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Invest in your spiritual life





Latest news - week 06 / 2018
KKSBlog Newsletter
The latest news articles

High aspirations

By KKSBlog on Feb 04, 2018 01:46 pm

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 August 2017, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 8.4.5-6)

I am remembering a lecture by Srila Prabhupada where he said, "There is a need to be hundred percent pure. We have to become cent per cent pure!" And the devotees were becoming a little anxious, a heavy mood began to affect the audience. They began to think, "Since Prabhupada has said cent per cent pure, we will never make it. There is no hope for us then."  So the mood became a little serious. Then Prabhupada said, "Okay, ninety percent will do…" then he said, "Seventy percent but no less!" and he walked away.

 

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Invest in your spiritual life

By KKSBlog on Jan 31, 2018 05:00 pm

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 05 April 2015, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture: The secret of spiritual advancement)

If we do not have a connection with Srimad Bhagavatam, then spiritual life becomes dry! Chanting becomes difficult and then the four regulative principles become very narrow and gradually with time, we start craving for more space. Even though we have all the knowledge, even though we have been enlivened in Krsna consciousness and even though we have been so surrendered, at one point it will become too narrow! So the Bhagavatam is very important because it is the science that explains everything about Krsna and through Bhagavatam, we connect with Krsna. It keeps us focused on seeing who Krsna is, where Krsna is and how everything connects with Krsna… It is essential! For our faith to grow, we need to invest.

When you enter into a new job, in the beginning, you have to learn everything and then after a while, when you have been working for a number of years, then you are totally expert. You can do it real quick. So it gets easier over time. As you get into a routine, it gets easier. But spiritual life is the opposite. In a material situation, as you get more expert, you have to invest less but not in spiritual life.

In spiritual life, as time passes, we have to invest more and if we do not invest more, our faith will dry up! What was enough yesterday, is not enough anymore. You know, may be last year we did all these things and it was enough to keep us enthused but now, we do the same things but we are not feeling enthused because we have not invested more. We have to invest more; that is the way of spiritual life!

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Toughen up

By KKSBlog on Jan 30, 2018 06:00 am

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 05 April 2015, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture: The secret of spiritual advancement)

Krsna is our solution. Krsna will fulfil our desires. Everything we need, we find it in Krsna and if destiny does not go our way, "My dream, it didn't work out. Everything, it all collapsed!" It is all right, accept Krsna's will and somehow or other, tolerate it. If it is difficult, then know, "Krsna wants me to bear this difficulty and this will make me strong." We know that if life was so soft and if life was so easy what we would become…

Once, I was on a train. I had to carry a suitcase of cash in India so I traveled by train in a first class, air-conditioned compartment. It was more expensive that flying so nobody goes there. In that compartment, you have a button at your seat and when you press it, a servant comes running. There was another man in the compartment and this man, his finger was like always on the button and the servant would come and the man would ask, "Do you have a cushion?" And the servant would go bring a cushion and then the man would ring the bell again and ask for another cushion! In the end, he had like twenty cushions! He was sitting propped up with many cushions. This man was very fat also so I was looking at him and wondering if he had any bones. More and more, I began to think that if you get too many cushions in life, you become like a jelly-fish! You become like very soft and weak when life is too cushy! You have to fight a little bit.

You know, with children also, if you shelter them too much then they don't learn to deal with life and they become very helpless. So, come on, grow up and deal with the world; make the best of it; and what you cannot control, tolerate! That is life! So, we cannot shelter people too much and we cannot shelter ourselves too much. It is simple, when difficulties come, we accept. We try to make the best of it and for the rest… accept! This is Krsna consciousness, this faith that our happiness lies with Krsna. When I am faithful to what Krsna wants with my life then it will work and when I go for other things, it will not work! Then one can overcome personal weaknesses and one can get strength.

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Previous published articles


The Bhagavatam is the book of this movement!
My right or My duty?
Service matters
Krsna-prasadam!?
The welfare of all the people of this world
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When something happens to us, is it karma or Kṛṣṇa?


When something happens to us, is it karma or Krsna?

