A devotee inquires about the significance of raising hands during the chant “Hari bol.” Another devotee explains that this gesture represents voluntary surrender, drawing inspiration from Lord Chaitanya. It enhances one’s connection to Krishna, fostering sincerity and devotion. Ultimately, this practice brings individuals closer to their spiritual goals with heartfelt prayer.
Shivani Saxena, 5 July 2014
Hare Krishna,
My respected obeisances to You,
Srila gurudev and gurumata,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
If I may inquire: Why do we do hari bol in hands up position, what does it signify?
Hari bol…
Shivani
Shridhar Das, 8 July 2014
Hare Krsna Mataji!
Please accept my humble obeisances!
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I will try answering the questions to my best:
1.Why do we do Haribol in hands up position, what does it signify?
Answers. One simple explanation for raising our hands when we say Haribol is because that’s what we read from Caitanya Caritamrta. The same applies when we chant Hare Krsna Mahamantra during lectures in unison or while singing arati. We read many times about Lord Chaitanya raising his hands up and blissfully chanting. He encouraged others to follow. We also follow His footsteps to convince Him that we are eager for the same taste, although far away.
What I was explained when I joined was it’s a sign of surrender. We all know what would happen if a criminal pointed a weapon at us. We would quickly raise our hands in surrender. He would force us by shouting “Hands up!” to make sure we obey his orders. Nevertheless, in bhakti the mood is of voluntary surrender. Out of love for the Lord, in surrender one chants Haribol!! Or during arati in the most surrendered mood. This is to convey one’s heartfelt prayers if the meaning of the song is understood. In the MOST surrendered mood, one prays: “Krsna, I am so helpless and such a fallen soul! Please help me surrender unto You!” or in the mood of glorifying Lord or His devotees. Ultimately, raising hands and singing puts the singer in a more surrendered state of mind. The more we surrender, the more Krsna is pleased with our sincerity despite difficulties. This helps us get closer to the ultimate goal.
your servant
Shridhar Das
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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?
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
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Why does Krishna take birth in this horrible material world? How does contact with Krishna help a soul? And what if we cannot associate with Krishna personally?
Today is the Appearance Day of Krishna. The festival is celebrated by hundreds of millions around the world. This festival is also called Sri Krishna Janmashtami or Gokulashtami.
Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna has many names.
But when someone learns that Krishna comes to this material realm via “birth”, that too in a prison cell, and then they learn that Krishna has parents… Vasudeva, Devaki, and foster parents Nanda and Yashoda… they are bewildered.
Are you sure, they ask, that this is God we are talking about? How can God have parents, and how can God have a form like you and me, how can God take birth?
But dear soul, please consider that if you and me, we have a form, then is God lesser than us to have no form? Krishna’s form, though, is not like ours. Krishna’s form is purely spiritual. Even in His deity form, Krishna’s form is purely spiritual.
Also consider that the “parents” of Krishna eternally love Him and want to serve Him in that way. Everyone knows that parents serve a child unceasingly! So why can God not grant that wish to His devotee?
But so many accept Krishna as a historical personality, famous, smart, strong, influential, but an ordinary person like you and me, a mortal with a material coil. Some accept Krishna as a soul on the way to spiritual perfection. Some go further and accept Krishna as a prophet, a messenger of God, one among many.
But of course, Krishna declares this in the Bhagavad Gita and the great spiritual masters like Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, and Madhva have accepted His words.
A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
So, then, why does the Supreme Personality of Godhead come here, to this nasty place where most people misunderstand Him, defame Him, insult Him, try to kill Him, ignore Him, or in the worst case, never even come across Krishna!
Krishna takes birth so we don’t have to take another birth ourselves.
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः । त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ॥ ९ ॥
janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself.
परित्राणाय साधुनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थानार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥ ८ ॥
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.
But to be honest, Krishna does not have to personally come to accomplish all this. He has many competent energies and empowered agents who can do this themselves.
So why does He come then?
No matter how you see God as, as God the Father, or God the Ultimate Master, or God the Best Friend, or God the Lover, or God Second to None… ultimately, Krishna is concerned about us, souls trapped in the material realm.
He comes to free us. How does he do that? In many ways.
We are here in the… material realm trying to enjoy. But what can we enjoy with these imperfect senses and decaying dying bodies? It is a mere reflection of enjoyment, a mere shadow of the real thing.
Krishna comes here and brings His eternal associates, places, paraphernalia, and pastimes, and with them, shows us the standard of real enjoyment.
Enjoyment that is:
Ever increasing
Never ending
Unlimitedly variegated
Regardless of what our own standard of enjoyment is here in the material realm, it is fluctuating and temporary, and the more you try to enjoy, the more it is the same old same old… And time takes it all away! Take any sensory experience. Why is anyone dissatisfied in the world with material sense gratification? Because it is, immediately or eventually, boring. Materialists are always looking for something more, something different, but ever dissatisfied despite tremendous endeavour.
It is a fact that when presented with genuine pleasure, the materially entrapped soul cannot appreciate. However, the more the conditioned soul comes in contact with Krishna, the more they are purified.
When Krishna comes and shows the standard of His character, then we are all attracted to following such a wonderful magnanimous person.
Take the example of Putana. Putana was a witch. She specialized in killing. Not just anyone, but little babies and children. She had killed thousands. She enjoyed various ways of torturing and killing them, and sucking their blood. She developed this into a way of life. She was expert in all kinds of murder, from poison to weapons. She was commissioned to kill Krishna by Kamsa, the demoniac tyrant.
She carefully thought about her modus operandi, and dressed herself as a beautiful celestial woman. So exquisite did she look that no one stopped her. She approached Krishna as a wet nurse, to feed Him. Her disguise and manner was masterful. And in a village, mothers often feed each other’s children. No one stopped her, so trusting and simple were Krishna’s associates.
She had smeared a deadly poison on her breast. Her plan was simple. Baby Krishna sucks, end of story.
But Krishna, He is impossible to kill. Even the rest of us are impossible to kill, because the spirit soul is immortal.
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च । नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातनः ॥ २४ ॥
acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śoṣya eva ca nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ
This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same
Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.
