From: Divyangi lalita 
Subject: Message from Guru Maharaj

My dear initiated disciples, siksha disciples, sheltered and aspiring disciples and other well-wishers,

Please accept my best wishes and pranams.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

The Damodar month which recently went by was a great opportunity to offer lamps before the deities. I tried to do that every day this year and hope you did that too. Damodar month is also a great opportunity to engage others in this wonderful service. By simply offering a lamp to Lord Damodar, one can receive unimaginable blessings, so every year, up to the last day, please continue to try to engage as many people as possible in this auspicious sacrifice.

During my travel, I recently visited one bhakti-vriksha group in Gurgoan, Delhi. The wife had been very active and chanting but the husband had just started coming to the programs. I was introduced to the husband. He was a scientist. So, I asked him what was the subject of his research? "Pain and pain control" or "Pain management", he replied. It sounded like an interesting topic, so I asked him to explain a little more. He answered "There are various types of pain in this world. There is physical, emotional, psychological and social pain." While he was explaining, another man added," Financial pain!" Like this, he described various kinds of pain and said "After my research, where ever I look now, I simply see pain." He sees pain as all-pervasive. Nobody is free from all kinds of pain. There is always one pain or the other. Somebody may be rich and enjoy physically, but he may have marital problems or other problems that cause him anxiety or pain. Everybody has different kinds of anxiety and different kinds of pain. Krishna describes this material world as:

mām upetya punar janma
duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ
saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ

After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.[BG.8.15]

I took this opportunity to discuss one of my own experiences with the scientist. Once I had high fever and at that time, I was listening to Srila Prabhupada's lectures in Vrindavan on Nectar of Devotion. I felt extremely blissful listening to these lectures and although physically I was in pain, I was feeling spiritual bliss. The scientist said that in their studies, they term this as distraction. One may have physical pain and when some distraction occurs, one does not feel the pain. I had a different opinion. I said, well, you may call it distraction, but we call it divya-ananda or parama-ananda, transcendental bliss or in some cases, ecstasy in devotional service. He laughed. So, the scientists have different ways of reducing everything to a mundane level.

I kept thinking about his research. Where ever I go, I see the devotees chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and dancing blissfully. I realised how Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda have given us such a blissful process. How they have given us a positive and spiritual experience. By chanting we are able to transcend the platform of mundane pain. Naturally, some start dancing while chanting. That is very natural. Then I began to think how some people take to some mundane alternatives to deal with pain. Some take to intoxication, or some absorb themselves in sense gratification. But, these may work for a while, but then intoxication becomes another pain. One gets a hangover or falls sick afterwards or becomes anxious when one does not get one's dose of intoxication. So, in this way this is added pain which is totally unnecessary. Absorbing oneself in sense gratification to feel distracted from pain, also has its subsequent pain. So everything in this material world that gets rid of pain, also gives you pain. By being regulated in sense gratification we can control pain. We need to absorb ourselves as much as we can in the transcendental service of Lord Krishna. Srila Prabhupada was so kind that he gave us this process. He brought this divine process of Krishna consciousness to the western world and India. 

In the west, Krishna Consciousness is completely new, and in India, although it is not new, many people do not know which path to follow. So Prabhupada spoke very clearly all over the world. It is a great opportunity for us to serve him. He wanted that we achieve the highest goal of life which is eternal service to Radha and Krishna. He wanted that we transfer ourselves to the spiritual world, and leave this world behind, which is simply full of pain. While we are here, he wanted that we should try to help people to get out of this painful situation, to chant Hare Krishna and be happy.

The coming Gaura Purnima festival 2014 in Sri Mayapur is expected to be very blissful and ecstatic. We have the ILS, or ISKCON Leadership Sanga, before the festival begins where one thousand ISKCON leaders from all over the world are expected to come and participate. They would meet with the GBCs and attend various seminars meant for their spiritual inspiration. After ILS is the kirtan-mela. This is the third year of kirtan-mela and kirtan leaders from all over the world would assemble to chant and lead kirtan for five days. The temple room is usually packed with devotees during kirtan-mela and they try to absorb themselves as much as possible in kirtan-rasa. This year is also the year of the Maha-abhiseka of Sri Sri Pancha-tattva, which falls once every five years. The life-size deities of Panchatattva will be bathed. To witness that bathing is a great transcendental joy. I am already thinking of how to engage many devotees in various services. This year is also the 25th anniversary of walking Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama. We went with Srila Prabhupada on parikrama in the early years and for many years we went by bus. So this is the 25th year of the walking parikrama. That also promises to be an ecstatic program. 

In this way, the Gaura Purnima Festival is filled with different festivities and all the devotees who participate usually become very blissful. So, I hope to see you then. I am informing you of all this in advance because I want to be sure you get some place to stay as early as possible. Maybe already most of the places are gone. We are planning to have a campsite area this year so that devotees who would like to bring their own tents can have facilities to camp out. We would have public toilets and bathing facilities for men and women separately. Somehow we are trying to facilitate as many devotees as possible.

Your well wisher always,
Jayapataka Swami

Source: JPS Live(Facebook)

Message from Guru Maharaj