FEAR
Fear is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real.
When you can look a coming storm in the face without fear, you have mastered your life.
Release your fears to make room for possibility.
Why is it we're most afraid to do the one thing we need to do most?
When your burning desire for success is greater than your deepest fear of failure, you have the power to create valuable results in your life.
Fear stops us from loving and closes our hearts.
Replace fear with love.
Focus on love rather than fear. Anything IS possible!
Banish fear by just changing your thought.
What if fear didn't exist? How differently would you live your life today?
The fear of the storm is always worse than the storm itself.
Follow your heart - not your fears.
Fear of failure has stopped greatness in its tracks.
If you're going to use your imagination, imagine GOOD things happening!
The most important thing we can do each morning is wash away any negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.
Instead of time spent worrying, imagine what we could have achieved if we’d spent that time dreaming, planning and doing?
Many proudly say they don’t fear death, yet live their lives as if they fear living.
Fear can only be present when we're disconnected from God. Reconnect now by chanting His names.
Posted by akrura@gmail.com at 10:59
Bhakti Yoga-Devotional Service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna
Gopis performing Devotional Service to the Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna
Monday, 2 August 2010
ADVERSITY
Adversity is an opportunity, not an excuse.
The more you worry, the less you dream. Dreaming is more fun.
You can only do one thing at any time - dream, plan or worry.
Adversity is a step to something greater, not a wall to stop progress.
If you're going through a rough time, God is preparing you for something greater.
Adversity is an opportunity meant to shape you into something greater.
We stumble, we fall, we get back up again.
When was the last time worry ever solved a problem?
The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
Nobody's perfect. We all fall down. What matters most is how quickly we get back up, learn from our mistakes and move on.
We will go through pain in our life. How we choose to respond to it is our choice.
Nothing eliminates pain and difficulty in our life faster than a greater purpose.
If you keep your goal in your heart, no road will be too long or too rocky.
Things only happen to elicit the reaction to something we need to change.
Adversity forces us to focus on things we need to learn.
Adversity can be turned to opportunity simply by adjusting our perception and attitude.
In retrospect, some of the greatest blessings in my life, have come from adversity.
Adversity is a part of any worthwhile adventure. It's a matter of how badly you want your dream!
Adversity happens to everyone. It is not an excuse for abandoning your dream.
Adversity could be the greatest gift in our life, in retrospect.
Adversity provides an opportunity to remember who we are and what's important.
Allow adversity to be your teacher.
Our strength and resilience is always in direct proportion to our adversity.
Adversity provides the opportunity for the best part of us to shine. Dig deep.
ALL people have adversity. What separates the good from the great is how we choose to react to it.
You can’t achieve greatness without first befriending its gatekeeper, adversity.
Feeling stuck? The best way to get unstuck is to go do something for someone else.
Posted by akrura@gmail.com at 17:07
First, it is a logical sequence of questions to help you work through any situation you might want to change or improve.
Second, you might just want to scan the list for questions you’ve been missing.
Third, you can turn to it when you’re looking for just the right question to emphasize in a particular situation.
Within this list are questions that are applicable to a variety of life’s challenges. The goal is to integrate these questions into your everyday thinking. Then, when a challenge arises, you’ll be able to easily recall some of them. Not every question applies to every situation. That’s why you’ll want to develop a collection of your favorites and work with them on a regular basis. These questions can open and change your mind. They allow you to unveil new choices, options, and possibilities you might otherwise have missed.
Here’s the list:
1. What do I want?
2. What are my choices?
3. What assumptions am I making?
4. What am I responsible for?
5. How else can I think about this?
6. What is the other person thinking, feeling, needing, and wanting?
7. What am I missing or avoiding?
8. What can I learn?
...from this person or situation?
...from this mistake or failure?
...from this success?
9. What questions should I ask (myself or others?)
10. What action steps make the most sense?
11. How can I turn this into a win-win?
12. What is possible?
Keep this list in a handy place where you can refer to it whenever you feel stuck, want new alternatives, or a change.
source : http://gitacoaching.blogspot.com/2010/08/top-12-questions-for-success.html
We waited. And waited. It was a sweltering summer day in the Florida panhandle. The morning sun glared through the expansive windows of an airport departure gate. There, a young blond haired lady, neatly uniformed with a blue vest over a pressed white shirt and matching blue pants, stepped up to the counter, timidly surveyed the room, then announced a one hour delay. Passengers sighed, edgy to escape from the heat and travel north. With cellular phones pressed to their ears, they persistently glanced at their wristwatches.
Among them stood a middle-aged woman. She had nicely coiffed reddish-brown hair. Her dress and demeanor hinted that she was a lady of wealth and taste. Suddenly, she flushed red, flung her boarding pass and screamed, “No! You can’t do this to me.” Her outrage jolted the assembly. Everyone stared as she stomped to the counter, stuck her finger in the face of the receptionist and shouted, “I warn you, do not anger me. Put me on that plane, at once!”
The airline hostess cowered. “But ma’am, there’s nothing I can do. The air conditioning system of the plane has broken down.”
The woman’s lips quivered. Her eyes burned and she screeched louder, “Don’t you fight with me, you stupid child. You don’t know who I am. Damn it, do something. Now! I can’t take it.” She ranted on and on.
After finishing her verbal lashing, she fumed and scanned the lounge. Her eyes landed on me sitting alone in a corner of the room in my saffron colored swami robes. She stormed toward me while everyone looked on. Now, standing almost on top of me, her face distorted with anger, she yelled, “Are you a monk?”
Oh God, I thought, why me. I really didn’t need this. After an arduous week of lectures and meetings, I just wanted to be left alone.
“Answer me,” she persisted. “Are you a monk?”
“Something like that,” I whispered. The whole room watched, no doubt delighted that I got to be the lightning rod and not them.
“Then I demand an answer,” she challenged. “Why is my flight late? Why is God doing this to me?”
“Please ma’am,” I said. “Sit down and let us talk about it.” She sat beside me. “My name is Radhanath Swami,” I said. “You can call me Swami. Please tell me what is in your heart?” I have asked this question thousands of times and never know what to expect.
She said her name was Dorothy, that she was a housewife, fifty-seven years old, and lived on the east coast. She had been living happily with her family until…then she started to weep. She pulled tissue after tissue from her purse, blew her nose, and wept some more.
“It was tragic,” she said. “All at once I lost my husband of thirty years and my three children. Now I’m alone. I can’t bear the pain.” She gripped the handle of her chair. “Then I was cheated. The bank put my house into foreclosure and kicked me out on the street. You see this handbag? That’s all that’s left.”
Looking more closely at her face, I noted that beneath the well coiffed exterior her complexion was pale, her eyebrows tense, and her lips slanted down in sadness. Dorothy went on to explain that, if all that sadness were not enough, she had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She had one month left to live. In a desperate effort to save her life, she had discovered a cancer clinic in Mexico which claimed they might possibly have a cure. But she had to be admitted today. If she missed her connecting flight in Washington, D.C., her chances of survival were finished.
One of my duties is to oversee spiritual services in a hospital in India. I have ministered to victims of terrorist bombs, earthquakes, tsunamis, rape, trauma, disease, poverty and heartbreak of all sorts, but I cannot remember more anguish written on a human face than Dorothy’s. “And now this flight is late,” she said, “and there goes my last chance to live. I tried to be a good wife and mother, I go to church, I give in charity, and I never willfully hurt anyone. But now there is no one in the world who cares if I live or die. Why is God doing this to me?”
