbeat, with salsa music often playing softly in the background. On a recent visit there, instead of salsa, I heard the chanting of om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, which means “obeisance to the Supreme Lord Krishna.” I remarked to Alex that this is one of the Hare Krishna chants. He and I sometimes chat about Krishna consciousness, so he became quite interested. It seems the CD was a European compilation of various exotic chants and prayers from around the world and Alex was the one who had brought it to the salon.

He asked me about chanting. I explained that the basis of the Hare Krishna religion is sankirtana, or glorification of the Lord in everything one does. One kind of sankirtana is chanting the Lord’s holy names.

Alex had seen groups of people chanting on the streets, and he asked, “Is chanting all that your religion does? Don’t you do welfare or anything like that?”

“We do welfare work,” I responded, “but it’s welfare for the soul.”

Welfare for the Soul

In a previous conversation, I had explained to Alex that we are not these bodies; we are souls. The body is the vehicle for the soul. Still, the idea of welfare for the soul confused him, so I explained that my guru, Prabhupada, compares welfare for the body to saving the coat of a drowning person and letting the person drown, whereas welfare for the soul saves the drowning person. Nevertheless, Alex wondered aloud how one might do something to benefit the soul.

I told him that the chanting itself is the greatest welfare, because it invokes the presence of the Lord in the form of His name. When we chant in public, everyone who hears is benefited by association with the Lord. Thus, Mem>sankirtana is welfare. Alex, who is Catholic and from Costa Rica, said that some of the nuns he knew in school recited the rosary almost all day. He wondered whether that was like our sankirtana.

“Yes,” I replied, “it is similar to sankirtana. And Prabhupada once told me that the Muslims’ chanting of Allah’s name is also like sankirtana.”

Alex said that he didn’t want to offend me, but he had noticed that many people who see the Hare Krishna chanting groups don’t understand what we’re doing.

He asked, “How is that welfare, if they don’t understand?”

I explained that the effect of the chanting doesn’t depend on our understanding. I used the example of a medicine we take to cure a disease. We swallow the pills, but we don’t need to know how they act. After some time, the medicine takes effect, and the disease goes away. Similarly, the chanting acts to cure the soul of its disease, which is bondage to maya.

Alex recalled that we had spoken of maya in our last conversation.

“Yes,” I said, “maya is illusion, and it keeps us focused on this world, clouding our ability to connect with Krishna.”

He liked my explanation of the mysterious effect of chanting, but he still thought it impractical to chant among people who had no idea that their maya was being cured.

“In fact,” I replied, “we do tell people about maya and Krishna. Our welfare work includes disseminating Krishna’s teachings and glories. And, yes, you’re right(when people understand Krishna, they receive a greater benefit from sankirtana welfare.”

I added that book distribution is our most effective means of informing people of the significance of sankirtana.

He asked, “Do you sell your books in the subway, like the Scientologists and Jehovah’s Witnesses?”

I explained that we have a number of books.

“One is called the Gita, which has Krishna’s teachings, and another is the Bhagavatam, which is a set of books containing Krishna’s glories. And we distribute them widely, sometimes even in the subway.”

Emboldened by my candor, Alex expressed concern that a religion where everyone simply chanted all the time didn’t seem practical.

“Well,” I said, “some of our saints were examples of constant chanting, but Prabhupada advised me not to follow that example. He asked me to chant about one and a half to two hours a day as a disciple’s duty, but he said that for the remaining hours of the day working for Krishna is as good as chanting. He cautioned that lazy might people chant to avoid such work. Because I was a family man, Prabhupada encouraged me to have an honest profession and use my efforts and money for sankirtana.”

Transcendental Welfare Formula

Alex was wary when I mentioned money. He said that the Catholic priests he knows are always asking for money and he didn’t much like that. I explained that Chaitanya had prescribed a kind of formula for sankirtana welfare that addresses his concern.

“Chaitanya urged everyone to do sankirtana welfare by offering their words, intelligence, wealth, and life. He taught that the basis for sankirtana welfare is the offering of words, including public chanting or the distribution of the printed word. Intelligence is also used for welfare by organizing the festive chanting and book distribution. For example, every year here in New York we have a grand procession down Fifth Avenue called Rathayatra that has large, colorful carts adorned with flags and tall canopies. Many Hare Krishna people apply their intelligence to obtain permits for the festival, organize displays, prepare food, and coordinate cleanup.”

In the mirror I could see Alex’s face light up. He stopped trimming my hair and told me that he had walked in the Rathayatra parade in June 2002, just months after the attack on the World Trade Center. He commented that the devastation from the attack had depressed him, and he felt that the parade had nourished his soul. It had reminded him of Catholic processions in Costa Rica.

Still, he asked, “What about the money you mentioned? Who gets the money?”

I replied, “The important point is that giving money is based on the offering of words and intelligence, so we are supposed to use our intelligence when we give and not depend on others to dictate or intercede. We give our money for the chanting festivals and book distribution. We also use it to maintain temples, which are centers for sankirtana welfare. Prabhupada taught that we should see to it that our offerings to sankirtana are not misused. Part of the mission of the organization he founded—the International Society for Krishna Consciousness—is to govern the proper use of contributions. It is especially important to offer money, because Krishna’s Gita teaches that such an offering is part of a yoga called karma-yoga.”

When I mentioned yoga, Alex told me that he does a little yoga at home and sometimes goes to classes. I explained that karma-yoga is different from exercise yoga.

“Karma-yoga is the offering of one’s efforts and money to Krishna as a way to connect with Him. Krishna taught that using money selfishly is the cause of worldly bondage, but sacrificing it for welfare frees one from maya. Also, Krishna taught that karma-yoga is an essential part of the highest and most powerful yoga, which is bhakti-yoga, or devotional service to Krishna. Bhakti-yoga is the highest yoga because it awakens love for Krishna.”

My haircut had been finished for a few minutes, and Alex had another client waiting. I reminded him that everything is based on the chanting. He asked whether I could write down the words to the prayer on the CD, so I wrote om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Underneath the prayer, I wrote: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

I told him, “The prayer on the CD has the power of Krishna’s name, and chanting it will benefit you. However, Prabhupada taught his followers to chant Hare Krishna because it is especially recommended for this age. I find chanting Hare Krishna to be wonderful.”

Alex asked his next client to go for a hair wash, and I went to the cashier to pay for the cut. I came back to give him a tip and said that next time I would bring him Krishna’s Gita. That way, he could learn how to offer his intelligence as well as his chanting. At that point he joked that he was a long way from the money part. I laughed.

“That’s no problem,” I said. “Krishna says you can begin by offering Him even a leaf.”

As I prepared to leave, Alex asked me how much money I give to sankirtana. I replied that Prabhupada had asked me to give fifty percent of what I earn, so that is what I try to give. He was surprised and said that it seemed to be quite a lot.

“I’ll tell you frankly, Alex,” I replied, “I was deeply grateful for Prabhupada’s affection and training, so I felt that it was the least I could do. Moreover, Chaitanya likened sankirtana welfare to distributing fruit that cures old age and death. I was enchanted by that analogy and have definitely experienced the benefits of giving and seeing others benefited.”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17536

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

The 68th Annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), the United Nations’ (UN) largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, took place this year from March 11-22, 2024. The event’s focus was “accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.”

The delegation of devotees who represented ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry at the event included Rukmini Walker, founder of Urban Devi; Ineke Zondag, Food For Life Vrindavan Sandipani Gurukul School; Govinda Priya Devi Dasi (Gayatri Khanna), ISKCON Vaishnavi Minister North America; Krsange Radhe, ISKCON Vaishnavi Minister South Africa; Tiffany Cooper, Yoga trainer and women support at Pennsylvania Bhakti Center; Ila, a 15-year-old dynamic devotee supporting media and rapporteur; and Raasbhakti Devi Dasi (Dr. Aditi Mishal), Coordinator ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry at UN CSW.

