I am very grateful to be with all of you this evening. Our Gaurasundar Prabhu spoke according to his very generous hearted perceptions. Actually I have not come out of compassion. But I have come out of deep gratitude to Himansu prabhu and Gita Devi mataji because they invited. Their invitation is all attractive to my heart. Thank You.
I am so glad to be with all of you this evening. Gaurasundara Prabhu has set the subject of tonight as compassion or on the way he spoke me to speak on something else. So I’ll flow with the current of Ganga of His intentions.
Compassion is very deep subject. We can understand the origin of compassion. In instructions that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave to Sanatana Goswami. One particular very famous sloka that He stated, He is the foundation of basis to true Dharma. Here we find Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is speaking to one of the greatest most learned scholars on the all the world. Sanatana Goswami, he was the Prime Minister for the entire Kingdom. At that time Bengal was a country. What we call, India today, was not like it is now, with the federal government and state governments. It was whole sub continents full of separate kingdoms with rivaling kings and wards.
At that time the King of Bengal was Nawab Husainshah, who conquered over the entire state.
And accepted Sanatana Goswami and His brother Rupa Goswami are the Chief Minister, Prime Minister and Home Minister of the entire country. Sanatana Goswami did his jobs so well, he was awarded Sarkarmalik and also he was awarded what is today comparable to billions of dollars nor rupees. He had fast racks of lands in his name, magnificent palaces, gardens with private lake like Sanatana Sarovara, Rupa Sarovara that these two brother had each other their own private lake, where they would bath in the morning and once we brought about 1500 devotees and we only covered about one third of one of the lakes in Ramakeli. So this is nature of the wealth that they had but they were not happy because what they really wanted to do like Raghunathji. They wanted to serve humanity according to the greatest needs.
Although they were great powerful and compassionate politicians they understood that the greatest need is on the spiritual platform. Eventually they met lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu on that very place. Their desire was so strong that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally came there. Although He is not in His originally intended root, He was going from Jagannath Puri to Vrindavana Puri and Ramakeli is not really on the way. But the Lord is very much within the heart of every living being hears our prayers and sees our desires.
The desires of Sanatana and Ruapa Goswami attracted the Lord to come to them and on a Tamal Tree and a Kadamba Tree, He met them and initiated them. After He saw the qualities genuine and pure humility that they had. Although they were great scholars they powerfully political. They had tremendous amount of physical beauty, strength, and immensely popular by the common people as well as by the king in the royalty. They had everything. But yet they consider themselves to be very small. They consider themselves to be empty without love of god and they present themselves with such humility to lord Caitanya that the lord cried that to make drug cries is not an easy thing. Some of you wives, you know how it is not so easy to make your husbands cry. What to speak of supreme father of all living beings “aham bija pradah pita” god. You can imagine trying to make the universal form cry. But Krishna is the source of universal form and He came as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
We see even the greatest asuras like Hiranyakashipu, when he was fighting with Narshimadeva, he did not make no matter how he heat the lord, he did not make the lord cry. Ravana could not make Rama cry as far as his mighty arrows. But the humility of can make the lord cry. Cry in an affection. The tears of the lord’s affection or the most purifying of all purifying things because those tears of affection can wash away all of our sins, can wash away all of our anarthas and one single tear of Lord’s affection can literarily drown us in ecstatic love of Lord for ever. Lord picked up Rupa and Sanatana and accepted them as His own and granted their wish. They wanted to serve the lord with their body, mind, words and life. So Lord sanction for them to go to Vrindavana. But no great things come in this world without a challenge.
Yesterday I was speaking some people and they were asking me to some people and they were asking me about. If god wants to do something and we want to do it, why does not He make it easy, if he is the controller of all controllers? Devotees sometimes are willing to give up so much to do something for god and god really wants to be done, why does not remove our obstacles? He can do that. It seems He puts extra obstacles on the way and then He puts more on top of those and sometimes more under those and more either side of those. Why is that? And they were saying according to our study of religious history that’s the way it is in every religion throughout history in the Old Testament.
The Jews who are supposed to be the chosen people of god that they are in slavery for generations and then to get out of slavery there were so many mountable obstacles and somehow or other they got through it all because of their faith and their determination and then they spending the entire generation wandering in a wilderness desert without food, struggling and finally they got the land the Lord promise them, they had to fight wars. Why does not He just send them a flyer airplane to the promise land.
In Christianity, they were murdered, they were crucified, they were fed the lions, yet they were determined. They kept their faith. And Buddhist, you know all the Marshall arts, karate and judos and all that stuff. They were all created its are origin in Indian Marshall arts but in the oriental areas they developed, you know certain things in Marshall arts. In – there is monks and why do you thinks monks are practicing Marshall Art. It was not meant for physical fitness, they could it done yoga for that. It was because people were beating them and killing them. Because it was persecution against their religion.
The Pandavas they were great devotees of Krishna and the vanaras they were great devotees of Rama. They had many obstacles. So why Krishna put obstacles in the path of the devotee’s lives even they wanted to do the right things? Sometimes when we wanted to do the wrong thing, obstacles are removed. When we wanted to do the right things there are many obstacles because there are many reasons. One of the reason that is very important. If some thing great comes easy, we do not really appreciate its value. The value of something is very much, how we have to struggle to get it. When we really work for something and it comes, we can never forget it’s value and we are grateful. Another reason is when obstacles come and we say sometimes seen very impossible and we are doing it for Krishna then we turn to Krishna. We cry for Krishna, only you can help me, please empower me. And then we actually fulfill our mission. After this prayer then we know for sure, what within us. We prayed for power, the power came and we did it. Therefore we do not take credit. If you take credit, you cannot be grateful. Because you think, look what I did and it’s mine, it is because of me. There is no much gratitude there.
If you really in need and somebody gives you something unconditionally, you are grateful. If you sell something, you have a fare price, you are not very grateful for the person that buys it. Or if you buy something for someone at the fare price, it is better as – and you are not so grateful to the person. But if you really need something and you do not have anything and a person give it you out of love. You are really grateful.
So Sanatana Goswami, here he was willing to literarily leave behind on a state where billions of dollars, power and fame that is tremendous in volume and securities to go to Vrindavana to sleep under trees and on he banks of the rivers and doing madhukari. When he try to leave the king they put him in jail. Sanatana Goswami was not showing up for his service. He was calling in sick and the king send a doctor because he could not do without Sanatana. He ordered, “Go fix Sanatana and bring him back”. The doctor came and saw Sanatana was perfect in health with all these brahmanas studying Srimad Bhagavatam. The doctor said, “He is fine. He just do not want to come to work. He is having Srimad Bhagavatam katha in his house. The King personally went to his house and saw Sanatana was sitting there and Srimad Bhagavatam being spoken and discussed. He, who interfere the class. He was screaming to Sanatana Goswami. “I need you. You are here doing this”. He demanded that he would be severely punished if did not get back to his service immediately. And Sanatana Goswami was tactful. He said, “You are representing god, because King is supposed to representing god. So you are representing god. So whatever you think is justice for me. You can do it but I cannot go back to my service. So the king put him in prison. It was not like one of that house arrest that politician get prison in the stage, where they have servants, and their own cooks. It is just put in a donjon and they put a chain around his body so that he could not move.
Basically the king wanted to force. But Sanatana escaped. He told the jail keeper, I want to go to Mecca on a pilgrimage. If you let me to go there, you will get god’s blessings. That person really wanted to do it. But he said, “I will be in trouble”. So Sanatana Goswami gave him variable golden coins. He said, “Just tell the king that I went to respond to natures, calls of the river and I jumped into the river and my chain and my everything was and there was whole when I went to the river with be and went under water and drowned and I get washed away and that’s the end of me”. Then he gave him more coins. The person said, “I’ll get pious credit to go to holy place”. Sanatana Goswami was not lie because Vrindavana is Mecca for the devotees of Krishna. It was not that he ever lied. He was just creatively telling the truth. He was telling the truth in a very universal inter faith format.
Then he escaped. It was not easy. Somehow they cut chain and he had one Isant assistant, who was helping him. They went to one hilly place which was impossible to pass through. The place where festive with dacoits. It was hilly track of land and one man was determined to murder him because he sense that he had coins and Sanatana Goswami was intelligent. He could understand by the person’s hospitality. He was so intelligent. That man treated him so hospitable because an astrologer told him that this person here has 10 gold coins. So that man decided I am going to take into the forest tomorrow in the guys of helping him through and I am going to murder him and take his coins. That was decided.