Minutes before, I had been cringing at her obnoxious behavior. How easy it is to judge people by external appearances. Understanding what was below the surface flooded my heart with sympathy. When she saw tears welling in my eyes her voice softened.
“It seems maybe you care,” she said.
What could I do? I felt too weak to do anything. Closing my eyes, I prayed to be an instrument to help her. “Dorothy, I do feel for you. You’re a special soul.”
“Special.” she huffed. “I’ve been thrown out like a worthless piece of trash and I’m going to die. But I believe you think I’m special, and I thank you for that.”
“There may not be anything you can do about what has happened,” I said, “but you can choose how you will respond to what has happened. How you react can affect the future.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can lament how cruelly the world has cheated you and spend your days cursing life, making others uncomfortable, and dying a meaningless death. Or you can go deeper inside those experiences and grow spiritually.” I remembered her comment about going to church.
“Doesn’t it say in the Bible, ‘Seek and ye shall find’ and also ‘Knock and the door will open’? Would you rather die in depression or in gratitude? You have that choice.” Her hand trembled and she grasped my forearm.
“I’m so afraid, Swami. I’m so afraid of dying. Please tell me what death is.” Her face had all but wilted. What could I do? I felt so incompetent. If only I had the power to heal her disease. But I didn’t. Still, my years of training in Bhakti had taught me that we all have the power to soothe another person’s heart by accessing the love that is within ourselves. I felt like a surgeon in an operating theater and silently offered a prayer before speaking again.
“In order to understand death,” I said, “we must first understand life. Consider this question: Who are you?”
“My name is Dorothy, I’m American…”
“Dorothy, when you were a baby, before you had been given a name, were you not already a person? If you were to show me a baby picture today, you would say, ‘That’s me.’ But your body has changed. Your mind and intellect and desires have changed. When was the last time you craved your mother’s milk? Everything about you has changed, but yet here you are. You can change your name, your nationality, your religion, and with today’s technology you can even change your sex. So what part of you does not change? Who is the witness of all these changes? That witness is you, the real you.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you are saying,” Dorothy said. “What is the real me?”
“You are the conscious person, the life force, the soul within the body, who is having the experiences of this lifetime. You see through your eyes, you taste with your tongue, smell through your nose, you think with your brain—but who are you, the person receiving all those impressions? That is the soul. The body is like a car and the soul is the driver. We should not neglect the needs of the soul. We eagerly nourish the needs of the body and mind, but if we neglect the needs of the soul we miss out on the real beauty of human life.”
“Go on,” Dorothy said.
“Animals and other non-human species react to situations according to their instincts. Lions don’t decide to become vegetarian on ethical grounds, and cows don’t become carnivores. Essentially, beings other than humans are driven to satisfy their needs of eating, sleeping, mating and defending according to the instincts of their species. A human being is entrusted with a priceless gift, which can be utilized for creating the most profound benefits or the worst disasters. That gift is free will.
“But with the blessing of free will comes a price, namely responsibility. We can choose to be a saint or a criminal or anything in between, and we are responsible for the consequences of those choices.”
“You’re talking about karma,” Dorothy said. I was surprised by her knowledge of the word. “I’ve never really understood that idea,” she said.
I explained that karma is a natural law, like gravity, which acts irrespective of whether we believe in it or not. As ye sow, says the Bible, so shall ye reap. Or as they say back in Chicago where I come from, what goes around comes around. If I cause pain to others, a corresponding pain will come back to me in due course. If I show compassion to others, good fortune will come my way. Dorothy didn’t seem encouraged, and I began to feel like I had taken the conversation in the wrong direction.
“That sounds like a justification for becoming callous and judgmental about suffering,” she said. And she was making a good point. Sadly, I had witnessed within myself as well as in others a tendency to do just that.
“Dorothy,” I said, “the devotional tradition in India teaches that karma and other mysteries are not intended to discourage us into thinking we are helpless victims of a cold and cruel universe. Rather, we should feel encouraged to take responsibility for the choices we make knowing that how we live can make a difference. For myself, I have discovered that spiritual truths lead me to the joys of compassion and devotion, starting first of all with myself. Charity begins at home. Once I can forgive myself for not being perfect, then I can begin to look upon others with similar compassion. Bhakti has taught me that we are all related, in our happiness and our distress.”
“So just what am I supposed to take away from that?” Dorothy asked. “If everything that has happened to me is my fault, my karma, I don’t see how I can avoid drowning myself in guilt.”
Dorothy was emotionally starved and I felt that meeting her was a test of my own spiritual realization. “Instead of drowning yourself in guilt, you have a precious opportunity to bathe in grace. The philosophy of karma is meant to lift us up and encourage us to make the right choices in both joy and suffering. Depression impedes our progress. In whatever situation we find ourselves we have the opportunity to transform how we see that situation. Devotional life doesn’t make every crisis disappear, but it can help us to see crises with new eyes, and often that deeper vision leads to a more content frame of mind. I’ve been practicing that for many years, and I know it has helped me to see the hand of God in all things…”
“Swami, don’t give me any religious dogma. I had enough of that as a kid. In church they taught us that the good go to heaven and the bad go to hell. The last thing I need is more of that. Tell me what is really in your heart.”
She was doing a good job getting me to explain things that can’t be physically seen such as the soul, the law of karma, and reincarnation.
“Tragedies in this life can sometimes be attributed to things done in previous lives. Because the soul is eternal, we carry those consequences from this life to the next.” That really got Dorothy angry.
“It shouldn’t matter what we did in some other life. Why should we believe that God is merciful when we see in this life that good people suffer and wicked people prosper?”
“Years ago,” I said, “an old recluse in the Himalayas shared with me an interesting analogy. It is quite simple but it sheds some light on the subject.” Mentioning that I had spent time in the Himalayas must have captured her fancy because for the first time I noted the trace of a smile on Dorothy’s lips.
“The yogi gave the analogy of a farmer who puts excellent grains into his silo but then adds rotten grains on top. The silo empties out from the bottom, so when the farmer goes to sell his grains the healthy grains come out first and for a while he wallows in prosperity. But with time his prosperity will end and poverty awaits him.
“Then the yogi gave the analogy of another farmer who fills his silo with rotten grains. Eventually he learns to do better and begins pouring only fresh wholesome grains into the silo. He may be presently suffering from his past deposits, but a glorious future awaits him.
“We humans create our own destiny. We are free to make choices. But once we act, we are bound to the karmic consequences of what we have done. You may choose to get on an airplane to Washington, D.C., but once the plane takes off you have no choice about where you’re going to arrive…”
Suddenly, the voice of the airline hostess came through the speakers announcing a further delay of another hour. Dorothy whimpered. I gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Here is that choice again, either to focus on the miseries of our fate or transform how we see our fate. Most of us have a huge mixture of karmic seeds of fate waiting to sprout. But the most important teaching of the Bhagavad Gita is that we are eternal souls, transcendental to all karmic reactions. That’s a very reassuring thing to know. Even in the midst of great distress, people who live with awareness of their eternal nature can be happy. The Bible tells us that the kingdom of God is within. True happiness is an experience of the heart. What is it the heart longs for?”
Dorothy’s sad eyes searched mine. “My heart aches for love,” she said.
“We all do,” I said. “Our need to love and be loved originates in our innate love for God.” I quoted words that Mother Theresa from Calcutta had spoken to me years before. “The greatest problem in this world is not the hunger of the stomach but the hunger of the heart. All over the world both rich and poor suffer. They are lonely, starving for love. Only God’s love can satisfy the hunger of the heart.”
“You’re a Hindu and I’m a Christian,” Dorothy said. “Which God are you talking about?”
I looked out the window at a blazing summer sun. “In America it is called the sun, in Mexico, sol and in India, surya. But is it an American sun or a Mexican sun? The essence of all religions is one, to love God—whatever name we may have for God—and live as an instrument of that love. To transform arrogance into humility, greed into benevolence, envy into gratitude, vengeance into forgiveness, selfishness into servitude, complacency into compassion, doubt into faith, and lust into love. The character of love is universal to all spiritual paths.”
Dorothy really didn’t look like any of this was reaching her.
“Someone told me,” she blurted, “that the reason I’m suffering is that God wants to experience the world’s suffering through me. What kind of a God is that?”
“People have been inventing ideas about God for a long time,” I replied. “In the Bhakti tradition we have three checks and balances for true knowledge of God: guru, sadhu, and shastra. Guru means spiritual teacher. Sadhu means holy people. And shastra means scriptures, wisdom revealed by God. Throughout history different scriptures have been given according to time, place and the nature of the people for whom the teachings were intended. The ritual parts may differ, but the essence of true scriptures is always the same. However, because people tend to invent meanings, followers of Bhakti receive their understanding of scripture from a guru or teacher coming in an authorized succession of teachers. The Bhakti lineage traces its origin back before recorded history, a succession of realized souls who have preserved the original spirit of the teachings throughout the generations. The company of sadhus is important because with people who are also on the path to God we can share our understanding and realizations…”
Dorothy was not convinced. “What do your Bhakti teachers tell you about why God gave us free will when it makes so many people suffer?”
“In order for there to be love,” I said, “there must be free will. You can force people to obey but not to love. Without that freedom there would be little meaning to love. When we choose to turn away from God, we enter the material world and forget our original loving nature. We become covered by a cloud that camouflages the real nature of things.”
“Like a veil?” she asked.
“Yes, like a veil.”
“Well, I think I’m wearing many veils.”
“We all are. The veil is called maya, illusion, in which we forget our true identity and wander birth after birth chasing superficial pleasures. The real substance of happiness is within our own hearts. Please understand, your situation is an opportunity…”
Dorothy moaned. “How is suffering an opportunity?”
“May I tell you the story of a famous lady saint?”
“Yes, please.”
“Her name was Queen Kunti a most pious and devoted lady. She underwent unbearable miseries. Her husband died when she was very young. As a widow she raised five small children. The eldest was meant to inherit the throne when he came of age. Because her children were so popular for their virtue and skills, a rival burned with envy. That wicked man seized the crown and ruled. All of Kunti’s property was usurped and her children were banished. They faced repeated assassination attempts and constant persecution. In the end, her persecutors were brought to justice and her eldest son was enthroned. At that time she prayed to Lord Krishna, ‘In those calamities I had no one to turn to but You. In that condition I had no other shelter but to call your name, and calling out to You meant I was remembering You at every moment. Thank you, my Lord, for my suffering was also the source of my greatest happiness.’
I mentioned the work of a famous doctor, who said that sometimes patients come to him to say that having a heart attack was the best thing that ever happened. How is that? Because it took a crisis to get them to rethink their appreciation for life, their habits, their priorities, and see the blessings that they had always undervalued. That seemed to register with Dorothy.
“Bhakti doesn’t necessarily make our material situation go away,” I said, “but at the very least it gives us something more than our bitterness to focus on. And more important, when we open up to the possibility of some explanation other than cruel fate, we just may find that there is a loving Supreme Being looking out for us. In your present condition, Dorothy, you can turn to God like practically no one else can do.”
She closed her eyes she asked, “In your tradition, do you have a meditation to help us turn to God?”
“There are many forms of meditation,” I told her. “I have been given one that has, since ancient times, been practiced for awakening the dormant love of the soul. May I teach you?”
“Please.”
“This is a mantra. In the Sanskrit language, man means the mind and tra means to liberate. The mind is compared to a mirror. For more births than we can count, we have allowed dust to cover the mirror of the mind—dust in the form endless misconceptions, desires and fears. In that state all we see is the dust, and so that is what we identify with. The chanting of this mantra is a process for cleaning the mirror of the mind and bringing it back to its natural clarity where we can see who we really are, a pure soul, a part of God, eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. As the mind becomes cleaner the divine qualities of the self emerge while ignorance and all of its cohorts fade away. As we approach that state, we can experience the inherent love of God within us. As love of God awakens, unconditional love for every living being manifests spontaneously. We realize that everyone is our sister or brother and a part of our beloved Lord.”
The speaker system crackled and everyone in the room perked up, staring at the airline hostess almost like prisoners would look at a parole board, yearning to be released.
“I’m sorry,” she announced, “but they haven’t yet fixed the air conditioner, and there will be another hour delay.”
Dorothy slapped her forehead, “Swami, teach me the mantra.”
“Please repeat each word after me,” I requested. “Hare… Krishna… Hare… Krishna… Krishna… Krishna… Hare… Hare… Hare… Rama… Hare… Rama… Rama… Rama… Hare… Hare…”
Dorothy shook her head and shooed me with her hand, “I’ll never remember that.”
“Would you like me to write it down for you?”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a slip of paper and a pen. “Yes, but it doesn’t interest me unless I know what it means.”
After writing it, I explained that these were names of the one God. Krishna means the all-attractive, Rama means the reservoir of all pleasure, and Hare is the name of the female, compassionate aspect of God. Dorothy took the paper and immersed herself in chanting the mantra over and over. I borrowed her cellular phone and walked away to call a friend with news of the indefinite delay.
When I returned and sat beside her, Dorothy had closed her eyes. She was leaning back and taking deep breaths. She looked at me and asked, “Where do you live?”
“I travel a lot, but much of my time is spent in Mumbai, India.”
“How many people attend your lectures in Mumbai?”
“On Sundays, maybe two thousand. During pilgrimages it’s closer to four thousand.”
“Where are you going now?”
“To a temple in Hartford, Connecticut. But like you I missed my connecting flight, so I’ll probably miss giving the lecture.”
“Do you go there regularly?”
“I’ve been invited for several years, but this is my first opportunity to visit them.”
“How many people are waiting for you?”
“I think about a hundred.”
Again she took a deep breath. Then, as if purging anguish through her breathing she released the words, “Now I understand.” To my surprise, her lips stretched out across her face into a blissful smile and her eyes twinkled like a child.
“The flight delay was my good fortune,” she said. “I bet thousands of people would give anything to sit with you for even a few minutes. I have you all to myself—and for hours!”
I have to admit, I teared up. “The delay is my good fortune,” I said. “There is nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here with you, right now. You are a special soul.”
Dorothy wiped a tear from her cheek. “Yes, now I understand. This is a blessing of the Lord.” I moved to another seat to give her some private space. Of course, I really needed it, too.
Finally, after six hours of delays, came the announcement everyone was waiting for. The same young lady in the blue uniform announced, “The flight is now ready to board. Anyone who wants is now invited to board.”
“We’ve been waiting six hours,” a passenger yelled out. “Why would anyone not want to get on?”
