Verse: Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.32.39,40
Speaker: HG Anuttama Prabhu
____________________________________
naitat khalayopadisen
navinitaya karhicit
na stabdhaya na bhinnaya
naiva dharma-dhvajaya ca
TRANSLATION: Lord Kapila continued: This instruction is not meant for the
envious, for the agnostics or for persons who are unclean in their behavior.
Nor is it for hypocrites or for persons who are proud of material
possessions.
TEXT 40
na lolupayopadisen
na grharudha-cetase
nabhaktaya ca me jatu
na mad-bhakta-dvisam api
TRANSLATION: It is not to be instructed to persons who are too greedy and
too attached to family life, nor to persons who are nondevotees and who are
envious of the devotees and of the Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT: Persons who are always planning to do harm to other living entities
are not eligible to understand Krishna consciousness and cannot enter into
the realm of transcendental loving service to the Lord. Also, there are
so-called disciples who become submissive to a spiritual master most
artificially, with an ulterior motive. They also cannot understand what
Krishna consciousness or devotional service is. Persons, who, due to being
initiated by another sect of religious faith, do not find devotional service
as the common platform for approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
also cannot understand Krishna consciousness. We have experience that some
students come to join us, but because of being biased in some particular
type of faith, they leave our camp and become lost in the wilderness.
Actually, Krishna consciousness is not a sectarian religious faith; it is a
teaching process for understanding the Supreme Lord and our relationship
with Him. Anyone can join this movement without prejudice, but unfortunately
there are persons who feel differently. It is better, therefore, not to
instruct the science of Krishna consciousness to such persons.
Generally, materialistic persons are after some name, fame and material
gain, so if someone takes to Krishna consciousness for these reasons, he
will never be able to understand this philosophy. Such persons take to
religious principles as a social decoration. They admit themselves into some
cultural institution for the sake of name only, especially in this age. Such
persons also cannot understand the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. Even
if one is not greedy for material possessions but is too attached to family
life, he also cannot understand Krishna consciousness. Superficially, such
persons are not very greedy for material possessions, but they are too
attached to wife, children and family improvement. When a person is not
contaminated by the above-mentioned faults yet at the ultimate issue is not
interested in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or if he is
a nondevotee, he also cannot understand the philosophy of Krishna
consciousness. [End of Srila Prabhupada's purport.]
HG Anuttama Prabhu: So here we are nearing the end of Lord Kapila's
instructions and in these two verses he is explaining who is able to receive
and understand everything that he has been saying so far, who can appreciate
these instructions and who can benefit from these instructions. So today is
kind of a NO verses. These are the people who the doors shut to and then
tomorrow a much happier verse. Tomorrow's speaks about who can receive these
instructions.
So for instance today it is explained that one who is envious is not
qualified to receive these instruction and in tomorrows verse, text 41
explains those who are non envious can actually receive these instructions.
So there is a list being given here after Kapiladev has instructed his
mother. So he has given his list of people who can understand it. Here I
have shared so much knowledge with you but not everyone is going to
understand it and not everyone is going to appreciate it.
It is an interesting list. It is worth looking at again. He explains those
who are envious, those who are agnostic, those who are unclean, those who
are hypocrites, those who are proud of their possessions or too greedy, too
attached to family life or who are non devotees or envious of devotees or
the personality of Godhead. So these are qualities, Lord Kapiladev is
explaining, they block our ability to receive these instructions or to take
them seriously or make advancement in spiritual life.
In his purport Prabhupada is speaking in a very personal way. He talks
about, he says that, we have experience that some students come to Krishna
consciousness artificially. He uses that term that they come with an
ulterior motive. It is generally not a very nice thing to say to somebody,
"No I think that you have an ulterior motive." It is kind of a harsh
criticism or opening someone's heart a little bit and trying to see what is
inside. So he says that sometimes people even come to him - approaching
Srila Prabhupada as a spiritual master to become his disciple or take part
in his movement and take artificially to Krishna consciousness or have an
artificial motive.
He says if one does so he says then they cannot understand Krishna
consciousness and then he uses this term, 'they may leave our camp.' And
again a very visual terminology, 'be lost in the wilderness.' I was thinking
that just like if you are in the edge of the wilderness but you are in some
came, just like if you are going to climb the Himalayas then there are camps
every few thousand feet were there is a little bit of shelter there. Even
though you are on the side of this very dangerous mountain where many people
have lost their lives if you reach a certain camp, I don't know much about
it but you know there is the base camp and the next camp and the next camp.
So you have to be part of that camp to be safe from the wilderness.
So again Prabhupada uses his personal example saying many have come to us he
says but because they were artificial because they had ulterior motives,
they were lost in the wilderness.
So as I was reading this I was thinking well this kind of creates a dilemma
for me atleast and perhaps other of us here listening to the class because
when I read the list - envious, agnostic means you are no quite sure, you
are not yet 100% convince that Krishna is there. He is God or you are a
little proud of your material possessions. Sometimes you are hypocritical.
As I read the verses I was thinking before I get to the purport I hope
Prabhupada is kind of soft on this because he just described to me, and I
hope he is not too harsh with his criticism. Then he goes right into saying
not only those people exist out there. They exist among us, people with
those qualities.
I find this in many way very challenging because I think most of us would
have to admit that we struggle with these qualities. We sometimes find
ourselves feeling envy or we find ourselves feeling greedy or we find
ourselves feeling attached to things. Sometimes I kind of visualize that it
feels like being in the ocean and waves come at you from different
directions. It seems like sometime you are looking a little peaceful in
Krishna consciousness and then it is like the season of lust. Here comes the
lust wave. And then you just overcome that one and you are trying to recover
and out of nowhere comes envy.
Sometimes you may be thinking, "I don't have a problem with this devotee."
Then the next day you feel envy towards that person or sometimes feeling
greedy for things that you never really had a desire for. So these waves
they come upon us for different reasons and as a result of this when we hear
a verse like this we may feel a little discouraged that, "I don't think
Krishna consciousness is for me. Maybe Prabhupada is talking about me in
this verse - people coming with ulterior motives." As we hear the purport we
might feel a little uncomfortable. "I hope nobody is looking at me because
it sounds a lot like Prabhupada is talking about me. And then that devotee
yesterday I had a quarrel with he is definitely thinking Prabhupada is
talking about me."
So it may cause some discouragement and sometimes we see that that is one of
the ways that maya can distract us from Krishna consciousness because we are
meant to be analytical as devotees. We are meant to be self-reflective. We
are meant to read these purports and look and see how can I apply that to
myself. Just like if you go to the doctor if you have some disease the
doctor analyzes the disease and he says, "Okay these are the symptoms of
this disease. This is what is happening inside you. This is why you are
experiencing thee problems. Here is the medicine. Here is how you need to
take the medicine. You need to avoid certain types of food. You need to take
certain pills. You need to do that a certain number of times a day." So if
you read the description, if you go to the doctor and you hear everything
but you don't apply it well then you are not going to get the benefit.
Here Prabhupada is analyzing for us some of the diseases that are there in
our heart but when you go to the doctor and the doctor says, "You have this
disease. Here is the medicine." If you go, "Oh gosh Doctor, that is really
bad! I don't think I should take the medicine. I mean I am so diseased I
don't even have a right to come to this hospital. I don't even have the
right to see you. You are a doctor. You are supposed to make people healthy.
Here I am a sick person coming to you. How dare I do that?" It would be
foolish to think like that. You go to the doctor, the doctor analyzes.
Sometime he is a little blunt. "You have been eating the wrong foods or you
are not exercising or if you do not do this or that you may have a heart
attack or you have already had an heart attack. You better change your
behavior or else this will be the result.
So the doctor sometimes speaks very firmly and strongly. So here in the same
mood as I read this Prabhupada is speaking like that to us but not that we
should become discouraged but we should understand these are diseases in our
hearts and we have become devotees because we want to become healthy. We
want to become spiritually healthy. We want to get free from being envious
sometimes of those who are very dear to us. We want to become freed from
greediness for things that we know are not good for us. We want to become
free from doubt that prevents us from surrendering to the one person we have
ever heard about in our memory of this life and perhaps past lives, the one
person we have ever heard described who seems genuinely more than worthy of
our surrender. The person that actually perhaps is or depends whether you
agree or have faith - the all-attractive person, but we still have doubts.
