Today's special - pongal and plantain sabji

Our dealings with the materialistic minded people should be as limited as possible.

Because we absorb our consciousness on things around us like a gemstone that absorbs light from outside and stores within.

We automatically start imitating things around us even without our knowledge, thats the nature of the mind. When a person is diseased 

with a highly contagious disease, that person is usually quarantined to prevent the spreading of the disease to those around.

Similarly the pure devotees of the Lord do not take bliss in the association of materially motivated people. 

The pure devotees of the Lord keep themselves aloof from the association of materialists just like, we stay away from the diseased. 

This Sankirtan movement of Lord Caitanya is also very contagious but in a good sense. 

The association of the followers of Lord Caitanya brings all auspiciousness and it doesn't stop with 

one person, the person who got it has to spread, otherwise he can't relish the nectar he is provided

with. 

In this regard we have two types of devotees. Gostanandi (serves the Lord via Preaching the Glories 

of the Lord where ever he goes or where ever the Lord sends him)and Bhajanandi(Bhajanandi serves the Lords abode/dham,

 meditates on the Lord within). Gostanandi is already a Bhajanandi. Most of the devotees in the movement of 

Lord Caitanya are Gostanandis. 

If Srila Prabhupada didn't come to America, I will not be here to write this article, rather would have been

lost elsewhere in easing out the contact of sense objects with the senses predominantly. 

A supporting article, Quotes start here..

" Preaching is the Essence

                His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada

Lord Caitanya wants His followers to preach all over the world:

"Dear Lord, Your personal associates, devotees, wander all over the world to purify even the holy places of pilgrimage. Is not such activity pleasing to those who are actually afraid of material existence?"

There are two kinds of devotees.One is called gosthy –anandi and the other bhajanandi. The word bhajanandi refers to the devotee who dos not move but remains in one place. Such a devotee is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. He chants the Mahamantra staught by many acaryas and sometimes goes out for preaching work.

The gosthy-anandi is one  who desires to increase the number of devotees all over the world. He travels all over the world just to purify the world and the people residing in it.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu advised: prithvi ache yata nagaradi gram / sarvatra pracara haibemora nama. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world and preach in every town and village.

In the Chaitanya – sampradaya those who strictly follow the the principles of Lord Chaitanya must travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Chaitanya, which is the same as preaching the words of Krsna- Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. The more the devotees preach the principles of Krsna katha, the more the people throughout the world will benefit.

Devotees like the great sage Narada who travel all over to preach are called gosti-anandi.Narada Muni is always wandering throughout the universe just to create different types of devotees. Narada even made a hunter a devotee. He also made Dhruve Maharja and Prahlada devotees. Actually all devotees are indebted to the great sage Narada, for he has wandered both in heaven and in hell. A devotee of the Lord is not even afraid of hell. He goes to preach the glories of the Lord everywhere-even in hell- because there is no distinction between heaven and hell for a devotee.

                                           Narayana –parah sarve

                                           Na kutascana bibhyati

                                           Svargapavarga-narakesv

                                           Ap tulyartha- darsinah

"A pure devotee of Narayana is never afraid of going anywhere and everywhere . For him heaven and hell are one and the same." (Bhag. 6.17.28) Such devotees , wandering all over the world, deliver those ho are actually afraid of this material existence.

Bhag. 4.30.37"

Quote ends

Be careful, it's highly contagious ;-)

Hundreds and thousands of desires, like nooses around my neck, constantly give me misery and trouble

When The Time Comes

Are we really helping?

via kksblog.com by hina on 10/14/12

(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban, South Africa, 22nd September 2012) Lecture: SB 11. 31. 24-28

We may start to help people in a mundane way, but then, we really don't know.  You think you're doing a good deed by saving the life of someone who was about to drown.  You pull them out of water and get a medal for it.  Then you feel,

'Well, I did a good deed!'

And later it turns out that the guy was a total rat who used to regularly beat his wife and the kids, and play football with the kids, but where the kids were the ball!  A situation with an outrageous person and you have saved him! You should have let him drown, isn't it?

So it is so difficult to do good in the world – to try and do good is not so easy.  Even when we think we are helping someone, are we really helping them?  We cannot always see the intricacies of the network of activities and reactions that a person is involved in.  We don't know what somebody thinks.  They can smile at us, but what is behind that smile?  How can we know for real?

Are we really helping?