In fact, Krishna only appears to enter the material world, but actually He never enters or leaves! After all, what does it mean to enter or exit when Krishna is all-pervading, inside and outside of everything and everyone simultaneously?
स एव स्वप्रकृत्येदं सृष्ट्वाग्रे त्रिगुणात्मकम् । तदनु त्वं ह्यप्रविष्ट: प्रविष्ट इव भाव्यसे ॥ १४ ॥
sa eva svaprakṛtyedaṁ sṛṣṭvāgre tri-guṇātmakam tad anu tvaṁ hy apraviṣṭaḥ praviṣṭa iva bhāvyase
My Lord, You are the same person who in the beginning created this material world by His personal external energy. After the creation of this world of three guṇas [sattva, rajas and tamas], You appear to have entered it, although in fact You have not.
Krishna sucked the poison, sucked the milk, and sucked out her very life!
Good riddance, someone might say. After all she was quite wicked.
Ah, but here is how Krishna is not only great but so sweet!
Krishna didn’t merely suck out the poison from her outside, Krishna sucked out the poison from Putana’s very heart! He washed her completely clean. Just by coming in contact with Krishna, Putana became spotless!
And because Putana approached him as a mother, even if with a heinous devious motive, still Krishna took the best of what she had to offer… she approached as a mother, and that position Krishna gave to Putana in the spiritual realm.
अहो बकी यं स्तनकालकूटं जिघांसयापाययदप्यसाध्वी । लेभे गतिं धात्र्युचितां ततोऽन्यं कं वा दयालुं शरणं व्रजेम ॥ २३ ॥
Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?
Krishna chooses the highest and best of everyone to amplify, magnify, and enhance.
I got out on Sankirtan often. I sing Krishna’s names in public, and speak about Krishna, distribute spiritual literature, and try to get souls to serve Krishna in some way, according to their capacity.
Some take to it enthusiastically, singing along, dancing, taking books, making donations, having deep spiritual conversations. These are really the fortunate souls.
Some engage with Krishna, but not in such positive ways… they try to make fun, they tease, they try to insult or abuse. They are also fortunate souls.
Why is that?
If Krishna can give the highest position of “Mother of God” to a witch who came to poison Him, then what to speak of those who engage with Him?
Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth!
নাম চিন্তামণিঃ কৃষ্ণশ্চৈতন্যরসবিগ্রহঃ । পূর্ণঃ শুদ্ধো নিত্যমুক্তোঽভিন্নত্বান্নামনামিনোঃ ॥ ১৩৩ ॥
“ ‘The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.’
In other words, by associating with the name of Krishna, you get the same benefit as associating with Krishna personally. There is no difference betweeen Krishna and His Name!
Do you want proof that Krishna and His Name are nondifferent?
In what is modern-day Kannauj (ancient Kanyakubja) in Northern India, there was a very decent young man named Ajamila. Trained to be a Vaishnava priest, he once went to the forest to collect some ingredients for the worship of Krishna.
In the forest, he saw what is a very common sight today… he saw an uncouth man embracing a prostitute in a sensuous way. Such a sight is sure to agitate a young man.
Not a self controlled soul as Krishna describes, but anyone who is below this standard…
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥ ७० ॥
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
Poor Ajamila was attracted to this uncultured woman, and became her keeper. The husband of a prostitute is most unfortunate. He cannot be happy, no matter how hard he may try to satisfy his wife. He gave up his wife and parents, and engaged in all sorts of abominable occupations like thieving, robbery, gambling, and murder, to maintain the prostitute and the 10 children he had with her.
Time flies, but like most of us, Ajamila didn’t notice.
Somehow or other, by inspiration from Krishna who sits in the heart as Paramatma, the Supersoul, he named his youngest son “Narayana”, which is another name of Krishna.
He was very attached to this little child, and would constantly call out “Narayana take your milk”, “Narayana wake up”, “Narayana, it is time for bed”, “Narayana careful that you don’t fall into that pond” and so on as a typical loving parent calls out to a small child.
Even thought he was 88 years of age, he didn’t notice that death was creeping up on him, so attached he was to this little child.
One day, the moment of his death arrived and he saw the Yamadutas, the servants of Yamaraja, the demigod in-charge of death. They were quite frightful looking. They engaged their tools in extracting Ajamila’s soul from the inner reaches of his heart.
In great pain and anxiety undergoing the process of death, he called out with tears to that which he was most attached to, his little child Narayana.
Hearing his plaintive cry, made in helplessness, the Vishnudutas, the servants of Lord Vishnu, appeared and forbade the servants of death from taking the soul.
Ajamila witnessed the conversation between the two sets of personalities, the Vishnudutas and the Yamadutas. The essence was that by that one cry of the name of Krishna, “Narayana”, his previous sinful activities were completely nullified.
Ajamila got a second chance to reform himself, and he took the second chance.
The key point to note here is that in recognition of some past spiritual service, Krishna inspired Ajamila to name his son after Himself. So he arranged for Ajamila’s deliverance.
Those of us who have already received the Holy Name of Krishna into our life, we should simply sincerely continue chanting.
When the Holy Name of Krishna appears, it means Lord Krishna Himself has appeared in our life.
And this is why we are saved by the Holy Name of Krishna.
As a fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes, without fail, all the reactions of one’s sinful activities.
Dear reader, my dear Jivatma. Please chant the name of Krishna incessantly.
Krishna says that for a materially entangled spirit soul, the only way out of suffering is to surrender unto Him completely, abandoning all other attachments…
It may feel very difficult to unconditionally surrender, but, if you simply chant the names of Krishna, such surrender will be yours very soon.
You will feel unlimited ecstatic joy, if not immediately, then in due course of time, but very soon.
If someone like myself, a sinful former atheist can recover and feel ever increasing joy by chanting Hare Krishna, then what to speak of you, who are surely much better than me in every respect?
Maya, the illusory energy, is also an energy of God. So then, why does Maya test us so hard? Why does the illusory energy try so hard take us away from God, even if we are trying to get closer to God? This doesn’t seem to make sense! Please explain!