Last year, it was decided that ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry, headed by Radha Dasi, would be represented at the UN every year. “The UN, hosting representatives from 192 member states, serves as an important platform where crucial policy frameworks evolve from international conventions. Upon my debut last year at the UN representing ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry, I discerned a plethora of commendable endeavors within our fold that, regrettably, remained unacknowledged or absent from such pivotal forums,” said Raasbhakti Devi Dasi. 

Diverse parallel events also took place, offering perspectives and collaborative avenues for change. Convened by member states and NGOs alike, these side events afforded platforms to amplify innovations and confront pressing issues. 

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-vaishnavi-ministry-at-uns-csw68-event/

In a spiritual culture you can surely expect blessings in great number. You will lose count of them because they are numerous even if you have a registering type of mind. Today's blessing came in the form of a visiting monk and his name is Devamrta Swami, an Afro American devotee of the Hare Krishna Movement.

He came into the temple hall while Kirtan was going on. Naturally it created some excitement as he made his way to the vyasasan, the exalted seat for the teacher of the Gita or the Bhagavatam, but Sunday is the day for the teachings of Chaitanya. From the book Chaitanya Charitamrta, the Swami spoke on the pastime where Chaitanya was in Benaras and met a proud swami of the Mayavad school, a brand of the monistic philosophy. This particular brand of spirituality believe the bhakti yogis are sentimentalists or fantatics who chant and dance frequently.

Anyways the Swami's delivery was very good, as usual. He also came to see our last performance of "The Age of Kali" in India. Devamrta really was riveted. "First class," he said, "especially the dancers."

Some suggestions on how to stay inspired.

Somehow, it happens that our motivation in Krishna consciousness may falter. Usually that faltering comes in the form of lacking the desire to do some practical service, associate with devotees, or develop our spiritual practices, such as improving the quality or quantity of our chanting or of our reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Whenever this happens to me or a friend, I realize the urgency and fragility of devotional service and the importance of remaining inspired. How can we proactively and practically manage our own level of motivation in our devotional lives? How can we inspire ourselves and others in moments when our inspiration is lacking? This article humbly attempts to provide practical insights into how to maintain one’s enthusiasm and motivation in Krishna consciousness.

Chant in the Morning

“There never seems to be enough time in the day.”

Quite honestly, besides the Hare Krishna mantra this is my other daily mantra.

Some years ago a devotee whose advice I value told me to “just try” to chant sixteen rounds on my beads every day, and specifically in the morning before leaving home. If I were able to do so, he said, Krishna would clear a path for me: My day would be increasingly efficient, and I would find extra time in the evenings for other devotional activities. I’ve since also discovered that feeling stressed or overwhelmed about daily tasks occupies much more time than we realize. Chanting in the morning helps clear the mind and thus makes us far more focused and productive throughout the day. The same devotee also told me that the material world is one of exploitation and deceit, and chanting in the morning places a protective shield around us that prevents others from hurting us.

Considering the copious amount of time we make for so many people and activities in a given day, why not make some time for the most important person, Lord Krishna, at the onset of our day—to talk to Him, associate with Him, and tell Him we care about Him? Whether for ten minutes or two hours, beginning the day by associating intimately with Krishna is incredibly sublime. Chanting our rounds is the basis for a spiritual day. Committing to a certain amount of chanting each day will help maintain and increase our motivation in Krishna consciousness. If we can try to chant in the morning, we stand an even better chance. While it may sound overly simplistic, chanting is the answer to everything. There’s a reason Srila Prabhupada coined the phrase “Chant and be happy.” And as far as possible, finish those rounds in the morning.

Remember that Krishna Is a Person

Perhaps this too sounds overly simplistic.

When we want to express affection for a friend or family member, we try to cultivate and nourish our relationship by expressing love and service through multiple acts of kindness, affection, and love. At every moment of every day Krishna is expressing His kindness, affection, and love for us. He is the friend who longs for us to associate with Him. He is with us always, willing us to Him. But to love Him is to exercise our free will. He can’t force us to love Him, because it takes the nectar and sweetness out of the relationship.

If you’ve ever put more effort into a relationship than you’ve received, then you know that this is a painful position. When you feel unmotivated, try to think about how much Krishna has blessed you with, and how little He asks for in return. Remember that He is your friend, longing for a loving reciprocal relationship with you. If we just pay some attention to Him daily through chanting and other services, we will feel His reciprocation. One of the best ways to keep the desire to know Krishna better is to serve and associate with His devotees. They provide much inspiration by being naturally happy, devoted, and loving. Srila Prabhupada has provided us with a home within which to take advantage of their association.

Scrub a Floor

Yes. Scrub a floor.

Srila Prabhupada said that cleaning the temple floor will clean the heart. When we feel unenthusiastic in our Krishna consciousness, rendering menial service, particularly in the association of devotees, can have a profound effect.

Before the Rathayatra festival in Jagannatha Puri, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates would clean every nook and corner of the Gundicha temple, where Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra spend a week as part of the festival. With meticulous attention to detail, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates cleaned the temple with deep love and determination.

In the Chaitanya-charitamrita Srila Prabhupada explains how the cleansing of the Gundicha temple is a metaphor for the cleansing of our own hearts:

To give us practical instructions, Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu cleansed the temple twice. His second cleansing was more thorough. The idea was to throw away all the stumbling blocks on the path of devotional service….

By His practical activity, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu informed us how to cleanse our hearts…. The Lord was very pleased with those who could cleanse the temple by taking out undesirable things accumulated within. This is called anartha-nivritti, cleansing the heart of all unwanted things. Thus the cleansing of the Gundicha-mandira was conducted by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to let us know how the heart should be cleansed and soothed to receive Lord Sri Krishna and enable Him to sit within the heart without disturbance.
—Sri Chaitanya Caritamrita, Madhya-lila 12.135, Purport

Menial service has a profound effect. Whether the service is washing dishes, cutting vegetables, or scrubbing the temple floor, it will transform our hearts and minds and thus make us more receptive to the mercy always available to us. And there’s an added benefit: Menial service in the association of devotees strengthens relationships with those devotees in real, perceptible ways that leave us feeling loved. Our inspiration to reciprocate with them and other devotees will keep us protected, motivated, and grounded in our Krishna consciousness.

Share—Any Way, Any How

Sharing what you know about Krishna consciousness is a truly transcendental experience. Share prasada, distribute books, or share whatever you know, no matter how little you think it might be. The knowledge you share will strengthen for you, and you will help others discover their own relationship with Krishna. When that happens you will feel Srila Prabhupada’s and Krishna’s reciprocation immediately. What better way to stay motivated? To share Krishna consciousness, on a small or larger scale, is both inspiring and humbling. Give it a try, and you’ll see your enthusiasm and motivation in Krishna consciousness multiply.

Keep a Journal

Writing can be an extremely effective and powerful tool for reflecting on our realizations and motivation. Many devotees enjoy regularly writing letters to Srila Prabhupada or Krishna. It is a sweet, simple activity that will bolster your relationship with Krishna. Writing honestly and sharing their thoughts on paper is a therapeutic motivational exercise for many devotees.

Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude

A moment’s reflection on what Srila Prabhupada has given us will ensure that we carry out our devotional service with proper gratitude and motivation. Gratitude is a powerful instrument: It breeds sincerity and a concentrated effort to progress in our spiritual life.

Just Try

These are some small but practical methods we can apply in maintaining and increasing our motivation in Krishna consciousness. To feel unmotivated at times is natural. But if we can use those times as opportunities to grow and go deeper in our spiritual life, we will emerge stronger and even more inspired to engage in devotional service. “Just try.” We only have everything to gain.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=23727

Srila Prabhupada once said that when devotees give up practicing Krishna consciousness it is ‘fifty percent their fault, and fifty percent ISKCON’s”. In this article I would like to explore what I perceive as a systemic problem contributing to our society’s fifty percent of the blame.

It is surely surprising that someone should get as far as seriously following the process of Krishna consciousness, only to give it up again. Most of us experienced an immediate relief of suffering when we joined, and we have all heard many times how pure devotional service to Krishna is the highest platform of happiness. Throughout Srila Prabhupada’s books it is made clear that the root cause of misery is turning away from Krishna, and still devotees turn away from the process and plunge themselves back into the material whirlpool.

And it is by no means an unusual phenomenon, as those of us who have been around a while will testify. I don’t believe any actual figures have been kept, but I would suggest that probably the greater number who commence the process, chanting sixteen rounds and following the principles, will slacken or stop their practises at a later date. They may not argue that the process does not work, but the fact they have ceased practising speaks for itself. Perhaps they are now absorbed in a material career, or have taken up some other spiritual path, or ‘new age’ doctrine, or whatever. All of these are sought because they are seen as a means to happiness, to solving the problem of suffering. And if they are pursued to the exclusion of sadhana then obviously they are viewed as a better solution, at least for the time being. It seems then that the point of Krishna consciousness, that it destroys all misery and bestows the highest happiness, is somehow being missed.

IMMEDIATE SOLUTIONS

Srila Prabhupada certainly saw Krishna consciousness as the solution to all problems, personal and social, immediate and long term. In 1974 he even asked devotees to write a book called “How Krishna Consciousness Can Solve All The Problems of Life.” At this time he asked his disciples to present a new problem to him each day and he would explain how Krishna consciousness is the answer. This eventually led to the “Spiritual Solutions to Material Problems” section of the Science of Self Realisation.

Scripture makes it clear that Krishna consciousness is the sure remedy to suffering. In its very beginning Srimad Bhagavatam states that it “uproots the threefold miseries” and Srila Prabhupada comments, “…by service (to the Lord) one is immediately freed from material encumbrances.” (1) As is often the case with such instructions, Prabhupada uses the word “immediately”.

The Bhagavatam goes on to analyse why we suffer. “Due to the external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.”(2)

Again Prabhupada comments, “…due to this unholy contact (with the material energy), the pure spiritual entity suffers material miseries under the modes of material nature” (3)

In other words our problems begin when we identify with matter. Thinking ourselves to be the body, we experience the miseries that afflict it, such as old age, disease and death. This misidentification is the fundamental anartha, or unwanted contamination of the heart. It leads to the subsidiary anarthas of lust, greed, anger etc, as we try fervently to achieve bodily or mental satisfaction. These various impetuses drive us to all kinds of foolishness, along with their resultant painful reactions.

Hence uprooting our suffering means destroying the basic misidentification with matter. This is made clear in the Bhagavatam. “The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service.”(4) “Linking process” means connecting with Krishna, seeing our true identity as his eternal loving servants.

The Bhagavatam presents itself as the specific means of achieving this. “Simply by giving aural reception to this Vedic literature, the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion and fearfulness. ”(5)

Prabhupada explains that there is no difference between Krishna and the subject matter about him. Just by hearing about Krishna we immediately contact him, “And the transcendental sound is so effective that it acts at once by removing all material affections.”(6)

Again we should note in such references that terms like “at once” are used. The relief from suffering is immediate. So how can we get that immediate relief? Many devotees, as mentioned above, have had some taste of it, but still went away. It seems they were not experiencing sufficient alleviation of their pain to maintain diligent spiritual practises. They thus turned to other solutions that they felt were more immediate, putting aside the actual means of eradicating their suffering condition.

What I would like to consider here is the possibility that they did not fully experience the benefits of Krishna consciousness because they did not fully practise the process as given by Prabhupada. I feel that a key element may have been missing, that of effective hearing and chanting of Krishna katha, specifically Prabhupada’s books.

THE PRIMARY PRACTISE

Hearing is the first of the nine angas, or limbs, of bhakti, and it is the primary limb upon which all the others depend.

“Unless one hears about the holy name, form and qualities of the Lord, one cannot clearly understand theother processes of devotional service.”(7)

It is often said that chanting is the most important limb, but Prabhupada interestingly makes the following comment,

“When we speak of hearing and chanting, it means that not only should one chant and hear of the holy name of the Lord as Rama, Krishna (or systematically the sixteen names Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare), but one should also read and hear the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam in the association of devotees.”(8)

In the purport quoted above Prabhupada describes this as a “primary practise” of bhakti that will cause the creeper of love of God to grow all the way to Krishna’s lotus feet. It is my belief that in general we have failed to appreciate the critical importance of hearing and discussing Krishna katha together. As a result we may not have deeply assimilated the messages of Krishna consciousness and thereby felt the benefit. We may have been attending the morning programme, including class and chanting our rounds, but still felt that something was missing, and thus even after some years of practice we are still not feeling the full effect.

Another problem associated with a failure to deeply analyse our books is that we may fail to understand our duty. The result of not properly following sastra is explained by Krishna in the Gita. “He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination. ”(9). Even though we may not deliberately “discard” scriptural instruction, by not properly understanding and practising the philosophy we effectively do this, and thus experience the above unwanted outcomes.

SADHU SANGA

A recurrent message in Prabhupada’s books, as stated in the quote above, is that hearing and chanting should be performed in the association of other devotees. This is called sadhu-sanga. Anyone coming to Krishna consciousness will be quickly apprised of the importance of sadhu-sanga. There is the famous verse that says how even by a moment’s association with a sadhu one can achieve “all perfection”.(10) Then there is Lord Chaitanya’s statement that the “root cause of bhakti is sadhu–sanga” (11), which Srila Prabhupada translates as the association of advanced devotees. Lord Chaitanya said that the main quality of a Vaishnava is that he gives up non-devotee association and associates with other Vaishnavas. Srila Prabhupada explains, “When Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu was requested to explain the duty of a Vaishnava, a Krishna conscious person, He immediately said, asat-sanga-tyaga-ei vaisnava-acara [Cc. Madhya 22.87].” (12)

Sadhu-sanga, or sat-sanga as it is also called, is the second element of devotional practise after sraddha or faith, as defined by Rupa Goswami. We could go through Srila Prabhupada’s books and extract any number of quotes emphasising the importance of associating with devotees. So what exactly constitutes sat-sanga, and who is the ‘sat’ or sadhu referred to in sastra?

In one place Srila Prabhupada directly equates sadhu sanga with hearing. “Lord Chaitanya therefore recommended five main principles for attaining perfection in the devotional service of the Lord. The first is association with devotees (hearing).”(13)

For the most part, though, he defines it as discussing Krishna-katha. “Those who are devotees, they assemble together. Bodhayantah parasparam. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, “They discuss about the glories of the Lord.” Bodhayantah parasparam. That is sadhu-sanga” (14) Here Srila Prabhupada quotes a seed verse of the Bhagavad-Gita , where Krishna describes the symptoms of a pure devotee, how they “derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about me.”(15)

Prabhupada could be strong about the need for hearing and chanting together, or discussing Krishna katha. “Sat-sanga means assembly, discussion. Bodhayantah parasparam, tusyanti ca ramanti ca. If you are not interested in association, discussion, then you are finished. So… karmis, they are fools and rascals. When you have got this center, it is not that you should be engaged from morning till you go to bed for sense gratification. That is not life. That is karmi’s life. You have no time for sat-sanga, for association. You cannot make any progress by this sort of karmi’s life. We have to work for organization, but not that whole day and night engaged and no sat-sanga. That is a misguided policy, and it will spoil the whole structure.” (16)

Krishna conscious discussion is also known as istha-gosthi, instituted by Srila Prabhupada. This has largely come to mean meetings where temple business is discussed. We require management meetings, of course, but here is Prabhupada’s definition of istha-gosthi: “For a devotee, there is no point in making friendships with ordinary persons; he should make friendship with other devotees so that by discussing among themselves, they may elevate one another on the path of spiritual understanding. This is called ista-gosthi. In Bhagavad-gita there is reference to bodhayantah parasparam, “discussing among themselves.” Generally pure devotees utilize their valuable time in chanting and discussing various activities of Lord Krishna or Lord Caitanya amongst themselves.”(17)

THE EFFECT OF SADHU SANGA

Prabhupada would often cite a key Bhagavatam verse that describes how by sat-sanga, by discussing Krishna consciousness in the association of devotees, the whole process of bhakti unfolds.

“In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.”(18)

This verse appears three times in the Chaitanya Charitamrita, twice cited by Lord Chaitanya himself in his instructions to Sanatana Goswami.

Discussion about Krishna is both sravanam and kirtanam, hearing and chanting about the Lord. This is the “watering process” for the seed of bhakti, as described by Lord Chaitanya. The result is that one achieves the highest perfection of life. In Srimad Bhagavatam, Prabhupada states, “The highest perfectional gain of humanity is to engage in discussions of the activities and glories of the Pious Actor.”(19)

Prabhupada indicates how by this process we will achieve success in all our endeavours. “This process of hearing about and glorifying the Lord is applicable for everyone, whoever he may be, and it will lead one to the ultimate success in everything in which one may be engaged by providence.”(20)

Discussion about Krishna is the means by which we develop detachment and come to the Lord. “Therefore one must learn detachment by discussion of spiritual science based on authoritative scriptures, and one must hear from persons who are actually in knowledge. As a result of such discussion in the association of devotees, one comes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”(21)

In 1972 Prabhupada issued an instruction to a prominent GBC member that his “first job” should be to ensure that the devotees in his care were regularly reading and discussing his books. “Your first job should be to make sure that every one of the devotees in your zone of management is reading regularly our literatures and discussing the subject matter seriously from different angles of seeing, and that they are somehow or other absorbing the knowledge of Krishna Consciousness philosophy. If they are fully educated in our philosophy and if they can get all of the knowledge and study it from every viewpoint, then very easily they will perform tapasya or renunciation and that will be their advancement in Krishna Consciousness.” (22)

Prabhupada wanted us to thoroughly analyse his writings from various perspectives, with a view to clearing all doubts. “Try to always study our books and see our philosophy from different lights of directions, become convinced yourself of this knowledge and without a doubt all of your difficulties of mind will disappear forever and you will see Krishna face-to-face.”(23)

He did not expect us to just blindly accept what he had written, and explained how by the process of discussion we would gradually become attached to the subject matter. “Suppose you hear something of the Bhagavad-Gita, and it appeals to you, or even does not appeal to you. Just try to think over: ‘What Bhagavad-Gita says? How Swamiji has discussed this matter?’ Apply your arguments. Apply your logic. Don’t take it as a sentiment or as a blind faith. You have got reason; you have got arguments; you have got sense. Apply it and try to understand it… You will gradually develop your attachment for hearing it, and devotional service will be invoked in your heart, and then gradually, you will make progress.”(24)

Discussions in which we try to see from different angles please Krishna. “Such pure devotees, always merged in knowledge of Krishna and absorbed in Krishna consciousness, exchange thoughts and realizations as great scientists exchange their views and discuss the results of their research in scientific academies. Such exchanges of thoughts in regard to Krishna give pleasure to the Lord, who therefore favours such devotees with all enlightenment.” (25)

We become oblivious to misery. “My dear King, in the place where pure devotees live, following the rules and regulations and thus purely conscious and engaged with great eagerness in hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in that place if one gets a chance to hear their constant flow of nectar, which is exactly like the waves of a river, one will forget the necessities of life — namely hunger and thirst — and become immune to all kinds of fear, lamentation and illusion.”(26)

Prabhupada comments, “If one gets the chance to hear from pure devotees in such a place, allowing the constant flow of the river of nectar to come from the mouths of pure devotees, then the cultivation of Krishna consciousness becomes very easy.” (27)

WHO IS SADHU?

Generally Prabhupada says that we must hear and chant in the association of pure devotees. Indeed, as quoted above, such association is the ‘root cause’ of bhakti. In one place Srila Prabhupada defined sadhu sanga as “associating with the bona-fide spiritual master and abiding by his order.”(28) In the Bhagavatam verse about sat-sanga, cited above (3.25.25), Prabhupada translates the word ‘satam’ as “pure devotees”, and this is usually how he translates the word ‘sadhu’.

It is a frequently repeated point. Lord Chaitanya says, “Unless one is favoured by a pure devotee, one cannot attain the platform of devotional service. To say nothing of Krishna-bhakti, one cannot even be relieved from the bondage of material existence.” (29)

Commenting on this verse, Prabhupada says, “If one is serious about escaping maya’s influence and returning home, back to Godhead, one must associate with a sadhu (devotee). That is the verdict of all scriptures. By the slight association of a devotee, one can be freed from the clutches of maya. Without the mercy of the pure devotee, one cannot get freedom by any means. Certainly a pure devotee’s association is necessary in order to obtain the loving service of the Lord. One cannot be freed from maya’s clutches without sadhu-sanga.” (30)

In one lecture Prabhupada describes the sadhu as a perfect devotee. “Sadhu means a devotee, perfect devotee of Krishna. That is a sadhu. Therefore it is recommended, sadhu-sanga. We have to associate with sadhu, means who have completely dedicated life for Krishna’s service.” (31)

Everything depends upon such association. “The secret of success in the cultivation of Krishna consciousness is hearing from the right person.” (32) And the proper way to associate with such persons is to hear from them. “…one has to associate with liberated persons not directly, physically, but by understanding, through philosophy and logic, the problems of life.” (33)

There is no shortage of such statements throughout Prabhupada’s instructions. We need the pure devotee’s association. The question then, is what does ‘pure devotee’ mean? There are many statements by Prabhupada describing their symptoms, but this can be a somewhat subjective area. One man’s pure devotee may well be another’s rascal. Where one person sees all the qualities of a pure devotee as given in sastra, another may have quite a different view.

However, although there may well be other pure devotees, there cannot be any argument that Prabhupada is the “right person” as described here. He has made his association freely available in his instructions, which are intended for everyone in our society. Those of us who are not his initiated disciples need to find someone from whom we can receive instruction and initiation, but we can also derive immense benefit by hearing directly from Srila Prabhupada through his books, especially in the association of devotees. Perhaps that association will be primarily our own spiritual master, as Prabhupada suggests above, but even if this is not possible we can still come together to discuss Krishna consciousness on the basis of Prabhupada’s teachings. In that way we will get the association of a topmost sadhu, the maha-bhagavata devotee, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada writes, “Here is the remedy for eliminating all inauspicious things within the heart which are considered to be obstacles in the path of self-realization. The remedy is the association of the Bhagavatas. There are two types of Bhagavatas, namely the book Bhagavata and the devotee Bhagavata. Both the Bhagavatas are competent remedies, and both of them or either of them can be good enough to eliminate the obstacles.” (34)

It is my belief that by deeply and carefully studying and discussing Prabhupada’s books we effectively get the association of both Bhagavatas , the book and the person.

As well as this, it is service to Prabhupada, as he explains, “To serve the topmost devotee means to hear from him about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (35)

As Prabhupada so painstakingly produced his books, it surely behoves us to also try painstakingly to understand what he wrote. And by so doing all the benefits listed above will be ours.

MAKING OUR CLASSES SAT SANGA

Surely the best opportunity for us to regularly hear from Srila Prabhupada in the association of other devotees is during our daily classes, but is that happening? Prabhupada plainly expected the class to be a powerful transformational experience. Thus he translated the ‘nasta prayesu’ verse as follows: “By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.” (36)

As I have shown above, this destruction of anarthas or unwanted things in the heart is the effect of proper sat-sanga. If we are actually associating with Prabhupada, through his instructions, this should be happening. However, in my experience so many of our classes fail to offer Prabhupada’s association. Often the speaker will read the verse and purport, and then deliver his or her own thoughts on the subject with scant reference to Prabhupada’s actual words. Stories, jokes, anecdotes, pep talks, favourite cause espousals, outright speculation and even mundane discussion of politics or whatever, are all too common in classes I have heard (and I have recently made a fairly wide study of them). Even where the speaker sticks to the philosophy, it is still rare to hear a class that adheres closely to Prabhupada’s words, seeking to deeply unpack and understand his meaning, and then discussing that together. We are thus mostly getting the speaker’s association, rather than that of Srila Prabhupada, the undoubted sadhu. Some of us may be pure devotees, but speaking for myself I am still a conditioned soul, and I would venture to suggest that many of us called to give class are in the same floundering boat. We are aspiring pure devotees, on the path of sadhana bhakti, which means still becoming freed of anarthas.