We want to become free from those doubts. Prabhupada is telling us how to do
that.
The other side when we hear this we may think first hand, "Oh I have all
these qualities. Prabhupada is talking about me. I am about to be kicked out
into the wilderness. There is no hope." On the other side we may think, "Ah
just listen to these godbrothers and godsisters of mine that Krishna is
describing. I have noticed all their ulterior motives that they have. When
so and so was doing that yesterday and I have seen how jealous he is. I have
seen that he is a little hypocritical or she is a little hypocritical. Ahaha
she is envious of me. Prabhupada is talking about you. I hope you are paying
attention." That is the other side. Sometimes we can think like that and
thus become critical. In many ways that is even worse.
We may think, "Well I am here. Prabhupada is talking about those that can't
listen or can't practice. So I am hearing philosophy so I am practicing. So
obviously very nice! Prabhupada is explaining I must be free from envy or
else I couldn't be here. I must be free from greed. Obviously I am not a
hypocrite. He does not mention it here but I am obviously very humble at the
same time because otherwise I wouldn't be here."
So in this way the mind tricks us but actually both concepts are wrong. In
Bhagavad-gita Krishna explains there are four different types of persons
that come to him and all of them have mixed motives. It is understood that
anyone in this material world has some contamination in their heart and I am
going to borrow one line or two lines from tomorrows purport. It is a long
purport so I am not taking too much of it.
Prabhupada writes, text 42: "In the beginning no one can be elevated to the
higher stage of devotional service. Bhakta means one who does not hesitate
to accept the reformatory processes for becoming a bhakta." And then he goes
on, "In order to become a devotee one has to accept a spiritual master etc."
So we come to Krishna consciousness with so many problems, so many things in
our heart. And the process of Krishna consciousness is a process of
cleansing our hearts.
So these instructions Lord Kapiladev is explaining that unless one is free
or is becoming free from these different obstacles one cannot make serious
spiritual advancement. And Prabhupada to bring that into a very modern
context is saying even - because he was writing these purports forty years
ago - so even disciples were coming to him because of ulterior motives were
not able to stay.
I was thinking of a nice Christian prayer that is similar to this idea. It
says, "I was once blind but now I can see." So in the same way we come blind
but we want again to see. We want to see Krishna. We want to make spiritual
advancement. So how to do that? Prabhupada is explaining in this purport. He
says that Krishna consciousness is not a sectarian religious faith. It is a
teaching process for understanding the Supreme Lord and our relationship
with him. So he is explaining that we should not be surprised that we have
these things in our hearts but we have to be ready to look at those things
and be willing to cleanse those things, to be ready to struggle against
those things and to be taught to learn to change and to actually transform.
Krishna consciousness first and foremost is a transformational process.
Sometime we all have the experience we may be on kind of cruise mode for a
certain period of time in our spiritual lives but Prabhupada is warning us
if we do that, if we are not intensely focused and desiring to make
spiritual advancement it is possible we can again become lost in the
wilderness. So he is warning us here and he is giving us advice. I was
thinking, I remember hearing years ago how Tamal Krishna Maharaj described
when he was studying at the university that he will always sit in the front
seat. I remember in school I would always get together with my friends and
go to the back seat of the room. And the reason you went to the back seat
was very obvious. You wanted to be as far from the teacher as possible so
you could get away with as much as possible, ensuring that he or she will
call on you as little as possible. In this way you could cruise through the
class.
Maharaj was explaining that because he was very focused as a serious devotee
of Krishna consciousness. Whatever he learnt he wanted to do it in a very
serious and attentive way. So he was going even to these university courses,
sitting in the front row, wanting to hear everything, wanting to be very,
very enthusiastic. So for us to advance in Krishna consciousness also we
have to be - here in this particular purport, there should be some anxiety
in our hearts, but there should be some balance there. We should think,
Prabhupada is specifically saying here even people that are disciples, they
have a spiritual name, live in the temples or live in the community, they
live in the congregation and have a spiritual master and wear tilak and put
on neckbeads and chant Hare Krishna mantra. Sometimes their motives
overwhelm their Krishna consciousness. So there is some continued danger
there. So he is warning us of that. We should be very careful.
We should be anxious and concerned about that but also despite the
contaminations, the obstacles that are there if I am enthusiastic and if I
am endeavoring to improve then Krishna will help me. So when we hear this
list we should see that I have so many of these qualities but Krishna, the
spiritual master, Lord Caitanya, They have given the process by which I can
become purified of these things. But also this should awaken in us a sense
of dependence upon Krishna. We should have some sense that the envy in my
heart, the greed in my heart, the doubts in my heart, the contamination is
there and I cannot overcome it on my own. It is just not possible. Maya is
very strong. We are very small.
I have on excerpt from a lecture Prabhupada gave that I kind of cut out and
put on my desk at home. I don't have it exactly memorized but Prabhupada
says we should always remember we are very frail. He says we should always
pray like that to Krishna, "My dear Lord I am very frail. I am failing. I
need your mercy to protect me. And if we don't have that mood in our heart,
if we are not cultivating that mood then we are not actually catching on to
that essence of how we will make advancement in spiritual life which is
receiving Krishna's mercy, receiving the Guru's mercy. Because Prabhupada is
saying here lot of people come and they do the external things but they
can't stay because there is no transformation. So therefore it is explained
that a pure devotee or we can even say a serious devotee, they are very
attentive and they don't want to waste even a moment of time. They
understand how valuable my time is. I have very little time left but I want
to use that time to make spiritual advancement.
In that same way we are also very fortunate because we have the chance to
come and visit the holy dham. Some of us have the chance to live in the dham
for some extended period of time. And this is the home of Lord Caitanya. It
is from this place that the most merciful incarnation of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead came into this world to start this sankirtan
movement. And we should understand that He came specifically for people like
us. Just like Prabhupada says there is all these disqualifications. People
join a cultural institution in name only especially in this age. Especially
in kali-yuga this happens and therefore Lord Caitanya especially came in
this age for people like us. He came for people like us. And all that He is
asking is that we practice Krishna consciousness with enthusiasm with
sincerity and that we accept the cleansing process and that we try to share
with others. These are the two things He asks us to do. Just like Prabhupada
would sometimes say - it became the title of a book - just chant, dance and
be happy.
I can remember the first few times, I mentioned this before I think here
when I gave class. I think the very first time that I ever came to Mayapur I
was sitting and there was a sannyasi giving the class and he was talking
about param drstva nivartate
[Bg 2.59] and I was thinking, "My stomach is sick. I haven't eaten for two
days. I am getting burnt up in the daytime. I am on the roof without a
mosquito net at nighttime. I can barely make it to prasadam." When you do
you have to fight your way in to the gate to get to take prasadam. When you
go on parikrama in those days you were lucky if the Deity gate was still
open by the time you got to the front of the line to look in the door when
everybody else was about a mile ahead of you down the road.
He was talking about what a wonderful higher taste there is to Krishna
consciousness. And I remember thinking all I need to do is to go to the
Ganga because I just need to get purified because they may be a taste but
all I am tasting right now is purification but somehow or the other few
years later I am still getting purified. So sometimes we experience the
higher taste in Krishna consciousness. Sometimes when we hear these verses
we feel great love for Krishna. Other times we hear these verses we feel
very distraught. We think how is it possible I can never become a devotee. I
have so many obstacles. So many challenges! Buy we should also remember that
when we study the sastra we hear the histories of many, many, many
personalities. Many of them had many, many challenges and instructions are
given here to help us to understand how we can overcome these challenges.
How by calling out to Krishna, praying to Krishna for His mercy how we can
overcome these challenges.
In Bhagavad-gita Arjuna faced unlimited challenges but still because he made
his will Krishna's will, "I just want to be an instrument for Krishna." I
just want to try to serve You Lord whatever You want." Krishna said, "You
may succeed, you may fail just serve Me." And because he did that Krishna
protected him.
