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We all fly our own plane

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, 28 Dec 2011, Pretoria, SA) One can think about a 100 problems in life which make it very difficult for us to practice this Krsna consciousness. Everyone can write down 100 special difficulties- 'why I have an extra problem in being a devotee…'- like health, relationships with other people (family relationships, marriage relationships, work relationships- where there's a whole field of problems! So in all these areas we can list our problems- then the government problems…it doesn't end! And all these are giving us good reasons why it's extra difficult for us to be a devotee and everyone feels like that. Everyone feels that, 'it's especially difficult for me. It is easier for others but my circumstance is that it's especially difficult for me.' Everyone feels that. It is funny but we always feel that we are the one who somehow or other has it more difficult for us. But that's not a fact. Everyone has the mercy and should think, 'what will I do with it?' We all fly our own plane and we all have this individual responsibility to take advantage of this mercy.

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Our suffering

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Dec 2011, Sasolburg, Johannesburg, South Africa)

When we are taking up a spiritual path, then we also have a tendency to suffer. Spiritual people also go through so many things, but their aim is not to contribute towards that suffering, and not to cause suffering to any other living beings. Those are their objectives.

As I have explained earlier, that in this world, we are all experiencing some degrees of suffering, because the fundamental nature of life also has suffering within it – ageing, disease, death…just to name a few fundamental things, which have nothing to do with externally created things.

Nature also has a lot of cruelty intent. In the animal kingdom one animal attacks another and so on and they are not free from suffering. So suffering is there in this world. Spirituality means that we are not aiming to add to this suffering, because isn't a word like 'salvation' found in all religious traditions? To relieve people from the suffering, is the objective and we are not going to contribute towards suffering. Then we say, that whatever suffering we are going through, then that is through previous choices and activities. So it is said that the living being came to this world in the first place, because he turned away from God!

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Freedom from what?

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Dec 2011, Sasolburg, Johannesburg, South Africa)

In religious tradition we find many values that are restricting interactions between men and women. Or restricting foodstuffs, consummation of alcohol, drugs – all of these things are governed by religious tradition. But there is logic to it, because there are also problems with these things. This is what we see, that when these things are becoming very prominent, then it gets into a huge mess! I mean if one's own son becomes severely addicted to drugs, then you cannot even have him in your house anymore, since he will steal everything that is there. That is what will happen and everyone knows that it gets like that. What to speak of all the violence and other things that are relating to something more socially accepted, such as alcohol!

So many spiritual traditions in the world are either forbidding or restricting these things, because they obviously bring problems in life! So there are regulative principles. The Vedic scriptures – the Bhagavad-Gita (which is one of the Vedic scriptures) is saying that it is introducing the regulative principles of freedom. All these regulations that are there, are not actually meant to suffocate people. A lot of people from all over the world have turned away from religion because they were tired from all these narrow suffocating ideas, and they just want to be natural:

'I just want to be natural!'

That tendency is there in the modern world…it's everywhere. It doesn't matter whether it is in Bombay…New York… Johannesburg…Paris or London, since it's all the same thing. The churches, temples and other religious buildings are empty due to people wanting to be free and natural. That is fine, but the Bhagavad-Gita is saying that these restrictions are the regulative principles of freedom. Freedom from what? Doesn't look very free at all! Not allowed to do anything. Not allowed to drink or smoke…………….. With so many restrictions, how can we call that the regulative principles of freedom? Yes they are called the regulative principles of freedom, because they set us free from suffering – that is the essence of it!

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A Movement For The Most Fallen!

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, 29 December 2011, Munich, Germany)

We should know that Lord Caitanya's movement is not to reclaim those who are in pure goodness.  It is not the movement to reclaim those who are fully self-realized and never under the influence of the 3 modes of material nature, who are never ever attracted to enjoying the senses.
No, the movement of Lord Caitanya is particularly to reclaim those who are most fallen!

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Engaging all of our senses!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta part 6

Bhakti or devotional service means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord. Sanatana Goswami wrote a book called, 'Sri Brhad Bhagavatamrta', which describes how Gopa Kumara is searching for the topmost abode. At one point Gopa Kumara had gone into the higher regions of this universe. He went to Tapaloka, which is just before the Brahmaloka. So it is the planet – the one before the last. That planet was filled with all yogis who are just focusing on the Lord within their mind. So Gopa Kumara was there and everyone said:

"Let's just meditate on the Lord within the mind."

But Gopa Kumara said:

"No, I want to see him!"

"But seeing is only the process of the senses which send signals to the mind. So seeing really happens in the mind! Therefore what it is really all about is the meditation, it is not the seeing, it is the meditation. So you should just meditate."

So that was their point, but Gopa Kumara said no, because he wasn't satisfied. What he wanted was: With all his senses to drink in the Lord. He wanted to see the form of the Lord; to think of the Lord; to smell the Lord; to hear the Lord; touch the Lord. He wanted to engage all of his senses in perceiving the Lord – that is bhakti!

So it sounds logical when one hears the arguments – yes it's all meditation, because everything leads to meditation, but then that is defeated. Gopa Kumara said:

"No!"

To engage all the senses in the service of the Lord and experience all of the senses – and that is higher. And you get descriptions about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saying:

"All my five senses are like a wild horse running to Krishna simultaneously, and each one of them is competing with the other for prominence!"

So it is very confusing, the sound….the smell and the sight are all competing with each other. So it is very interesting how love of God is about engaging all the senses. So even in practise we are already meant to engage all of our senses in the service of the Lord, and therefore a flower, water and flame – and all these senses are all engaged in the service of the Lord. And in the perfect stage each one of these senses becomes totally awoken!

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Dubai Versus Vraja

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Vrindavan Meditations

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My New Year's Resolution

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Awakening that original hope!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30th Dec 2011, Munich, Germany) Lecture: Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi 9-48

Devotional service captures the heart. It awakens a long dormant hope. In our hearts there is always this dormant hope for happiness. Maybe once when we were children we thought, yes, we will find it, but we didn't. Then we became adult, and as adults we come through this point life when we realise:

"Well, you cannot always get what you want, and you have to settle for the reality and so on."

So we settle for compromise. But this fruit of love of God, or fruit of devotional service awakens that original hope! That actually it may be possible after all to be fully satisfied. It awakens the very natural desire in us!

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Anchoring our vows

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, Dec 2011, Cape Town, SA) We have to build a very solid spiritual life. Vows don't stand by themselves. Just like a pole put in the sand doesn't stand very firm unless it is anchored in a strong foundation. Either you have to anchor it with a big concrete block on the ground or you have to put lines on four sides to sort of anchor it otherwise with time it will fall over. So we find that the vows in spiritual life also need to be anchored; they need support lines and a foundation then the forces of material nature will not knock over these vows. So the interesting part is that what was sort of relatively easy in the beginning… In the beginning you follow these vows on the strength of determination and it works. Then as time goes on, you actually realise that you have to do more than you were doing before to maintain these vows. When we are advancing we think we have to do less, but no, we actually have to do more to maintain these vows with time. That's the interesting part and one has to put more and more into place.

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The power of bhakti

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, Dec 2011, Cape Town, SA) Karma can never overcome bhakti. There is no question that karma, at any point, can overcome bhakti. Bhakti is always more powerful than karma and no matter what can happen, bhakti can rise above.

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Venus and Mars again

Kadamba Kanana Swami
(22 December 2011, Cape Town, South Africa)

Srimad Bhagavatam 7.14.3-4

Affection and relationships should be there in our life. But of course, they shouldn't lead to illicit sex. That is the bottom line. As you know, accidents do happen. That is the nature of the senses and the mind, that where there is attachment to such sense gratification, somehow or other, when men and women come together… you just don't know how it happened! Somehow or other, it happened… and everybody could see it coming and could understand it's going to happen if you go on like this… because that natural attraction is there.

Srimad Bhagavatam has the butter and fire analogy where men are butter and women are fire. And when the butter comes near the fire, it melts… it always melts! Bramacharis are basically trying to keep the butter in the fridge so that it doesn't melt quickly so they have a whole fridge system there within their saffron cloth and bramachari practises.

Ladies in spiritual life are covering the fire. That's why they cover their heads and wear sarees which cover the body more than modern clothing. So they are trying to cover the fire.

We are not trying to blame anybody, like throw the blame on the women that they are mayadevis. The poor men are the victims and those women are nothing but trouble makers. That is a somewhat biased and wrong understanding of what the Vedic literatures are saying. However, the illusory power of the female body is very strong undoubtedly. They have this power of attraction more than males. Although males may be attractive still the male body is not as charming as the female body.

In spiritual life, we recognise that the beauty of a female body has a danger connected to it. A danger to entangle spirit souls, both men and women. The women themselves are also falling victim to their own beauty… it gives a certain power and it's kind of addictive and difficult to stop it. So devotees realise this and therefore keep a certain amount of reservation.

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Looking for recognition

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, 29 December 2011, Munich, Germany) As long as one has a desire for recognition that means we want to be glorified and then we cannot glorify Krsna. Then we cannot chant for very long; we chant for a short time and then we are waiting to finish these rounds. But the less we are looking for recognition for ourselves, the more we can chant and the more we can glorify Krsna. That's why in the third verse of the siksastakam, these two points are connected: one must be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree and one must be ready to offer all respects to others. Then one can chant the holy name constantly, kirtaniyah sada harih. So this is a great enemy in spiritual life- recognition. Somehow or other we have to break the false pride in our material attributes.

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A conclusion on marriage

Kadamba Kanana Swami

(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.14.1, 20 December 2011, Cape Town, South Africa)

Question:

In the purport (SB 7.14.1), Prabhupada first explained the bramachari, vanaprasta and sannyasa ashrams and then at last he said, grhasta ashram for those who are so attached to sex life. So it sounds like the only reason to go to grhasta ashram is lust. Is that what it is?

Answer:

Well, generally speaking it is. But sometimes, even self-realised souls came to the grhasta ahram to fulfil a purpose of the Lord, that also happens. Srinivasa Archarya, for example, had two wives but he was fully self-realised; he was seeing the spiritual world. That was an arrangement of the Supreme Lord. But for most of us, well you know…

The thing is this, you are perfectly happy all by yourself and then suddenly some sex desire begins to arise and then one comes to desire to have a relationship with someone. But some people may say that's not all there is to it, there is also companionship. Alright, I agree with that – companionship is important. We cannot just be alone in this world, we need to have other people but I think marriage, and I say that after 24 years of having tried it, that marriage is an unnatural arrangement!

I'll explain why. I think that to give someone else so much right to just infringe on your privacy is too much. See, if you are not married to someone, you can nicely and politely say: Thank you very much. I need a little time for myself.

But you can't say that to your wife… I mean, you can say it but my God, see what's coming next!

You never spend any time with me… you have no interest in me whatsoever… you completely cold and uninterested… always pre-occupied with other things!

And you are thinking: I just want to finish my rounds.

So it doesn't allow you this privacy that you naturally need. It's very intense. So it's an unnatural arrangement, this infringement on privacy. As far as companionship is concerned, I think there is a need for that but I wouldn't recommend marriage as the solution for that.

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Letting go!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30th Dec 2011, Munich, Germany) Lecture: Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi 9-48

There is a story about a beggar. Once this beggar who was somewhere in India, was hungry and decided to go to the temple, because there are always pilgrims and someone might give him something to eat. But he felt extremely weak and hungry that day! So when he was in the temple, he started leaning against a pillar. At one point he just wrapped his arms around this pillar, and was hanging onto it. One man who came in, saw the beggar and thought:

"It looks like this beggar is in a very bad way!"

So he said to the beggar:

"I have something for you!"

In his bag he had some puffed rice. The beggar who was holding onto the column, said:

"Just put it in my hands."

So he had puffed rice in his hands. So how was he going to eat it? He can't get it from around the column, and to drop it on the ground will only make it dirty. He couldn't eat it because he was holding onto the pillar with his arms.

So in a same way if we hold on to so many material things (and have that pillar in our arms) then how can we relish the taste of bhakti? We cannot get to it. So if we let go of the pillar, then very quickly…..so we have to let go!

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