Category: SDA Students Email Conversations

Selected conversations from the online group “Students of Sankarshan Das Adhikari”, with contributions from multiple participants

How does the Maha Mantra Work?

Priyesh Shah,30th June 2011

Hare Krishna

Please Accept my humble obeisances

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

I am a little confused as to how the Maha Mantra works. For the last 2 years, since I joined ISKCON, I was under the impression that when you chant the Maha Mantra, the roots of the sinful activities are destroyed, and therefore the fruits would also be destroyed. However, another devotee yesterday mentioned that actually the Karma does not go away. As long as you have the material body, the Karma will stay and continue to act as they were meant to. But when you chant and do devotional service, Krishna arranges the Karma to act in a way which is favourable to Krishna Consciousness. Would anyone kindly be able to tell me as to how this works?

Thank you,

Your Servant,

Priyesh

Jagannatha das,30th June 2011

Hare Krishna Priyesh,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Karma has two important meanings.

1.  Action

2.  Reactions

When we act in a certain way, that action is karma.  The reaction to that activity will perpetuate further activity.  The reaction is also karma.  In this way actions create reactions and then further actions in a chain which *appears* endless.  The seemingly eternal appearence of karma is however an illusion.

Of the five topics explained in Bhagavad Gita…

1. Isvara (Krishna)

2. Jiva (living beings)

3. Prakrti (material nature)

4. Kala (time)

5. Karma (fruitive activity)

…four are eternal, but karma is the one which is temporary.

When you act, the reaction only lasts so long, even in this life.  Otherwise we would only need, for example, to eat once and we would be eternally satisfied.

Now, someone may argue using the following two questions:

1.  “Fine, each action has a limited reaction in terms of both time and space.  But isn’t there an eternal chain of actions and reactions which are always being manifested, one after another?”

and

2. “Even if karma is temporary, isn’t it influencing us at least for the duration of time in which we have a material body?”

In the spiritual world, the will of Krishna and his pure devotees who reside there are eternally enjoying without any question of karma.  Therefore the chain of karma is itself limited, not eternal because it does not extend to the realm of Krishna.

Even in this world a pure devotee is free from karma.  Otherwise, he would take birth again in this material world goaded on by a complicated network of material desires.

This is confirmed throughout Vedic literatures and by all acaryas:

Sri Brahma Samhita

yas tv indragopam athavendram aho sva-karma-

bandhanurüpa-phala-bhajanam atanoti

karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who burns up to their roots all fruitive activities of those who are imbued with devotion and impartially ordains for each the due enjoyment of the fruits of one’s activities, of all those who walk in the path of work, in accordance with the chain of their previously performed works, no less in the case of the tiny insect that bears the name of indragopa than in that of Indra, king of the devas.

(emphasis added)

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

sarva-dharman parityajya

mam ekam saranam vraja

aham tvam sarva-papebhyo

moksayisyami ma sucah

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

Srimad Bhagavatam

yan-namadheyah mriyamana aturah

patan skhalan va vivaso grnan puman

vimukta-karmargala uttamam gatim

prapnoti yaksyanti na tam kalau janah

Sri harinama is glorious! Chanted in any condition of life, whether almost dead, deathly sick, slipping, falling, or in any semi-conscious state, the name of SrI Bhagavän releases the chanting person from the bondage of karmic reactions and promotes him to the highest goal of spiritual achievement. The real pity is that the fallen people of Kali-yuga refuse to execute this devotional activity.

Srila Rupa Gosvami

yad-brahma-saksat-krti-nisthayapi

vinasam ayati vina na bhogaih

apaiti nama sphuranena tat te

prarabdha-karmeti virauti vedah

The seeds of sinful activities that cause rebirth for their fruition are not totally destroyed despite realization of oneness with Brahman through constant meditation. But, O Lord, as soon as Your holy names manifest on the tongue (even in the form of namabhasa) all seeds of sinful activities are totally uprooted. This is elaborately glorified in the Vedas.

There are more examples, but I hope this will help.

Your servant,

-Jagannatha dasa

Raj, 30th June 2011

Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

This is my first attempt to participate.

Thanks for providing details about Karma . u mentioned Karma has 2 meanings .(Action and Reaction ). Is it that Karma has 2 parts( Action and Reaction) . Pls clarify.

Also u mentioned that “When you act, the reaction only lasts so long, even in this life” ,does this mean that our action in this life has reaction limited only to this life.

Because on many occasions people state that this is because of urs past karmas, this mean that karmas are also carry forward.pls help

Chris Sookoo, 30th June 2011

Sir

This is one beautiful and eloquent analysis that I have had the pleasure of reading.Thanks to the mind that put it together.

regards

csookoo

Mahabhagavat Das SDA,30th June 2011

Jagannatha Dasa Prabhu,

Very grateful for that! I learned a lot from your detailed answer. Thank you.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Priyesh Shah,01st July 2011

Hare Krishna Jagannatha Prabhu,

A wonderful answer. Thank you for clearing my doubt and enlightening me with that knowledge.

Your Servant,

Priyesh

Mahabhagavat Das, 16th April 2012

Dear Raj Kumar,

Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Due to the efforts of one of our other group members Dr. Sunil Vaswani, I realized that your questions below were not answered. Please forgive us for this oversight.

>u mentioned Karma has 2 meanings .(Action and Reaction ). Is it that Karma has 2 parts( >Action and Reaction) . Pls clarify.

Yes, this is correct. Every action has a reaction associated with it, and every reaction has another set of actions associated with it – this is like a seed which is thrown on the ground… after some time, the seed sprouts, and the plant grows, it becomes a tree, and the tree yields fruits, the fruits have seeds, which again fall on the ground, giving rise to more trees, and this cycle continues. There are more karmas than meet the eye… they are in unmanifest state.

One cannot counter karma with karma – it is an endless cycle – so if someone does something bad, to atone for it, they do something good – they don’t cancel each other out. The person will experience effects of both, the good karmas (karma) and the bad karmas (vikarma). Devotional service though, is without reactions, and eliminates accumulated reactions, so it is called akarma. This is also described in Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Sri Ishopanishad Verse 2:

“Actions that are performed in terms of one’s prescribed duties, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures, are called karma. Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death are called akarma. And actions that are performed through the misuse of one’s freedom and that direct one to the lower life forms are called vikarma. Of these three types of action, that which frees one from the bondage to karma is preferred by intelligent men. Ordinary men wish to perform good work in order to be recognized and achieve some higher status of life in this world or in heaven, but more advanced men want to be free altogether from the actions and reactions of work. Intelligent men well know that both good and bad work equally bind one to the material miseries. Consequently they seek that work which will free them from the reactions of both good and bad work”

In the Padma Purana, it is stated:

aprarabdha-phalam papam kutam bijam phalonmukham

kramenaiva praliyeta vishnu-bhakti-ratatmanam

In this verse it states that karma can be lying in seed form, it can be dormant, or it can be bearing fruits. Nevertheless, whatever stage a karmic reaction may be in, it is gradually eliminated by performing devotional service.

Your second question:

>Also u mentioned that “When you act, the reaction only lasts so long, even in this life” ,does >this mean that our action in this life has reaction limited only to this life.

