Ads

Bhakti Yoga-Devotional Service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna

Bhakti Yoga-Devotional Service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna
Gopis performing Devotional Service to the Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna

Srila Prabhupada's Powerful Reply!

by Jyoti Pahuja on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 4:55pm


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

Share/Bookmark

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Furl
  • Reddit
  • Spurl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati

A peaceful life of Knowledge and Bliss

by Jyoti Pahuja on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 2:58am
The sufferings of human society are due to a polluted aim of life, namely lording it over the material resources. The more human society engages in the exploitation of undeveloped material resources for sense gratification, the more it will be entrapped by the illusory, material energy of the Lord, and thus the distress of the world will be intensified instead of diminished. The human necessities of life are fully supplied by the Lord and only a little energy by the human being is required to get his necessities into the proper channel. There is no need of machines and tools or huge steel plants for artificially creating comforts of life. Life is never made comfortable by artificial needs, but by plain living and high thinking.

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.


Share/Bookmark

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Furl
  • Reddit
  • Spurl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati

The Bad Masters

by Jyoti Pahuja on Monday, July 5, 2010 at 5:53pm


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)
Share/Bookmark

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Furl
  • Reddit
  • Spurl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati

What Krsna thinks when we chant?

by Jyoti Pahuja on Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 2:01pm
Do you think God comes if we just sing His names? Is He like a waiter in a restaurant? Hey Waiter, come come, bring me mineral water!?

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

Share/Bookmark

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Furl
  • Reddit
  • Spurl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati

Bhakti is so nice

by Jyoti Pahuja on Friday, August 6, 2010 at 2:20am
In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, there is a story. Not story but Fact.

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!


Share/Bookmark

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Furl
  • Reddit
  • Spurl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati