Peace, not so elusive!

by

Hare Krishna.

2nd July, 2015. Gurgaon

Quotes-by-Bhakti-Charu-Swami-on-Establishing-Peace-in-This-World

I recently met an elderly mataji who excitedly shared how these days she is meditating on ‘om’ during her yoga sessions. When I asked her is it helping her, she replied that it is supposed to help her but nothing has happened yet.

Sometimes I also hear :

`beta, bhagawan to bahut duur hai, shanti mil jaye toh bahut hai’ (Son, God is very far, if I just get peace it is good enough for me!)

Few months ago I happen to meet mataji’s neighbour who, a little more openly, admitted that she has tried so many camps by various so-called spiritual organisations but peace seems to elude her, in fact she is becoming less peaceful by the passage of time! I asked her what was her experience during those meditation programs. She admitted that every single time she found it impossible to focus on ‘shunya’ (nothing) and her minds remained filled with all sorts of thoughts.

These days it has become very fashionable for new age gurus to focus and ‘teach’ general masses about peace. They employ various methods like meditation on formless god, meditate on ‘shunya’ (nothingness), try to see and meditate on ‘OM’ between the eye brows to imagining that we are sitting near a seashore, waves are coming, birds are flying…..we are a spirit soul and all is peaceful!

But we know from our own past experience that when we  attend these so called ‘meditation camps’, or sessions, the relief, if any, is temporary at best. Once out of the such sessions, one is back to the square one, the placebo effects rubs off fast.

What does it show ?

1. People, in general, are NOT peaceful.

2. The trend of people not being peaceful is increasing.

What is the problem ?

Srimad Bhagavatam, verse 5.14.25, says

kvacic ca śīta-vātādy-anekādhidaivika-bhautikātmīyānāṁ daśānāṁ pratinivāraṇe ’kalpo duranta-cintayā viṣaṇṇa āste.
Translation:
Being unable to protect himself from the threefold miseries of material existence, the conditioned soul becomes very morose and lives a life of lamentation. These threefold miseries are miseries suffered by mental calamity at the hands of the demigods [such as freezing wind and scorching heat], miseries offered by other living entities, and miseries arising from the mind and body themselves.
Srila Prabhupada emphasises in his purport that ‘The so-called happy materialistic person is constantly having to endure the threefold miseries of life, called adhidaivika, adhyātmika and adhibhautika. Actually no one can counteract these threefold miseries. All three may assail one at one time, or one misery may be absent and the other present. Thus the living entity is full of anxiety, fearing misery from one side or the other. The conditioned soul must be disturbed by at least one of these three miseries. There is no escape.’
Let us also see why do we chant Om, shanti, shanti, shanti at the end of so many puja and prayers and why does the word ‘shanti’ is repeated thrice. The word shanti is repeated thrice because we are all disturbed by these three kinds of miseries :

1. Adhyatmika : miseries inflicted by the body and mind itself, examples are fever, stress etc. 

2. Adhibhautika : miseries inflicted by other living entities, examples are mosquitoes, robbers, etc.

3. Adhidaivika: miseries inflicted by natural disturbances, examples are severe cold, earthquakes,  droughts or other natural disasters.

So we repeat ‘shanti’ three times to get relief from each of the above three types of miseries.

What is missing ?

There is no mention of God in most of such discourses/solutions offered by these new age philosophers, gurus, etc. God, Krishna, is completely missing as each of the so-called guru tries to play or become God and/or they focus and impress upon the gullible people that they hold the power to bring peace in their lives, not God or His names or that the power lies in each one of us, anything but God.

What is the right way to get peace ?

Let’s read what Krishna says Bhagavad Gita 2.66

nāsti buddhir ayuktasya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā

na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham

One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?

Srila Prabhupada boldly writes in his purport

Unless one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no possibility of peace. So it is confirmed in the Fifth Chapter (5.29) that when one understands that Kṛṣṇa is the only enjoyer of all the good results of sacrifice and penance, that He is the proprietor of all universal manifestations, and that He is the real friend of all living entities, then only can one have real peace. Therefore, if one is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind. Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal, and when one is certain that Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone and everything, then one can, with a steady mind, bring about peace. Therefore, one who is engaged without a relationship with Kṛṣṇa is certainly always in distress and is without peace, however much he may make a show of peace and spiritual advancement in life. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition which can be achieved only in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Srimad Bhagavatam, verse 3.5.40, directly says

dhātar yad asmin bhava īśa jīvās tāpa-trayeṇābhihatā na śarma
ātman labhante bhagavaṁs tavāṅghri-cchāyāṁ sa-vidyām ata āśrayema

Translation

O Father, O Lord, O Personality of Godhead, the living entities in the material world can never have any happiness because they are overwhelmed by the three kinds of miseries. Therefore they take shelter of the shade of Your lotus feet, which are full of knowledge, and we also thus take shelter of them.

But then should only peace be the goal of a human life ?

In a conversation (London,1973) with a buddhist monk, Srila Prabhupada spoke:

Prabhupada: Sometimes we find that peaceful living is visible even in animal society. Just like the cows. They’re very peaceful. There are other animals, dogs and others. They fight. But hundreds and thousands of cows, they live very peacefully. Birds also… Just like the swans, they live very peacefully. So is that the highest goal of life, to live peacefully? Because that is also found in animal society. Is that the perfection of life?

Buddhist Monk (1): What we believe is that incomparable bliss and peace everlasting is the most perfect.

Prabhupada: That is… These are items. First of all you have to follow a perfect leader. Then whatever he says, that is perfect. So that peace, you have given a definition of peace. Krsna is giving definition of peace:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram

suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati  [Bg. 5.29]

“I am the proprietor of all the lokas,” sarva-loka-mahesvaram, suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. “I am the friend of everyone.” Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam. “And I am the enjoyer of all fruitive activities.” Jnatva mam. “When one knows Me like that, he gets santi.”
This is the santi formula given by Krsna. One has to accept Krsna as the Supreme Enjoyer. Because He’s the proprietor of everything; therefore He should be enjoyer. And because everything belongs to Him — we also belong to Him — so suhrdam sarva-bhutanam, He’s friend of everyone. So these three things, if you understand-Krsna, or God, is the supreme enjoyer. He is the supreme proprietor, and He is the supreme friend of everyone — then you get santi. If we understand these three things only, then there is santi. Otherwise there is no possibility of santi.

Srila Prabhupada on Message of Krishna Consciousness

In the `journey of self-discovery’, Srila Prabhupada concludes that

So, you should try to love Krishna, and you will see how much you are satisfied. There is no other way to become fully satisfied. Earning great amounts of money will never give you satisfaction. …….So my humble request to you all is that you try to understand this sublime benediction of life, Krishna consciousness. Simply by chanting Hare Krishna you will gradually develop a transcendental loving attitude for Krishna, and as soon as you begin to love Krishna, all your troubles will be eradicated and you will feel complete satisfaction.

Did it ever happened en masse?

Yes. Srila Prabhupada tells us in his purport of SB 44.25.13

‘Indeed, during the time of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira or Lord Rāmacandra, people were free from all anxieties. There was not even extreme cold or extreme heat. The three kinds of miserable conditions — adhyātmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika — were all absent during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra or Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.‘

The elderly mataji I mentioned in the beginning is happily reading Ramayana these days. She had some attraction for Lord Rama and I was somehow able to convince her to start reading Ramayana in the Purushottam month. She has also promised to read ISKCON Bhagavad Gita once Ramayana is over.

So we discovered that we can not become peaceful without taking shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna and that peace in itself  is just a byproduct in the process of Krishna consciousness and it should not be the goal of our life.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Why did Lord went with Bali Maharaj as his `gatekeeper’ ?

by

Hare Krishna.

