Tag Archives: Srila Prabhupada

Why did Srila Prabhupada speak so strongly against Mayavada?

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Hare Krishna dear devotees,

Sometimes this question gets popped up in discussions ‘why did Srila Prabhupada speak so much against mayavada and voidism?’ He went head on against both the philosophies.  For many of us who were brought in a broad minded liberal mindset (read hodge-podge) such sharp criticism, coming specially from a highly evolved spiritual personality, may seem a bit out of place.

Srila Prabhupada’s pranama mantra itself boldly declares his intention, and scope, in no uncertain terms.

नमःॐविष्णुपादय, कृष्णपृष्ठायभूतले, श्रीमतेभक्तिवेदांतस्वामिनइतिनामिने।

नमस्तेसरस्वतेदेवेगौरवाणीप्रचारिणे,  निर्विशेषशून्य-वादीपाश्चात्यदेशतारिणे।।

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Chaitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

HG Bhurijana Prabhu, in a recent class, shared an interesting pastime during a program in Japan, when Srila Prabhupada, did not let a mayavadi sanyasi speak for too long, starting a impromptu Kirtan in the middle of his speech, much to the bewilderment of the audience. Srila Prabhupada, later, shared with his disciples that he could tolerate the mayavadi sanyasi for some time but when he started speaking that Supreme Lord has no form, no senses, can not talk and so on, then Prabhupada could not tolerate it any more! HG Bhurijan Prabhu said that such is the love Srila Prabhupada has for Krishna that he could not tolerate anyone speaking that his beloved and most beautiful Lord does not possess any beauty, any form, any taste, etc. It simply showed his level of attachment to Krishna. 

Whats so wrong these philosophies?

Krishna says in BG 4.10

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ

Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me — and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.

Krishna is saying that once one gets free from attachment, fear & anger, and being aware that He is the Supreme Lord and everyone is  His part and parcel, surrendering unto Him, then one become fully absorbed in Him. And the result of such an absorption, based on knowledge (not just sentiments),  is that one will attain transcendental love for Krishna, our final goal.

Srila Prabhupada begins his purport to the above verse :  It is very difficult for a person who is too materially affected to understand the personal nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth.

Srila Prabhupada then goes into detail, in the same purport, and explains the three popular philosophies prevalent in western countries

  1. Materialism
  2. Mayavada
  3. Voidism

Materialists: People who are attached to the bodily conception of life are so absorbed in materialism that it is almost impossible for them to understand how the Supreme can be a person. Such materialists cannot even imagine that there is a transcendental body which is imperishable, full of knowledge and eternally blissful. In the materialistic concept, the body is perishable, full of ignorance and completely miserable. Therefore, people in general keep this same bodily idea in mind when they are informed of the personal form of the Lord. For such materialistic men, the form of the gigantic material manifestation is supreme.

Mayavada : Consequently they consider the Supreme to be impersonal. Generally, because they are too materially absorbed, the conception of retaining the personality after liberation from matter frightens them. When they are informed that spiritual life is also individual and personal, they become afraid of becoming persons again, and so they naturally prefer a kind of merging into the impersonal void. Generally, they compare the living entities to the bubbles of the ocean, which merge into the ocean. That is the highest perfection of spiritual existence attainable without individual personality. This is a kind of fearful stage of life, devoid of perfect knowledge of spiritual existence.

Voidism: Furthermore there are many persons who cannot understand spiritual existence at all. Being embarrassed by so many theories and by contradictions of various types of philosophical speculation, they become disgusted or angry and foolishly conclude that there is no supreme cause and that everything is ultimately void. Such people are in a diseased condition of life.

So, surprisingly, the rāga-bhaya-krodhā (attachment, fear and anger) Krishna is speaking about are not exactly how we understand these terms, in reality they mean

  • attachment to material life
  • fear of a spiritual personal identity
  • the conception of void that arises from frustration in life

How do I get free from them?

To get free from these three stages of the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the disciplines and regulative principles of devotional life.

Srila Prabhupada then writes the complete road map, from faith to Prema, via Krishna consciousness

“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

So this is the role Srila Prabhupada is playing in Krishna’s (actually Mahaprabhu’s)  plan for mass liberation, to save the suffering souls in  kali-yuga by

  1. freeing us from material attachment, rāga (sense gratification)
  2. freeing us from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, bhaya (mayavada)
  3. freeing us from the frustration that results in void philosophy, krodhā (voiodism)

Prabhupada through his books, instructions and lectures gave the suffering humanity a complete, and solid, path leading to the highest stage, Krishna Prema, Love of Godhead, ultimately leading to the abode of the Supreme Lord- Goloka Vrindavana. All his activities, all the resources which came by his side, were used by him in Krishna’s service, till his very last breath. Prabhupada walked the path Krishna planned for him, similar to how Arjuna followed Krishna’s instructions and fought the war in Kurukshetra, which Krishna had already planned. Both of them became an instrument in Krishna’s hands with no self interest or self desire. This movement is popularly known as ‘Hare Krishna’ all over the world, he did not name it after himself. So all over the world people became aware of Krishna’s name but who is Srila Prabhupada!

Krishna says there is no greater devotee!

tasmān mayy arpitāśeṣa-kriyārthātmā nirantaraḥ
mayy arpitātmanaḥ puṁso mayi sannyasta-karmaṇaḥ
na paśyāmi paraṁ bhūtam akartuḥ sama-darśanāt

Therefore I do not find a greater person than he who has no interest outside of Mine and who therefore engages and dedicates all his activities and all his life — everything — unto Me without cessation.

(SB 3.29.33)

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport of above verse :

In this verse the word sama-darśanāt means that he no longer has any separate interest; the devotee’s interest and the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s interest are one. For example, Lord Caitanya, in the role of a devotee, also preached the same philosophy. He preached that Kṛṣṇa is the worshipful Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that the interest of His pure devotees is the same as His own.

Prabhupada again bashes up the mayavada theory!

Sometimes Māyāvādī philosophers, due to a poor fund of knowledge, define the word sama-darśanāt to mean that a devotee should see himself as one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is foolishness. When one thinks himself one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no question of serving Him. When there is service, there must be a master. Three things must be present for there to be service: the master, the servant and the service. Here it is clearly stated that he who has dedicated his life, all his activities, his mind and his soul — everything — for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, is considered to be the greatest person.

The word akartuḥ means “without any sense of proprietorship.” Everyone wants to act as the proprietor of his actions so that he can enjoy the result. A devotee, however, has no such desire; he acts because the Personality of Godhead wants him to act in a particular way. He has no personal motive. When Lord Caitanya preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it was not with the purpose that people would call Him Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; rather, He preached that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and should be worshiped as such. A devotee who is a most confidential servant of the Lord never does anything for his personal account, but does everything for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is clearly stated, mayi sannyasta-karmaṇaḥ: the devotee works, but he works for the Supreme. It is also stated, mayy arpitātmanaḥ: “He gives his mind unto Me.” These are the qualifications of a devotee, who, according to this verse, is accepted as the highest of all human beings.

So in a way Srila Prabhupada became the hand of Krishna. This hand went to the lowest depths on this planet. And to save us he had to smash the very foundation of  senseless material gratification, mayavada & voidism, to free us from material attachment, fear and anger. Thereby delivering and uplifting millions of souls from the very bottom of the pit to the highest platform of Vaishnavism.

The Absolute Nature of ‘Sad-guru’

In a sense guru is like the hand attached to the body of God, Who is all existence, all intelligence, and all bliss (sac-cid-änanda-vigraha). With His hand, God rubs His own feet. The hand of God is His own limb. In this case God is serving Himself. God Himself appears as the guru in order to teach how to serve Himself. Our Gurudeva is also one with the body of God. There is God to be served, there is also God who serves; God as object and God as support. Mukunda is God to be served, He is the object God. The most beloved of Mukunda, Çré Gurudeva, is serving God, the support. There is no one so dearly loved by God as our Gurudeva. He alone is the best beloved of the Lord.

— Çrila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura, Vyäsa-Püja lecture, 1936.

 

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

your servant,

Giriraj dasa

Bhagavad Gita itself can give us Love of Godhead!

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Scriptures are revealed according to the time, place, circumstances & qualification of the audience

Prabhupada: That I’ve explained many times: a pocket dictionary and international dictionary. You cannot say that pocket dictionary is no dictionary, but it is meant for a certain class of student. And international dictionary is meant for a certain class of student. They are all student. Was Christ… What was spoken by Christ, that is also God consciousness, but that was meant for a certain class of men. And what class of men they were? They’re not even perfectly civilized. Because Christ was explaining God consciousness, that was his fault, and they crucified him. What class of men they were? Judge. His only fault was that he was explaining God, and they crucified him. The reward was crucifixion. So what kind of class of men they were? The status of that society, just try to understand. Therefore what spoke…, what was spoken by Lord Jesus Christ, for them, that was sufficient. But when Bhagavad-gétä is spoken to a person like Arjuna, that is different thing. So we have to speak according to the time, according to the circumstances, according to the audience.

Bhagavad Gita is the highest standard of God consciousness.

Don’t you see that here only a few persons are attending? Why? They cannot understand this Kåñëa science, Kåñëa consciousness. It is not meant for all classes of men. It is highest standard of God consciousness. Love. Love of God. So there is also teachings of love of God, undoubtedly. That is the difference. The same thing. Always try to understand. The small pocket dictionary for students while in the primary stage, and international dictionary for higher students, postgraduate students—the both of them are dictionaries. But it is meant for somebody, it is meant for somebody.

What would the test of such a high scripture?

And the test is phalena paricéyate. Phalena paricéyate, you have to understand. Suppose you are traveling in a forest. So many trees are there. But you cannot understand what is this tree, what is that. But as soon as you see the flower, “Oh, here is apple. Oh, this is apple tree.” Just like the other day you were telling me, you never saw apple tree? Yes. Now, as soon as you saw the apple, you understood, “This is apple tree. Oh!” The test of any scripture is how one is developing love of God. Phalena paricéyate. If you find that following some religious principles you are developing your love of God, then it is perfect. It doesn’t matter whether it is Bible or Koran or Bhagavad-gétä. It doesn’t matter. We have to see what is the fruit. If the fruit is that people are developing love of Godhead, then it is perfect. Don’t try to understand whether this is good, this is good, this is bad, this is… No. Try to understand by the result. Just like the same way: if you see the fruit, then it is first class.

Love of Godhead should be the goal of all practitioners of every religion. 

So it doesn’t matter whether it is Bible or Gétä. If you can develop love of Godhead by reading Bible, it is first class, and if you can develop love of Godhead by Bhagavad-gétä, it is first class. And if you do not, then either it is Bible or the Koran or Bhagavad-gétä, it has no effect for you. So it is up to you. Not by comparison, but by your own activities. If you actually follow the instruction given by Lord Jesus Christ, you will also develop love of Godhead. There is no doubt. Similarly, if you follow the instruction of Kåñëa, you will also develop. So it is up to you. You try to follow.If you do not follow, simply try to make a comparative study “This is good” or “This is bad,” “This is bad” or “This is good,” that is called çrama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8]—simply laboring. Why comparative study? Just see how much you are developing love of Godhead, that’s all. Phalena paricéyate. “Whether it is apple is there, that’s all right; never mind what is this tree. I’m concerned with the apple.”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Seattle 18th October, 1968)

 

Bhagavad Gita itself can give us Love of Godhead

One should therefore learn Bhagavad-gītā from a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, not from mental speculators. This is a sign of faith. When one searches for a devotee and fortunately gets a devotee’s association one actually begins to study and understand Bhagavad-gītā. By advancement in the association of the devotee one is placed in devotional service, and this service dispels all one’s misgivings about Kṛṣṇa, or God, and Kṛṣṇa’s activities, form, pastimes, name and other features. After these misgivings have been perfectly cleared away, one becomes fixed in one’s study. Then one relishes the study of Bhagavad-gītā and attains the state of feeling always Kṛṣṇa conscious. In the advanced stage, one falls completely in love with Kṛṣṇa. This highest perfectional stage of life enables the devotee to be transferred to Kṛṣṇa’s abode in the spiritual sky, Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the devotee becomes eternally happy.

( BG 8.28p)

Today is Gita Jayanti, the most auspicious day when Sri Govindadeva spoke Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. So it may be a good day to surrender ourselves to this transcendental scripture containing the very words spoken by the Supreme Lord Himself. And we may vow that from this very day I will  become a humble servant of Sri Bhagavad Gita. I will serve my master by reading it daily. I will also serve by carefully studying Bhagavad Gita under the guidance of a pure devotee of Krishna and finally I will serve all humanity, considering every single soul to be my fellow brother, by sharing and distributing it without any prejudice or miserliness, by not hoarding the knowledge with myself. Let me pray, and then endeavor hard, to become the servant of the servant of the servant of the Pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada, who shared with us the very essence and purpose of Bhagavad Gita for the benefit of all humanity.

yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ
tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama

Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality.

(BG 18.78)

All glories to Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Your servant,

Giriraj dasa

Who is a Rupanuga?

by

Hare   Krishna,

5th December, 2016. Gurgaon

rupanuga_-rupa_goswami

The word Rupanuga

The common Gauòéya Vaiñëava understanding is that the word rupanuga was first used by Çréla Raghunätha däsa Gosvämé in the last verse of his Çré Manaù–Çiksä:

manaù-çikñä-daikädaçaka-varam etaà madhurayä

girä gäyaty uccaiù samadhi-gata-sarvärtha-tati yaù

sa-yüthaù çré-rüpänuga iha bhavan gokula-vane

jano rädhä-kåñëätula-bhajana-ratnaà sa labhate

These eleven excellent instructions to the mind grant all spiritual benedictions. A person who stays with the devotees, follows Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé,and with a sweet voice loudly sings these eleven verses, understanding all their meanings, will attain the matchless jewel of direct service to Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa in the forest of Gokula. (12)

Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura wrote a commentary on this work entitled Bhajana-Darpaëa-Bhäñä and so he was obviously very aware of its subtleties and depth. Later he wrote Çré Çré Rüpänugä-bhajana darpaëa (A Mirror Reflecting Worship which Follows in the Footsteps of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé). In this work, which is the fourth chapter of Géta-Mälä, Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura uses the word rupanuga numerous times.

Many years later, Çrépada Ananta Väsudeva Parävidyäbhuñana Prabhu, a brilliant disciple of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura, composed praëäma-mantras for Çréla Jagannätha däsa Bäbäjé, Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, Çréla Gaura Kiçora däsa Bäbäjé and Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura.

He used the word rupanuga in his glorification of both Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura and Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura:

namo bhaktivinodäya sac-cid-änanda-nämine

gaura-çakti-svarüpäya rüpänuga-varäya te

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Saccidänanda Bhaktivinoda, who is a transcendental energy of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. He is a strict follower of the Gosvämés, headed by Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé.

 

nama oà viñëu-pädäya kåñëa-preñöhäya bhü-tale

çrémate bhaktisiddhänta-sarasvatéti nämine

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté, who is very dear to Lord Kåñëa having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

 

mädhuryojjvala-premäòhya-çré-rüpänuga-bhaktida

çré-gaura-karuëä-çakti-vigrahäya namo ’stu te

I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, the personified energy of Çré Caitanya’s mercy, who delivers devotional service which is enriched with conjugal love of Rädhä and Kåñëa, coming exactly in the line of revelation of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé.

 

Until today, these praëäma-mantras have remained the standard within both the Gauòéya Maöha and ISKCON.

 

Some Thoughts from Çréla Prabhupäda

Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu is none other than the combined form of Çré Rädhä and Kåñëa. He is the life of those devotees who strictly follow in the footsteps of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé.

— CC Ädi introduction

Rüpa Gosvämé and Sanätana Gosvämé are the most exalted servitors of Çrématé Rädhäräëé and Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Those who adhere to their service are known as rüpänuga devotees.

— CC Madhya 8.246 p

The present Kåñëa consciousness movement is based on the authority of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda. We are therefore generally known as rüpänugas, or followers in the footsteps of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda.

— NOD Preface

In Våndävana there are präkåta-sahajiyäs who say that writing books or even touching books is taboo. For them, devotional service means being relieved from these activities. Whenever they are asked to hear a recitation of Vedic literature, they refuse, saying, “What business do we have reading or hearing transcendental literatures? They are meant for neophytes.” They pose themselves as too elevated to exert energy for reading, writing and hearing. However, pure devotees under the guidance of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé reject this sahajiyä philosophy. It is certainly not good to write literature for money or reputation, but to write books and publish them for the enlightenment of the general populace is real service to the Lord. That was Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté’s opinion, and he specifically told his disciples to write books. He actually preferred to publish books rather than establish temples. Temple construction is meant for the general populace and neophyte devotees, but the business of advanced and empowered devotees is to write books, publish them and distribute them widely. According to Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura, distributing literature is like playing on a great mådaìga. Consequently we always request members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to publish as many books as possible and distribute them widely throughout the world. By thus following in the footsteps of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé, one can become a  rupanuga devotee.

— CC Madhya 19.132 p

 

The author of Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Kåñëa consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work. That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Kåñëa consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé. We should never think of ourselves as great preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to the previous äcäryas, and simply by following in their footsteps we may be able to do something for the benefit of suffering humanity.

— NOD Introduction

We have to follow the footsteps of Rüpa Gosvämé, rupanuga. Then we can understand Lord Caitanya. And if we get favor of Lord Caitanya, we can very easily understand Kåñëa. This is the process.

— Lecture on ÇB 1.2.20, August 23, 1972, Los Angeles

To Be a Follower of a Rupanuga

Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé, after retiring from his minister’s seat in the government, went to Våndävana and lived beneath a tree, like Mahäräja Påthu. Since then, many people have gone to Våndävana to imitate Rüpa Gosvämé’s behavior. Instead of advancing in spiritual life, many have fallen into material habits and even in Våndävana have become victims of illicit sex, gambling and intoxication. The Kåñëa consciousness movement has been introduced in the Western countries, but it is not possible for Westerners to go to the forest and practice the severe austerities which were ideally practiced by Påthu Mahäräja or Rüpa Gosvämé. However, Westerners or anyone else can follow in the footsteps of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura by living in a temple, which is transcendental to residence in a forest, and to vow to accept kåñëa-prasäda and nothing else, follow the regulative principles and chant sixteen rounds daily of the Hare Kåñëa mantra. In this way, one’s spiritual life will never be disturbed.

— ÇB 4.23.5 p

If you simply do as I am doing, not avoiding anything which may have to be done for pushing on Kåñëa’s movement, remaining always stuck up very tightly to the footsteps of Rüpa Gosvämé, then without any doubt you will remain always fresh and enthusiastic for working very energetically on Kåñëa’s behalf, without any falldown.

— Letter to: Puñöa Kåñëa, Bombay, 29 December, 1972

Last Will and Testament of A Rupanuga

by Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura

Spoken on 23rd December, 1936 and translated from the Bengali by Çréla Prabhupäda.

I have most probably given many people troubles in the mind. Some of them might have thought about me that I am their enemy because I was obliged to speak the plain truth for service and devotion towards the Absolute Godhead. I have given them all those troubles only for the reason that they may turn their face towards the Personality of Godhead without any desire for gain and with unalloyed devotion. I hope one day or other they may understand me rightly.

I advise all to preach the teachings of Rüpa-Raghunätha (disciples of Lord Caitanya) with all energy and resources. Our ultimate goal shall be to become the dust of the lotus feet of Çré Çré Rüpa Raghunätha Goswäméns. You should all work conjointly under the guidance of your spiritual master with a view to serve the Absolute Knowledge, the Personality of Godhead. You should live somehow or other without any quarrel in this mortal world only for the service of Godhead. Do not please give up the service of Godhead in spite of all dangers, all criticisms and all discomforts. Do not be disappointed, for most people in the world do not serve the Personality of Godhead; do not give up your own service which is your everything and all, neither reject the process of chanting and hearing of the transcendental Holy Name of Godhead. You should always chant the transcendental Name of Godhead with patience and forbearance like a tree and humbleness like a straw.

We wish that this mass of our body of flesh and blood may be sacrificed at the altar of preaching the Saìkértana movement (congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Godhead) propagated by Lord Caitanya. We are not desirous of becoming a hero of work or a reformer of religion, but our reality may be identified with the dust of the Lotus Feet of Çré Rüpa and Raghunätha for that is our everything. The flow of the transcendental tide of the attraction of devotion will never be blocked, and you with all your energy shall devote yourself for fulfilling the desire of Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura. There are many amongst you who are well qualified and able workers. We have no other desire whatsoever.

There are certainly many difficulties while we are in this mortal world but it is not our business simply to be overwhelmed with those difficulties or to try to overcome them only. We must know even during the duration of our present life, as to what we shall gain after overcoming all those difficulties of life and what shall be the mode of our permanent existence. We must make an adjustment of all things that evoke our love and hatred and for those things that we want and do not want. Attachment and detachment of this mortal world will engage us more and more as we become farther and farthest from the Lotus Feet of Çré Kåñëa. When we are able to transcend the position of attachments and detachments of this mortal world and be attracted with Holy Name of Godhead, it is then only we can understand the import of the transcendental service of Çré Kåñëa, the Personality of Godhead. At the first instance the subject Kåñëa is startling and perplexing to us. Every one who is called by the name “man” is more or less struggling knowingly or unknowingly to eliminate those invading elements which are baffling our conception of eternal need. It is our only duty to enter into the kingdom of eternal need.

We have no love or hatred for any one in this world. All arrangements made in this world are but temporary. There is, therefore, unavoidable necessity for that ultimate need for every one in this world. You should attain the transcendental loving service of the objective, being situated in concerted action for that one aim. Let there be a constant flow of the ideas and thoughts as conceived by Rüpa Goswämé and his followers. We shall not at any time show our slightest dejection for the seven tongued Saìkértana movement.* If we have undaunted faith in it we shall then only achieve all perfections.

You should all therefore preach with fearlessness and with utmost energy the message of Rüpa and Raghunätha under the guidance of the followers of Çré Rüpa.

 

Note : The above content is copied from An Ocean of Gaura’s premämåta-kåpä – An elaboration on Srila Rupa Goswami’s Sri Upadesamrta.

This wonderful book has been compiled by H.G. Srimati Mataji (Vrindavana) and her team. I strongly recommend all the devotees to kindly to click the below link and download this amazing book. It is a careful study guide for all the aspiring Rupanugas and for every one who is interested in studying Sri Upadesamrta, Nector Of Instructions, seriously.

An Ocean of Gaura’s premämåta-kåpä

 

All glories to all the Rupanugas.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Our Prayers to Krishna

by

Hare Krishna.

25th June, 2916. Gurgaon.

Offering Prayers Properly

As devotees when we move into a little more serious phase of our Krishna consciousness slowly but surely most of us develop a taste for to a very sweet and unique limb of bhakti –  Vandanam, Prayer to Supreme Lord.

Offering worship to the Supreme Lord by praying means remembering His transcendental qualities, pastimes and activities.

(KB, chapter 87)

The Lord has unlimited transcendental qualities and opulences, and one who feels influenced by the Lord’s qualities in various activities offers prayers to the Lord. In this way he becomes successful.

(SB 7.5.23-24p)

Initial mood of our prayer and its futility.

People generally pray for material benefits: “O God, give us our daily bread. Give me nice position. Give me nice wife, nice following or this or victory,” so on, so on, so on, simply for material enjoyment. My Guru Mahäräja used to say that if we pray to God for all these nonsense things, it is just like a man goes to a king and the king says, “Whatever you want you can ask from me,” and if the man says, “Kindly give me a pinch of ashes.” It is like that. If we ask from God for some material benefit, it means that I am asking from a king a pinch of ashes. When king says that “You ask whatever you want,” he can say, “So give me half the kingdom.” That should be the prayer. And why a pinch of ash? Similarly, it is our foolishness. When we ask for bread, “O God, give us our daily bread,” that means I am asking. The bread is already there. Why for you? For everyone, for all living entities, the bread is already there given by God. Eko yo bahünäà vidadhäti kämän. The elephant is not going to the church for praying, “Give me food.” He is supplied in the jungle food. A tiger is supplied food. Even ant is supplied food within the hole. Who is going to supply food there? How they are eating? How they are living? How they are begetting children? The same thing is there. Ähära-nidrä-bhaya-maithuna—everything is there in the ant, in the elephant. Who is supplying their necessities? So this is not the problem, these rascals. They are simply perplexed with this problem, how to eat, how to sleep, how to defend. This is already fixed up according to your karma. You simply try—save your time—how to advance in Krishna consciousness. That is your own business. Otherwise you are spoiled. And so far these things are concerned, that how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex life, and how to defend, this is already arranged. You cannot make betterment in this way. That is already fixed up. Prakåteù kriyamäëäni guëaiù karmäëi sarvaçaù [Bg. 3.27]. According to your lot, according to your karma, you have been fixed up that “You shall eat like this, you shall sleep like this, you’ll have sex life like this, and you will be able to defend like this, not more than that.” That is not possible. That is called destiny. So by destiny this is already fixed up. Don’t spoil your life for these things.

(Lecture, London, 20th August 1973)

What if I don’t even know How to Pray!

So here Prahläda Mahäräja says, éçvarasya mahi gåëämi: “I shall glorify the Lord.” “Oh, you are a child, sir. You are five years old. How you can glorify?” Yathä manéñam! “It doesn’t matter I am child! Whatever I have got, I shall express my feelings, ‘O God, O Lord, oh,  You are so great.’ ” That’s all right. How you can describe or understand His glories? That is not possible. He’s unlimited. But whatever limitation you have got, if you express feelingly, “My God, My Lord,” that will be accepted. That will be accepted. So Caitanya Mahäprabhu therefore teaches us how to pray. This prayer is na dhanaà na janaà na sundarià kavitäà vä jagadéça kämaye [Cc. Antya 20.29, Shikshasta 4]. Everyone is praying to God with some interest. That is also good. If you go and pray to God, “Give me some money” or “Give me some relief,” “Give me a nice house, nice wife, nice foodstuff,” that is also good. But not so good as one is praying to God that “I don’t want any money I don’t want any number of followers. I don’t want any good wife, nice beautiful wife.” “Then what do you want?” “I want to serve You. That’s all.” Finish your prayer. That is the best prayer. “You are so good, You are so nice, You are so great that I want to be engaged in Your service. I am serving these rascals. They are not satisfied, I am not satisfied. Now I have come to You. Please engage me in Your service.” That is the last word of prayer.

(Lecture, Montreal, 18th August 1968)

The Lord is always seeking the opportunity to reclaim the fallen souls to His abode, the kingdom of God. We should always feel very much obliged to the Personality of Godhead, for He is always anxious to bring us into the happy condition of eternal life. There is no sufficient means to repay the Personality of Godhead for His act of benediction; therefore, we can simply feel gratitude and pray to the Lord with folded hands.

(SB 3.31.18p)

 Our Prayers to Krishna produce Tangible Results!

We practically see that many sinful persons enter the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and after preliminary purification become most repentant for their previous illicit activities. They are shocked when they realize how they gave up the personal association of God to pursue the useless forms created by mäyä; therefore they wholeheartedly pray to the spiritual master and Lord Krishna to be engaged eternally in transcendental devotional service. Such a repentant, eager mentality is most auspicious for spiritual advancement. The Lord certainly answers the prayers of a repentant devotee desperate to escape the clutches of illusion.

(SB 11.7.16p)

What mood should we aspire for?

For a devotee there is no concern for this life or the next life because in any life he does not desire elevation in material prosperity or a high-grade or low-grade life. He prays to the Lord, “My dear Lord, it does not matter where I am born, but let me be born, even as an ant, in the house of a devotee.” A pure devotee does not pray to the Lord for liberation from this material bondage. Actually, the pure devotee never thinks that he is fit for liberation. Considering his past life and his mischievous activities, he thinks that he is fit to be sent to the lowest region of hell. If in this life I am trying to become a devotee, this does not mean that in my many past lives I was one-hundred-percent pious. That is not possible. A devotee, therefore, is always conscious of his real position. Only by his full surrender to the Lord, by the Lord’s grace, are his sufferings made shorter. As stated in Bhagavad-Gita, “Surrender unto Me, and I will give you protection from all kinds of sinful reaction.” That is His mercy. But this does not mean that one who has surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord has committed no misdeeds in his past life. A devotee always prays, “For my misdeeds, may I be born again and again, but my only prayer is that I may not forget Your service.” The devotee has that much mental strength, and he prays to the Lord: “May I be born again and again, but let me be born in the home of Your pure devotee so that I may again get a chance to develop myself.”

(SB 3.25.39-40)

In multiple lectures Srila Prabhupada advises us to chant this particular verse from Siksatakam as our daily prayer to Krishna.

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram
patitam mam vishame bhavambudhau
kripaya tava pada-pankaja-
sthita-dhuli-sadrisham vichintaya

“O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.”

This is a very deep and advance verse but at our neophyte level it teaches us an invaluable key to pray  ‘I am an eternal servant of Krishna who is seeking reinstatement in His service’.

Difficulties turn into opportunity!

We have also heard of prayers of Kunti maharani. She prays this when all the troubles of a royal princess- being made to live in jungles, continuously struggle to stay alive, endure her son’s and daughter-in-law constant humiliation, see the death of so many loved ones, seemed to be finally over. As Krishna is preparing to leave for Dwarka, she prays to Krishna:

“I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.”

(SB 1.8.25)

Many of us will hesitate to pray like her but Srila Prabhupada offers us a very safe platform to pray when difficulties come in the life of a devotee.

A devotee does not consider a dangerous position to be dangerous, for in such a dangerous position he can fervently pray to the Lord in great ecstasy. Thus a devotee regards danger as a good opportunity. Tat te’nukampäà susamékñamäëaù. When a devotee is in great danger, he sees that danger to be the great mercy of the Lord because it is an opportunity to think of the Lord very sincerely and with undiverted attention. Tat te ‘nukampäà susamékñamäëo bhuïjäna evätma-kåtaà vipäkam (SB 10.14.8). He does not accuse the Supreme Personality of Godhead for having let His devotee fall into such a dangerous condition. Rather, he considers that dangerous condition to be due to his past misdeeds and takes it as an opportunity to pray to the Lord and offer thanks for having been given such an opportunity. When a devotee lives in this way, his salvation—his going back home, back to Godhead—is guaranteed.

(SB 8.3.32p)

 

Finally: I Am Yours!

One is immediately freed from the clutches of māyā if he seriously and sincerely says, ‘My dear Lord Krishna, although I have forgotten You for so many long years in the material world, today I am surrendering unto You. I am Your sincere and serious servant. Please engage me in Your service.
It is My vow that if one only once seriously surrenders unto Me, saying “My dear Lord, from this day I am Yours,” and prays to Me for courage, I shall immediately award courage to that person, and he will always remain safe from that time on.

(CC Madhya 22.33-34)

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Make me an instrument of your compassion!

by

Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada

Make me an instrument of your compassion

A few months back I had the good fortune to get association of a senior Vaishanava. During the lecture one line that really touched my heart was the advice that we should daily pray to Prabhupada to ‘make me an instrument of your compassion in this very life time’. It was seemingly a simple statement but it touched my heart and I started following it since then. Just by praying like this daily to Srila Prabhupada had some effect on my dull consciousness, inspired me to some act and brought newer realisations.

I searched for this topic and found some very inspiring statements in scriptures, and particularly by Srila Prabhupada. I pray that below quotes will help every single follower of Srila Prabhupada  to aspire to become his instrument of compassion in this very life time.

What was Srila Prabhupada’s mood?

The author of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work. That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. We should never think of ourselves as great preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to the previous ācāryas, and simply by following in their footsteps we may be able to do something for the benefit of suffering humanity.

(NoD introduction)

Pradyumna: “The author of Bhakti–Rasamrita–Sindhu, Srila Rupa Goswami, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work.”

Prabhupäda: Yes. Every Vaishanava, that is Vaishnava Sadachara, humble. Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā . Although Vaishnava knows everything, still he presents himself very humble, lower that the straw, humbler than the tree. Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā, amāninā mānadena, the devotee does not claim any so-called popular respect, false respect. They go on with their Krishna consciousness movement. If anyone wants some honor, he gives everyone honor. For him, he does not want any honor. What honor he’ll take? This material honor. Prahläda Mahäräja, when he was offered benediction by Lord Narasimhadeva, “You take any kind of benediction.” So Prahläda Mahäräja replied, “My dear Lord, I am born of a father, passionate, and I am always greedy about material opulence, naturally, because my father was like that. You are offering benediction. I can ask from you any kind of material opulence. I know that. But, what I shall do all these material opulences. I’ve seen my father was so strong materially, that when he was angry even the demigods trembled. He was so powerful. Now everything is finished within a second by You. So what is the value of this material opulence? Why shall I ask you all these nonsense. Kindly engage me, kindly engage me in the service of Your servant, that I want.” This is devotion. They don’t want anything. Kindly engage me nijunkaman ätmä däse. That is the prayer. So the devotees, they do not want anything material. They are not captivated by so-called followers. No. Na dhanaà na janam, janam means followers, na dhanaà na janaà na sundaréà kavitäà vä jagadéça kämaye [Cc. Antya 20.29, Shikshastaka 4]. What is this false power? Ekaç candras tamo hanti na ca tara sahasrasaù. If one disciple is enlivened with Krishna consciousness, he can work as the moon. Otherwise so many foolish followers, what they’ll do? Just like stars. Thousands and millions of stars, they cannot do anything. One moon is sufficient. Ekaç candras tamo hanti na ca tara sahasrasaù. So this Krishna consciousness movement, it is not required that everyone will be follower. That is not possible, because it is very difficult. But still, if one follower, sincere follower is there, it will go on. It will go on. Nobody can stop it. Go on.

Pradyumna: “That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Srila Rupa Goswami. We should never think of ourselves as great preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to the previous acharayas.”

Prabhupäda: Yes, we should not be very much proud that “I have created wonderful.” Why? What wonderful? What? I am not a magician that I can create wonderful. Sometimes people, they give me so much honor. “Swami ji, you have created wonderful.” I do not feel that I have created wonderful. What I have done? I say that I, I do, I’m not a magician. I do not know how to create wonderful. I have simply Bhagavad-Gita, presenting Bhagavad-Gita as it is, that’s all. If there is any credit, this is only credit. Anyone can do it. The Bhagavad-Gita is there, and anyone can present Bhagavad-Gita as it is. So it will act wonderful. I am not a magician. I do not know the tricks of magics and the yoga-siddhi, I am creating (visual expression) like this. (laughter) I have no such power. Neither I do it. So I, my only credit is, I do not want to mix with this pure Bhagavad-Gita teaching, any rascaldom, that’s all. That is my credit. And whatever little miracle has been done, only on this principle. That’s all. Go on.

Pradyumna: “…and simply by following in their footsteps we may be able to do something for the benefit…”

Prabhupäda: Yes, the same thing. Our purpose should be to satisfy our predecessors.

tädera caraëa-sevi-bhakta-sane väsa

janame janame more ei abhiläsa

We cannot deviate from the path of the previous äcäryas. We must strictly follow. That is the qualification. We must follow their instruction. Therefore I repeatedly say to my students that “You chant Hare Krishna mantra sixteen rounds, and follow the regulative principles. Your strength is there.” … just like Himalayan mountain, nobody can push it. Very simple thing. It is so powerful. Yaha hoite sarva-siddhi haya. This is Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s request. Don’t deviate from the instruction. Then you will stand as strong as the Himalayan mountain. Very simple thing. Anyone can do. We are asking, following the footsteps of predecessor, Rupa Goswami, Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s instruction to Rupa Goswami, Rupanuga. Therefore we are called Rupanauga. Anuga. Anuga means following. Going, following the footsteps of Rupa Goswami. So as the, Rupa Goswami is following his predecessor, Caitanya Mahäprabhu, so we have to follow our predecessor. Then we will be successful. There is no doubt about it. Nobody can do any harm. Kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati [BG. 9.31]. If you stick to the principle of following the footsteps of previous predecessor, evaà paramparä-präptam [Bg. 4.2], don’t add anything, don’t subtract anything, present as it is and keep your spiritual strength intact, then the preaching will go on. Nobody can disturb you.

That’s all. Thank you very much.

(Lecture, on NoD, Bombay, 9th January, 1973)

By the grace of Srila Prabhupada (BSST) the preaching work is going on nicely and the most important factor is that I have got a number of youthful American and European disciples who are helping me very seriously. As you know the western boys and girls are educated and trained up in practical life. They are spreading this movement better that any Indian could do. So whatever success is there, it is due to them; I am simply instrumental in giving them direction.

(Letter to HH B.S. Turya Shramy Maharaja, 8th April 1970)

Pray, but also act on it!

Arjuna is a great devotee of Krishna. Just imagine, he’s talking personally with Krishna, and Krishna is personally helping him. How much exalted he is! But still, Krishna is advising to work. Krishna never said, “Oh, Arjuna, you need not fight. You sit down silently. Actually, He was doing everything. At last He said, nimitta-mätraà bhava savyasäcin: “You are simply instrumental, and I am doing everything.” So Krishna does for the devotee everything, but it does not mean that he will sit down. It is not. This is not our Krishna consciousness movement that idle, creating some idlement. You must work for Krishna’s sake. That is the program.

(Lecture, New Vrindavana, 7th September, 1972)

 

Do we have a choice?

A conditioned soul is instrumental in the hands of the external energy, guëa-mayé mäyä, or the illusory energy of the Lord, and in the liberated stage the living entity is instrumental to the will of the Personality of Godhead directly. To be instrumental to the direct will of the Lord is the natural constitutional position of the living entity, whereas to be an instrument in the hands of the illusory energy of the Lord is material bondage for the living entity.  In that conditioned state, the living entity speculates on the Absolute Truth and His different activities. But in the unconditioned stage the living entity directly receives knowledge from the Lord, and such a liberated soul acts flawlessly, without any speculative habit. The Bhagavad-Gita (10.10-11) confirms emphatically that the pure devotees, who are constantly engaged in the loving transcendental service of the Lord, are directly advised by the Lord, so much so that the devotee unwaveringly makes progress on the path home, back to Godhead.

(SB 2.9.29p)

And the result…

It is possible that some extremely powerful personality, within or without the universe, may sometimes show more power than the Lord Himself. Still the pure devotee knows that this power is a vibhuti delegated by the Lord, and such a delegated powerful living entity is never independent. Sri Hanuman ji crossed the Indian Ocean by jumping over the sea, and Lord Sri Ramachandra engaged Himself in marching over the bridge, but this does not mean that Hanuman ji was more powerful than the Lord. Sometimes the Lord gives extraordinary powers to His devotee, but the devotee knows always that the power belongs to the Personality of Godhead and that the devotee is only an instrument.

(SB 2.9.30p)

Beware! Don’t become proud.

Brahmä, who is only an assistant in the modes of creation, wanted to remain in his actual position as an instrument of the Lord instead of becoming puffed up by the false prestige of thinking himself the creator. That is the way of becoming dear to the Supreme Lord and receiving His benediction. Foolish men want to take credit for all creations made by them, but intelligent persons know very well that not a blade of grass can move without the will of the Lord; thus all the credit for wonderful creations must go to Him. By spiritual consciousness only can one be free from the contamination of material affection and receive the benedictions offered by the Lord.

(SB 3.9.23p)

Remain humble for whatever may receive

The devotee always thinks of himself as instrumental for anything successfully carried out, and he declines to take credit for anything done by himself.

(SB 2.4.23p)

Devotees of the Lord are engaged in the specific duty offered by the Lord, and such duties are successfully carried out without hindrance because they are ordained by the Lord. The credit of success goes not to the doer but to the Lord. But persons with a poor fund of knowledge take the credit of success into their own accounts and give nothing to the credit of the Lord. That is the symptom of the nondevotee class of men.

(SB 2.9.30p)

 

‘Simply’ perfect!

Although he’s doing all these things he knows that “I am not doing. Krishna is doing. I am simply instrumental. I am simply instrument.” That is the perfection.

                                                                              (Lecture, New York, 27th August, 1966)

The devotees and associates of the Lord are completely surrendered souls. Thus they are transcendental instruments in the hands of the Lord and can be used in any way the Lord desires. The pure devotees also enjoy such pastimes of the Lord because they want to see Him happy. Devotees of the Lord never assert independent individuality; on the contrary, they utilize their individuality in pursuit of the desires of the Lord, and this cooperation of the devotees with the Lord makes a perfect scene of the Lord’s pastimes.

                                                                                                                          (SB 3.3.15p)

Once one of the disciple asked Srila Prabhupada: “Prabhupada, are you in my heart ?”

Prabhupada replied “If you let me in!”

So this is a big question. Are we prepared to do that?

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

 

Unflinching Faith in Spiritual master

by

Hare Krishna

7th April, 2016, Gurgaon.

Srila Prabhupada

Last year there was an incident where I received a major chastisement because of not having properly understood the unique position of Srila Prabhupada. Well, I thought I understood his position but unknowingly and subtly I got led in way that would have meant exactly the opposite! The repercussion  for me was polite but very grave, something I had never experienced in my spiritual or even in my material life. It was something I would carry whole life as it taught me a little what is meant by Guru Nishtha (firm faith in spiritual master).

Few days back I stumbled on a very unique correspondence between Srila Prabhupada and one of his most sincere disciples, HH Tamal Krishna Goswami, which I had read almost one a half years back but for some reasons I had saved it. Here, Srila Prabhupada also shares his present and previous life and explains the position of a spiritual master. As I read it again and again I understood a little better why the reaction I received was so severe and why must I be thankful for it till eternity.

Reading it, I also realised the importance of taking a break from the ‘auto-mode’ in our spiritual life and contemplate on important issues surrounding us.

I am sharing the same correspondence below and I pray that the readers get the intended message. I am first sharing the letter which HH Tamal Krishna Maharaj received from Srila Prabhupada and then his thought process and contemplation.  This correspondence also shows the level of simplicity and openness which existed between Srila Prabhupada and his disciples. I have taken the liberty to highlight some portions, here it goes.

Prabhupada’s next letter arrived. Srila Prabhupada said:

Los Angeles, California, June 21st 1970

My Dear Tamal,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 18th June, 1970, sent by Special Delivery Air Mail.

Krishna philosophy is understood as it is stated in the Vedas:

            yasya deve para bhakti yathadeve tatha gurou

            tasya ete kathitha hi artha prakasante mahatmanah

“One who has got unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord and similar faith in his Spiritual Master to him only the imports of Vedic knowledge become revealed.”

A Spiritual Master is always liberated. In any condition of His life He should not be mistaken as ordinary human being. This position of a Spiritual Master is achieved by three processes. One is called sadhan siddha. That means one who is liberated by executing the regulative principles of devotional service. Another is kripa siddha, one who is liberated by the mercy of Krsna or His devotee. And another is nitya siddha who is never forgetful of Krsna throughout his whole life. These are the three features of the perfection of life.