So the next morning, Sanatana came and the person so gracious and nice to him. Sanatana was thinking, why he is so nice to me? It must because he knows I have these coins and wants to kill me. So he gave that person all the coins. He said, “Why are you giving me these coins”? He said, “No, no. I am giving to you”. The person said, “I can’t believe it but I was going to kill you for these coins”. He said, “You are so generous and you gave these to me. Now I do not want to kill any more. You are so kind and you are so nice. Keep the coins and go. I’ll help you. Then Sanatana Goswami said, “You do not kill me for these coins, somebody else also and take them”. That person was converted. He had such deep respect for Sanatana Goswami ji. Eventually he came to Varanasi.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had just been to Vrindavana. He spent two months in Vrindavana. He arrived in Kartik Purnima and He roamed through twelve forests and after roaming and seeing all the holy place with the son of the brahman Krishna Das went to the Vrajavais, who were living there, who really knew everything about Vrindavana. They went along with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Then He states at Akrura Ghata and everyday he would in the early morning He would go to Amalital in the bank of Yamuna and for hours and hours, He in rapture in the love of Sri Radha for Krishna, He would chants the holy names. Then He returned to Puri, where He staying in the house of Chandrasekhara and He was taking Prasad from Tapana Mishra.
One day Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu told Chandrasekhar that “There is a very holy man outside your house, please bring him and I want to see him”. He went outside and came back and said, “There is no holy man out there”. Lord Caitanya said, “No, no. I know he is there. Go and get him”. He came back and said, ‘I do not see anyone”. He said, “Is there anyone out there”? He said that there is one really like a beggar. Lord got up from His seat went right out side, there he saw Sanatana Goswami. Plz understand, he was just to convict. He was fugitive. Escaped from prison. He was really look like a beggar. Chandrasekhar was watching, what is the lord want to have to do with such a person but lord picked up him and embraced him. Thy both rapped tears of love for each other. Many things transpired from that point.
One day Sanatana Goswami inquired from Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who am I? Where am I coming from? Where am I going? Why am I suffering? Why there is so much suffering in this world? People call me a pandit or a great learned scholar. But I am so foolish and ignorant that I believe them. So what kind of scholar, I do not even know who I am and why I am suffering? What is the goal of life? What is my purpose here in this world?
According to Vedanta Sutra “Athata Brahmajijnasa”. From the very beginning it is explained that human life actually begins when we ask these questions. Not how do I do well for that? That is so important. Not how could I learn mathematics or how can I learn science, or how can I learn business, I can I learn cooking, how can I learn housekeeping. These are in important rates. But even the lower species they have their mathematics and science and all their stuff. Have you ever see the spider makes a wave, very mathematical. It is very architectural. A cow takes care of its calf, good housekeepers. Even a little cat, they take care of their little babies.
Human life actually begins when we ask sincerely, not just inquire out of curiosity but human life begins when we are sincerely feeling a need to know, who am I? Why I am suffering? What is the meaning and purpose of life? When we feel a need to know that and we ask ourselves and others, that according to the sashtra is human life begins. Until that we are not that human species. For now we are not actually living a human life. Because human life is specially meant for self realization. It is the boon that we have. We have free will. The trees, the fish, the plants, the insects, the lizards, the beasts they do not have free will. It is very minimal. They can request their assistance. They just try to solve this simple problems of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. But one thing is interesting, you know all of these species are need to love and beloved.
