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Feeding pride

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh, Belgium, January 2012) Lecture: SB. 5.9.4

It is very interesting how we have such bachelors in our movement (and in the world) who are in a way renounced. But it is not renunciation linked to cultivating Krishna Consciousness. It's simply renunciation out of convenience – out of avoiding the trouble….of having to deal with material energy. That kind of renunciation is not valuable….there is not much advantage to that, because by avoiding trouble, you'll just get another kind of trouble!

Just like, there is an example of Diogenes who lived in a rain barrel with ripped clothes, and Plato lived in a mansion, which contained silk and cushions. One day Diogenes just ran through a pool of muddy water, and with his muddy feet, ran into the house of Plato and jumped over all the silk and cushions! And he called out:

"I'm just stamping. I am jumping on the pride of Plato!"

So Plato replied:

"With the same pride!"

So it's a classic in the Greek tradition. So yes, that it is a fact that renunciation is another way of feeding pride. So what's a point of being a bachelor? But the real point is, if we are living in an environment where we keep material things out as much as possible, and we bring in as much spiritual influence as we can, then we are speaking of āśrama………… āśrama is a renounced condition of life. We must live in a āśrama and we must give shape to our āśrama, at least to a point where we are liberated!

When we are liberated souls then it doesn't matter where we live, but as long as we are not liberated then we should live in an āśrama, and make that āśrama a sacred environment – fill it with remembrances of the Supreme Lord and objects of purification, then that will strengthen us, and from that platform we can engage in our sādhana and get deeply absorbed. From that platform we are strong to deal with the material world, otherwise it is dangerous. So a āśrama is important!

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Dishonour is worse than death!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh, Belgium, January 2012) Lecture: SB. 5.9.4

It is said in the Bhagavad-Gita that dishonour is worse than death! So one who has fallen down, such as a sannyāsī – who gives up his sannyāsa, and takes again into the household life, is described as a 'vantasi'– a vomit eater! He is eating what he has vomited! So with something like that in the scriptures – then how are you going to walk around with your little baby on your arm after that? It is a little hard after that, because deep at the back of the mind, one remembers very well that:

"I am in a position where I really shouldn't be, according to the scriptures."

Srila Prabhupada gave the license, which supersedes everything. So it takes great humility to do that…. great humility. One who falls down is due to misfortune. Such a person in great humility must take shelter, and ultimately that means to take shelter of Prabhupada! Because Srila Prabhupada brought us the Srimad Bhagavatam, and he brought us the tradition…and then he added his mercy from his personal instructions and so on.

As in the Bhagavatam, Lord Caitnaya had added His mercy and then Prabhupada added his mercy too. So take shelter of Prabhupada's concessions with great humility – that's the only option! If someone cannot do that fully, then you still cannot walk away. It will still (from the inside) work on him. You can never walk away!

When we speak of vows – I have a point on vows where, one should take the vows and protect them. It's like putting a post in the ground – you have to anchor it, and put some strings on there to make sure that it doesn't fall over…you must anchor your vows with supportive activities, but then one must take these vows and we must plant them, just like the pearls of Krishna (like the story of Krishna and the pearls). If we plant these vows, then so many nice things can come from them! So we really must make something out of these vows. If we don't, and if we neglect the vows, then the same vows will never leave us and they will beat our heart!

So yes, even with the concession, the sannyāsa vow is so heavy that even if one takes through to the concession and gets married again, it will still beat their heart! So that is a heavy thing to do!

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Singing the Pastimes

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