So far Narada Muni is concerned, in His previous life He was a maidservant’s son, but by the mercy of the devotees He later on became siddha and next life He appeared as Narada with complete freedom to move anywhere by the grace of the Lord. So even though He was in His previous life a maidservant’s son there was no impediment in the achievement of His perfect spiritual life. Similarly any living entity who is conditioned can achieve the perfectional stage of life by the above mentioned processes and the vivid example is Narada Muni.

So I do not know why you have asked about my previous life. Whether I was subjected to the laws of material nature? So, even though accepting that I was subjected to the laws of material nature, does it hamper in my becoming Spiritual Master? What is your opinion? From the life of Narada Muni it is distinct that although He was a conditioned soul in His previous life, there was no impediment of His becoming the Spiritual Master. This law is applicable not only to the Spiritual Master, but to every living entity.

There are thousands of examples explained in our books that the conditioned soul is never affected with the material body. It is said in the Vedas asamga ayam purusa, which means the living entity is always unaffected with matter. Another example is given that the reflection of the moon on water appears to be moving, but actually the moon is not moving, it is fixed up. So any living entity is like that. His reflection on the material body appears to be changing, but the spirit soul is fixed up, therefore this movement is called illusion.

Liberation means liberation from this changing condition. So far I am concerned, I cannot say what I was in my previous life, but one great astrologer calculated that I was previously a physician and my life was sinless. Besides that, to corroborate the statement of Bhagavad Gita “sucinam srimatam gehe yogabhrasta samyayate” which means an unfinished yogi takes birth in rich family or born of a suci or pious father. By the grace of Krishna I got these two opportunities in the present life to be born of a pious father and brought up in one of the richest, aristocratic families of Calcutta (Kasinath Mullick). The Radha Krsna Deity in this family called me in 1966 to meet Him, and therefore last time when I was in Calcutta, I stayed in that temple along with my American disciples. Although I had immense opportunities to indulge in the four principles of sinful life because I was connected with a very aristocratic family, Krsna always saved me, and throughout my whole life I do not know what is illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating or gambling. So far my present life is concerned; I do not remember any part of my life when I was forgetful of Krsna.

……………

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Upon reading this letter I was stunned as if jolted by an electric current. Literally I lost strength and had to sit down. As I sat alone in the temple, my mind reeled. I had not at all been prepared for such a letter.

Again I reread it to be sure that I had understood Prabhupada’s mood rightly. He was firm and straightforward in his defence of the spiritual master’s absolute position. I had committed a great blunder, which Srila Prabhupada by his causeless mercy had not tolerated. When previously I had committed the indiscretion of asking permission to chant the names of the gopis, he had only mildly replied that there was no need. But there was no such indulgence in this letter. The matter was far too serious. I had raised a question about his previous life and whether he had been subjected to the laws of material nature. Prabhupada sensed a doubt inherent in my questioning. If such doubt existed and was not at once quelled, my spiritual life would be undermined at its very foundation. Considering the gravity of the subject, Srila Prabhupada’s mood was extremely tempered.

I tried to examine my motives. Why had I asked such a question? I had been studying the life of Narada Muni from the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. From my reading I had gotten the impression that at one time he was an ordinary, conditioned soul. That had led me to wonder about Srila Prabhupada’s previous life and whether he had also been conditioned at some previous time. But I felt no uncertainty about Narada Muni’s infallibility, nor of Srila Prabhupada’s. Narada Muni was traveling from planet to planet liberating the entire universe by spreading the glories of the Maha-Mantra, and Prabhupada was doing the same in this world on his behalf. Srila Prabhupada was actually my life and soul, and I meant exactly as I had written in a previous letter; everything I had, including myself, was his to do with as he wished. Surely Srila Prabhupada knew the depth of my sincerity. Then why such a strong letter?

I concluded that Prabhupada was taking no chances. If there was even a pinch of distrust for his transcendental position that unsealed flaw would one day crack my spiritual life. And like a fire, it had to be put out at once, thoroughly. Left to its own ways, doubt, like fire, could consume everything in its path. Unflinching faith in one’s spiritual master was the key to success in spiritual life. Lord Caitanya, though the Supreme Personality of Godhead, explained that total faith in His spiritual master’s words was the cause of His achieving success in the matter of chanting Hare Krsna. In contrast, a faithless disciple loses the thread of devotional service and eventually his lips cannot even form the shape of the holy names of the Lord.

My question had arisen in regard to Narada Muni’s previous life: Was it wrong to think of him as ordinary at the time? Prabhupada’s answer was clear: “In any condition of his life he should not be mistaken as ordinary human being.” Just as when we think of famous wealthy men of the world like Rockefeller or Ford, we may hear of their early struggles when they may even have been poor. But that does not cloud our vision of them as being fabulously wealthy. Rather, their early life is precursory as the fertile ground in which the seed of their good fortune was sown. Their present stature does not allow us to view them as ever having been ordinary poor men. How much more so in the case of great liberated souls, as evidenced by the wonderful activities of Narada Muni, who began as a maidservant’s son! His were not the activities of an ordinary low-class boy; otherwise why would the author of the Bhagavatam, Srila Vyasadeva, have bothered to include the incidents of his previous life? Such narrations are of the utmost interest because they ultimately resulted in his becoming the great transcendentalist Narada Muni. Therefore the spiritual master is always liberated, and none of his activities-present or previous-should ever be thought of as ordinary.

The Vedic literatures are full of examples of great personalities who took their birth in seemingly common circumstances. The great devotee Vidura, though born in the womb of a sudrani, enlightened the great king Maharaja Yudhisthira. Haridasa Thakura, a Muslim by birth, was elevated as the namacarya for the whole world. The prayers of Kunti devi, a woman, are revered by great liberated sages. And there are hundreds of other similar examples. If one’s birth in this lifetime is not a criterion for judgment, then what to speak of one’s previous life? I could answer Srila Prabhupada with certainty that one’s past in no way hampered one’s becoming a spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada, both in his lectures and his books, has made this very evident. In Teachings of Lord Caitanya he explains this point clearly:

Whatever position one may have, if he is fully conversant with the science of Krsna, Krsna consciousness, he can become a bona fide spiritual master, initiator, a teacher of this science. In other words one can become a bona fide spiritual master if he has sufficient knowledge of the science of Krsna, Krsna consciousness. The position does not depend on a particular position in society or on birth. This is the conclusion of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and it is in accordance with the Vedic injunctions….In ancient days there was even a hunter named Dharma, who became a spiritual master for many people.

My question had betrayed an even more basic misunderstanding about the identity of the soul in regard to the body. To demonstrate that the soul is unaffected by its material surroundings, Prabhupada cited the example that the moon appears to move in its reflection on water, despite its actual steady position in the firmament. That apparent movement is factually the rippling effect of the water, not the movement of the moon itself. The Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic literatures contain numerous statements confirming the soul’s transcendence over matter:

Those with the vision of eternity can see that the soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.

The sky, due to its subtle nature, does not mix with anything, though it is all-pervading. Similarly, the soul, situated in Brahman vision, does not mix with the body, though it is situated in that body. (Bg. 13.32-33)

My question was most inappropriate, because the spiritual master, as the direct manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s mercy feature, is never considered within the category of ordinary conditioned souls. Lest any doubts linger after citing the conclusions of scripture, Srila Prabhupada put his personal life before me as evidence. Though, connected with a wealthy aristocratic family, he had had immense opportunity for sinful life, throughout his whole life he had never indulged in intoxication, meat-eating, nor engaged in gambling or illicit sex. Most strikingly, Srila Prabhupada stated that throughout his whole life he was never forgetful of Krsna. In fact, Krsna was personally protecting him and had saved him on numerous occasions. Srila Prabhupada said that the Radha-Krsna Deity in his family’s Calcutta home had personally called him back to Calcutta. These were unusual admissions for Srila Prabhupada to make. Due to his natural humility as Krsna’s pure devotee, he rarely spoke of his own purity and intimate relationship with Krsna. But his prodding disciple had now forced these statements out.

And the evidence was clear for all to see. As Narada Muni was krpa siddha, having been liberated by the mercy of Krsna and His devotees, Srila Prabhupada as much as admitted to his own exalted position as a nitya-siddha devotee of the Lord. By his own statements, he had never, ever forgotten Krsna, not even in his last life, as the calculations of one great astrologer revealed.

I felt ashamed that I had ever asked Srila Prabhupada such a question. What I did not know at the time was that Srila Prabhupada’s lengthy response was not prompted merely by my thoughtless query. In America some of his disciples had committed serious discrepancies in regard to this very same matter. Srila Prabhupada had reason to suspect that some of his Godbrothers in India, due to envy, were influencing his disciples to doubt in his bonafidity. I was completely unaware that such a thing was going on. I had thought Prabhupada’s letter to be an isolated issue, when in fact it had been written at a highly sensitive time when an actual attempt was being made to minimize his position as the founder-acarya of ISKCON.

Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, because they are based on Vedic conclusions, do not become irrelevant due to the passage of time. The transcendental stature of the spiritual master, irrespective of birth or other social considerations, will always be accepted by learned men. Srila Prabhupada’s life should be seen as the performance of a great transcendental personality who appeared on the stage of Kali-yuga. Though he himself is timeless and could have been equally well suited to any one of the ages, he never lost sight of the historical significance of his appearance. As sastra-caksus, he always rested his words and deeds upon the authority of the Vedas. Yet as the great preaching acarya for this age, he spoke and acted considering fully the needs of the generations yet to come. The legacy of his appearance in the form of his books, his disciples, and the worldwide institution of ISKCON will be able to nourish all spiritually minded men through the duration of this age.

Only the poor-hearted, the materialists, the envious, could fail to find sufficiency in ‘Srila Prabhupada’s magnanimous gifts. For such unfortunates, his books will remain a mystery, his disciples an enigma, his spiritual institution a material organization.

(Biographies and Glorifications of Srila Prabhupada-Servant of the Servant-The European Yatra-Le Sankirtana Parisien-Tamala Krsna Goswami)

So as his followers and grand children we must develop absolute faith in the mercy and potency of Srila Prabhupada, this alone is sustaining ISKCON and its ever increasing members. Srila Prabhupada is the primary shiksha Guru of all ISKCON devotees. Therefore, we must first carefully study all his books, not just merely read them, and we will find how he has given the essence of Mahaprabhu’s and previous acharayas teachings. Finally, we should daily beg and pray to receive association of those devotees whose pure heart have Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet in them. Only then we can make our life successful in this very lifetime.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Conscious cooperator

by

Hare Krishna.

24th January, 2016. Gurgaon

I heard a wonderful lecture on Krishna Book by HG Srimati Mataji. I am quoting a small portion from the same lecture on how we should become a conscious cooperator in the hand of Lord.

Here is the text from ‘Krishna’ Book, chapter 4, where, having being warned by Durga Devi that the child who will kill Kamsa has already taken birth, Kamsa is now repenting and is also trying to justify all his past sinful actions, putting them behind the bars, killing their children, etc., as will of providence. In these lines lie some very enlightening lessons for an aspiring devotee like my own self.

“My dear sister Devakī, you are so gentle and kind. Please excuse me—don’t be aggrieved by the death of your children, which I have caused. Actually this was not done by me, because all these are predestined activities. One has to act according to the predestined plan, even unwillingly. People misunderstand that with the end of the body the self dies, or they think that one can kill another living entity. All these misconceptions oblige one to accept the conditions of material existence. In other words, as long as one is not firmly convinced of the eternality of the soul, one is subjected to the tribulation of being killer and killed. My dear sister Devakī and brother-in-law Vasudeva, kindly excuse the atrocities I have committed against you. I am very poor-hearted, and you are so great-hearted, so take compassion upon me and excuse me.”

                                                                                                                                                                           -KB, chapter4

Here is the translation of the exact verse from Srimad Bhagavatam on this incident

My dear sister Devakī, all good fortune unto you. Everyone suffers and enjoys the results of his own work under the control of providence. Therefore, although your sons have unfortunately been killed by me, please do not lament for them.
                                                                                                                                                                              SB 10.4.21
In the bodily conception of life, one remains in darkness, without self-realization, thinking, “I am being killed” or “I have killed my enemies.” As long as a foolish person thus considers the self to be the killer or the killed, he continues to be responsible for material obligations, and consequently he suffers the reactions of happiness and distress.
                                                                                                                                                                               SB 10.4.22
When Devakī saw her brother actually repentant while explaining ordained events, she was relieved of all anger. Similarly, Vasudeva was also free from anger. Smiling, he spoke to Kaṁsa as follows. 
                                                                                                                                                                      SB 10.4.25 
Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport that Devakī and Vasudeva, both highly elevated personalities, accepted the truth presented by Kaṁsa that everything is ordained by providence. According to the prophecy, Kaṁsa would be killed by the eighth child of Devakī. Therefore, Vasudeva and Devakī saw that behind all these incidents was a great plan devised by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 
This is a very important point, Kamsa is seeing it as providence where as Devakī and Vasudeva are seeing providence as the plan of the Lord. This is a big difference between a materialist and a devotee. Materialist is going to be talking about providence but devotee can see the hand of the Lord.  The more advance we are the more we can see the hand of the Lord. Advance devotees don’t worry about anything happening around them as they know Lord has got all the controls. He has some plans…to direct things. Now our position is to become a consciousness cooperator.

Conscious cooperator

This is what we should aim for, become a Conscious cooperator, not whiner and griner! And also not just  accepting, accepting, accepting or tolerating, tolerating, tolerating,..not like that also. We want to become consciousness cooperators.

Cooperate with Krishna. Okay! Krishna you have done this, You must have a plan. You are not envious of me so the plan must be for my betterment. So, please give me some insight so I can cooperate with Your plan.

Mataji said that bad things don’t happen to good people. Nothing is ever bad in Krishna consciousness. It’s just that sometimes we are just a little too thick, we keep on going in the same same groove. We can’t hear anything ( not get the subtle signals) and just remain in the same groove. So sometimes Krishna has to put a bomb under us to wake us up to the fact that there is something different that might be a better thing to do!

So this is interesting that Devakī and Vasudeva can see, these are highly elevated personalities, they can see that all the incidents are Krishna’s plan.

Let’s just see what those incidents were, locked up in jail for years, not just locked up but shackled…for years… and we are talking about a prince and princess, they were not ordinary persons. We are talking about someone who is used to all the luxuries, including respect and honour. So they are locked up, their children killed,  year after year. And they are seeing all these incidents as indicator of plan of the Lord! That’s highly elevated personalities.

Prabhupada is writing Because the Lord had already taken birth, just like a human child, and was in the safe custody of Yaśodā, everything was happening according to plan, and there was no need to continue their ill feeling toward Kaṁsa. Thus they accepted Kaṁsa’s words.

So it’s interesting why they are giving up their ill feelings towards Kamsa? Because their ‘ishta deva’ is safe and sound so everything is fine. This is an insight into high their consciousness is. And Yashoda’s daughter didn’t get killed, that’s a relief for them, as they would have felt guilty about it.

We read further from Krishna Book chapter 4

Vasudeva told Kaṁsa, “My dear fortunate brother-in-law, what you are saying about the material body and the soul is correct. Every living entity is born ignorant, misunderstanding this material body to be his self. This conception of life is due to ignorance, and on the basis of this ignorance we create enmity or friendship. Lamentation, jubilation, fearfulness, envy, greed, illusion and madness are different features of our material concept of life. A person influenced like this engages in enmity only due to the material body. Being engaged in such activities, we forget our eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

This is a big statement: These types of activities make us forget our eternal relationship with Supreme Lord. So may be we don’t want all these activities as part of our mainstream activities.

Lets read the exact verse from Bhagavatam describing the same

Persons with the vision of differentiation are imbued with the material qualities lamentation, jubilation, fear, envy, greed, illusion and madness. They are influenced by the immediate cause, which they are busy counteracting, because they have no knowledge of the remote, supreme cause, the Personality of Godhead.

                                                                                                                                                                      SB 10.4.27

The key in the above verse is ‘They are influenced by the immediate cause, which they are busy counteracting’    (does this sound familiar to our daily life many a times!)

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport, it is really an amazing purport.

Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes (sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam), but one who has no connection with Kṛṣṇa is disturbed by immediate causes and cannot restrain his vision of separation or differences. When an expert physician treats a patient, he tries to find the original cause of the disease and is not diverted by the symptoms of that original cause. Similarly, a devotee is never disturbed by reverses in life. A devotee understands that when he is in distress, this is due to his own past misdeeds, which are now accruing reactions, although by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead these are only very slight.  When a devotee under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is to suffer because of faults in his past deeds, he passes through only a little misery by the grace of the Lord. Although the disease of a devotee is due to mistakes committed sometime in the past, he agrees to suffer and tolerate such miseries, and he depends fully on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus he is never affected by material conditions of lamentation, jubilation, fear and so on. A devotee never sees anything to be unconnected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The highlighted portion is a very powerful key for us.

So three things a devotee can follow when he is in difficulty and he won’t be affected by the material conditions are :

  1. he agrees
  2. he suffers, not just suffer but tolerates such miseries
  3. he depends fully on Supreme Personality of Godhead

Mataji strongly stressed ‘Give it a try, it works’!

And we see how Haridas Thakura got beaten in 22 market places. So many great vaishanavas, there is so much distress. It’s not like that their life was a bed of roses, so much difficulty. We know how much Prabhupada went through. But it doesn’t deter them, because of the above three qualities.

So as aspiring devotees we have to realise and take these points very very seriously and practice them. We are not going to become a vaishanava,  a properly situated vaishnava, by reading about it or talking about it, that’s helpful as we will be able to know what it is about but the main thing is that we practice. Prabhupada tells us in his purport to BG8.28 that ‘these books are not meant for armchair speculators’. They are for practice.

Srimati mataji pushed hard the serious devotees ‘We can feel really good knowing all the verses, we can feel really good knowing the philosophy, where is feeling good going to get you!! We won’t go very far without practicing it.

The key thing here is, as Prabhupada writes,

A devotee never sees anything to be unconnected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Mataji said that this is a very powerful thing on many many different levels. When we speak to highly evolved vaishanavas and we watch the way they interact with material energy, which for them is not material, it is very interesting. Because they only see Krishna’s plan! They don’t see their plan. So they have some idea what they want to do for Krishna today but if it doesn’t work out the way they expected, they don’t get disturbed by that. They just have a look, okay.. so what’s Krishna’s plan? And when one gets very very evolved he just loves Krishna’s plan! They are not here for their own plan, they are here for the boss’s plan! And that’s the most blissful platform, safest and most blissful.

And if we think we can be happy independent of Krishna… Forget it!!

So next time if something doesn’t work out the way we expected it to work out then instead of playing the controller, and doing yelling and screaming (internally or externally) instead of doing that we should just hold our breadth, hold our tongue and say okay, what’s Krishna wants me to do here. If we just try it we will be in a lot less anxiety.

Hence all these points are meant for application in our devotional practice and not just merely to store all this as information.

Now let me share a little application of the above principle.

Last week was quite a tight week one for me at work, home and the classes. I had receive a service, priority no.1 one for me, to assist a senior devotee with some search and editing work which I was to submit on 16th Jan. And Shyamsundar Prabhu had requested me to give a ‘serious’ class on Isopanishad, verse 17, on 14th Jan, This was a book I had read long time back and not studied seriously. Then there was a class at my own home on 15th Jan, and on top of all this I committed for a class on 13th Jan as well. This line up did not include some work for a weekend assignment which I had not even touched! And that my wife & son were away and I was to take care of my teenage daughter at home and work pressure for a new project was high. Phew!

So middle of the week on 13th Jan, under mental pressure, I thought I had taken up too much to chew.  It was becoming clear to me that there is no way I can complete the service given by the senior devotee which was top priority for me.  I also felt guilty that 13th January being ‘Lohri’ and a holiday for my daughter I should have thought about it and stayed home in the evening instead of committing myself to a class. I then wrote a SMS to Shayamsundar Prabhu that I can’t do the class at his home this week and let’s keep it for some other time. I was about to send the SMS but somehow I remembered that I am trying  to handle everything using my own intelligence and ability. On one side I keep on praying for service and when the services have come I can’t refuse on my own, I need to take shelter.

I prayed to Srila Prabhupada for guidance and help,  that let whatever he thinks is good for me spiritually let it happen and I will follow it.

The instant inspiration was not to send the SMS cancelling the class. I deleted the drafted SMS. I called up Sitarani mataji who gave me some excellent tips on how to have mood of bhakti and not ‘jnana’ for the Isopanishad class. I thought of reaching home early and complete my service for the editing for the senior devotee but got stuck in the office and could not leave early. I hurriedly came home in the evening, sheepishly said sorry to my daughter for not being able to spend to spend time with her and leaving her alone. I felt guilty for my action. I left home but as soon as I come out on the main road I found the whole road blocked with traffic. I thought of double checking it with Amit Prabhu, whose house was the class. Prabhuji replied that some of his family members are not there today and also there are not too many confirmations for the class so he politely suggested that we can drop the class today. I accepted it as will of Lord and hurriedly came back home thinking that I will not be leaving my daughter alone now and will also get some time to work on the editing work.

As I had not even entered the home Ravi prabhu called up. Prabhuji wanted to come over as he was in Gurgaon. I welcomed Prabhuji but told him that our meeting has to be short as I need some time to complete a service. By the time I changed, finished the evening arti and was about to open the work, Prabhuji walked in. We had early dinner prasadam together and during our discussion I shared how I was under pressure for a particular editing work which I had completed but all the alignment etc. in the soft copy was not all my forte and I don’t know how this will get complete by 16th. Prabhuji immediately offered to assist me in the same and said he can complete the same in a day! My anxiety level instantaneously came down by 90%! I profusely thanked Srila Prabhupada and Krishna for these sudden changes.

Next day I woke up early and for next 6 hours I prepared hard for the Isopanishad class. I wasn’t quite satisfied as I finally left for office. I thought of taking the day off from office but two urgent and very critical issues were at hand and I had to face them. I tried hard to reach home early but could not do so. On the way back I had the driver so I thought I will get time to prepare but my japa rounds were pending. After a moment of introspection I decided to first complete my rounds rather than prepare for the class. I prayed to Holy name to please  help me concentrate on chanting and not on the anxiety for the unprepared class looming over my mind. I also prayed to Holy Name to help me serve the devotees in the evening as I had tried hard but failed to prepare well and now needed support of His mercy. I was able to chant without much anxiety as I left myself at the mercy of Holy Name.

As I reached home, I hurriedly read  my notes. I was again anxious seeing the long length of my notes, no coherent flow in my mind for the class and my obvious lack of preparation. As I sat in the car to leave for the class I thought of letting go the whole preparation and just read Srila Prabhupada’s long purport of verse 17. I thought let me just keep on explaining each para a little bit and the class will be done nicely and I will not be under pressure to deliver a ‘serious’ class. Again I prayed to Srila Prabhupada and sought guidance. I clearly felt the message to give the class in the format I was struggling to prepare. I accepted it.  At this time I still had three more round of chanting left, we faced some traffic and I was able to complete my last round as the car stopped outside Prabhuji’s home. I wanted to sit in the car for few more seconds and go over my notes one last time but some devotees were already outside Prabhuji’s home and they noticed me.

With a little anxious heart I entered Prabhuji’s home, again prayed hard to Srila Prabhupada to help me serve the devotees by bringing them closer to his and Lord’s lotus feet. I gave the class in the same format I felt inspired.

By Srila Prabhupada’s, and Lord’s, mercy I managed to serve the devotees and did not know how the class went for almost two hours. I was very much relieved when Shyamsundar prabhu stated, as I was leaving his home, that he liked the content of the class. I thanked Srila Prabhupada and the Holy Name. I sang loud kirtan all the way back home. My faith in the power of shelter and prayer to Srila Prabhupada and the Holy Name had taken one step forward.

Thanks to Ravi Prabhu, I was able to complete the assignment from the senior devotee next day and submitted it on time and to the satisfaction of the senior devotee. The two critical pending issues at my office too got resolved with unexpected help. The class at home went fine as my parents came over to help and stay over the weekend. Mentally free, I was able to visit Vrindavan Dhama on Saturday, for a night, and got some much needed association, on the way as well in the Dhama!

My learning:

  1. Accept that all challenging circumstances are for my own benefit and improvement, they are in fact mercy of Lord.
  2. Become a conscious cooperator, ‘align’ with what is happening and utilise these circumstances to build some ‘spiritual muscle’.
  3. Always take shelter of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna and seek what lesson I am supposed to learn from these circumstances.
  4. Try not to have mental blocks, that this is ‘spiritual’ and this is ‘material’! Everything is under the control of Lord Krishna and it is my contaminated consciousness which makes me see things or circumstances independent of Krishna. As an aspiring devotee I should practice to see Krishna’s presence in everything around me and there is no part of my life which I should see as being ‘material’.

All glories to the wonderful journey of being in Krishna consciousness.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

P.S.: I am surprised to share that this is the 200th blog since I started writing two years back.  The blog was visited by 11,637 visitors, from 123 countries, last calendar year and has 320 subscribers. Thank you so very much for your support.

I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By the potency of the shelter of His lotus feet, even a fool can collect the valuable jewels of conclusive truth from the mines of the revealed scriptures.       (CC Adi 3.1)

Devotees can renounce renunciation!

by

Hare Krishna.

15th December, 2015. Gurgaon.

One hears so much about renunciation in our movement and many times as grihasthas (householders) we become confused as to what is actual renunciation for us and how can we practically apply it in our daily life. I searched on this topic and found some gems which I am sharing below.

We should be aware that as long as we remain attached to material enjoyment we will not be able to remain properly fixed in the process of bhakti yoga. As householders our goal should be  progressive renunciation of material enjoyment and not the dry renunciation from family life as practiced by jnanis or yogis, that is not our path. It was Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, a great disciple of Lord Caitanya, who said that Caitanya Mahaprabhu descended to teach detachment from whatever does not foster devotional service to Krishna.

What exactly is renunciation?

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said:

One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no duty.

What is called renunciation you should know to be the same as yoga, or linking oneself with the Supreme, O son of Pandu, for one can never become a yogi unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification. (BG 6.1-2)

According to above definition, a renunciant is not simply someone who gives up external duties. A renunciant is one who gives up all personal, selfish interests, while at the same time working for Krishna’s interest.

Although these verses from the Bhagavad Gita appear to address renunciation by the yogi, they also apply to the a devotee. The yogi and the bhakta both practice renunciation, but in different ways. Both renounce sense gratification, and both restrain the senses. The yogi, however, does this by sitting down in a solitary place, controlling his breath, and refraining from all activity. The devotee, Srila Prabhupada explains, has a different method: “A person in Krishna consciousness has no opportunity to engage his senses in anything which is not for the purpose of Krishna.” In other words, a devotee is always renounced because he always engages in devotional activity.

If we are serious about going back to Godhead in this lifetime, then we must seriously apply the principles of renunciation and devotion. We have a certain amount of “business” to accomplish in the human form of life, and heading the list is the business of becoming detached from material desires. If we don’t become detached in this life, we will have to return in another life to continue. Prabhupada writes, “We should be determined to finish our duties in executing devotional service in this life. We should not wait for another life to finish our job.”

Devotional renunciation is easy and pleasant. All we have to do is refrain from sinful activity and, rather than avoiding activity, engage ourselves in acts of devotion. Our lives will become so filled with Krishna consciousness that we will have little time to worry about becoming attracted to the material world. Srila Prabhupada writes, “The more the activities of the material world are performed in Krishna consciousness, or for Vishnu only, the more the atmosphere becomes spiritualised by complete absorption.… Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality. Krishna consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme.” (Bhagavad Gita 4.24, purport)

Srila Rupa Gosvami taught yukta-vairagya,the principle of using even material things in Krishna’s service. He explains in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu that yukta-vairagya is superior to its opposite, phalgu-vairagya, or artificial renunciation.

The Sanskrita word, phalgu, is also used to describe an underground river. What appears to be only a dry riverbed sometimes disguises that under the earth a river continues to flow. This is called phalgu. Srila Rupa Gosvami compares renunciation that neglects to use everything in Krishna’s service to such a river. Although the artificial renunciant appears to be detached from material activities and worldly things, internally a strong desire for these things still flows. That is why this form of renunciation is considered incomplete.

By practicing yukta-vairagya, we accept the body as material but not as the ultimate source of corruption. We concentrate on the soul, but we also take care of the body. After all, the body is a useful vehicle for carrying us from one Krishna conscious activity to another. Yukta-vairagya, or renunciation in Krishna consciousness, entails satisfying the needs of the senses simply and offering everything to Krishna. In this lies real happiness.

                                                                                  –HH Satsvarupa Maharaj in an article in BTG magazine

I am now copying a collection of  purports taken out by HG Srimati Mataji in one of her books, to get a taste of mood of our param Guru Srila Prabhupada and Lord Himself, when He came as Caitanya Mahaprabhu, on the topic on renunciation for householders.

As for detachment from children, wife and home, it is not meant that one should have no feeling for these. They are natural objects of affection. But when they are not favorable to spiritual progress, then one should not be attached to them. The best process for making the home pleasant is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one is in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can make his home very happy, because this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very easy. One need only chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, accept the remnants of foodstuffs offered to Kṛṣṇa, have some discussion on books like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and engage oneself in Deity worship. These four things will make one happy. One should train the members of his family in this way. The family members can sit down morning and evening and chant together Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. If one can mold his family life in this way to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following these four principles, then there is no need to change from family life to renounced life. ( BG 13.8-12p)

The brāhmaṇa begged Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “My dear Lord, kindly show me favor and let me go with You. I can no longer tolerate the waves of misery caused by materialistic life.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “Don’t speak like that again. Better to remain at home and chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa always.  (CC Madhya 7.126 -27)

It is not advisable in this Age of Kali to leave one’s family suddenly, for people are not trained as proper brahmacārīs and gṛhasthas. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised the brāhmaṇa not to be too eager to give up family life. It would be better to remain with his family and try to become purified by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra regularly under the direction of a spiritual master. This is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If this principle is followed by everyone, there is no need to accept sannyāsa. In the next verse Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advises everyone to become an ideal householder by offenselessly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and teaching the same principle to everyone he meets.   (CC Madya 7.127 p)

“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.”

This is the sublime mission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Many people come and inquire whether they have to give up family life to join the Society, but that is not our mission. One can remain comfortably in his residence. We simply request everyone to chant the mahā-mantra: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. If one is a little literate and can read Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that is so much the better. (cc Madhya 7.128+p)

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further advised the brāhmaṇa Kūrma, “If you follow this instruction, your materialistic life at home will not obstruct your spiritual advancement. Indeed, if you follow these regulative principles, we will again meet here, or, rather, you will never lose My company.”

This is an opportunity for everyone. If one simply follows the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, under the guidance of His representative, and chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, teaching everyone as far as possible the same principle, the contamination of the materialistic way of life will not even touch him. It does not matter whether one lives in a holy place like Vṛndāvana, Navadvīpa or Jagannātha Purī or in the midst of European cities, where the materialistic way of life is very prominent. If a devotee follows the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he lives in the company of the Lord. Wherever he lives, he converts that place into Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa. This means that materialism cannot touch him. This is the secret of success for one advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. ( cc Madhya 7.129+P)

So we learnt that the as householders we should

  • Focus more on devotional service rather than on renunciation. ( more focus on positive, less on negative)
  • Real renunciation means renunciation from material sense gratification.
  • We should try to use everything we have (wealth, family, etc.) in the service of Lord.

Finally, by sincerely following the process given by Mahaprabhu, and the instructions of our acharayas, we must pray daily for their mercy, aspire and then take practical steps to make our present life successful by trying our best to finish all our ‘business’ in this very lifetime only, family life is not an impediment.

 

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Srila Prabhupada’s Tirobhava Mahotsava, 2015

by

Hare Krishna.

15th November, 2015. Vrindavan

(Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Mangal Aratik Darshan 15th Nov)

Srila Prabhupada’s Tirobhava Mahotsava day at Vrindavan.

I was very fortunate to be present on Sunday at Vrindavan and attend the 38th disappearance festival of Srila Prabhupada.

I knew that the temple will be full to its capacity in the morning so I stayed back in the apartment and chanted my rounds. As I was leaving, Arti mataji, whose family I was staying with, asked me if I am keeping normal fast or nirjala fast till noon. I had completely forgotten that it was fast till noon today for Prabhupada disappearance day! I thanked her for reminding me and in my heart profusely thanked Krishna for not allowing me to make this blunder. I further resolved never to stay without the association of devotees!