In America, people fall in love with their cats and dogs. The dogs and cats in their own way fall in love with their masters. There is a deep bond of affection there. It is a strange may be. Initially we were staying in a house in the area of north of Chicago and there was six inches of snow in the ground and the wind was so severe. Chicago called the windy city. You do not understand what the windy city means, until you go there in the winter. It cannot be described in words properly. It is a high wind that is coming off hundreds of miles of a lake that solid ice. It is literarily on this wind that stormy and it is blowing you. It’s like knives and swards stabbing onto you. It is really cold and bitter. When I was there, 14 below zero but the wind was about 40 below zero. You consider the wind affect. Everyone was in their houses, which are heated up very nicely. But day long you see people how they in that bitter cold react and snow in freezing, dressed one possibly can be with puts on walking with their dogs. It is not because the dogs need exercise. It’s because dogs like every human being need to respond to nature. Because the dogs just cannot fit on the toilet, they have to take them outside. Because of the laws and because of so many dogs and if there was not some laws anybody will want to go outside. There not only walking them trebling and freezing and the dogs are just jumping around because they have all these hairs all over and when the dog responds to nature they have to you know, their globes on and especially they puts special plastic over their other globs or they take their globes off and put plastic over their hands and scoop of their excrements or in common language stool and then they have special bag that they put it in. It is the winter. Now was watching everything is ice cold except the excrement from half of back away he its smoking. It is very fresh and soft. The hogs in Vrindavan like this very much.
There is lot of sacrifice. They have to do this in four or five times a day. Morning, couple of times in the afternoon, and night. They have to go out in colony with the dogs. Otherwise they were just sitting at home. It is certain type of affection. Then the dogs are really appreciates their masters for doing this for them. They can understand. So even in the animals need to feel love and need to love. What to speak of humans? But the special feature of human life is “We can question our existence, who am I? What is the purpose of life? Why I am really suffering? Is there way how to out of it? Who is god? What is my relationship? When we sincerely feel a need for these questions to be answered. That’s when the opportunity for human life is realized.
Sanatana Goswami asked these questions and he did it in such humility and such sincerity, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Sanatana, you are so learned, you know all these things. You are fit to be My guru. But you are asking for the shake of steadiness. In essence, he is asking on behalf of us. Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gita to all of us through Arjuna. Arjuna already knew all these stuffs, he was a great vaisnava. He was a great devotee. Krishna put him in a bewildered state, so they could represent everyone in this world for all time to come. But Sanatana said, “No, not like that. I need to know.
Then Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu began these teachings. One of the first things He did is, He established the very basis of Dharma. What is Dharma? There are many different definitions. If you put prefix to Dharma you can knew so many things. There is Varnasharma Dharma. Which means our prescribed duties according to our nature, not according to our birth. But according to our inclinations and our very nature. Then there is Kaitava Dharma. Kaitava Dharma is a type of Dharma, that means cheating dharma. But actually the word dharma means that which is inseparable from a substance. Srila Prabhupada speaks it in such easy to understand term, one of the hardest conceptions philosophies. He makes it so simple. The dharma of fire is heat. Can you separate heat from fire? Wherever this fire there is heat. There is not cold fire. There is not even cool fire. Fire is always accompanied by its essential nature, which is heat and light.
The source of all fire within this universe is the sun. The sun is the gigantic spear of fire. Unbelievable god’s creation for those of who are scientists. According to modern science, what is the distance between the sun and the earth? Can any one know? It is millions of miles away. The it is very far away, inconceivably far away, unbelievably far away. Yet how much heat is radiating. That even millions and miles away the heat radiating from the sun is keeping us warm, especially around April and May in Delhi. People scorch by the heat and factually all light and all heat in the entire planet it’s origin is sun. When we start fire from wood, it is because of Sun’s energy in the wood. Coal is just wood underground for a long time. Oil is just coal underground for a long time. Energy of the sun is so powerful. We see millions of miles above us and it is keeping us warm. But millions of years ago the sun ray that went into a tree is now transformed into oil and the energy of the heat and light of the sun that is putting into that substance millions of years ago is still there in an adornment state. And you like the oil when it becomes heat and fire and light. These all come from the sun. Inconceivable how creation works.
The more we willing to analyze the creation as it is the more we have to appreciate the master plan of god’s creativity. For it happens like by chance. Not only is it very illogical. But it is found at all. When we understand the personal creative power of god through the sun. So wherever there is fire the qualities are heat and light. The mind is like fire. Krishna explains in Bhagavad-Gita, I am diverting from the original subject to speak an important subject. Then I’ll turn to the original subject, providing I do not forget about the original subject. The mind is like fire. Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita that the mind that is controlled then it is the best of the friends. But if the mind is not controlled then it is like worse than enemy.
Here in Delhi sometimes the electricity goes out and there is darkness and nothing works and people become very very much disturbed. Now in a place where is very cold like we are speaking Chicago. When I was a little child there was such a massive snow storm and it was so heavy and so cold that ice packed up all the electrical lines and because of the ice was so heavy the electrical lines broke and the entire neighborhood that I was living in for miles and miles around there was no electricity. It was below zero with the wind. In Chicago they called the wind the hawk.
Remember last time I was here and I talked about the hawk of destiny. It was very very difficult. Practically everyone, the only way they could survive was to somehow or other go to some hotel in 40 miles away, where there is electricity, others they are freeze to death. But to make these more complicating when due to that cold if your car does not start. It is panic. You have to call a fire truck to did the snow away from the front door, because it is impossible to get out of the house. It was totally kicked in by snow.
In New York city when Srila Prabhupada was there once. Many years ago there was a power failure and due to that power failure it cause the city billons of dollars. There was complete panic amongst 8 million people. Nobody knew what to do and how to do it. So fire is well controller that gives us light and it gives us heat. Then feel secure and happy. The same light that gives us heat and light and warm, if it is going out of control it destroys everything.
Recent I have with my friend in Malabo beach, which is one of the most prestigious wealthy areas of America. People who lives in Beverly Hills, they like to have house in the Malabo also. Because Beverly Hills they consider sometimes its too noisy and Malabo is right near the ocean and very quite and peaces. Couple years ago, there was the massive blazing fire and even the biggest most famous movie stars of Hollywood, their homes were being burn down.
One person was telling me, one of these types of people that he had a magnificent home and there is one insurance company loves to insure big famous people. They said, “We want insure your home”. He said, “I do not think, why you are not insure me? Because you know I have done a lot of crazy”. They said, “No, no”. So they insured and few weeks later there was a forest fire and his house burnt down. There was nothing he could do. No matter who you are. I know some people, some of the most wealthiest and more powerful people and when fire came to their home they just drove away as fast as they could and brought the vast purse and put over jewelry they can get and then they went to a hotel somewhere and turn on television and watching the fireman fighting against the fire on their house.
Now sometimes you could watch cricket games on the television and you really wanting India to win. So can you imagine how they wanted the fireman to win? Millions and millions of dollars of property and they seeing their roof and they are seeing everything and the fire man just trying their best. Ultimately only one part of the property was burnt. So that’s the nature of fire. If out of control, it is absolutely destructive. It can burn cities. In 19th century the entire of city of Chicago burnt down from one little lantern that was not controlled. Of flame this big was giving nice heat and light. When out of control and burn the entire city. There was a place called “The water tower”. It is the monument of Chicago, because it is the only thing that survive the Chicago fire.
So the mind is like that. You have to very careful. If you control the mind, it is our best friend. It can lead us from material suffering to the eternal spiritual love, to perfection and liberation. If the mind is not controlled, it could create utter devastation in our lives. When we see it happens so many times throughout history.
So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He was describing to Sanatana Goswami volumes of knowledge. But right at the beginning we were talking about dharma. Srila Prabhupada’s definition of Dharma.
Dharma, which is inseparable, seems like heat and fire. So what is the inseparable quality from life. The origin of all life is the atma or the soul. What is the Sanatana Dharma? The constitutional nature of the soul. When we understand this then everything within creation begins to make sense because we start seeing things through the lens of illusion. So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoke this verse “jivera svarupa haya krsnera nitya dasa” that every living entity is an eternal servant of Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada stresses “Krishna is not sectarian word”. Krishna is all attractive force of the beauty of god. The sweetness of god. The love of god. The power of god, depending on who we are different religions, they focus on aspects of god. The judiciary power of god, as he who rewards and punishes. In Vrindavana they focus on God’s beauty and sweetness. Some religions are bowing down or offering prayers and hums to god who will burn their homes with thunderbolts and send them to immortal hell, if they do not do what they are supposed to do. In Vrindavana that same god dancing and playing with them. They are offering sweets too. If you go to Varsana Sriji Mandir and the Vrajavasis are offering sweets and dancing. If you go to Gokul, they remembering god as a little baby, stealing and crawling and they are singing beautiful song about god, how He is Krishna, Gopal. Yashoday mai is chasing after Him with a stick and He is running away. But the amazing thing is they are conquered by the power of gods sweetness. They are absolutely conquered when they become purified. But the deepest mystry of Vrindavan is when a devotee is conquered and gives his or her heart to the lord with love and god is conquered by that love.
We all know the universal form in the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad-Gita, even Arjuna the greatest warrior on earth, could not look at him. Yes he could look at Bhisma, he could look at Karna, he could look at all the great warriors, but he could not look at the universal form, it was just too much. He was covering all directions. But the source of the Viratrupa is the Gopal. Now He is afraid of mother Yashoda. But mother Yashoda does not know how to use any weapons. She just churns butter and cooks milk of cows.
So it is the constitutional nature of every soul that we are servants of god. “mamaiväàço jéva-loke jéva-bhütaù sanätanaù” We are part of god and perfection of that service is to serve god with love. “premä pumartho mahän”. Everyone is serving god either directly or indirectly. But real knowledge and real joy is to serve with love. When we understand that then compassion is understood in such a deep profound dimension. Because we a part of god in every living being. There was a great soul name Shivananda Sen that to the story of dogs.
Shivananda Sen, he was a house holder, as far as I know he had three children, a wife in a very stable happy family. He protected his wife and wife protected her husband. The children were very encouraged, enthuse, well educated, everything. This was a very beautiful house hold family. But the whole family together understood their highest purpose was as a team to serve god and to serve others. Can you serve god without serving others? It is inseparable. So every year he would personally arrange three to four hundred devotees to go from Navadviapa to Puri. Just close to one thousand kilometer. So long way. There were no buses, trains, or plains. They would walk. And he had to arrange different places three meals a day and there was no restaurants they would just stop and eat. They had have to stop and cook and preparing things. Every evening he had to have place for stay. Thy have to going through jungles and forests. It was not an easy things. They had to pay taxes because every few hundred miles you are coming into a different country. But he love to serve. He and his family just love to serve.
One time a dog joined their party. Shisvananda felt, the dog is part of Krishna. The soul in that dog is just like me a part of Krishna. I am his servant. The dog did not like the food that the other devotees were eating. So he made special rice for the dog. Can you imagine? He is feeding four hundred devotees in the middle of no where in a different place every morning, afternoon, and night and he was making special provisions for that dog because he feels on serving anyone who comes. One time he was really being harassed by boat man because Shivananda Sen was paying for everyone to get on the boat. Then the boatman said, “No dog allowed”. Shivananda was saying, “Did not see his as a dog? He is like brother”. He saw spirit soul in his heart. “vidyä-vinaya-sampanne brähmaëe gavi hastini”. A devotee sees a part of god to every living entity and they are fulfill love and compassion for everyone.
So he paid extra money and he bribed the boatman. May be he gave him the triple the cost of a human to let the dog on. Then at that time when Shivananda Sen was very delay by some crocked tax collectors. He had his assistances feed all the devotees so that they would not be inconvenience. Then Shivananda Sen finally after all that hardship and wrangling with these corrupt custom officials for a particular place hours and hours going through all fact and having to face special fish for every single one of the four hundred devotees negotiating and haggling over it. He finally gets back. He must be exhausted. Then he asked his assistance “Did you feed everyone”? They said, yes. Where is the dog? The assistant said, “Oh I forgot about the dog. I cannot make the special Prasad for dog”. So Shivananda Sen saying himself and all of his assistances for searching all around. But they could not find. Shivananda Sen was feeling, if here he is, he is serving all these hundreds of people so nicely but somehow or other no fault to his own his assistant for about the dog and Shivananda Sen is feeling very sad. Just see what I have done to this poor dog because I did not properly manage my people.
When they all got Puri and went Lord Caitanya’s house and who do you think that they saw sitting at Lord Caitanya, the dog. The dog was there before them. Shivananda Sen came to the court yard and when he just came, Lord Caitanya had green coconut pulp and he was taking to bit it. Lord Caitanya from His mouth saying to the dog, Chant Krishna, Krishna. Then the dog started barking with saying Krishna, Krishna. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu was saying say, Krishna Krishna and the dog said, Krishna. Then Lord Caitanya would take the food right out of His mouth and throw it to the dog and the dog jump up and catch it. Shivananda Sen, what did he do? First he bow down to Lord Caitanya, then he bow down to the dog. How fortunate!
