The higher taste, surrender, contradictions and groupism

Dear Swamiji and all Vaisnavas,

     Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Jaya Visnupada Srila Prabhupada! Jaya Visnupada Swami Gaurangapada! All glories to the guru parampara and all Vaisnavas!

    Before starting this I humbly pray for the mercy of all devotees and I beg that my offenses be forgiven and that I advance further and begin to relish the taste of pure devotional service.

      Regarding the material desires which forces us into subjucation and distract us from advancement, my own experiences have established concretely that no amount of effort, no tactic, no scheme, no device all of which are manufactured by us can ever hold them back for long. 1 week, 2 weeks...at best a month...then they come back stonger than before. The best and only solution is to take complete shelter of the most merciful mantrarajas and the maha-mantra for there is no possibility to stop the mind with our efforts. Desire must become spiritual by the mercy of the Lord and the vaisnavas. The more we try...the more we forget to surrender to the Lord and the less we recognise that we are not the doer. It is the Lord who can remove those offenses and material mountains of dirt by his names and there is no use in looking for this solution...that solution etc to each and every variety of material problems that we face. Again and again the answer hits one in the face that it is chanting and chanting alone that is the cure.

    The material desires will go only when the lust for them gets replaced by a higher taste of chanting the names. This happens only with chanting in complete surrender and humility and making advancement. We have chanted at a stretch for a few days, a few weeks or at most a month before we become just slightly slack and that is more than enough to guarantee stagnation in our advancement. The attitude that "I have chanted enough" must go. No amount of chanting is ever enough. From my example we must always think that we have not done enough and have wasted time in other things which means a lack of sraddha. From your spiritual point of view the names expand unlimitedly and having tasted them just once the desire to taste more can never cease. In that sense I think the best solution would always be to consider what we are doing as inadequate and always pray for the Lord's mercy that we get sincerity to make the most of whatever time we have. Opportunities like this are far rarer than the chance one gets to become a Brahma and we cannot throw billions of lifetimes of sukrti away by understating the importance of the opportunity given to us. That must be the weapon. Always to remind oneself of how rare and how great the opportunity is and not to forget its importance which can hardly be described in the limitations imposed by the mundane language of the material world.

For reference, please go to www.be-pure.info then the weekly link to the previous articles and navigate to the articles mentioned below which are truly excellent pieces from which i gained this information i am sharing here

Paradoxical Reconsolidation
Hadai Nityananda dasa                                                                                                                                     

Contradictions: Real Or Apparent?
Swami B.V. Tripurary           
   
      There are always more and more sides to the Lord and that everything is resolved on the spiritual plane. The truth is the language of this world is extremely limited as we discussed once and it is incapable of describing or resolving even that which is there in the revealed scripture. Hence there are bound to be some 'mistakes' (apparent). It is painful to see how all over the place, people are arguing over words. This groupism tendency of supporting whom I like and saying, "All others are wrong. What they say is different" is even more dangerous than the offenses as it leads to narrow-mindedness. Consequently one rejects a bona fide Vaisnava simply because that devotee is not in his group. This is very great danger for any sadhaka and over a period of time, it simply leads to what is known as 'fanaticism'. Religion without any philosophy as Srila Prabhupada quotes in the Bhagavad Gita.

  There was a story about how a guru once tied up a cat that was wandering over the place disturbing the yagna that he was performing. A few foolish disciples later on thought that there was some importance in that and began to do that in their own sacrifices later on. Details are a bit hazy, I will try to get the proper story out. Anyhow the story goes on to say that after a few generations of disciples, they all forgot the correct procedures by giving to much importance to the cat and soon a time came when sacrifice meant "Go get the cat and tie it up!"  This is what happens when people blindly accept things without understanding in the name of the so called 'as it is' philosophy which ultimately never realises the goal which styles its name. I am a quite ignorant of the full story...so if anyone knows they are welcome to fill up the gap. It takes just a small deviation or misconception in the very beginning which can lead to serious problems like creation of the apasampradayas.

The gradual degradation generated by sectarianism leads to groupsim over who's right and then fanaticism where it becomes that "If you say something which sounds different, you are a heretic! I will kill you". Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that this sectarianism marks the end of the living spiritual advancement. In this regard I would like to add that theoretical reading of different books by different authors is no solution. No amount of theoretical reading done with the mind can clear doubts. On the contrary seeing the scenario today, I think it has rather created more confusion than ever. All these online wars on the net...There are millions of sites which just debate and which are the favourite grounds for people who really have no idea of any useful work. Most of the people there are not even properly aware of their own philosophy or the other's vews either. If any devotee goes there, he is insulted without any consideration. I feel that for a person like me such things are absolutely as taboo as lust is for a sannyasi. I think Swamiji had once written on how the net is the worst place full of the evils of Kali except for those places where pure Vaisnavas are there - namely websites like Nitaai Veda.

  First and foremost, if we have to accept the apparent contradictions we have to admit our own inability and lack of realisation. Merely saying that we are humble or by using appealing language is not a sign that humility lies within. We have to accept that we are far inferior to the acaryas and that we are not their guru to talk about them this way or that as we like. No one can claim one is going to preach and clear misconceptions without having sufficient spiritual authority and advancement to do so. I tell this because I have spoken to people who claim that there are true followers...etc..etc...in the past. Criticism is very detrimental to spiritual progress, even of non-devotees, any criticism.

  The next thing one may ask is "Ok! Now who's genuine and who's not?" There is another class of people, the majority, who accept everything and anything that anyone says as genuine. The distinction between who's the fraud and who's actually telling the truth from another point of that infinite spiritual variety can only be revealed by an advanced devotee who has had proper realisations on the matter. We have no power to do that. Therefore we must pray for the mercy of the Lord to lead us to such a great soul and go on chanting. Usually the solution comes sooner than we expect. But one must accept this. Arguments are no way to come to a conclusion.

  Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has written about how some consider Krishna Visnu, others Vamana, etc and says that all these things are true because everything is included within Krsna (see Caitanya Caritamrta) . But before that he gives the example of someone who tries to minimise the glories of Lord Krishna by using language that puts him at an inferior position like a partial expansion which is actually incorrect since Lord Gauranga Krsna is the summum bonum absolute truth and is complete in all qualities. That is an example

  By our experience, a black coloured body only absorbs light. And yet Lord Krishna's blackish form is the source of the infinite and limitless Brahman effulgence. There are many things which are revealed to us which are not in any manifested scripture, but which are not in violation of them either. Indeed the manifested scriptures are only a small portion of the limitless spiritual knowledge. With so many constraints, we can understand properly that what every devotee realises is true, even if it may seem contradictory. Only when we have some realisations ourselves can we reconcile and accept the apparent differences while rejecting the real ones. And that again comes down to quality chanting and respecting all Vaisnavas. The four sampradayas all say slightly different things, but Mahaprabhu combined all of them properly and by understanding this, one sees that these sampradayas have all revealed a small part of the siddhanta at the appropriate time and circumstances. So close are their statements that one can feel that ultimately its the same thing just being said in different ways. Mahaprabhu's siddhanta immediately resolves these differences.

  It is good if in the very beginning people are properly informed about this matter since this problem can be easily dismissed in the beginning. It is only when it gets well seasoned by theoretical knowledge and association that it really starts to play havoc. I sincerely pray to the Lordships Nityananda Gauranga that people learn to accept this without further arguments. All glories to Hadai Nityananda Dasa Prabhu for having brought the real truth to the light. Prabhu, I thank you for your service to the Vaisnava community!


  Aspiring to be your servant,
--
Srinath

Comment on this Post

Grihastha pair and the need of children

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

i would like to kindly ask a question:
Is it compulsory for a grihastha devotee pair to have children? Like two devotees, male and female, who like each other, respect each other and they would plan to marry especially for each others' support of personal bhajan and preaching purposes. Is it necessary for them to have children, because sometimes it would maybe complicate the very purpose (as mentioned before), for which they got married?

Thank You very much,
Matus

Comment on this Post

Re: Falldown and avoiding offenses

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

Dear Guruji, Bhakta Matus Prabhu, Srinath Prabhu and devotees. Please accept my humble obeisances.

In the Chaitanya Mangala Lord Chaitanya says: �Anyone who just once his life speaks the word �Nityananda� becomes purified. He becomes My pure devotee.�

This is a wonderful promise of the Lord and it reveals His unfathomable mercy upon us fallen souls. When we have complete faith in the Lord and His words we know by this one sentence what we have to do: distributing this miraculous holy Name of Lord Nityananda to everyone. There are no strings attached to the holy Name of Lord Nityananda. There is no rule, no restriction, no condition, no pre-occupation, no attitude and no any other request than just saying ONCE the Name �Nityananda�. Can we ever understand the magnitude of this wonderful statement of the Lord? We should fall down at the feet of everyone who says the Name Nityananda just once because that person is to be understood a pure devotee of the Lord in some point of time and eternally he or she IS already a pure Vaisnava because the Lord accepts this person as His pure devotee. So time is very relative here. When the greatest sinner says �Nityananda� and keeps on sinning, still he or she is a pure devotee by the promise of the Lord. So all the sins of the past, present and future of such a person should be forgiven because ultimately we are looking at a pure devotee. Being as tolerant as a tree has so many meanings and forgiveness is a very important one. Because when we cannot forgive a pure devotee of the Lord what does that say about our own advancement and understanding? Can we have a grudge because he or she is not a pure devotee yet? Are we then not entangling ourselves in the relativity of time? When somebody BECOMES the pure devotee of the Lord he or she IS already accepted as such. Who are we not to abide with that promise of the Lord?

I agree with Srinath that �all offenses culminate and lead to the most dangerous Vaisnava aparadha� and therefore we should be very cautious. The Mantrarajas �Nityananda� and �Gauranga� are so merciful that they do not consider any offences. However there is one offence that even They do not tolerate: Vaisnava aparadha or the offenses made to a devotee of the Lord. We can easily understand this with the analogy of a mother and a child. When somebody is nice to her child but that same person offends her, she can tolerate it. But when that person is nice to her but offends her child she can�t tolerate it. Why? Because she loves her child more than herself. Likewise the Lord forgives our offenses but He doesn�t tolerate offenses made to His devotee. They are His children and He protects them, nourishes them and loves them like a mother does a child. Only when the child forgives his or her offender and asks the mother to forgive the offender as well, the mother will do so out of love for her child. So when anyone offends us (aspiring Vaisnavas) we should always be forgiving and ask the Lord for our offender�s forgiveness as well. This is the only way to disable the effects of Vaisnava aparadha and to set all offenders free.

So the only offense that is fatal is given in the hands of the devotees of the Lord and therefore all His devotees are given the instruction and responsibility to �be as tolerant as a tree� by always forgiving those who offend them. An ideal example was given by the pure Vaisnava Jesus Christ who showed by His own example to be as tolerant as a tree. While dying He prayed in love for those who had killed Him with the words: �Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.�

We should always have the highest respect for whoever has uttered the most inconceivable merciful Name �Nityananda� just once because he or she IS a pure devotee of the Lord. Even though the pureness of such a person may not be apparent to us (yet), he or she is accepted by the Lord as becoming His pure devotee. We cannot �timestamp� such an eternal pure devotee of the Lord by our own whimsical limited and conditioned interpretation of what is pure and what is not pure. It is not a coincidence that a living entity would utter the holy name Nityananda. It is the causeless mercy of the Lord Who makes that happen. It is one of His inconceivable ways of waking up His devotees and we can be assured that whoever says the name �Nityananda� IS His pure devotee. There are so many �sleeping� devotees of the Lord everywhere around us and He has given us the most beautiful assignment to wake them up. How? By saying to anybody who will listen: �Please repeat after me: �Nityananda!�� At the same time He has also given us the tremendous responsibility of not putting His pure devotees back to sleep again. We have to be as tolerant as a tree and forgive whoever offend us and ask forgiveness for them at the feet of the Lord. We are given the key to not only awaken His pure devotees but also to eradicate the ultimate offense of Vaisnava aparadha. In fact, on the deepest level he has given the most awesome loving gift to His devotees: He has given Himself to them to free the path for all living beings to His lotus feet. Who can comprehend His Love?

Your servant,

Hadai Nityananda dasa

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

Comment on this Post

Re: The book, Shri Shyamananada Shataka

Hare Krishna,

Alll glories to Shrila Prabhupada and Shri Shyamsundar.

I am the web-designer of www.radhashyamsundar.com and regarding the questions of devotees posted here, let me confirm that the underground cave Shrila Shyamananda Prabhu can still be seen today. Golden scraper cannot be found now as the temple authorities are not aware from whose hand it kept on passing. Charnamrita of one lakh Vaishnavas' lotus feet can also be found in the temple. English version of the book is available in the temple at Shri Vrindavana Dham. The same is found here.

Comment on this Post

Re: Falldown and avoiding offenses

Sri Gauranga gave an easy way to over come offenses

Golden Volcano of Divine Love.   by  Bhakti R. Sridhar Maharaj

trnad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih

Translation

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself is qualified to allways chant the holy name of Krsna."

Illumination

We should mainly couch ourselves in this mood: we should think of ourselves as the meanest of the mean. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given his analysis of the meaning of this verse as follows: even a blade of grass has its value, but we do not even have as much value as a blade of grass. We have no positive value. It is one thing if a man is not educated, but a madman is worse than uneducated. He can think-but only abnormally. Therefore, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, "I have some consciousness, some intelligence, but it is all misdirected. A blade of grass has no misdirection. When trampled upon, it has no tendency to spring back in the opposite direction. A blade of grass can be blown here and there by a storm, or by the external environment, but I will always be reluctant to go in a particular direction. If the waves of the environment want to take me in a particular direction, I,ll try to oppose them. If you really consider my value, my position is lower than a blade of grass because I have an opposing tendency."

When we want to bring ourselves in a closer relationship with the infinite goodness, we should think, "I have no value. Rather, my value is negative. It is my tendency to oppose the Lord's grace. If Krsna wants to grace me, I try to resist. I am constituted of such an element that I commit spiritual suicide. Krsna comes to grace me, but I oppose Him: the energy that is within me tries for suicide. This is my position, but a blade of grass won't oppose anyone. I have such a nasty position." We must realize that we are in such a predicament. With this concern we may accept the goodness of the Absolute Truth in the form of His holy name.

We should not think that the path will be very smooth; so many troubles may come from outside. When the devotees go to chant Hare Krsna in the street, many people come and shout, "Hey, you monkeys! Red-faced monkeys! So many forms of hindrances and opposition will come and try to affect us, to dissuade us from this path, but we must practice forbearance like that of a tree. Why has the example of a tree been given? It has been analysed in this way: if no one pours any water on a tree, it does not protest, "Oh! Give me water! If anyone comes to disturb the tree, snatching its leaves, cutting its branches, or even chopping it down, a tree remains silent; it gives no opposition. We should try to see how insult, poverty, punishment, or other unfavourable dealings are necessary to purify us, and with minimal punishment we shall be released from material existence.

Through Krsna consciousness we have connected with the highest object of life, the highest fulfillment of life -what price are we ready to pay for that? It is inconceivable. Whatever little demands may be exacted from us, we must accept with a smiling face, considering the highest goal. If we are really confident, if we have faith in our bright future, then we can gladly pay what little price nature wants to take from us.

"Krsna-I Shall Teach You a Lesson!"

Once, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, was going through the town of Navadwipa begging a little rice from different houses. The village people sometimes attack or insult devotees, and as he was going to his quarters they did not spare even such an exalted soul. Some boys were pelting him with stones and throwing dirt at him, and he remarked, "Krsna, You are cruelly dealing with me! I shall complain to Your mother Yasoda about You. That was his outlook, and in that way he harmonized everything. We should learn to see Krsna in anything that comes to disturb or attack us. In philosophical calculation, of course, without God's will nothing can happen. But in a concrete way, a devotee sees, "O Krsna! You are backing these children, You are disturbing me, and I shall teach You a lesson. I know how to deal with You. I shall complain to Mother Yaoda, and she will chastise You."

The advanced devotees are established in the consciousness that Krsna is behind everything, and they take everything in that way. This attitude is our beacon light, for it will guide us to adjust ourselves with those things that are apparently unfavourable to us. A sweet adjustment is found there, and so we are advised to be more tolerant than a tree. We may not give any opposition; still, opposition will come to disturb us. And we must forbear.

And we must show our respect to others. Prestige is the greatest and most subtle enemy of the devotee of Krsna. Pride is the worst enemy for the devotee of Krsna. And pride ultimately takes one to the conclusion of the mayavadis, the monists. They say, so 'ham-"I am!" Not daso 'ham, '"I am subordinate," but "I am of the Supreme Element; I am That: I am He," eliminating from their consideration the fact that we are tiny and suffering in misery. All these practical things are ignored by the mayavadis, the impersonalists, but position, or ego (pratistha), is our worst enemy. In this verse, we are advised to deal with prestige and position in a special way.

The Slave Area of Krsna

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, "You must not desire respect from anyone or even from the environment itself; at the same time, you must give prestige to everyone and everything in the environment according to its position. Show respect, but don't desire any respect from outside. We must be very particular about this, for pride is our hidden enemy, our worst enemy. If we can somehow avoid or conquer this enemy, we will be able to enter into the slave area of Krsna and join those who have given their lives wholesale in sacrifice to Him. The general meaning of this verse is, "Never seek position or prestige from any quarter. At the same time, give honor to one and all according to your understanding.

A Great Insult

When our spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, went to Vrndavana in the early 1930,s, he rode in a motorcar. In those days, this was unheard of for a saint. One day, a priest insulted our guru by deprecating the position of Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, the preceptor of our highest conception of spiritual achievement. He boasted, "We are not only residents of the holy land, but members of the caste of high priests (brahmanas). Therefore we can offer our benedictions to Dasa Goswami. He was born in a low-class family, and he himself asked such a benediction from us."

Of course, in great humility, Dasa Goswami once prayed,

gurau gosthe gosthalayisu sujane bhusuragane
svamantre sri-namni vraja-nava-yuva-dvandva-sarane
sada dambham hitva kuru ratim apurvam atitara
maye svantarbhratas catubhir abhiyace dhrta-padah

"'O mind-my brother! I fall at your feet and implore you: Give up all pride and always taste ecstatic love while remembering the divine guide, the holy abode of Vrndavana, the cowherds and milkmaids of Vraja, the loving devotees of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, the gods on earth or pure brahmanas, the Gayatri mantra, the holy names of Sri Krsna and the divine youthful couple of Vraja, Sri Sri Radha-Govindasundara.

That priest remarked, "We are residents of the holy abode of Vrndavana, and brahmanas as well, so we are in a position to give benedictions to Raghunatha Dasa Goswami. Upon hearing these words, our guru maharaja, who was at Radha-kunda at the time, began fasting He remarked, I have to hear this? This fellow is under the control of lust, anger, and greed, and he says that he can show his grace to Dasa Goswami, the most respected preceptor in our line! And I am to hear that? Without retaliating against his remarks, he decided to fast.

We also stopped eating, and our whole camp began fasting. Then a local gentleman who came to know that the whole camp was fasting managed to find the blasphemous priest and bring him to our guru maharaja. That priest begged to be pardoned. Our guru maharaja was satisfied and, after showing him some respect, finally broke his fast. At that time someone told our guru maharaja, "They are all ignorant fools. Why should you be so much affected by his words? You should ignore it. Our guru maharaja said, "If I were an ordinary babaji and heard such a remark, I could simply cover my ears and go away. But I am playing the part of an acarya, one who teaches by example. What justification do I have for riding in a motorcar if I do not oppose such remarks against my gurudeva?"

Repeatedly he used this expression: "Why am I driving a motorcar here in Vrndavana?" He said, "Had I been a niskincana babaji, a saint living in seclusion and wearing only a loincloth, I would have given no opposition to this man To save myself, I would simply leave the place and go elsewhere. But because I am riding in a big motorcar in the post of an acarya, a teacher, I must defend the dignity of the great devotees. I have accepted this charge and can't evade these circumstances. I must face it and do everything in my power that such things may not go on undetected or unopposed.

Humility must be adjusted or modified in its practical application. Once, when a Hare Krsna temple was attacked, a gun was used by the devotees to defend the temple. Later there was a complaint among the local people. They said, Oh, they are humble? They are tolerant? Why have they crossed the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree? They can't be devotees! So many complaints were coming to me, but I defended them by saying, "No, they have done rightly. The instruction to be humbler than a blade of grass means one should be humble to the devotee, not to a madman."

The general class of men are ignorant. They are mad. They do not know what is good or bad, so their consideration has no value. Who is qualified to judge whether a devotee is offering respect to all and not expecting any for himself? Who will judge whether he is really humble and tolerant-madmen? Ignorant people? Have they any sense to judge who is humble, who is tolerant, and who is respectful to others? There must be a standard by which to judge humility. We are interested in the criterion given by higher thinkers, not the consideration of the ignorant masses.