29th June, 2015. Gurgaon

Bali Maharaj, Vamana Deva

Some days back, after a class describing Krishna’s appearance as Vamana Deva, I had an interesting discussion with Shyamsundar Prabhuji on how Lord was more favourable to Bali maharaj than Indra, for whose apparent and immediate help Lord came as Vamana Deva. In the past I also had questions like what prompted Lord to go with Bali maharaj  as his ‘gatekeeper’ after this particular pastime, why does Krishna protects Indra even after so many offenses, what happens to the present Indra after Bali maharaj would take the post of Indra in the next manvantara and are there some other lessons from this sweet pastime. As the mystery unraveled I again saw how deep are Krishna’s unpredictable and wondrous pastimes.

The first clarity came due to the mercy of a senior Prabhuji, which I am sharing in brief.

First we read the two relevant verses from Srimad Bhagavatam.

tatra devāḥ sutapaso virajā amṛtaprabhāḥ

teṣāṁ virocana-suto balir indro bhaviṣyati  ( SB 8.13.12)

Translation

In the period of the eighth Manu, among the demigods will be the Sutapās, the Virajas and the Amṛtaprabhas. The king of the demigods, Indra, will be Bali Mahārāja, the son of Virocana.

eṣa vipra-balodarkaḥ sampraty ūrjita-vikramaḥ

teṣām evāpamānena sānubandho vinaṅkṣyati (SB 8.15.31)

Translation
Bali Mahārāja has now become extremely powerful because of the benedictions given him by the brāhmaṇas, but when he later insults the brāhmaṇas, he will be vanquished, along with his friends and assistants.

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport that Bali Maharaja and Indra were enemies. Therefore, when Bṛhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods, predicted that Bali Mahārāja would be vanquished when he insulted the brāhmaṇas by whose grace he had become so powerful, Bali Mahārāja’s enemies were naturally anxious to know when that opportune moment would come. To pacify King Indra, Bṛhaspati assured him that the time would certainly come, for Bṛhaspati could see that in the future Bali Mahārāja would defy the orders of Śukrācārya in order to pacify Lord Viṣṇu, Vāmanadeva. Of course, to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can take all risks. To please Vāmanadeva, Bali Mahārāja risked defying the orders of his spiritual master, Śukrācārya. Because of this, he would lose all his property, yet because of devotional service to the Lord, he would get more than he expected, and in the future, in the eighth manvantara, he would occupy the throne of Indra again.

Prabhuji explained that Bali Maharaj was banished to Sutala since he had disrespected his spiritual master, as predicted by Brahispatiji, and lost all his property and opulence which he had gained from Indra. However, since he had desire and he was under the shelter of the Supreme Lord, Lord promised to make him Indra. Present Indra is certainly sinful: there are so many references: disrespecting Brahispatiji, Supreme Lord etc. Therefore present Indra will be born in Asura family in next manvantara as Bali Maharaj and once he fully surrenders to Lord in next manvantara, he will go back to Godhead.

So why does Lord keep protecting Indra?

Prabhuji explained that Krishna keeps doing this to keep the sanctity of Indra as position not specifically Indra Deva who is very much falliable and as stated by Srila Prabhupada many times in his purports. Everybody has path to come back to Godhead and since he is serving Lord by doing his duties directed by Supreme Lord, it’s the mercy of Supreme Lord.

The conclusion of the above two verses is that Bali Maharaj will become Indra Deva (this doesn’t mean Bali Maharaj will be like current Indra, it means in next manvantara Indra’s position will be occupied by a pure devotee).

Prabhuji also cautioned us that while reading such pastimes we should not become disrespectful towards Indra, even though he is sinful, as he is surely more pure than us and Krishna consciousness teaches us to see everyone as part and parcel of Lord and take humble position. In heart we should not think anything negative about Indra Deva. We should state negatives only from learning perspective to others.

Hence once one become Lord’s pure devotee, Lord protects him from everything and is with him all the time. Brahaspatiji is very dear to Lord so He had to go to Sutala to protect Bali maharaj from all asuras and malefic of being in Sutala. Lord had committed to Bali Maharaj after his surrender, He will be always with him. Prabhuji mentioned that in one of the lecture HH Bhakti Charu swami had stated that Bali Maharaj had never taken Lord as gatekeeper of Sutala but as his protector as he was now aware that he is susceptible to falling and since he is now completely dependent on Krishna. Lord is protecting Bali Maharaj and would then take him to Godhead after his next avatara as Indra.

In one of the `Back to Godhead’ article, Sept/Oct 2008 issue, on the same topic,  HG Aja Govinda Prabhuji wrote:

‘We also learn from this pastime that the highest compassion of the Lord is His depriving His devotee of all material defenses so that the devotee can surrender unto Him unconditionally. The Lord does this to increase the devotees’ loving reliance upon Him, freeing them from dependence on their fleeting worldly powers.’

Prabhuji wrote at the end of his above mentioned article that ‘ The Lord often acts in unpredictably wondrous ways, but His pastimes always set the true dharma for the benefit of everyone. Vamanadeva’s recovering the heavens from Bali and delivering them to the demigods benefited both Indra and Bali. They both obtained their kingdoms, but also something of much higher value: deep trust and love for Vamanadeva, who fulfilled double roles as Indra’s younger brother and Bali’s protector.

This pastime also glorifies Bali Maharaja’s unwavering resolve to fulfill his vow in any circumstance. Bali Maharaja is one of the twelve great personalities (mahajanas) revered for their exclusive devotion to the Lord even in the most trying situations.’

Prabhuji wrote the entire pastime with all the back ground of how Prahlada maharaj renounced his throne and then how his son Virochana became the king and then why did his son, Bali maharaj, started fighting with demigods? It is all very interesting but too long to write it in this blog, but it’s a must read. Kindly read the same by clicking here.

This pastime also corroborate what we read in the last blog that Krishna’s actions are good for everyone, that Krishna always treat everyone equally and all His acts convey auspiciousness, with no malice towards anyone.

So simply due to a chance ‘discussion’ with a sincere devotee so many wonderful learning got unraveled.

All glories to the glorious pastimes of Vamana Deva.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Prayers of Nāgapatnīs

by

Hare Krishna.

23rd June, 2015. Gurgaon

Since last few weeks I am hearing a most nectarean seminar on `demons in Krishna’s pastimes’ and what anarthas they represent with in us by HG Srimati Mataji. This seminar is very different, and way sweeter, than anything I have ever heard on this wonderful topic. I was particularly stuck by the prayers of Nāgapatnīs, wives of serpent Kaliya. Their prayers teach us in what mood to pray to Krishna in difficulty and we know the result of such prayers to Him.

Kaliya daman

The below content is from Srila Kavi-Karnpura’s Ananda Vrindavana Champu, which is very similar to the same pastime mentioned in Krishna book, and in the end are some comments from HG Srimati Mataji.

The ruthless steps of Vanamali Krishna’s tandava dance devastated the serpent. Blood streamed from Kaliya’s mouths, his eyes popped out, and his hoods completely collapsed. Seeing their husband vanquished and heart broken, the Nagapatnis felt sorry for him and cried piteously. Out of affection for him they thought, “Our husband will not sur­vive unless he attains the mercy of the Lord.” Abandoning all fear and shyness, the Nagapatnis put their children on their laps and approached Krishna to petition Him on behalf of their husband.

The Nagapatnis offered prayers to Shri Krishna with sweet voices: “O Lord, all glories unto You! O crest-jewel on the head of the demigods! Who other than You can be the Supreme Brahman? Brahma and Siva con­stantly glorify You, the unlimited ocean of transcendental qualities. The yogis and paramahamsas happily praise and meditate upon Your lotus feet, which are forever massaged by the auspicious lotus hands of God­dess Laksmi. As a swan extracts milk from a watery mixture, the paramahamsas reject the four desirable goals of human life to immerse themselves in the bliss of Your service. “O Lord, extolled throughout the Vedas! Please hear our prayer. O Lord, You are the personification of eternity, bliss and knowledge! You assume a transcendental body to annihilate all the demons! You are the oldest, the origin of everything, and yet You are an ever-fresh youth. You are the fountainhead of all the Vishnu expansions! O Supreme Personality of Godhead! Please give up Your anger and show us Your mercy!

“O Vasudeva, You are the life-giving Lord of all! O Sankarsana, You remove all the miseries of the universe! O Pradyumna, You are the trea­sure of love for all the Vrajavasis! O Aniruddha, Your Yogamaya potency prevents ordinary people from perceiving You! You are the Supersoul of all the demigods! Ah! You are the life and soul of the Vrajavasis. Be pleased with our prayers, O Lord, for the life of our husband is about to depart.

“Your lotus feet which delight the atmaramas, remove all mental anxi­eties, and are rarely achieved even in samadhi now stand on the hoods of our husband. O Lord, we have no idea how Kaliya has attained such a rare fortune. This wicked snake deserves to be punished. Only by Your mercy can one give up his wickedness and follow the righteous path. It is impossible for a living entity to do this on his own.

“O Lord! You alone maintain the entire universe created by the three modes of material nature by the mode of goodness, which purifies the mind. You create the world with passion and by ignorance, which is darker than night, You destroy the creation. O mighty armed! It is by name only that Vishnu, who rides on Garuda, is called the maintainer, and that Brahma, who sits upon a lotus, is the creator, and that Siva, who sits atop Nandi, is called the destroyer.

“O one who is dear to those who have nothing! Living entities appear by different combinations of the modes of nature. Being born in the mode of ignorance, it is natural for a snake like Kaliya to be crooked. As it is impossible to see a flower creeper in the sky, it also impossible to find gentle behavior or good manners in him. He does nothing good for any­one, and he has no power to overcome Your maya. This is the nature of one who lives in hole.

“His actions cannot be considered offensive because that is his very nature. So how can You, who are eternally liberated, the ocean of mercy, and full of all opulence, deny him Your mercy? You always treat everyone equally and all Your acts convey auspiciousness. Therefore, please quickly show Your mercy to our afflicted husband. It does not befit You to kill such a lowly living entity.

“Even Siva, Brahma, Laksmi, and the sannyasis who perform sadhana, meditation, and attentive service cannot understand You. Hence, how can Kaliya, who is bewildered by pride and ignorance, know You? Your playful kicks and dancing on his heads have practically killed him. Al­though he is a very powerful serpent, he is so weakened that only his life air remains. Indeed he is cruel and ill behaved, but nevertheless he is one of Your living entities. Alas! We hope he will not die. Please forgive his offense and return our husband so that we will not become widows.” The gentle beautiful Nagapatnis petitioned the Lord with piteous choked voices.

Krishna responded compassionately by dissipating His anger and reduc­ing the punishment. Smiling sweetly, Krishna replied to the wives of Kaliya, “Do not fear. Although I am very angry, your sweet appeal has satisfied Me. As a monsoon shower extinguishes a forest fire, your pleasing prayers have removed My intense anger. As a result I will spare his life. Now I request you to take your husband and return to your original abode. Since your husband’s heads are now decorated with My bliss-giving lotus foot­prints, Garuda will feel blessed to see them. From now on you need not fear him.”His false pride broken like a person bent over from carrying a heavy mass of iron, Kaliya felt relieved and happy by the Lord’s assurance of protection. With fear, devotion, and submission Kaliya said, “O Lord! With all Your opulence You appear in this world to crush the demons and award the treasure of prema to Your devotees. As long as the sun and the moon remain, Your beautiful pastimes will give joy to the minds of Your devotees. You always bring immediate auspiciousness to the unfortunate. O abode of compassion!

“The River Yamuna is the ideal place for Your pastimes. Therefore You have rightly punished me for my offense of poisoning her waters. Who could have shown me more mercy than You? Your dancing has deco­rated my hoods with the splendid marks of Your lotus feet. Now my life has become completely auspicious. O younger brother of Baladeva! By Your order I will now return to Ramanaka Island. O Supreme Lord of all the demigods! Due to some misfortune I have offended You. O You who wear makara kunddla earrings! Please forgive me for my offensive behav­ior.”

Concluding his prayer, Kaliya took out some special jewels from his collection and presented a valuable ruby and pearl necklace to Krishna as a ‘gift. Then he and his family offered obeisances to the Lord and left the Yamuna. Immediately the water transformed into the sweetest nectar. After Kaliya left, the prince of Vraja, who ever enacts fresh and effulgent playful pastimes, climbed up on the bank of the Yamuna. The golden bangles on His lotus hands glistened attractively and His shimmering dhoti defeated the brightness of lightning.

HG Srimati Mataji : “It’s a wonderful way the wives of Kalilya deal with the situation. Important thing to remember here is that they are not approaching Krishna for their own benefit, they are approaching Krishna for somebody else. It’s interesting what they do, first they access the situation, without losing any time they approach Krishna. In a respectful and cultured way they offer their obeisances and surrender to Krishna. Their only desire was to save Kaliya by pleasing Krishna with their prayers. They didn’t cry, argue, lament or chastise Krishna. They admitted that Krishna’s punishment of Kaliya was exactly the right thing. They understood and said that Krishna’s mercy and punishment were non different. That everything Krishna does is for our good! Do we think like that ? They praised Kaliya’s good fortune, having Krishna’s lotus feet dance on his head. That although he was such a lowly creature, he received the highest mercy.  Pleading for Krishna’s mercy upon them they beseech Krishna to kindly excuse Kaliya’s offenses because after all he is also one of His offspring!  They acknowledge that they were his eternal servants and they offered their loving service. In Krishna Book Nagapatnis plead:

” Our dear Lord, we are offering our loving service unto You because we are all eternal servitors of Your Lordship. You can order us to do whatever You please. Every living being can be relieved from all kinds of despair if he agrees to abide by Your orders.”

Very amazing statement ! What they are basically saying here is that even if you decide to kill Kaliya, that’s Your prerogative, even if You do that we understand that its the best thing. How could Krishna not hear such prayers! Nagapatnis showed no malice towards Him or towards Kaliya and they prayed in full surrender to Krishna.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura tell us that the reason Krishna forgave Kaliya’s very sever offense to Garuda and to the Vrajavasis was because of the prayers of his wives. He also tells us that this pastime clearly shows that Krishna’s activities benefit both the victims of violence and those who inflict such violence, certainly there is no malice in our Krishna. Not that Krishna just looked after the wives and didn’t look after Kaliya. Both, those who commit the violence and those who suffer it, Krishna takes care of both. He deals with them differently but he deals with both. Krishna has no malice towards anybody.”

It was simply pure nectar to hear the above pastime, mentioned in various scriptures, which ran into more that 1.5hours. But the part which stuck me most were these amazing prayers of Nagapatnis and how they touch Krishna’s heart. I also learnt how Krishna’s mercy and punishment are both good for us. Of course, it is a different experience when we hear such pastimes from pure devotees of Lord, the way Mataji explained this whole mood of being surrendered in detail was definitely an eye opener for a neophyte like myself. We can read about this complete pastime in chapter 16 of Krishna Book.

Today, I sincerely believe that being in ISKCON, and always remaining under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet, our good fortune knows no bounds.

All glories to the wonderful pastimes of Krishna.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Aligning ourselves with the will of Krishna.

by

Hare Krishna.

8th June, 2015. Gurgaon.

Krishna

Last few days whatever I have been hearing, reading or even receiving from other devotees, there is one common thread:  We should not desire any change in our karmic reaction from Krishna. As the coincidences built up I took them as a clue to share them with everyone.

It is not very uncommon to see that when we fall into difficult situations, we earnestly pray to Lord to remove it. It could be a simple cold to a serious illness or some other difficult situations. While this may be acceptable as a neophyte but as aspiring devotees we must endeavor to progress upwards from that level.

We are aware that almost all of our current circumstances have resulted from our past actions. But we should remember another very important point that nothing happens by chance, specially in the life of a devotee. We should have the firm faith that since Krishna is in control so whatever is happening in my life is for my own good.

HG Damodar Prabhu sent me the below two SMSs yesterday.

Sharanagati (surrender) is accomplished only when one can see the grace of the Supreme Lord in every situation -V.V.imp verse from SB below

“One who, in the hope of achieving Your grace, goes on enduring the inauspicious fruit of his own karma, and passes his days practicing devotion unto You in every thought, word, and deed- such a person is heir to the land of freedom: he attains to the plane of positive immortality.”(spiritual world)- Lord Brahma (SB10.14.8)

Few weeks back HG Padmalochan Prabhuji sent me the below verse from Mukunda Mala Strota

O my Lord! I have no attachment for religiosity, or for accumulating wealth, or for enjoying sense gratification. Let these come as they inevitably must, in accordance with my past deeds. But I do pray for this most cherished boon: birth after birth, let me render unflinching devotional service unto Your two lotus feet. (MM 5)

Then two days back I was hearing a lecture by HG Srimati Mataji where mataji quoted Srimad Bhagavatam on how devotional service could be in the mode of ignorance, passion & goodness, and finally above the modes of nature, which should be our target. Here are the verses:

Devotional service executed by a person who is envious, proud, violent and angry, and who is a separatist, is considered to be in the mode of darkness. (SB 3.29.8)

The worship of Deities in the temple by a separatist, with a motive for material enjoyment, fame and opulence, is devotion in the mode of passion. (SB 3.29.9)

When a devotee worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offers the results of his activities in order to free himself from the inebrieties of fruitive activities, his devotion is in the mode of goodness. (SB 3.29.10)

The manifestation of unadulterated devotional service is exhibited when one’s mind is at once attracted to hearing the transcendental name and qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is residing in everyone’s heart. Just as the water of the Ganges flows naturally down towards the ocean, such devotional ecstasy, uninterrupted by any material condition, flows towards the Supreme Lord. (SB 3.29.11-12)

Srimad Bhagavatam is calling the devotees in the mode of ignorance and passion as separatists, which we all know is not such a nice quality to possess.

So who is a separatist ?

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport of SB3.29 that A separatist is one who sees his interest as separate from that of the Supreme Lord. Mixed devotees, or devotees in the modes of passion and ignorance, think that the interest of the Supreme Lord is supplying the orders of the devotee; the interest of such devotees is to draw from the Lord as much as possible for their sense gratification. This is the separatist mentality.

The mind of the Supreme Lord and the mind of the devotee should be dovetailed. A devotee should not wish anything but to execute the desire of the Supreme. That is oneness. When the devotee has an interest or will different from the interest of the Supreme Lord, his mentality is that of a separatist…The devotee has no interest but to fulfill the transcendental desire of the Supreme Lord.

We should note that Lord Caitanya also teaches us in Siksastakam verse 4:

“O Lord, I do not wish to gain from You any wealth, nor do I wish to have a beautiful wife, nor do I wish to have many followers. All I want from You is that in life after life I may remain a pure devotee at Your lotus feet.”

Srila Prabhupada writes: there is a similarity between the prayers of Lord Caitanya and the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lord Caitanya prays, “in life after life,” indicating that a devotee does not even desire the cessation of birth and death. The yogīs and empiric philosophers desire cessation of the process of birth and death, but a devotee is satisfied to remain even in this material world and execute devotional service.

By practicing Krishna Bhakti, or Krishna consciousness, we get aligned with Krishna. The firmer the faith we have in trusting Krishna to be my best well wisher, the sharper will be our realisation that everything that is happening  in my life is designed for my spiritual progress.

Once Srimati mataji asked HG Jananivas Prabhuji `how does he manages to remain so much in Krishna consciousness despite so many ups and downs in Mayapur?’ Prabhuji replied that for any such `event’ he considers that this particular situation is best suited for my own spiritual progress, at my current stage !

Sometimes we see events, in our own or other devotee’s lives, which we may bewilder us but we should have firm faith that Krishna is doing something which is best for that devotee. The reasons could vary from fast forwarding some of our balance karmic reactions so we can quickly come back to Him or to show other devotees, by example, how to respond when calamities fall on us or it may be to complete our detachment from the material world or something else, we are too miniscule to comprehend the thought process of Supreme Lord but we must know that He is our best well wisher.

I remember during a workshop, two years back, HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavat Maharaja asked devotees to first write down few `bad things’ that have happened in our life and then Maharaj asked us to think what message was Krishna trying to give us through that `event’. It was a wonderful experience as each devotee wrote and shared his realisation. An old devotee wrote how he felt very pained when his only child left him for a posting abroad and he now realise that it was Krishna’s arrangement to get prabhuji more attached to Him. Prabhuji now does a lot of service in the temple and is very happy internally!

So under such circumstances it helps a lot to pray to Krishna to please let me know what are You trying to convey or teach me in my current situation.

While writing this blog I also remember an earlier blog where HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji said how we have `half faith’ in Krishna. We believe in Krishna’s power but in our own intelligence, instead, we should have full faith in Krishna’s power as well His intelligence.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Why does Laxmi Devi bestows her favour upon impious persons ?

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Hare Krishna.
26th May, 2015. Vrindavan

Laxmi Narayana

I had written in an earlier blog about a wonderful purport that I heard in Vrindavan and that I would write about it separately, the verse is SB5.18.22

mat-prāptaye ‘jeśa-surāsurādayas
tapyanta ugraṁ tapa aindriye dhiyaḥ
ṛte bhavat-pāda-parāyaṇān na māṁ
vindanty ahaṁ tvad-dhṛdayā yato ‘jita

Translation

O supreme unconquerable Lord, when they become absorbed in thoughts of material enjoyment, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, as well as other demigods and demons, undergo severe penances and austerities to receive my benedictions. But I do not favor anyone, however great he may be; unless he is always engaged in the service of Your lotus feet. Because I always keep You within my heart, I cannot favor anyone but a devotee.

This verse is being spoken by Laxmi ji. It is fairly simple verse yet a little puzzling as we hear so many times that Laxmi Devi doesn’t bestows her mercy on a materialistic person, or she goes where Lord Narayana is worshiped,  yet today we see so many impious, forget even materialistic, people enjoying great material wealth. This bewilders me sometimes and I would reconcile  myself  with the thought that they are reaping piety from their past birth, until this purport. This purport was a eye opener for me. Srila Prabhupada writes :

In this verse the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī, clearly states that she does not bestow her favor on any materialistic person. Although sometimes a materialist becomes very opulent in the eyes of another materialist, such opulence is bestowed upon him by the goddess Durgādevī, a material expansion of the goddess of fortune, not by Lakṣmīdevī herself. Those who desire material wealth worship Durgādevī with the following mantra: dhanaḿ dehi rūpaḿ dehi rūpa-pati-bhājaḿ dehi. “O worshipable mother Durgādevī, please give me wealth, strength, fame, a good wife and so on.” By pleasing goddess Durgā one can obtain such benefits, but since they are temporary, they result only in māyā-sukha (illusory happiness). As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: [SB 7.9.43] those who work very hard for material benefits are vimūḍhas, foolish rascals, because such happiness will not endure. On the other hand, devotees like Prahlāda and Dhruva Mahārāja achieved extraordinary material opulences, but such opulences were not māyā-sukha. When a devotee acquires unparalleled opulences, they are the direct gifts of the goddess of fortune, who resides in the heart of Nārāyaṇa.

The material opulences a person obtains by offering prayers to the goddess Durgā are temporary. As described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.23), antavat tu phalaḿ teṣāḿ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām: men of meager intelligence desire temporary happiness. We have actually seen that one of the disciples of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura wanted to enjoy the property of his spiritual master, and the spiritual master, being merciful toward him, gave him the temporary property, but not the power to preach the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. That special mercy of the power to preach is given to a devotee who does not want anything material from his spiritual master but wants only to serve him. The story of the demon Rāvaṇa illustrates this point. Although Rāvaṇa tried to abduct the goddess of fortune Sītādevī from the custody of Lord Rāmacandra, he could not possibly do so. The Sītādevī he forcibly took with him was not the original Sītādevī, but an expansion of māyā, or Durgādevī. As a result, instead of winning the favor of the real goddess of fortune, Rāvaṇa and his whole family were vanquished by the power of Durgādevī (sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā [Bs. 5.44]).

This clears so much air and confusion in my head. It is so true that we see so many people becoming Godless and earning so much money yet we see them without any happiness or contentment, because such wealth is not bestowed by Laxmi Devi. Hence people are suffering despite having so much wealth at their disposal. We can also see the example of Ravana and what happened to him in the end where all the opulence he had was destroyed.

I searched and found some more verses where scriptures elaborates this point further

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport of CC Madhya 21.53 that `Because he wants to enjoy the material energy, the conditioned soul is allowed to reside in Devī-dhāma, the external energy, where goddess Durgā carries out the orders of the Supreme Lord as His maidservant. The material energy is called jagal-lakṣmī because she protects the bewildered conditioned souls.. For material facilities, the conditioned soul tries to please goddess Durgā, and mother Durgā supplies all kinds of material facilities. Because of this, the conditioned souls are allured and do not wish to leave the external energy.’

Lord Śiva, the most powerful demigod, second only to Lord Viṣṇu, is self-sufficient. Although he has nothing to aspire for in the material world, for the benefit of those in the material world he is always busily engaged everywhere and is accompanied by his dangerous energies like the goddess Kālī and the goddess Durgā. ( SB 4.24.18)

This verse was spoken by Vidura while he was asking Maitreya Rishi about `Pracetas’ and how they met Lord Shiva. Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to the above verse that ‘Asuras try to pacify the goddess Kālī, or Durgā, by worshiping her in material opulence, but when the asuras become too intolerable, the goddess Kālī does not discriminate in killing them wholesale. Asuras do not know the secret of the energy of Lord Śiva, and they prefer to worship the goddess Kālī or Durgā or Lord Śiva for material benefit……Lord Śiva’s duty is very dangerous because he has to employ the energy of the goddess Kālī, or Durgā. In another popular picture the goddess Kālī is sometimes seen standing on the prostrate body of Lord Śiva, which indicates that sometimes Lord Śiva has to fall down flat in order to stop the goddess Kālī from killing the asuras. Since Lord Śiva controls the great material energy (the goddess Durgā), worshipers of Lord Śiva attain very opulent positions within this material world. Under Lord Śiva’s direction, a worshiper of Lord Śiva gets all kinds of material facilities.’

My lord, surely I have been solidly cheated by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for in spite of having obtained your association, which gives liberation from material bondage, I did not seek such liberation. (SB 3.23.57)

This verse was spoken by Devahuti to her husband Kardama Muni, feeling unsatisfied and distressed in her heart, despite all the opulence her husband had recently showered upon her. Srila Prabhupada warns in his purport that ‘People do not know what they are doing when they worship the material energy in the form of goddess Kālī or Durgā for material boons. They ask, “Mother, give me great riches, give me a good wife, give me fame, give me victory.” But such devotees of the goddess Māyā, or Durgā, do not know that they are being cheated by that goddess. Material achievement is actually no achievement because as soon as one is illusioned by the material gifts, he becomes more and more entangled, and there is no question of liberation. One should be intelligent enough to know how to utilize material assets for the purpose of spiritual realization. That is called karma-yoga or jñāna-yoga. Whatever we have we should use as service to the Supreme Person.’

So we learn that most of the material wealth people acquire is mostly bestowed by Durga devi and not by Laxmi devi. What is bestowed by Laxmi devi is permanent and auspicious, brings relief from the bondage of birth and death, examples are Prahlada, Dhruva Maharaj, etc.)  where as what is bestowed by Durga devi is just the opposite and is called māyā-sukha (illusory happiness), prime example is Ravana. That is how today we see many people who have attained so much wealth but they have no happiness or even peace in their lives.

We also notice that whenever devotees are bestowed with wealth they generally do not get bewildered by it and use it in the service of Lord and His devotees. Our handling of wealth should not be that of an enjoyer of wealth rather than that of a caretaker who has been chosen by Lord to use it in the service of His devotees. We have examples of so many flourishing businessmen, HG Radheshyam Prabhu, from Gurgaon, comes immediately to my mind ,  whom we see that they are completely detached from money and they are using whatever wealth they have in the service of Lord. And we see Laxmiji bestowing more wealth on such devotees, as they utilise it for the right purpose.

On the other hand we see so many impious people hoarding money and trying to enjoy it. We increasingly hear how the richest comedian in USA commits suicide or a rich businessmen family is fighting over his vast wealth in India, or rich person’s son `plotting’ against his own father and so on. We also read how the number of bankruptcies have risen exponentially in last few decades, that too mostly in the rich countries. Similarly the less said about the money in shares/ESOPs the better, material energy continues to punish all such people. Whatever they have is temporary, even by the fickle standards of this material world. Forget liberation from the cycle of birth and death, even attainment of  peace is very far for such people, inner happiness is further distant.

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to SB 4.24.18 that : In contrast, a Vaiṣṇava, or worshiper of Lord Viṣṇu, gradually becomes poorer in material possessions because Lord Viṣṇu does not trick His devotees into becoming materially entangled by possessions. Lord Viṣṇu gives His devotees intelligence from within, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ  bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

Thus Lord Viṣṇu gives intelligence to His devotee so that the devotee can make progress on the path back home, back to Godhead. Since a devotee has nothing to do with any kind of material possession, he does not come under the control of the goddess Kālī, or the goddess Durgā.

All glories to the transcendental purports by Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Mercy of HG Bhurijana prabhu and HH Janananda Maharaj

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Hare Krishna,
Dandavat Pranam.
Please accept my humble obeisances.

It is stated that one gets service due to causeless mercy of the devotees. In my case, I think this is so apt, with no qualification and struggling with Maya everyday, for me it was a divine intervention when HH Janananda Maharaj and HG Bhurijana Prabhu and HG Jaggitarini Mataji came to our house and gave their sublime association.

