Tag: guru

Why Do Spiritual Practitioners Face Illness and Pain?

If someone practices spiritual practices, then should their karmic reactions not get destroyed? Why do they suffer? Though the spiritual path can lead through suffering, it’s seen as a test of devotion rather than a punishment. Suffering serves to deepen one’s faith and understanding. Embracing challenges as divine mercy can transform experiences, encouraging resilience and growth. Ultimately, the journey fosters strength, love, and connection to God.

Jaanvi, 22 September 2014
Dear All,

Could you please tell me why do some people who are on the spiritual path i.e. going to temple, satsang, kirtan, seva and praying, get seriously ill and need to be hospitalized and suffer terribly.

Now, despite being on the Godly path..why so much suffering, I would assume the karmic reactions should be nullified for such people?

Hare Krsna.
Jaanvi

Anuja Raghuvanshi, 23 September 2014
Dear Jaanvi Mataji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Praphupada.

The problem you have mentioned has happened to me but i did not get seriously ill. I had fever and i had sore throat for a month, but i got over it. I realized in my mind that I was feeling an absolute lack of love in my life. Emotionally, it was like I needed a shelter.

I have always known that it’s an emotional lag in me. It created that upsurge internally. I consciously put in my 100% in Sri Krsna. I begged for his mercy to cleanse all my sins and bestow unlimited love.


I became absolutely all right and stronger. Sri Krsna, under his mercy, got me upright and fresh. It was almost as if he took my hand and drove me out of that dark night of my soul. Swami Radanath jee mentioned in one of his books that even if we feel loveless, it’s a dark night of the soul. We may feel dry during this time. At that time, one almost feels as if no Krsna exists. Krsna does exist, and we just have to keep strong and ask for his mercy.

I am sorry i am unable to quote the exact book in which i read this particular colored reference. Tomorrow I will be able to tell you better where exactly I read this above reference. Since I gave you my personal experience, I hope you can wait.

Hare Krsna ,

Warm Regards,
Anuja Raghuvanshi

Rathin Mandal, 23 September 2014
Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

This is a nice question. And the answer to this also have very deep meaning.
I can share my thoughts with my realizations.

It is true that even advance devotees seems to suffer like ordinary people externally. But it is not like the suffering of ordinary people. It is like when you switch off the fan, it loses its rotating energy. But still the fan makes few more revolutions before coming to a full stop. Similarly the suffering of a pure devotee is only residual. While a karmi is destined to suffer perpetually.

But we should not always see the suffering as a pain. There are devotee who embrace that suffering. After all that happened, Mata Kunti still prays to Sri Krishna. She says, “It is better to suffer so that I can remember you.” A pure devotee enjoys whatever he gets. Whether it is good or bad, doesn’t matter to them.
MayaDevi may test the devotee. She wants to see if his devotion is sincere towards Sri Krishna. It checks if he is just faking it. During a test is becomes easier to see who a pure devotee. Otherwise, people will exploit it as a business. They will think that I chant Hare Krishna and expect Sri Krishna to do the work for me.

I can tell you a incident that I witnessed. Some Devotee’s house was burned down in lightening, he said that he any-ways wanted to remodel the house. So Sri Krishna has made it easier for him now. 🙂 We don’t hear this from regular people. 🙂

your servant
Rathin

Jaanvi, 23 September 2014
Dear Matajis,

Thanks so much for your reply and experience.

However, what if the living entity is unable to tolerate the height of pain and suffering?

At that time, any other material person would say it is better to be attached to material life. They would argue this rather than follow the spiritual path.

Hare Krsna.
Jaanvi

Mahabhagavat Das, 24 September 2014
Dear Mother Jaanvi,

Hare Krishna!

It is said that one definition of madness is to do the same thing and expect a different result. If I keep doing the same thing, what right do I have to expect a different result? If following the material path ensured avoidance of suffering, that may have been a reasonable strategy. Regardless of someone’s material expertise, suffering is inevitable. It arrives inevitably, like night follows day.

In the material world, sufferings are inevitable. No one can be spared this. This material world is a prison, it is not a pleasant place. If it were completely pleasant, it could not be material. That is the definition of the spiritual world “vaikuntha”, “vai + kuntha” or “vai=without + kuntha=suffering”.

To the materialist, the suffering is just reward. In trying to avoid the suffering, the materialist digs themselves deeper into the net. To the spiritualist, the suffering is motivation to hasten the journey back to Krishna. So the spiritualist simply tolerates and changes course to spiritualize all thoughts, words, and deeds.

When advanced spiritualists apparently suffer, it is to teach others who to behave in such situations. Krishna provides a token reaction when beginning spiritualists suffer. This reminds them that past actions have resulted in current misery. Therefore, they should not return to their previous pattern of lifestyle.

A person who cannot genuinely take responsibility for their own suffering often returns to a materialistic life. This is similar to an alcoholic or drug addict. Instead of actively facing life’s problems, they choose to remain in a drunken stupor to forget. However, “material intoxication” also causes suffering. This happens because everything one is attached to is snatched away at the moment of death. This occurs no matter how “important” someone may be.

The wise person prepares for this eventual forced eviction from this body here and now.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Kamal Caran Das, 28 September 2014
Hare Krsna.

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva & Srila Prabhupada.
All glories to Sri Gaur Nitai.

Sri Krsna very nicely explains in very first stage of Gita that all the sufferings are due to the assumption of that self is the body (BG 2.13 & 14 ). Further He explains that never try to have right over the fruits of action as well never consider yourself the cause of the result ( BG 2.47 ).

Next He explains that what so ever is happening around us is the ‘act’ of the three modes of nature, which are under direct supervision of Supreme I.e. Himself (BG 3.27 & 7.14 ).

He also ensures that
“ananyas cintanto mam, ye janah paryupaste; yes nitya abhiyuktanam, Yog ksemam vahami aham”..

If we carefully ponder this with all our experiences openly, while keeping hari nam japas regular, we can easily see the real picture of the material world. This helps us develop the strength to face any tough situation in life.

One shall not think that he will get rid of suffering because he is doing bhakti. This is the most important thing. Thinking so will not n bhakti but business. Running away of sufferings is the by product only.. Not the right but the causeless Mercy…

Please forgive me for the errors in message & may correct me..

Hare Krsna.
your servant.
Kamal Caran Das

Sacinandana Das, 8 November 2014
Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumata.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

This material world is like a jail. How can we expect good things happening in jail. This material world is full of suffering. If we are expecting good result while doing some devotional services, it is not pure devotional service. It was our choice to become God. That is the reason why we have to come to this material world. Now we have to suffer like anything. Actually its horrible. A pure devotee takes everything as a mercy of the Lord. Actually suffering is also a mercy of the Lord. We all should become pure devotees for the pleasure of Sri Guru, Krishna and Vaishnavas.

your servant,
Sacinandana Das


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How can Krishna and Allah be the Same Person?

How can Krishna and Allah be the same person, when so many Muslims see the followers of Krishna as “kafirs” or non-believers worthy of being put to death?

Sri Krishna with Srimati Radha
Sri Krishna with Srimati Radha
Allah, the primary name of God from the Quran, written in Arabic script

Question

Hare krishna prabhuji!
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupada and Sankarshana Das Adhikari Maharaj have said time and again that Krishna and Allah are the same. I do understand both of them have dedicated all of their time to Bhakti yoga and hence have reached this understanding, however I don’t think I am able to wrap my head around this.

The thing is, the Quran talks about how all kafirs(non muslims) should be killed and so many things. Personally, I don’t believe that those fanatics who so-call kill in the name of Allah go to Jannah. I don’t think those people who destroyed a location of ISKCON Bangladesh and harassing the devotees there will get a place even in heaven. They also talk about eternal damnation for kafirs. I don’t believe in eternal damnation just cause you don’t follow this and that. Isn’t our karma that decides the country and religion we are born in? Those people who act like this are just fanatics ( religion with no philosophy). Krishna in BG says He is our friend, well wisher and more. He even sits in our heart even if we are demons. But in Quran, Allah is someone who would rather choose a sinful muslim than a pious kafir. How can we say Krishna and Allah are same? I am just not able to find any answer that puts me at ease. Why are there different religions in this world? Sorry to say, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if there was only Sanathana Dharma? This entire Allah and Krishna topic drives me crazy..

I would like to get the answers to my questions. Kindly forgive me for my offenses that I have inadvertently done 🙏.

Your confused servant…

Answer:

Hare Krishna!

I have read the Quran. It is a delightful text. Yes, there are some verses which can cause misunderstanding, but this is true also of Vedic scriptures… so therefore we have the GPS of Guru (spiritual master in disciplic succession), Sadhu (community of saintly souls), Shaastra (scripture)… in the Abrahamic cultures, only Shaastra – scripture is remaining… the Guru (disciplic succession) and Saadhu (communities of saintly souls) pillars have been destroyed by thousands of years of violence.

We need to understand this on the level of our highest understanding… for example, someone might think that Krishna is a “Hindu god”… but we know that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Similarly, we have a better understanding of Allah than most Muslims… we understand that Allah is an impersonal name for Krishna.

In general, if we are talking of a Supreme Person, and they are talking of a Supreme Person, then they must be the same person, because there cannot be 2 Supremes. Otherwise we end up with the 6 blind men situation… https://dasadas.com/2022/07/28/the-ultimate-synthesis-of-advaita-dvaita-achintya-bheda-abheda/

If someone regards the devotee of Krishna as a kafir (non-believer), then that person is in ignorance because they don’t know who is a kafir and who is not. An atheist is a kafir… but we can’t expect everyone to understand… According to the Abrahamic traditions, we see that Muslims, Christans, and Jews are all called “brothers of the book” because their scriptures are practically all the same… and still they fight like cats and dogs. This is not the fault of their respective religious traditions or scriptures but that they have lost the context and culture that comes from Parampara – disciplic succession. For example the one of the ten commandments is “Thou Shalt Not Kill” and all the Christians do morning, evening, and night is kill, kill, kill, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Simply scripture alone can be easily weaponized… “Shastra” (weapon) and “Shaastra” (scripture) can be used in similar ways. Both of these can be used to protect or to destroy… recall that a knife in the hands of a surgeon is different from a knife in the hands of a criminal.

Now, as far as the Quran (scripture followed by Muslims) is concerned, it was taught to people who were not very advanced… for example the Quran contains instructions that from this day henceforth, no Muslim shall have a sexual relationship with his mother. Why is such an instruction given? Because such things were happening back then!

But it is not that the Quran does not contain the pathway to the highest instructions… In the conversation between Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Chand Kazi (See https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/17/), they argued on the basis of the respective Vedic and Islamic scriptures, and a common understanding was reached by mutual loving enlightened discussions. I have met many many advanced Muslims, who see Krishna as Allah Himself. In particular I have met at least 2 “Muslim Brahmins” in Hyderabad myself, and have interacted with many such saintly souls.