The flight attendant looked at us sheepishly and said, “In the process of fixing the air conditioner, the toilets stopped working. There will be no toilet facility on this flight. You are requested to use the airport restroom before boarding. Especially please take your children as this is the last chance until we arrive at Dulles airport in Washington, D.C. But the good news is that the air conditioner is working.”
The passengers jumped up and rushed to the restrooms. A mother pulled the hand of her four-year old boy. “Come on Timmy, let’s go to the potty.”
“But mommy, I don’t have to go.”
“You have to go,” the mother corrected. “Come on.” She grabbed the boy’s hand and dragged him to the toilet.
“I don’t have to pee-pee.”
“You’re going anyway….”
It was a fifty-seat commuter jet. The good news was that the plane flew. The bad news was that the toilets were boarded shut, the lighting did not work, and the air conditioner, after all that time, still didn’t work. It was a ninety-five degree day. The plane was hot, muggy, dark, and Timmy decided he really did need to pee-pee and cried the whole trip. By the time we landed, every passenger was miserable.
Except one.
As we trudged down the steps of the plane and onto the tarmac, there was Dorothy sitting in a wheel chair that she had requested, smiling and waving as everyone rushed by. The passengers were stunned to see one among them who could be so happy. I stopped to say farewell.
“Swami,” she said, “I chanted the mantra nonstop throughout the flight. I can’t remember being that happy in a long time.” She handed me the slip of paper with the mantra. “Will you write a message for me to remember you?” Taking her pen, I wrote of my appreciation for her and a little prayer. She pressed the note to her heart and smiled while tears streamed down her cheeks. Then she said something that I will never forget.
“Now, living or dying,” she said, “is only a detail. I know that God is with me. Thank you.”
I hurried into the terminal and looked up at a monitor. My airlines had one last flight to Hartford. It left in ten minutes from another terminal. There was still a chance. Have you ever seen a swami galloping across the corridors of an airport? One man yelled at me, “Why don’t you use your magic carpet?”
As I was running, it struck me that I had forgotten to take Dorothy’s cell phone number. How would I ever find out what happened to her? To this day I regret my foolishness. I made it just as they were closing the gate. Five seconds more and I would have been too late.
At the cultural center in Hartford, my hosts had adjusted the schedule to accommodate a late start time. I asked if there was a particular topic I should speak on.
“Anything you like,” was the reply.
“Tonight’s lecture,” I announced, “is called ‘Why I am so late for the lecture.’”
Courtesy:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=8737
Early in his spiritual life HH Bhaktitirtha Maharaj learned an important lesson. When he first joined the Hare Krishna movement he noticed that the devotees, although preaching a philosophy of absolute equality between all living entities based on every individual as an eternal spirit soul, were discriminating against him on the basis of racial prejudice.
He was surprised and disturbed to find such a low level of consciousness amongst with in a spiritual society. When he had the opportunity he approached Srila Prabhupada and told him that some of his disciples were racists.
Srila Prabhupada gave him a powerful reply, “If you are bothered by it then you are no better than they are.”
This is a powerful meditation. If we are ever disturbed by anyone in any situation we should simply see that as Krishna trying to show an area of our consciousness that we need to improve upon.
And ultimately if one is fully Krishna conscious he can never be disturbed by anyone in any situation.
“Some of the greatest problems are problems that we have to deal with inside ourselves. They involve raising our own consciousness. If I allow you to excessively bother me mentally, it means that my own consciousness is low; otherwise, your actions or words could not disturb my mind. Whatever your position may be, if you bother me, it is because I stand on insecure ground. We must avoid a mood of always seeing others as the full problem. We must avoid letting people’s nonsense turn us into nonsense. If we fall prey to weakness, it is because we do not have sufficient strength.”
HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami
The highest perfectional thinking for human society is sufficiently hearing Srimad Bhagavatam. For men in this age of Kali, when they have lost the perfect vision of life, this Srimad Bhagvatam is the torchlight by which to see the real path. Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhupada has indicated Srimad-Bhagavatam to be the nectarean message of the Personality of Godhead. By sufficient hearing of the Vedic Litreatures the polluted aim of life, namely lording it over matter, will subside, and the people in general in all parts of the world will be able to live a peaceful life of knowledge and bliss.
For a pure devotee of the Lord, any topics in relation with His name, fame, quality, entourage, etc., are all pleasing, and because such topics have been approved by great devotees like Narada, Hanuman, Nanda Maharaja and other inhabitants of Vrndavana, certainly such messages are transcendental and pleasing to the heart and soul.
His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.
Diseased and conditioned, the living entity transmigrates throughout the universe. Sometimes he is situated in the upper planetary system and sometimes in the lower system. In this way he leads his diseased life. His disease can be cured only when he meets and follows the expert physician, the bona fide spiritual master. When the conditioned soul faithfully follows the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master, his material disease is cured, he is promoted to the liberated stage, and he again attains to the devotional service of Krsna and goes back home, back to Krsna.
Those who are eternally conditioned are always divorced from the transcendental loving service of Krsna and are thus subjected to the threefold miseries of material existence. The spell of material energy awards him two kinds of bodily existence — the gross body consisting of five elements, and the subtle body consisting of mind, intelligence and ego. Being covered by these two bodies, the conditioned soul eternally suffers the pangs of material existence known as the threefold miseries. He is also subjected to six enemies (such as lust, anger, etc.). Such is the everlasting disease of the conditioned soul.
A conditioned living entity should become aware of his real position and should pray to the Lord - "How much longer will I be under the rule of all these bodily functions such as lust and anger?" As masters of the conditioned soul, lust, anger and greed are never merciful. Indeed the conditioned soul will never cease rendering service to such bad masters. As confirmed by Lord Krishna (BG 16.21) - "There are three gates leading to this hell — lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul."
However, when the living entity comes to his real consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, he abandons these bad masters and approaches Krsna with a frank and open heart to achieve shelter at His Lotus Feet.
Srila Prabhupada (TLC Ch 10)
No, we must chant in a special way to attract Krishna.
Jiva Goswami says there are two ways:
One is to just chant. When Krsna hears someone somehow chanting, He says "Oh, He is chanting my name." But He stays where He is.
There is a second way of Chanting. Chanting with attraction and affection and love for Krsna. When we sing with affection, then Krsna cannot stay where He is. Only then Krishna comes to His devotees and He goes into the hearts of the devotees and Krishna gives his Kripa to His devotees. An example of this is of Queen Draupadi:
When Draupadi was pulled in the assembly of Kauravas, Krsna saved her. So the point is Draupadi chanted with affection, Hey Gopala, Hey Govinda and because she chanted with affection, He could not stay in Dvaraka and this is an exapmle that when we do kirtan, don't just do kirtan but do it with affection for Krishna.
Only then Krishna will be attracted. If you chant absent-minded, Krsna will say "It's nice they are chanting, but I'll wait till they chant with affection."
How to get affection for Krsna in the deserted heart?
It needs Gratitude. We must associate with devotees who have affection in their hearts for Krsna. Second is read the Bhagavatam then Krsna will manifest in the lotus of our heart. We must chant with affection because only then Krsna is attracted to come in our heart. And this attraction we can get only from Bhagavatam and devotees.
We have heard this many times but there is a problem in us. When we hear something many times, the mind says "I know this" and the mind switches off. But when you come to devotees and Bhagavatam, don't switch your mind off. Try to understand what the devotee has in His heart and try to understand how Krishna is present in the Bhagavatam.
