Hearing

I was just talking to the mrdanga player and how mrdanga playing is the most difficult thing. Why is mrdanga playing so difficult? It's extremely difficult because it's not about different beats or different bauls, or even different mantras - It's not about intricate rythms and so on. That is the secondary part.The primary part is about hearing. It's all about hearing. A good mrdanga player is one who listens, who's totally attentive. He's attentive to the kirtana and he's following very carefully to what he hears. That's extremely difficult. Only possible if one chants attentively. If one is an inattentive chanter, one will be an inattentive mrdanga player. For sure. One will do everything inattentive! One goes through life as in a cloud, and just walking like that in that cloud, one will inadvertently do so many things that one later wonders:
"Why did I do that..?"

Transcribed by Bhakta Frederick
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Sweden 2010)

 

 

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Enthrone Him in the Heart.

Narada Muni is explaining in Bhagavatam that as the heart is being purified, then gradually one can enthrone the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the heart. So it's interesting because the Lord was already there as the Supersoul, and now we're going enthrone Him in the heart.

The enthroning of the Lord in the heart is referring to the istha-deva, or to our worshippable Deity which in our case is Krishna, and not so much the Supersoul. The Supersoul is described as being Lord Vishnu. Ksirodakasayi Vishnu. The Paramatma within the heart, and He is the four-armed form of Lord Vishnu. Helmet and ornaments and so on. All the attributes of Vishnu are there.
It is also said that although the followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are most respectful towards Lord Vishnu and they certainly are accepting Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, still they focus on their worship on Lord Krishna and not on Lord Vishnu.
Srila Prabhupada also reminds us of that in the final chapter of the Bhagavad-gita in his purports - he points out that a devotee will certainly offer his obeisances to Lord Vishnu, and then continue His worship of Krishna, -exclusively focus on Krishna. So we are not starting an altar and beginning to kind of place all kinds of Narayana Deities there as well, no. The focus in our sampradaya is exclusively on Krishna.
So interesting that as the heart becomes purified and as we are enthroning the Lord within the heart, we are actually enthroning Lord Krishna in the heart! Then from within the heart it is Krishna who is guiding us.
It is not the Paramatma in It's four-armed form who is guiding us, then it's Krishna directly, within the heart, who is guiding us! ...
We can be very intimately connected with Krishna, and that Krishna within the heart is directly Krishna!
Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Not a picture of Krishna, but Krishna in person. Krishna who is directly relating with us.

Transcribed by Bhakta Frederick
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh 2011)

 

 

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How Important are Memories of The Temporary

How important are memories? Some people are controlled by their memories for their whole life. It's like here, I met somebody of 40 years who was just still remembering that he had a bad time in school, and I go:

"Okay, that's bad. That's really bad, I feel for you. I do, I do, but how old are you?!"
"Forty."
"Okay, Forty, Right?
"Yeah."
"And when was school? Are you sure you can still remember?"
It's like ... well, I didn't have that much fun in school either, but at the age 57, it doesn't exactly… I don't feel much connection with school at this stage - I can hardly remember. A few grey memories of my school days, and it was maybe not so much fun. I remember that. I remember, it was not so much fun. Fun was not allowed in school, that I remember. So I didn't like school that much. But it's behind us. So much is behind us.

So memories, why make so much of memories?
"I have such beautiful memories…"
You have such beautiful soap bubbles!
"Beautiful... My beautiful memories, I will never forget." Okay, but it's finished now. It's over. Gone! And they'll never come back. Sorry! So why make so much of it? That's material life. At the end, there's just some memories left. If you're lucky! You may remember that I told about the man with the t-shirt, "Seen it all, heard it all, done it all, but can't remember it all!" I congratulated him!
I met him on an airport and congratulated him and — I said:

"Wow, that's a great t-shirt!"
He said, "You like it?"
I said "Yes!"
He said, "I made it myself."
I said, "Deep! Deep… Very deep!"

Right? It's a fact! So let's see how much we can still remember at the end. So we're speaking about the temporary. Why invest so much in that? It's so obvious that when we begin to invest in Krishna consciousness then it gets very nice, because there's eternal spiritual benefit in whatever we do, and whether the temporary part is okay or not, that is secondary.Like here, whether the program is boring or whether the program is exciting, right? That is secondary. You can say: "Ah, it was a great program! It was just so dynamic and so exciting and so interesting and everything and then the prasadam, it tasted so nice!" But how long will you remember that? What is really important is the eternal benefit even if it was a terrible program!

One of those programs that were like, everything went wrong - "Kirtan was terrible"
"The lecture was *yaaawn*'", and then
"The prasadam... the rice wasn't cooked!"
"Too much salt in the dahl!"
"The subji… It was hard."
"Oh God… And the sweet rice was burnt."
"It was a great program!…" "Yeah, it was a really great program"

Well, at least the eternal side was okay. At least the eternal side was still alright. So that's there, we always have these two elements. The eternal side and the temporary material side. And of the two, the eternal benefit, that's the most important.

Transcribed by Bhakta Frederick
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Sweden 2010)

 

 

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”Even if it's cheap, I'm not buying.”

This particular age of Kali is already going on for 5000 years, we can appreciate that we may have had one or more births, many births before, in this age of Kali.

So most likely, we have during those births engaged in so many sinful activities - and if some of them were human, we are responsible - because the human birth is the one birth where one is held responsible. That we have to understand.

Therefore we cannot expect that things will be smooth, that we will not be attacked by possibly strong material desires. …

We cannot expect that we will not be attacked by some very powerful material desires since the aprarabda-karma is not good in the age of Kali. The unmanifest karma stored in the heart is not good. Therefore it will happen to us! It will happen to us, that we will be attacked by strong, strong desires where we develop the inclination to act against our better knowledge.

Then we should remember, "Now I am a victim of external forces! This is not me! I am simply a playball! A playball on the waves of karma! I'm simply being controlled by external forces. This is not me!"

One has to understand that karma works in this way. We become controlled by simply previous impressions. In this way one must be detached - even detached of what may come in the future.

One has to have a detached attitude, "When material desire comes, I will not take it serious."

In this way we have to prepare. We have to prepare a mentality of being ready.
When material desire knocks on my door.

Knock!
"Sorry! Not home."
"No thank you."
"Not interested."
"No, no."
"Even if it's cheap, I'm not buying."
"No!"
Like that, one has to fix himself.

That is only possible for one who fixes himself while chanting the Holy Name. If we try sincerely to conquer the mind while chanting the Holy Name - to fix our mind on hearing the chanting, and if we simply do that, then we can get the strength to be fixed.

Transcribed by Bhakta Fredrick
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Chowpatty 2010)

 

 

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Let’s add to the pleasure.

We are just tiny little sparks of Krishna's energy, but we can also add to that unlimited reservoir of pleasure, and that's what Krishna wants from us. Let's add to the pleasure.

Transcribed by Bhakta Fredrick
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Stockholm 2010)

 

 

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Lyrics:Surrender-Gauravani Das

Twenty-five years of doing it my way, has brought me here.

 

 

 

 

it is your desire and not mine

A devotee has to practise to take distance from his feelings. We have to become an observer of our own feelings and judge them from a distance and we practise this. Not just, every time some impulse comes up, then we have to do it - No, we just have to look at it from a distance.
"Look at this, what this mind is doing now"
as if you are a spectator and see what this mind wants from us today. It is amazing what the mind comes up with.
Like that one must be able to observe his own thinking, willing and feeling, the functions of the mind.
So, as a matter of practice, that's what it means that we are not this body, we start becoming a observer of the body, we can start to think that's not me.
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur wrote an article:
'The real and the apparent self ' - and there is a section where he says that he is no longer going to entertain the body and the mind, only as much as it requires to keep the body and the soul together and for the rest he is not going to listen to it he is not going to take it seriously.
He says "For so long I have taken whatever you have presented as my own interest , but no longer I will accept whatever you dictate as I my own, I will clearly see that:
'it is your desire and not mine'"

Transcribed By Madhumati Devi Dasi
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Sydney October 2010)

 

 

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Intelligence

Srila Prabhupada's definition of intelligence is not the same as the definition of intelligence that is generally employed in various intelligence tests and IQ tests and so on.
Srila Prabhupada would say intelligence means that one acts intelligent. If you don't act intelligent, that proves that you're not intelligent. As simple as that. No matter what kind of capacity you have in terms of understanding things theoretically, if you don't act properly, that means you're not intelligent. As simple as that. That is Prabhupada's philosophy.
When philosophy is not practical, then it has no meaning. Philosophy is after all supposed to be, an understanding of reality. So if philosophy no longer has any bearing on reality, then it's just a waste of time.
So Srila Prabhupada would give us this definition of intelligence: One must act intelligently, and Krishna, "dadami buddhi-yogam tam." He gives us intelligence, because all intelligence comes in relationship with Krishna, because after all, nothing exists outside of the relationship with Krishna. And therefore – and the whole purpose of existence is to always be engaged in service to Krishna, therefore the more one becomes aware of this, the more intelligent one is.

Transcribed by Bhakta Frederick
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Sweden 2010)

 

 

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Illicit Sex

Transcribed by Madhumati Devi Dasi
(Kadamba Kanana Swami 2005)

"You will see women as lust objects, you will not care to look after them. How can you look after them, you will not protect them, you will use them as though they are not human beings as if they don't deserve a man to support and protect them through out their life… You don't care, you just care to get them in bed and when they are pregnant you line up in an abortion and go for the next and another one, and then another one and in this way you become more and more selfish and you become less interested in the well-being of all those women with whom you are having sex with - May be you get bored with women and try men for a while or maybe you will try something else!"....



THE WHOLE TRANSCRIPT

Devotees: One of the regulative principles is no illicit sex, but isn't sex a natural desire? So anything which is natural cannot be banned?

Maharaja: Yes Yes so many things are natural, you know.

Devotee: Something which comes from within…

Maharaja: Yes Yes I know, I know where it is coming from and I know where it is going to, believe me.
I will give you a simple example:
When one man gets in the traffic, even the most peaceful person gets agitated and every driver would like to have a button that if some idiot gets in front of his wheels, that he could just throw a big flame to burn him to ashes. This feeling comes from within, this feeling to burn a fool who cannot drive who isin front of you - If you would have a button on your dash board you might push it sometimes …No, but the intelligence pushes in and says:
"How could I do that? I cannot burn people to ashes. That would not be a good thing."
So, just as anger comes from within and in anger we want to do so many things, we use our brains and say: "No, we will not do it."
In anger we say: "I will kill you"
and then say "I didn't mean it I was just saying it."
But it can be so hard, that somewhere the intelligence comes in and says: "No I will not do it, I am just saying it."
So in the same way with sex, also the desire comes and then the intelligence kicks in and says:
"Is this sex beneficial for me?"
So, illicit sex is not beneficial because illicit sex will bind us to lust, it will never satisfy us.
Again and again, more and more and still not happy and then another one and another one and in the end we only live for lust.
So to live for lust is not very helpful, because you want more and more and more and you are still not satisfied.
Devotee: That's not only with sex, it is with everything in life, for example food…
Maharaja: Fine, same thing with food. Same thing with everything, therefore the restrictions must be there in different areas not only with the food or sex but all things. There must be moderation and control….

Devotee: but what is wrong with sex?

Maharaja: But sex is one of the fundamental drives in men as we know from physiology - maybe you have heard about Froid ….So, sex is recognised as the driving force in men, therefore it cannot be compared to all other drives. For all drives we need some sense control.
Some people everything they see, they have to buy it - at one point you have to lock them up, you have to control them. If you are married to someone like that, you will find out, that there is some need for control. So, control is required in many areas, but in regards to sex, illicit sex will bind us more and more in lust.
Each time when we engage in illicit sex the lusty desires will increase and we will want more and more and more. So, it is like a rock rolling down the hill and gets more and more momentum. So it will pull us down and it will become a total obsession.
So, the more you get into illicit sex, the more obsessed you become by it, until your whole life will be devoured by it. Therefore that's not beneficial!
Well, you might say:
"At least I enjoyed in my life"
But you became a very selfish person. Remember in the lecture how we spoke about the girl and how we gave the example of making sacrifice and how that is higher but the more you engage in illicit sex the less you will be interested in sacrifice. You will see woman as a lust objects, you will not care to look after them. How can you look after them, you will not protect them, you will use them as though they are not human beings as if they don't deserve a man to support and protect them through out their life… You don't care, you just care to get them in bed and when they are pregnant you line up in an abortion and go for the next and another one, and then another one and in this way you become more and more selfish and you become less interested in the well-being of all those woman with whom you are having sex with - May be you get bored with women and try men for a while or maybe you will try something else!

Devotee: Probably you are talking of an extreme situation. There are people who have indulged in illicit sex and view the woman as a woman and not as an object.

Maharaja: So you are talking of a more moderate form, only a wife or may be a girlfriend as well

Devotee: okay suppose a girlfriend as well….

Maharaja: what if she gets pregnant? ...The girlfriend gets pregnant and you already have a wife what will you do now?
Have the child or have the abortion?
It's very cheap, it's advertised all over Bombay.
It is dirt cheap. How much is it? What is the average price of abortion in Bombay?

Devotee: Probably 1000 rupees I guess so… I have no clue.

Maharaja: So the temptation to become involved in sinful activity is very great. You may not choose for that because you have a noble heart, I accept that, you may be a man of character and says no, even if it would happen, I would maintain that other child also and would be very sorry also.
Although that other child may not get a very good start in life because his father is married to someone else, that child would get a very bad start in life, but you would be responsible for it. But you would not have been so nasty that you would go for an abortion.
Obviously since there are so much advertisements and since it's only 1000 rupees or so it's good business and there are lots of abortions going on. So this is all due to illicit sex.
And still even if you look after that child, that child gets a bad chance for its up-bringing and what will that child become, what will his character be, what will he contribute to the society.
So, in this way what will your illicit sex ultimately do for the well-fare of the society and mankind at large? How will you become a better person? How will your wife become a better person? Your children become a better person?
Therefore better, marry, take responsibility, take care of some lady, take care of a family and try to help your wife to become a better person, become a better person yourself and do something good in the world and bring your children up to do something good. Isn't that better.
…..before marriage this girlfriend and that girlfriend and oops!!! Accident, and then you have so many girlfriends and you know the AIDS figures are rising very rapidly in Bombay. Oh! Boy, Oh Boy, you just get the wrong girlfriend and suddenly get tested and HIV positive but you didn't find out in time and You already had sex with ten other girls after that and they are also all HIV positive - it happens.

Devotee: it could happen even with one girl that you have sex with, with your wife it can happen.

Maharaja: no, why if you just have followed the principles of living with your spouse, you are protected from these things. It will not happen. Illicit sex leads to all these things and all kinds of sexually generated diseases are part of illicit sex, they go hand in hand.

Devotee: so by indulging in illicit sex you get caught up in lust?

Maharaja: I say that you get caught up in the whole network of reactions and a whole network of entanglement and I have just painted a few details for everyone here to show that it's not just a beautiful picture but that there is lots of ugliness there.

Devotee: is there a problem with everything that gives momentary pleasure or it's just….

Maharaja: yes, temporary pleasure is alright but it is not so important, but we make too much out of it. We make it too big. But it is gone.
Temporary pleasure is not so important, think about it deeply. Temporary wealth, I give you a 10000 dollars and you can keep it for ten minutes, feels great. How did it feel? Ya! It felt good for ten minutes but it was only temporary.
If you can keep it -then it is more exciting.
So, temporary is not so satisfying. It's not so important. Thank you.

Transcribed by Madhumati Devi Dasi
(Kadamba Kanana Swami 2005)

 

 

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