As far as Bangladesh goes, many more people have been killed in their recent riots, of all religious backgrounds, and to be honest, their sufferings are unfortunately going to be heavy… we should be compassionate upon them and not be caught up in the cycle of hatred. It is 100% sure that everyone gets their just dues. The low-class rascals who destroyed an ISKCON temple in Meherpur, Bangladesh will face the wrath of Allah, because know it or not, Lord Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) is Allah Himself, and ignorance of the law is no defense.

Also, you should know that I have met foolish so-called adherents of Sanatan Dharma also… they are no better than animals in human form… Such people, whether they called themselves Sanatan Dharmis or Muslims or Christians or Sikhs or any other designation does not matter, because they are still in animal consciousness… however, they can follow whatever they can manage to follow and gradually they will be elevated – we cannot judge the value of the tradition they are claiming to follow just by seeing that they are not very advanced.

So, in conclusion, as Srila Gurudeva has said, the perfectly Krishna Conscious person is simultaneously the best Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Jew, and whatever other bona fide system of religion exists… Sanatana Dharma is not outside of these traditions… the perfection of those traditions is in Sanatana Dharma.

Don’t think that the average “Hindu” is properly following Sanatana Dharma (The Eternal Nature), most of them don’t even understand the meaning of Sanatana Dharma! 🙂 They think Sanatana Dharma is some sectarian religion followed only by Hindus!

I have written many articles on this subject matter, in general:

Allah is not your God? Krishna is not your God?
Satan as Competitor to God, what an absurdity!
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?
Taj Bibi – Mughal Queen, Pure Devotee of Krishna
God has no shortage of sons (and daughters)
Dear Pope Francis, how many apologies to go?
Muslim Brahmin in Hyderabad
What do we call persons who don’t recognize their own suffering?
Enrollment alone will not help us progress to perfection
No eternal damnation

My humble request to you is to get fully immersed in Krishna Consciousness, so that we all can have the same vision as Srila Gurudeva Sankarshan Prabhu and Srila Prabhupada have. Are you already initiated in the disciplic succession of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and grand-disciples? If not, what is your personal plan to get to that point?

Make full use of the context and culture which we still do have available!

I hope this helps.

Confused – why are there different deities of Krishna when Krishna is One The Original Supreme Personality of Godhead?

If Krishna is One, then why do we have so many deities like Madana Mohana, Govinda, and Gopinath? Is one deity superior to others?

Question:

In this purport from CC Adi 1.47, I don’t understand the purport…

https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/1/47/

Why the different deities have different roles? Aren’t they all one-  svayam bhagwan krsna?  Is Gopinath vigraha superior to all deities? 

“Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī is the ideal spiritual master, for he delivers one the shelter of the lotus feet of Madana-mohana. Even though one may be unable to travel on the field of Vṛndāvana due to forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can get an adequate opportunity to stay in Vṛndāvana and derive all spiritual benefits by the mercy of Sanātana Gosvāmī. Śrī Govindajī acts exactly like the śikṣā-guru (instructing spiritual master) by teaching Arjuna the Bhagavad-gītā. He is the original preceptor, for He gives us instructions and an opportunity to serve Him. The initiating spiritual master is a personal manifestation of Śrīla Madana-mohana vigraha, whereas the instructing spiritual master is a personal representative of Śrīla Govindadeva vigraha. Both of these Deities are worshiped at Vṛndāvana. Śrīla Gopīnātha is the ultimate attraction in spiritual realization.”

Answer:

Yes, Krishna is one. Just like a multi-faceted diamond shines in different colours, similarly Krishna manifests differently according to the need and desire of the devotee…

Take for example, a man… in the business world he may be called as “Mr. Rana”, by his friends as “Arpit”, by his wife as “honey” by his juniors as “sir”, by his friends as “Arpi”, by his kids as “dad”… and so on. It is not that the person is different, he is the same person, but manifesting differently to different people… he’s doing business in one place, obeying instructions in another place, and so on…

For example, we have Sri Radha Khirchor Gopinath on the altar, but to the person who is an atheist They manifest as a statue, to a person fearful of his mistakes, They appear as the Lawgivers… to a person in the mood of awe and reverence or not yet pure devotee… as Sri Lakshmi Narayana, in Their opulence etc.

What to speak of the deity… even Krishna will manifest Himself as the ishta deva of His devotee… for example to Murari Gupta, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu manifested as Lord Ramachandra as Murari Gupta is an incarnation of Hanuman… to one devotee as Varahadeva, to another as Narasimhadeva… when Krishna disappeared during the Rasa Lila, He tried to conceal Himself by appearing as Four-handed Narayana… but the Gopis’ love was so intense he couldn’t contain himself and appeared as Shyamasundar Krishna!

You will find many such instructions in the scriptures.

Please continue reading scrutinizingly and in a prayerful mood… does this help? Are there any other questions?

Lord Chaitanya Instructs Sanatana Goswami

Sri Radha Madana-Mohana, now in Karauli, Rajasthan, India

Sri Radha Govindaji, now in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Sri Radha Gopinath, now in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

How to Surrender Completely?

Surrender is terrible in the material world. It implies humiliation. But surrender is no bad word in the spiritual realm. Spiritual Surrender is victory! Surrender must be done intelligently though. And Surrender means Loving Devotional Service. How to do it though?

Choppy Ocean
No one can swim out of the middle of the ocean

Yamini, 20 December 2014

Hare Krishna devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Guru Mataji..
All glories to Srila Prabhupada….

How can we completely surrender ourselves unto the lotus feet of our spiritual master and the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

Please allow me to become eternal servant and serve all of you and serve Srila Gurudeva…

your servant,
Yamini

Lalit, 22 December 2014
Hare Krishna!
Surrendering to Krishna doesn’t require any special effort if it is the real yearning from within.

Surrender not out of fear, desire, expectation or momentary disinterest in the world but surrender only by choice.

Surrender in absolute is becoming a non judgemental observer.

Let him steer.

Lalit

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 23 December 2014
Dear Mother Yamini,

Hare Krishna!

If surrendering to Krishna did not require any special effort, every single person on the planet would be Krishna conscious. But it does require a conscious effort.

The thing is, most of us are conditioned souls – conditioning removes all element of choice, we simply act like robots, according to our conditioning… here comes sense gratification, and there goes the sense gratifier running after the sense gratification. Just like a dog runs after the bone… did the dog “choose” to go after the bone? No, it is a reflex due to the dog acting out of conditioned consciousness.

Similarly, practicing devotional service in spite of all material distractions means to develop, as Devamrita Swami Maharaja says “choice muscles”. Our conditioning is forcing us to go towards sense gratification, but we are still choosing to go towards Krishna.

What Bhakta Lalit said re “Let Krishna steer” is correct. How? Krishna has left clear unambiguous instructions in the Bhagavad Gita, and we are fortunate to have those instructions clearly explained in Bhagavad Gita As It Is by Srila Prabhupada. For example He says to work in Krishna consciousness without any expectations of results, to surrender results to Krishna. So it is not simply an empty “sit around and observe everything without judging” as the Mayavadis sometimes say, which is often just an excuse not to do any practical service to Krishna. It is an active engagement in the practice of Krishna consciousness, as you are doing.

Simply by following the instructions of the spiritual master sincerely, without doing so as a blind follower – in other words, strive to understand the spirit behind the spiritual master’s instructions while sincerely trying to follow, is key.

Srila Gurudeva mentions that we use the 3 main “GPS triangulation points” of Guru, Sadhu, Shastra and act accordingly.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Please subscribe to daily inspirational emails from His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari (Writings and lectures archived at www.ecstaticmedia.com), written fresh every day from his travels around our world and into the spiritual world, sharing the highest spiritual knowledge with everyone. Sign up now at www.joincourse.com

Vrindavan Feeling in Toronto

Sometimes, you’re so near to a spiritually perfect person or in a sacred place of pilgrimage, but your consciousness is far from spiritual, and sometimes you could be far from a spiritual preceptor or a place of pilgrimage, but feel blessed with spiritual grace… w Howhy is that? How can we be in perfect spiritual consciousness always? How can we experience Krishna at every moment?

Kusum Sarovar, Govardhan, near Vrindavam
Kusum Sarovar, Govardhan, near Vrindavan

One Morning a few years ago, well before sunrise, I suddenly had the feeling that I was in the sacred sublime atmosphere of Vrindavan, or at the very minimum, in the personal presence of my spiritual master, Srila Sankarshan Das Adhikari.

Everything I did that morning was done in a very pure way, without any disturbance from body, mind, or external sources. I cannot describe the experience in words fully, and neither do I want to disclose details, because that is not the point of this post.

On that morning however, neither was I in Vrindavan, and nor was I in the personal presence of my divine spiritual master.

So what to make of that wonderful ecstatic feeling I was gifted with?

For those who may not know, Vrindavan is a sacred tract of land, a replica of the highest spiritual realm, mentioned in the scriptures as Goloka. That the Vrindavan in the material realm, in the modern-day district of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, is confirmed by great saints… for example, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes:

The Lord descends to this mortal world to show His pastimes in Vṛndāvana, which are full of happiness. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was in Vṛndāvana, His activities with His cowherd boyfriends, with His damsel friends, with the other inhabitants of Vṛndāvana and with the cows were all full of happiness. The total population of Vṛndāvana knew nothing but Kṛṣṇa….

…

Of course we have a material conception of the sky, and we think of it in relationship to the sun, moon, stars and so on, but in this verse the Lord states that in the eternal sky there is no need for the sun nor for the moon nor electricity or fire of any kind because the spiritual sky is already illuminated by the brahma-jyotir, the rays emanating from the Supreme Lord. We are trying with difficulty to reach other planets, but it is not difficult to understand the abode of the Supreme Lord. This abode is referred to as Goloka. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.37) it is beautifully described: goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ. The Lord resides eternally in His abode Goloka, yet He can be approached from this world, and to this end the Lord comes to manifest His real form, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. When He manifests this form, there is no need for our imagining what He looks like. To discourage such imaginative speculation, He descends and exhibits Himself as He is, as Śyāmasundara. Unfortunately, the less intelligent deride Him because He comes as one of us and plays with us as a human being. But because of this we should not consider the Lord one of us. It is by His omnipotency that He presents Himself in His real form before us and displays His pastimes, which are replicas of those pastimes found in His abode

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/introduction/

After much reflection, I realized that this meant I was doing something right in my spiritual practice. Actually this meant I was following my spiritual master’s instructions sincerely, even if not perfectly. What I was feeling was the pleasure of my spiritual master, and the grace of Sri Radha Krishna.

Since then, I have regularly tested that internal state to determine what kind of consciousness I am in. For example, whenever I am in material consciousness, even if I am directly in Vrindavan, or in the personal presence of my spiritual master, I feel far far away from that divine spiritual consciousness.

How amazing is that! By being there, doing that, still one can feel so far away, and yet, still, while far far away, one can feel that special feeling?

You can’t go to Vrindavan by buying a ticket to travel to Delhi and then taking a taxi or whatever. You can only enter Vrindavan by the blessings of the pure devotee.

His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari

I have had a chance to test this out on several occasions…

  1. While in the personal presence of my spiritual master but unfortunately distracted, and
  2. By physically being in Vrindavan but due my misfortune, in the association of materialistic persons.

Can’t get no Bhaav!

His Grace Sriman Vaisesika Das Adhikari

I cannot just go and sit down in Vrindavan, and even if I do, the current external atmosphere of Vrindavan has become so degraded that it is so easy to come under the influence of the many materialistic persons who prowl there in the hope of making money or enjoying personal sense gratification… it takes a lot of intense prayer and mercy to be able to enter into the real mood of Vrindavan.

It is said that the pure devotee, due to their intense Krishna Consciousness, carries Krishna within their heart, and therefore, wherever they go, that place becomes spiritual even if it is the most abominable place.

भवद्विधा भागवतास्तीर्थभूता: स्वयं विभो ।
तीर्थीकुर्वन्ति तीर्थानि स्वान्त:स्थेन गदाभृता ॥ १० ॥

bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās
tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṁ vibho
tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni
svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhrtā

My lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/13/10/

And neither can I always be in the personal presence of my spiritual master, owing to my various responsibilities, which he has instructed me to manage intelligently.

It is further confirmed by Krishna Himself that He lives where His pure devotees are hearing and chanting about Him…

nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe
yogināṁ hṛdayeṣu vā
tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada
yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ

“My dear Nārada, actually I do not reside in My abode, Vaikuṇṭha, nor do I reside within the hearts of the yogīs, but I reside in that place where My pure devotees chant My holy name and discuss My form, pastimes and qualities.”

Padma Purana, quoted in https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/4/30/35/

So therefore, all I have to do is to sincerely remember and follow in the footsteps of my spiritual master, and strive to sincerely hear and chant about Krishna.

Simply by bringing the memory of an instruction received, one can practically bring into one’s heart the presence of the spiritual master.

Even though, due to my past sinful activities, I have to be in a place where almost everyone practices forgetting Krishna, and where speaking nonsense and doing stupid things are the norm… even for such a lowly wretch such as myself, there is hope.

I can still always be in the association of my spiritual master, and in the sacred spiritual realm of Vrindavan. How?

किरातहूणान्ध्रपुलिन्दपुल्कशा
आभीरशुम्भा यवना: खसादय: ।
येऽन्ये च पापा यदपाश्रयाश्रया:
शुध्यन्ति तस्मै प्रभविष्णवे नम: ॥ १८ ॥

kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā
ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ
ye ’nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ
śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ

Kirāta, Hūṇa, Āndhra, Pulinda, Pulkaśa, Ābhīra, Śumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/4/18/

I may be the most lowly wretch, and yet, simply by remembering my spiritual master, by taking shelter of him within my mind, by following his instructions, wherever I am, and whatever I might be doing, I shall be instantly purified.

To do what I can, with what I have, this is what I pray for, birth after birth. For a moment of pleasure for Guru and Krishna, I am prepared to work hard sincerely, lifetime after lifetime. May this ever be.

Moving homes – painful business

Have you ever moved? Moved a home? Moved a job? Moved to another city? Moved to another country? Moving is painful, is it not? What about the ultimate move we will be forced to make at the end of our lives? That moment when our soul is ripped from all its current attachments? How to deal with that?

Have you ever moved from one home to another? Moving is a pain. It can be exciting, but usually it is a big hassle, and takes a lot of effort. The bigger the move, the more the pain.

So what about THE BIG MOVE?

You may or may not have moved, or maybe your moves were smooth and painless, but there is one move that is so big and so painful that almost everyone is afraid of it.

That’s right, the biggest ever move of our lives. It is called death. Death. DEATH.

Some call death the grim reaper, and for good reason! Every single attachment we have, to our body, our family, our friends, our home, our profession, our city, country, culture, all of that is ripped out in a moment.

Just as moves are painful, but transient, and usually forgotten once we are in our new home, death is not to be feared.

Why is that?

The jaws of a cat are death for a mouse, but to a kitten, the jaws of his mother is just “hey, my Mom is taking me for an adventure”.

Depending on how we have lived our life, death can be a relief, a cause for great anxiety, or of no consequence whatsoever.

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा-
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥ २२ ॥

vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny
anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī

As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/22/

Once upon a time there was a saintly person and his disciple.

They went around meeting different people during their travels…

One day, the saintly person met 3 souls.

One was a person of really poor character… he was very wealthy, charismatic, powerful and influential, but lied, cheated, plundered, and murdered for profit and convenience. But as the saintly person had nothing of value that the crook could possibly want, and was such a pleasant personality to be around, the wicked crooked person did not harm the saintly person. To this man, the saintly person gave the blessing “may you live long” and the person was naturally very happy to receive this blessing.

Another person was extremely good in character, always willing to extend a helping hand, kind, and generous too, but he was suffering like you cannot imagine… he had health issues, was very poor, and barely had enough to eat, no proper clothes to wear, and a dwelling that wasn’t even fit for an animal to live in. To this person the saintly person gave the blessing “may you die shortly”.

The third person that the saintly person and his disciple met was a pure Lover of God, and spent every waking moment in the service of God. His every breath resonated the Names of God, and his every action was done in loving communion with God, for the sake of God’s pleasure. He loved every creature, served them as children of God, and was in general very happy and jolly. This person was neither too rich nor too poor, neither too famous, nor unknown. He was neither too beautiful, nor was he very powerful. He was plain and simple, and you couldn’t spot him in a crowd for the most part, but he was just completely satisfied and content, happy to serve God in every possible way. The saintly person blessed him with “live as you are, or die as you are, be as you are”.

Now at the end of the day, when the disciple was serving his spiritual master and asked about the different blessings given during the day, the blessing of a long life to the wicked, the blessing of death to the miserable, and an indifferent blessing to the pure devotee of God. The disciple was somewhat shocked and perplexed at his spiritual master’s different blessings, some of which were seemingly unfair.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari, the author’s spiritual master, enthralls his disciples with transcendental knowledge

The spiritual master, the saintly person, explained…

The person acting wickedly today is reaping the result of his past good activities from the past – good karma. When he dies, then he will reap the results of his present sinful activities – bad karma. So to the wicked man, death would be quite the terrible thing because then the karmic reactions would come home to roost. Instead, if he lives longer and changes his ways, he may have a chance to redeem himself.

Life in the material world is just like a Ferris Wheel

The person in a miserable situation today is reaping the result of his past bad activities, bad karma. When he dies, then he will reap the results of his present kindness – good karma. So to the gentleman, death would be a welcome respite from his suffering and would give him pleasure, and hopefully continue his kind ways.

And to the pure devotee of God, whether he lives or dies makes no difference to the soul – all the reactions to his past karmic actions, whether good karma or bad karma are burned off… he is ecstatic now and he will be forever ecstatic in the service of God, whether here in the material world, or back in the spiritual realm, the person will be eternally happy and satisfied, so he has no need of any blessing for me.

किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः ।
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽश‍ुभात् ॥ १६ ॥

kiṁ karma kim akarmeti
kavayo ’py atra mohitāḥ
tat te karma pravakṣyāmi
yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ’śubhāt

Even the intelligent are bewildered in determining what is action and what is inaction. Now I shall explain to you what action is, knowing which you shall be liberated from all misfortune.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/4/16/

Death is a mere transition, a mere move from one home to another one.

If you have been good or bad in the material sense, you surely will have fear, anxiety or lamentation over death. But if you are in the transcendental stage, then death is, in the words of my spiritual master “closing your eyes in sleep and waking up with Krishna, in Krishna’s pastimes”.

Krishna’s devotees live and play with Krishna eternally

While moving homes may be painful for someone who has a lot of baggage, moving is not painful to the person who has no baggage!

How to get free of baggage?

aprārabdha-phalaṁ pāpaṁ
kūṭaṁ bījaṁ phalonmukham
krameṇaiva pralīyeta
viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām

For those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all sinful reactions, whether fructified, in the stock, or in the form of a seed, gradually vanish.

Padma Purana – quoted in https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/9/2/

So you can take your pick… you can remain on the level of karmic actions and reactions, or you can make your activities completely transcendental to all material reactions, and burn off any remaining reactions.

You cannot choose whether to surrender or not – you are already surrendered, either to the material energy or to the spiritual energy. You are controlled at every moment, in every respect (but more about that another day). You can choose to act transcendental to the material energy.

How to make your actions transcendental? Glad you asked! Join this course!

Sri Guru and Gauranga – what does this mean?

If you have ever been to a Hare Krishna program, there is this time when one person begins to chant some prayers, and everyone else drops to the floor and offers obeisances periodically saying “jay”, “jay”. This can be confusing to someone who doesn’t know what’s going on, this article describes what they are doing… quite profound.

Premananda das, 20th August 2016

Hare Krsna Devotees

Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Gurudeva
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

I hear in the Prema dhvani several times “All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga “
What does Sri Guru represent only spiritual masters in discipline succession or other meaning too.
What does Sri Gauranga stand for in this context ,only Sri Krsna or His unlimited expansion or some other meaning too.
Kindly give your understanding on Sri Guru and Gauranga.

your servant
Premananda Das

Sacinandana Das, 21st August 2016

Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumata ji.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Sri Guru means the Spiritual Master and Gauranga means Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Krishna could not understand how His devotee Srimati Radharani who is also known as Gaurangi is getting more pleasure than him. Krishna thought I am the Supreme Enjoyer and my devotee Srimati Radharani is getting more pleasure than me. So He came as Gauranga to understand the mood of Srimati Radharani. This is very intense mood. Love in seperation. Vipramlamba Bhav. We can take a mundane example a girlfriend and boyfriend who are different cities when the love letter each other it is very very intense. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is feeling seperation from Krishna like Radharani and Brijwasi’s felt when He was not in Vrindavan. They were almost about to die. This is the mood of Gauranga.It is very very intense. Mahaprabhu ia known as Gauranga because Her bodily colour is golden like Srimati Radharani.

your servant,
Sacinandana Das

Premananda das, 22nd August 2016

Hare Krsna

All glories to Srila Gurudeva
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Thank you Sacinandan prabhu for clear answer to Sri Guru and Garuanga.

your servant
Premananda Das

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 22nd August 2016

Dear Premananda Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you for the nice question, and also Sacinandana Prabhu thank you for the nice answer.
The Prema Dhvani prayers, which are an expression of gratitude and glorification, are usually recited after an Arati and also sometimes after a Kirtan or before a class.
These prayers, for those unfamiliar go something like written below, usually the seniormost person or the person who did the Kirtan or who is giving the class recites these prayers.

Everyone else present bows on the ground and says “Jaya” in unison after each of these are recited.

There are no hard-and-fast scripts for these, other holy personalities, special days, festivals, activities, etc., can also be glorified.

1.Jaya-nitya-lila-pravishta om Vishnu-pada paramahamsa parivrajakacharya ashtottara-shata Shri Srimad His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja Prabhupada ki jaya.
2.Jaya om Vishnu-pada paramahamsa parivrajakacharya ashtottara-shata Shri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja Prabhupada ki jaya.
3.Iskcon founder acharya Srila Prabhupada ki jaya.
4.Ananta-kotivaishnava-vrinda ki jaya.
5.Namacharya Haridasa Thakura ki jaya
6.Premse kaho Shri-Krishna-Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Shri Advaita, Gadadhara, Shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda ki jaya.
7.Shri-Shri-Radha-Krishna Gopa-Gopinatha, Shyama Kund, Radha Kund, Giri Govardhana ki jaya.
8.Vrindavana-dhama ki jaya.
9.Mathura-dhama ki jaya.
10.Navadvipa-dhama ki jaya.
11.Jagannatha-puri dhama ki jaya.
12.Ganga-mayi ki jaya
13.Yamuna-mayi ki jaya.
14.Tulasi-devi ki jaya.
15.Bhakti-devi ki jaya.
16.Harinam Sankirtan ki jaya.
17.Srila Prabhupada book distribution ki jaya.
18.Samaveta-bhakta-vrinda ki jaya.
19.Gaura-premananda Hari Hari bol,
20.All glories to the assembled devotees. (Hare Krishna) All glories to the assembled devotees. (Hare Krishna) All glories to the assembled devotees. (Hare Krishna)

  1. All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Sri Guru refers not only to one’s own initiating spiritual master but to all spiritual masters. Primarily of course it refers to the original spiritual master, Lord Balaram, also known as Lord Nityananda. All spiritual masters are expansions of the original spiritual master. It also refers to Krishna as Paramatma, who, as supersoul, guides all wayward souls lost in the material world back to their homes in the spiritual world. This refers to all spiritual masters in disciplic succession, but also all spiritual masters who contributed to us getting to the point of devotional service, so it refers also to our parents and other teachers who made us fit to sit and hear from Sri Guru. Not only did we have spiritual masters in this life, but also we had spiritual masters in previous lives, so this expresses gratitude to all of them. And this also includes those spiritual masters we don’t remember consciously today but who have helped us get to where we are today in the service of Krishna.

When we glorify Krishna, who is the source of all the incarnations of God, or Lord Gauranga, who is Krishna Himself in the mood of His devotee Srimati Radharani, we automatically glorify all the incarnations of God. In the Chaitanya Charitamrita, there is a description of Avatara and Avatari as follows:

sṛṣṭi-hetu yei mūrti prapañce avatare
sei īśvara-mūrti ‘avatāra’ nāma dhare

“The form of the Lord that descends into the material world to create is called an avatāra, or incarnation.

māyātīta paravyome sabāra avasthāna
viśve avatari’ dhare ‘avatāra’ nāma

“All the expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa are actually residents of the spiritual world. But when they descend into the material world, they are called incarnations [avatāras].

This is from Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Lila verses 264-265, further verses quote reference from Srimad Bhagavatam first and second canto.

So yes, when we glorify Lord Gauranga, who is Krishna, all other incarnations of Krishna are automatically glorified.

And by glorifying the Guru Tattva, all those who have helped us get to where we are in spiritual life are glorified.

your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

Rantideva das, 23rd August 2016

My dear Mahabhagavat Das,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I trust that you are well.

This discussion brings up a question of proper grammar. I’ve seen all three of these but I’m not sure which one would be most proper;

Sri Guru and Gauranga
Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga
Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga

I personally use the second as you can see above. The third doesn’t seem grammatically correct to me, and the first I’m not sure of. Are they all correct or is any one more so than others? Just something I’ve been curious about, but never thought to ask anyone until this topic showed up here.

I remain your worthless servant,

Rantideva das

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 23rd August 2016

Dear Rantideva Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

“Sri” is an honorific that is prefixed in front of honorable personalities endowed with opulence of any kind… for example a person may be wealthy or beautiful or wise or renounced or any kind of opulence such as the possessor of a good family and so on. Literally “Sri” means “Goddess of Fortune” or “Lakshmidevi”, and in this context, means “One who is blessed by Good Fortune”.

One can say “Krishna” or “Sri Krishna” or “Lord Krishna”, and all of them are grammatically correct, it comes down to context and one’s understanding of what is etiquette.

Generally though, we understand that both Guru and Gauranga are honorifics in themselves. It is technically redundant (but we can and do say Sri even 108 times before in the “astottara sata sri”) to say “Sri” to Guru because obviously no one could be Guru without being endowed with the opulence of devotional service, and who can be more opulent than Krishna Himself as we know Gauranga is?

So then it comes down to a matter of personal preference in this case, there are no hard-and-fast rules for this.

Of course, some might argue over this, but we have bigger problems in life 🙂 Or maybe that’s just me.

your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

Shridhar Das, 23rd August 2016

Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisance!

All glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I always wish to thank the devotees who question, which gives us all an opportunity to test our understanding and improve it by research by dwelling into the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, as desired by Srila Gurudeva.

I had concluded the following from my research which is already concluded by His Grace Mahabhagavat Prabhu. The most important part is what Srila Prabhupada originally said.

Guru means teacher in any sense. In material world the relationship of disciple and guru takes place even in terms of musical lessons, Sanskrit classes, etc. Shastra asks us to see the guests of Krishna as God Himself. Wife is also asked to see the husband as guru. Even when we guide someone on the basis of received experience and clarity on a subject matter, we act as guru. But every guru in reality is expected to be a deliverer of his dependents:

gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt
 pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt
daivaṁ na tat syān na patiś ca sa syān
 na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum

One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod. (SB 5.5.18).

Confirming the conclusions shared by Prabhuji from Srila Prabhupada’s teachings:

Who is a Guru?

Prabhupāda: And Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa, He says, yei kṛṣṇa tattva vettha sei guru haya: “Anyone who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa, he’s guru.” And what is the guru’s business? Yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa: (CC Madhya 7.128) “Whomever you meet, you just try to impress upon him about the instruction of Kṛṣṇa.” Sarva-dharmān parityaja… So in this way, if we take it up, very seriously—”This is my duty”—then you are a sannyāsī. That’s all. (Conversation with Devotees — April 12, 1975, Hyderabad)

Caitanya Mahāprabhu said: yei kṛṣṇa-tattva vetta sei guru haya (CC Madhya 8.128). Guru does not become. Guru is not so cheap thing. One must know what is kṛṣṇa-tattva. One must know what is Kṛṣṇa. (Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Lecture — Bombay, January 3, 1973)

When we say Guru, it is a very deep purport as Prabhuji has revealed already.

Guru tattva

Guru cannot be different. Guru is one, one who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa. (Room Conversation — January 31, 1977, Bhuvanesvara)

Elaboration on above concept…

Therefore the guru is offered first the respectful prayers, vande gurūn. And gurūn, bahu-vacana, plural number, that many gurus. But they are not many; they are one, guru-tattva. Just like Kṛṣṇa has many forms, but that does not mean Kṛṣṇa is different. No. Kṛṣṇa is one. Similarly, guru, there may be many gurus, it doesn’t matter, but their philosophy must be one: to teach everyone that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there may be thousands of gurus, but the guru’s business is to teach the disciple that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.1 — Mayapur, March 25, 1975)

Srila Gurudeva has often clarified, that Guru is one but that doesn’t mean all gurus are one. Then it is like Mayavada philosophy. One in purpose, difference in individuality. Srila Prabhupada further clarifies:

Sometimes a dīkṣā-guru is not present always. Therefore one can take learning, instruction, from an advanced devotee. That is called the śikṣā-guru. Śikṣā-guru does not mean he is speaking something against the teachings of the dīkṣā-guru.( Lecture on BG 17.1-3 — Honolulu, July 4, 1974)

Balarāma means guru-tattva. Balarāma represents guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. If we want to understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu, if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must take shelter of Balarāma. (Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s Avirbhava Appearance Day Lecture — Bhuvanesvara, February 2, 1977)

But offering gratitude in a menial mood, as a fallen servant as Srila Gurudeva has often instructed, to spiritual master is sufficient to offer it to all in parampara. And now and very often in services, we must offer to Lord Nityananda, Gauranga whomever we may have recently heard the glories of. But we perceive Krishna more directly through the medium of Guru, so we must definitely be attached to Sri Guru, in my opinion. Srila Prabhupada clarifies:

Many of our Temples are now requiring pictures of Pancatattva and Acaryas, principally your Spiritual Master and my Spiritual Master, for their Guru Gauranga worship. (Letter to Vasudeva — Tokyo 15 August, 1970)

Regarding Guru & Gauranga, this is the actual purport/importance

That is His mercy. So by the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, so many people are becoming vāsudeva-parāyaṇāḥ. But otherwise, it is not possible. Therefore we first offer our obeisances to Guru-Gaurāṅga, by whose mercy we get Kṛṣṇa. This is the system. Adau gurvāśrayam. (Lecture on SB 6.1.15 — Los Angeles, June 27, 1975)

Since everyone within this material world is more or less influenced by sinful activities, in the beginning it is essential that one take to the worship of Guru-Gaurāṅga and ask their favor, for thus despite all his disqualifications one will very soon become qualified to worship the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa vigraha. (CC Adi 8.31, Purport)

Irregularity in worshiping Guru and Gauranga can be tolerated, as they are always kind and forgiving, but irregularity in worshiping Lord Jagannatha and Sri Sri Radha Krishna is not good. (Letter to Karandhara — Calcutta 19 September, 1970)

your servant
Shridhar Das

Premananda das, 23rd August 2016

Hare Krsna

All glories to Srila Gurudeva
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga

Thank you Sacinandan prabhu,Mahabhagavat prabhu,Rantindeva prabhu and Shridhar prabhu.
The answers were all enlightening and inspiring to understand Sri Guru and Gauranga.

your servant
Premananda Das

Ekanga Radha Devi Dasi, 21st December 2016

Hare Krishna Dandavats Pranam,

Very Good explanation Prabhu

Sincerely yhs
Ekanga Radha Devi Dasi

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