The next day that dog was nowhere to be seen and he was never been seen ever since. He went back to Goloka Vrindavana, the spiritual world, why? There were so many dogs. Why did not all dogs go back to Goloka Vrindavana because that dog was the object of affection of the great devotee and anyone becomes the object of affection of great devotee becomes very special and dear to the heart of god, of Krishna. That dog had no qualification except, he receive the mercy of the vaisnava and the power of the mercy of the vaisnava makes that soul so dear to the lord that the lord feels obliged to deliver. Because My devotee who given up everything and anything for Me. Shivananda sen whose wife and children they love Me so much, they love every living beings so much they serve so much. If someone becomes dear to them, I am obliged to Shivananda Sena to deliver that person even if a dog. What to speak of human?
This concept “jivera svarupa haya krsnera nitya dasa” that every living entity is the eternal servant of Krishna. When we understood it carefully these are the types of qualities that awaken from the heart. Srila Prabhupada said, “There is not much use or value to philosophy unless that philosophy transforms one and creates good character. A philosophy does not create humility, compassion, love, self control for the shake of higher purpose. Then really has literarily no value. The purpose of philosophy is to transform a person’s character. If we really feel ourselves to be servant of god, then these are the qualities are begun to develops, these are the qualities we begin to cultivate. So people who hate each other over different sectarian differences. How could they possibly be – of love of god, where there are such unbecoming characteristics? The dog was not a Hindu, he was not even a human. But he was the object of Shivananda Sen as he was everyone.
God does not see the external appearances of things. He sees the contents of the heart. Krishna rewards according to the content of the heart. Therefore Vrindavana Das Thakur explains, the most exulted titled in all creation is Das to feel oneself to be the servant. This chanting of the holy names of Krishna, when it is done with that spirit of servitude has most powerful affect to overcome the egos of this age of Kali. Actually Sri Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur explains the seven tongue flames or fire of the sankirtan movement. But the chanting of the holy name of the lord is like fire too. It burns away the anarthas, the egoistic selfishness of the heart and then it gives light. It gives us light by which we can see Krishna face to face with love.
This is the inner intent of a devotee in chanting the holy names of Krishna. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.
QD: Hare Krishna maharaja. Thank you for your nice class. Maharaja I want to ask “How with the contaminated heart of mind, can we enter into the spirit of servitude by chanting the holy names? Because the heart is contaminated, so if I try states of service not hear by chanting the holy names.
Maharaja. Because you have free will. You can give into your selfish propensities or you can submit to the instructions of guru, Krishna and Vaisnavas to serve. That is your free will. All you take just utilizing your free will to serve. It is so easy. But because our selfish tendencies are so complex that sometimes make the easiest things seeing complicated. But all service is his just to proper utilization of our free will and no one can take away your free will. Maya can exploit it. But she can never take it away. And in the association saintly people that gives us the strength in the intelligence to properly utilize our free will. Our saddhana and our satsang are two of the most important principles to guide and empower our free will to make the right choice.
QD: By the effect of Kali, we are like selfish to take ---, like there are so many effects which Kali Yuga has. So be in this Kali Yuga so what kind of powerful way to cultivate this quality of selfishness so we are in unnatural way. But in Vedic time it was so natural.
Maharaja. It is always the Vedic time if we recognize that opportunity. So same answer, you have free will. Hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, chanting the holy name. Krishna is the most powerful names of overcome Kali. Study Srimad Bhagavatam and hear Srimad Bhagavatam regularly,
“nañöa-präyeñv abhadreñu
nityaà bhägavata-sevayä
bhagavaty uttama-çloke
bhaktir bhavati naiñöhiké”
Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.18
Srila Prabhupada’s formula is very simple. He has given us so recommended doses of chanting medicine of holy name. He has given us Srimad Bhagavatam. He has given us four regulative principles. He has given us so many opportunities and encouragements to engage in service by sharing bhakti with others. The six loving exchange exchanges of devotees and sharing bhakti beyond the association of devotees. Srila Prabhupada gave us this foundation of formula and we just follow it nicely by the grace of god and our sincere endeavors we can be protected from this age of Kali and create Vedic times. Not just Vedic times, “golokera prema dhana hari nama sankirtana”. We can create Goloka Times.
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