Tag: detachment

Letters from Death

What if you could make a deal with Death itself, a promise that before your time comes, you’d receive written warnings to prepare? In this retelling of a classic, a man believes he has outsmarted his mortal fate by securing a divine pact with Yamaraja, the god of death. Yet as decades pass and his body ages, he misses the warning signs right in front of him. With timeless Vedic wisdom from the Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, we explore the letters we all receive, the value of our allotted breaths, and how to truly prepare for our most transition.

Once upon a time, there lived a man who was utterly terrified of dying. He pondered long and hard about how to escape his mortal fate until a clever thought struck him: How could a friend ever kill a friend?

Determined to save his own skin, he embarked on a path of intense austerities, severe penances, and disciplined efforts to earn the favor of Yamaraja, the god of death. Impressed by his dedication, Yamaraja appeared before him and offered his friendship.

Seizing the moment, the man placed his ultimate wish before his new powerful friend: “I never want to die.”

Yamaraja chuckled softly. “My friend, no one can live forever in this material world. Eternal life exists only in the spiritual realm. However, because of our friendship, I will do this for you: I will send you letters in advance to warn you when your time is drawing near, so you have ample opportunity to prepare. Until that final moment comes, you will not see me.”

Overjoyed with this arrangement, the man happily agreed. He walked away with supreme confidence. He had a royal guarantee: Death would write to him first.

Decades rolled by, and the man built a magnificent life. He was blessed with a devoted wife who was both his partner and his soulmate. His children grew up brilliant and successful, eventually bringing loving grandchildren into the world. In his business, he amassed greater wealth and prestige than ever before. Respected by his community, young people routinely sought his wisdom on careers, family, and success.

Yet, as the years advanced, changes began to occur, subtly at first.

First came digestive troubles. His well-wishers gently suggested he lighten his diet and slow down, but the man simply popped digestive pills and continued feasting as before.

Then his hair began to turn gray and fall out. Undeterred, he dyed his locks, got hair transplants, took medications, and carried on as if his youth were eternal.

Next, his knees and joints started to ache. He visited top physiotherapists and chiropractors, consumed endless supplements, tried novel exercise routines, and kept trying to move at full speed.

Then, the mirror began revealing new, undeniable truths. His youthful complexion started to fade; deep wrinkles carved lines into his forehead, and his skin began to lose its elasticity and sag. At the same time, his metabolism slowed, causing stubborn weight to cling to his waistline. Did he recognize these signs for what they were? Not at all. He fought back with a vengeance. He booked regular appointments for Botox and dermal fillers, slathered on expensive anti-aging serums, and underwent chemical peels and subtle facelifts to pull his skin taut once more. To battle his changing shape, he turned to modern fat-reduction procedures… liposuction, CoolSculpting, and rigid fad diets, relentlessly trying to carve out the silhouette of a much younger man.

Eventually, his teeth failed him, so he replaced them with sparkling new implants. His eyes grew dim and weak, so he underwent modern laser surgeries and wore stylish designer glasses.

Throughout it all, caring friends urged him to rein in his worldly pursuits and begin preparing himself for the inevitable. But he dismissed their warnings. Why give up the good life when things were going so well? Besides, he had an agreement. Yamaraja hadn’t sent a single letter yet!

Then came a day unlike any other. The man fell gravely ill, not with a passing cold or mild fever, but a collapse that forced his family to rush him to the hospital. Specialists swarmed his room, hooking his body up to a labyrinth of IV lines, monitors, and tubes.

Even as he lay in that hospital bed, surrounded by weeping relatives, the man remained blissfully confident. I am not going to die today, he thought. Yamaraja promised me letters, and my mailbox has been empty.

Suddenly, the man felt the atmosphere in the room grow icy cold. Standing at the foot of his bed was Yamaraja, accompanied by his fierce attendants, ready to sever the soul from the body to which the man had clung so desperately.

Shocked and betrayed, the man looked at his powerful friend and cried out, “Yamaraja! How could you betray our pact? You swore you would write to me so I could prepare! Why didn’t you send me a single letter before coming to take me?”

Yamaraja smiled with deep compassion and laughed softly.

“My dear friend,” Yama replied, “do you truly believe I sent you no letters? What was the trouble in your stomach? What were the sharp pains in your knees and hips? What was the graying of your hair, the sagging of your skin, and the slowing of your body? Did you expect paper and ink when I have billions of souls across the universe to attend to? Every physical decline was a letter delivered directly to your body, but you chose to try to erase the ink with scalpels, injectables, and pills rather than read the message.”

Before the man could reply, his time was up. He had to immediately depart in the company of his friend, the god of death.

And everything and everyone else he cherished so much? Stayed behind. He did carry all his karmic reactions with him though, that was his baggage. Plus a seed of goodness from meeting Yamaraja.

Reading the Mail in Our Own Lives

How many of us, right now, are sitting on a stack of unopened letters from death?

It sounds jarring to call death a “friend,” but in truth, death is our most constant companion. Death is born with us the very moment we take our first breath. If a child turns seven years old today, it simply means that seven years of that child’s life have already died—bringing them seven years closer to the final curtain.

Beyond holding up a mirror to our mortality, death is also a friend because it offers us the ultimate grace of renewal. It allows us to lay down the heavy burdens of old traumas, heartbreaks, and emotional scars that we were never meant to carry forever. Death grants us fresh energy, a clean slate, and another youthful body to continue our soul’s journey. Above all, death is an act of divine mercy that gives every one of us a second chance—a fresh opportunity to learn, evolve, and turn inward, no matter how terribly we may have squandered this current life.

As the Bhagavad-gita (2.27) reminds us:

jatasya hi dhruvo mrtyuh

“For one who has taken birth, death is strictly certain.”

Vedic wisdom teaches that our lifespan is not measured merely by years on a calendar, but counted in the exact number of breaths allotted to us at birth. Once those breaths are exhausted, our time in this vessel is finished. We have total freedom in how we choose to spend those breaths, but we cannot purchase a single extra breath with all the wealth in the world.

This fundamental truth is vividly highlighted in the Srimad Bhagavatam (2.3.18):

तरवः किं न जीवन्ति भस्त्राः किं न श्वसन्त्युत ।

न खादन्ति न मेहन्ति किं ग्रामे पशवोऽपरे ॥

taravaḥ kiṁ na jīvanti bhastrāḥ kiṁ na śvasanty uta

na khādanti na mehanti kiṁ grāme paśavo ‘pare

Translation: “Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of a blacksmith not breathe? Do the beasts all around us not eat and discharge semen?”

The commentary explains that the physical body is maintained by a finite quantity of life-air (prana) operating through respiration. Every soul enters a physical vessel with a preallocated quota of breath dictated by past karma. Merely inhaling and exhaling does not constitute true living. Even a blacksmith’s bellows draws air.

Furthermore, Srimad Bhagavatam (2.3.17) warns us of how relentlessly time consumes this finite allowance:

आयुर्हरति वै पुंसामुद्यन्नस्तं च यन्नसौ ।

तस्यर्ते यत्क्षणो नीत उत्तमश्लोकवार्तया ॥

āyur harati vai puṁsām udyann astaṁ ca yann asau

tasya ṛte yat-kṣaṇo nīta uttama-śloka-vārtayā

Translation: “Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes time by discussing topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

When Yamaraja’s letters arrive in our mailbox, a new gray hair, a sudden ache in the back, a decline in energy, or a diagnosis, we generally react in one of three ways:

  1. We ignore them. Like the man in the story, we take pills, apply dye, undergo procedures, and pretend the warning never arrived.
  2. We panic and distract ourselves. We rush out to buy shiny sports cars, seek out new romantic flings, or undergo desperate cosmetic alterations to outrun the clock.
  3. We prepare. We recognize the warning for what it is, a graceful reminder to turn our attention toward what truly matters. Krishna promises in Bhagavad-gita 8.6, our state of mind at death determines our next destination.

History and sacred texts offer profound examples of those who knew how to receive these notifications. King Parikshit received a formal seven-day notice of his death and spent every remaining second absorbed in spiritual hearing and contemplation. King Khatvanga had a notice of just forty-eight minutes, yet he immediately withdrew his mind from worldly attachments and achieved spiritual perfection in that brief window.

Some people receive no tangible notice at all; death simply arrives unannounced. But most of us are blessed with plenty of advance mail.

I have received many letters from Yamaraja over the years. At first, I brushed them off. But recently, the tone of those letters has grown far more urgent. Recognizing the signals, I have decided to take them seriously and invest my remaining breaths into spiritual perfection.

How about you? How many letters from Yamaraja have arrived in your mailbox so far, and what do you plan to do with the next one?

A Prayer

Krishna, my dear best friend and well-wisher, You are not only my friend, but a friend of all souls. You reside in our hearts as that all-knowing Supersoul, Paramatma. However, You don’t impose. You remind us of whatever we want to remember, and cause us to forget what we want to forget (BG 15.15).

My dear Lord, please, could You cut off all my material attachments save to You and those dear to You? Please, may I use every single breath I have in remembrance and glorification of You. Please, could You bless me that I may take Your message to everyone who needs it?

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Krishna enjoys the company of His devotee
Krishna enjoys the company of His devotee

The blind dog comes to the fair

Ever feel like you’re running in circles, chasing things that look amazing but leave you feeling empty? 🐕🎪

Over 400 years ago, the legendary saint-poet Purandara Dasa wrote a masterclass in spiritual psychology using a stark, unforgettable metaphor: a blind dog wandering aimlessly into a chaotic village fair.

From treating sacred wisdom as mere “quotable quotes” to chasing fleeting illusions, this timeless piece, Kurudu Naayi Santege Bantante is a brilliant mirror for the human condition in material life.

Read this fresh English poetic adaptation and deep-dive explanation to discover why we get lost in the marketplace of life, and how to find our way back. 👇

#Philosophy #Spirituality #PurandaraDasa #IndianHeritage #PoetryOfLife

“Kurudu Naayi Santege Bantante” (ಕುರುಡು ನಾಯಿ ಸಂತೆಗೆ ಬಂತಂತೆ), composed by the 16th-century saint-poet Purandara Dasa, is a masterpiece. This piece of writing is inspired by Purandara Dasa’s great timeless song. I can’t describe in words how much I love this song.

The Blind Dog at the Fair

A blind dog wandered to the bustling fair, they say,

With sightless eyes and aimless paws, it stumbled on its way.

It knew not rules of traffic, nor where the paths aligned,

And plunged into the chaos, completely lost and blind.

Around it bloomed a riot of colors, vibrant, loud, and bright,

A grand kaleidoscope of life, hidden from its sight:

Mounds of golden turmeric, near heaps of scarlet spice,

Shining jars of liquid ghee, and sacks of polished rice.

Bright banners waved from canvas tents, trinkets caught the sun,

While sweetmeats fried, bubbling, enticing everyone.

Baskets filled with heavy fruits, and garments dyed in blue;

A dazzling sea of worldly wealth, fully out of view.

And through the crowd, the jugglers toss’d rings of painted wood,

While clever, dark-eyed magicians spun illusions where they stood.

With sleight of hand, they turned, stone into silver coin,

Inviting passing, hollow minds to marvel and to join.

The ragged buskers beat their drums and piped on hollow reeds,

Singing songs of fleeting joy to feed people’s greed.

A dancer spun in frantic steps, a puppeter held its string;

A thousand mock distractions in a loud, enchanted ring.

It spurned the trays of honeyed sweets and platters piled high,

To chew upon a broken bone, splintered, sharp, and dry.

Driven by a hungry belly, searching for a scrap,

It walked into a bustling store, right into a trap.

One vendor kicked it from the front, another struck its side,

With nowhere left to turn or run, and nowhere left to hide.

It yelped in pain but did not leave, sniffing for a bone,

Receiving blows of heavy sticks, and bruised by every stone.

For just a taste of garbage, it endured the market’s wrath,

Forgetting there was freedom outside that crowded path.

Such is fate of the mortal man who walks this earthly stage,

He enters into Samsara, a blinding, chaotic cage.

Through countless cycles, endless births, across a weary span,

It passed a million lifetimes just to win the form of man.

Yet blessed with rare human life, a prize beyond compare,

Squander’d; wandering, trapped in despair.

From garden unto garden, grove to grove, blindly runs,

And through the trackless forests, chasing shadows in the sun.

Bound tightly to its wife and child with fierce, attached embrace,

It anchored all its happiness within a changing face;

But when the hour of parting struck and swept them all away,

It stood alone in emptiness, with not a soul to stay.

It read the sacred Vedic texts just to quotable quote,

And left the inner wisdom, a lesson learned by rote.

Blinded it lost its way, despite the sacred lore,

And walked directly to the gates of Yamaraja’s door.

The priceless jewels of divine grace placed within its hand,

Yet like a clueless monkey, scattered in the sand.

And all this happened, all this grief, this tragic, blinding fall,

Because the foolish, wandering soul forgot the Lord of all.

It clean forgot sweet Krishna’s name, forgot Sri Ranga’s grace,

And turned its back on Vitthala to run this worldly race.

Ignorant of the spirit, blind to God’s design,

To chase the worthless dust of earth, rejecting the Divine.

To take the blows of fate and time, but crawl back for more,

Lured by the cheap illusions of the marketplace’s store.

Oh Purandara Vittala, hear a humble soul’s entreat

Guide me away from the market, back to Your lotus feet.

Purandara Dasa is known for using raw, everyday street imagery to convey profound Vedantic philosophy. In this song, he uses a biting, tragicomic allegory, a blind dog causing chaos at a village fair, to deliver a wake-up call to humanity about the nature of material existence.

I cannot ever do justice to his brilliance myself. But I can try to convey my appreciation for his deep devotion to Krishna and compassion upon souls like me.

1. The Blind Dog and the Fair

The core of the song rests on two brilliant metaphors:

  • The Blind Dog (Kurudu Naayi): Represents the spirit soul (Jivatma). It is “blind” because it lacks spiritual wisdom. It is driven entirely by its base, animalistic instincts… hunger, survival, and immediate sensory gratification.
  • The Market/Fair (Sante): Represents the material world (Samsara). A traditional Indian village market is temporary, loud, chaotic, and crowded. It sets up shop for a day and vanishes overnight, mirroring the fleeting, impermanent nature of worldly life.

When the blind dog stumbles into this chaotic marketplace, it has no map, no vision, and no understanding of how the market works. Similarly, souls plunge into the material world completely ignorant of our true purpose, navigating life purely by trial and error, mostly error.

2. Themes and Spiritual Lessons

The Illusion of Material Wealth (Maya)

The song describes the fair as incredibly vibrant, think piles of golden turmeric, scarlet spices, bubbling sweetmeats, jugglers, magicians, and buskers.

Samsara is not a boring wasteland, the material realm is dangerous precisely because it is so dazzling. The magicians and jugglers represent Maya (cosmic illusion). They perform tricks, turning stones into coins, symbolizing how the material world tricks us into believing that temporary worldly pleasures are permanent and valuable.

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā / mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te

Translation: “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/14

The Misplaced Appetite (The Broken Bone)

One of the most poignant psychological observations in the song is the dog rejecting trays of honeyed sweets to chew on a dry, splintered, broken bone.

When a dog chews a dry bone, the sharp edges cut its own gums. The dog tastes its own blood but mistakenly believes the taste is coming from the bone. Purandara Dasa uses this to describe human desire: we reject the “honeyed sweet” of spiritual freedom and instead chase material pleasures that actively bind and hurt us, foolishly bleeding for joys that are entirely self-inflicted.

viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ / rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

Translation: “The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/59

The Tragedy of Wasted Human Birth

Human life is incredibly rare, earned only after evolving through millions of lower lifetimes (as insects, birds, and animals).

Purandara Dasa laments that after finally achieving this precious human form, the soul wastes it. Instead of seeking Krishna, it walks “from garden to garden, forest to forest”, aimlessly wandering through the thickets of worldly distractions, entirely forgetting its own spiritual identity as an associate of God.

The Illusion of Temporary Relationships

The song sharply tackles human attachment (Moha). The soul binds itself fiercely to a spouse and children, building its entire universe around them. However, Purandara Dasa delivers a sobering truth: when the time of death arrives, the soul is ripped away from this environment. It enters the world alone, and it leaves the world alone. In the final hour, all worldly attachments are snatched away, leaving the soul to face its karmic accounts alone.

The Failure of Empty Intellectualism

Purandara Dasa was highly critical of ritualism and bookish knowledge devoid of true devotion (Bhakti). He notes that the soul might memorize and study all the Vedic texts, but if it lacks inner truth and humility, it will still lose its way. Intellectual pride only blinds the soul further, leading it straight to the gates of Yamaraja (the demigod in charge of Death and Judgment) to face inevitable punishment.

Lord Sri Krishna ridicules those who use the Vedas merely for temporary material gain or prestige (the “flowery words” or “quotable quotes”) rather than realizing that the ultimate purpose of all Vedic study is to know Krishna and serve Him.

yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ / veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ

Translation: “People of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities… They say that there is nothing more than this.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/42-43

The Monkey and the Jewels

The poet uses a famous Kannada phrase, mangana kaiyalli manikyavante (like a precious gemstone in the hands of a monkey). A monkey has no concept of the value of a gemstone; it may simply play with it for a bit, surely get bored, and drop it in the sand somewhere. Divine grace, human consciousness, and the opportunity for spiritual perfection are the “priceless jewels” given to us, which many of us foolishly throw away to chase the worthless dust of material accumulation.

The Root Cause and the Remedy

Ultimately, Purandara Dasa asks: Why does the soul suffer like a stray dog being kicked from one market stall to the next?

The answer is simple: It forgot. It forgot the name of Krishna, it forgot the grace of Sri Ranga (Krishna), and it turned its back on our best friend and well-wisher, Krishna. The continuous “kicks and blows” we receive from fate, time, illness, and heartbreak are the natural consequences of wandering through the marketplace of Samsara unguided.

ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva te / ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ

Translation: “An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/22

The wise person walks away from the market stalls of illusion, while the “blind dog” stays and helplessly takes the blows.

The song concludes not in despair, but with the classic signature (Ankita Mudra) of the poet. The only way out of the chaotic, abusive market of materialistic life is to stop chasing the scraps of the world, surrender the false ego, and find permanent refuge at the lotus feet of Purandara Vitthala (Krishna).

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja / ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

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

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/66

I like this song because the song really sings my story, and likely yours. Fortunately for me, my master has already searched out and found me, has claimed me, and by his torchlight of knowledge, my blindness is disappearing rapidly.

This song gives me great hope. I know am on my way back home. Won’t you come with me?

Hear this song in Kannada.

Kannada lyrics and lyrics in latin scripts with diacritics below, with gratitude to Smt. Meera Subbarao. Especially in the original lyrics of the great Purandara Dasa, they have a haunting melody and reminder that stays long after we’ve heard it just once.

Original Lyrics

ಕುರುಡು ನಾಯಿ ಸಂತೆಗೆ ಬಂತಂತೆ || PA ||
ಅದು ಯಾತಕೆ (ಯಾಕೆ) ಬಂತೋ || A PA ||

ಖಂಡ ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಹಿತವಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ ಖಂಡ ಎಲುಬು ಕಡಿದಿತಂತೆ
ಹೆಂಡಿರ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ನೆಚ್ಚಿತಂತೆ ಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುವಾಗ ಯಾರಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ || 1 ||

ಭರದಿ ಅಂಗಡಿ ಹೊಕ್ಕಿತಂತೆ ತಿರುವಿ ದೊಣ್ಣೆಲಿ ಇಕ್ಕಿದರಂತೆ
ಮರೆತರಿನ್ನು ವ್ಯರ್ಥವಂತೆ ನರಕದೊಳಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದಿತಂತೆ || 2 ||

ವೇದಶಾಸ್ತ್ರವನೋದಿತಂತೆ ಗಾದೆಯ ಮಾಡಿ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿತಂತೆ
ಹಾದಿ ತಪ್ಪಿ ನಡೆದು ಯಮನ ಬಾಧೆಗೆ ತಾ ಗುರಿಯಾಯಿತಂತೆ || 3 ||

ನಾನಾ ಜನ್ಮವನೆತ್ತಿತಂತೆ ಮಾನವನಾಗಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿತಂತೆ
ಕಾನನಕಾನನ ತಿರುಗಿತಂತೆ ತಾನು ತನ್ನನೆ ಮರೆಯಿತಂತೆ || 4 ||

ಮಂಗನ ಕೈಯ ಮಾಣಿಕ್ಯದಂತೆ ಹಾಂಗೂ ಹೀಂಗೂ ಕಳೆದೀತಂತೆ
ರಂಗವಿಠಲನ ಮರೆತಿತಂತೆ ಭಂಗ ಬಹಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿತಂತೆ || 5 ||

kuruḍu nāyi santege bantante || PA ||

adu yāke bantō || A PA ||

khaṇḍa sakkare hitavillavante khaṇḍa elubu kaḍiditante

heṇḍira makkaḷa neccitante koṇḍu hōguvāga yārillavante || 1 ||

bharadi aṅgaḍi hokkitante tiruvi doṇṇeli ikkidarante

maretarinnu vyarthavante narakadoḷage bidditante || 2 ||

vēdaśāstravanōditante gādeya māḍi biṭṭitante

hādi tappi naḍedu yamana bādhege tā guriyāyitante || 3 ||

nānā janmavanettitante mānavanāgi huṭṭitante

kānanakānana tirugitante tānu tannane mareyitante || 4 ||

maṅgana kaiya māṇikyadante hāṅgū hīṅgū kaḷedītante

raṅgaviṭhalana maretitante bhaṅga bahaḷa paṭṭitante || 5 ||

I pray never to forget the import of this song, may Sri Purandara Dasa and all the great Vaishnava saints guide me back home.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The Hare Krishna Mahamantra

Update: I will be writing a series of posts on this song, as there is so much depth there… This post will be updated to include links to those posts.

How to be detached without being callous?

Spiritual Knowledge often stresses Detachment. How can a Mother be detached from her children? Is there something wrong with this instruction? What is the proper understanding?

Rashmi Chhabra 09 Apr 2019

Hare Krishna all.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada

I m at a very beginning stage of Krishna consciousness. Please forgive my offenses.

In a recent class of Srimati Gurumataji, I heard about the weapon of detachment. I have 2 small kids, well whom I love a lot as a mother. And I think they are the only ones with whom I m attached at most in material life. Most rest things don’t matter to me.

My question is, should I start getting less attached to them? Or at least start that process of detachment?

Kindly enlighten.

Thank you all.

Hare Krishna.

Rashmi

Amogha Lila Das, 10 April 2019

Hare Krishna mataji. Please accept my pranams. All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We are all relatively new to Krishna consciousness, some little more some little less.

The idea of detachment can be understood as not deliberate but through the process of bhakti. When we engage our mind, body and intelligence in Krishna bhakti, then gradually we shall lose taste for material mundane things, not by force, but through getting a higher taste.

Arjuna wanted to detach himself from his duties as a kshatriya warrior, but eventually surrendered to the will of the Lord.

By doing our duty keeping Krishna in the center, we can utilize our lives for Krishna.

Every thing belongs to Krishna. Caring for your children is your duty as a mother and love for them is natural.  Raising them in Krishna consciousness will be the best thing you can do as a loving mother, because our aim is to utilize everything that we possess in the service of Krishna.

Hence detachment will come from the understanding that everything is Krishna’s property and we just have to utilize what already belongs to him in his service.

Hope this helps somewhat….

your humble servant,

Amogha Lila Das

Rupa Manjari devi dasi, 10 April 2019

Hare Krishna Mataji,

Please accept my humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Gurudev

All glories to Srimate Gurumata

All glories to Srila Prahbupada

Prabhu gave a very nice answer.

For further clarification I suggest you read this book by Sila  Prahbupada, from start to finish.  ‘The teachings of Queen Kunti. ‘  This is a wonderful book which Prabhupada explains your question perfectly.  As you read this book you understanding and realization will increase  step by step so by the end of it everything will be perfectly clear to you.

your servant

Rupa Manjari dd

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 11 April 2019

Dear Mother Rashmi,

Hare Krishna!

Your question is simply wonderful! Many parents must have this question, but may not ask… worse they may keep a misunderstanding within their hearts also. We must educate the whole world on this point.

What Amogha Lila Prabhu and Mother Rupa Manjari have written is truly profound.

To be detached actually means to be attached to Krishna and Krishna’s… To learn to see how Krishna has given you this important service of raising His own dear part-and-parcel souls “mamaivaamsho” is a great exercise in humility and gratitude. Please protect these children from untoward association, especially television, phones, computers, newspapers, food that is not cooked as a loving offering for Krishna, and materialistic association… Please give them Krishna constantly, in a way that they can accept… please make them best friends of Krishna.

Whatever Amogha Lila Prabhu wrote is fully supported by scripture… here it is from SB 10.14, the stealing of the cowherd boys by Lord Brahma, Krishna expanded Himself as all of them. The cowherd boys’ mothers and the calves’ mothers loved the expansions of Krishna appearing like their offspring more than they loved their own offspring – this was surprising, since a mother loves her child more than anyone else, so the Q&A between Maharaja Parikshit and Shukadeva Goswami is below, it is very nectarean, please dive into it prayerfully:

Text 49:

King Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, how could the cowherd women have developed for Kṛṣṇa, someone else’s son, such unprecedented pure love — love they never felt even for their own children? Please explain this.

Text 50:

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, for every created being the dearmost thing is certainly his own self. The dearness of everything else — children, wealth and so on — is due only to the dearness of the self.

Text 51:

For this reason, O best of kings, the embodied soul is self-centered: he is more attached to his own body and self than to his so-called possessions like children, wealth and home.

Text 52:

Indeed, for persons who think the body is the self, O best of kings, those things whose importance lies only in their relationship to the body are never as dear as the body itself.

Text 53:

If a person comes to the stage of considering the body “mine” instead of “me,” he will certainly not consider the body as dear as his own self. After all, even as the body is growing old and useless, one’s desire to continue living remains strong.

Text 54:

Therefore it is his own self that is most dear to every embodied living being, and it is simply for the satisfaction of this self that the whole material creation of moving and nonmoving entities exists.

Text 55:

You should know Kṛṣṇa to be the original Soul of all living entities. For the benefit of the whole universe, He has, out of His causeless mercy, appeared as an ordinary human being. He has done this by the strength of His internal potency.

Text 56:

Those in this world who understand Lord Kṛṣṇa as He is see all things, whether stationary or moving, as manifest forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such enlightened persons recognize no reality apart from the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Text 57:

The original, unmanifested form of material nature is the source of all material things, and the source of even that subtle material nature is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. What, then, could one ascertain to be separate from Him?

Text 58:

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.

All the purport are amazing, just like the verses… everyone should please read these carefully, and this will be the perfection of all our relationships if we can implement properly.

In the purport to SB 10.14.50, we find this (italics mine):

quote

Sometimes modern thinkers become puzzled when they study the psychology of moral behavior. Although every living entity is inclined toward self-preservation, as stated here, sometimes a person voluntarily sacrifices his own apparent interest through philanthropic or patriotic activities, such as giving his money for the benefit of others or giving his life for the national interest. Such so-called selfless behavior appears to contradict the principle of material self-centeredness and self-preservation.

As explained in this verse, however, a living entity serves his society, nation, family and so on only because these objects of affection represent the expanded concept of false ego. A patriot sees himself as a great servitor of a great nation, and thus he sacrifices his life to gratify his sense of egotism. Similarly, it is common knowledge that a man feels great pleasure by thinking that he is sacrificing everything to please his dear wife and children. A man derives great egotistic pleasure by seeing himself as a selfless well-wisher of his so-called family and community. Thus, to gratify his proud sense of false ego, a man is prepared even to lay down his life. This apparently contradictory behavior is yet another demonstration of the bewilderment of material life, which has neither rhyme nor reason, being a manifestation of gross ignorance of the nonmaterial soul.

unquote

And in the purport to SB 10.14.55, we find this (italics mine) :

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līla, Chapter Twenty, text 162, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments on this verse as follows: “Parīkṣit Mahārāja asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī why Kṛṣṇa was so beloved by the residents of Vṛndāvana, who loved Him even more than their own offspring or life itself. At that time, Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied that everyone’s ātmā, or soul, is very, very dear, especially to all living entities who have accepted material bodies. However, that ātmā, the spirit soul, is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. For this reason, Kṛṣṇa is very dear to every living entity. Everyone’s body is very dear to oneself, and one wants to protect the body by all means because within the body the soul is living. Due to the intimate relationship between the soul and the body, the body is important and dear to everyone. Similarly, the soul, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is very, very dear to all living entities. Unfortunately, the soul forgets his constitutional position and thinks he is only the body (dehātma-buddhi). Thus the soul is subjected to the rules and regulations of material nature. When a living entity, by his intelligence, reawakens his attraction for Kṛṣṇa, he can understand that he is not the body but part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Thus filled with knowledge, he no longer labors under attachment to the body and everything related to the body (janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti). Material existence, wherein one thinks, ‘I am the body, and this belongs to me,’ is also illusory. One must redirect his attraction to Kṛṣṇa.Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.7) states:

vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ

janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam

‘By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.’”

In the purport of SB 10.14.56, we find this written (italics are mine):

quote

Everything exists within Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Lord Kṛṣṇa exists within everything. Still, the order of progression is always from the energetic to the expanded energy. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original identity, from whom all other identities emanate. He is the supreme energetic, from whom all categories and dimensions of energy become manifest. Thus, our personal bodies, self, family, friends, nation, planet, universe and so on are all manifestations of the Supreme Lord, who expands Himself through His personal potencies. Lord Kṛṣṇa is certainly the supreme object of our love and attraction, and other objects, such as body, family and home, should be secondary objects of our affection. Moreover, a close analytic study of the actual situation will reveal that even the secondary objects of love are also manifestations of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The conclusion is that Lord Kṛṣṇa is our only friend and object of love.

In his Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments on this verse as follows: “Without being an expansion of Kṛṣṇa, nothing can be attractive. Whatever is attractive within the cosmic manifestation is due to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is therefore the reservoir of all pleasure. The active principle of everything is Kṛṣṇa, and highly elevated transcendentalists see everything in connection with Him. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is stated that a mahā-bhāgavata, a highly advanced devotee, sees Kṛṣṇa as the active principle in all moving and nonmoving living entities. Therefore he sees everything within this cosmic manifestation in relation to Kṛṣṇa.”

unquote

When you see your children as Krishna’s children and love them as Krishna’s children, and they realize that they are Krishna’s, then your devotion will be perfect, and their lives also will be perfect. All of you will be attached to Krishna’s lotus feet, and there will be no one more happy than Srimati Gurumataji and Srila Gurudeva.

Mahabhagavat Das, dasadas.com

Priya Harinath, 11 April 2019

Hare Krishna devotees

Please accept my humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji

What a wonderful question and what glorious answers from Amogha Lila Das Prabhu and Rupa Manjari mataji. Jaya! And what nectar from Mahabhagavad Das Prabhu. Thank you for guiding and enlightening fallen souls like me. Vaisnava association is the highest blessing anyone can get and it is possible only by the mercy of Guru and Krishna. We are indeed fortunate to have this in the form of this online bhagavata academy and devotees group.

Rashmi mataji, your question is wonderful and is in the mind of any parent. I am a mother of two and I have had this question in my mind in various ways every day. Just to add on to all the above wonderful answers, I had asked Srimati Gurumataji in one of the morning online Bhagavatam classes what should I do as a mother to guide my children towards Krishna. And she gave me a straight amazing answer.  She said, “First become fixed in devotion yourself. Work towards become an initiated devotee and then you will automatically become an example for your children to follow.” [Her words in quote].

You will be doing the greatest service to them if you guide them towards Krishna.

your humble servant

Priya

Rashmi, 11 April 2019

Hare Krishna everyone

Thank you so much for explaining. It’s really helps

Rashmi

Rashmi Chhabra, 11 April 2019

Hare Krishna Mahabhagavat Prabhuji

All glories to Gurudeva and Prabhupad

Thank you so much for guiding. I really need guidance at every step it seems, as I am the most useless person. Sometimes I have so many questions to enquire I myself don’t know where to start.

The ways you have devised to follow for bringing up kids in Krishna consciousness are superb. I was doing something like that, but little. Now i have been guided for the same.

It will definitely take time and patience from my end, but I’ll definitely put my best efforts in it.

Again thank you,

Hare Krishna

From Rashmi

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