By KKSBlog on Jan 10, 2018 08:34 am

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 June 2012, Leicester, England, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.7)

When something happens to a devotee, is it karma or is it Krsna acting? This is a big question. Sometimes, we hear, "It's your karma, Prabhu?" Then at other times, you are told, "Isn't it Krsna who is behind this?"

Srila Prabhupada explained about how karma works for a devotee in the Nectar of Devotion – the fan (analogous to karma) is spinning and at the time you take up devotional service, the electricity is turned off but the fan continues turning, therefore we are getting diminished reactions.

So are we under the influence of karma or are we directly under Krsna's influence? Is the pure devotee under the influence of Krsna and is everyone else under the influence of diminished karma? Giriraj Swami has shed some light on this matter:

As Prabhupada said, there is that diminished reaction but Krsna is behind it and Krsna is sort of watching that karma – that diminished karma. Sometimes he interferes and at other times he just lets it act and he watches, anumantā upadrasta(the permitter and the overseer, Bhagavad-gita 13.23). He just witnesses it and oversees everything. As anumantā, he gives ājñā diba – permission. So, in this way Krsna permits it or sometimes Krsna says, "No, scrape off the bill. That is okay, there is no need for that."

At other times, Krsna puts in an extra test. According to our karma, something was not supposed to happen but Krsna put it in there! So it's interesting how we, as devotees, are simultaneously under the influence of Krsna's direction and karma. Krsna is the ultimate cause and therefore we always see Krsna behind it. Whenever something happens to us, we see Krsna as pūruṣa, our maintainer, who is with us at every step of the way. He is caring for us; there is no doubt! He does not leave us alone. Although he puts us through things that we really do not want to go through it, still it is good for us. He is prodding us, activating us like a buffalo because after all, we have become like buffalos!

In India you see the buffalos walking in the street and when cars come from behind, 'Honk! Honk!' as Indian cars do, the buffalo does not move an inch and just keeps on walking. Even when a car touches the buffalo a bit, it does not move but with anyone else, they would have moved, So we have a bit of that buffalo consciousness. By being under the influence of the three modes of material nature, we have become dull; we have lost our sensitivity.

When things are happening in our life, it is Krsna prodding us. Gradually, we awaken and we rise above. Sometimes you see a little boy or a little girl walking next to the buffalo with a stick – they are not shy and 'whack' with a stick and that's what gets the buffalo going. Sometimes Krsna also does it to us!





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Krsna’s protection


(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 19 February 2013, London, England, Srimad Bhagavatam 8.5.13)
Krsna personally takes charge of the life of his devotee. Srila Madhvacarya mentioned that when a devotee says, “Krsna, I’m yours!” then from that day on, Krsna will fully accept that devotee under his personal care. So in this way, Krsna is directly involved in our lives. Krsna is also present within the heart as caitya-guru, the guru that resides within the heart.
 It is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita (10.11), in the purport to the verse teṣām evānukampārtham, Srila Prabhupada explains that the spiritual master gives directions to the disciple on how to become free from the influence of the material energy, how to make advancement and how to eventually go back to Godhead. However, if sometimes, even in spite of getting good instructions, the disciple does not actually follow these instructions – does not take proper advantage of these instructions – then Krsna will make arrangements from within. Krsna will make arrangements! Krsna will either give us transcendental knowledge from within or he pulls the carpet from under us and our whole life tumbles upside down – then what can we do!? Then suddenly only Krsna is left.
 There was a congregational devotee in Amsterdam who was thinking, “Shall I move into the temple or shall I not? Shall I or shall I not?” He was just going on and on and never came to a conclusion, so he never moved into the temple. Then he went to Vrindavan and while he was in Vrindavan, he got news that his house had burnt down – the whole house – and when your house burns down, it is not only your house that burns down but irreplaceable things go as well! So all irreplaceable things just turned to ashes. His whole life had turned to ashes and he was homeless so he had no other option but to move into the temple! 
Krsna protects us from maya and sometimes even against our will. Oh yes, even when we would not have it then still, Krsna makes some arrangements for us. Krsna is very merciful and he is very kind!