So we are here in Mayapur. We should try to pray especially because many of
us are getting ready to go back to the west. I know I always have the
experience that when I am in the west I am a little bit in anxiety about
coming to Mayapur, which is kind of purified place. I am kind of comfortable
were I am. How much maya is going to test me this time around? How many of
my resolutions are going to be shut down in the GBC meetings this year? How
sick am I going to get this time around? All these kind of things!
Then when I come here I start to think it is nice seeing the Deities and
associating with the devotees. Just snowed two and a half feet deep last
week in Washington DC and I am not really sure if I want to go back there
either. These are all just foolish thoughts of the mind. We should just pray
while we are here even if we have one minute. Some of us may be leaving
today, some of us may have just come today but even if we have just one
minute we should pray while we are here especially that despite all of the
disqualifications we have that Krishna out of His causeless mercy - just
like this in this paragraph of Prabhupada's, "My dear Lord I am so frail. I
am not able to approach you. Please you lift me up. You protect me. I have
no shelter other than You. I have no reason to be here other than
Prabhupada's causeless mercy, the mercy of my spiritual master, the mercy of
the devotees, Your mercy. I have no reason to be here and I have more than
enough qualifications to leave this society, the association of devotees but
I simply want to become an instrument in Your hands. Please, please You
protect me."
We should pray like that. We should also pray, "Please Lord," whenever we go
back to wherever our missions are whether it is travelling across India or
staying here and taking care of the pilgrims that come or going back to our
various temples or communities to pray that we can be an instrument in the
hands of the Lord. That the same way that He has given us causeless mercy.
We didn't deserve the mercy even now, we have so many dark things in our
heart. We didn't deserve the mercy but He gave it to us.
So in the same way we should feel let us go and give it to others. And we
should never think that people are too fallen. They can't take Krishna's
mercy. They can't take Lord Caitanya's mercy because He is making it
available to everyone. And He made it available to us so we should help Him,
help Prabhupada, help Lord Caitanya in their mission to try to distribute
this mercy to others because they like us are lost in the wilderness but
like us can be protected and given the opportunity to come to Krishna by the
mercy of Lord Caitanya, by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. So I will stop
there, just a few thoughts. Thank you very much for your attentive
listening. Srila Prabhupada ki, jai! [Applause.] Question?
Question: Thank you very much Prabhuji. Just an apparent paradox or
contradictions here in the purport with Bhagavad-gita's famous verse that
four types of men approach Me Krishna says that they have ulterior motives
such as desire for wealth, knowledge or just being distressed, desire for
happiness for well being, those people approach Me and they reach Me. In
other words Krishna explains how they reach Him. So it is difficult for me
to imagine that someone would come to this movement simply with ulterior
motives not one of them being to get devotion for Krishna. So who are those
people that fall away if Krishna guarantees that they will reach Him even
with ulterior motives?
HG Anuttama Prabhu: Yes I think that is the main point here that we all have
those ulterior motives and Krishna is offering Himself to us and a lot of
things can be said as I am understanding this. If the intensity of our
desire to have Krishna, if we can maintain that intense desire he will take
away those ulterior motives but we have to cry to Him like that. There is a
beautiful section in the prayers of Queen Kunti in the Bhagavatam were
Prabhupada talks in the purport of how there is so much potency in the holy
name that it alone can deliver us from this material entanglement, but he
says in the purport that also there is a quality of feeling that must be
there. So that is part of what is being described here. That feeling in part
is this realization - this is me - greed, envy, lust - those things they are
all in my heart. Pleeeeeeease Krishna! Please deliver me. Please, please,
please! And you know sometimes He is so kind if we are not so convinced it
is bad He shows us how bad it is just to increase our desire to call out to
Him even more sincerely.
So Prabhupada says like that, the quality of prayer is calling out. So he
will take away those obstacles. So everybody has ulterior motives and that
is part of the vision of a devotee. We are not supposed to discriminate when
we go out to preach to give Krishna consciousness to others. We can't
discriminate that here is a nice person, a clean person, an unclean person,
an elevated person, a pious person. It is all mixed. It is all mixed but by
the mercy of Lord Caitanya the process is so powerful we can be elevated
from the lowest to the highest opportunity of service. That is Lord
Caitanya's mercy. Thank you very much. Any other questions?
Question: Does Krishna reveal or ulterior motives to us sometimes the
tendency is to lament a lot about these things and think, "Oh I am such a
horrible person that I am never going to be a devotee. You talked a little
about this but I am wondering if you could speak a little bit more about how
to get over that.
HG Anuttama Prabhu: How do we get over that if we sometimes have those
insights of lamentation? I think the most important thing is the association
of devotees because the process is that we should lament. I mean the play
that you were in at Prabhupada's Samadhi the other day devotees were going
and losing the association of great Vaisnavas and thinking, "Oh I am so
lost, I am so fallen. What are my hopes?" Through that lamentation that
intensifies the devotees desire for Krishna. So that is part of our process.
We do lament. We think about how much time I have wasted. We think about all
the devotees I have offended. We think about how I have so many stupid
desires that keep swelling up like waves. So that lamentation is healthy if
it doesn't go to far.
And part of the way we can keep it from not going to far is that we have to
have association of devotees because the devotees are simultaneously helping
us to see what is wrong and simultaneously helping us to be strong to go
through these challenges. And also part of our duty as devotees sometimes we
think, I remember when I first went on traveling sankirtan and a devotee
that was away ahead of the party, we were supposed to go for about six
weeks. There were about five of us. I wasn't initiated yet. I was a pretty
new devotee. We were about thirty minutes outside the temple and the devotee
in charge of the party, I don't remember what he said but he severely
chastised me for something and I thought it was pretty minimal. Severely
chastised me and then apparently he could see on my face that I was a little
disturbed by that. So I remember him looking in the mirror and saying to me,
"You seem a little disturbed by this chastisement." And I said, "Yes." And
he said, "Well we are going to be together for six weeks and my duty is to
help you get pure."
So I was very glad I had a warning so the next day I could chant very
sincere rounds. "Krishna please help me get through the next six weeks."
Sometimes a little chastisement is helpful but atleast it is important and I
would argue more importantly because the chastisement seems to come from a
lot of things. You can stub you toe. That is also some kind of chastisements
but as devotees so much of it is encouraging each other.
So when we are lamenting, "We are feeling I don't know if I can do this. I
got this problem, that problem." That is when we have to take shelter of
devotees. Part of the six loving exchanges between devotees is to reveal our
mind in confidence and to enquire confidentially. I can say that one of the
reasons that I was wanting to come to Mayapur is that I am dealing with some
issues in my life and I was hoping to see some godbrothers and I was
thinking that I am going to ask this Maharaj this question and I want to
look for an opportunity and ask this person about this and being able to
speak to devotees in that way and share with them our problems.
A lot of times devotees they will say, "You are lamenting because you have
this but on the other hand you are such a wonderful actor. That was a
wonderful job you did. So many devotees were inspired. Don't worry about
this or that. Those things are there, but Krishna will help you get over
those. Stay fixed in His service." And that is such an important thing for
us to do as devotes. And sometimes we fail to understand that is part of our
role. We really are meant to appreciate or in the more traditional term,
glorify devotees.
When we talk about glorifying devotees it is not just, of course we glorify
Prabhupada, we glorify the Supreme Lord, we glorify our initiating spiritual
master, various senior devotees but we should also glorify, lift up other
devotees.
When a brand new devotee comes and joins our community we all know you just
point out, don't do this, don't do that, they leave. I remember I was a
bhakta leader for some time in the Denver Temple. We had a rule, they only
one who could instruct a new person was the bhakta leader. Otherwise they
sit down to eat and somebody chastises them, "Not your left hand! Your right
hand." And then they get up and you say, "Don't just get up, wipe the
floor." "Oh, okay." Then they go to the bathroom. "Don't do it like this, do
it like that." Now a day later they are gone because this is too much. "I
can't do this." But if they have nice care, "Prabhu let me show you this."
We used to have a rule. You can teach him one or two things a day. Meanwhile
you got to tolerate watching them not so pukka, but the pukka is not so
important as the person. The person is more important.
So I think that is the most important thing, to associate with devotees. And
we should also understand we all have different limitations. We have
different modes of nature. Some people are in the rasa of chastising me.
Very nice! I don't necessarily go to that person when I am in need of a
little help. I will accept their instruction but maybe not right now. I need
somebody to put his or her arm around my shoulder and say, "It is okay. You
are all right. You are going to make it." We should have one or two friends
like that and if we don't we should pray to Krishna to show us one or two
friends like that because they are all here. That is why we are here to
appreciate those friends. I would suggest we all take advantage of those
friends while we are all here.
In the communications course there is a whole section on devotee
appreciation. One of the things we leave devotees with and it is a beautiful
thought. And I would suggest that it is a nice thing to try and it is not
artificial if we understand the spirit of it. Everyday we try to appreciate
atleast two people. Go out of your way. Look for the opportunity. Even if it
is the smallest thing because that little bit of appreciation that often can
mean the difference between that devotee staying in the camp or going into
the wilderness.
I have a memory again years and years ago I was sitting at breakfast with
some devotee who didn't talk and seemed kind of depressed and I remember I
didn't speak to him. I just took prasadam and left. And the next day he was
gone. Afterwards I was realizing well maybe if I said something to him, "How
are you? You seem a little upset today. Is something bothering you?" At the
very least maybe he would have moved out of the temple as everybody was in
the temple in those days. Maybe he would have moved out of the temple but
still come back and felt some love on Sunday but I was not open enough to
see his need. Maybe if I just said little something to him!
We should look for those opportunities. Sometime we are so focused on our
service we forget that our service is to serve the Vaisnavas, all the
Vaisnavas. That is another such important thing. Sometimes, it is getting a
little better, every once in a while you get bumped out of the way but and
enthusiastic brahmacari who is carving a path for his Guru Maharaj. And you
know darn well that his Guru Maharaj will be distraught that even a new
bhakta was pushed out of the way so that he can get to the front. He is a
Guru. He knows he is a servant of Krishna. He knows everyone else is a
servant of Krishna. His whole life is to help that new bhakta come to
Krishna consciousness and you are pushing him out of the way in service for
the Guru. Something is wrong. So we are learning gradually but we should be
attentive to those things. Every living entity we should feel compassion
for.
When new devotees or new people come when they experience that they can't go
away. They just can't leave. Okay? Yes Prabhu? This is nice. I usually talk
so long they just throw me out the stage. It is important I get to hear
everybody else speak for a few minutes.
Question: Thank you for such a practical and encouraging class. I got the
impression from Prabhupada's purport that he is saying that our previous
connection with the sectarian religions can be and agency for bringing us
out to Krishna consciousness? I wonder if you say something about how we can
successfully deal with our previous connection.
HG Anuttama Prabhu: I do a lot of interfaith work and it is one of the
things I like the most in my Krishna consciousness because I see an
opportunity as I believe Prabhupada wants me to, to see Krishna in that
practice in that culture, that tradition. Prabhupada says in many places in
human society, even in aboriginal society there is some sense of religion,
some sense of the Supreme. Sectarian means separate. So Prabhupada is saying
here Krishna consciousness is not a sectarian religious faith. It is not
something for this little group or for that little group. It is for every
living entity and there is a couple beautiful purports. There was one just a
few verses ago and I remember thinking that this would be a great point for
an interfaith meeting.
Anyway the idea that sectarian means separate and our view really is
universal but we understand that there are different degrees of knowledge
and revelation of Krishna are given according to time and place. So dealing
with whatever our particular past is different traditions emphasize certain
aspects of bhakti. There are little glimpses of what we understand as the
highest revelation of Krishna. So we should value those. We don't give those
up. Take those with us. I mentioned a Christian prayer. It is a beautiful
prayer. It is a famous song, 'Amazing Grace' Actually it makes the point
that I was blind, I was lost but now I can see. Why? Amazing Grace. Isn't it
amazing how much grace God has to save a sinner like me?
I don't know if you know the history of that famous hymn. The man who wrote
the hymn used to be a slave merchant. I think there is something like he was
lost at sea and almost died. You may know this. Correct me if I am wrong. I
think he almost died in a sea wreck. He called out to God and became a
Christian. So he wrote this song and it has become a famous hymn for at
least a couple hundred years. That I was at least completely blind and now I
can see amazing grace. So we don't have to give that up but there maybe
other things we do.
So these things should be an impetus. We are organizing Washington DC next
month. I think it is the first. There may have been others. At least in
America it is the first, Vaisnava Muslim dialogue. We are doing that because
we want to share our understanding of God with very nice Muslim friends. And
we want to hear from them their revelation of Krishna, as they understand in
their tradition. Certainly there are differences. There are certain things
they don't like that we do and there are things we don't like about what
they do but that is not the point of it.
The point of it is to build some understanding and look to deepen our own
spiritual experience. I get to do a whole lot of fun things. I was just
thinking about this morning and I think we all have this experience if we
look at it, it is really so much fun being a devotee. I remember when I was
young I lived in the Denver temple and I used to get to do things like go to
Aspen in Colorado to distribute books. There were all those people who were
paying five thousand dollars a night for some penthouse and eating what they
thought was fancy expensive food but so much anxiety. And I just got to
sleep in a tent, get up in the morning and chant Hare Krishna, look at the
sunrise and then go tell people about Krishna.
I was the happiest person in the whole of Aspen, Colorado. It didn't cost me
a penny. As Prabhupada says we don't really have to give anything up to be
Krishna conscious. I am eating wonderful vegetarian food offered to Krishna
out in the open air and these people are eating dead bodies and other
unmentionable things. We devotees get to travel around the world. We meet
people who say, "You people travel so much!" A lot of people can't wait 'til
they turn sixty-five. They live in America. Maybe they can get to Mexico at
the end of forty years of working. We travel all around the world. How many
people in the world have friends from ten, twenty, thirty countries? Even
things like that, we are very, very fortunate. So we should take on board
what helps us, what inspires us and leave those other things aside. One
other question. Anything else from the ladies?
I will make one other comment which was in the i. It is interesting Lord
Kapiladev says, "Those who are too greedy." So apparently you can be
somewhat greedy but not too greedy. Then he says, "Too attached to family
life." So obliviously it is a fact family lifeiJust to mention as devotees
we have a misunderstanding about family life. So we ready this, okay we not
supposed to have any attachment. Prabhupada says in other places attachment
to family members is natural. And also when your family members are devotees
it is very important.
Queen Kunti prays, "Dear Lord severe my family attachments." Prabhupada says
both sides are families of glorious illustrious dynasties. So she prayed to
severe, only focus on Krishna but in our status we should understand that
balance needs to be there. Those who are still in family life, that our
family members are devotees. We have a responsibility to care for them, to
protect them. In the spirit of Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj who was very expert in
teaching us that this is a good world. We have a duty to love our family
members, but love isn't just a feeling. Love means service. Family members
the wife means you are supposed to love, serve, help co-operate, take care
of the husband, certainly the children.
The husband supposed to love care, protect etc. serve the wife and the
children. Why? Because they are devotees! We are all not just devotees but
we have some material obligations. We should be careful when we hear this
description and we don't want to bend the balance. Don't become too attached
to family. Make sure our family attachment doesn't take us away from Krishna
but we can utilize that natural attachment to bring us to Krishna
consciousness.
This morning some devotee came through from some country. I paid obeisances
right behind him so a little six year old girl with two pigtails she is
paying obeisances front of Prabhupada. Then he walked a few more feet and
paid obeisances to Swami then she paid obeisances to swami. This is
perfection of family life. It is a beautiful thing. So we should remember
that and keep everything in balance. If we are not in family life then we
are very fortunate because we can preach to those who are in family life to
keep focused on Krishna but if we are in family life we should remember
that, that is also a sacred duty. Do it nicely, do it balanced, do it out of
respect for our marriage partner, do it out of a genuine desire to protect
the children both materially and spiritually and life can be very peaceful.
So thank you all very much. I'll stop there. Srila Prabhupada ki,jai!
[Applause.}
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