♫ "Happiness is union with God. There is no place without God. Whatever you do, you should feel that it is God's work. God is acting through your body. He is thinking through your mind. He is working through your hands. If you work with this feeling, there is no chance for the ego to arise. The body is lifeless, just matter. The mind is a bundle of desires. It is just imagination. You are not the body; you are not the mind; you are the Atma (soul)."
No chance for the ego to arise
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O wicked mind! What kind of Vaishnava do you think you are? Your pretentious show of chanting Lord Hari's holy name in a solitary place is only for the sake of attaining the false prestige of a worldly reputation-it is nothing but pure hypocrisy.
jader pratishtha, shukarer vishtha, jano na ki taha 'mayar vaibhava' kanaka kamini, divasa-yamini, bhaviya ki kaja, anitya se saba
Such materialistic prestige is as disgusting as the stool of a hog. Do you not know that it is only a mere illusion cast by the potency of Maya? What is the value of contemplating day and night your plans for enjoying wealth and women? All these things are only temporary.
tomar kanaka, bhoger janaka, kanaker dvare sevaho 'madhava' kaminir kama, nahe tava dhama, tahar-malika kevala 'yadava'
When you claim wealth as your own, it creates in you ever-increasing desires for material enjoyment. Your riches should be used for serving Madhava, the Lord of all wealth. Neither is it your proper place to indulge in lust for women, whose only true proprietor is Lord Yadava.
pratishthasha-taru, jada-maya-maru, na pela 'ravana' yujhiya 'raghava' vaishnavi pratishtha, tate koro nishtha, taha na bhajile labhibe raurava
The demon Ravana (lust-incarnate) fought with Lord Ramachandra (love-incarnate) in order to gain the tree of worldly reputation-but that oasis turned out to be but a mirage cast in the desert wasteland of the Lord's illusory material potency. Please cultivate fixed determination to attain only the steady and solid platform whereupon a Vaishnava ever stands. If you neglect worshiping the Lord from this position, then you will ultimately attain a hellish existence.
harijana-dvesha, pratisthasha-klesha, koro keno tabe tahar gaurava vaishnaver pache, pratisthasha ache, ta'te kabhu nahe 'anitya-vaibhava'
Why do you needlessly suffer the torment of blaspheming the devotees of Lord Hari, attempting to achieve their eminence, thereby only proving your own fruitless foolishness? The desire for spiritual eminence is easily fulfilled when one becomes a devotee of the Lord, for eternal fame automatically follows the heels of a Vaishnava. And that fame is never to be considered a temporary worldly opulence.
se hari-sambandha, shunya-maya-gandha, taha kabhu noy 'jader kaitava' pratishtha-candali, nirjanata-jali, ubhaye janiho mayika raurava
The relationship between a devotee and Lord Hari is devoid of even a trace of worldly illusion; it has nothing to do with the materialistic cheating propensity. The prestige of so-called popularity in the material realm is compared to a treacherous dog-eating witch, and the attempt to live in solitude to supposedly engage in unalloyed bhajan is compared to an entangling network of distraction. Please know that anyone striving in either of these ways verily lives in the hell of Maya's illusion.
kirtana chadibo, pratishtha makhibo, ki kaja dhudiya tadrisha gaurava madhavendra puri, bhava-ghare curi, na korilo kabhu sadai janabo
I shall give up chanting the Lord's name publicly in kirtan and retire to solitude, thus smearing myself with worldly honor." Dear mind, what is the good of seeking such so-called glory? I will always remind you that the great soul Madhavendra Puri never deceived himself in that regard by committing theft in his own storehouse of perception the way you do.
tomar pratishtha,-'shukarer vishtha', tar-saha sama kabhu na manava matsarata-vashe, tumi jada-rase, majecho chadiya kirtana-saushtava
Your cheap reputation is equal to the stool of a hog. An ordinary ambitious man like you can never be equated with a devotee of Madhavendra Puri's eminence. Under the sway of envy, you have drowned yourself in the filthy waters of material enjoyment after having abandoned the excellent perfection of congregational kirtan.
tai dushta mana, 'nirjana bhajan,' pracaricho chale 'kuyogi-vaibhava' prabhu sanatane, parama jatane, shiksha dilo yaha, cinto sei saba
Truly, O wicked mind, the glories of so-called solitary worship are propagated only by false yogis using unscrupulous means to deceive others. To save yourself from these pitfalls, please contemplate the instructions that the Supreme Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu kindly gave us while addressing Shrila Sanatana Goswami with the utmost care.
sei du'ti katha, bhulo' na sarvatha, uccaih-svare koro 'hari-nama-rava' 'phalgu' ar 'yukta,' 'baddha' ar 'mukta,' kabhu na bhaviho, ekakar saba
Do not forget for a moment the two most valuable concepts that He taught: 1) the principle of dry, apparent renunciation as opposed to real, appropriate renunciation; and 2) the principle of a soul being trapped in the bondage of matter as opposed to a soul who is liberated. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that these conflicting concepts are on the same level. Please remember this while engaging yourself in chanting the Lord's holy names as loud as you possibly can.
'kanaka-kamini,' 'pratishtha-baghini,' chadiyache jare, sei to' vaishnava sei 'anasakta,' sei 'shuddha-bhakta,' samsar tatha pay parabhava
One is truly a Vaishnava who has given up the habit of falling victim to the ferocious tigress of wealth, beauty, and fame. Such a soul is factually detached from material life, and is known as a pure devotee. Someone with this consciousness of detachment has thereby become victorious over the mundane world of birth and death.
yatha-yogya bhoga, nahi tatha roga, 'anasakta' sei, ki ar kahabo 'asakti-rohita,' 'sambandha-sahita,' vishaya-samuha sakali 'madhava'
One is indeed detached who moderately partakes of worldly things that are deemed necessary for living in devotional service; a devotee acting in that manner does not fall prey to the disease of material infatuation. Thus devoid of selfish attachment, and endowed with the ability to see things in relation to the Lord, all sense objects are then directly perceived as being Lord Madhava Himself.
se 'yukta-vairagya,' taha to' saubhagya, taha-i jadete harir vaibhava kirtane jahar, 'pratishtha-sambhar,' tahar sampatti kevala 'kaitava'
This is the standard of befitting renunciation, and one who realizes this is most fortunate indeed. Everything involved in such a devotee's life represents Lord Hari's personal spiritual opulence as manifest in the world of matter. On the other hand, one who engages in chanting the Lord's name with hopes of enhancing his own material reputation finds that all his activities and paraphernalia represent only the riches of hypocrisy.
'vishaya-mumukshu,' 'bhoger bubhukshu,' du'ye tyajo mana, dui 'avaishnava' 'krishner sambandha,' aprakrita-skandha, kabhu nahe taha jader sambhava
O mind, please reject the company of two types of persons-those desiring impersonal liberation from the material world, and those who desire to enjoy the pleasure of material sense objects. Both of these are equally non-devotees. The things that are used in relation to Lord Krishna are objects belonging directly to the transcendental realm, and thus having nothing to do with matter they cannot be either owned or forsaken by persons interested in mundane enjoyment or renunciation.
'mayavadi jana,' krishnetara mana, mukta abhimane se ninde vaishnava vaishnaver das, tava bhakti-ash, keno va dakicho nirjana-ahava
An impersonal philospher is opposed to thinking of Krishna as an object of devotion, and thus being puffed up with the false pride of imaginary liberation he dares to criticize the true devotees of the Lord. O mind, you are the servant of the Vaishnavas, and you should always hope for attaining devotion. Why then do you make such a loud commotion by calling to me and trying to prove the supposed supremacy of your practice of solitary worship?
je 'phalgu-vairagi,' kohe nije 'tyagi,' se na pare kabhu hoite 'vaishnava' hari-pada chadi', 'nirjanata badi,' labhiya ki phala, 'phalgu' se vaibhava
One who falsely gives up things that could actually be used in the Lord's service proudly calls himself a 'renunciate,' but unfortunately he can never become a Vaishnava by such an attitude. Abandoning his servitorship to the lotus feet of Lord Hari, and resigning himself to his solitary home-whatever is gained by that exercise can only be the worthless treasure of deception.
Pada Puja of Srila Prabhupada
radha-dasye rohi', chadi 'bhoga-ahi,' 'pratishthasha' nahe 'kirtana-gaurava' 'radha-nitya-jana,' taha chadi' mana, keno va nirjana-bhajana-kaitava
Ever engage yourself in the service of Shri Radha, and keep aloof from the vicious snake of materialistic sense gratification. The glory of participating in the Lord's kirtan is not meant to bolster anyone's ambitions for personal recognition. O mind, why then have you abandoned the identity of being Radha's eternal servant in favor of retiring to a solitary place to practice the cheating process of so-called bhajan?
vraja-vasi-gana, pracaraka-dhana, pratishtha-bhikshuka ta'ra nahe 'shava' prana ache ta'r, se-hetu pracar, pratishthasha-hina-'krishna-gatha' saba
The most valuable treasures amongst the Lord's preachers are the eternal personalities residing in Vraja-dham. They never occupy themselves with begging for worthless material reputation, which is cherished only by the living dead. The Vraja-vasis are truly infused with life, and therefore they preach in order to give life to the walking corpses of the mundane world. All the songs that the Vraja-vasis sing about the glories of Lord Krishna are devoid of any tinge of desire for fame.
shri-dayita-das, kirtanete ash, koro uccaih-svare 'hari-nama-rava' kirtana-prabhave, smarana svabhave, se kale bhajana-nirjana sambhava
This humble servant of Radha and Her beloved Krishna always hopes for kirtan, and he begs all to loudly sing the names of Lord Hari. The transcendental power of congregational chanting automatically awakens remembrance of the Lord and His divine pastimes in relation to one's own eternal spiritual form. Only at that time does it become possible to go off to a solitary place and engage in the confidential worship of Their Lordships.
VAISHNAVA KE? Who is a Real Vaisnava?
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"The Lord is very satisfied with his devotee when the devotee greets other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship, and equality." (Svayambhuva Manu – Srimad Bhagavatam 4.11.13)
VEDIC THOUGHT
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Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev!
Whenever Maharajas or Sadhus visit our place the whole atmosphere is surcharged with spirituality. Normally after offering prasada to such mahatmas it is a common scene among devotees to run for mahaprasadam. Everyone tries to grab the plate and swallow the entire blessings. While we may do this, often there is a tendency to get too superficial about the whole concept of Mahaprasadam and eat it without understanding the real power of Mahaprasadam.
"Once only, by their permission, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus being engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very nature of the transcendentalist became attractive to me."
From this we have to understand, it is not that the remnants of the food alone that turns one to the position of a great devotee. The bhaktivedantas are pure devotees. As a boy Naradji was infected with their qualities of purity by associating with them. He was already self-controlled and had no attachment for sports even though it is common for the boys of his age. Also he was not naughty and did not speak more than what is required. These are the qualities of sadhus. More than grabbing the mahaprasadam one has to grab the transcendental quality of the pure devotee which is the attraction for the Personality of Godhead's name, fame, qualities, pastimes, etc. Infection of the qualities of the pure devotee means to imbibe the taste of pure devotion always in the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead. Such a taste at once makes all material things distasteful. That is detachment. Once detachment from material activities and attachment to devotional activity comes, then even a grain of mahaprasadam taken one time also eradicates all the sins. That is the miraculous power of mahaprasadam. Although Naradji took the remnants by permission only, Srila Prabhupada writes such remnants may be taken even without permission of the pure devotees. Along with consuming mahaprasadam one has to imbibe the purity in the devotee.
Let us pray to the Supreme Lord and pure devotees like Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva to bestow their great mercy upon us so that we can perform sincere devotion unto their lotus feet.
Thank you very much. Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev, Poorna prajna das Abudhabi.
-- Yours Servant
Sri Krishna Hari Das
The Real Potency of Mahaprasadam
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When a scorpion is encircled by fire, he stings himself and dies. So the wicked nature of the mind is destroyed by the presence of the fire-like acharya
Oh my God, Good one!
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This is a humble attempt to collect information on the spiritual subject matter for my own purification and for the benefit of the World! Lot of focus is made here to provide a one-stop solution for all problems of life! The most secret of all secrets is revealed! Vedic wisdom here unveils your real self. The perfect self-realization system(Bhakti Yoga) made so simple like never before!
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