Seeing Krishna in Everything

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

The following is an excerpt from the lecture given by our Guru Maharaja H.H. Mahavishnu Goswami on 18.12.2006 on SB 11.7.6 at Sri Sri Radha-NeelMadhav Dham, Rajkot.

tvam tu sarvam parityajya
sneham sva-jana-bandhusu
mayy aavesya manah samyak
sama-drg vicarasva gaam
"Now you should completely give up all attachment to your personal friends and relatives and fix your mind on Me. Thus being always conscious of Me, you should observe all things with equal vision and wander throughout the earth."

Maharaja explained, "Here the word is sama-drk, seeing everything with equal vision is very important. Without equal vision or equipoise a devotee is incomplete. A devotee of the Lord cannot be unequal in any aspect, not only in the temple and surroundings but also outside in the society and with every person. Equality should be our behavior. At least do not harm others if you cannot help them. Equipoise should be digested completely, just as unless the food is digested only then can the blood be formed, otherwise food is food. Similarly selfish nature vanishes as soon as there is equal vision. Anybody does not go to everybody and ask for some help, but goes only to a particular person who is helpful. Our work is going on and we should not worry about it, but rather worry about others and help them.

As soon as 'Sama' is there, the conversation is very wide, it is not centered around our own personality. In this service attitude also we are prone to be misguided. That is why Prabhupada had proved that service to mankind is not service to God. Service to mankind can never be service to God; man is not God and can never be. Our soul is so tiny, how can we be God? There are so many trusts and societies who for the name and fame help and serve the mankind. If you really want to serve humanity at large they should be given Krishna's name. Preaching is the essence. Only by preaching you can give them the consciousness to know God and love Him by which alone all the miseries and difficulties vanishes. To how many people and how long you are going to serve and help by these so called societies? The population of the world is so much. These trust and societies cannot serve the world headquarter city at its full and what to talk of other parts of the world. This mankind is a limited term because only God is Ananta, unlimited. Krishna can serve everybody, ours is no capacity. Therefore there is no place for misguidance because we are conscious. But we do not condemn this activity, even we are distributing food, opening the schools and managing other activities, but they are all secondary. Even if we run ten schools for this city alone, it is not enough. In the end however, we have to approach Krishna. We are doing to the best of our ability, but our service to God comes first and above everything. Our puja is going on, our kirtan is going on, our book distribution and mangala aratis are continued. Rest are all concomitant activities.

Krishna says in Bhagavad gita 5.18 to Arjuna; "The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater."

We can learn to be good and equal to all from the nature itself. The Sun shines both on the roof of poor and the rich. The rain falls on both a handsome and an ugly person too. The wind, the oxygen does not ask us any identity. And nor does the food that we eat. When nature does not distinguish between anybody who are we to differentiate? For the nature there is no wealth, health or caste distinction. Everything that is created by Krishna is equal for all, but only our material distinctions consider people as Hindus, Christians, Muslims and etc.

Again in Bhagavad gita 9.29 Krishna says, "I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him."

Therefore by no means is anybody unequal in the eyes of Krishna. All are His children. Prabhupada explains to us that "In the Lord's presence everyone is equal. He is the supreme enjoyer of all sacrifices. Thus He accepts the fruits of everyone's labor, and by so doing He crowns all His devotees endeavors with glowing success." Prabhupada tolerated so much to spread Krishna consciousness in the West. He was equal to all and he always found Krishna in all. Seeing Paramatma in all is the secret of his success. If we have to be successful, we should also follow in his footsteps.

Chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

and be happy.