An Important Lesson In Our Life:
“Be Present”
Q. You mentioned that Lord Caitanya created different situations for the purification of the persons in His lila...We may not be clear enough in our situation, so what can we do to link with His will, mercy, or arrangements directly?
A. A phrase I used earlier was "Be present." I can expand on that, but just take that phrase: be present, moment to moment. Don't be out to lunch, or absent,or nobody home. Be present with the Holy Name, with the services you are doing, with the circumstances Lord Caitanya is bringing into your life, and with His indications. To be present, in other words, is what Gopinath Pattanayak did. He meditated intensely, and the circumstance changed abruptly because of that. For his purification the circumstance was there. He did not moan or groan or whine and complain, "I am a devotee of Lord Caitanya; why is He allowing this to happen?"
When we are present, it amplifies our eagerness to receive mercy. You can give examples of what it means to be present. When you chant, Krishna is there. When you call Krsna, He is immediately there. He is so merciful! Be present. Today when we go to Alalanath and hear the message, be present with the message. When you hear the glories of the place, be present with the message and let the message go in. You will feel something, etc. Apparently there is ill fortune and good fortune; be present with it. Let the relationship with Krsna be your all in all. Be present in your relationship with Krsna. It’s like marriage vows - "in richer or poorer, in sickness or health, or whatever the circumstance is, I am yours." Na dhanam na janam na sundarim, like that...bhavatad bhaktir ahaitukitvayi. Details of the temporary are important only when it comes to services to render; it fades in importance when it comes to "this brings me happiness or distress,” because happiness is in relationship with Krsna and in any circumstance we can serve Krsna. Such an important lesson in life, but it eludes us since we are attached to temporary things and 'my happiness' and 'my distress'; we let it slip through our fingers, because we are attached.
From a lecture by HH Romapada Swami titled "Alarnath & GopinathPattanayak Pastime - Day 7", Puri Youth Yatra 2010
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