Cultivating the Fabric of Devotion

We were really fortunate to have the invaluable association of our beloved Guru Maharaj in Chennai from 12.02.2003 to 16.02.2003. Maharaj flooded the parched land of Madras with his nectarean Krsna katha. With His blessings, I shall share with you the nectarean instructions as far as my intelligence allows.

Maharaj was telling that wherever there is Krsna-katha or Krsna Kirtan, Krsna is personally present there whereas we have the wrong idea that we are doing Krsna bhajan and Krsna is elsewhere. The shastras say,

harih sada vaset tatra yatra bhagavata janah
gayanti bhakti bhavena harer namaiva kevalam

Hari is present where the devotees sing with loving devotion His glories. But if the Bhakti-bhaava is not there, He is not pleased. He is bhaava-grahi Janardana. The word “Bhaava” has another meaning that is the price of a thing. When we buy the cloth, we feel the fabric of the cloth. If the fabric is fine, then the price is more. If the fabric is rough, then the price or bhaav is less. In the same way we have our Devotional fabric. If the Devotional fabric is full of understanding with feeling and devotional attitude then it is fine. On the other hand if there is roughness then there is no bhakthi-bhaava. The only way to increase this bhaav is to be more inclined in our devotional service and then all the pastimes of the Lord will be eventually revealed to us automatically. This bhava can never be enforced from outside. The enrichment of our devotional fabric depends upon our sincere performance of devotional service like doing mangala arati, reading of scriptures, following the regulative principles. This also includes removal of unwanted tendencies in us like cheating, criticizing others, being envious and so on. Unless we genuinely try to weed these negative tendencies, our Bhakti will not prosper.

Maharaj said that a simple thing like understanding the four seed verses of Bhagavad-gita (10.8-11) can increase our bhakthi-bhaava. These seed verses are present in all the verses of Bhagavad-gita, just as the seed of the mango tree manifests the tree and is there everywhere. Krsna says in the first seed verse “aham sarvasya Prabhavo” i.e He is the original source of everything. If this idea can somehow or the other sink into our mind, then it will naturally increase our Bhaava for Him. This should be conveyed to our mind continuously. Then we will come to understand “Nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha” that there is no other gati for us other than Krsna. That is why Srila Prabhupada has so mercifully given us a program of daily chanting and reading of the scriptures. Otherwise the mind is so foolish that it gets entangled with so many nonsensical things and goes astray. That is why H.D.G. Bhakthisiddhanta Sarasvati Takur asked us to beat our mind with a shoe hundred times everyday. Otherwise the mind gets attached to the family or the bank balance and our devotional service becomes completely bankrupt.

Krsna says “mattah sarvam pravartate”- everything emanates from Me. Srimad-Bhagavatam3rd canto gives a nice description of how the material creation takes place. Maharaj emphasized that our intelligence should be utilized to read and understand these things. In one of the researches conducted in US, it was found out that we use only 10% of our intelligence in our whole lifetime and the remaining 90% we hand it over back to the Lord when we die. Instead it should be utilized fully in reading and understanding the scriptures.

Just like BBC is the authority in news media, we also have our own spiritual BBC i.e Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavatam and Chanting. Just as whatever is said in the BBC is authentic, in the same way those who follow this transcendental BBC are also authentic.

Devotional service to Krsna is like an intravenous injection. When the disease is serious, ordinary injection will not work. We are all completely diseased and we have to take this intravenous injection. With all the instructions at our disposal because of the mercy and hard labour of Srila Prabhupada, we cannot afford to close our eyes for our own interests. Maharaj ended the lecture with a punch, “If we improve our fabric of devotional service we will all shine like the Sun, that one may require goggles to see us!”

-Vaijayanti mala devi dasi, Abu dhabi.

Chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

and be happy.