Prabhupada says: “Because conditioned soul cannot give you the truth. I am conditioned soul. I cannotsay something which is absolute… Because we cannot take any instruction from a conditioned soul. So thespiritual master, even if you take that he is conditioned soul, but he does not speak anything from hisown side. He speaks from Kṛṣṇa’s side. So unless… The Vedic principle is that unless one is not liberatedfrom the material conditions, he cannot give us any perfect knowledge. The conditioned soul, however hemay be academically advanced, educated, he cannot give us any perfect knowledge.” (37)

As conditioned souls we must therefore stick very closely to Prabhupada’s words in order to not speak ‘anything from our own side’, as he puts it.

I do not want to denigrate the value of any devotee’s association, and I know that many give good talks, but I would suggest that our temple classes, morning and evening, be reserved as sacred time during which we all associate deeply with our Founder-Acharya. Recently the GBC published a pamphlet entitled Srila Prabhupada: The Founder Acharya of ISKCON. In its preamble they stated, “Srila Prabhupada’s presence is to be felt in the life of every ISKCON devotee today, and in the lives of devotees many centuries into the future.” The aim of the pamphlet was declared as, “understanding how Śrīla Prabhupāda is in the center of our lives and our society, and knowing how to keep him in that essential role.” (38) Prabhupada’s role was stated in the pamphlet to be: “The single prominent śikṣā guru immanent in the life of each and every ISKCON devotee—a perpetual, indwelling active guiding and directing presence.”(39)

Siksa means instruction, and thus to ensure that Srila Prabhupada is the “prominent siksa guru” in our lives must mean prominently hearing from him, and that surely begins with class.

And Prabhupada wanted class to be a learning experience. “We should have regular classes, just like school and colleges, eight hour, six hour. Be engaged always in reading Srimad-Bhagavatam, discussing amongst yourself. Then you’ll make progress. Otherwise, if you take it as an official routine work… You should take as routine work, but with consciousness that “We have to learn something,” not simply attending the class, but to learn something. In this way make your life successful.” (40).

Note how he even suggests that there be six or eight hours of classes a day, although mostly he would instruct that there be one hour of class in both the morning and evening. Even this is often minimised, with morning class as short as thirty minutes (after all the preliminaries), and evening class non-existent for most. Many devotees do not even attend the morning class. Of course, where temple attendance is not possible we can conduct our classes at home, but the main principle I would stress, wherever we hold class, is the need to hear the words of Srila Prabhupada.

HOW TO HEAR EFFECTIVELY

As far as the methodology of effective hearing is concerned, there is much more to say, but this article is already too long. My wife Cintamani-dhama and I have compiled a set of principles drawn from Srila Prabhupada’s instructions which can be found on our website: www.improvingsanga.wordpress.comPerhaps I will write a further article on this subject at a later date.

Fundamentally, though, there should be a complete focus on Prabhupada’s words. Put the purport up on Powerpoint for everyone to see, or have them bring their own books. Then go through systematically, picking up on his points, diving deeply into the nectar of his words. Take time, if necessary. Some purports are long and packed with valuable instructions. Why not spend more than just one day on a verse? So much is missed when we rush through his purports. They deserve more than that, and surely this is what Prabhupada expected. Take a look at the link below:

http://www.vanipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_Srila_Prabhupada’s_Books

To conclude then, I believe that if we institute more direct hearing from Srila Prabhupada, especially in classes, we will see a fall in our attrition rate. Devotees will better experience the benefits described above and be less inclined to seek other, paltry solutions. Krishna consciousness will be seen as the all-encompassing remedy for every problem, and we will quickly feel the wonderful effects of Prabhupada’s powerful association.

There is no difference between the spiritual master’s instructions and the spiritual master himself. In his absence, therefore, his words of direction should be the pride of the disciple.(41)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1•SB 1.1.2

2•SB.1.7.5

3•Ibid

4•SB 1.7.6

5•SB 1.7.7

6•Ibid

7•SB 7.24-25

8•SB.2.2.30

9. Bg.16.23

10•CC.Mad.22.54

11•CC.Mad.22.83

12•SB.5.18.10

13•SB.2.9.31

14•SP Lecture Bombay, December 4, 1974

15•Bg.10.9

16•SPC.New Delhi, Nov 3, 1973

17•SB.3.29.3

18•SB.3.25.25

19•SB.3.36.37

20•SB.2.1.5

21•Bg.15.3-4

22•SP Letter Los Angeles June 16, 1972

23•SP Letter New York; July 8, 1972

24•SP Lecture July 28, 1966

25•CC Adi 1.49

26• SB 4.29.39-40

27• Ibid.

28• SP Lecture August 19, 1968

29• CC. Mad 22.51

30• SB.5.3.14

31• SP Lecture, Sydney, February 16, 1973

32•SB 4.29.39-40

33•SB 3.31.48

34•SB 1.2.18

35•SB.4.22.22

36. SB. 1.2.17

37. SPL 27 Nov 1968

38. Srila Prabhupada: The Founder Acharya of ISKCON, p.9

39. Ibid, p.22

40. SPL January 16th, 1975

41. Caitanya Caritamrita Adi Lila 1.35

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=58889

Many people think that science and spirituality will always be at odds, but true religion must be supported by science, and true science must be supported by religion.

Real religion is sanatana dharma, or eternal duty. It is based on universal truth rather than rituals or superstition. Real religion is about truth because God is truth. When religion is true, it is applicable to the material world and can be used to explain natural phenomena. Here’s how by taking three science courses (astronomy, chemistry, and biology) and studying three scriptures (The Bhagavad Gita [BG], Many people think that science and spirituality will always be at odds, but true religion must be supported by science, and true science must be supported by religion.

Real religion is sanatana dharma, or eternal duty. It is based on universal truth rather than rituals or superstition. Real religion is about truth because God is truth. When religion is true, it is applicable to the material world and can be used to explain natural phenomena. Here’s how by taking three science courses (astronomy, chemistry, and biology) and studying three scriptures (The Bhagavad Gita [BG], The Srimad Bhagavatam [SB], and The Brahma Samhita [BS]), I was able to strengthen my understanding of God.

When I started taking science courses a couple of years ago, I began with astronomy. We learned that from a moment of extreme conditions, the universe expanded (and continues to expand), accompanied by a sound vibration. By studying scriptures (BS 5.48, BG 17.23-24), I learned that through Mahavishnu’s exhalation, our universe began to expand with the primeval sound vibration of “om.”

In fact, The Srimad Bhagavatam frequently refers to the universe as “the cosmic ocean,” with the planets as “islands.” This analogy was used countless times in my astronomy textbook, since outer space is composed mostly of, well, space. Although we know how our universe began, our astronomy textbook concluded that modern scientists are not sure how (or if) our universe will come to an end. Will it expand forever? Will it end with a “big crunch”? Scriptures reveal that our universe will eventually be absorbed by Mahavishnu’s inhalation.

The Srimad Bhagavatam and The Bhagavad Gita also casually make reference to extraterrestrial life. Although we have not yet made contact with aliens, astronomers are also aware of life on other planets, simply because it is a statistical reality. As Carl Sagan says, there are “100 billion galaxies, each of which contain something like a 100 billion stars.”

Because most stars have planets, life on other planets must exist. The Arecibo Observatory was created in 1960 largely with the intention to search for alien life. The Drake equation can be used to estimate how many planets in our own galaxy, at this moment, could feasibly contain life intelligent enough to contact us. The equation depends on a number of variables, but Khan Academy has completed the equation in an online tutorial, concluding that there could be 12.5 of such detectable civilizations. (But of course, if they can go faster than the speed of light, and we’re still eating flesh, talking to us just isn’t worth their time.)

My astronomy course also discussed the four types of universal forces: the strong force, the electromagnetic force, the weak force, and the gravitational force. The strong force is what binds the protons in the atomic nucleus together despite the fact that positive charges should repel each other. Although without this force, the universe would be chaotic, scientists have yet to explain how the strong force functions. As The Brahma Samhita (5.35) describes, Krishna, the controller of the universe, is responsible for the strong force. He maintains order through His energy, which pervades His material creation: “All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time.”

Astronomy fascinated me because the concepts discussed were so mind-boggling. Everything I learned in the course was confirmed in the scriptures, and what I read in the scriptures was confirmed by the course.

Next, I studied chemistry and biology, and one of the first things that we learned about were combustion reactions, the burning of fuel with oxygen. Chemistry explained the process of digestion as essentially being a slow combustion reaction of carbohydrates and oxygen as reactants, and carbon dioxide and water as products. In BG 15.14, Krishna says, “I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life.” Moreover, He keeps our bodies running smoothly not only by facilitating the digestion process, but also through his presence within us as the Supersoul (BG 13.23).

Another elementary principle we studied was the conservation of energy, also known as the first law of thermodynamics. This law establishes that energy can never be created or destroyed. Energy can be transferred, for instance from the sun’s light energy into the chemical energy used by plants to create glucose, but energy will never cease to exist. Similarly, our immortal souls can never be created or destroyed. As Krishna says of the nature of the soul (BG 2.20), “For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”

That being said, although the energy will not disappear, some energy is always lost in transfer. This is the second law of thermodynamics. This explains why only a few animals are at the top of the food chain; it is impossible to support more due to the significant loss of energy at each step in the food chain, which can even be a 90 percent loss per trophic level.

It is energetically inefficient to eat from the top of the chain, because we receive only a small portion of the energy we would obtain if we ate directly from the bottom. In my biology course, I learned that since plants are producers of glucose, it is most environmentally efficient to eat plants directly rather than to eat animals that have eaten the plants.

Herbivorous animals live in symbiosis with plants, because we produce the carbon dioxide that they need, and they in turn produce the oxygen that we breathe in to break down the glucose in our cells, produce the energy molecule known as ATP, and power all of our bodily reactions. Moreover, our brains run on glucose and require a continuous supply. (There are actually numerous citations–both scientific and spiritual–that support a flesh-free diet, but I’ll save that for my next post.)

This brings me to my final point: Newton’s third law, which is also known as the law of karma, states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. What we eat has a direct and profound impact on our physical and mental wellbeing, which is why scriptures encourage an ahimsa (non-violent, vegetarian) diet for those that are serious about their spiritual development. Studying science only strengthened my conviction and commitment to this amazing, spiritual, and delicious diet. It also complimented what I’d been reading in various ancient scriptures and made my faith even stronger.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who misinterpret data and misquote scriptures. People who do this will always be questioning the validity of “the other side,” but in actuality, science and spirituality must always be aligned. Both are valid because both are based on truth.

*Note: This post also appears on my personal blog.

>The Srimad Bhagavatam [SB], and The Brahma Samhita [BS]), I was able to strengthen my understanding of God.

When I started taking science courses a couple of years ago, I began with astronomy. We learned that from a moment of extreme conditions, the universe expanded (and continues to expand), accompanied by a sound vibration. By studying scriptures (BS 5.48, BG 17.23-24), I learned that through Mahavishnu’s exhalation, our universe began to expand with the primeval sound vibration of “om.”

In fact, The Srimad Bhagavatam frequently refers to the universe as “the cosmic ocean,” with the planets as “islands.” This analogy was used countless times in my astronomy textbook, since outer space is composed mostly of, well, space. Although we know how our universe began, our astronomy textbook concluded that modern scientists are not sure how (or if) our universe will come to an end. Will it expand forever? Will it end with a “big crunch”? Scriptures reveal that our universe will eventually be absorbed by Mahavishnu’s inhalation.

The Srimad Bhagavatam and The Bhagavad Gita also casually make reference to extraterrestrial life. Although we have not yet made contact with aliens, astronomers are also aware of life on other planets, simply because it is a statistical reality. As Carl Sagan says, there are “100 billion galaxies, each of which contain something like a 100 billion stars.”

Because most stars have planets, life on other planets must exist. The Arecibo Observatory was created in 1960 largely with the intention to search for alien life. The Drake equation can be used to estimate how many planets in our own galaxy, at this moment, could feasibly contain life intelligent enough to contact us. The equation depends on a number of variables, but Khan Academy has completed the equation in an online tutorial, concluding that there could be 12.5 of such detectable civilizations. (But of course, if they can go faster than the speed of light, and we’re still eating flesh, talking to us just isn’t worth their time.)

My astronomy course also discussed the four types of universal forces: the strong force, the electromagnetic force, the weak force, and the gravitational force. The strong force is what binds the protons in the atomic nucleus together despite the fact that positive charges should repel each other. Although without this force, the universe would be chaotic, scientists have yet to explain how the strong force functions. As The Brahma Samhita (5.35) describes, Krishna, the controller of the universe, is responsible for the strong force. He maintains order through His energy, which pervades His material creation: “All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time.”

Astronomy fascinated me because the concepts discussed were so mind-boggling. Everything I learned in the course was confirmed in the scriptures, and what I read in the scriptures was confirmed by the course.

Next, I studied chemistry and biology, and one of the first things that we learned about were combustion reactions, the burning of fuel with oxygen. Chemistry explained the process of digestion as essentially being a slow combustion reaction of carbohydrates and oxygen as reactants, and carbon dioxide and water as products. In BG 15.14, Krishna says, “I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life.” Moreover, He keeps our bodies running smoothly not only by facilitating the digestion process, but also through his presence within us as the Supersoul (BG 13.23).

Another elementary principle we studied was the conservation of energy, also known as the first law of thermodynamics. This law establishes that energy can never be created or destroyed. Energy can be transferred, for instance from the sun’s light energy into the chemical energy used by plants to create glucose, but energy will never cease to exist. Similarly, our immortal souls can never be created or destroyed. As Krishna says of the nature of the soul (BG 2.20), “For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”

That being said, although the energy will not disappear, some energy is always lost in transfer. This is the second law of thermodynamics. This explains why only a few animals are at the top of the food chain; it is impossible to support more due to the significant loss of energy at each step in the food chain, which can even be a 90 percent loss per trophic level.

It is energetically inefficient to eat from the top of the chain, because we receive only a small portion of the energy we would obtain if we ate directly from the bottom. In my biology course, I learned that since plants are producers of glucose, it is most environmentally efficient to eat plants directly rather than to eat animals that have eaten the plants.

Herbivorous animals live in symbiosis with plants, because we produce the carbon dioxide that they need, and they in turn produce the oxygen that we breathe in to break down the glucose in our cells, produce the energy molecule known as ATP, and power all of our bodily reactions. Moreover, our brains run on glucose and require a continuous supply. (There are actually numerous citations–both scientific and spiritual–that support a flesh-free diet, but I’ll save that for my next post.)

This brings me to my final point: Newton’s third law, which is also known as the law of karma, states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. What we eat has a direct and profound impact on our physical and mental wellbeing, which is why scriptures encourage an ahimsa (non-violent, vegetarian) diet for those that are serious about their spiritual development. Studying science only strengthened my conviction and commitment to this amazing, spiritual, and delicious diet. It also complimented what I’d been reading in various ancient scriptures and made my faith even stronger.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who misinterpret data and misquote scriptures. People who do this will always be questioning the validity of “the other side,” but in actuality, science and spirituality must always be aligned. Both are valid because both are based on truth.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=22552

Excerpt from the lecture by HH Nirañjana Swami

Baltics Winter Festival, January 17, 2014

The following is a partially-edited transcription of an excerpt of a lecture given on January 17, 2014, at the Baltics Winter Festival – Chanting with Feeling

Today I wanted to read and speak from a few quotes about the Holy Name. Some of them I have read recently and found a lot of significance to them, not only to myself but those with whom I shared them. A lot of times the devotees struggle to make their chanting relevant. The previous speaker, Dhīra-śānta Prabhu was using the word ‘mechanical’, and he was explaining how to avoid being mechanical.

The quotes I am going to present today are from Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and he is quite incisive in his presentation. The one thing I’ve really noticed when reading a lot of these references given by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta is that he is cutting and very clear. When I use the word ‘cutting’, I mean he really makes it very clear what is bhakti, and what is not bhakti. Sometimes he presents it in a way ‘what is useful’ and ‘what is useless’. Sometimes, if we are not careful in our own discrimination, we may not be able to see something as useless, the way he sees it. We may gravitate towards a certain understanding about bhakti, which may be compromised. And it’s compromised because we can’t fully surrender, and when we hear about full surrender, it’s disappointing because of our own limitations. Or, it may not be disappointing, but it may also be fearful.

As Dhīra-śānta Prabhu was saying before, “Kṛṣṇa is Hari – One who takes away.” When we hear that, sometimes we think, “Why should I let Kṛṣṇa take these things away?” And we become a little fearful about what could possibly happen if we chant too sincerely. We have this sense that if I chant too sincerely, Kṛṣṇa may take something away – and I am not ready for that! But although Kṛṣṇa is Hari (One who takes away), when one cultivates firm faith in Kṛṣṇa and in His Name, one finds that Kṛṣṇa not only takes away our obstacles but He also takes away our fear!

And that’s encouraging. When that begins to happen, then a devotee actually experiences progressive advancement in his faith. That’s why Kṛṣṇa very clearly states in the 18th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā‘surrender and don’t fear’. He says, mā śucaḥ for a verygood reason. [Bhagavad-gītā 18.66] Generally we think, “Surrender is going to bring us a fearful state”, and that’s why Kṛṣṇa says, “Don’t fear. Don’t worry”.

We were recently reading a verse from the 4th Canto of the Bhāgavatam, where the Lord is addressed as Hari-īśvara. Śrīla Prabhupāda was breaking down these 2 words to hari and īśvara, with īśvara meaning ‘controller’. He says, “Because the Supreme Lord is the supreme controller, He can give full protection. He can also eradicate all the obstacles on the path of devotional service.” He also says, “Hari means ‘the Lord who takes away’.”

So, Kṛṣṇa not only takes away obstacles on the path of devotional service, which are generally our attachments, but He takes away our fear of losing them. And when a devotee experiences that freedom from fear, it’s liberating. When that happens, the devotee actually feels encouragement and gratitude towards the Lord.

Sometimes Kṛṣṇa puts His devotee in a very difficult situation, and the devotee begins to ask, “What did I do to deserve this?” But as we know, the Lord minimizes the suffering of His devotee. Sometimes the devotees have a false understanding, or false conception, to think, “If I am surrendered to Kṛṣṇa means I shouldn’t have to suffer.” And then they become doubtful, “Is Kṛṣṇa really protecting me? Why is Kṛṣṇa doing this to me? I am suffering! I surrendered so much to Kṛṣṇa – why should I have to suffer?”

But, the Lord minimizes the suffering. And minimization of the suffering means that we deserve a lot more than what we got. But minimization also means that whatever suffering the devotee has to experience now, presently, is actually burning up his previous reactions to sinful life, so that his future is bright – and in that way also Kṛṣṇa is minimizing the suffering of a devotee. That’s why Kṛṣṇa says mā śucaḥ… “Don’t fear! Your future is bright! Why are you fearful?”

When a devotee has firm faith in Kṛṣṇa’s words, he understands, “Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He is giving me just a small token in comparison to what I deserve. I have the faith that whatever Kṛṣṇa does is always for my benefit. And my fear goes away!” Mā śucaḥ… “Do not fear! I will relieve you from these sinful reactions.” But it doesn’t necessarily mean that the reactions are gone now. They are minimized by the grace of the Lord. The future is bright!

Therefore, as Bhāgavatam states, the devotee always goes on glorifying Kṛṣṇa, and he goes on serving Him with his body, mind and words. And then certainly, mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.8], he becomes a bona fide candidate for liberation.

So when Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā 18.66, “Surrender unto Me, and I will deliver you from sinful reactions”, the components of that surrender, as explained by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, are given in the previous verse.

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ’si me

“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.”[Bhagavad-gītā 18.65]

That is our surrender. “Just Remember Me. Worship Me. Offer your homages unto Me.” And what else does He say? “Your future is bright! Surely you will come to Me.” Therefore He says, “When you surrender in this way, and when you abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender your mind to Me, then you have no reason to fear – you will come to Me.”

And that is the activity of Lord Hari, when that fear is taken away by remembrance of the Lord. Lord Hari is the ‘One who takes away’, but He also takes away our fear because generally, it’s the fear which is the cause of so much anxiety. As Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, ‘fear’ means to not know what lays in the future. That’s why we fear. “If I do this, what’s going to happen? If I get on the plane, is it going to land?” Fear comes from the anticipation of the unknown. Not only that, but when we hear, according to the statements from śāstra, that every living entity has a stockpile of reactions, where some are prārabdha(manifest) and some are aprārabdha (not yet manifest), sometimes we become anxious. “When is that going to happen? When is that disruption to my life going to appear?” But Kṛṣṇa says, mā śucaḥ… “Don’t fear. Just surrender and remember Me. I’ll take care of you.”

Surrender can be a fearful state, but it also can be a very joyful state. Because when that fear goes away, one feels so relieved that Kṛṣṇa is there. “Kṛṣṇa is protecting me. Kṛṣṇa is giving me His assurance that my future is bright. And I can see how wonderful my future can be, if I simply remember Him. Because if I am remembering Him now, and I feel so joyful, just imagine what it will be if I go on and continue remembering Him.” So, the devotee loses his fear by remembrance of the Lord.

As we were saying before, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Thakura can be very cutting. What he says can almost instill fear, because in some of his quotes that we are going to read, he really draws the line: what is bhakti, and what is useless. Sometimes we don’t like to hear that something that we thought was useful, all of a sudden is useless.

There is a verse in the 3rd Canto of the Bhāgavatam, spoken by Devahūti,

“Anyone whose work is not meant to elevate him to religious life, anyone whose religious ritualistic performances do not raise him to renunciation, and anyone situated in renunciation that does not lead him to devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must be considered dead, although he is breathing.” [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.23.56]

And Prabhupāda says in the commentary, “If all of our activities do not lead to devotional service, they are useless.” Here Devahūti is saying, “Anyone whose work does not lead to the religious life…”, so we may think, “Well, religious life – that’s auspicious! Especially if our religious life brings us to the platform of renunciation! That’s so auspicious!” But then she says if your renunciation doesn’t lead you to bhakti, you are like a dead body, although you are breathing.

Bhakti is what gives life. It gives validity to religion and renunciation. But if our religion and renunciation don’t lead us to bhakti – it’s useless. Therefore, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta draws the line what is bhakti, and what is not bhakti. But before I read these though, I wanted to read something from Śrīla Prabhupāda, because Prabhupāda has also spoken on this topic, about feelingly praying.

He says, “Our chanting should be relevant.” He makes it very clear that if there is no feelings, it’s not so relevant. He talks about this in his commentary to the verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Queen Kuntī is praying,

janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir
edhamāna-madaḥ pumān
naivārhaty abhidhātuṁ vai
tvām akiñcana-gocaram

“My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.”

(Partial Purport) “…It is said in the śāstras that by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually the Lord’s holy name has such powerful potency. But there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere. A materially puffed up person may utter the holy name of the Lord occasionally, but he is incapable of uttering the name in quality…” [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.26]

Prabhupāda goes on to explain how such chanting is inferior. Materially satisfied man may even occasionally chant the Holy Name – not just uttering the Holy Name once – but Prabhupāda says he can’t be so sincere. Sincere chanter is one who chants with quality, with feeling.

What is that feeling? We want to read a few of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta’s quotes about what that feeling is, and here is the first such quote, which is an answer to the question “Whose offering does Lord Kṛṣṇa accept?” Here Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta draws the line! Pffffffshhhhh! [Guru Maharaja make sharp sound like drawing the line] Let me show you what that line is.

