aatmany eva ca santushtas / tasya kaaryam na vidyate
"But for one who takes pleasure in the self, whose human life is one of
self-realization, and who is satisfied in the self only, fully satiated,
for him there is no duty. As soon as you are attracted to the self and as
soon as you are satisfied with it, you are happy with your own situation."
We have to understand that our position here is temporary and we have to
suffer. There was one Madhava swami and he was an ardent devotee of
Panduranga. Krishna’s deity in Pandarpur is known as Panduranga Vittal.
So, once this Madhava swami was suffering like anything and he was so very
dirty in sickness and there was nobody to take care of him. He was a very
good devotee. So Panduranga used to come to him and He will clean Madhava
swami’s dhoti, He will clean his bed and He will make the bed, He will
prepare the food for him and give him the food which he wanted.
So Rukmini was surprised. So she asked Panduranga, "Where are you going
every day?"
The Lord said, "My devotee is suffering. So I am going to help him."
Rukmini said, "I don’t understand these things. Just if You touch his body,
You can cure him. So where lies the need for cleaning his dhoti and
cleaning his chaadar? Are You not disgusted?"
The Lord said, "My dear Rukmini, you don’t understand. My devotee has to
suffer. If he does not suffer, he has to accept another body for suffering.
So I allow him to suffer and I help him in his suffering. I don’t take away
his suffering. If I take away his suffering, it means he has to take
another body to fulfill the quota and I don’t want him to take another
body. Let him suffer now and finish off. You don’t understand these
things."
This is how sufferings are bound to come. They are not man-made. They are
not anybody’s made. They are already destined. We are destined. These
things, time and again we know that this is the truth and even then we do
not come to this point. Many times we just beat about the bush going here
and there and it is really a tragic situation.
Many times in our temple, in our own field, in your own atmosphere, you
find these inebriates with all the knowledge available. That is why Srila
Prabhupada and the scriptures insist that this is not one hour’s job. This
is 'satatam kirtayanto maam yatantas ca drdha vrataah.' Always you perform
His kirtan and may be your tendencies will change, which are innate. From
so many species of life you are carrying these tendencies. It is very
difficult to change. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is very merciful. He has just
given a formula. You just chant. Just keep on chanting.
harer naama harer naama harer naamaiva kevalam
kalau naasty eva naasty eva naasty eva gatir anyathaa
"In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is
chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no
other way. There is no other way."
By doing this, you will come to the right track. If you come to this stage,
Krishna is very clearly telling you "tasya kaaryam na vidyate." There is no
duty for him. No duty in the sense, we are not attracted to the flowery
performances of the Vedas. We are not attracted to any demigod. We do not
hate anybody. We respect everybody, but at the same time, our worship goes
to the Lord. That is the difference between respect and worship.
Source: Transcription of the class given by H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj
on Srimad Bhagavad Gita Verse 3.17 in Singapore on 27th March 1993 - as
shared by his disciple, H G Vaijayanti Mala Mataji through a Grantraj Group
email offering under the subject 'Be Satisfied in the Self'.
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