This is a misunderstanding of what Jagannatha Prabhu intended. He did not mean that the effects of karma last exactly not more than one lifetime. When you take his entire response and all the verses quoted into context, you can see that he is using that sentence just for example – like for example, if someone steals something, then they may be punished for a few days, few weeks, few months, few years, eventually they will be released – so he means that the reactions are temporary, even though sometimes they may transcend lifetimes. The example is that one child may be born to cultured parents, good chance of being cultured, though not always the case. Another child may be born to uncultured parents, good chance of being uncultured, but sometimes the child may become cultured through other association… same thing with bodily beauty, health, intelligence, etc.

I hope that this response was useful and you will resume your participation soon.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Reaching the platform of following the 4 regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Maha mantra every day

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 8th June 2011

Dear Devotees,

As you may know, the very basic essential activities of the students, grand-students, and great-grand students of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, are:

1. Following the 4 regulative principles

2. Chanting 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra on beads every day

Even though this is the very beginning, absolute minimum, for most of us in material conditioning this is incredibly difficult to get there.

I will give you my own example. From the day I started chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra every day, somehow or other, by the grace of my spiritual master, I was able to chant my then-minimum rounds everyday, BUT, it took me nearly 4 years to get to chanting 16 rounds every day! However, when I got there, I was thinking why I didn’t get there sooner. Quite simply there is a kind of sweetness, even if there is sometimes a struggle, in following the instructions of the spiritual master. Even so, I feel that having individual guidance and regular followup will help.

Anyways, the reason for this email is:

1. Are you having any difficulty following the 4 regulative principles of human life? Do you know what they are?

2. Are you on the platform of chanting a minimum of 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra on your beads every day?

If there is any difficulty, then this is one of the purposes of this group, to help one another in following the instructions of the spiritual master.

Please remember, the discussions on this group are confidential and are in the spirit of mutual trust. If anyone discloses any personal detail or information from the heart, then this confidentiality MUST be maintained, that is our duty, even if we cannot help the person, we should keep the confidentiality. For example, no one should forward any email that may contain group members’ email addresses, personal details, difficulties, etc. That said, be careful in stating questions that include too many such details, because, after all, this is an international email group, we don’t know each other personally, at least, not yet.

All replies must be respectful and be in line with guru, sadhu, and shastra.

If however, your questions are of a confidential nature, then please ask offline, so that we may determine who the best person to answer is, and pair you up with that person who can help you most.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Janardan Mali, 08th  June 2011

Please state the 4 regulative principles of human life.

Janardan V.Mali

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 08th June 2011

The 4 regulative principles that elevate us to a human platform of life are:

1. No meat eating, including fish and eggs

2. No intoxication, including tea, coffee, cigarettes, tobacco, etc.

3. No illicit sex

4. No gambling

Each principle is linked to a core value. Most simply though, the regulative principles free us from so much nonsense, and allow us to take to spiritual life properly.

Divyapriya M, 08th June 2011

Hare Krsna Mahabhagavat Das Prabhu.

I think the biggest of challenges for most people is generally faced is in the “No Intoxication” part. Even though most of them might not have the smoking or drinking habit, leaving coffee or tea itself is an Herculean task, especially for people like me who were brought up drinking strong coffee.

However, after several failures, by the grace of Krsna, I’ve successfully left the habit now.

Prabhu, what is your advice for people who find it difficult to come out of such addictions which they have acquired right from their childhood? How do we build in so much perseverance within ourselves?

Regards,

Divya

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 09th June 2011

Hare Krsna Divya Mataji,

Congratulations on giving up coffee! You have certainly taken a HUGE step towards your own spiritual welfare.

Yes, you are right, our conditioning is the main reason why we find ourselves addicted to certain things. But one can get addicted to such things at any time… for example, I was not brought up drinking tea or coffee, but when I started working as a software developer, the company I worked for provided 24-hour caffeinated beverages including carbonated drinks, tea, coffee, etc., and of course they did it so people could get more and more into the mode of passion and ignorance and work harder and longer hours fuelled by these artificial stimulants…

For some people, illicit sex is the conditioning, especially for those who were brought up in an environment where it was easily available or even “expected”, for others it is gambling, and for others they were born in families where meat-eating was the norm. All this is not important.

One can understand that intoxicants are not actually containing any nutrients – simply they are temporarily altering our body chemistry so that we cannot listen to what the body may be telling us, things like “I am tired”, or “I don’t really like this environment or activity”. Also, every addictive substance is a pollutant, putting in unnecessary things, and altering our consciousness and health state… people cannot “wake up” without a coffee? The substance makes us more and more dependent on it, until we are a complete slave to it. All addictions to material things are simply coming from a strong desire to enjoy material things.

One can practically see that such things are totally unnecessary. For example, the pure devotees, so many of them are constantly travelling all over the world. Srila Gurudeva – one time zone to another time zone every other day. But every day he wakes up at 2:30 AM in the local time zone, and chants his minimum 16 rounds before Mangala Arati. Full day of service, lectures, hundreds of emails, phone calls, co-ordination, encouragement, writing. Have you seen his eyes? They shine with the enthusiasm of a 16-year old boy! And in this body, he is over 60 years old! He doesn’t need any coffee to wake him up. How does he do it?

Because Srila Gurudeva has developed a higher taste for the holy names of Krishna, and because the Holy Names and Krishna Katha are ever enlivening, such energy is seen and is spontaneously generated.

So it is a question of awakening the higher taste for the highest of higher tastes… Krishna. For example, to stay entertained, a dog simply needs a bone, but a man or woman, how long can they amuse themselves with a bone? To the dog, the bone is very high pleasure, but to the human being, it is useless.

Similarly, one has to very sincerely try to engage oneself in devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting, that is all that is needed. Simply by developing the higher taste, all lower tastes are automatically forgotten.

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ

hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi

vidhunoti suhṛt satām

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. SB 1.2.17.

Please read this purport: http://vanisource.org/wiki/SB_1.2.17

When such a taste is developed, then even when someone may have been addicted once upon a time, they will never engage in such activities again, knowing the true nature of such things. It is a gradual process though, and Krishna personally helps. What else could one ask for?

Please let me know if your question is answered.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Divyapriya M,  09th June 2011

Wow! This is just so true 🙂

Prabhu, as you had mentioned, I understand this is a gradual process, but with consistent efforts, I think the distance can definitely be surpassed.

When I read those lines “Krsna personally helps”, it gave me a craving to be noticed by Krsna. I think, being fixed upon that craving by itself would render enough perseverance to experience only the higher joy. Please correct me if I’m wrong 🙂

Prabhu, Thank you so much for making an effort to enlighten fallen souls like me.

Hare Krsna!

Regards,

Divya

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 09th June 2011

Hare Krishna!

Yes, another great devotee, HH Bhaktimarga Swami (www.thewalkingmonk.org), also a Godbrother of my spiritual master, says often, “Devotee means one who keeps trying, so just keep trying and then you are a devotee”. Yes, Krishna is “Achyuta” which means “infallible”. We may fail to notice what He does for us, but He never fails to notice even the tiniest little bit of service anyone has rendered unto Him. Yes, please simply continue to serve Him by serving His devotees wholeheartedly.

Are you chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra sincerely for a minimum of 16 rounds every day?

Also, please don’t misunderstand my position, I am a fallen soul myself, but by the mercy of the spiritual master, some little bit of knowledge has percolated through my thick veil of ignorance.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Divyapriya Muthukumaran, 09th June 2011

Thank you for those words Prabhu. They were truly enlightening 🙂

Hare Krsna!

Regards,

Divya

Sandeep Kumar, 15th June 2011

Hare Krishna Mahabhagavat Das Pr Ji ,

Dandvats.

All Glories to Sri Guru and Krishna,

That was very very nice discussion. Really Helped me.

Your Aspiring Servant,

Sandeep.

Please Chant……..

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare |

Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare||

………………………………………..and Be Happy.

The problems of material existence–birth, old age, disease and death– cannot be counteracted by accumulation of wealth and economic development. In many parts of the world there are states which are replete with all facilities of life, which are full of wealth and economically developed, yet the problems of material existence are still present. They are seeking peace in different ways, but they can achieve real happiness only if they consult Krsna, or the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam–which constitute the science of Krsna–or the bona fide representative of Krsna, the man in Krsna consciousness.

“Chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra and be happy”

Experiencing Difficulty

Sunil, Jul 5 2011

Please accept my respectful obeisances

Is it true,that when one is experiencing difficulties then the intensity of devotion in chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is enhanced?

Regards,

Sunil

Rahul Mangla, Jul 5 2011

Hare Krishna,

I also feel the same but if that is the case, it means that person is chanting for sense gratification. We should however feel eternal spiritual satisfaction while chanting.

Hare Krishna,

Rahul

Jagannatha dasa, Jul 5 2011

Hare Krishna prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

This is a really nice question.  Thank you for posting it.

Difficulty is material. This is explained in Bhagavad-Gita (8.15) by Lord Sri Krishna.  He uses the phrase duhkhalayam asasvatam.  The material world is both miserable and temporary.  Whereas His own abode is free from misery.

Matter can’t give rise to spirit.  Spirit is eternal.  So it’s true that misery alone can’t make us more advanced in spiritual life, otherwise everyone who is intensely suffering would be more and more

Krishna conscious; however, that being said, misery can be used as a springboard to surrender, if we take it as the mercy of the Lord. This mood is perfectly shown by Srimati Kunti Maharani.

– Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.24 and 25.

viṣān mahāgneḥ puruṣāda-darśanād

asat-sabhāyā vana-vāsa-kṛcchrataḥ

mṛdhe mṛdhe ‘neka-mahārathāstrato

drauṇy-astrataś cāsma hare ‘bhirakṣitāḥ

vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat

tatra tatra jagad-guro

bhavato darśanaḿ yat syād

apunar bhava-darśanam

My dear Krishna, Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle where great generals fought. And now You have saved us from the weapon of Asvatthama.  I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.

So the question may be raised, why do some persons take direct shelter of the Lord in times of miseries, whereas others do not?

The first paragraph of Srila Prabhupada’s purport to text 25 begins by dealing with this doubt.  It says:

“Generally the distressed, the needy, the intelligent and the inquisitive, who have performed some pious activities, worship or begin to worship the Lord. Others, who are thriving on misdeeds only,

regardless of status, cannot approach the Supreme due to being misled by the illusory energy. Therefore, for a pious person, if there is some calamity there is no other alternative than to take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.”

I hope this is helpful.

Your servant,

-Jagannatha dasa

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Jul 5 2011

Hare Krishna Sunil Prabhu,

Yes, that is seen in the essence of Queen Kunti’s prayers… “vipadah santu” – “let there be calamities”,

vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat

tatra tatra jagad-guro

bhavato darśanaḿ yat syād

apunar bhava-darśanam

“I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.” SB 1.8.25.

http://vedabase.net/sb/1/8/25/en

Sometimes, Krishna may “turn up the heat”, just to increase the devotee’s feelings of dependence upon Him, in this case, the difficulty provides impetus to getting closer and closer to Krishna.

From the Bhagavad Gita, it is understood that Krishna personally sanctions everything that happens in a devotee’s life, and everything is simply meant to completely purify the devote of all traces of material contamination.

teṣām evānukampārtham

aham ajñāna-jaḿ tamaḥ

nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho

jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā

“To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.” BG 10.11

http://vedabase.net/bg/10/11/en

Please read the purport to these two verses very carefully, it has many deep significant statements by Srila Prabhupada.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Manian VB, Jul 5 2011

Hare Krishna,

An enlightening and helpful explanation given.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada, and other great saints.

Friendship

Vivasvan Jhugroo, Aug 15 2011

Hare Krishna to everyone.

 

Is there any verse or chapter referring about friendship from the Bhagavad-Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam.

All Glories to the The Spiritual Master and all the Devotees

Thank you

S.J

 

Ashutosh Pandey, Aug 15 2011

Bhagavad-gita 5.29

and

Bhagavatam 1st canto 5th chapter many slokas

 

Vivasvan Jhugroo, Aug 15 2011

 

Thank you a lot.

 

Bhaktivinode Das, Aug 15 2011

Dear Vivasvan,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Srila Sankarshan Das Adhikari Gurudeva.

 

Kindly find the references below that I have come across in my reading.

*“Krsna says that suhrdam sarva-bhutanam (Bhagavad-Gita 5.29) : “I am friend of all living entities*,” sarva-bhutanam. Not only human society, but animal society, the plant society, the aquatic society, there are so many living entities. Ananta-koti. Sa anantyaya kalpate. The living entities, there is no limit. There are so many quantities. And Krsna says that suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati: “When one understands that I, Krsna, is the friend of everyone…” Krsna, when says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66], He does not say to Arjuna. He says to all living entities, without any exception. Sarva-bhutanam. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. This is position of Krsna.”

*- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam

3.25.43 Bombay, December 11, 1974*

*Lord Krishna says to Arjuna in Bhagavad-Gita 4.3: *

“That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as *My friend* and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.”

* *

*Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 12.13-14: *

“One who is not envious but is a *kind friend to all living entities*, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me — such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.”

*Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.6:*

“The *friendship* shown toward others — those who are not family members — is motivated by personal interest, and thus it is a pretense that lasts only until one’s purpose is fulfilled. Such *friendship* is just like the interest men take in women, or bees in flowers.”

PURPORT by *A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada*

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains here that attractive women, like flowers, possess beauty, fragrance, tenderness, charm and so on. And as bees drink only once of a flower’s nectar and then leave it for another, fickle men abandon beautiful and devoted women to pursue other pleasures. This tendency is condemned here by the gopis, who gave their hearts completely to Sri Krsna. The gopis wanted only to exhibit their charms for Lord Krsna’s pleasure, and in the pain of separation they questioned the motives of His friendship with them.

These are the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. Both Lord Krsna and the gopis are completely liberated souls engaged in spiritual loving affairs. By contrast, our so-called loving affairs, being perverted reflections of the perfect loving relationships in the spiritual world, are polluted with lust, greed, pride and so on. Like all liberated souls, the gopis — and certainly Lord Krsna Himself — are eternally free of these lower qualities, and their intense loving affairs are motivated exclusively by unalloyed devotion.

Your servant,

Bhaktivinode das

Premal, Aug 16 2011

Hare Krishna Prabhu

All glories to Swami Prabhupada

Please accept my humble obeisances

How is it Prabhu we can understand Krishna is a friend of all living entities?  My question in the context to other than human form is how would they get affected or be helped by Krishna in other forms?

Ys servant

Premal prabhuji

 

Bhaktivinode Das, Aug 16 2011

Dear Premal Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Srila Sankarshan Gurudeva.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 3.15.31:

“The word suhṛttama, “best of all friends,” is important. As Lord Krsna states in the Bhagavad-gita, He is the best friend of all living entities. Suhrdamm sarva-bhutanam. No one can be a greater well-wishing friend to any living entity than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is so kindly

disposed towards everyone that in spite of our completely forgetting our relationship with the Supreme Lord, He comes Himself — sometimes personally, as Lord Krsna appeared on this earth, and sometimes as His devotee, as did Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu — and sometimes He sends His bona fide devotees to reclaim all the fallen souls. Therefore, He is the greatest well-wishing friend of everyone, and the Kumaras wanted to see Him.”

Lord Krishna as the paramatma (supersoul) of all living entities always accompanies them. He is situated in the heart next to all souls. He is ever waiting for us properly use our free will and turn our face unto Him with surrender and love in our heart.

Even if someone is averse to the Supreme Lord, he still provides them water to drink, food to eat, air to breathe…..This proves that he is indeed a kind friend.

Wherever devotees are present in this universe, their mere presence purifies the atmosphere around them. For example, wherever the devotees go, they chant the holy names not only for their benefit, but also for the benefit of the living entities around them. The sound of the holy name is non-different from the Lord. Simply by coming in contact with the sound vibration, the souls present in plant, animal or insect bodies get amazing spiritual benefits.

When food is offered to the Lord, all the grains, plants involved get benefited The person who plucked the fruits, the gardener and all living entities involved get sukriti (unknown spiritual credits).

There is a beautiful story described in detail in Caitanya Caritamrita on how the devotees and the Lord showed compassion to an animal and how he got delivered from the clutches of repeated birth and death. Every year one month before caturmasya (four month period of the rainy season) Sivananda Sena would lead a party of two hundred devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri to attend the annual Ratha-Yatra festival. He would pay for everyone’s food, tolls, ferries, and lodging. He personally arranged for their comfort. Sivananda Sena showed Vaisnava compassion for all living entities, be they man or beast. When a stray dog joined the party Sivananda Sena fed the dog and even paid his boat fare. When the dog disappeared one day Sivananda sent 200 men to search for him. Upon arriving in Puri, they saw Lord Caitanya throwing coconut pulp to the dog. The dog became purified of all material contamination by eating the maha-prasadam remnants of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Not seeing the dog the next day, Sivananda Sena understood that the dog had attained liberation by the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

Once Sripad Ramanujacarya fed a fish the maha-prasadam of the deity. The fish jumped out of the water to grab the prasadam in its mouth and before it could enter the water again the fish assumed a Vaikuntha form and entered the Vaikuntha planets. The disciples of Ramanuja saw this and inquired from their guru as to why they had not yet received a Vaikuntha form since they had received maha-prasadam many times. Ramanuja replied that his disciples were trying to enjoy the prasadam which is an aparadha, offense. The fish he said made no such aparadha and therefore he attained Vaikuntha.

There is a story in our puranas of a hunter who shot an arrow on a flying swan for his food. The swan fell down in a circular fashion 3 times above a tulasi plant. The swan attained a 4 handed spiritual form and was taken to Vaikuntha in a swan aeroplane.

Your servant,

Bhaktivinode das

 

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Aug 16 2011

Hare Krishna!

These are all wonderful answers. Thank you to the wonderful devotees who ask all these nice questions and the wonderful devotees who write the answers and also the wonderful devotees who are reading the answers sincerely. Together you are making this planet into a spiritual paradise. To you I offer my humble obeisances.

Just to expand on the wonderful devotees’ wonderful explanation… Prahlada Maharaja tells us this:

sri-prahrada uvaca

sravanam kirtanam visnoh

smaranam pada-sevanam

arcanam vandanam dasyam

*sakhyam* atma-nivedanam

iti pumsarpita visnau

bhaktis cen nava-laksana

kriyeta bhagavaty addha

tan manye ‘dhitam uttamam

“Prahlada Maharaja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Visnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, *considering the Lord one’s best friend*, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Krsna through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.” SB 7.5.23-24

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport “Therefore, as a sincere friend of Krsna, one should preach this philosophy, requesting everyone to surrender unto Krsna”… later in the same purports, he writes:

(8) Sakhyam. In regard to worshipping the Lord as a friend, the Agastya-samhita states that a devotee  engaged in performing devotional service by sravanam and kirtanam sometimes wants to see the Lord personally, and for this purpose he resides in the temple. Elsewhere there is this statement: “O my Lord, Supreme Personality and eternal friend, although You are full of bliss and knowledge, You have become the friend of the residents of Vrndavana. How fortunate are these devotees!” In this statement the word “friend” is specifically used to indicate intense love. Friendship, therefore, is better than servitude. In the stage above dasya-rasa, the devotee accepts the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a friend. This is not at all astonishing, for when a devotee is pure in heart the opulence of his worship of the Deity diminishes as spontaneous love for the Personality of Godhead is manifested. In this regard, Sridhara Svami mentions Sridama Vipra, who expressed to himself his feelings of obligation, thinking, “Life after life, may I be connected with Krsna in this friendly attitude.”

In other words, friendship is a key aspect of Krishna Bhakti!

Srila Prabhupada says in a lecture, the Lord wants our friendship, but we don’t want. He is always our friend, but we are not His friends. When will we want to really be the Lord’s friend?

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Importance of hearing from right source

Rahul Mangla, Jun 2, 2011

The statement kariyāchi śravaṇa (“I have heard it”) is very important in the sense that hearing is more important than directly studying or perceiving. If one is expert in hearing and hears from the right source, his knowledge is immediately perfect. This process is called śrauta-panthā, or the acquisition of knowledge by hearing from authorities. All Vedic knowledge is based on the principle that one must approach a bona fide spiritual master and hear from him the authoritative statements of the Vedas. It is not necessary for one to be a highly polished literary man to receive knowledge; to receive perfect knowledge from a perfect person, one must be expert in hearing. This is called the descending process of deductive knowledge, or avaroha-panthā.
CC Ädi 16.52

The Lord can be realized through the aural reception of the transcendental message, and that is the only way to experience the transcendental subject.  As fire is kindled from wood by another fire, the divine consciousness of  man can similarly be kindled by another divine grace. His Divine Grace the  spiritual master can kindle the spiritual fire from the woodlike living  entity by imparting proper spiritual messages injected through the receptive ear. Therefore one is required to approach the proper spiritual master with
receptive ears only, and thus divine existence is gradually realized. The difference between animality and humanity lies in this process only. A human being can hear properly, whereas an animal cannot. Srimad-Bhägavatam 1.2.32

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Jun 14, 2011

Hare Krishna Rahul Prabhu,  Also, would like to add that reading is actually a form of hearing… because when a pure devotee writes, then such a devotee’s spoken kirtana is recorded in the form of writing, and when we read, we are hearing the recording of the pure devotee’s written Kirtan… Prabhupada explained this to his disciples.

So, that is why, Srila Prabhupada called the distribution of his books the “Brhad Mridanga” or the “Great Mridanga”, the analogy he gave was that if we have a Kirtan, then the sound of the Kirtan may reach a few metres, and as someone goes further, the sound gets fainter and fainter until a point when one cannot hear it at all, but the book travels great distances with the “hearer” without losing its intensity.

Of course, books must be read in the company and association of devotees who are actually following properly what is in the books, otherwise there is the danger of misunderstanding.

Your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

(Conversation compiled by Nashvin Gangaram)

Gradient of Perfection

Jagannatha dasa, Jul 18 2011

Hare Krishna prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I have often heard Srila Gurudeva describe the Absolute Truth with the phrase, Perfect, More Perfect and Most Perfect.

This is in the context of Brahman Paramatma and Bhagavan.

What is the meaning of this phrase?

Brahma jyoti is perfect because it is eternal.

Paramatma, (Lord Vishnu) is more perfect because it is both perfect and full of knowledge.

and Bhagavan (Lord Krishna) is most perfect, being full of eternity knowledge and bliss (sat cid ananda)

For a sastric reference to this and Prabhupada’s full purport please see Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11

—

However the conditioned souls like us are still struggling with our senses.  We have the tendency to find fault wherever and whenever possible.  It is important that we begin from the mood of humility.  Only when we understand that Brahman is perfect, and that Paramatma is more perfect can we fully understand the paramount perfection of Lord Krishna to our capacity.  Otherwise, by criticizing Brahman or Vishnu, we cheat ourselves from the happiness of Krishna consciousness, and remain morose in the clutches of maya.

—

I’m taking a moment here to meditate on the glory of the Absolute Truth in its various manifestations and see my self so fallen in that light. So what is that bliss that Krishna possesses?

—

In Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila Chapter 9, text 144 he compares the qualities of Vishnu and Krishna. “Lord Narayana has sixty transcendental qualities. Over and above these, Krishna has four extraordinary transcendental qualities absent in Lord Narayana. These four qualities are (1) His wonderful pastimes, which are compared to an ocean, (2) His association in the circle of the supreme devotees in conjugal love (the gopés), (3) His playing on the flute, whose vibration attracts the three worlds, and (4) His extraordinary beauty, which surpasses the beauty of the three worlds. Lord Krishna’s beauty is unequaled and unsurpassed.”

Thank you all very much for your kind attention.  Please let me know if there are any questions or comments to add.

Your servant,

-Jagannatha dasa

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Jul 19 2011

Dear Jagannatha Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you very much for your reflection. You gave us an opportunity to engage in Smaranam, remembrance of the Lord, and in this way you are my great well-wisher.

Even within Krishna’s Bhagavan form, there are increasing levels of sweetness manifested, for example, I feel that Partha Sarathi Krishna is so incredibly sweet, but Gopala Krishna is sweeter, but Lord Damodara Gopal is even more sweet, and the Lord’s sweetness expands unlimitedly through His pastimes. I can’t wait to be completely and fully bewildered by the Lord’s sweetness and pray that all the sincere souls in this group be fully and unlimitedly drowned in the oceans of the Lord’s sweetness.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

 

(Conversation compiled by Nashvin Gangaram)

Do all paths lead to God?

Sen,16 May,2011

Sages of all ages preached to hold steadfastly to your own belief and through introspection one can reach the ultimate truth of self realisation.

This can be seen over the ages, for which different cults, sects, believers emerged in this world over, with different religions and variety of practices to help the mundane, the lowliest of the lowly, all children of god, to rise above the rest and be free.

This feeling of one-self to be one with the whole is the ultimate achievement in one’s life, be it through any means. One should not be dogmatic that my path is the best. It is for the learner to choose which path suits him best as per his self-like and dislike.

Through the passage of time, the more one progresses, more one becomes refined, silence and peace dwells within his heart and becomes above all these petty issues.

Whoever likes Krishna, let him come to this path. Whoever likes Shiva or Kali or any other form of god, let him or her choose the same and be free.

Does the Krishna Bhakta’s believe in this ideology or is there something more in their understanding on the path of realisation? Of course, the path of love is the shortest way to reach to the ultimate truth and the core of all religions preaches the same.

pranathi sundaragiri,16th May,2011

Hare Krishna!

All glories to Guru and Gauranga 🙂

Religion is the order of God. Dharman tu sakshad bhagavat pranitam. So 1st of all, we must know who is God, then we take education about what His orders are and how to follow them. If we donot know who is God then where is the question of following His orders??

The orders of God are very clearly enunciated in our scriptures which tell us that the Supreme, the Highest, the Personality of Godhead is Lord Sri Krishna. We are also informed of the various prescribed ways to approach Him based on our currently prevalent material condition. The same has been advocated by sages of all times.

All this, IF we are serious about our spiritual life- our real life. If we want to imagine and manufacture, we can always do so. But the results are highly questionable.

Krishna is God. He is accepted by all the realized souls Including Shiva, Devi, Brahma and all the great acharyas including the famous mayavadi acharya, Sri Shankaracharya. God cannot be manufactured or imagined. Nor can someone become God just because a few people believe in them.

The idea of moksha as being fused with the Brahman aspect of God is highly prevalent but it is one of the five and, in fact, the least favoured type of liberation -known as sayujya mukti. The result of following a religion or dharma, the true test is whether we have learnt to love God, Adhokshaja.

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokshaje -srimad Bhagawatam 1.2.6

Hare Krishna

Mahabhagavat Das SDA,16th May,2011

Hare Krishna!

Thank you for this lively discussion.

It is best to also reflect on some writings by Srila Gurudeva, Sri Sankarshan Das Adhikari on this subject.

There are many many more writings on this subject as it is a common question.

Humbly,

Mahabhagavat Das

From 23 Sep 2009

Request:  Help Me Get Out of Suffering

——————————————————————————–

Dear Gurudeva,

Please accept my deepest respects for your love and devotion to God and for delivering the human race from suffering.

If I can be granted any mercy or favor in your sight, please respond with patience and understanding for my ignorance and gross darkness; I am not a devotee.

1. I have the most difficult time trusting God since my prayers don’t get answered.

2. I gather that He is aloof and that there is no guarantee for salvation unless I earn it, and still there is no guarantee. Because of unanswered prayers in my practices, I struggle with trusting any deity though I thirst for a personal living God. I am told there is one, but He is not real to me. I am reluctant to surrender to a deity for fear of discouragement, and I am thus walking away from God like I have done many times in the past. Voidism is a ‘safe haven’ for avoiding this discouragement by putting my salvation all on me, but it does not fulfill the heart of craving for fellowship. Plus, I have been let down by false masters who have knowledge but no wisdom. Worse, they knock other religions and have monetary motivations. Please assist me in this search and help me get out of suffering.

Thank you.

Your student

——————————————————————————–

Answer: Follow My Instructions. You Will Be Saved.

——————————————————————————–

If you are prayers are not being answered, you are not praying properly. It is a fact that God is aloof from those approach Him to fulfill their material desires. But He becomes the intimate associate of those who approach Him to humbly submit themselves at His feet as His eternal servants. Your salvation is 100% guaranteed if you will simply surrender yourself to Him. Voidness or the philosophy of absolute nothingness can never bring happiness to your heart because it denies your very existence, which is an obvious absurdity. If a guru teaches that there are different religions, he is not bona fide because religion is one, to become a pure lover God. And he is after your money, he is also not bona fide because the bona fide spiritual master is attracted to Krishna and only to Krishna.

If you are ready to fully open heart and learn the science of bhakti, I am willing to teach you, but for the teachings to be effective you have to be willing to carefully and sincerely follow my instructions. If you will adopt the proper practice of bhakti under qualified guidance I can assure you that will gradually become free from all suffering.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

From June 4, 2006:

 

Why Does God Have Different Rules for Different Religions?…

Why do people fight in the name of religion? To stop doing such deeds, what are Krishna’s thoughts, as well as what do you feel about it? If God is one, then why Islamic people are so cruel for their religion? Why does god differentiate between Hindu, Muslim or Christian? Why does He have different rules for different religions?

What is the difference between religion, peace and love?

With regards,

Sangita

There Are Not Different Religions…

People who fight in the name of religion do so in complete ignorance of what is the meaning of religion. Religion means to obey the laws of God. It does not mean to exploit others. A devotee, a lover of God, does not even want to harm an ant because he sees every living being as a dear child of God.

God does not differentiate between religions because there is no such thing as different religions. It is man who has concocted these different so-called religions. God has given us one religion, to develop our pure love for Him.

True religion means to become a true lover of God and all of His creation. Only someone who comes to this platform can experience real peace. This is described by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita as follows:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam

sarva-loka-mahesvaram

suhrdam sarva-bhutanam

jnatva mam santim rcchati

“Only that person who knows Me to be the Supreme Enjoyer, the Supreme Proprietor, and the Supreme Friend can experience true peace.” Bhagavad-gita 5.29

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

From Aug 23, 2005

 

Which is the Best Religion?

Dear Prabhuji ,

Thanks for your reply. I was glad to receive your explanations. I am happy to read “Thought for the Day”, and I am benefiting from the same.

I would like to ask you a few more questions.

There are different religions in the world like Hinduism , Christianity, Islam , Buddhist , Sikhism , Jainism and a few other religions. Krishna says in the Gita he is supreme and similarly Christ and Allah are saying they are supreme in their religious books. How does an average neutral human being judge the major religions and decide which is the best way forward. I feel confused each religion is telling that their God is superior and to accept their ideology . Kindly advise me on this. Does this mean if a person accepts Krishna consciousness he is liberated and if he follows other religions he is not on the right track.

Hare Krishna

Regards,

Krishna

My Dear Krishna,

Please accept my blessings.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

In the Christian Bible and Islamic teachings there are statements indicating that is more knowledge beyond what those teachings are revealing. For example, the Bible Christ states, “There is so much that I have yet to tell thee, but you cannot bear to hear it now.”

Compare this with Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita:

jnanam te ‘ham sa-vijnanam

idam vaksyamy asesatah

yaj jnatva neha bhuyo ‘nyaj

jnatavyam avasisyate

“I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know.” Bhagavad-gita 7.2

So according to what the Christian, Islamic, and Vedic teachings say about themselves, the Vedas are giving the complete full knowledge and the Christian and Islamic teachings are giving a portion of it. This does not deny the validity of the Christian and Islamic teachings. This is simply to establish the more complete nature of the Vedic teachings. It is just like the difference between a pocket dictionary and an unabridged dictionary. Do you understand?  Both dictionaries are valid, but one is more complete than the other one.

This is not our bias.  This is according to the version of the teachings themselves.  This is why I am following the Vedic teachings.  If the Bible or Islamic teachings were more complete, I would follow them instead.  I am not attached to any particular religion or any particular organization.  I am simply attached to realizing and living the Truth in its most complete form.

My membership in ISKCON, the Hare Krishna Movement, is utilitarian, not blind.  I participate in ISKCON because they have the most perfect and complete conception of the Absolute Truth and the most perfect and complete methodology for realizing the Absolute Truth.

Hoping this meets you in the best of health and in a cheerful mood,

Your eternal well-wisher,

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

From 23 Jan 2011

Today’s Thought:

            Connecting with the Universal Religion

Uploaded from New Dwarka–Los Angeles, California, USA

There are many billions of people throughout the world who consider themselves religious. Generally each of them adheres to a particular religious tradition, which is in many ways similar and also in many ways different from other religious traditions. Often, they consider that their tradition is the only valid tradition, and that others who are not participants in their tradition are lost souls condemned to be denied access to the kingdom of God. In this way, they fail to see the true universal nature of religion. Unfortunately this exclusivist mentality leads to increasing chaos and conflict in a world that is already too much overburdened by chaos and conflict.  Religion is supposed to be God’s gift to man so that he can have a heaven on earth and qualify to return to God’s kingdom upon leaving his current body. So what is going wrong? And what can be done to change it?

What’s going wrong is that we approach God to fulfill our desires instead of His desires. In other words we approach Him with our contaminated consciousness of subtly considering ourselves to be the Supreme. We place ourselves over Him by asking Him to serve us instead of us serving Him. This is selfishness, not selflessness. And this is what is going wrong in the hearts of practically everyone who approaches God. To change this we must teach that selfless service to Supreme Person is the only way that one can experience genuine complete happiness. If the hand wants to get nourishment, it must give the food to the belly. God is like the belly and we are like the hand. So we must give everything to God. In this way, we will be the best servants of God and all living beings including ourselves.

So, the universal religion is pure selfless service to the Supreme Person, the source of all existence. The language of the universal religion takes different shapes according to the different traditions. But when one goes deep enough into any one tradition, he will arrive at exactly the same conclusion as anyone else who follows his own religious tradition deeply enough. Therefore instead of getting side tracked by the differences of the religious traditions, we should immediately try to capture the pure essence of religion, the universal religion of pure, unadulterated, selfless, loving service for the Supreme Person.

The difficulty is that we currently have a drastic shortage of enlightened teachers on this planet who are fully tuned into the original, pure essence of religion, the universal religion of pure selfless devotion to God. An enlightened teacher is someone who has gone deep enough into his own tradition to find the one universal root of all traditions. He is a teacher who has fully realized the one universal or absolute truth underlying all relative truths. If planet earth had a sufficient abundance of such enlightened teachers in each tradition, there could be instituted a global educational system which would easily bring to this tattered global society a truly profound golden era of peace, prosperity, and happiness for all.

This is the day that we are praying and crying for, Lord. May it come soon! May it come soon! May it come soon!

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

From Aug 18, 2004

 

“Reviving the World Religion”

The Ultimate Self Realization Course, Lesson B32

by His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Under the sublime loving guidance of His Divine Grace

Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

There’s a lot of talk these days about bringing peace and unity throughout the world by establishing one World Religion. Many aspiring reformers are putting forward their proposals on what that World Religion should be. But what they fail to note is that man cannot invent Religion. Religion is given by God. Just as within a particular nation we must follow the established laws, we cannot invent our own laws and expect to be recognized as law-abiding citizens. It we neglect the existing laws we will be regarded as criminals and dealt with accordingly. It we disobey the laws of God we must suffer the karmic reactions for being out of harmony with the Supreme. This is why we see so much chaos in the world today.

While some want to invent a new World Religion others are pushing that their religious sect should become the World Religion. We see in many cases that such sectarianists will argue, fight, and even torture and kill others outside of their sect to push forward their own sect as the World Religion. Along with trying to invent a new World Religion this sectarianism is another type of madness. It has been going on for many, many centuries. Because of our tendency to place ourselves in the center instead of placing God in the center we may also try to establish our religious sect as the World Religion. This is not God consciousness. This is sectarian selfishness.

To clarify the situation there is one fact that we must carefully understand. That fact is that as soon as we talk about religions in the plural we are missing what is actual Religion. God is One. There cannot be two Supreme Beings any more than there can be two supreme courts. Since God is One, Religion, therefore, must also be One. Religion means simply to love God. When we consider religions in the plural we are not dealing with Religion. We are in the realm of religious sects. When we speak of Religion in the singular we are actually speaking about Religion.

After all, how many suns are there in the sky? There is only one. But how many different names are there for the sun? There are hundreds. Instead of fighting over what is the name of that fiery ball in the sky we should realize that we, along with everyone else, are the recipients of the rays of that same luminous object in the sky. The sun is not American. It is not Indian. It is not Christian. It is not Muslim. The sun exists beyond all the designations that we try to impose upon it. Similarly God exists beyond any designations that we try to impose upon Him.

Before the age of Kali began some 5,000 years ago the entire world was unified under one government centered in India and under one World Religion based on the Vedas. The Vedic conception of Religion does not restrict God to one name. The Vedic conception is the original religious teaching in this universe going back to the very beginnings of this universe some 155 trillion years ago. The religious conception described in the Vedas accepts all bonafide incarnations of God and all bonafide names of God. It does not allow anyone to concoct what is Religion according to his or her own imagination. It does present in a scientific way the detailed methodologies of how to dovetail perfectly your individual consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness. It can be practiced by anyone in any sect, whether they are Hindu, Christian, Jew, or Muslim. It is indeed the ultimate universal system for spiritual enlightenment, the true World Religion.

We are very fortunate to have been unlimitedly blessed with this knowledge by one of the greatest enlightened teachers in the history of the universe, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, through the many volumes of books that he has left behind for us to follow. Our course is meant to help you fully connect yourself with those teachings. Kindly take advantage of it and make your life sublime.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Bhaktivedanta Ashram

Austin, Texas, USA

August 18, 2004

Humbly,

Mahabhagavat Das

Compiled by Sunil Vaswani

What does “Prabhuji” mean? What is “Gauranga”? What is “Neophyte”? How to know if a person has surrendered to God?

Sunil, Jul 14 2011

Please accept my humble obeisances,

I am asking few questions below:

Frankly I do-not know the meaning of “Prabhuji” . Please tell.

I also do-not know the meaning of “Gauranga”. Please tell.

When one says neophyte devotee, then does the word refer to newly-initiated devotees or even to non initiated disciples or students of Krishna Consciousness?

How would a person know that he or she has surrendered to God?

Regards,

Sunil

I enjoy the atmosphere in this group:)

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Jul 14 2011

Dear Sunil Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you very much for your active participation in this group. If you like the atmosphere, the credit goes to you and each and every sincere member of this group, due to the collective consciousness of the members, this group is a nice place for all of us to grow together in Krishna consciousness.

Q>Frankly I do-not know the meaning of “Prabhuji”

A: “Prabhuji” – the “ji” is a suffix in India to indicate respect, especially in North India, for example, if someone’s name is Sunil, then, respectfully, one may be address that person like “Sunil ji” or “Sunilji”. It is similar to the “san” suffix attached by Japanese persons, it is of cultural origin. The work “Prabhu” means “Lord”. This means of address is meant to remind us that we are meant to have the mentality of being a “das” or a servant, not a “boss” or a master. It is also an acknowledgement, that each and every living entity is a part-and-parcel of Krishna, and therefore deserves to be addressed respectfully. Not that we are saying everyone is Krishna, but we are honoring everyone as a dear servant of Krishna. Sometimes, we see some very senior devotees address others as “Prabhu” or “Prabhuji”, that is a sign of their advancement and humility, that they consider the other person “lord”. I have personal experiences, sometimes, a great devotee like His Holiness Bhaktimarga Swami will address me, his junior in all respects, as “Prabhu”. My shiksha guru Rupanuga Das (disciple of His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja) addresses me as Prabhu, and when I offer him my obeisances, he gets on the ground and returns my obeisances, although, he is senior to me in all respects. Now one can see the effect of such senior devotees’ example, I feel humbled by their humility, and my false ego’s desire to enjoy respect offered by others can thus be overcome by following them.

Does this answer your question, Sunil Prabhuji 🙂

Q>I also do-not know the meaning of “Gauranga”

A: “Gauranga”, that is a most auspicious sound vibration. If all the persons of the whole world chant this sound vibration even once, then no more there will be Kali Yuga. Gauranga is a name of God, in His most munificent, magnanimous incarnation, as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Gauranga is also known as Gaura Hari, or Sachi Suta or Sachinandana, or many many of His wonderful names filled with nectar. We know that the name of the Lord is non-different from HIm, the Lord is absolute. So whenever we chant Gauranga, we associate directly with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, in His transcendental mood of a devotee, and we feel great great bliss. So, try it out, say out aloud “Gauranga”! And see how persons become miraculously happy when that chant Gauranga.  Please chant Gauranga now, then, all the time, chant Gauranga here, there everywhere.

Q>When one says neophyte devotee, then does the word refer to newly-initiated devotees or even to non initiated disciples or students of Krishna Consciousness?

A: Neophyte devotee has nothing to do with one’s external status like initiated or not, it has to do with one’s internal status… how much one has realized, and how much one is practicing, and what is one’s internal consciousness. Even a disciple for 50 years or more, even of a Guru as great as His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, could very well be a neophyte. And a person who is not even initiated could be an advanced devotee, this is not external at all. We should not in any case, treat anyone disrespectfully, even if they are apparently “new”. We don’t know what every soul’s previous journey has been, Krishna knows, and someone who joins the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, say, 20 years after us may actually be a great spiritual master resuming their service to Krishna, and someone who has been in the movement for 50 years may very well be a beginner in devotional service. One who has passed out of the neophyte stage, follows the orders of the spiritual master sincerely, never deviates from the regulative principles, even when no one is looking, is always burning with the desire to serve the orders of the spiritual master, is very humble, always eager to learn of Krishna, hear of Krishna, speak of Krishna, think of Krishna, not desiring anything for oneself except more and more service, is hankering for the association of the devotees every moment, is very very greedy for more and more and more devotional service, and is totally and completely dependent on Krishna in all situations, always chanting His names or engaged in one of the 9 processes of devotional service, is a friend to all, very dear to Krishna, never in material consciousness, is fully engaged in delivering Krishna’s message to one and all, and such a devotee is very rare.

Q: How would a person know that he or she has surrendered to God?

A: A person who has taken the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master in an authorized disciplic succession, and who takes the instructions of one’s spiritual master as one’s very life and soul, and is always engaged in the sincere, persistent, and honest attempt to fulfill the orders of the spiritual master, such a person is surrendered to God.

Please let me know if this answers your questions Prabhu.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Sunil, Jul 14 2011

Respected Mahabhagavat Das

Please accept my humble obeisances

You answered all the questions very nicely

Regards,

Sunil

Controlling lust

S K, 19th May 2011

Hare Krishna

Humble obeisances to all devotees

All glories to Srila Gurudeva

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

I find it difficult to control lust.  What is the best and effective way to control lust?

Kindly advice

Humbly yours

Jagannatha dasa , 19th May 2011

Hare Krishna prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Please find below some advice from Srila Gurudeva on this topic.  Although they are lengthy and heavy quotes, I am sure they will be helpful when applied.  I have included the questions for context.

Question:

What Does Krishna Prescribe to Fight Lust?…

I would like to know how to fight against the greatest enemy of mankind, namely lust.  Krishna says that the senses, the mind, and the intelligence are sitting places of lust.  Even though it is 90% possible to fight against lust while we are awake and Krishna conscious, lust seems to be unconquerable while in dreams.  In sleep I utterly fail.

Your student

Answer:

Purify Your Love…

Our nature is to love.  When that love is selfish, it is lust.  When it is selfless, it is pure love.  Love become pure selfless love when it offered 100% in the Lord’s service.

It’s not that it is just 90% possible to fight lust when you are awake. It is 100% possible. Not only is it possible to fight lust. One can definitely 100% defeat lust by taking seriously to the pathway of Krishna consciousness.

When your waking consciousness is 100% immersed in Krishna bhakti, your dreaming consciousness will naturally mirror it and your dreams will be filled with thoughts of Krishna. This requires steady dedicated practice, but it most definitely attainable for those who are very serious about spiritual life.

(Thought For the Day Sep. 18th, 2006.  Q and A section.)

—–

Question: How to Control Lust?

I am really not able to control my lust, Maharaja! Please guide me properly for controlling lust (illicit sex).  I have heard that thinking about sex is also illicit sex.

Your student

Answer: Decide What You Want to Be

You simply have to decide whether you want to be human being or an animal and then act accordingly

(Thought For the Day

Dec. 18th, 2009.  Q and A section.)

—–

Question:  How Can I Give Up Lust?…

How can I give up lust?  Sometimes it is very strong desire and still there within my heart.  I really want to give up this desire and to be Krishna Consciousness. Please help me.

Your student

Answer:  Experience Genuine Pleasure on the Spiritual Platform…

Lust is a desire to enjoy the contact between your material senses and the object of the material senses in the form of a member of the opposite sex. In order for sex pleasure to be enjoyable one has to come down to the platform of identifying the body with the self. This is a false concept which prolongs one’s enslavement within the cycle of birth and death. By coming down to the bodily platform, on which there is only a perverted reflection of actual pleasure, one simply cheats himself out of factual happiness in the worst possible way. Why it is the worst way? Because there is no material pleasure greater than sex pleasure, there is nothing that reinforces the false bodily conception of the self more than sex. It causes one to very strongly identity as a male or as a female making transcendental realization impossible.

The first step in giving up lust is remember that you are not your body and that therefore sex pleasure does not actually touch the soul. You should realize that it is superficial, not real pleasure and that therefore it is tenth class pleasure at best. Remember that the first class pleasure, the real pleasure, comes from re-establishing one’s lost relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no pleasure anywhere in the universe that comes even close to pleasure derived at every minute by one who has awakened the dormant love of God within their heart. So if one is seeking real and lasting pleasure and satisfaction, he should know that the best pleasure and satisfaction comes from developing one’s love for God.

The next step is to experience genuine pleasure on the transcendental platform. This pleasure, once tasted, will be experienced as a higher taste, a greater pleasure, that what can be derived by any amount of material sense gratification. This pleasure can be easily experienced by one who engages himself in the sankirtana yajna, the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of God in the association of advanced transcendentalists:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

(Thought For the Day Feb. 14th, 2007)

Please forgive the extra long post.

Your servant,

-Jagannatha dasa

Pranathi , 19th May,2011

Hari bol prabhujis… essential question and amazing answers… thank you very very much for enlightening us… i am sure each and every one of us suffers from the inability to control lust… by Guru’s and Krishna’s immense grace i hope that we’ll all be able to love Krishna beyond this bag of flesh and bones!

Hare Krishna!


Vraja Kishor Das , 23rd May,2011

If you have that wish to control it and that strong lust comes you

just shout

Jay Radha Madan Moahan!!!

Jay Radha Madan Moahan!!!

Jay Radha Madan Moahan!!!

and cupid will remove his piercing arrows 😉

Only by practising Krishna Consciousness you will able to purify from

lust.

Venudhari Krishna das, 24th May,2011

 Perfect Answer, Thanks Vraja Kishore Prabhu

(Conversation compiled by Sunil)

Importance of hearing from right source

Rahul Mangla, Jun 2, 2011

The statement kariyāchi śravaṇa (“I have heard it”) is very important in the sense that hearing is more important than directly studying or perceiving. If one is expert in hearing and hears from the right source, his knowledge is immediately perfect. This process is called śrauta-panthā, or the acquisition of knowledge by hearing from authorities. All Vedic knowledge is based on the principle that one must approach a bona fide spiritual master and hear from him the authoritative statements of the Vedas. It is not necessary for one to be a highly polished literary man to receive knowledge; to receive perfect knowledge from a perfect person, one must be expert in hearing. This is called the descending process of deductive knowledge, or avaroha-panthā. 
CC Ädi 16.52

The Lord can be realized through the aural reception of the transcendental
message, and that is the only way to experience the transcendental subject.
As fire is kindled from wood by another fire, the divine consciousness of
man can similarly be kindled by another divine grace. His Divine Grace the
spiritual master can kindle the spiritual fire from the woodlike living
entity by imparting proper spiritual messages injected through the receptive
ear. Therefore one is required to approach the proper spiritual master with
receptive ears only, and thus divine existence is gradually realized. The
difference between animality and humanity lies in this process only. A human
being can hear properly, whereas an animal cannot.
Srimad-Bhägavatam 1.2.32 

 

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Jun 14, 2011

Hare Krishna Rahul Prabhu,  Also, would like to add that reading is actually a form of hearing…
because when a pure devotee writes, then such a devotee’s spoken kirtana is
recorded in the form of writing, and when we read, we are hearing the
recording of the pure devotee’s written Kirtan… Prabhupada explained this
to his disciples.

So, that is why, Srila Prabhupada called the distribution of his books the
“Brhad Mridanga” or the “Great Mridanga”, the analogy he gave was that if we
have a Kirtan, then the sound of the Kirtan may reach a few metres, and as
someone goes further, the sound gets fainter and fainter until a point when
one cannot hear it at all, but the book travels great distances with the
“hearer” without losing its intensity.

Of course, books must be read in the company and association of devotees who are actually following properly what is in the books, otherwise there is the
danger of misunderstanding.

Your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

 

(Conversation compiled by Nashvin Gangaram)

Hare Krishna, dear world!

Conversations on how to lead a Krishna conscious lifestyle