Avoid Showy religious Fervor

(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)

On Vyaasa Puja day Maharaja gave the following thought provoking instructive lecture in Shree Shree Radha Neel Madhav dham in Rajkot. Referring to rhymes - "Always remember Krishna" composed by H.G.Atmaprasad Prabhu, Maharaja was explaining the shloka 3.8 in Bhagavad Gita where-in Krishna says -

niyatam kuru karma tvam
karma jyaayo hy akarmanah
sarira-yaatraapi ca te
na prasiddhyed akarmanah

"Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one's physical body without work."

On the pretense of doing devotional service we must not be careless in our material duties. There should not be any room for lethargy. Maharaja said - "Devotional service begins from doing material duties nicely. A grain of practice is worthier than tonnes of faithlessness. In transcendence there is no rest. The more you serve, the more good it is for your spiritual as well as bodily well-being. Keep this in your mind, even if you are not able to follow it now. If it atleast remains in your mind, someday you would start following it."

yastu bhagavato bhutvaa na grnaati ganitrkaam
aasuris tasya diksha tu na sa dharmaaya vidyate
ganitrkaam grahitvaayo mantram cintayet budhah
janmaantara sahasraani cinto ‘ham ca tena vai

“After becoming a devotee or engaging in devotional service to the Lord, if one does not accept a japa-mala, his initiation is considered to be demoniac. This kind of initiation is not very beneficial for religious principles. If one chants on his beads properly, then the Supreme Personality of Godhead remembers this intelligent devotee for thousands of births and rewards the devotee spiritual perfection.”

Maharaja gave practical instructions insisting in a sublime manner as to how we should perform our duties as well as devotional service. He said - "16 rounds is a must. Otherwise spiritual progress will be NIL. If you forget your rounds, then rounds will forget you.You have to accept japamala. This is very important. Don't use clickers. Don't be worried as to what others will think if you use japa-mala. When you touch the japa-mala, unknowingly you will concentrate. Even when chanting using japa-mala, it is equally important to keep the bag clean. It will hardly take 5 minutes to wash. Everything should be done nicely. If there are dirty clothes, they must also be folded properly and kept aside, with sufficient eagerness to clean it soon. Please be serious about this. Doing arathi with dirty clothes lying around is not acceptable. Showy religious fervor is not required. "

Chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

and be happy.