This sankirtana movement is when devotees call Krsna with affection or eagerness. Don't call heartlessly for Krishna.
His Holiness Sacinandana Swami Maharaj
It is described there that one brahmana -- he was a great devotee -- he wanted to offer very brilliant service, arcana, in the temple worship. But he had no money. But some day he was sitting in a Bhagavata class and he heard that Krsna can be worshipped even within the mind. So he took this opportunity because he was thinking since a long time how to worship Krsna very gorgeously, but he had no money.
So he, when he got this point, that one can worship Krsna within the mind, so after taking bath in the Godavari River, he was sitting underneath a tree and within his mind he was constructing very gorgeous simhasana, throne, bedecked with jewels and keeping the Deity on the throne, he was bathing the Deity with water of Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Narmada, Kaveri. Then he was dressing the Deity very nicely, then offering worship with flower, garland.
Then he was cooking very nicely, and he was cooking paramanna, sweet rice. So he wanted to taste it, whether it was very hot. Because paramanna is taken cold. Paramanna is no taken very hot. So he put his finger on the paramanna and his finger burned down. Then his meditation broke. Simply within his mind he was doing everything. But he saw that his finger was burnt. So he was astonished.
In this way, Narayana from Vaikuntha, He was smiling. Laksmiji asked, "Why you are smiling?" "One of My devotee is worshipping like this. So send My men to bring him immediately to Vaikuntha."
So bhakti-yoga is so nice that even if you have no means to offer the Deity gorgeous worship, you can do it within the mind. That is also possible. Therefore it is said that ahaituky apratihata. In any position of life you can engage yourself in bhakti-yoga system. But this doesn’t mean that if we have all the means to offer and still if we say “No, I’ll do within the mind.” That is cheating.
But the prime or the topmost perfection of bhakti-yoga is sravanam kirtanam, sravanam kirtanam, fully absorbed in the thought of Krsna. This is the simplest process. You have to practice always thinking of Krsna. That is also, Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65].
Jaya Srila Prabhupada!
Sneha: This morning I was reading the statement of a fisherman who caught Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His trance, and by touching Caitanya Mahaprabhu he became spiritually ecstatic, but he thought that he has become ghostly haunted: "Here is a ghost." And he was thinking, "I am ghostly haunted, so if I become mad, who will take care of my wife and children?" This is the position. The fisherman was actually, spiritually, by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, simply by touching Him, he was so much spiritually advanced that he was chanting, dancing, crying -- means all the symptoms of spiritual ecstatic transformation was visible in his body -- but he thought that he had gone mad on account of touching the body, ghost. He was thinking like that. And the man thinking was that "If I become mad like this, then who will take care of my wife and children?"
Love: I have got personal experience in Kanpur, I was sitting in my room, and one monkey was outside the door with his (her) kitty to take something out of my eating. But by chance the small kitty entered through the bars of the window within the room, and I saw the mother became almost mad immediately: "Oh, my son has gone inside, and it will not be allowed to come again." Anyway, I managed to push the small kitty to go away; then she was relieved.
Moha or Illusion: Aboy was raised by his aunt very liberally. Then, gradually, the boy became, in bad association, a thief. And the aunt was encouraging, "Oh, it is a very good business. You are bringing so many things without any labor." So out of affectionshe did not chastise the boy when he was stealing. Then he, at the end, became a murderer. So he committed a murder. Then when he was to be hanged, so the government men inquired, "What is your last wish?" "Now, I want to speak with my aunt through the ear." Then he was allowed. And the aunt was generally crying that "My nephew is going to be hanged." So he caught up her ear with the teeth and cut it. So he said, "My dear aunt, if you would have chastised me in the beginning, then today, this position, that you are crying and I am going to be hanged, this would not have happened. But you did not do that. Therefore you are uselessly crying now, and this is your punishment: I cut off your ear with the teeth." A very good instruction.So the so-called sneha, if it is not properly done thenNature's regulation is so strict that you cannot avoid the consequence. That is not possible. These are practical.
Affection: Another time, In front of our residence there was another neighbor. So the old man had his daughter-in-law. So she was beating her one child. So I inquired through my servant, "Why this young woman is beating her child?" Now, then the servant brought me the news that this boy gave parata to his elder brother who is suffering from typhoid. The typhoid... In typhoid fever, solid food is forbidden strictly, but the boy did not know. He asked his younger brother that "If you steal one parata and if you give me, I am very much hungry." So he became very sympathetic to his brother, and he gave the parata. And the boy was ill; he aggravated the illness. So as soon as the mother heard that he gave a parata to him, he (she) began to beat: "Why did you give?" Now, it was charity, it was affection and sympathetic, but the result was beating with shoes. So if we do not know where affection should be there, then we are under the laws of nature; we shall be punished if it is not properly done. There is punishment.
Therefore it is said, prakrtena atmana. By worldly relationship, Sneha, affection; moha, illusion are there. All these activities are simply moha andillusion. It has no value. Therefore devotional service means vairagya-vidya. People do not know what is devotional service. Devotional service means... Just like Kunti was praying, "My dear Krsna, kindly help me how can I give up this affection of my family, the Pandavas and the Vrsnis." This is required.
Actually, the perfection of life is no more affection for anything material: brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati [Bg. 18.54]. That is the beginning. We are not cruel; But we know, we should know, that this is not required. This is simply moha. This is simply moha. This is illusion. It has no meaning. It is simply entanglement. That one must know. That is called Vairagya-vidya.
Srila Prabhupada lecture (SB 1.8.7/ 27.10.1974)
As Queen Kunti said that "My affection may increase for you," Vairagya-vidya means not only simply give up affection of this material, but you increase your affection for Krsna.
We are all under the modes of material nature. We are born, we get our education and get successfully brainwashed. We are forced to grow and forced to die. If we want to return to our original enlightened stage, we must be very very determined. We must pray to Krsna, please help me. I am fully under the laws of nature.
When Krsna sees our sincere desire, he makes a wonderful arrangement. From within our heart he hears. He cannot be cheated. He waits for our sincere desire to awaken and then He will guide us. He will arrange our life in such a way that we don't entangle ourselves. He comes like a thief in the night. We don't see him but all of a sudden our life goes in a certain direction.
Whenever we try to be very successful in illusion, then everything goes wrong but Whenever we go towards Krsna then everything goes right. So Krsna arranges many things because He loves us. When He sees a little sincerity, He intervenes and makes us meet the devotees or attracts us to read books about Him. We then get free from bad habits and become steady. No matter what happens, the devotee then will be very steady and will feel some higher taste.
Even if the devotee is offered a million dollars to leave Krsna, He will never give up. Then he will develop the genuine love. This happens with a sincere desire.
How to develop this desire?
In two ways.
First Way-Either maya kicks us and finally we say: 'I can't stand this anymore, please take me Krsna.' That may take many lifetimes. But if we want to become Krsna Conscious, why not do it in this life?
Second Way-If we hear about Krsna, we become attracted to his divine qualities. Krsna invites us, just hear about Me and become attracted to Me. Nice Prasadam, good association, wonderful knowledge and successful life. Please don't fool around for too long.
Although He intervenes, ultimately He waits for our desire. Krsna does not force anyone.
HH Sacinandana Swami
Transcendental Knowledge
(Purport to 4.05 continued)
That is the difference between the part-and-parcel living entity and the Supreme Lord. Although Arjuna is addressed herein as the mighty hero who could subdue the enemies, he is unable to recall what had happened in his various past births. Therefore, a living entity, however great he may be in the material estimation, can never equal the Supreme Lord. Anyone who is a constant companion of the Lord is certainly a liberated person, but he cannot be equal to the Lord. The Lord is described in the Brahma-samhita as infallible (acyuta), which means that He never forgets Himself, even though He is in material contact. Therefore, the Lord and the living entity can never be equal in all respects, even if the living entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee of the Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord, but by the divine grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this transcendental nature. Consequently these descriptions in the Gita cannot be understood by demonic brains. Krishna remembered acts which were performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not, despite the fact that both Krishna and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We may also note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to his change of body, but the Lord remembers because He does not change His sac-cid-ananda body. He is advaita, which means there is no distinction between His body and Himself. Everything in relation to Him is spirit—whereas the conditioned soul is different from his material body. And because the Lord's body and self are identical, His position is always different from that of the ordinary living entity, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to this transcendental nature of the Lord, which the Lord Himself explains in the following verse.
Arjuna:How am I 2 understand that millions of yrs ago,u gave this
science of BG 2Sun God,Vivasvan?
Krsna:I
am Achyuta(infallible from My position)¬ changing My body.My
transcendental body never deteriorates.u were also there when I
instructed this BG to Vivasvan.I can remember all but u cant-BG#4.4-6
Oh Lord,It is difficult2approach U,4people possessing 1.Janma-Birth(Hi caste)
2.Aishwarya(Wealth)
3.Shruta(Hi Education)
4.Shri(bodily beauty)
QueenKunti in SB
A plea2Lord Nitai.My heart is very sinful¬ attracted2Ur holy
name.Shame fills my mouth.In how many lives I've neglected spiritual
progress which is why I am in such a state.U r friend of sinners,an
ocean of mercy.If U abandon me now,ur glorious reputation as saviour
of fallen will greatly stain. How many yavanas have u already
delivered? With my own ears I heard you delivered them.If in Ur heart
U r not averse2me,then dont push me away :(
How've these impurities come upon u? They r not@all befitting a man
who knows d ValueOfLife.They lead not2higher planets but2infamy.Being
a Kshatriya,there's no better engagement4u than fighting.Either u'll b
killed in d battle&go2heaven or u'll conquer EarthlyKingdom&Enjoy
RoyalHappiness-Krsna2Arjuna~BG
O God,feeling Ur separation,Im considering a moment2b like aeons.Tears
r flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain.I feel all vacant in this
world in Ur absence.Whether U handle me roughly by Ur embrace or make
me broken hearted by not being present b4 me,U r my worshipful
Lord,unconditionally-Sikshastkm
One who is able2Ctrl d 6 Urges of d body,
1.Speech
2.Mind
3.Anger
4.Tongue
5.Belly
6.Genitals
&Engage them Properly in God Consciousness is Qualified2Accept
Disciples all over d World-Nectar Of Instruction,Verse#1
V've2Transform ourself2avoid EternalSuffering birth after birth
Avidya(Ignorance)->Vidya(Knowledge of d real self as Soul&ServantOfGod)
Kama(Lust2enjoy d self)->Prema(LoveOfGod&All LivingEntities)
Karma(Action,both
Good&Bad,bound2reactions)->Seva(Service2God,Akarma-Inaction in
action.No reactions) :)
Only by d association of a Genuine representative of God,1will b able2ctrl d
6urges(Speech,Mind,Anger,Tongue,Belly,Genitals),
6faults(Overeating,Over-endeavoring4material objectives,Collecting
more money than required,unnecessary talks,negligence
Of scriptural rules,bad association),
Get6good qualities(
Enthusiasm,Patience,Confidence,Determination2perform favourable
activities4DS,resolution2abandon d association of worldly
minded&discipline2follow d footsteps of Acharyas),Get6holy
association(giving/accepting gifts,revealing1's inner
thots,confidential talks on DS,accepting&giving spiritual
food-Prasadam)
--
Yours
Dinesh
A P Krishna Das (Refrain) jaya jaya nityänanda räya aparädha päpa mora tähära nähika ora uddhäraha nija karuëäya All glories! All glories to Nityananda Ray! Please do not think of my sins and offenses. Kindly deliver me. ämära asata mati tomära näme nähi rati kahite nä bäsi mukhe läja janame janame kata kariyächi ätma-ghäta ata-e se mora ei käja My heart is very sinful and is not attracted to your holy name. I do not like to speak of these things. Shame fills my mouth. In how many repeated births did I destroy any chance that I had to make spiritual advancement? That is why I am in such a state. tumi-o karuëä-sindhu pätaké janära bandhu ebära karaha yadi tyäga patita-pävana näma nirmala se anupäma tähäte lägaye baòa däga You are an ocean of mercy. You are the friend of the sinners. If you abandon me now, then your peerless and glorious reputation as (purifier of the fallen) will be greatly stained. pürube yavana-ädi kata kata aparädhé tarä-icha çuniyächi käne kåñëa-däsa anumäni öhelite näribe tumi yadi ghåëä nä karaha mane How many you already delivered? With my own ears I heard how you delivered them. I, Krishna Das, think this: O my Lord, if in your heart you have not become averse to me, then do not push me away. Bibliography — Jagadbandhu Bhadra (editor). Press. Calcutta. 1931. Bengali. — Unknown translator. The Acarya's Songs and Poems Glorifying Lord Gauranga and Lord Govinda. Found in the Vaiñëava Folio Archives. Compiled by Sri Narasingha Caitanya Matha. No date
Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
Recently I was going through the diary which contained my conversations with our beloved Gurudev, HDG Mahavishnu Gosvami Maharaj. I seek the permission of the devotees to allow me to share the contents of one of the conversations. I will try and list down the points which I had taken down on my note book. The conversation was a question and answer session on the following verse sung by Madhavendra Puri. This verse was found in the purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.3-4
mugdham maam nigadantu neeti-nipunaa bhraantam muhur vaidikaah
mandam baandhava-sancayâ jada-dhiyam muktaadaraah sodaraah
unmattam dhanino viveka-caturaah kaamam mahaa-daambhikam
moktum na kshaamate manaag api mano govinda-paada-sprhaam
"Let the sharp moralist accuse me of being illusioned; I do not mind. Experts in Vedic activities may slander me as being misled, friends and relatives may call me frustrated, my brothers may call me a fool, the wealthy mammonites may point me out as mad, and the learned philosophers may assert that I am much too proud; still my mind does not budge an inch from the determination to serve the lotus feet of Govinda, though I be unable to do it."
I could see that Maharaj really liked this verse as he was very pleased to hear the translation and asked me to repeat it a few times.
Question 1: I find that I cannot handle criticisms. My mind becomes very unstable after I hear anyone criticizing my actions. How do I deal with this ?
Gurudev said - "The criticism that we receive is the medicine to cure our disease.If you do something wrong you must be prepared to face the music. You think that you are perfect and that is why you cannot handle criticisms. Krishna is so merciful that he is allowing you to get some criticism. If not how will you know your disease? Your chanting and reading of Bhagavatam has not killed your pride. Then what is the point of studying these things? You think that you are perfect."
Question 2: What happens when I get criticized even when I have done nothing wrong?
Gurudev's reply to this question is indeed a eye-opener for us. He said, "Why do you think that you are perfect? If smoke is coming then the fire must be burning somewhere. Even if you have genuinely not committed any mistake criticism will always be there. That is the nature of this age. Please remember that even our own family members will criticise. What to speak of our material relations, even in this line of devotion you will be criticised. You may not even know but even then they will criticize. Please read the verse. Please don't bother about these things. Everyone suffers his own vibrations. Krishna is not going to look at the list of criticisms that you have received. He only looks at your sincerity in pursuing uninterrupted Bhakti. The problem is that whenever everyone acts according to how we want them to act we praise them and we are friendly. The moment they act against our desires we speak harshly and our behaviour completely changes. We always have an agenda but we don't have Krishna. Please don't use Bhakti to satisfy your senses. Don't hide your agenda under Bhakti. We use Bhakti to carry out our material plans. This is the embarrassment." Then Maharaj quoted the following verse from Srimad Bhagavatam 5.19.7:
na janma nunam mahato na saubhagam
na vaan na buddhir naakritis tosha-hetuh
tair yad visrishtaan api no vanaukasash
cakaara sakhye bata lakshmanaagrajah
"One cannot establish a friendship with the Supreme Lord Ramacandra on the basis of material qualities such as one's birth in an aristocratic family, one's personal beauty, one's eloquence, one's sharp intelligence or one's superior race or nation. None of these qualifications is actually a prerequisite for friendship with Lord Shri Ramacandra. Otherwise how is it possible that although we uncivilized inhabitants of the forest have not taken noble births, although we have no physical beauty and although we cannot speak like gentlemen, Lord Ramacandra has nevertheless accepted us as friends?"
Gurudev continued - "It's because we want all these name and fame that we cannot take criticism. Krishna doesnt want your name and fame. He wants Bhakti. So why are we bothered about criticisms? Let them say - but you just hold on to Lord's feet. What else can you do? Promise me that you will never be bothered by these things. Dont waste your time. May Lord bless you."
I have tried to list down whatever I had managed to take down from the conversation. Please forgive me for my offences. Prabhus and Matajis - please kindly pray that I will never sway according to criticisms but only sway according to Gurudev's orders. In his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 2.8.6 Srila Prabhupada mentions - Pure devotees like Narada and Nityananda Prabhu take up the order of the spiritual master as the sustenance of life. They do not mind what becomes of the future of their lives. They take the matter very seriously as the order comes from the higher authority, from the representative of the Lord, or from the Lord Himself.
Thank you very much.
Your servant,
Madan Mohan das,
Singapore
--
Yours Servant
Sri Krishna Hari Das
(Dr Satish Gosain MBBS DNB i Med)
Congregational Preacher, ISKCON, Delhi, NCR & Gurgaon.
Dr Bharti Nursing Home, B-30 hari Nagar, New Delhi 110064
+91-97170-55006, +91-98913-86194 +91-11-2512-5595, +91-11-2512-8754
--
Yours
Dinesh
Vijaya: Are there any distinctions between Krishna's name and form?
Raghunath Das Babaji: There are no differences whatsoever. However, there is one
unique, even mystical feature in this subject: Krishna's name is more merciful than his form.
Offenses committed against the form [or the deity] are never forgiven by Krishna; however,
even though Krishna does not forgive offenses against his form, his holy name will forgive offenses
committed against his form as well as his name. Therefore, one should understand
and remember the ten offenses against the holy name. Then, one must meticulously avoid
committing these offenses, because one must rise above nämäparädha in order to chant çuddha-harinäma. ·
— Adapted from the translation by Sarvabhavana Das.
Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Published by the Bhaktivedanta
Archives. 2003.
This human form of life is meant for understanding Krsna because we
are very thickly related with Krsna, just like father and the son.
This relation cannot be broken. Maybe son is out of home, son may have
forgotten, but Krsna, the supreme father, He does not forget. He
comes. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata, tadatmanam
srjamy aham [Bg. 4.7]. So Krsna is so kind that He has come to explain
Himself, what He is. We should take advantage of it, because this
human form of life is meant for understanding Krsna.
If we simply act piously, that is good, but it is not perfect. Suppose
I execute many pious activities in my life. Then due to my pious
activities, I may get my birth in good family, high family. That is
called janma. Then aisvarya, opulence, wealth; sri, beautiful body;
and education also. But Narottama dasa Thakura says that Karma-kanda,
jnana-kanda, kebala bisera bhanda. Though I get my birth in a good
family, there is still risk of degradation. Because sometimes we get
our birth in rich family and due to opulence we are associated with
bad company. Then we begin to act sinfully. That means again
degradation. Therefore the Vaisnava philosophy does not very much
approve even pious activities. We should be simply after Krsna
consciousness, simply interested in the service of Krsna. That is real
sacrifice.
We are transmigrating according to our karma, different forms of life.
The reason is because we are associating with the gunas, with the
material qualities. So one has to increase his attachment for Krsna.
Everything is going on under the modes of material nature. One has to
become above the, transcendental to these gunas. And what is that
process? The process is mad-asraya. When you take shelter of Krsna or
you take shelter of Krsna's pure devotee, then you become
transcendental. It is said in BG 14.26 : Sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate (he transcends the modes of material nature).
Who can transcend these modes? Mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena
sevate (One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all
circumstances).
BG 7.1
Sri-bhagavan uvaca
Mayy-asakta manah partha
Yogam yunjan mad-asrayah
Asamsayam samagram mam
Yatha jnasyasi tac-chrunu
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear, O son of Prtha,
how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached
to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt."
The process is mayy asakta-manah. One has to increase his attachment
for Krsna. We have got attachment for so many things. We have to
divert the attachment towards Krsna. This is the yogam yunjan. This
yoga can be executed when we take shelter of Krsna, mad-asrayah.
Mad-asrayah means either you take shelter of Krsna or one who has
taken shelter of Krsna. So one has to become a devotee, or to take
shelter of a pure devotee to practice the yoga system then one can
become a pure devotee.
Krsna advised Arjuna to become a yogi, but Arjuna said that "Krsna, it
is not possible for me. Because I am a politician, I am a soldier, I
cannot sit down to practice yoga superficially. My mind will be
disturbed in political affairs, in state affairs." So, cancalam hi
manah krsna pramathi balavad drdham: "My mind is so restless, it is
not possible." Then Krsna, to encourage him, said,
"Anyone who is thinking of Me always," mad-gatenantar-atmana
sraddhavan sa me yuktatamah, "He is the first-class yogi." (BG 6.47)
So we should try to become the first-class yogi. Always think of
Krsna. This is our Krsna consciousness. And Krsna is also saying the
same thing, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam. How you can think of Krsna
always? That is not possible unless you become too much addicted. Just
like if you love somebody, then you can think of him always.
Artificially, if I say, "You think of Mr. John always," how will it be
possible? Artificially it is not possible. If you have got some love
for Mr. John as a friend, as a lover or as somebody, or son or master
or something, then you can think of Mr. John always. Otherwise it is
not possible. There is relationship with Krsna. So you have to revive
that relationship. It is not artificial.
It is never possible to know Krsna, God, perfectly and completely by
the speculating method. It is not possible. If you want to know Krsna,
or God -- when we speak of Krsna, God -- so then Krsna's formula must
be followed, as it is said here, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan
mad-asrayah. The principal factor is to become attached to Krsna.
Attached means become a lover of Krsna.
So one of the Krsna's representatives, Srila Rupa Gosvami, he has
defined how this attachment can be increased. He has explained adau
sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah. Adau sraddha. Some sraddha, some faith,
this is required. And you have to increase this sraddha, this faith,
more and more. How it can be increased? Sadhu-sanga, to intermingle
with the persons who are engaged in Krsna consciousness. Adau sraddha
tatah sadhu-sangah. Sadhu means who is a devotee of Krsna. Otherwise
he is not sadhu.
The nine different types of methods (hearing, chanting, remembering,
worshipping the lotus feet of the Lord, being a servant of the Lord,
being a friend to the Lord, deity worship, surrendering unto the Lord)
that is called bhajana-kriya. And adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha
bhajana-kriya tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat. Then anartha, all unwanted
things which you have learned unfortunately, that will be finished. If
you mix with, intermingle with sadhu, then you will be purified, and
things which are not required at all -- artificially you have learned
by bad association -- that will be gone. Anartha-nivrttih syat. Nobody
learns to smoke from the very birth. He has to eat something. He
drinks milk, the child. He doesn't say, "Give me a cigarette," but one
has learnt it by bad association. This is called anartha. One has
learnt it, drinking tea, coffee, not from the beginning of one's life
but by bad association. It is anartha. So if we engage ourself
in devotional service, then these things will disappear automatically.
Because we are part and parcel of Krsna, there cannot be
disconnection. Therefore it is a stage of forgetfulness. Instead of
loving Krsna, we have expanded our love for so many things. Somebody's
loving his body. Somebody's loving his family. Somebody's loving his
society, community, nation, or the human society. We are trying to. We
must love. There is no escape. I must love somebody, because the
propensity's there.
We can practically see that even one who has no family, he keeps one
pet dog or pet cat because he wants to be attracted by somebody. This
is nature. So here Krsna says that "You have got already attraction,
but in false things which will not exist. You turn that attraction
unto Me. Then you'll get pleasure." You are attracted to something for
getting some pleasure. So that pleasure is interrupted because we have
posed our attraction in some false things. One has to change that
attraction to the real thing, Krsna. Then we can be happy. Mayy
asakta. Mayi: "Unto Me,"
So the original love is for Krsna. But because we have forgotten
Krsna, therefore our love is distributed in so many ways. But we are
frustrated because everything is misplaced. Just like if you water on
the top of the tree or every leaf, every branch, every twig, you
cannot keep the tree very fresh. But if you water on the root of the
tree, it keeps fresh, always.
yatha taror mula-nisecanena
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tatha sarvarhanam acyutejya
If you water on the root of the tree, automatically the trunk, the
branches, the twigs, the leaves, the flowers, fruits, everything is
refreshed. Another example is also there in the next line:
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam. As by supplying food to the stomach
all the indriyas, all the senses become refreshed, energetic,
similarly acyutejya, by loving Krsna, Acyuta is another name of Krsna.
So acyuta-ijya, by worshiping Krsna, by satisfying Krsna, you can
satisfy everyone. This is the process.
So one has to keep always Krsna within his heart. Krsna is already
within our heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna – I am seated
in the heart of all living entities [Bg. 18.61]. He's already there.
Simply we have to qualify ourself to see that Krsna is here. That is
called krsna-yoga, or bhakti-yoga.
If one wants to know Krsna, the Supreme Lord, here is Bhagavad-gita As
It Is. Try to understand, and then life will be successful.
Srila Prabhupada
Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in devotional
service2d Lord cant make 1 happy.1 who works in devotion attains d
Supreme without delay-BG#5.6.
Scientist means he who sees things as they r.So-called
scientists,mislead people saying life comes from mere chemical
combination.Why not Produce Life in Lab?If by pills1bcomes
deathless,then it's solution.Creation has a Creator.VedicScriptures r
Word of God which reveal things beyond our Research&Experiments.Vedic
lit. is a perfect science which is 1stop solution4all questions.It's
like a manual/guide/map which helps us2c things as they r &know what v
r.
What is d original source of all creation? This shud b d subject
matter of our research work.Fools think,Everything comes from
nothing.V've no experience seeing anything coming out of
nothing.Life's not evolved from mere chemicals.Nature(Sun,moon..)works
so perfectly which means it is Ctrld by some1-SB
Whoever@d end of his life quits his body remembering Me alone,@once
attains Me.Whatever state of being1remembers when he quits d body,that
state,he'll attain without fail.So u shud always ThinkOfMe&@d same
time do ur prescribed duty.Wid ur Mind,Intelligence fixed on Me,u'll
come2Me without a doubt-BG8.5-7
If d Lord wants2kill u, no 1can save u.If d Lord wants2save u,no 1can
kill u.Tho death appears2b common4devotees of d Lord&Demons,they reach
different destinations after death.It is safer4devotees of Lord just
like cub/kitty carried in d mouth of mother cat while4others it's like
rat in d mouth of cat-SB
Got2pay ur dues if u want2sing ur blues&u know it dont come easy.U
dont've2shout abt it,u can even play them easy.Forget abt d past&all
ur sorrow.D future wont last,it'll soon b ur 2morrow.I dont ask4much,I
only want ur trust&u know it dont come easy ;) Pls remember Peace is
how v make it-GeorgeHarrison
Forgive me lord
Pls,those years when I ignored U
Forgive them Lord,those that feel they cant afford U.
Help me Lord,pls
To rise above this dealing,
Help me Lord,pls2Love U with more feeling.
@both ends of d road,2d left&d right,Above&below us,Out&in,there's no
place that U r not in.
Help me Lord,pls2rise a little higher.
Help me lord, pls2burn out this desire
Oh wont U pls pls hear me Lord.my Lord my Lord,Hear me Lord.
-GeorgeHarrison:Beatles :)
There'll come a time when all of us must leave here when nothing
sister Mary can do2keep me here with u.Searching4d truth among d
lying&answered when I learned art of dying.There'll come a time when
Most of us return here(due2our desires2Lord over).A Perfect
entity(Soul), Living thru a million yrs of crying(birth after birth)
until v've realized d "Art Of Dying"-GeorgeHarrison-Beatles.
2become restless in d contact of wealth&women isnt surprising,bcoz
every living entity is associated with such things from time
immemorial&it takes time2recover from such things.But if 1 is engaged
in hearing d glories of the Lord,he gradually realizes his position.
By God's grace such a devotee gets sufficient strength2defend himself
from d state of disturbances&gradually all d disturbances r eliminated
from his mind-SB#1.2.17
If ur enemy is hungry,feed him.If thirsty give him,some drink.By
doing this u'll overcome d coals in his head.Dont get overcome by evil
but overcome evil with Good-Bible,Romans#12.20,21
Visitors
Get updates through feeds!
Popular Posts
-
Bhagavad-gita As It Is | Part [BG.5.10] ...
-
Here is a song by Shri Purandaradasaru which narrates that 'Man proposes God disposes'. In Kannada there is a saying 'tAnoMdu ... -
Ahe Nila saila Lyrics Ahe Nila saila Prabala mata barana Mo arata nalini banaku kala dalana . Ahe Nila saila …………….. Gajaraja ... -
Sudama was a poor brahmin boy who became a close friend of Krishna in sage Sandipani's hermitage. Krishna learnt to chant from Sudama....
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
