Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Reality check

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 1 March 2013, Vrndavan, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.27.10)

Gradually, we must give up our false sense of security. Modern society is doing just the opposite and creating unlimited false security like credit cards and when everything else fails, then insurance. But some things can no longer be ensured, like earthquakes, because natural disasters have statistically increased over the last so many years in the world. Although in the past, one could take out insurance on natural disasters.

No more! Of course, the entire material world is a natural disaster. I'm sorry to say but there is no happy end in the material world. It doesn't exist. It always ends with death. The first approach of a devotee to fight his material attachment is knowledge. So, our first weapon is knowledge – with a sword of transcendental knowledge, he cuts the net of karma in the heart!

Looking at the temporary nature of the material energy. Looking at the pointlessness of trying to build a kingdom in this world when at the same time, time is breaking it down. All that trouble for what? For something that is already breaking down under your eyes. And then your body brakes down… What is the point of working so hard in this world? Just to develop and maintain our material enjoyment!? That's knowledge! With a weapon of knowledge, we can cultivate some detachment.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to KKS Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Krsna!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 3 February 2013, Prague, Czech Republic, Caitanya-Caritamrta Adi-Lila 1.2)

There are many eternal devotees in the spiritual world who are all competing with each other to attract Krsna. At the same time, Krsna is attracting them. He is playing… he plays flute… he plays with minds… he plays with hearts and feelings. Krsna is the original cheater! Therefore, you are never sure with Krsna. Sometimes he appears to be the most honest person that ever existed, the most sincere and the most saintly. But the next moment, he appears to be the biggest cheater. Yes, one can never expect to take Krsna for granted in the spiritual world.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to KKS Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

All or nothing!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 February 2013, Vrndavan, India, Caitanya Caritamrta Seminar 1)

In the Bhagavatam, it is mentioned that although Lord Krsna is atmaram – he is fully satisfied within himself and he has no need for anything – still, he experiences some incompleteness. This incompleteness is there because some living beings have turned away from him. They are in the material world and Krsna has a desire to bring these living beings back.

Therefore Krsna makes arrangements. Again and again, Krsna involves himself in the material world. He has no need to do so. He is fully satisfied within himself. He is completely absorbed in his eternal pleasure pastimes and these pleasure pastimes are just full of unlimited ever-growing nectar.

Still, Krsna is such a person – he is an all or nothing person and he wants everything. He wants everything! Oh yes, even if he has practically everything … no, he wants everything, completely! He wants every living being!  So, he comes again and again in his various incarnations.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to KKS Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

What a vow!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 27 February 2013, Vrndavan, India, Caitanya Caritamtra Seminar Part 2)

Madhavacarya was extraordinary because he was worshiping Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We find Madhavacarya seated at the foot of Govardhan at Govinda Kunda and we find him there deeply absorbed in his chanting of the holy name so much so, that he would not let anything in this world interfere with that chanting.

The vow of Madhavendra Puri is something else. Let us for a moment concentrate and meditate on Madhavendra Puri and his vow. His vow was basically not to make any arrangement for anything to eat. Why such a vow? That vow was not followed by him in the mood of austerity, it was not, "From now, let me do some extraordinary austerity. I will not a make any arrangements for anything to eat."

No, that was not it. If you think of it, all problems start with eating. It's because we have to eat that we have to work and then you need to cook, and so on, and before you know it, it's a huge entanglement. It takes away time – time away from the essential activity, and that was what was mood of Madhavendra Puri who did not want to take away any time from glorifying Krsna. He did not want to, for one moment, just stop his chanting. So, therefore he was not going to bother with anything else. He just let it go, he renounced it, he said, "I will leave it up to Krsna and I will only chant."

So therefore, if we think about that for a moment, we can realise how deep his level of Krsna consciousness was. His chanting was not the chanting of a sadhika. His chanting was not the chanting of a devotee in practise, who was trying to get purified in practise by his chanting day-by-day; by trying to become more fixed up like most of us. His chanting was the chanting of one who was relishing the glorification of Krsna, who was hopelessly attached to glorifying Krsna and could simply not stop for a moment in that activity. So then, that kind of consciousness that attracts Krsna.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to KKS Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Some fear of maya is intelligent!

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 5 February 2013, Prague, Czech Republic, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.10.43-44)

It's healthy to be afraid of maya. It's healthy to be afraid of lions too. They took a devotee in South Africa to a lion park. They were in the car and the lions were outside. It was hot and all the lions were sleeping. So this sleeping lion then comes up to the car and the devotee, for the photo, just opened the window and he started patting the lion. Crazy… cracked! Lions are ten times faster than we are and the jaws of the lion, in one bite, can bite off your head, if they want to. So that's crazy! So some fear of lions is intelligent. Some fear of maya is intelligent. Those who are not afraid of maya are fools.

So even when we go back to the spiritual world and we're happy with Krsna then one day we may just remember, 'Oh, there's also a world, a material world where you can be independent and you can be lord and masters yourselves.' And then you will say, 'No, no thank you very much. No, not interested.' Because you remember all the suffering you went through.  So yes, we can remember that if we get involved with maya then it's very dangerous. It can be big trouble, first it looks really good, and then it gets really bad!

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to KKS Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites