kalakantha das - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT2024-03-29T08:22:01Zhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/kalakantha+dasCan a Householder Save For Future Security? by Kalakantha Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/can-a-householder-save-for-future-security-by-kalakantha-das2022-03-11T12:00:00.000Z2022-03-11T12:00:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8633784484,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8633784484,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8633784484?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="500" /></a></p>
<p>This class on Srimad Bhagavatam 8.22.24 is given by HG Kalakantha Prabhu on Tuesday, January 26th, 2021, at Bhakti Center.<br /> The crux of the issue is this: Will I serve the Lord with whatever money He has allotted to me, or will I use it to try to please myself. My consciousness, and not on the amount of money I have, determines my decision. Prabhupada explains: “Materialism does not mean that one has to possess so many things. The actual fact is one may be a perfect transcendentalist or spiritual man by possessing the whole world, and one may be a gross materialist without possessing a farthing. So this distinction can be made on the basis of consciousness. When one is Krishna conscious while possessing everything in the world, he is a perfect spiritualist, and one may have renounced everything in the world, but lacking in Krishna consciousness, he is a gross materialist.” (Letter, April 23, 1970)</p>
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<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93644">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93644</a></p></div>Sri Nrsimha Kavaca by Kalakantha Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/sri-nrsimha-kavaca-by-kalakantha-das2020-05-06T10:05:52.000Z2020-05-06T10:05:52.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:622px;width:450px;" src="https://i.imgur.com/m2KyecL.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>This is a poeticized version of the standard translation for these prayers. I do not know who translated them originally, but the translation is included after the poeticized version.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Sri Nrsima Kavaca</strong></p>
<p><strong>1,2) Invocation</strong><br /> </p>
<p>And now I shall recite the hymn once spoken by Prahlad,</p>
<p>Sri Nrsima-kavacha, which the learned souls applaud.</p>
<p>Of prayers it is most pious, and its transcendental sound</p>
<p>resolves the greatest problems and protects one all around.</p>
<p>This hymn bestows all opulence of which one may be fond.</p>
<p>It elevates the soul as far as heaven and beyond.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>2-8) Meditation on Lord Nrsimhadeva</strong><br /> </p>
<p>Envision Lord Nrsima, Lord Supreme of all that’s known,</p>
<p>as He presides majestically upon His golden throne.</p>
<p>His mouth is open widely below three all-seeing eyes.</p>
<p>His dazzling body rivals waxing moons in autumn skies.</p>
<p>Queen Laxmi stands beside Him to the left, in firm embrace.</p>
<p>His form holds every merit that adorns the human race.</p>
<p>Arrays of shining jewelry embellish His four arms.</p>
<p>Though tender to the touch, His limbs protect one from all harm.</p>
<p>Effulgent golden rings bedeck His piercing lion ears.</p>
<p>His chest blooms like a lotus that resplendently appears.</p>
<p>He’s covered by a spotless yellow cloth in gentle fold,</p>
<p>resembling the color of the purest molten gold.</p>
<p>A host of blazing rubies complement His other gems.</p>
<p>The gods, including Indra, know creation comes from Him.</p>
<p>His lotus feet attract the minds of everyone He sees.</p>
<p>He’s well-prepared to greet those souls immersed in piety</p>
<p>with conch shell and with lotus. For the rest, it’s disc and club.</p>
<p>Garuda prays before Him with great reverence and love.</p>
<p>Although He’s all-pervading, Lord Nrsimadev conceals</p>
<p>Himself within a pillar till He’s fittingly revealed.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsimadev, You now are seated in my heart.</p>
<p>Please hear me chant these mantras till my enemies depart:</p>
<p><br /> <strong>8-16) Prayers for Personal Protection</strong><br /> </p>
<p>May You protect my words and the results of all I try.</p>
<p>May You with eyes of sun and flame preserve my mortal eyes.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsimadev, you shelter planets of all kinds.</p>
<p>Be merciful and shelter both my head and restless mind.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsimadev, help me recall</p>
<p>the prayers of the sages, one and all.</p>
<p>You nose denotes the most ferocious lion.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsimadev please safeguard mine.</p>
<p>The stunning Goddess Sri adores your face.</p>
<p>Please keep my mouth and teeth within their place.</p>
<p>Prahlad admires Your face, a shining moon.</p>
<p>May my face be forever facing You.</p>
<p>My Lord, You know the wisdom of our race.</p>
<p>Allow me to maintain my sense of taste.</p>
<p>Your awesome actions keep this world afloat.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsima, please protect my throat.</p>
<p>Your arms befit the one Supreme Controller.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsima, please protect my shoulders.</p>
<p>May You who blesses gods protect my hands</p>
<p>and keep me safe wherever I may stand.</p>
<p>May You whom yogis seek within themselves</p>
<p>Protect my heart and safeguard where I dwell.</p>
<p>May You, who ripped apart a demon’s chest,</p>
<p>please keep my vital organs at their best.</p>
<p>My Lord, whose navel generates Brahma,</p>
<p>protect my navel with Your fearsome claws.</p>
<p>The universe itself rests on Your hips.</p>
<p>Please do not allow mine to be eclipsed.</p>
<p>Unseen, You know all hymns and mysteries.</p>
<p>Protect my genitalia if you please.</p>
<p>In You the god of love himself resides.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsima, please protect my thighs.</p>
<p>You are the perfect blend of man and beast.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsima, please protect my knees.</p>
<p>You reinforce the earth and all she has.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsima, please protect my calves.</p>
<p>You grant whatever man and god entreat.</p>
<p>My Lord Nrsima, please protect my feet.</p>
<p>Your thousand-headed form cannot be checked.</p>
<p>Protect me, Lord, in every respect.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>17-19) Prayers for Protection from All Sides</strong><br /> </p>
<p>Of violence, You are divine perfection;</p>
<p>protect me from the easterly direction.</p>
<p>Protect me from the southeastern direction</p>
<p>where otherwise, Sri Agni has discretion.</p>
<p>No other hero matches your aggression;</p>
<p>protect me from the southerly direction.</p>
<p>No fire bests Your radiant projection;</p>
<p>protect me from the southwestern direction.</p>
<p>Your faces have omniscient perception;</p>
<p>protect me from the westerly direction.</p>
<p>Protect me from the northwestern direction.</p>
<p>where Vayu usually provides protection.</p>
<p>Your form defames the finest gem collection;</p>
<p>protect me from the northerly direction.</p>
<p>Auspicious more than Surya, without question,</p>
<p>protect me from northeastern direction.</p>
<p>O death personified to wicked men,</p>
<p>save me from taking birth here once again.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>20-29) Phala Shruti</strong><br /> </p>
<p>The mouth of Sri Prahlad embellishes these sacred prayers.</p>
<p>If someone simply reads them, sins will vanish in the air,</p>
<p>and one attains whatever he desires in this life:</p>
<p>longevity, prosperity, fine sons and loving wife.</p>
<p>If he desires victory, he conquers everything,</p>
<p>despite the weight of planets, heaven, earth and in between.</p>
<p>The poisoned bites of scorpions or snakes will have no sway.</p>
<p>Influences of ghosts and Yaksas all will go away.</p>
<p>If one tattoos this hymn, or writes and binds it to his wrist,</p>
<p>his every act and deed will be imbued with excellence.</p>
<p>Or if one simply chants this hymn, just once or thrice each day,</p>
<p>he’ll conquer demons, gods or man—whoever’s in his way.</p>
<p>With thousands of recitals—thirty-two, to be precise—</p>
<p>the pure acquire auspiciousness surpassing paradise.</p>
<p>Of hymns, this Nrsima-kavacha is the very best.</p>
<p>It grants what ash-smeared yogis gain by chanting all the rest.</p>
<p>Wear tilak, sip your achman, and recite this hymn each day,</p>
<p>and fear of inauspicious planets quickly goes away.</p>
<p>By thinking of Nrsimadev a person will survive</p>
<p>diseases of the abdomen and others that arise.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>30) Conclusion</strong><br /> </p>
<p>He loudly roars and, hearing Him, all others roar as well.</p>
<p>His multitude of arms shreds demons, sending them to hell.</p>
<p>Descendants of Kasyap and Diti can’t escape His wrath.</p>
<p>On earth and elsewhere, they lie scattered in the aftermath.</p>
<p>Destroying them, He cries in anger, stunning outer space,</p>
<p>while nourishing the universe with hands of endless grace.</p>
<p>With love, respect and gratitude, as deeply as I can,</p>
<p>I worship Lord Nrsimadev, half lion and half man.<br /> </p>
<p><strong>Original translation</strong><br /> </p>
<p>I shall now recite the Nrsimha-kavaca, formerly spoken by Prahlada Maharaja. It is most pious, vanquishes all kinds of impediments, and provides one all protection.</p>
<p>2) It bestows upon one all opulences and can give one elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation. One should meditate on Lord Nrsimha, Lord of the universe, seated upon a golden throne.</p>
<p>3) His mouth is wide open, He has three eyes, and He is as radiant as the autumn moon. He is embraced by Laksmidevi on his left side, and His form is the shelter of all opulences, both material and spiritual. 4) The Lord has four arms, and His limbs are very soft. He is decorated with golden earrings. His chest is resplendent like the lotus flower, and His arms are decorated with jewel-studded ornaments.</p>
<p>5) He is dressed in a spotless yellow garment, which exactly resembles molten gold. He is the original cause of existence, beyond the mundane sphere, for the great demigods headed by Indra. He appears bedecked with rubies which are blazingly effulgent.</p>
<p>6) His two feet are very attractive, and He is armed with various weapons such as the conch, disc, etc. Garuda joyfully offers prayers with great reverence.</p>
<p>7) Having seated Lord Nrsimhadeva upon the lotus of one’s heart, one should recite the following mantra: May Lord Nrsimha, who protects all the planetary systems, protect my head.</p>
<p>8) Although the Lord is all-pervading, He hid Himself within a pillar. May He protect my speech and the results of my activities. May Lord Nrsimha, whose eyes are the sun, and fire, protect my eyes.</p>
<p>9) May Lord Nrhari, who is pleased by the prayers offered by the best of sages, protect my memory. May He who has the nose of a lion protect my nose, and may He whose face is very dear to the goddess of fortune protect my mouth.</p>
<p>10) May Lord Nrsimha, who is the knower of all sciences, protect my sense of taste. May He whose face is beautiful as the full moon and who is offered prayers by Prahlada Maharaja protect my face.</p>
<p>11) May Lord Nrsimha protect my throat. He is the sustainer of the earth and the performer of unlimitedly wonderful activities. May He protect my shoulders. His arms are resplendent with transcendental weapons. May He protect my shoulders.</p>
<p>12) May the Lord, who bestows benedictions upon the demigods, protect my hands, and may He protect me from all sides. May He who is achieved by the perfect yogis protect my heart, and may Lord Hari protect my dwelling place.</p>
<p>13) May He who ripped apart the chest and abdomen of the great demon Hiranyaksa protect my waist, and may Lord Nrhari protect my navel. He is offered prayers by Lord Brahma, who has sprung from his own navel.</p>
<p>14) May He on whose hips rest all the universes protect my hips. May the Lord protect my private parts. He is the knower of all mantras and all mysteries, but He Himself is not visible.</p>
<p>15) May He who is the original Cupid protect my thighs. May He who exhibits a human-like form protect my knees. May the remover of the burden of the earth, who appears in a form which is half-man and half-lion, protect my calves.</p>
<p>16) May the bestower of heavenly opulence protect my feet. He is the Supreme Controller in the form of a man and lion combined. May the thousand-headed Supreme enjoyer protect my body from all sides and in all respects.</p>
<p>17) May that most ferocious personality protect me from the east. May He who is superior to the greatest heroes protect me from the southeast, which is presided over by Agni. May the Supreme Visnu protect me from the south, and may that person of blazing luster protect me from the southwest.</p>
<p>18) May the Lord of everything protect me from the west. His faces are everywhere, so please may He protect me from this direction. May Lord Nrsimha protect me from the northwest, which is predominated by Vayu, and may He whose form is in itself the supreme ornament protect me from the north, where Soma resides.</p>
<p>19) May the all-auspicious Lord, who Himself bestows all-auspiciousness, protect from the northeast, the direction of the sun-god, and may He who is death personified protect me from fear of death and rotation in this material world.</p>
<p>20) This Nrsimha-kavaca has been ornamented by issuing from the mouth of Prahlada Maharaja. A devotee who reads this becomes freed from all sins.</p>
<p>21) Whatever one desires in this world he can attain without doubt. One can have wealth, many sons, and a long life.</p>
<p>22) He becomes victorious who desires victory, and indeed becomes a conqueror. He wards off the influence of all planets, earthly, heavenly, and everything in between.</p>
<p>23) This is the supreme remedy for the poisonous effects of serpents and scorpions, and Brahma-raksasa ghosts and Yaksas are driven away.</p>
<p>24) One may write this most auspicious prayer on his arm, or inscribe it on a palm-leaf and attach it to his wrist, and all his activities will become perfect.</p>
<p>25) One who regularly chants this prayer, whether once or thrice (daily), he becomes victorious whether among demigods, demons, or human beings.</p>
<p>26) One who with purified heart recites this prayer 32,000 times attains the most auspicious of all auspicious things, and material enjoyment and liberation are already understood to be available to such a person.</p>
<p>27) This Kavaca-mantra is the king of all mantras. One attains by it what would be attained by anointing oneself with ashes and chanting all other mantras.</p>
<p>28) Having marked one’s body with tilaka, taking acamana with water, and reciting this mantra three times, one will find that the fear of all inauspicious planets is removed.</p>
<p>29) That person who recites this mantra, meditating upon Lord Nrsimhadeva, has all of his diseases vanquished, including those of the abdomen.</p>
<p>30) Lord Nrsimha roars loudly and causes others to roar. With His multitudes of arms He tears the demons asunder and kills them in this way. He is always seeking out and tormenting the demoniac descendants of Diti, both on this earth planet and in the higher planets, and He throws them down and scatters them. He cries with great anger as He destroys the demons in all directions, yet with His unlimited hands He sustains, protects, and nourishes the cosmic manifestation. I offer my respectful obeisances to the Lord, who has assumed the form of a transcendental lion. —</p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85278">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85278</a></p></div>Q & A From Each Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita: The Rap of Godhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/q-a-from-each-chapter-of-the-bhagavad-gita-the-rap-of-god2019-08-11T08:30:00.000Z2019-08-11T08:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rIG1tISoYwE/W6NoLk4h41I/AAAAAAAAm1k/imhm9T6F_7wSFHvGo3Mjkm3p4WyfjRBJgCHMYCw/s0/2018-09-20_11-28-13.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>By Kalakantha Das</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Q & A From Each Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā</strong></p>
<ol><li>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>How do you deal with an impossible situation?</strong></p>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Before just bailing out without thinking about our future or other’s needs, Krishna advises us to first consider the consequences of quitting and carefully look at all options.</p>
<ol start="2"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Do we live on after death?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Our bodies change all the time—baby to kid to teenager to adult to senior—yet we remain the same “I” inside. We remain the same person internally despite our bodies changing externally. Why should that experience, one we all share, suddenly end when the body dies? Still, most of the time we focus on the changing, external part of our lives. It’s like polishing the cage but not feeding the bird inside. According to the Gītā, when you understand and feed the unchanging part of yourself through bhakti yoga, death becomes less frightening and life is happier.</p>
<ol start="3"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">How would being more detached improve life?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">If we’re attached to externals, we often remain slaves to circumstances and people we can’t control. A detached person enjoys life more and suffers less frustration.</p>
<ol start="4"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">If one is one’s own teacher, does he have a fool for a student?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Though we wouldn’t learn brain surgery that way, when it comes to spiritual life there are so many bogus teachers that it seems safer to just figure it out ourselves. However, just because some people circulate counterfeit money doesn’t mean there isn’t real money. There are genuine spiritual teachers and if we’re serious about spirituality, we need one. The Gītā aims to help us make a good choice by educating us in the qualifications of a genuine teacher.</p>
<ol start="5"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">What good does it do to act selflessly?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Why do many rich people end up giving their money to charity? Because they find that just piling up money and stuff gets old. Deeper, lasting happiness only comes from pleasing others. People who never learn this seem sad and pathetic. For a sustainably happy life, the Gītā advises sacrifice for others at every stage of life, culminating in sacrifice for the Supreme.</p>
<ol start="6"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Yoga and meditation can be hard. What’s the point?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">As yoga tightens up flabby muscles, meditation strengthens the muscle of the mind. The self- discipline required for yoga and meditation pays off big time, especially meditation. Why? The mind is a fantastic servant but a terrible master. If we, the unchanging inner self, capitulate to the mind, it’s like being tied up in a car driven by a four-year-old. Gaining control of the mind through meditation empowers us to overcome the mind’s tyranny. The Gītā acknowledges that controlling the mind is challenging though it insists it is possible through constant practice and detachment.</p>
<ol start="7"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">How is knowledge connected to yoga?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Yoga is a science, and if done systematically, it always brings amazing results. If you’re going to</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">successfully pursue yoga and spiritual life, it’s important to know what you’re doing.</p>
<ol start="8"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">What is this world for? Is there a cosmic energy beyond it? Why do some people suffer more than others?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Where can I find durable happiness? What happens at death?</p>
<ol><li>
<ol><li>
<p style="text-align:justify;">This world is a place of misery. The undeniable fact is that, if we avoid accidents and murder, long enough, we will get sick, get old and die. As soon as we truly understand this sad reality, we become a lot happier. The truth of this world helps us detach.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="text-align:justify;">There is a cosmic energy behind everything, and you can access it by chanting oṁ or trying other forms of meditation. However, the Gītā points out that such a pursuit</p>
</li>
</ol></li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">is difficult and ultimately just another selfish trip that brings us to a dead end.</p>
<ol><li>
<ol start="3"><li>
<p style="text-align:justify;">All around us are people enjoying or suffering based on past decisions they have made in this life. Why would our unchanging inner selves not be responsible for decisions from past lives? The Gītā defines reactions from past decisions as karma. Our joy or misery in this life is due to past choices. We’re responsible, not God or anyone else.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Durable happiness comes from understanding karma and learning how to meet the needs of the durable part of ourselves.</p>
</li>
</ol></li>
</ol><ol><li>
<ol start="5"><li>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Our body is like an apartment we are renting. We don’t really own it. Death means the true owner is forcing us out. Then we rent another apartment, sometimes better, sometimes worse, depending on our budget (karma).</p>
</li>
</ol></li>
</ol><ol start="9"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Is God an old guy waiting to smash me with a thunderbolt?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">No. He’s a really cool dude with a flute. He owns everything that exists except our love, which He can only get when we give it voluntarily. If we want someone to love us, is it a good idea to threaten them? In the Gītā, God, Krishna, offers only His unconditional love and lets us know how to show love in return by simply offering water, leaves, flowers or fruits which anyone can do any time, winter, spring, summer or fall.</p>
<ol start="10"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">How do you meditate on the Supreme?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">In preparation for knowing Him personally, the Gītā describes how to see God in nature, in good human qualities, and in the realities of life and death.</p>
<ol start="11"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">If God is all-good, why does all this terrible stuff happen?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Though we belong with God, because we have become separated from Him we live in an uncongenial place where everyone identifies with their doomed material body. It is our choice, not God’s, to separate from Him. A finger separated from the body cannot enjoy anything, yet when connected it experiences the joy of the whole. God wants the best for us, but if we choose something inferior, He patiently waits for us to get over it.</p>
<ol start="12"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">What does it mean to love God, and what happens if I don’t feel it?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Can we love someone we don’t know, someone about whom we have only a vague idea? Loving God begins when we understand Him as a person, Krishna—if not with conviction, at least theoretically. If we try to love Krishna and later change our minds, there’s no problem; we can resume our previous lives just as they were, for Krishna comes with a karma-back guarantee. On the other hand, if we pursue loving Krishna, all kinds of amazing, positive changes automatically appear in our lives.</p>
<ol start="13"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">If the soul is not the body, how does it connect to the body?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">The soul animates the body as a driver animates a car. Without the driver, the car has no life. The driver determines where the car goes. And when the car inevitably breaks down, the driver must find another or give up driving altogether. The soul connects to the body only because it still wants to drive around this world. When he’s seen enough, he’ll do something different.</p>
<ol start="14"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Am I being manipulated?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Yes. The Gītā explains that once we choose material life, we submit to the control of the three modes of nature. After that, we think we’re making choices that in fact are being imposed on our fickle minds by the ever-changing modes. Through bhakti-yoga one gains the knowledge and detachment needed to successfully and consistently counteract the powerful effects of the three modes.</p>
<ol start="15"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">If life here sucks, is there another option?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">Yes. The Gītā describes a world where the unchanging spirit no longer has to struggle with a demanding, troublesome body. It’s a place with an ideal climate and plenty of energy where no one ever gets sore or hungry, where no one needs or wants to sleep through any of the fun.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">When we leave this body, we enter that world or stay in this one according to whatever we most desire.</p>
<ol start="16"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Does money make you happier?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">The Gītā indicates that we are happier when we love people and use money than when we love money and use people. Either way, when our bodies die, we get the natural results of how we have chosen to live our lives. Those who are dead set on enjoying this world create havoc for everyone else in this world and a horrible situation for themselves in the future.</p>
<ol start="17"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">What happens if I make up my own way to be spiritual?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">This is like trying to be one’s own guru. There is a method to get from point A to point B. We can either use the GPS to find it or we can wing it. Winging it gets us somewhere but usually not where we originally wanted to go.</p>
<ol start="18"><li>
<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Does serving the Supreme mean giving up my individuality?</h4>
</li>
</ol><p style="text-align:justify;">On the contrary, serving the Supreme uncovers our deepest individuality. If we misidentify with our bodies we remain slaves to our minds and senses, easily manipulated by social pressure, advertising and people who want to use us. If we set all that aside and go deep within our- selves, we uncover our innermost desires and inclinations and finally give them full expression in relation to their Creator. That is bhakti-yoga, redirecting our deepest, unique love from loving this body and this world to loving Krishna.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Krishna ends His advice in the Gītā by emphasizing how we always have the free, individual choice to ignore or to love Him.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=66696">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=66696</a></p></div>