I reached temple around 7.45am and straight away went to Prabhupada samadhi and paid my humble obeisances.  It’s always a very humbling experience to be here, more so as with each passing day I realise how much Srila Prabhupada did for us and what little I am doing to reciprocate.

As every year, devotees carried Srila Prabhupada’s deity around all the Goswami temples in Vrindavan, people from all walks of life paid their respect to this Premi Bhakta who spread Krishna bhakti all around the world.  Here are some pictures which I copied from the official webpage.

In the temple, a very tastefully decorated pandal had been set up for the disciples and followers of Srila Prabhupada to glorify him. One by one senior devotees came and paid their respects to Srila Prabhupada. It was amazing to see how each one of them had their own connection with Prabhupada. HH Lokanath Maharaj said that Prabhupada is still here with us, HH Gopal Krishna Maharaj said that we need to introspect on what actions we can take which will further increase the glorification of Srila Prabhupada, another devotee shared how is serving Prabhupada in `vipralamba bhava’, each one had their own unique relationship with Srila Prabhupada.

Later, it was time for Abhishek ceremony.

Press here to watch Srila Prabhupada Abhishek Video

There was sumptuous prasadam arranged for everyone at Goshalla and I overate!

Srila Prabhupada’s quarters were opened to visitors in the evening with very beautiful decorations.

In the midst of all this I was thinking how to remember Prabhupada. I was very fortunate to meet a very senior devotee who shared some gems written by Srila Prabhupada himself on the connection between Guru and disciple. I am sharing the same. It will be very nice if we can read them loudly, meditate on each of them and remember our param guru.

“The spiritual Master lives forever by His divine instruction and the disciple lives with him.”, because I have always served my Guru Maharaja and followed His teachings I am now even never separated from Him. Sometimes Maya may come and try to interfere but we must not falter, we must always follow the chalked out path layed down by the great acharya’s and in the end you will see.

                                 -Letter to Cidananda — Bhaktivedanta Manor 25 November, 1973

Please be happy in separation. I am separated from my Guru Maharaja since 1936 but I am always with him so long I work according to his direction. So we should all work together for satisfying Lord Krishna and in that way the feelings of separation will transform into transcendental bliss.

-Letter to Devotees in New York City, 19th January, 1967

I understand that you are feeling my absence. Krishna will give you strength. Physical presence is immaterial; presence of the transcendental sound received from the spiritual master should be the guidance of life. That will make our spiritual life successful. If you feel very strongly about my absence you may place my pictures on my sitting places and this will be source of inspiration for you.

-Letter to Devotees in New York City, 19th January, 1967

You cannot survive without my mercy and I cannot survive without your mercy. It is reciprocal. This mutual dependence is based on love—Krishna Consciousness.

-Letter to Jayatirtha Dasa, 22nd, January, 1967

The senior devotee emphasised on each of the above statements, we read them loudly, repeatedly. Especially  highlighting how wonderful is the last statement where Srila Prabhupada is equating love with Krishna consciousness. And in a very beautiful and sweet way he is showing us that an amazing relationship exist between a factual guru and a factual disciple. If both are ‘sat’ then one can’t do without the other. What is the meaning of guru without disciple and what is the meaning of disciple without a guru?  A very powerful statement by Srila Prabhupada.

You cannot survive without my mercy and I cannot survive without your mercy

Can we imagine a heart who feels like that ! It is reciprocal, this mutual dependency which is based on love –  Krishna consciousness. We should be very careful not make the relationship between a Guru and disciple a business affair. We should contemplate if there is heart in the relationship? Where is the intensity of dependence on Guru? This is the actual reality, neither can survive without the mercy of the other. So beautiful.

Then we read the below statement from the book of HH Satsvarupa Maharaj.

Memories of Prabhupada are nectar. Without them, there would be no substance to Prabhupada consciousness. If there were no memories of Prabhupada, then he would become only a legend. But there is a lot more to Prabhupada consciousness than memories of him.  By meditating on the memories and practicing internal, minute-to-minute surrender, we will be Prabhupada conscious. This internal cultivation is very important. Prabhupada recall doesn’t mean only remembering what he did in the 1970s, it means recalling our need to serve him now.                                                                                                                         -HH Satsvarupa Goswami

 

In the end we read the following famous lines from a poem written by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

He reasons ill who tells that Vaishnavas die
When thou art living still in sound.
The Vaishnavas die to live and living try
To spread a holy life around!

All glories to the disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

The effect of bhakti is immediate.

by

Hare Krishna

23rd October, 2015. Gurgaon

Yesterday morning I heard a beautiful lecture by HG Jananivas Prabhuji which Prabhuji gave at Mayapur. As usual it was a lecture filled with many gems. Prabhuji is a very exalted and pure devotee of Krishna, it was my good fortune that I was able to hear his lecture. Two topics in his lecture touched my heart

a) supremacy of Bhakti over all other yoga processes.

b) importance of Guru and initiation in our life.

I will write about the first part today, where Prabhuji spoke about the power of bhakti over all other processes. We may have heard all this before and know it but the way Prabhuji gave the essence was remarkable.

The particular verse on this day was from the sixth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam where the story of ‘Citraketu’ is continuing. Here is the verse:

O King Parīkṣit, after only one week of repeatedly practicing the mantra received from the spiritual master, Citraketu achieved the rule of the planet of the Vidyādharas as an intermediate product of his spiritual advancement in knowledge. (SB 6.16.28)

Jananivas Prabhuji

After first giving the listeners a brief background about the chapter, glorifying ‘Citraketu’ and then expanding this particular pastime, Prabhuji explained that, similar to ‘Citraketu’, sometimes devotees do not directly go back to Godhead but they have to take a birth. (‘Citraketu’ finally took birth as ‘Vritasura’ and then went back to Godhead).

Jananivas Prabhuji then quoted Srila Prabhupada who said:

‘If you still have a mood of enjoyment in Krishna consciousness, you are performing devotional service but you have the mood of enjoyment then your next birth will be in the heavenly planets. you will have to work out that enjoyment and after that you can go back to Godhead.’

Prabhuji reiterated that devotees are not expected to maintain the mood of enjoyment, especially at the last of our life, when we are leaving the body very rapidly, we should wind everything  up completely and take shelter of the Lord, then we go back to Godhead.

Prabhuji then read the below short but devotionally pregnant purport by Srila Prabhupada:

‘If a devotee, after being initiated, adheres rigidly to the instructions of the spiritual master, he is naturally endowed with the material opulences of vidyādhara-adhipatyam and similar posts as by-products. A devotee need not practice yoga, karma or jñāna to achieve a successful result. Devotional service alone is competent to award a devotee all material power. A pure devotee, however, is never attached to material power, although he gets it very easily without personal endeavor. Citraketu received this side benefit of his devotional service, which he rigidly performed in accordance with the instructions of Nārada. A devotee need not practice yoga, karma or jñāna to achieve a successful result. Devotional service alone is competent to award a devotee all material power‘.

Jananivas Prabhuji explained how Citraketu received this power simply as a side benefit of devotional service. Not that he was interested but somehow or other he was given that position so he could still enjoy as a side product of his devotional service. But his consciousness was more fixed on his devotional service rather than the side product of being the king of ‘Vidyādharas’. He acted like a king, it seemed like he was enjoying but his consciousness was fixed on his worshipable Lord and his devotional service.

So a devotee doesn’t have to worry about Karma, jnana or yoga to achieve successful results, devotional service alone is powerful enough to do it. This is the position of devotional service, the position of bhakti. Bhakti is independent. Whereas in karma, jnana and yoga, to get their perfection, one needs some bhakti yoga but for bhakti yoga we don’t need karma, we don’t need jnana, its independent.

For Karmis (materialists)

Prabhuji stated ‘just like the Karmis, they want sense gratification. They are religious, they are pious, they are practicing karma yoga but they want happiness in the material world.  So what does Krishna says about about karma yogi –

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat

yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam (BG 9.27)

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform — do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.

In other words do everything for Krishna. Karma yoga culminates in bhakti yoga. When we do this, do everything for Krishna, then it becomes bhakti, our karma becomes bhakti.

For jnanis (knowledge seekers)

For jnanis, Krishna says:

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate

vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19)

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

So conclusion of jnana is that after thousands of births one surrenders to Krishna. In reference to this verse Srila Prabhupada said:

‘This is Krishna’s statement, after thousands of births one comes to the platform of ‘ vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti’, Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead. I’m telling you now that Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead, you surrender to Krishna now. You hear me, and you do that (surrender to Krishna), you skip those thousands and thousands of births because you come to the conclusion of thousands and thousands of births!

So culmination of jnana is bhakti – surrender to Krishna.

So one get the perfection of jnana when it is dovetailed or used for understanding  bhakti.

For yogis

Now to the ashtanga yogis, and all the other yogis, Krishna say:

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā

śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ   (BG 6.47)

And of all yogīs, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me — he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

So the conclusion of yoga is that it brings one to bhakti.

So when the karma, jnana and yoga are used to bring us to bhakti then they are okay but when they are not used for that purpose then they become inauspicious. If they are just used for karma, just used for jnana or just used for yoga then they become inauspicious because they keep us bound up to this material world. But when they are used to reveal the high position of bhakti then they have meaning. So without bhakti they don’t become fruitful. And bhakti even if it doesn’t has karma, jnana or yoga, still it is fruitful, it is not dependent on anything else.

Prabhuji said hence Krishna says ‘anyway don’t waste your time in karma, jnana or yoga, you just give up that controlling and enjoying aspect through your karma or through your jnana or through your yoga, you are simply using them as tools so you can still enjoy and make spiritual progress. Therefore Krishna says

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ   (BG 18.65)

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

Krishna is saying you surrender to me immediately. And like we are reaing in this particular pastime that the effect could be immediate. Let’s read the translation of the verse again.

O King Parīkṣit, after only one week of repeatedly practicing the mantra received from the spiritual master, Citraketu achieved the rule of the planet of the Vidyādharas as an intermediate product of his spiritual advancement in knowledge. (SB 6.16.28)

So we see that devotional service is not dependent on anything else, karma, jnana or all the other processes, and it’s effect is immediate if we put it into practice sincerely.

As for the side benefits, Prabhuji explained that bhukti (material enjoyment) and mukti (liberation) they wait as maidservants for the devotees. For a pure devotee bhukti and multi are waiting ‘How we can serve you?’ We want to serve the bhaktas. And the bhakta say ‘Get away from me!’ They kick them away…Kick…we don’t want bhukti, we don’t want mukti. But still they don’t go away, they say we will stay nearby, any service you want! We want to do bhakta seva. But the devotees, no, they kick them away.

Wasn’t it straight & simple, coming straight from the heart of a realised soul! I will try to post the second part of Prabhuji’s lecture on the importance of Guru and initiation shortly.

All glories to HH Jananivas Prabhuji.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.