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Lessons on life


(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 September 2016, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.25)
In this chapter, the passing away of Bhismadev, in the purport to this verse there is a list of challenges for society at large to improve their quality of life. The first challenge is, “Not to become angry!” We remember Upadesamrta, the Nectar of Instruction Verse 1, vaco vegam manasa krodha vegam, one must control the pushings of anger. So even when anger is pushing, one must somehow or other subdue it. Bhismadev also said that in order to conquer anger, one must learn to forgive because it is very difficult to judge with two types of measurements – measurement for others and different measurements for ourselves. For ourselves, there are so many explanations for our mistakes, “It wasn’t really my fault. It was just circumstances. I didn’t intend it that way…” whereas for others, “How could they do that! This is outrageous.” We judge them different and the same extenuating circumstances are not being considered so Bhismadev points out that we must learn to forgive. We have to see that others make mistakes because then we can overcome anger.  
Forgiving is not necessarily the same as forgetting. If someone has committed an abominable activity, we may forgive but it does not mean that we forget. We will remember but we will also keep a special eye – if someone puts his fingers in the money box then after that we keep him at a distance from the money box obviously. So forgiving and forgetting is not necessarily the same. Also, there may be a point when we forget, it depends on the seriousness of the offence.

Sometimes though, anger is required. Sometimes, it is necessary to send out a signal that from now it is too much. This has to stop. BANG, fist on the table! Everyone needs that also. It is not that anger per se is bad. Those who are envious sometimes deserve anger. Those who are envious of devotees, we need to sometimes check it with anger. That is also there. But Bhismadev is referring to uncontrolled anger. Controlled anger has a place. Srila Prabhupada would also get angry at times but his anger was always related to Krsna and to whatever was favourable to Krsna. When there was neglect, Prabhupada was not tolerating that. He would point it out!

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Death at any moment



(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 09 October 2017, Canberra, Australia, Evening Lecture, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.27.27)
In many ways, old age is a blessing. For a vaisnava, it is a great blessing. Why is it so? Because then, there is no more distraction. When we are young, we have so much fight. “Oh, I want to enjoy… but I have to be Krsna conscious! I should be Krsna conscious. I really want to be but I want to enjoy also.” When you are old, “Yeah, I want to enjoy but let’s be real. Can I? Can I really?” You can try to squeeze a few more drops out of the old broken machine but it is not very convincing. You may want to eat many things but you cannot, not like before. You just cannot. If you do, you have pay for it. Whatever you do, you have to pay for it – more and more and one day, it might just kill you!
In this way, one can see how people can eat themselves to death or people that are like so addicted to sex. People like the cardinal in France who died in the home of a prostitute. The same cardinal who spoke to Prabhupada, (French accent) “But you know, why can we not take the flesh of the cow to feed the hungry children? It is for the children. There is so much hunger in the world. So what can we do? Let the children starve and not eat the flesh of the cow?” Some logic… but he was found dead in the bed of the prostitute – the cardinal! This is an interesting detail that Krsna exposed. So with time, all facades are broken down. With time, it all becomes real. With time, we can no longer fake it. With time, it will become clear who we really are!
The famous German poet writer, Goethe, who is like the German Shakespeare, wrote many wise things, many interesting wise things. However, his doctor testified that in the last three days before his death, he was suddenly overwhelmed by extreme fear. So it is like that! At the end, whatever is not real will collapse. It all becomes real. It is like you can no longer play. You can no longer ACT like a pure devotee. You have to BE IT. You have to have FAITH in Krsna otherwise, it is over, you will become exposed. Old age is a reminder to us: Krsna is our only shelter and we had better start practicing now.
Prabhupada asked the question, “Who is an old man?” and everyone was looking around the room. You can do this exercise – ask one of the kids at a Sunday feast, “Who is an old man?” Sometimes they point at me and something in me goes, “Me? I don’t look that old, do I?”but Prabhupada pointed at a five year old child and said, “He is an old man because he can die at any moment.” Anybody can die at any moment!

We were at a funeral yesterday. Anybody can die at any moment. That is what I learned when my father took me to the cemetery for the first time to visit the grave of his father. I was four but I could read a little and I was reading the tombstones. I was not so shocked by the grave of my grandfather because I did not really have much of a relationship with him but when I saw a tombstone of someone who died that was born after me, then I was shocked. Then I realised, “Oh my god, I can die also. Even now, I can die. It is not only old people that die. Anybody can die.” Therefore, we had better be ready and let go of this life.

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