Tag Archives: Bhakti Charu Swami

Year 2013

by

Hare Krishna.

31 Dec 2013, Ujjain, 8.30pm.

As the year 2013 comes to an end at midnight tonight I look back at what all happened in my spiritual life.

1. In my wildest imagination I could not have dreamt that I will be at Ujjain on new year eve and attending a wonderful retreat by Guru Maharaj.

2. That I am in the association of devotees is the cherry on the cake. Of course in the company of Shyamal Prabhu, Atma Prabhu, Radhapad Prabhu I am like a crow staring at a group of swans. Still by some good fortune I am here in their midst.

3. Guru Maharaj showered his complete mercy by visiting our home so many times and ensuring that as a family we remain steadfast on way to start our devotional journey.

4. The trip to Surat with devotees was a wonderful experience for me. It was trailer of what are happy devotee families and what is preaching with passion and care.

5. I had one of the best Kartika months ever and never been in Dhama for so many days.

6. I somehow gathered courage and started a weekly Bhagavad Gita study group at my home. The suport l received from my family, my devotee friends and the local centre was very humbling experience for me.

7. This group gave me a focus and also meaning to my devotional life.

8. I realised that grow to in devotional life I need to cultivate relationships, a most difficult part for me.

9. I attended many seminars and each one enriched me.

10. I got some inclination on what is chanting and what is meant by devotional service.

11. The visit of HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj would remain a highlight for the whole life.

12. I got a little taste for hearing and could hear lectures daily.

13. I fell in love with HH Radha Govind Maharaj and could take his Darshan for the first time.

14. It seems somehow by Krishna’s mercy I am getting a taste and longing to remain in the association of devotees. It’s a different matter that except for few devotees like Sumeet Prabhu, Karuna Prabhu, most of them, rightly, stay away for me. A crow among swans.

15. My wife made a very nice altar and then very nice presence of Srila Prabhupada in our new home, Guru Maharaj named it Krishna Kunj.

16. I could somehow feel the presence of mercy in all aspects of my devotional life , be it from devotees, Srila Prabhupada, Guru Maharaj or Krishna. I could appreciate a little the word causeless mercy.

17. I started reading Chaitanaya Charitamrita and found its teachings most profound.

18. I got some faith in Gaur Nitai and the six Goswamis.

18. Guru Maharaj strong teachings have converted me to become a strong supporter of ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada.

19. Guru Maharaj taught about Yukta Vairagaya today morning and I hope to imbibe it inside me.

20. I feel more peaceful, contended and happy than at the start of the year.

21. I could carry the Deity of Srila Prabhupada to all the 6 Goswami temples of Vrindavan.

22. Went to Mayapur Dham for the first time after my initiation.

23. Got initiated by never ending causeless mercy of HG Rukmini Prabhuji and Guru Maharaj.

24. I found a wonderful and most merciful brother in Sumeet Prabhu, except for the wrong habit glorifying me for no purpose he is near perfect. He guides me affectionately like a younger brother and keep my enthusiasm running. Being myself a zero in both my material and spiritual journey I can’t reciprocate nor return his feelings and gestures. I can only pray to Krishna for his spiritual and material well being.

25. I never felt alone for a moment ; there were devotees who took pity on me , Guru Maharaj who showered his causeless mercy on me, Srila Prabhupada who listened to my prayers , developed relationship with Gaur Nitai and reciprocation of love happened with Sri Sri Radha and Shyamsunder

I am looking forward to the promise I made to a Devotee today to reach the temple before Mangal Arti tomorrow morning and chant our rounds early on the first day of the year.

As I sit alone in my room in the temple guest house, ready to sleep early, I have my bead bag next to me and only Krishna and His devotee in my thoughts. I have no interest in the celebrations going in the temple nor in my dinner, I only hope to chant at least one japa round with love for Krishna before I wake up next year.

I pray at the lotus feet of all the devotees to please bless me with their association in the coming year.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Pleasure in being the servant of the servant

by

Hare Krishna

30th Dec, Ujjain.

Quotes-by-Bhakti-Charu-Swami-on-What-Should-We-Become

During the morning class today Guru Maharaj spoke about how we can take the example that In the field of atheism and Buddhism Sankracharya sowed the seeds or a base of Vedas. To dig we have to go down, in the reverse direction , so Sankracharya made the base by digging in the reverse directions, which is impersonalism, then the four Vaishanava acharya build the temple on that base. Finally MahaPrabhu came and established the Deities of Sri Radha Krishna in that temple. Guru Maharaj also informed us that MahaPrabhu took two points from each of the four Sampradayas.

During the question answer session, after the lecture, one devotee asked Guru Maharaj what were the two points that MahaPrabhu took from each of the Sampradaya. Guru Maharaj remembered a few of them and replied that he doesn’t remember each of them. He asked HG Ganganarayan Prabhu but he couldn’t recollect them.

As Guru Maharaj went to answer the next question, I searched on the internet on my phone and in 10 seconds I had all the 8 points. First hunch ; should I raise my hand and tell Guru Maharaj that I have searched the answer for him. Somehow I felt it would be wrong to do so. Instead I gave my phone, with the that page opened, to a senior devotee sitting next to me , he took my phone with a little surprise and became happy after I pointed to the opened page and he read the contents. He then handed my phone to HG Ganganarayan Prabhu and I could see that he too became happy reading the contents. Prabhuji then went to Guru Maharaj and handed the phone to him informing him about the contents. Guru Maharaj too was happy to receive it , he praised HG Ganganarayan Prabhu for finding them so quickly. He then shared the contents with everyone.

I realised that I felt very happy when each of the devotee became happy reading the contents on my phone. I was most happy when Guru Maharaj glorified HG Ganganarayan Prabhu for finding the answers so quickly. Surprisingly, for a character of my person, I didn’t feel envious that it was me who found it, I felt very happy from inside that prabhuji was glorified and some how I played a small part in it.

And lastly I got a hint how we can I please Krishna and Guru by being servant of the servant of their devotees. And it made me three times more happy ! I had read these lines many a times in the past but didn’t know the feeling and today by the causeless mercy of Vaishanavas I got a little taste of the same.

I pray at the lotus feet of devotees to continue to be merciful to a fallen neophyte like me.

All glories to the merciful Vaishanavas.
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Facing a Pure devotee

by

Hare Krishna.

29th Dec, Ujjain

Quotes-by-Srila-Prabhupada-on-Symptom-of-A-Pure-Devotee

Last evening as a  wonderful evening  came to an end  with an ecstatic Kirtan by Guru Maharaj, an ever merciful Atma Prabhu called me and Baljinder Prabhu to Guru Maharaj’s quarter. At first I thought he has called us for Guru Maharaj’s Maha Maha Prasadam , couldn’t think that he is taking us for Guru Maharaj’s darshan.

So when we entered straight into Guru Maharaj’s room I was tongue tied. For many seconds I didn’t know what to speak and then I hurriedly blurted out how happy I am being in the retreat and in the association of so many senior devotees and thanked him.

Later Atma Prabhu rightly chided me on keeping quite and told me he will next time he will first ask me whether I wish to meet Guru Maharaj. I was felt ashamed as I realised that I didn’t have the greed to always be eager to pay my obeisances and thank Guru Maharaj for his cause less mercy every moment of my low life.

Later in the evening I tried to analyse why I do I get tongue tied in front of Guru Maharaj and even in front of other sanyasis and Prabhujis. The answer which came from my heart was because I don’t serve. I realise that whenever Guru Maharaj look at me I feel as if he is asking ” Yes, how are you serving ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada ?” And I have no place to hide my face and hence I get tongue tied.

I pray at the feet of all devotees to somehow use a worthless and selfish person like me in their service.

I also promised myself that somehow I will pray and beg to Srila Prabhupada to give me intelligence to serve Guru Maharaj.

Look at the cause less mercy of devotees that at 9.30 pm a devotee knocked on my door and then came inside and explained that he has made a complete folio of Guru Maharaj’s transcripted lectures and wanted to know how can it be used. Another merciful devotee told him to contact me and see how can this be used in Guru Maharaj’s transcription service, for which I took responsibility some months back and could not do justice to it. I didn’t know how to thank this devotee enough. I took the data from him in his pen drive and resolved to serve Guru Maharaj in transcription service from next week itself.

I realised that whenever I prayed with my heart to devotees they respond faster than the speed of light.

All glories to Guru Maharaj.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Reading too many books

by

Hare Krishna

23rd December 2012

Prabhupadas_Books

This blogs are from my last year’s diary.

While speaking to HG Rukmini Krishna Prabhuji today I discussed with him my current status where I am trying to study only Bhagavad Gita and have stopped reading all other books. The same instructions came from Guru Maharaj telling me that it is a step in the right direction. Guru Maharaj also wrote that NOD instructs us not to read too many books. Better to read one book at a time.

Prabhuji nobbed in affirmation and told me to follow it diligently and instructed me to just concentrate on reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, BG, SB and Krishna book, and that will be good enough. I will try to follow these instruction.

I was reading too many books and each new one I would pick a deeper topic and after some days won’t have the discipline to stop any of them so I would end up not finishing even one of them and always hankering for more.

The realisation to read only one book came as jolt in the right time. The shocker came when Guru Maharaj gave a very short Bhagavatam class at Radha Niwas few weeks back. The verse he picked up was SB 7.2.222

nitya ātmāvyayaḥ śuddhaḥ sarvagaḥ sarva-vit paraḥ

dhatte ‘sāv ātmano lińgaḿ māyayā visṛjan guṇān

TRANSLATION

The spirit soul, the living entity, has no death, for he is eternal and inexhaustible. Being free from material contamination, he can go anywhere in the material or spiritual worlds. He is fully aware and completely different from the material body, but because of being misled by misuse of his slight independence, he is obliged to accept subtle and gross bodies created by the material energy and thus be subjected to so-called material happiness and distress. Therefore, no one should lament for the passing of the spirit soul from the body.

I was shocked to know that Hiraṇyakaśipu knew all these details about soul and still behaved with so much animosity towards Lord. Guru Maharaj explained that as Hiraṇyakaśipu is speaking this verse we can clearly see that he has the correct knowledge but what is missing is `Surrender’ and without surrender all knowledge comes to a naught. Guru Maharaja’s words stuck somewhere deep inside me. I realised that all this knowledge I am trying to gain is no good. All my hankering for collecting books, reading deeper topics by previous acharayas suddenly fizzled out. I realised that I have to work towards surrender to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna first. I realised that I have to first read and study only Srila Prabhupada’s books and rest all can come later.

I also realised that I am just reading these books and not studying them. In fact Guru Maharaj scolded me in his first Teleconference on SB ( it was recorded and sent to many devotees to my initial embarrassment,  listen to all his recorded teleconf on SB @ https://docs.google.com/folderview?id=0BwMhsEhAKOdybndTblpIUHF4QlE ). It was only many months later that I was listening to the same recording that I realised that Guru Maharaj was showering his mercy on me by instructing me to first read Bhagavad Gita properly rather than jumping on to the higher books. Guru instructs us, but look at me, I am so fallen that even simple English also I could understand only months later. During the teleconference Q&A, at that time, I thought ` Guru Maharaj ji does not know how many times I have read Bhagavad Gita in the past and with what dedication I have read all the small books by Srila Prabhupada.  But of course I was, and remain,  a foolish person of first degree.

Lesson for me : Please listen to EACH word of Guru with utmost attention and follow what Guru’s instructions  without measuring it with my own poor intelligence and mind. If I follow even the so called simple instructions I will progress rapidly in Krishna Consciousness.

I will  follow them.

2013 status : I have fallen in love with simple yet deep purports of Bhagavad Gita, every week HG Vidur Priya Prabhuji teaches us something new from the same verses, I have fallen more in love with Srimad Bhagavatam ( reading canto 3 ) and fallen head over heels in love with Sri Chaitanaya Charitamrita. I read other books but mostly to get clarity on subjects where I get stuck or keen to read a particular topic in greater detail, which is more often. However my hankering to collect books show no sign of slowing down.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Austerity and Krishna Consciousness

by

Hare Krishna

19th December

zzz202dhruvamaharaja

Sumeet Prabhu sent me the below blog of HH Kadamba Kanana Swami today morning.

`Choose your suffering’

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 October 2013, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.2-7)

Through celibacy, can we get love of God? You can be celibate for a hundred lifetimes, do you think that will give you love of God? No, it is devotional service that will give us love of God!

“I am married to a devotee!” Do you think that will give you love of God? No, you yourself will have to be a devotee as well. You will have to do devotional service. It is not automatic. Even a lion has to go out and chase for breakfast. It’s not that the deer runs into the mouth of the lion… So, we have to do something in devotional service and that is what counts. Ashram issues are not so important, it’s only external. In one or the another, you are going to have to take some tapasya (austerity),

tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam
suddhyed yasmad brahma saukhyam tv anantam (SB 5.5.1)

That is life in the material world, no matter what you do, there is tapasya. You decide which tapasya you like better; that’s what it is all about – the tapasya of being married or the tapasya of being alone. You decide as both have tapasya. Material life has that element of tapasya, of some austerity. Inevitably so, no one can avoid it – it is basically the design of the material world therefore Lord Rshabdev pointed this out to his one hundred sons – this human form of life is not meant for sense gratification; it is not going to work. Therefore we shouldn’t be too particular about how we live but some things have to be a little suitable.

Krsna consciousness, bhakti, is not denying us this basic comforts. That is for the impersonalists. For them, everything in this material world is only maya. There is only maya in all directions therefore whatever they use has to be minimized… but we just use it for sustaining our Krsna consciousness, so sleep well – nice and warm and cosy, so that we can do devotional service – there is nothing wrong with that. Therefore we do not have to sleep on the hardest bed that we can find and use only a bed-sheet in the winter, no blanket!

I knew a devotee who never wore a kurta in winter, in Vrindavan. It was very cold and he was only wearing a lungi. You know, he lasted for fifteen years and then he got sick. What is the benefit of these things!? Great austerities – fasting, fasting, fasting… “I fast every ekadasi and dvadasi as well, for the last twenty-four years!”

Fine, you can do it for twenty-four lifetimes more and do you think you will make any more progress towards going back to the spiritual world with all your fasting!? Not really.

So, it is not by austerity that we will attain Krsna! Although, austerity is highlighted by Lord Rshabdev in the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, austerity in itself is not one of the limbs of bhakti. Renunciation and austerity are not limbs of bhakti. They don’t give you devotional service.

( Please read the full article at http://www.kksblog.com/2013/12/choose-suffering and many other gems. )

In fact I had read this a blog just a few days back, acknowledged the point Maharaj made and then  carried on as usual.

Surprisingly I was reading the below verse today morning and was contemplating on it, remembering what I had read few days back, when I received the above mail.

nāyaṁ sukhāpo bhagavān

dehināṁ gopikā-sutaḥ

jñānināṁ cātma-bhūtānāṁ

yathā bhakti-matām iha

“‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā, is accessible to those devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.’

This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.9.21) is spoken by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. It appears within a passage in which he glorifies mother Yaśodā and other devotees of Kṛṣṇa by describing how they can subjugate Him with their love.

Then as the forwarded mail came from Sumeet prabhu,  I read Maharaj’s last para with concentration, and the above verse again, praying that I get the message and, mercifully, I got it. It took a devotee to drill the message of a sanyasi in my thick and poor brain.

Guru Maharaj often says that in this kali yuga the 4 regulative principles itself are our austerity. And too many  austerities make us remain on the bodily platform. Of course, to understand it properly and then practice it in our Sadhna Bhakti at that level is not easy for us.

But the message to me was clear that it is our spontaneous love for Krishna which will make us progress in our devotional service and the austerities won’t help me much.

Thank you so much Sumeet Prabhu for helping me absorb this message by sending this timely mail from HH Kadamba Kanana Swami today morning.

All glories to the wonderful devotees in ISKCON.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Lasting impressions

by

Hare Krishna

Quotes-by-Srila-Prabhupada-on-Speech-of-A-Pure-Devotee

I was talking with a close devotee friend, Sumeet Gupta Prabhuji, yesterday evening. While talking to him I realised how so many senior devotees have left their mark on me. I am sharing some of them to show my deep appreciation for them. And there are hundreds of others senior devotees in ISKCON from whom we get inspiration every day.

The first one to leave his imprint, continues to do it, HG Rukmini Krishna Das Prabhuji, he is the temple president of Sri Sri Radha Radhika Raman and Krishna Balram temple, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi. Let me admit that whatever little sadhna bhakti I have in me is all thanks to him. His lectures shaped me each time I listened to him and I was fortunate to be able to get his direct instructions which saved me many a times whenever I felt constrained or disturbed. The only good thing I have done in my spiritual life is to go to him and share whatever I felt inside me openly. Looking back, I can laugh at myself and my silly questions or agitations on small issues. He always heard me patiently and gave instructions which saved me from going astray. He takes class every Saturday and each lecture is a gem to be absorbed in heart and follow. The centre is one of the best in India and dedication to Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON runs supreme.

Second is a short description. During my initial years I one day saw lots of hustle and bustle in Punjabi Bagh temple and I found someone special is visiting. I couldn’t get the name initially and listened to his lecture, it was mesmerising. I later told my wife, rather foolishly, that after listening to his lecture I felt like leaving everything and walking behind him. My wife suffered a lot of insecurity due to this foolish statement to her and she many a time would tell me that she dreams that one of the western devotees has taken her husband away with them J . Even today I remember the power and conviction his lecture had and I am sure that if he would stood up and asked who would like to dedicate his life to Krishna, I would have raised my hand. I can only imagine what effect Srila Prabhupada had on these young disciples. That person is HH Giriraj Swami Maharaj. I am most fortunate to be called his servant in my spiritual name.

