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

Love follows


(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 May 2015, Melbourne, Australia, Lecture: Mindfulness and Meditation)

SP

Love will follow when we are attracted; when we admire; when we see amazing qualities; when we see a wonderful nature; when we see mercy, kindness and compassion; when we see strength; when we see beauty… Love will follow. Love will follow naturally. Love cannot be pushed, "You have to love!" You have to love your country. Well I don't, I am sorry, I like it but I don't love it. In Sydney there is this plaque and it says, "The greatest good a man can do is to give his life for his country." Well I don't think so; I am not convinced about that.

Yes, so love, love will go where there is admiration; where we see great qualities; where we see great kindness, great compassion, mercy, determination; where we see an incredible example, where we see someone who is just greater than we are… then love will automatically awaken, it is not difficult! Then love will come there.


--
Best Regards,
Dinesh

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

Defining love

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 May 2016, Vrndavana, India, Bhagavad-gita 3.34)

It is interesting that when speaking of prema (pure love for Krsna) in the Srimad Bhagavatam, the example is given of the intermediate devotee, the madhyama-adhikārī. Not the kanishta-adhikārī (the neophyte), but of the madhyama, someone a bit more advanced, a devotee who has shown determination. It is provided: īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.46). This says that for the madhyama-adhikārī, he has prema for isvara (Lord), friendship for the devotees and indifference for the envious. So it is interesting that the word prema has been used for the madhyama-adhikārī. Now, prema comes at the end of the ladder of the nine stages of bhakti, from sraddha (faith) to prema (pure love for Krsna). So how is it that the madhyama-adhikārī can already have prema, considering it is the uttama-adhikārī who is the advanced devotee. This is because prema is not like flicking a light switch that can suddenly be changed from the darkness of ignorance to "I love Krsna"! There is a lot in between where that Krsna prema is developing and growing.

So our movement is operating on this goal of attaining love for Krsna. Prabhupada was very generous in that regard. For instance, we may remember the famous story that Srutakirti prabhu told us about massaging Prabhupada. It started with a large group of devotees receiving Prabhupada at the airport. Since they had not seen Prabhupada in a very long time, everyone was crying when Prabhupada arrived, except for Srutakirti. He had dry eyes with not a single tear. So when he was massaging Prabhupada later that day, he expressed to Prabhupada, "I am such a fallen soul Prabhupada. Everyone was crying at the airport when they saw you, because they were full of love for you. But I am just cold, and I have no feeling in my heart. No love at all. What do I do?" Prabhupada responded with absolutely nothing. The next day however when it was time for the same massage, Prabhupada finally gave the answer to Srutakirti, "This is love. This service that you are doing, this is also love."

Therefore, Prabhupada was very generous in such ways. There are other pastimes of intimate servants of Prabhupada whose minds were still not always aligned, and wanted to do something else, even while they were serving Prabhupada, a pure devotee. Now we can say things like, "Prabhupada is a unique personality who did the greatest work of bringing this movement forward for all of us."But his servants, meanwhile, were also after a while, ready to do something else. So imagine how this point counts for all of us. We are engaging in devotional service and yet our mind may sometimes desire some other activity. This is possible. We may think to ourselves while chanting, "Do I really have to do it again? This is not even pure love." But Prabhupada did not look at it in that strict sense, because even if it is not manifesting as pure love, regardless, it is still love.



--
Best Regards,
Dinesh

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

I love you, today

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 September 2003, Radhadesh, Belgium, Lecture)

In this material world, everything is so gross and cheap. Here, when there is a meeting between lovers then within no time, it is the full embrace – that is what it is all about… Right down to the action! The main thing! Let us not waste any time! Acceleration from zero to a hundred in two seconds, right!? That is the material experience. Very quick and very shallow and with strong exchanges.

But in spiritual loving exchanges, things are very different. In spiritual loving exchanges, everything is so meaningful that slight little exchanges are performed again and again, and give so much satisfaction.

When Srimati Radharani becomes aware that Krsna has left, has left her alone and that she is faced with separation then she faints… boom! She falls unconscious and as she hits the ground, just there on the ground, there are flowers of which the scent reminds her of Krsna. Krsna wears those flowers on his garland. The scent enters her nostrils and immediately she jumps off the ground in ecstasy! So, again, inconceivable! Inconceivable intensity!

So here, we have our dull loving exchanges in the material world, "Yes, I love you…" This is our level of material exchange. I love you today, and tomorrow I love someone else, because how deep is the loving experience in this world? Very shallow!



--
Best Regards,
Dinesh

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

Real father is God!






Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like every spirit soul is son of God, but materially we think that some..., somebody as father. But real father is God. That is stated in the 
sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya
sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ yāḥ
tāsāṁ yonir brahma mahad
ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā
This mahat-tattva, this material world, just like a child, a child is born, the father gives the seed and mother develops the body. The child's body is developed... Actually all, all of us, we have got this body from mother. Therefore we have got very natural affinity with mother. The child can forget his father, but he cannot forget his mother. Mother's relationship is so intimate.
Lecture on BG 1.44 -- London, July 31, 1973: Actually, everyone is our svajanam, because if God is father, as Kṛṣṇa claims, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā, if He is the supreme father... Not only He claims, at least, any fine religious system claims, "God is the original father." That's a fact. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvam pravartate (BG 10.8). Everything has come from Him. He is the supreme father. So if Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father, He is father of everyone. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya (BG 14.4). In all species of life, in all forms of life, they are all our svajana, kinsmen. How it cannot be? Because Kṛṣṇa is the original father. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore a devotee of Kṛṣṇa does not want to commit a little harm to any living entity. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The living entities are combinations of the material nature and the spiritual nature. Such living entities are seen not only on this planet but on every planet, even on the highest, where Brahmā is situated. Everywhere there are living entities; within the earth there are living entities, even within water and within fire. All these appearances are due to the mother, material nature, and Kṛṣṇa's seed-giving process. The purport is that the material world is impregnated with living entities, who come out in various forms at the time of creation according to their past deeds.

From prakṛti, or material nature, come so many varieties of living entities, including aquatics, plants, trees, insects, birds, animals, human beings and demigods. prakṛti is the mother, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the father (ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4)).

The different forms of these living entities are only their external dresses. Every living being is actually a spirit soul, a part and parcel of God.

The conditioned souls, who are residents of the material world, are put in the womb of mother earth in the same way the seed of a child is put by the father in the womb of the mother. This conception of the Lord and the earth as father and mother is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (14.4). Conditioned souls are devoted to the motherland in which they take their birth, but they do not know their father. The mother is not independent in producing children. Similarly, material nature cannot produce living creatures unless in contact with the supreme father, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In Bhagavad-gītā (14.4) material nature is clearly mentioned as sarva-yoniṣu. This means that of all varieties of species—demigods, human beings, animals, birds and beasts (whatever is manifested)—material nature is the mother, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the seed-giving father.

Plants, trees, insects, aquatics, demigods, beasts, birds and all other living entities are sons or parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, but because they are struggling with different mentalities, they have been given different types of bodies (manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7)).

in the form of Mahā-Viṣṇu that the Lord manifests the material universes. Just as a husband and wife combine to beget offspring, Mahā-Viṣṇu combines with His wife māyā, or material nature. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.4), where Kṛṣṇa states:
sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā
"It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father." 

Viṣṇu impregnates māyā, the material nature, simply by glancing at her. This is the spiritual method. Materially we are limited to impregnating by only one particular part of our body, but the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa or Mahā-Viṣṇu, can impregnate by any part. Simply by glancing, the Lord can conceive countless living entities in the womb of material nature.


No one but the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be kind to everyone. Therefore the Lord's name is Kṛṣṇa, "all-attractive." As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.4), Kṛṣṇa is the kind father of everyone. In every species of life (sarva-yoniṣu), He is the original father, the seed-giver (bīja-pradaḥ pitā). How, then, can He be unkind to any living entity? One may be a man, an animal or even a tree, but the Lord is kind to everyone. That is God's qualification.


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

People who are too full of themselves are empty

Egoistic people think and talk only about themselves: “I went here, I achieved this, I experienced this, I am so great.” Even if others talk about something else, that just activates their autobiography narration mode, and they start speaking about themselves, on and on. They think, consciously or subconsciously, that others exist primarily for serving as their receptive, admiring audiences. By their self-centeredness, they annoy and alienate others, though others may conceal such emotions as long as the egoists have power.
The Bhagavad-gita (16.04) states that such self-obsession characterizes the ungodly.
Their arrogance keeps them in ignorance – they are so full of themselves that they can’t think of anything bigger than themselves, leave alone focus on that higher reality. Thus, they stay unaware and deprived of the sublime joy of connecting with the ultimate reality, Krishna, the reservoir of all happiness.
However much they inflate their ego, their heart remains empty, bereft of fulfilling reciprocation with both Krishna and others. Sooner or later, as time’s inexorable force starts taking away the things that fueled their egomania, their inner emptiness starts becoming undeniable and unbearable.
How can we avoid such a fate? By changing the basis of our fullness – instead of being full of ourselves, we can strive to become full of Krishna. Rather than delighting in our own glories, we can learn to delight in Krishna’s glories. Whereas our glories are temporary and finite, his glories are eternal and infinite. How do we taste Krishna’s glories? By practicing bhakti-yoga which trains and equips us to focus on Krishna, instead of on ourselves. Moreover, bhakti wisdom helps us to re-envision whatever good we have: it has come from Krishna and is meant to take us towards him.
By steady bhakti practice, when we become full of Krishna, we become joyful, eternally joyful.


Read more http://www.gitadaily.com/people-who-are-too-full-of-themselves-are-empty/

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