HHJananandaGoswami

HH Janananda Maharaj – I have been serving Maharaj for past few years but he could not come last year and I missed him so much. Finally, he told me he shall come twice – Feb 26th and March 17th-19th and I was over the moon. On Feb 26th, he just had prasadam at our place and then we left for Vrindavan. During the journey, Maharaj read Srimad Bhagwatam on his kindle, did kirtan and discussed about welfare of Gurgaon devotees. When we reached Vrindavan, he did prostrated Dandavats to Dham and the moment he entered Goshala at 9:30pm, he was so happy to see all the cows. He was literally dancing. Then he slowly approached his room, strangely everybody came to know Maharaj has come and suddenly everybody started doing Kirtan and welcomed Maharaj with garlands and flowers strewn his walking path. As Maharaj settled down, he called me and asked, “How do you think it went today”…Like a jabberman, I started thanking him for giving me an opportunity to serve him and giving his association. He just ignored and said with a serious face “what we saw outside was pure love”. They need not have come out of their room at 10pm. But as soon as I walked towards my room, they heard my footsteps and started doing kirtan. Gopis had natural attraction for the Lord. They just knew he is there and they would start dancing. These devotees are pure, their heart is pure. They have real attachment to Krishna. I am not Gopi, just Prabhupad’s menial servant…Prabhupad is Pure and they are all genuinely attached; If they can recognize Prabhupad servant, they have real attachment with Prabhupad too. Then he said, “Shyam Sunder Prabhu, this should be our bhava in Love. Guru just teaches. The devotee heart should just be filled with joy and start serving and dancing when he sees his master or supreme lord. This feeling should be resident naturally, no effort and this comes with developing attachment to Krishna. So you must try doing this…” Its amazing how Maharaj picks pearls from small incidents and bring that into realizations. I drove back home, complete in awe and reverence of Maharaj.
Then Maharaj came on 17th March. It was wonderful. We served Maharaj with all enthusiasm. After Maharaj finished his prasadam, we sat down for Prasadam. Then Maharaj came and started reading Krishna Book loudly. Just for our sake, Maharaj started explaining the meanings to my kids. At times he would ask me to explain kids and then he would further explain it. I felt so guilty. I should have been the one reading for him when he was having Prasadam however I ended up taking service from Maharaj. He is like an epitomy of compassion and mercy. Once we finished prasadam, I begged at his lotus feet and thanked him for mercy. However, he asked me to sit and said, “Krishna asks us to surrender and be attached to him. You should think of Krishna all the time – eating, drinking talking etc. It is very good for kids if you discuss Krishna at lunch/dinner table. That’s your dharma of father as well as way to satisfy your own desire to be attached to Krishna”. This is the way Maharaj taught me how to spend time with kids and I have never seen anyone with so much love and compassion.

Maharaj gave a wonderful lecture on “Prabhupad – our founder acharya” the next day at Dwarka Temple, leaving all devotees spell-bound with his wits. He left for Australia on 19th March however we really miss him – his association and unique way of teaching us. All Glories to HH Janananda Maharaj. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

WP_20150308_18_10_53_Pro

HG Bhurijana Prabhu and HG Jaggitarini Mataji – I had been wanting to serve Prabhuji and Mataji for past 3 yrs however every attempt I made at Vrindavan failed. This time I prayed humbly to Gaur Nitai and wrote them an email (Ajay Pr gave me his email id). In few days, I received his email confirming Mataji shall come on 6th March and he shall come on 9th March. Instead of being happy, I panicked as my kids exams were finishing on 15th March and thought my wife Shilpi may not agree. However, when I requested, she readily agreed and said, “How can kids exams be more important than Mahabhagvat. I will manage kids and prasadam and you serve them. You had been wanting to serve him for so long, we cant let this opportunity slip else you will be disheartened” I was so relieved and a bit surprised at her unusual response. First Mataji arrived on 6th March. After taking rest and doing her morning sadhana (She would listen to Srila Prabhupad lectures everyday…this was wonderful), she was out and went straight to kitchen. She spoke to Shilpi at length as if Mother instructing her daughter. She advised how kids should be exposed to Krishna Consciousness (bring books they can understand, hold class once a week at home that myself or Shilpi should discuss that they can understand. Just instill Krishna is Supreme and our duty is to obey his instructions. He is the father; just like I am your father and you need to listen to me; similarly, Krishna is foremost father as he is the one who has created whole universe. On 8th March evening, she caught me scolding my kids. Mataji called me and said, “scolding helps, but why are you getting angry? You are scolding for their good but if anger starts seeping you; it would hardly help your kids, rather harm you. They will end up only being scared of you, not correcting themselves. And if you teach them Krishna Consciousness they would wonder how can one preach and not follow about controlling the anger.” Then came Golden words: “Give your kids what is best for them; but also at times give them what they want. Let them compare. Don’t worry even if they choose the wrong option. They will come around. Don’t be worried that they didn’t choose the option you think its best for them. Its not about you…You…what YOU think…its about what THEY chose. Make them learn the art of discrimination, make them analytical to think whats good for them…and then pray to Lord. Mothers can only pray for their children well-being; You make all efforts and then pray and leave it to HIM.”

Giving such exhaustive guidance to a person whom she has never met before really speaks highly of her – how merciful and compassionate she is. Then came 9th March. Prabhuji was supposed to come by 12pm. It was 3pm but we kept waiting. Mataji didn’t have anything since morning as she wanted to have with Prabhuji. She was busy arranging everything to ensure Prabhuji feels comfortable and satisfied. She was literally running around to ensure everything is perfect. When my wife looked at her surprisingly, Mataji answered, “Prabhuji in the house is a master, In today’s world, Matajis are trying to become master and prabhujis go round and round. However, vedic system is clear. Matajis should only serve prabhuji to his satisfaction and Prabhujis should serve the lord and give opportunity to matajis to serve him. “
Finally, Prabhuji arrived at 4:30pm. It was like a feast. He got prasadam for everyone and was particularly compassionate towards kids. He then stated he is a teacher so he must ask queries from kids. He did 15mins of interaction with them and my son fell in love with him. After having his prasadam, he then sat down and asked us if there is any query. I started with a statement, “Maharaj, there is a stupid question….” He stopped me there. He said, “If its stupid, why are you asking me ? Do you think I am stupid and answer your stupid queries.” I was taken aback. Seeing my expressions probably, he said, “If I really think it was a stupid question, I would have never asked and made a fool out of myself as nobody likes to make fool of themselves but devotees still do it because its their way of expressing false humility. And in extreme situation if you really and genuinely think it’s a stupid question, pls ask your devotee friends who should be able to answer them. If you think Krishna is supreme and spiritual masters – diksha or shiksha are his representatives, make them feel you respect them. Its not nice etiquette to ask them stupid queries.” I fell to his lotus feet asking for his forgiveness. He lovingly embraced me and said, “I am a teacher, its my duty to tell you whats right and wrong. I may be harsh but its for your good. I am not offended but I was concerned that you may offend someone and carry apradha”. It made me wonder where in this world would one get such compassionate souls who are so realized and think so far. He continued and gave 15mins lecture on importance of Srimad Bhagwatam and why one should read this important scripture. It was an amazing 15minute injection. He then looked around my house and saw photos of Krishna in each room. He asked me, “how many times do you see these photos in your room.” I answered may be once a day but go to altar thrice a day. He then beckoned me to sit,”Shyam Sunder, we keep photos to remind ourselves. Whenever you come to your room, you should always look at them as deities and understand its their room; its their home, not yours. It is to remind us the power and glory of the lord.” What a powerful learning! Next morning, I dropped Maharaj and Mataji to the airport as they were heading to mangalore for ayurvedic treatment. I was filled with heavy heart and immense gratitude. All Glories to HG Jaggitarini Mataji and HG Bhurijana Prabhu.

Without any doubt, I can say with confidence of all the years, this has been the best year of serving such senior bhagvats and getting such amazing realizations, learnings and mercy. I pray to Gaur Nitai that I get such nectar every year….

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
All Glories to Sri Sri Gauranga!!

Very fallen servant,
Shyam Sunder Krishna Das

 

Sadhu

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Hare Krishna.

14th May, 2015. Gurgaon.

Srila Prabhupada

A very Krishna conscious ekadasi to everyone!

Yesterday I read a wonderful verse and its purport where Srila Prabhupada explains what is the real meaning of the word sadhu. I am copying the same for the pleasure of all the devotees.

Should a person seeking a spiritual path practice only detachment ? If No, then whom should one be attached to ?

Srimad Bhagavatam recommends that our attachment should be transferred to the self-realized devotees, the sādhus.

prasaṅgam ajaraṁ pāśam ātmanaḥ kavayo viduḥ
sa eva sādhuṣu kṛto mokṣa-dvāram apāvṛtam

Translation
Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation. (SB 3.25.20)

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport that
Here it is clearly stated that attachment for one thing is the cause of bondage in conditioned life, and the same attachment, when applied to something else, opens the door of liberation. Attachment cannot be killed; it has simply to be transferred. Attachment for material things is called material consciousness, and attachment for Kṛṣṇa or His devotee is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Consciousness, therefore, is the platform of attachment. It is clearly stated here that when we simply purify the consciousness from material consciousness to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we attain liberation. Despite the statement that one should give up attachment, desirelessness is not possible for a living entity. A living entity, by constitution, has the propensity to be attached to something. We see that if someone has no object of attachment, if he has no children, then he transfers his attachment to cats and dogs. This indicates that the propensity for attachment cannot be stopped; it must be utilized for the best purpose. Our attachment for material things perpetuates our conditional state, but the same attachment, when transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee, is the source of liberation.

What is the benefit of having attachment to a Sadhu ?

Ans : Prabhupada says that it leads one to the royal road of liberation as the sadhu will teach us how to become a devotee, a worshiper and a sincere servitor of the Lord.

Silra Prabhupada explains it in the same purport that

Mahātmā is a synonym of sādhu. It is said that service to a mahātmā, or elevated devotee of the Lord, is dvāram āhur vimukteḥ, the royal road of liberation. Mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam (Bhāg. 5.5.2). Rendering service to the materialists has the opposite effect. If anyone offers service to a gross materialist, or a person engaged only in sense enjoyment, then by association with such a person the door to hell is opened. The same principle is confirmed here. Attachment to a devotee is attachment to the service of the Lord because if one associates with a sādhu, the result will be that the sādhu will teach him how to become a devotee, a worshiper and a sincere servitor of the Lord. These are the gifts of a sādhu.

And who is a sadhu ?

Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport:

A sādhu is not just an ordinary man with a saffron robe or long beard. A sādhu is described in Bhagavad-gītā as one who unflinchingly engages in devotional service. Even though one is found not to be following the strict rules and regulations of devotional service, if one simply has unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, he is understood to be a sādhu. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ [Bg. 9.30]. A sādhu is a strict follower of devotional service.

Should one seek material benedictions from such a sadhu ?

One should not. Srila Prabhupada adds :

These are the gifts of a sādhu. If we want to associate with a sādhu, we cannot expect him to give us instructions on how to improve our material condition, but he will give us instructions on how to cut the knot of the contamination of material attraction and how to elevate ourselves in devotional service.

Isn’t is amazing that how in just one purport, and in such simple language, Prabhupada explains us about a Sadhu, what are benefits of associating with him and what should we seek from him.

All glories to nectarean purports of Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

What is the difference between mind and `citta’ ?

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Hare Krishna.

11th May, 2015, Gurgaon

Quotes-by-Bhakti-Charu-Swami-on-Getting-Rid-of-the-Impurities-of-the-Heart

Last week Shyamsundar Prabhuji asked me `Does mind means our desires?’ I replied in negative and as we started talking about `Cit’, mind and consciousness, I realised that I could not explain this topic to prabhuji properly. I looked at my notes and found an excellent explanation by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji. As usual prabhuji clears the air with a laser sharp clarity. Because I had kept this knowledge to myself so I had forgotten it!

In summary we can understand at first the difference between mind and consciousness.

1. Consciousness being energy of the soul is spiritual, whereas mind is material, being one of the constituents of the subtle material body.
2. The mind is like the screen of the TV whereas the soul is the person watching the TV and consciousness is like the vision of the person that is focused on the TV.

What is the relationship between the `citta. and the mind?

Prabhuji explained that in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna sometimes uses these two words equivalently.

At one level Krishna says man-manā bhava mad-bhakto (BG 18.65) He says that think of Me, fix your mind on Me.

In BG 10.9 Krishna says mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā, He says, the consciousness of my devotees is fixed on me.

Prabhuji explained that in a functional sense we can say that mind and consciousness are similar but in a technical sense there is a difference.

The word citta is different from cit.

Prabhuji explained that the soul is sat-cit-ananda. As sat-cit-ananda, cit or consciousness is the original faculty of the soul. Soul’s consciousness is currently caught in the body and routed through the body to the outer world. So I am identifying with my body and from there I am thinking I am looking at you, you are looking at me. This identification is happening. In this identification the conditioned consciousness of the soul that is routed into the body is called as `citta’. Cit is the original unconditioned consciousness and citta is the consciousness that is routed through the body.

For example, suppose a person is watching a movie. When a  person goes into the theater to watch the movie, at that time the person can see everything. He may see the movie screen. He may see the neighbors sitting next to him. He may see the floor. He may see the fans, lights. Once the movie starts the movie screen is so captivating that the person consciousness gets locked on the screen. Then whatever is happening on the movie screen that’s where the consciousness goes and through that there all kinds of emotions, of excitement, horror, suspense, all the different emotions come.

Prabhuji explained that like that original soul is conscious and is capable of being conscious of spiritual reality also. Just like a person watching a movie can see the person sitting next to him, like that super-soul is right next to us and we have the capacity to perceive super-soul.

There is also the example of two birds. Two birds are close to each other but one bird is busy in eating the fruits. Like that the soul is currently next to the super-soul. Soul has the capacity to see the super-soul, but the soul is caught in material illusion. The capacity of the soul to see everything, including spiritual reality, that is cit and the consciousness that is routed on to the movie screen and after that whatever is perceived that is called as citta.

So conditioned consciousness is citta and the original consciousness is cit.

Quotes-by-Srila-Prabhupada-on-Consciousness

Now coming to the mind, the movie screen is like the mind. The movie screen is where whatever is depicted in the movie that is being displayed. So that is the mind. Krishna says man mana bhava..,  at one level He is saying on the screen of your mind you bring impressions about Me. That means you remember the Deity, you remember the holy name, you remember the verses. The screen of the mind bring the impressions about Me. Secondly what also it means is that your citta, your energy of consciousness, you focus on Me. So by this what will happen? Because Krishna is spiritual, by focusing on Him as spiritual reality, our spiritual awareness will awaken. Jiva jago, Jiva jago, we sing. What is that? The soul’s spiritual faculty awakens. And once that awakens it can see that the super- soul is right next to me. So Krishna is right next to me, I will be able to perceive.

Suppose there is a person who is watching a movie. But now assume that between the face of the person and the movie screen there is a sort of subtle covering or a pipe. So that vision goes straight to the screen and the vision cannot go anywhere else. That means the person has the capacity to see other things but because of that pipe line the person’s vision is fixed on the movie screen only. So that pipe line which fixes the vision on the movie screen that is the false ego. So because of our false ego we can’t perceive other things.

For example, somebody very passionately identifies with, say there is a war on Iran and Iraq. Somebody passionately identifies with Iran then person cannot think of Iraqi perspective. ‘No, we could not have done anything wrong, they are only wrong. Why? Because the vision is locked like that.’

In our case the screen on which we perceive the world that is mind and the conditioned vision or the conditioned consciousness with which we perceive that is citta.

For example, if I have to look out of a window, if the window is red color then there are two things involved in my perception.

One is my eyes looking at the window.

Secondly there is the screen of the window.

If screen is reddish then what will happen? Whatever I see is reddish. But if screen is transparent I will be able to see transparent.

Cheto darpan marjanam, so clean the citta.

So from functional point of view both the mind and the citta are basically the means by which we perceive in this material world.

We can Krishnaize it. When we Krishnaize it then our spiritual faculty will be awaken.

So citta is the conditioned consciousness and mind is the screen on which that conditioned consciousness perceives.

To hear the audio of the answer by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji please click here

All glories to HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet

by

Hare Krishna

5th April, 2015. Gurgaon

lotus_footprints_nityananda

Since many months I was looking for a picture of Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet first for my study wall and later for my altar. I checked at the main shops near the temple, when I visited Vrindavan, but could not get them. As time passed by my search narrowed down to look for only Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet. I had seen one in a metal foil two years back at a devotee’s home but no one could help me where to get them. I spoke to a couple of devotees about my desire to worship Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet and help me get them.

Jaya Nityananda Prabhu

Nothing happened for weeks and then on 28th March this year I received a call from my dear friend Shyamsundar Prabhu around 9pm. Prabhuji told me that he is calling from Vrindavan and asked me if I was still looking for Nityananda Prabhu’s feet, I  hungrily replied in affirmative, hoping he has finally found some source. Only, it was better.

Prabhuji was currently at the gift shop next to the bakery on the main entry side of Krishna Balram temple. There he heard a Brajwasi trying to sell something he found on the road to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was unwilling to buy it as it was old. The Brajawasi was keen to get some money for it and the shopkeeper was saying that the best he can do is that he can leave it at the shop and check with him every week if it has been sold or not. Prabhuji then heard shopkeeper say that it is Nityananda Prabhu’s feet. Shyamsundar Prabhu immediately intervened in their animated discussion and asked to look at it and then saw that they were indeed Nityananda prabhu’s feet! Prabhuji remembered my desire and was calling me to find out if I would accept them as they were old and a bit scratched too. My heart jumped and I said Yes immediately. Prabhuji gave money to the Brajawasi and took their possession.

Prabhuji returned next day evening from Vrindavan and dropped at my home to deliver them. As I opened their wrapping, my heart skipped a beat seeing their beauty and all the clear markings on the feet. I was over the moon, they were perfect for my altar. I thanked prabhuji profusely for this mercy, coming out of blue from Vrindavan dham and via a brajavasi! What could be more joyous.

The amazing part is that Prabhuji shared that he too received Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet in a similar fashion. Some years back he was walking inside the Mayapur temple complex and he spotted something shinning on the ground, he picked it up and found that it was Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet. Still more amazing was when I narrated this incident to Amitabh Prabhu next day he shared that he too received  Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet in a similar manner at Vrindavan. There is simply no stopping of  Their mercy ! All glories to Nityananda Prabhu!

Below is the picture of Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet resting comfortably in our altar.

IMG_0648

I am copying the famous prayer Nitai Pada Kamala, by Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura, for the pleasure of the devotees and as a gratitude of Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy on this most fallen soul. I am simply overwhelmed. 

nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala
je chāyāy jagata jurāy
heno nitāi bine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi
dṛḍha kori’ dharo nitāir pāy

The lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are a shelter where one will get the soothing moonlight not only of one, but of millions of moons. If the world wants to have real peace, it should take shelter of Lord Nityananda. Unless one takes shelter under the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, it will be very difficult for him to approach Radha-Krsna. If one actually wants to enter into the dancing party of Radha-Krsna, he must firmly catch hold of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.

se sambandha nāhi jā’r, bṛthā janma gelo tā’r
sei paśu boro durācār
nitāi nā bolilo mukhe, majilo saḿsāra-sukhe
vidyā-kule ki koribe tār

Anyone who has not established his relationship with Nityananda Prabhu is understood to have spoiled his valuable human birth. Such a human being is actually an uncontrollable animal. Because he never uttered the holy name of Nityananda, he has become merged into so-called material happiness. What can his useless education and family tradition do to help him?

ahańkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā
asatyere satya kori māni
nitāiyer koruṇā habe, braje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe
dharo nitāi-caraṇa du’khāni

Being maddened after false prestige and identification with the body, one is thinking, oh, what is Nityananda? What can He do for me? I don’t care. The result is that he is accepting something false to be truth. If you actually want to approach the association of Radha-Krsna, you must first achieve the mercy of Lord Nityananda. When He is merciful toward you, then you will be able to approach Radha-Krsna. Therefore you should firmly grasp the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.
nitāiyer caraṇa satya, tāhāra sevaka nitya
nitāi-pada sadā koro āśa
narottama boro dukhī, nitāi more koro sukhī
rākho rāńgā-caraṇera pāśa

The lotus feet of Nityananda are not illusion; they are a fact. One who engages in the transcendental loving service of Nityananda is also transcendental. Always try to catch the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda. This Narottama dasa is very unhappy, therefore I am praying to Lord Nityananda to make me happy. My dear Lord, please keep me close to Your lotus feet. 

All glories to the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Narasimha Chaturdashi 

by

Hare Krishna.

3th May, 2015. Gurgaon

 

Today is Narasimha Chatudashi in India. This festival, which comes in the month of May is a very special day for all the devotees.Lord Narasimha Deva appears to protect His devotees. Hiranyakashipu, a demon controlling the three worlds, was extremely proud and he hated Lord Vishnu.

But little Prahlada, his five year old son, was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. therefore, Hiranyakashipu tried to killed prahlada in several ways; but failed in all his attempts because of the protection given by the Lord to His dear devotee. Finally, when Hiranyakashipu asked his little son where the Lord resides, Prahlada replied that the Lord resides everywhere. Mocking this response, Hiranyakashipu broke a pillar in his palace, and the Lord appeared from that pillar in His   half man-half lion incarnation – Narasimha. He then killed the demon and thus protected His devotee.

Lord Narasimha Deva removes the obstacles in the path of devotional service. Devotees who pray to Him are always protected from all kinds of calamities. Apart from celebrations at the local temple devotees celebrate Narasimha Chaturdashi by reading and discussing the pastimes of the Lord from Srimad Bhagavatam.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written five beautiful prayers for receiving the mercy of Lord Narasimha, which we can all read and pray to Narasimha Deva in a similar mood.

Prayers to Lord Narasimha by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

e dusta hrdaye kama adi ripu chaya
kutinati pratisthasa sathya sada raya
hrdaya-sodhana ara krsnera vasana
nrsimha-carane mora ei to’ kamana

Within my sinful heart the six enemies headed by lust perpetually reside, as well as duplicity, the desire for fame, plus sheer cunning. At the lotus feet of Lord Narasimha, I hope that He will mercifully purify my heart and give me the desire to serve Lord Krsna.

kandiya nrsimha-pade magibo kakhana
nirapade navadvipe jugala-bhajana
bhaya bhaya paya yan’ra darsane se hari
prasanna hoibo kabe more daya kari

Weeping, I will beg at the lotus-feet of Lord Narasimha for the benediction of worshipping Radha and Krsna in Navadvipa, perfectly safe and free from all  difficulties. When will this Lord Hari, Whose terrible form strikes fear into fear itself, ever become pleased and show me His mercy?

yadyapi bhisana murti dusta-jiva-prati
prahladadi krsna-bhakta-jane bhadra ati
kabe va prasanna ho’ye sa krpa-vacane
nirbhaya karibe ei mudha akincane

Even though Lord Narasimha is terrifying toward the sinful souls, He offers great auspiciousness unto the devotees of Lord Krsna headed by Prahlada Maharaja. When will He be pleased to speak words of compassion unto me, a worthless fool, and thereby make me fearless?

svacchande baiso he vatsa sri-gauranga-dhame
jugala-bhajana hau rati hau name
mama bhakta-krpa-bale vighna jabe dura
suddha cite bhajo radha-krsna-rasa-pura

He will say, “Dear child! Sit sown freely and live happily here in Sri Gauranga-dhama. May you nicely worship the Divine Couple, and may you develop loving attachment for Their Holy Names. By the mercy of My devotees, all obstacles are cast far away. With a purified heart, just perform the worship of Radha and Krsna, for such worship overflows with sweet nectar.”

ei boli’ kabe mora mastaka-upara
sviya sri-carana harse dharibe isvara
amani jugala-preme sattvika vikare
dharaya lutibo ami sri-nrsimha-dvare

Saying this, will that Lord delightedly place His own divine lotus-feet upon my head? I will experience sublime love for the Divine Couple Radha-Krsna and undergo the ecstatic transformations called sattvika. Falling on the ground, I will roll about at the door of Sri Narasimha’s temple.

(Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, – Sri Navadvipa Bhava Taranga, 36-40)

I prayed in the morning to Lord Narasimha Deva to protect all of us from within,  from all the pains and anarthas of the heart, and  without, and may His loving hand be always on our head.

All glories to Narasimha Chaturdashi.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.