“ ‘O Kṛṣṇa! I do not want from You any happiness for myself. Whatever You want from me, I will obey without fail. Even if I have to suffer in doing Your will, that suffering will be my pleasure. You are the all-auspicious Lord, and as such, Your arrangements can never be inauspicious.’

“If a servant of Kṛṣṇa prays to Him with such faith and feelings, the Lord will certainly accept his offerings. Without these feelings and faith, the Lord will not accept that which is offered.”[“Amṛta Vāṇī: Nectar of Instructions of Immortality” by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati]

In the first part Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta is actually speaking this as if it’s a prayer. “O Kṛṣṇa! I do not want from You any happiness for me.” Are we ready to say that? “Kṛṣṇa I don’t want from You any happiness for me. Please, spare me of that. I don’t want it. Whatever You want from me, I will obey without fail! Even if I have to suffer in doing Your will, that suffering will be my pleasure.” In other words, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta is making it clear that a devotee only wants service. That’s all he asks for.

In the second part, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta draws the line. Pffffffshhhhh! If one doesn’t have these feelings, Kṛṣṇa doesn’t hear! Kṛṣṇa doesn’t listen!

Oftentimes we quote a verse from Prahlāda Mahārāja, where he’s speaking to his friends, classmates in the school, sons of the demons.

“My dear friends, O sons of the demons, you cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming perfect brāhmaṇas, demigods or great saints or by becoming perfectly good in etiquette or vast learning. None of these qualifications can awaken the pleasure of the Lord. Nor by charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness or vows can one satisfy the Lord. The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show.” [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.7.51-52]

Here is where Prahlāda Mahārāja draws the line. Who does Kṛṣṇa look at? Who gets Kṛṣṇa’s attention? Those who have unflinching faith in the Lord. Not by dint of their austerities, not by dint of their sacrifices, or their acceptance of vows. These things in themselves do not capture the Lord’s attention. That’s why Kṛṣṇa says,

“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.” [Bhagavad-gītā 9.27]

Somebody may perform very severe austerities. Hiraṇyakaśipuwas very austere! Many people perform very severe austerities for other reasons, but Kṛṣṇa says, “Do it for Me!” So, Prahlāda Mahārāja is saying that if one doesn’t have this unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Kṛṣṇa, than whatever one does is simply a show! It’s meant to get somebody else’s attention. But Kṛṣṇa is not looking. His attention doesn’t go there. Kṛṣṇa’s attention only goes to those places where devotees have firm faith in Him.

That’s why it’s always recommended that we should associate with, and hear from, and faithfully serve those who have faith, because if we don’t have that unflinching, firm faith, how are we going to get Kṛṣṇa’s attention? We cannot be waiving our hands, “Hey Kṛṣṇa! Look at me! I am here!” No. It’s devotion which draws Kṛṣṇa’s attention.

Therefore Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta is saying that if a servant of Kṛṣṇa prays to Him with this faith and these feelings, then Kṛṣṇa will certainly accept his offering. Without these feelings and faith, the Lord does not accept the offering.

Who does the Lord listen to? Those who are not asking for anything, except for His service. Because they have firm faith that service is everything. The opportunity to serve Kṛṣṇa is the safest place. “Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He accepts me. He takes notice and gives me service.” When the devotee sees that kind of recognition, his faith increases.

Sometimes devotees ask a question, “What can I do? They don’t give me any service!” But what are we thinking service is? We think, “Service is what I’ve selected for myself to do! And no one gives me any service (that I want)!”

But when the devotee is sincerely chanting – feelingly! – he thinks, “Please, my only shelter is service! I can’t live without an opportunity to serve You. That’s all I want!” Lord Caitanya is teaching us,

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ

kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye

mama janmani janmanīśvare

bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi

“O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Nor do I want any number of followers. What I want only is the causeless mercy of Your devotional service in my life, birth after birth.”[Śikṣāṣṭaka, verse 4]

This should be the sincere prayer of a devotee praying to Kṛṣṇa, “Please, engage me in Your service.” Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta says, that is a proper mood to chant the name of the Lord. Then one who feels deprived of service can chant with feelings. Then it can become very relevant. “I feel deprived of service. Kṛṣṇa please, give me service, because without service there is no meaning to my life.”

Just a few days ago, I was listening to a lecture where Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying, “Living entity who has no service to Kṛṣṇa, is like the finger that’s been cut off from the hand.” Has no purpose. It’s useless. Finger’s usefulness is only when it’s connected to the hand. Similarly, a devotee’s usefulness is when he is connected to Kṛṣṇa’s service.

In another lecture, given in 1973, Prabhupāda says, “Even if a devotee can’t serve to his full capacity, even if he wants to serve, Kṛṣṇa accepts that ‘wanting to serve” as a service! And his life becomes successful.” In another words even if there are obstacles to service, but if we want to serve, then Kṛṣṇa accepts that desire of ‘wanting to serve’ as service.

Prabhupāda is explaining in the Upadeśāmṛta that devotional service is a cultivation of desire: we simply have to cultivate the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, and not our senses. And when we look at our own hearts and see our non-capacity for doing that, we should feel something. We should feel that we need help. That’s what Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta is going to say in the next quote, which is an answer to the question “How should we call the Supreme Lord”.

“Sri Gaurasundara taught us that in order to chant the Lord’s holy names, we must become lower than the straw in the street. Unless we consider ourselves insignificant, we cannot call upon another for help. Only when we pray for another’s help do we consider ourselves helpless. In such a state of mind we think that without another’s help we will be unable to do anything. We will understand that it is impossible to do alone that which is meant to be done by five people. Sri Gaurasundara has instructed us to chant the Lord’s names. We get this information from our spiritual master. To chant the Lord’s names means to take His help. But while chanting, if we consider Him our servant or expect Him to do our work, then there is no question of our living in the conception, “I am lower than the straw in the street.” [“Amṛta Vāṇī: Nectar of Instructions of Immortality” by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati]

How often do we think, “I got everything under control: I got my life together, I know exactly what I am doing.” But, we have to feel insignificant. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati says, “Unless we consider ourselves insignificant, we cannot call upon another for help. Only when we pray for another’s help do we consider ourselves helpless.” Are we praying for help? If we are, what are we praying to help us with? “Kṛṣṇa help me with my wealth… Kṛṣṇa help me with my anxiety… Kṛṣṇa help me with my distress, with my suffering… Help me get a job…” So many things we can ask from Kṛṣṇa. But Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta says, “No, we should not engage Kṛṣṇa in our service.”

Our prayer should be, “Kṛṣṇa, help me be Your servant! I need Your help, because when I look in my own heart and I see all the things my mind is filled up with, unless You help me, I will never be able to remember that I am Your servant.”

Uh-oh! What does that mean? Is Kṛṣṇa going to do something that can be a cause for fear again? Do we have enough courage to ask Kṛṣṇa like that? Again, mā śucaḥ… Don’t fear! If we simply sincerely pray, Kṛṣṇa will take away that fear! “Kṛṣṇa help me, I am helpless. I look in my heart, I see lust, greed, the desire for prestige. I see so many things which are dragging me away from Your service. Help me be Your servant and remove these obstacles which are preventing me from serving You. I cannot do that alone.”

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta says, “In such a state of mind we think that without another’s help we will be unable to do anything.” Then he goes on to speak about being lower than the straw on the street, and the proper mood of humility, which I will skip reading, because we are running out of the time. Bhaktisiddhānta ends this quote with saying.

“… We often think we are doing the Lord a favor by offering Him prayers; that we could have engaged in some other activity instead. Such a mentality is an example of a lack of tolerance. We need someone to protect us from such a mentality, someone to help us become lower than the straw in the street. We certainly need to take shelter of a person who will deliver us from sinful motives. Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura says, “Lord Kṛṣṇa does not reject those who worship Him under the shelter of the spiritual master. Others who do not do this simply live and die uselessly.” [continued “Amṛta Vāṇī: Nectar of Instructions of Immortality” by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati]

Thank you very much. Jay Śrīla Prabhupāda!