Third one is very special, he gave me diksha this year in Feb, HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj. I met him two and a half years ago in Gurgaon, another good story for some other time as to how Krishna makes us meet our Guru. I paid my obeisances and my life was never the same again. I had know idea who he was, I just knew that he took my heart away with him. I could not keep him out of my thoughts and within days I pleaded with him to take me under his shelter and he took pity on me and accepted me as his son and disciple. He inspires me everyday and shapes me. Most of all he cemented my relationship with ISKCON as an organisation, my strong love and attachment for ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada today is all his mercy.

And the last on today’s list is HH Radha Govinda swami maharaj. What a speaker, what style of katha and so much rasa in every sentence, in every word. HG Karuna Chandra Das recommended listening to his lectures. He made me lose interest in philosophy and learn to absorb Krishna katha, from Bhishma stuti, Giriraj Dharan lila, Bali Maharaj, Prahalad Stuti….., each katha is dipped in love for Krishna. I hope to take his darshan very soon in Vrindavan Dham.

Today morning, at a Bhakti Vriksha seminar, I was told that we can only give what we have. If we have a grief then we can give grief , if we have anxiety then we can pass on anxiety and only if we have Krishna then we can offer Krishna consciousness to others. All these senior Vaisanavas gave me Krishna Consciousness, it is entirely my lack of receptiveness that I am still a neophyte. I should rather say that despite all my shortcomings and material propensities I still tasted Krishna’s nectar due to their pure consciousness.

I will write about my realisations from other senior Vaisanavas soon.

All Glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

  • Posted by Giriraj Das on August 8,2013 at 5:26pm

Does Krishna loves gopis more than mother Yashoda ?

by

Hare Krishna
August 8,2013 at 4:35pm

Krishna-Yasoda-and-gopis2

HH Bhakti Charu Swami is going to take to take a seminar on Udhav Gita in December at Ujjain and I thought let me read the book first as I was keen to attend it.

I went through all my e books and got Udhav Sandesh and started reading it. Foolishly I thought they were same books. It was after a while when I realised my mistake but I continued it as it is a short book and it held my attention. Udhava Sandesh entails Krishna asking Udhava to go to Vrindavan and inform all the Vrajawasis that Krishna is going to come back to Vrindavan and tell them how He miss them all. He describes in detail how to reach Vrindavan from Mathura and various milestones on the way. He describes gopi’s love for Him. He remembered His earlier pastimes with many of them and glorify them.

When we read such literature the first thing which strengthens in our heart is that Krishna is a person with feelings.

I had two questions in my heart. I am sharing the first one today

Why there is so less description of suffering of mother Yashoda compared to that of gopis in the book ? Was the gopi’s love for Krishna more than mother Yashoda’s ?

I just had a vague answer in my heart but knowing my position as a neophyte, I asked a senior Prabhuji at temple today morning. He listened patiently and replied that it is difficult to understand the feelings of each acarya and Rupa Goswami, who authored this book, is in madhurya rasa so he has apparently glorified gopi bhav more. He told me that another book on the same topic by another acaraya mentions that Udhava is told to follow a stream of water and when he would reach the source of the stream he will reach Nand Maharaj’s home. The stream is made from Nanda Maharaja and mother Yashoda’s tears !! He nonetheless added that in Vatsalaya rasa there is only that much one can love someone whereas in madhurya rasa one can cross all the boundaries and we know that  madhurya rasa also has vataslaya rasa inside it.

While listening to Prabhuji’s reply my own hazy answer got suddenly cleared and I told him, `Prabhuji can we also understand that Krishna, as supreme personality of Godhead, has no specific mother or lover he is reciprocating in equivalent degree to whosoever is offering him his/her love. Prabhuji’s eyes lit up and he said yes you can think it like that as well.

His reply and confirmation cleared a lot of doubts inside me and gave a new clarity and my own little realisation. Hare Krishna !

 

  • Posted by Giriraj Das on August 8,2013 at 4:35pm

Fourth category of person

by

I heard a great lecture by HH Bhakti Charu Swami maharaj today on Happiness. He explained that there are 4 categories of people.

1. Those who learn from listening : Like, we hear don’t put your hand in fire it will burn and we don’t do it.

2. Those who learn from others experience :like, we see someone else put his hand in fire and learn not to do it.

3. Those who learn by their own mistakes : Like, we put our hand in fire and realise that it hurts and don’t repeat it.

4. Last category is those who do not learn from their own mistakes and repeat them.

How true, I belong to this last special category. I continue to maintain material desires and still not developed any attraction for the Holy Name

  • Posted by Giriraj Das on April 18, 2013 at 9.30am