Mercy in an accessible form

Feelings of Guilt Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Feelings of Guilt ````````````````` Digest 417, October 1st, 2013. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja You are invited to send your questions to His Holiness Romapada Swami at inquiries@romapadaswami.com with the word "Question" included in the subject line  or  submit your question at http://www.romapadaswami.com/?q=feedback/Question. Feelings of Guilt ````````````````` 801) When we come to spiritual life and understand that we have many bad habits due to being conditioning in the material world for long time, we try to over come the habits by knowledge of shastras, hearing lectures from devotees, by performing service to Vaishnavas and the Lord etc. Some habits are easy to give up, some take little endeavor to overcome and some habits are really very hard to give up. We try our best to overcome these anarthas, but these deeply rooted anarthas seem impossible to overcome. For some time it seems that we have overcome the habits, but after some time they come back to haunt us again and become stumbling block on path of devotion. How do we deal with these kind of Bad Habits or anarthas? Answer: There is a difference between healthy remorse and guilt. In reestablishing our relationship with Krsna, there's place for recognizing and repenting the fundamentally unloving choice of action in forgetfulness of Him. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes the fire of that kind of regret as purifying. It serves as impetus to again choose love and remembrance, acting in relationship with Krsna. On the other hand, regret that takes on the flavor of guilt, seasoned with despondency and dejection, is toxic. Such lamentation is characteristic of the mode of ignorance, tamo-guna. It is another way of forgetting Krsna and one's own eternal spiritual nature as part-and-parcel in relationship with Him. It places oneself (the false conception of self, that is) at the center of one's consciousness - "How shameful I am!" - and ensnares such a lamenter in a downward spiral that distracts and detracts energy from positive engagement of all thoughts and energy in devotional service to Krsna instead. The toxicity of guilt and lamentation can be counteracted and transformed into the nourishment of bhakti by knowledge of sambandha-jnana (i.e. 'knowledge of our relationship with our Source'), for starters. The soul is part of Krsna - never separated from Him, expanded from His energy, of His quality, always pure. The soul is not 'the doer' of any action, nor touched by fruitive action, karma. In fact, by nature, by constitutional design, the tiny jiva soul is technically called tatastha-sakti, marginal energy - that is, inherent within the soul is the dual options of a propensity to be influenced by the spiritual energy as well as a propensity to be influenced by the material energy. The material energy's influence upon the soul is call "covering potency". So as soon as you become aware of having come under the influence of the material energy, having become covered and forgetful of Krsna, and thus having made undesirable choices contrary to relationship with Him, you can choose in that very moment to again align yourself with the spiritual energy in devotional service. There is no need to linger there in lamentation; it is enough to simply take note and move on. While doing so, you can also remember the nature of Krsna, who is kind, compassionate, loving, forgiving... He has witnessed all of our activities, including the most abominable ones, with our backs turned towards Him, throughout innumerable lifetimes -- and He still chooses to accompany us without interruption in our hearts as Paramatma! *AND* He grants us unlimited chances to come back to Him, including welcoming us to the path of bhakti in this very lifetime. How gloriously forgiving is He! That quality in Him alone is so lovable, so inviting of our reciprocation! Let that enthuse you to be more determined to serve Him in pure devotional consciousness! ************************* Previous questions and answers are available with subject classification at http://www.romapadaswami.com/inquiries Digests 1-242 are included as a PDF file at: http://www.romapadaswami.com/Inquiries/IITA_full.pdf Lectures: http://www.romapadaswami.com/audio Brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami: http://www.romapadaswami.com/HHRPS_bio ************************** Subscribe to our mailing list. unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

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Feelings of Guilt, Inquiries Into the Absolute, Digest 417

Dvadasi Prasadam-Rice, Pumpkin Sambhar, Bitter Gourd Pakoras, Apricots

The knowledge of an individual soul or Jivatma is imperfect because he is conscious of only himself(his body-both subtle and gross). Only the Supersoul is conscious of all beings as He is antaryami. With this limited knowledge we can't judge other devotees of their level of progress. Some devotees think that whatever they do, only is devotional service and what others do as inferior and not transcendental. This is lack of knowledge. Whatever mistakes they do are to be forgiven but not others'. There are other devotees who criticize genuinely for the upliftment of the soul, for them Krsna gives the knowledge(specific to the person being preached) from within because He knows everyone personally.

Yours
Dinesh

I am ok but you are not ok!

 

Preaching to Shaivites

July 4, 1973

He criticized Western civilization for ruination of human living. They are thinking there is no time for self-realization. Not only must they work eight hours a day, but they try to save time for spending at naked dancing, vacations, intoxication. Our movement is fighting this. It is not religious sentiment, but trying to save humanity from ruin.

Regarding Midwest zone, he said that since centers are established there, then go into interior come and go, come and go, some go south, some go north, in this way (cover all the towns and villages). If we make some devotees, we can open centers. Centers should not be opened whimsically, opened one day and closed the next.

I can go with my party and encourage the centers also to send parties, not just to do hard-core book distribution. Give them direction but preach, meet people, hold feasts in cities go to the interior, chanting in Kansas City, Topeka, Minneapolis, etc.

Riding home in a taxi from the pandal, question asked by Jayapataka Swami: If we gain political power, will we follow Manu-samhita?

First gain power, he said. Then yes, Manu-samhita. Actually everything is in the Gita and Bhagavatam in gist. Manu-samhita is based on varnasrama and that is in the Gita, I created the four orders. First we would divide society into orders by quality and work, not birth. Someone made a brahmana would have to act like a brahmana or else he would be punished.

Being asked, he told Pancadravida Swami how to preach to smartas in South India who may know Sanskrit:

Learn five slokas a month; in six months you'll know thirty slokas. That should be enough to present Bhagavad-gita. PDS said Hrsikesananda was going to help him with pronunciation. Prabhupada said, this-ananda, that-ananda, be your own person. Do not be dependent on someone else to learn your work for you. When asked how to preach to Shaivites, he said, Ask them, 'My dear sir, do you accept Bhagavad-gita?' They will all say yes. Then quote: 'Those whose intelligence is maddened worship the demigods.' Come to understand Bhagavad-gita well, even in English, and you can preach.

About me and getting through international airlines, customs entanglement, He is doing his best, but he does not have experience. If every month a new man, then I have to suffer. TKG said, But we suffer when you get angry upon us. He said, But your suffering is secondary. He was detained three hours in Paris and practically jailed four days from Africa to Australia. I am coming and going so much. I am a little bit known. I should not have to wait on lines. That is the job of the secretary. He should be so expert that these rascals with all their rules are answered and I am not detained as an ordinary person.

I would say, It is all right. I have checked everything. He would reply, You say that, but then I will be stopped at the airport. If everything is not cleared, he is detained.

You have to have a brain, always alert. One who has a brain has strength.


- From "ISKCON In The 1970s" by HH Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

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[srilaprabhupadanectar] Remembering Srila Prabhupada - Preaching to Shaivites