Blog

HH Radhanath Swami: We are reading today from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.31, entitled "Narada Instructs the Pracetas." When the Pracetas were young they were sent by their father Pracinabarhisat Maharaja to the forest for the purpose of accessing spiritual power without which one cannot be a proper leader on any level. While there, they had the darsana of Lord Siva and Lord Visnu who gave them relevant instructions and blessings. And under the guidance of the Lord they returned to the kingdom and ruled over the world for many years. After they performed their duties and their children and everything was in order, then they left home again for the forest. We find in this chapter they are in a lonely place meditating on the Supreme Lord while doing pranayama, breath control. The Lord appeared to them through the great devotee Narada Muni. The presented themselves with such humility considering themselves very ordinary and how they had become so attached to various materialistic and family affairs. They are begging Narada Muni for instructions, such is the quality of great souls. The Pracetas had performed such incredible tapasya for the Lord. And then, by their incredible devotion, Lord Siva personally came  out f the lake to bless them and gave them an incredible song that he chants to worship Lord Krsna, which they did. Lord Visnu appeared to them and said, "I am so satisfied with you because you are so cooperative with each other and have such a  friendly relationship. Therefore I will bestow all benedictions upon you." Then in the service of the Lord they ruled over the world as perfect kings and made the whole world Krsna conscious.

And yet they are feeling themselves as ordinary people attached to material life and begging for some instruction how to relieve this situation. They aren't just saying this, they are feeling it. And it is not that they are like this, but they are felling it. They are liberated souls, pure devotee paramahamsas. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is giving us good instruction: if we accomplish something in our life, we think we have a right to judge others, but who are we compared to the Pracetas who were blessed by Lord Siva and Lord Visnu and who ruled over the entire world perfectly? What have we done?

Amongst little tiny ants, if one ant can lift a bigger piece of grass than the others he thinks, "I am very great." But even a newborn human baby can crush the ant with one finger. So that is our position, among little humans in this world we think we have accomplished something great. But compared to the demigods we are ants physically, and compared to the Pracetas, we are not even ants. And yet we are thinking, "Look what I have done."

This is what Srimad-Bhagavatam is about, having this understanding of the greatness of God and realizing that our real happiness is in appreciating God's greatness, not our own. And if one actually appreciates Krsna's greatness then naturally one is more humble than a blade of grass. When we understand the greatness of Krsna's devotees then we just want to be the servant of the servant, that consciousness is greatness.

In today's verse we are reading one instruction of Narada Muni. He is describing how the Supreme Lord is great, the source of everything; he does not need anything from anyone and how there are thousands and millions of goddesses fortune that he creates himself who are all serving him with love. nd just one of them, in this universe, is supplying all assets and benefits to everyone.

Vrajasundara is the source of all incarnations and expansions of the Lord, and Radharanai is the source of all laksmis. So the Lord does not care for the kings and demigods who are after the favour of the goddess of fortune. Yet that one Absolute Truth, that Supreme Lord, by his own free will becomes dependent on his devotee. Radha-Vrajasundara, here is the supreme goddess of fortune, from whom all laksmis and devis are all ultimately  emanating, all material and spiritual wealth and fortune are only her blessing.

And Krsna is the supreme controller of controllers one whom Radharani and the goddesses of fortune are depending, yet they have appeared here in this form in Villa Vrindavan and are depending on their devotees. If the devotees don't feed them nicely they will be hungry, if the devotees don't put them to rest on time they will be tired. They are depending on their devotees to bathe them and dress them every day. In fact Krsna is depending on his devotees to put his flute in his hand every day so he can play. Now is he actually dependent upon us? Yes, he actually is. It is not just our imagination. Krsna takes that role just to reciprocate love, he is rasajna, full of loving sentiments. He  takes the greatest pleasure in being subordinate to the love of his devotees. If that's the way Krsna is to the devotees, then what is our position, how we should be with the devotees?

When we come before the Deity, we should understand from this perspective. That is why this arcana, this process of devotional service, of worshipping the Deity, is so very special. It is not that the Deity is a symbolic representation of the Lord, the Lord actually manifests himself as the Deity. And the Lord actually is dependent on his servants in this form.

In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Caitanya-caritamrta and other Vaisnava histories, we read about different devotees' relationships with Deities. Madana-mohana at Dvadasaditya-tila in Vrindavan on the bank of Yamuna, he said to Sanatana Goswami, "You are giving me this roti, can you at least put some salt on it?"

Here is the Lord who is the source of all salt. He is begging Sanatana Goswami for a pinch of salt for his rotis. And Sanatana Goswami is telling him, "I am just a beggar; nobody is giving me salt, I am giving you whatever I have. Please be happy."

And the Lord is living under a tree. Although in Vaikuntha and Dvaraka he has these most magnificent palaces here he is leaving under a tree. And then Krsnadas Kapoor, who was a salt merchant, his boat got stuck in the Yamuna. Then Madana Mohan went down and ?? and by Sanatana Goswami's grace he transformed this person's heart. Then after he surrendered Sanatana Goswami asked him, "Please build a temple for my Madana Mohan because he  shouldn't live under a tree like me."

He was not begging, "Madana Mohan, you are the creator of the entire existence; Brahma is born from you, why don't you create your own temple?"

He begged, and then we went through the whole construction process.  Not far from Govardhan, Sri Nathji, Gopala, appeared. Madhavendra Puri built a beautiful temple for him on top of Govardhan Hill. Gopal said to Madhavendra Puri in a dream, "I am very hot, please go to Puri, to the Malayan hills, and get me some sandalwood and camphor." He is the Lord, he has created all the sandalwood, he could get anyone to bring it to him, he has millions of laksmis serving him eternally, they could give him some sandalwood. Besides, he is isvara parama krsna sac-cid-ananda, his body is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss--he doesn't need sandalwood on his body to be happy. Yet he is hot, he is feeling that way and telling Madhavendra Puri, "If you don't bring me this, I will suffer."

To be the servant of the servant of the Lord is the greatest way to please him. Here Srila Prabhupada says what grateful devotee will not worship the Lord and enter into devotional service? Actually Prabhupada says a devotee cannot forget his obligation to the Supreme Lord even for a single moment. This is the transcendental state of consciousness. If we are actually grateful we will express this through our humility and service. And how grateful we should be that the absolute supreme source of the universal form is allowing us to feed him. He is pleased when we just chant his name and dance for him. This verse is about gratitude.

Thank you very much and I pray that Sri Sri Radha Vrajasundara will bless all of you with these qualities of the Pracetas, to be eager to serve and humble and grateful. Of course if I am going to talk about Italy then I have to talk about Madhu Sevita Prabhu and the devotees of Villagio Hare Krsna, and Lilananda Prabhu and all the devotees in Rome. Thank you all very, very much.

I humbly beg you please try to work cooperatively as the Pracetas did. Where there is that will to work together on the basis of Krsna consciousness that is when that empowerment of Radha Vrajasundara pours upon us and through us to do wonderful things.

Krsna has blessed the world especially by this holy name. Let us vibrate these holy names in everything we do and everything we think. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna.