CONTENTS:
- NECTAR OF DEVOTION Q&A WITH GURU MAHARAJA (PART - 1)
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. NECTAR OF DEVOTION Q&A WITH GURU MAHARAJA (PART - 1)
Q: Old people come and bramacaris…… is there any difference?
A: There is a little difference. You are a young man and all your time and energy and your life you are offering to Krishna, you can render so much service but that person was just an old man. He was coming here to be a burden, he would have not gone out, travelled the world and preached, he would have not gone out to distribute Srila Prabhupda’s books. That is the difference, he is an old man at the far end of his life and he comes to the society. Anyway, not only him but we find people like that coming. Especially when old people come, we should make it a point that if they have money then at least give 50% to Krishna otherwise they are coming because no one is taking care of them, their families are considering them a burden and dump the burden unto ISKCON. Now that should not be the case that is the point I was making.
Q: Srila Prabhupada says in his purport that …. Certain case …one gets mundane rasa from family life and love relationships and these love relationships don’t give the same taste as the relationship with Krishna and my objection is we can’t touch Krishna, taste Him, exchange ideas, sit down and talk face to face so it seems mundane rasa gives more kick?
A: Yes, I got you. That is the difference between sense gratification and spiritual reciprocation. We have to understand this sense gratification. Like ok, I can touch and taste so therefore I have a loving relationship but all are centered around our sense perception but beyond sense perception is our consciousness, right? Our consciousness in the conditioned stage of a living entity is flowing through the body and senses therefore the sense perception becomes so important that is all that we know. Beyond the world of our sense perception is another reality, a spiritual reality. This information Rupa Goswami and Srila Prabhupada is making us aware of that reality and what is going to be available there. So that is the difference. You are saying yes, I can talk to somebody, touch that person and so forth. Yes, you can also have that same relationship with Krishna but you have to follow the process. That reality is so real and you will realize that this so-called reality is only an illusion just like a dream and that is the absolute reality and that is what Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, Nectar of Devotion will reveal to us. Krishna is real only we have lost the ability to perceive Him it’s not His defect it is our defect. Just like a blind man is not able to see the sun but that does not affect the sun. It is the blind man’s misfortune that he cannot see the sun. There is a cure for his blindness and Nectar of Devotion is giving this cure. Now he may not be able to see the sun because he is blind but when his blindness is cured then he will be able to see the sun. Along with that will come all kinds of enjoyments?
Q: What was Rupa Goswami’s thinking while writing Nectar of Devotion?
A: Yes, you see they were renounced in a real sense and this renunciation is through getting the higher taste. Renunciation has two states:
- Artificial: forcing to renounce. An example to illustrate this point is you are hungry bit you are not eating because you are fasting. You are hungry but you only meditating on the foodstuffs. What is the point of that fasting? Just go ahead and eat some food and stop being obsessed with your hunger.
- Getting the higher taste: it’s when you lose taste for the junk food by getting a higher taste.
Now Rupa Goswami and the Goswami’s of Vrindavan they were renounced with the higher taste. Their renunciation was not artificial renunciation. They went to Vrindavan and were living in that kind of situation where they were in constant association with Krishna and Srimati Radharani. Like apparently, they were Tyaktvä türëam açeña-maëòala-pati-çreëéà sadä tucchavat bhütvä déna-gaëeçakau karuëayä kaupéna-kanthäçritau, gopébhäva-rasämåtäbdhi-laharé-kallola-magnau muhuù (Sad Goswami verse by Srinivas Acharya). They were extremely wealthy people these Goswami’s of Vrindavan. They were like Kings and Monarchs but they have rejected that and accepted the life where their only possession was a kaupéna and a blanket not only a blanket but a worn out blanket kanthäçritau. Why did they do that? They accepted that life in order to bestow their mercy upon the conditioned, miserable souls.
What were they doing all the time? rädhäkrsna-padäravinda-bhajanänandena mattälikau. All the time they were engaged in the loving exchange with Radha and Krishna. This is how we can see how this love is real because of this love; it has such a mellow it has such a rasa everything else becomes insignificant in comparison to that. And that was the live they were leading in Vrindavan.
Q: Please explain bhoga tyäga?
A: Srila Prabhupada mentioned the bhoga tyäga capala sukha bhoga tyäga is something like you eat a lot of food and then end up with diarrhea and you won’t eat something for 3 days but on the 4 days when your diarrhea is over you go back to the same thing, that is bhoga tyäga and bhoga tyäga is for capala sukha flickering happiness like when you relishing the food how long does that relishing last? This mundane relishing of food leads to diarrhea. You enjoying when you eating but you ate so much and then you get diarrhea. Now when you got diarrhea are you enjoying or suffering? So called enjoyment leading to suffering, due to suffering there is a momentary rejection of that indulgence or a momentary diversification of that suffering. Once the situation is rectifying then one goes back to that situation again because you see the reason is that the soul always wants enjoyment but it does not have any other source of enjoyment then it will revert back to that enjoyment time and again although for the time being he is suffering. But for getting the higher taste you naturally give up the lower taste and that is the solution.
Q: We perform devotional service over the years so how much service do we have to perform to …?
A: Just continue to serve with all sincerity that is what really counts. What really counts is anya-abhiläñitä-çünyam no other desire but to please Krishna. With that mood and attitude serve Krishna then what will happen? Krishna will be pleased and when Krishna is pleased and He is indebted. Krishna will see that this spirit soul, this devotee of Mine has done so much for Me now how will I repay him. Krishna actually becomes indebted to His devotee when he does service without any personal motivation. It’s something like you render service to Krishna but at the back of your mind you have some other agenda, like you render some service to get position or you render service to get some other benefit. Now Krishna is the supersoul, He knows everything. You may very expertly hide your intentions but you can’t hide it from Krishna. So, what Krishna wants to see is that we are rendering service without any other motivation that is called anyaabhiläñitä-çünyam free from any other desires beside serving Krishna and pleasing Krishna. So when we render service with that attitude no matter how little or insignificant that service maybe, Krishna will reciprocate and that reciprocation will be we will at least get an opportunity to serve Him even more. That is why Krishna will reward us with a human body what to speak of a spiritual body, Krishna may say, ok, come stay with Me.
Q: How much service you have to do to be guaranteed a spiritual body?
A: anya-abhiläñitä-çünyam that’s the minimum. Ask yourself if you have any desire.
Devotee: I like Prasad Then distribute Prasad create the good fortune for others, Prabhupada said it. Like Vasudev data he said give me all the sins and let everybody else get delivered. Hare Krishna. Thank you very much. Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
The devotees had planned and worked long and hard for the Cross Maidan programme and the arrangements were magnificent. A huge pandal, an expansive outdoor tent, had been set up with a big, beautifully decorated stage and thousands of people gathered to listen to Srila Prabhupada speak. His health was not good and he was physically weak, but when he started to speak his voice became stronger, his posture more erect. His statements, as always, were straight and bold, showing his concern for the suffering conditioned souls. Standing behind him and fanning him as he spoke, I could see how enlivened he became while preaching.
(Extract from Ocean of Mercy by HH Bhakti Charu Swami)
3.GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- Just continue to serve with all sincerity that is what really counts. What really counts is anya-abhiläñitä-çünyam no other desire but to please Krishna. With that mood and attitude serve Krishna.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on a Seminar on the Nectar of Devotion given by HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja.)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)