The Standard of Humility

Of course, anyone may deceive the ordinary public with superficial humility. But a show of humility is not real humility. It must come from the heart, and it must have a real purpose. Everything-humility, tolerance, and pridelessness must be considered by the judgement of a standard, normal person, not by the ignorant who are like elephants, tigers, and jackals. Should they be allowed to judge what is humility, what is audacity and impertinence? Of course not. Should a devotee think, "The Deity and the temple is about to be molested, but I shall stand by and do nothing. I should be humble and tolerant. A dog is entering the temple; I should show him respect?" No. This is not real humility.

We must have a normal conception of reality. We must not allow these anomalies to continue in the name of offering respects to others. We must not think that we may allow anyone to harm the devotees or molest the temple, that we shall allow the dog to enter the temple, and that by doing this we are humble and tolerant, we are showing all respects to others. We are not interested only in the physical meaning of the scriptures, but the real meaning.

That I am humble means that I am the slave of the slave of a Vaisnava. With that consciousness we must proceed. If anyone comes to molest my master, I should first sacrifice myself, thinking, "Because I am of the least importance, my sacrifice is no loss; I must sacrifice myself to maintain the dignity of my guru, the devotees, and my Lord and His family."

We must always understand what is to be honoured. We offer our respects to the highest truth, the Lord of Lords; our dealings should be in consonance with that If we always keep the highest conception of relativity within us, we will see that we are the lowest. If there is danger to our guardians, we shall sacrifice ourselves. All of this should be taken into account when trying to understand the meaning of humility, not physical imitation-but genuine humility; it is a question of practical realization. Fame and honour must be given to the Lord and His devotees, not to anyone else.

In the higher stages of devotion, of course, humility may have to be adjusted in another way for the paramahamsa babajis, the topmost swanlike saints who have given up all connection with this material world. But in the preaching stage, the second class devotee must accept things differently. As our guru maharaja said, "Had I been in the role of a babaji, a nonassertive, reclusive saint, I would have walked away from the place without offering any opposition. But when we are preaching and have taken the responsibility of leading so many souls to the domain of the Lord, our adjustment must be made accordingly." Generally, we may be indifferent to those who are personally inimical to us, but when we preach on behalf of the Lord in an organized way, our duty changes: we cannot be indifferent to antagonists.

It is mentioned in the scriptures by Jiva Goswami that according to one's own particular status, these things should be taken into consideration and the necessary things should be done. He has given his decision that if the devotee has a position of power, if he is a king, and if someone repeatedly blasphemes a real Vaisnava, or saintly person, then the king should enforce corporal punishment by banishing the offender from his state or by cutting out his tongue (vaisnava nindaka jihva hata). That is not the duty for ordinary persons; if they act in such a way, there will be a riot. We should not be eager to inflict physical punishment upon anyone.

Hanuman is a Vaisnava, but he is seen to destroy so many lives. The same is true of Arjuna and so many other devotees. Even Krsna and Ramacandra are also seen to kill so many demons in war. Simply a physical show of meekness does not constitute the real meaning of humility. When there is an insult to the guru or the Vaisnavas, a devotee will oppose the blasphemers according to his might.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in one of his songs, says that we should not only tolerate the evil-doings of others and a disturbing environment, but we should do good to those by whom we are being tortured. The example is given of a tree. One who is cutting the tree gets shade and comfort from the tree even while cutting it down In conclusion, he says that humility, mercy, respect for others, and renunciation of name and fame, are the four qualifications for chanting the holy name of Krsna.

We are the meanest of the mean. We should always be conscious that we are beggars. We should think, Although I am a beggar, I've come to beg for the highest thing; let no disturbance dissuade me from my attempt. At the same time, our attitude toward the environment should be respectful.

In this way, by becoming educated in the Krsna conception of divinity, everyone should be given respect according to his position. It is the guiding instruction in the worship of the holy name (nama-bhajana) that we must take the position of the slave of the slave of the slave of the Lord. If you want to chant the name of Krsna, then don't waste your energy with the trifling things of this world. Don,t allow your attention to be disturbed by tiny acquisitions like prestige or gain which is relative to money or physical comfort. Remember, you are trying for the greatest thing" and all other things are very small in comparison to Krsna consciousness. So, don't waste your energy and valuable time. Be economical. You have the chance to achieve the highest goal of life.


lowerthanarat

Comment on this Post