Priya Sundari Devi Dasi, 12 Dec 2014
Hare Krsna Prabhus
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Gurudev
All glories to Vaishnavas
I was listening to some lectures by HH Radhanath Maharaj and the importance of relishing the holy name and fighting against Maya to ensure we don’t fall prey and continue to increase our love and taste for the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra.
I understand that Maya is the Lord’s external energy, so when she is a part of the Lord himself, why does she try so hard to take us away from Krsna? Is it purely because we’re in the material world?
But it makes me think, do we not have enough miseries in this material world? Birth, Disease, Old Age and Death… so why then does Maya try so hard to take us away from the Lord even when we take shelter of his pure devotees?
Apologies if my question has many parts to it and/or if I have misunderstood Maharaj’s lecture.
Haribol
your servant
Priya Sundari Devi Dasi.
*Krsne matir astu*
Jagannatha Dasa, 12 Dec 2014
to Satsang
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to our beloved spiritual masters.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thank you for the inspiring question. I hope this reply will begin a chain of others sharing also!
Maya simply does quality control to make sure only pure lovers of the Lord and His devotees are in the spiritual world. Others are filtered out into various regions of this material world to enact our selfish dreams, which are more like nightmares. This can be gross as in the case of the animal forms, or subtle like humans or superhuman beings such as upadevas, demigods etc. The pure devotees act for Krishna’s pleasure only, manifesting that determination according to their situation. This is where duty comes in.
For most of us, duty seems like a burdensome chore. But for the mature devotees, duty is seen as with the eye of knowledge as the dependable means to get a good result for Krishna’s pleasure.
As the ignorant perform their duties with attachment to results, the learned may similarly act, but without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path. (https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/3/25/)
Srila Prabhupada explains that the right path, mentioned here is Krishna consciousness. Maya is what we make of her. If we have the eyes of selfishness, greed and false ego, Maya acts as the three modes of nature to drive us circling about this karma chakra to get humiliated into humility. From there we can chant the holy names and get purified.
tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord. (https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/antya/6/239/)
With the eyes of love of Krishna, Maya acts as the “three modes” of spiritual nature:
In the final paragraph concluding the lengthy purport to this verse (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 4.62), Srila Prabhupada explains that these three modes are the internal energy of the Lord, and they manifest as the external energy in the forms goodness, passion and ignorance. From the highest angle of vision, everything is coming to help us, even maya, but we need proper vision. The devotees bless us with this vision. These are great treasures, and like any treasure they take time to accumulate.
your servant,
Jagannatha Dasa
Harihara Hota, 12 Dec 2014
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Gurudev
All glories to Vaishnava Haribol
The question regarding maya is most important to manage life in a spiritual way which has been idealized by the revered Srila Prabhupada Maharaj.
Thank you for question
your servant
Harihara Hota
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 13 Dec 2014
Dear Mother Priya Sundari,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you for bringing this up. You may have heard answers to this and related questions, the answer by Jagannatha Prabhu is quite deep too.
Even thought birth, death, old age and disease affect 100% of the population, what percentage of the population even perceives them as evils? Even among devotees, how easy is it to slip into material consciousness? The pure devotee is giving us shelter, but are we really taking their shelter, or are we turning to our false ego and Maya for false shelter and temporary gratification?
I was scouring Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is yesterday looking for what Krishna says and what Srila Prabhupada says:
1. Krishna mentions Maya in BG 7.14, where He simultaneously calls her “daivi” or divine and “duratyaya”, translated as very difficult to overcome, understand, to follow, or unavoidable, insurmountable, impossible to transcend, etc., except to those who surrender to Him.
2. We are in the material world because of one primary fault is us – we are “unsurrendered to Krishna”. In fact, we are envious of Krishna. The difference between jealousy and envy is that when I am jealous of you, I don’t like that you have what you have, or that you are what you are… but envy is more sinister. Envy means, I don’t like what you have, I don’t like who you are, I want you to not have it, I want it instead, and I don’t want you to be who you are, I want to be who you are instead. In other words, envy of Krishna means that the conditioned living entity wants to BE Krishna, kick Him out, and be Him instead. Seems very drastic, but that is why anyone is here, except of course the pure devotee, who has come here on a transcendental rescue mission. Our understanding is that this is the concept called “the original sin” by the Christians, “the forbidden fruit” is to partake of that envy of God.
3. Srila Prabhupada mentions in several one of his purports, but specifically one of them BG 3.17, that “By such clearing of consciousness, one becomes fully confident of his eternal position in relationship with the Supreme.”
4. So, in other words, the purpose of this “divine difficult” energy of Krishna is to clear the consciousness… so therefore, Maya’s purpose is to purify everyone of that terrible envy of Krishna… So, she promises everyone this land where they can think they are #1, but the problem is, she didn’t tell them there are countless such persons who want to be #1, and they are all fighting each other to be #1, case in point, our world. While they are here, she repeatedly pokes, prods, and gives correction to everyone who is here… Ultimately one among millions finally gets it and begins one’s journey back home, but it is Maya’s thankless job to purify that person also… she keeps poking and prodding to test if the person is “done”. When “done”, the person experiences Maya as “Yogamaya” as described in Jagannatha Prabhu’s email. To do her job effectively, she has to be terrible, scary etc… Vaisesika Prabhu says that Kali devi will not think twice about tearing out someone’s entrails and wearing it as a garland, that’s how “heartless” of a witch she is, as described in the songs of the Acharyas – but it is not that she is not doing her job or that she is not dear to Krishna!
I hope this helps?
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
Madumitha, 13 Dec 2014
Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Guru and Gauranga!
I came across a weekly lesson pertaining to this question. I hope this helps a little.
Here’s an excerpt from it:
I was there in New Vrindavan, West Virginia in the summer of 1972 when a young hippy asked Srila Prabhupada, “If our purpose is to go back to Godhead, why is Maya so strong?” Without the slightest hesitation Srila Prabhupada profoundly and poetically answered, “Because your purpose is not strong.”
In other words Maya, the Lord’s illusory energy, only has power over us to the extent that we are not determined to go back to home, back to Godhead. If we are determined to become fully Krishna conscious and not take birth here again in this material world, the material energy will be powerless to do anything to stop us from achieving our goal.
So instead of being weak in our determination, we must become powerful in our determination.
His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari, Weekly Lesson from the Ultimate Self Realization Course
Could you please kindly answer to me, such a neophyte?
If Maya tests if a person is “done”, so she is terrible, scary, etc. – does this process stop when one becomes a pure devotee or only at the moment of death?
Thank You,
your servant,
Gabriele
Shahvir Balaporia, 15 Dec 2014
Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Isn’t Yogmaya akin to the Kundalini shakti (force) which the yogis practicing chakra meditation frequently refer to? It is said that once the Kundalini shakti is awakened & starts rising through the chakra system one attains all kinds of superhuman powers (siddhis) eventually culminating into the final stage of self-realization. I think this is Yogmaya at work. Kindly correct me if i am wrong.
your humble servant,
Shahvir
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 15 Dec 2014
Dear Mother Gabriele,
Hare Krishna!
Please kindly accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
There is a gradual transformation in the experience of a person as they get gradually purified of material propensities… Srila Prabhupada gives the example of the jaws of a cat… to the mouse, they are the jaws of death, but to the kitten, they are the safest place in the world. In this case, the materialist is compared to the mouse, and the pure devotee is compared to a kitten. The process is very gradual, it is subtle – the individual who is trying notices that they are being tested even though others may not notice… if they don’t clear the hurdle with help of what they have learned so far, then other devotees also notice – a gradually widening circle of devotees, so that the aspiring devotee can get help. This happens to me all the time, I do get help from my friends and mentors if I cannot manage to resolve something by myself, it is a really wonderful process, I can vouch for that.
Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 15 Dec 2014
Dear Sriman Shahvir,
Hare Krishna!
Anyone who is not connected with Krishna has no experience or knowledge or understanding of Yogamaya. By observing the process of kundalini yoga as described by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita starting with the verse 6.11 through 6.32, there are no kundalini yogis in modern-day society, in fact, a kundalini yogi cannot have cannot have a home, a family, any money, no phone, no job, no arrangements for food and sustenance, no contact with society whatsoever. Anyone who is claiming to practice kundalini yoga in modern day society is, for want of a better word, a fraudster, or cheater.
Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
Shahvir Balaporia, 15 Dec 2014
Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Dear Mahabhagavat Prabhuji,
Thank you very much for your guidance.
your humble servant,
Shahvir
Priya Sundari Devi Dasi, 16 Dec 2014
Hare Krsna Prabhus
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Guru and Gauranga
All glories to Vaishnavas
My humble heartfelt thanks to all the devotees that have responded. Thank you Jagannatha Das Prabhu for the elaborate reply. It is my Guru Maharaj’s favorite verses, trinad api sunicena, taror api sahishnuna, amanina manadena, kirtaniya sada harih.
All glories to all your service.
Haribol
your servant
Priya Sundari Devi Dasi
*Krsne matir astu*
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How does Bhakti/Devotional Service deal with the intellectual / logical / analytical side of us as well as the emotional/feeling side of us? Does catering to one mean neglecting the other?
Brajanath Das, 02 November 2016
Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances!
All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Please help me to understand the following phrase –
“Pastimes of the Lord are for the heart and philosophy is for the mind.”
your servant,
Brajanath Das
Bhakta Sunil, 09 November 2016
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Dandavats!
The pastimes of the Lord help to easily realize the impurities in hearts by direct perception in story formats and reading philosophy engages the mind
Inversely , the reading of philosophy purifies the heart too and pastimes of the Lord engage the mind too
For example if we read this pastime of Lord Nrsimhadeva , not only we get moral by mind but also purifies our Hearts irrespective of how many times we read this, this transcendental literature is ever fresh contrary to mundane literature in news media and magazines :
THE PASTIMES OF LORD NRSIMHADEVA
There was once a great demon who was overwhelmed with rage: his brother Hiranyaksa had just been killed by the incarnation of Vishnu known as Lord Varaha. Thus he became very determined to become the emperor of the entire universe. In order to increase his power, he performed very powerful austerities. This penance was so severe that it disturbed the demigods. In fact, the demigods requested Lord Brahma to stop him. The chief of the demigods, Lord Brahma, therefore descended to pacify him by granting him a wish.
“Please grant that I not be killed by any created living being,” commanded Hiranyakasipu, “that I not die inside or outside any residence, during the daytime or night, nor on the ground or in the sky; that I not be killed by any being created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal indeed that I not meet death from any entity, either living or non-living; that I have no competitor; that I have sole lordship over all living entities and presiding deities, and that I acquire all mystic powers.”
After Brahma had granted him all these requests, Hiranyakasipu very swiftly conquered all the planets in the universe, took up residence in the lavish palace of King Indra, and forced the demigods to bow down to his feet. He even stole the sacrificial oblations meant for the demigods. Intoxicated physically by wine and mentally by power, Hiranyakasipu ruled the universe very severely.
During this time his queen, Kayadhu, returned to the palace of her husband and bore him a son, Prahlada. He was a reservoir of all transcendental qualities because he was a pure devotee of Lord Visnu. Determined to understand the Absolute Truth, he had full control over his senses and mind. He was kind to all living creatures and the best friend of everyone. Toward respectable persons he behaved just like a menial servant, to the poor he was like a father, and to his equals he was always like a sympathetic brother. Always very humble, he considered his teachers and spiritual masters to be as good as the Lord Himself. Indeed, he was completely free of any pride that might have arisen from his good education, riches, beauty, and aristocratic birth.
Hiranyakasipu wanted to raise his son to be a powerful demon, but Prahlada only wanted to learn about devotional service to Lord Visnu. After Prahlada attended school for some time, Hiranyakasipu took him on his lap and affectionately inquired, “My dear son, please tell me about your favorite subject in school.”
Fearlessly, Prahlada said, “Hearing (sravanam) and chanting (kirtanam) about the holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia, and pastimes of the Supreme Lord; remembering (smaranam) them; serving the lotus feet of the Lord (pada-sevanam); offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia (arcanam); offering prayers to the Lord (vandanam); becoming His servant (dasyam); considering the Lord one’s best friend (sakhyam); and surrendering to Him (atma-nivedanam, in other words, serving Him with body, mind and words); these nine processes are known as pure devotional service, and I consider anyone who has dedicated his life to service of Lord Visnu through these nine methods to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.”
Blinded by anger, Hiranyakasipu threw Prahlada from his lap onto the ground. “Servants! Take him away and kill him at once!” he screamed. However, Prahlada just sat silently and meditated on the Personality of Godhead, and the demons’ weapons had no effect on him. Seeing this Hiranyakasipu became fearful and contrived various ways to kill his son. His servants threw Prahlada beneath an elephant’s feet; they cast him into the midst of huge, fearful snakes; they cursed him with destructive spells; they hurled him from a hilltop; they gave him poison; they starved him; they exposed him to severe cold, winds, fire and water; they threw heavy stones to crush him. Hiranyakasipu even sent his sister Holika to burn him, but instead she herself was burned. But throughout these trials Prahlada was simply absorbed in thoughts of Lord Visnu, and thus he remained unharmed. Hiranyakasipu became very anxious about what to do next.
“You say there is a being superior to me,” said Hiranyakasipu, “but where is He? If He is present everywhere, then why is He not present in this pillar you see before you? Do you think He is in this pillar?” “Yes,” Prahlada answered, “He is there.”
Hiranyakasipu’s rage flared more and more. “Because you are speaking so much nonsense, I shall now sever your head from your body. Now let me see your most worshipable God come to protect you. I want to see it.” Cursing him again and again, Hiranyakasipu took up his sword, got up from his royal throne, and with great anger struck his fist against the column.
Then from within the very pillar that he had singled out came a wonderful half-man, half-lion form never before seen. The Lord’s form was extremely fearsome because of His angry eyes, which resembled molten gold; His shining mane, which expanded the dimensions of His fearful face; His deadly teeth; and His razor-sharp tongue. Lord Nrsimha then proceeded to battle with the wasp-like Hiranyakasipu.
Finally at twilight, Lord Nrsimha captured Hiranyakasipu and placed him in His lap on the doorway of the assembly hall. As He began ripping the demon to pieces with His many, many hands, Lord Nrsimha’s mouth and mane became sprinkled with drops of blood, and His fierce eyes, full of anger, were impossible to look at. Licking the edge of His mouth with His tongue, the Supreme Lord decorated Himself with a garland of intestines taken from Hiranyakasipu’s abdomen. Lord Nrsimha uprooted Hiranyakasipu’s heart and finally threw him aside and destroyed an army of Hiranyakasipu’s faithful followers.
By His transcendental cleverness, Lord Nrsimhadeva was able to kill Hiranyakasipu without contradicting any of Lord Brahma’s benedictions. The execution took place neither inside nor outside, but in the doorway; neither on land nor in sky, but on the Lord’s lap; neither during the day nor during the night, but at twilight; neither by man, beast, or demigod nor by any created being, but by the Personality of Godhead; and not by any weapon, but by the Lord’s own lotus hand, relieving the whole universe of Hiranyakasipu’s demonic activities.
Having been protected by the Lord, Prahlada Maharaja offered many prayers in a voice that faltered with love:
“My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, please, therefore, allow Your angry feature to diminish, now that my evil father Hiranyakasipu has been killed . . . [The saintly persons] will always remember Your auspicious and fearsome incarnation, for it frees them from fear. In this way, my Lord, You appear in various incarnations as a human being, an animal, a great saint, a demigod, a fish or a tortoise, thus maintaining the entire creation in different planetary systems and killing the demoniac principles.”
Adapted from Srimad Bhagavatam, 7th Canto
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
—
Hope this helps with your query
your insignificant servant,
Bhakta Sunil
Mahabhagavat Das, 11 November 2016
Dear Brajanath Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
“Pastimes of the Lord are for the heart and philosophy is for the mind.”
Such questions would greatly benefit from inclusion of context. Please do this going forward. A statement out of context is a perfect recipe for misunderstanding and confusion. Who said it, who was it said to, and in what specific context was that statement made? Without context, our answers may be insufficient or cause more misunderstandings.
Bhakti Yoga is a perfect synthesis of “heart” and “mind”. Thinking, feeling, willing, words, deeds, body, and mind, fully engaged in concert in harmoniously pleasing Krishna.
Generally, Bhakti means loving devotional service, there is no intellectual analysis needed or done in such pure devotional service, pure devotees simply love Krishna and act accordingly very naturally, doing whatever is needed for Krishna’s pleasure. They know “in their heart” what pleases Krishna. In this regard, hearing or chanting the pastimes of the Lord are devotional service.
Often, arguments and logic are undesirable in relishing Krishna’s sweetness.
“Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī prays to his spiritual master, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, for the protection of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu—”The Ocean of the Pure Nectar of Devotional Service”—from the argumentative logicians who unnecessarily meddle in the science of service to the Lord. He compares their arguments and logic to volcanic eruptions in the midst of the ocean. In the midst of the ocean, volcanic eruptions can do very little harm, and similarly, those who are against devotional service to the Lord and who put forward many philosophical theses about the ultimate transcendental realization cannot disturb this great ocean of devotional service.”
But for someone who is conditioned by material energy, the mind and intelligence generally stands in the way of what is simply a matter of natural course of being true to our spiritual self. Such conditioned souls require philosophy and intellectual analysis to convince them to not do material nonsense but to render some devotional service, which, when done sincerely, gradually reawakens love of Krishna within the heart.
A pure devotee often engages in philosophizing on the pastimes, as our Acharyas, Srila Prabhupada and his disciples and grand-disciples do, but this is for our benefit, the benefit of the conditioned souls.
I hope this helps.
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
Dra Varni, 12 November 2016
Hare Krsna!! This is a supreme question. While I am not a devotee I have had this experience. There are many answers, but “pastimes” and “theory” are not two separate things in this case. By this I mean one could not be without the other. And the outcome is not synthesis. Elevation, in my experience, came from reading “pastimes” and “hearing” pastimes. Primarily, reading of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, not all 17
Dra Varni
Dra Varni, 02 December 2016
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!, Dhruva Maharaja!
Hare Krsna!
“Bhakti Yoga is a perfect synthesis of “heart” and “mind”. Thinking, feeling, willing, words, deeds, body, and mind, fully engaged in concert in harmoniously pleasing Krishna.”
I have taken time to respond to the above statement because its components are complicated and fragile . Above is the context of the message I received . I have a problem with the word “synthesis”. Below is my rendering to screen of why. I am sure too be only person with such thinking.
It is important to remember that the heart and mind are a continuum, not two distinct and separate energies. Given the age of Cali there is a compartmentalized effort to split everything. Objects for synthesis must be in direct opposition. Other look-a-likes are called “binary-oppositions” they just have the appearance of opposition. Used as a metaphor “Synthesis”would be fine depending on genre. And Bhakti Yoga would be the perfect synthesis of “heart”and “mind” if they were in opposition.
Dra
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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 ॥
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
OK, so surrender is required in spiritual life, and it is not an admission of defeat, and the person surrendering cannot surrender their intelligence too. But what exactly is this surrender practically?
The essence of anything is shown in the action that follows from it. For example if I am a fan of a sports team, then I spend my time, money, and energy in everything related to that sports team. If I am a professional of some kind, then I spend my time and energy trying to be better at that profession. If I support a cause, then I use my time, money, energy, and intelligence in pushing forward that cause.
In other words, in whatever way I spend my time, energy, my money, use my influence, in that way I am said to be “surrendered”. This is because I have a choice at every moment, to focus my consciousness on something.
For example, if I was surrendered to my mind, then I spend all my energy listening to the dictates of my mind. I invest a lot of my consciousness in identifying with my mind, and then I do everything in my power to make the rantings of my mind happen. All sorts of people do all sorts of things chasing the mind. And this happens for other things too, for example, if, with my mind, I identify with my body, then I may spend all my time and energy trying to keep my body fit and healthy, stout and strong.
Most of us here in the material world are surrendered to our senses, and to gratify our senses, we indulge in all sorts of activities, and to fuel those activities, we work very hard. To a person surrendered to the mind and senses, there is no peace in this world, there always some other sensory experience to be had, there is always a “bucket list” of desires, coming from an endless wellspring of desires, keeping us busy all our lives, life after life. And it quite often ends very badly, to start badly, and a continuous stream of such unfortunate nonsense.
yato yato niścalati manaś cañcalam asthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet
From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.
Some people claim to be surrendered to God, but actually they are not surrendered to God, but want to propitiate God so that their sensory desires can be satisfied. This is surrender, but not really, it is practically a form of slavery. This is because a person in the grip of the material senses has no freedom, just like a dog who barks uncontrollably or goes around sniffing other dogs’ urine, it is an instinct, and it cannot be stopped.
But in human life, one can has more developed consciousness, to question this knee-jerk reaction to sensory stimuli, and to actually understand our own identity as spirit souls. We can then choose to surrender to God.
But what does it practically mean to be surrendered?
ये तु धर्मामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते । श्रद्दधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रिया: ॥ २० ॥
ye tu dharmāmṛtam idaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsate śraddadhānā mat-paramā bhaktās te ’tīva me priyāḥ
Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.
So, the symptom of a soul surrendered to God is 100% total absorption in the service of God. Everything they do, they do as a service to God, in spirit and in result, offering everything they have to God. Everyone they meet, they meet as a soul who belongs to God. Everyone they treat in relation to God… they love God, so they love “God’s”.
Arjuna, a great surrendered soul, did exactly this:
Arjuna said: My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.
They may or may not proclaim their love, but if you observe their actions carefully, you will see that they eat, sleep, exercise, interact, work all for the satisfaction of God. In fact, you can see that a person in an advanced stage of surrender does not even breathe if it not beneficial for the service of God.
In Arjuna’s case, God Himself proclaimed His love:
स एवायं मया तेऽद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः । भक्तोऽसि मे सखा चेति रहस्यं ह्येतदुत्तमम् ॥ ३ ॥
sa evāyaṁ mayā te ’dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ bhakto ’si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam
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.
So, surrender means loving service. And it is filled with mystery, adventure, excitement, and satisfaction! To surrender to Krishna is to be in Love with Him.
In spiritual life, we often hear the term “surrender”, and surrender we should. But dear reader, never surrender your intelligence!
In spiritual life, one of the key tenets is surrender to God. Without surrender to the will of God, spirituality has no meaning. But since most of us are not at a level where we can surrender directly to God, because it is hard to differentiate between the ranting of the mind and the voice of God within the heart, we often offer our surrender to a representative of God.
Now, it is required that any representative of God is of pure heart, simple, clean, and honest. But since we are all here in the material world, and the illusory energy of God is extremely strong, it is possible that even the most dedicated servant of God can come under the sway of illusion, even if momentarily.
Therefore, it is extremely important never to surrender our intelligence. In other words, while we surrender to the authority of the representative of God, a priest, a Rabbi, a Mullah, an Imam, a Guru, or a Pastor by any other name, we need to constantly remain on guard and not suspend our common sense and intelligence.
Not doing this, in other words, surrendering our common sense and intelligence has resulted in horrific abuses, including sexual abuse of children, abuse of poor and vulnerable people, and the destruction of faith in many a venerable religious organization. Such a loss is lamentable, because then, the purpose for which the spiritual tenets were coalesced to form a religious organization is lost.
My spiritual master instructed me “Surrender with your intelligence”.
What does this mean? If the actions of a superior in spiritual life are somehow incongruous, or going against our common sense or clear knowledge not tainted with opinions, then it is important to distance those from our surrender.
On the one hand, real spirituality is pure, but to take the essence of that spirituality to a large population, it is necessary to organize… And organization brings about its own sets of risks.
In a religious organization, managerial authority is often conflated with spiritual authority. It often happens that a person with spiritual authority is also given significant managerial authority. In such cases, the person may wear different hats at different times… or their actions while wearing one hat may conflict with their actions while wearing with the other. While it is extremely difficult to contest an instruction given under spiritual authority, every member of every religious organization has the right to carefully assess every single instruction given under managerial authority with their common sense and intelligence.
Doing so with small and big things is absolutely critical to preserve the spiritual purity of an organization. It is impossible to avoid dynamics of sycophancy, groupism, nepotism, politics, and positional power in any organization. That is the definition of the material world… A religious organization is still an organization in the material world, though its core is spiritual.
We deal with these types of political issues in business, Government, at Universities, in Hospitals, and all types of institutions, even Religious Institutions. But while all other types of organizations give an individual a choice to walk away from a job or a contract, in religious institutions, the situation is very different. A spiritual person associated with a religious institution often finds that their entire personal and social life is intertwined with the facilities afforded by that religious institution! And the leaders in those organizations know this very well. So it becomes extremely difficult for an ordinary member to “walk away”. Because walking away means leaving a big part of your life behind. And this becomes the reason for perpetration of all kinds of issues.
Abuse can range all the way from the innocuous to “I can do whatever I want and face no consequence”. And because powerful people are often surrounded by sycophants who, in order to fulfill their own personal agendas, will not speak the truth to the powerful, it is important for those of us with a conscience to reject nonsense when we see it.
Recently, I was in a situation where a very powerful individual tried to use their influence to “rewrite” facts. They had done something that was irresponsible, and they wanted to spin their actions as being reasonable, and wanted me to accept their version of the “alternative” facts. They were very angry with my refusal to “believe” their version which went against all reason and fundamental facts. I had to resist with all my might. I struggled with emotions like fear, guilt, and shame. They told me “I had a lot of respect for you, but I must say that it has diminished greatly”.
There may be material consequences in the short and long term, for example, I may not be in the “inner circle of confidantes” of this particular powerful person. And maybe I may remain far removed from positions of power within that religious organization. But as my spiritual master has instructed me to always remain focused on the spiritual essence, to be a pure devotee of Krishna, I must remain careful not to become a sycophant.
But what do I care about material consequences? My goal is pure devotional service to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna. If I had to endure a million material miseries for millions of times, it would be worth it to be a pure devotee of Krishna.
Another instruction my spiritual master gave was on the definition of intelligence. He said “the intelligent person is one who can hold two opposing sides of an argument or a concept, and not be disturbed by either of them“. So that was an interesting instruction.. what this means in this case is that while a person may have made a mistake on one aspect – the managerial side, the other aspect, the spiritual side does not automatically get diminished…
However, this very same person has indeed helped me in my spiritual life for many years. I need to learn to distinguish between the same person acting in a spiritual capacity, and the same person acting in a managerial capacity. So while I reject the erroneous actions and attitude of the managerial side, I still retain my respect and love for the spiritual side of the same person. So therefore, while I reject that person’s heavy-handedness and accept the consequences of doing so, I cannot discount the contribution of that person to my spiritual journey.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam, there is an instructive exchange between Maharaja Parikshit, the ideal example of a ruler, and Dharma, the personality of religion… https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/17/ and I will excerpt a couple of key passages…
न वयं क्लेशबीजानि यत: स्यु: पुरुषर्षभ । पुरुषं तं विजानीमो वाक्यभेदविमोहिता: ॥ १८ ॥
na vayaṁ kleśa-bījāni yataḥ syuḥ puruṣarṣabha puruṣaṁ taṁ vijānīmo vākya-bheda-vimohitāḥ
O greatest among human beings, it is very difficult to ascertain the particular miscreant who has caused our sufferings, because we are bewildered by all the different opinions of theoretical philosophers.
Some of the philosophers, who deny all sorts of duality, declare that one’s own self is responsible for his personal happiness and distress. Others say that superhuman powers are responsible, while yet others say that activity is responsible, and the gross materialists maintain that nature is the ultimate cause.
apratarkyād anirdeśyād iti keṣv api niścayaḥ atrānurūpaṁ rājarṣe vimṛśa sva-manīṣayā
There are also some thinkers who believe that no one can ascertain the cause of distress by argumentation, nor know it by imagination, nor express it by words. O sage amongst kings, judge for yourself by thinking over all this with your own intelligence.
In other words, whatever happens to us is by the direct sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead! We are meant to learn something from every experience, and without casting blame, we must intelligently figure out what is to be learned, learn that lesson, and move on.
The above two verses were spoken by Dharma, in the form a bull whose 3 legs had been broken by Kali, the personality of the age of quarrel and hypocrisy we live in Kaliyuga-not to be confused with Kali devi, the fierce form of the material nature. Maharaja Parikshit, who was responsible for the welfare of all, especially Dharma, inquired who was responsible for this violence, but Dharma stayed silent and did not incriminate Kali
And by applying the instructions of my spiritual master to every situation intelligently, I shall be always happy by his grace.
So, dear spiritualists, without getting bewildered by these tests of our faith, let us remain committed to the truth, and nothing but the Supreme Absolute Truth Sri Krishna and remained surrendered to Him at all times, places, and circumstances!
What does it mean to say “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”?
Annu bhatia, 7 November 2019
Hare Krishna Das,
I am writing to ask what the following means, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Could you also explain why Jesus asks us to declare spiritually bankruptcy and then find ourselves filled with the presence of the King and His Kingdom.
Thank you dear prabhu.
your humble servant,
Annu
Rebecca, 29 November 2019
Hare Krishna!
I am only a stumbling servant, but having been in the Christian faith, my understanding of the poor in spirit is one who is weary of this material world and who is humble and God conscious. Jesus is teaching humility and realization of our true position that we are Not God but are His children and that by realization of our true position and surrender to God we can be filled with His presence and return back home to His Kingdom.
I trust this will be of some clarification and finds you well.
your humble God-sister servant and well-wisher
Rebecca
Rakesh, 29 November 2019
Hare Krsna Prabhu
I have read and heard few things from Christian scriptures.
As per my understanding, the statement means that if a person has the understanding that nothing belongs to them(they are not the controllers, proprietors or enjoyer of anything) in this material world(indicated by poor in spirit), then Krsna(God) is pleased with them and they are on their path back to Godhead.
your aspiring servant
Rakesh Roshan
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How can one control the mind? A perennial question that was asked even 5,000 years ago. Those answers are still relevant! Would you like to learn more?
Tapas Chakraborty, 29 July 2019
So far so learned , To progress in spiritual path the first step is Control of Mind. How to accomplish absolute control of our Mind?
Is it totally internal restraint or a combination of both external and internal?
Request all enlightened soul to chart out a clear direction to follow. I will be highly grateful for your guidance.
Hare Krishna
your servant
Tapas
Thunduparambil Jayaprasad, 30 July 2019
Controlling the mind is not easy..in Bhagavad. Gita ..Krishna says. ..to Arjuna. ..controlling mind is more difficult than controlling wind…But.with Krishna’s help you can do it by diverting your attention to Krishna service . Chanting.and surrendering to him .then Lord will take care…Hare Krishna
Thunduparambil Jayaprasad
Arun Agarwal, 31 July 2019
Hare Krishna
It is Arjun who says that it is very difficult to control mind even more difficult than controlling air. Lord Krishna then tells Arjuna the simple way to control it. Those who surrender to him can control it very easily.
Hari bol
Arun Agarwal
Tapas Chakraborty, 31 July 2019
Thanks for your reply
Request the following
1. What is complete surrender, and
2. How to accomplish the same
The above are literally theoretical, what practice in our daily life we need to do so that we derive the necessary motivation to remain focused.
Sincerely,
Tapas
Arun Agarwal, 31 July 2019
Hare Krishna
I am sorry the answer I gave that surrender to Krishna is the way to control over mind is not correct. Surrender unto Lord Krishna is necessary for overcoming the three modes of material nature which is his divine energy.
For controlling mind pl refer Bhagwad Gita.
Lord Krishna said (6.35 Bhagwad Gita) it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.
6.26.(Bhagwad Gita) From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature one must certainly withdraw it and bring back under the control of self.
However for surrendering unto Krishna one has to be in full knowledge and always keeping himself engaged in pure devotional service of lord Krishna.
I have started reading Bhagavad Gita and the books of Srila Prabhupada for the last one year only. As such I know that I am actually a beginner only and may try to sound very literate and accomplished. But believe me I am only trying to express what I have read so far. I just wish to involve in the process of discussion for enhancing the knowledge
Hare Krishna
Sincerely,
Arun
Sudhanshu Soni, 31 July 2019
Hare Krishna Prabhu
I hope this lecture may help you .
your servant
Sudhanshu
Tapas Chakraborty, 1 August 2019
Thanks Bhakta Arun
It’s a real pleasure reading your reply. I believe we are all learning, in fact in search of absolute truth and knowledge which has no end. Each day comes with a new experience and from it greater insights of what we already know. Also the toughest time in our life teaches us more at a greater speed .The more we have questions greater is our search for truth.
So from your reply what I get to know is training the mind for delineating ourselves from material attachment and focusing on absolute reality.
So the question remains how we can force our mind to withdraw from temptations of the materialistic world. Theoretically yes but practically it is difficult unless we are able to harness the consciousness within .
Sincerely,
Tapas
Sharon, 1 August 2019
Thanking you in your lecture, I have read, and I but I know within the rest of my day I will continue to go back to read through and accept what I need to do in order to make the necessary changes to my inner self to become a better much happier person to become more responsible to ensure I don’t slip away with any of the other people who are not wanting to become a part of the inner world of the betterment xx thanking you
Sincerely,
Sharon xx
Shridhar Das, 1 August 2019
Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisance.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All Glories to Sri Guru & Sri Gauranga!
[Requesting all devotees to reply in single mail loop in future. In this case [sda_students:5745]]
I am humbly trying to elaborate on below perfect answers. I have not gone through the link yet as I don’t have the facility at the moment but I hope it answers your query fully.
Mind. This topic is unlimited and endless, no matter how many seminars be delivered on it. So are thoughts, desires, impressions in the mind unlimited.
Indeed, as quoted below a great warrior like Arjuna, who was extremely talented and a valiant warrior accepted subordination to the battle against mind although he was confident to bring under control a voracious hurricane. Can we be that confident? What to speak of mind.
The conditioned soul is in this awkward position all because of its surrender to the mind. Great sages dedicate their whole life to perform penance just to conquer the mind and the senses and transcend this existence. And very few pass the test. The glorious tales of such sages decorate the Srimad Bhagavatam so that we can learn and be inspired in similar spirit.
As per your question, we can see Vishwamitra Muni. He very expertly performed penances. Surrounded by fire from all sides during summer and entered into ice waters during winters. Didn’t eat for days and even month while performing austerity. But a simple tinkling of Menaka’s ankle bell ruined all his progress.
On the other hand, a similar yogi named Durvasa Muni got agitated and so angry that he wanted to kill a devotee like Ambarish just because Durvasa Muni “felt” that he has not been given proper respect. Durvasa Muni summoned a demon from his yogic powers to kill Ambarish Maharaj, a pure devotee. This is called trying to kill a mosquito with a machine gun. Punishing a so-called mistake severely.
On the other hand Ambarish Maharaj didn’t retaliate to save his life. He simply depended on Krishna’s will. Krishna’s Sudarshan personally came without invitation for his protection. What was Durvasa’s qualification? He was fully engaged in Lord’s service and depended on Lord for personal maintenance. In 56-72 verses of Bhagavad Gita’s 2nd chapter, you can find this comparison of yogic v/s devotional process.
The point is- Our path is of Grace & Dependence. Doesn’t mean we don’t care for restraint. We do the needful to keep the standard for the mind, before it may cheat viz. 4 Regulative Principles, Chanting 16 good Rounds at least, Observing Fast on Ekadashi and festivals, Daily study of Srila Prabhupada Books, goes on… Everyone then observe personal austerities under superior guidance.
On our path, the emphasis is not restraining, for Krishna tells in 3rd Chapter – What can repression accomplish?
Mind is very obstinate and we have our own natures. Our process teaches us not to give up work. Rather if we have greed for work and profit, we should fully engage that greed, while assuring we submit the results which assures pleasure of Guru & Vaishnavas. Krishna guided Arjuna to engage his warfare Kshatriya spirit in fighting too not for solitary devotion in the forest as Arjuna felt.
The ultimatum is, if we are acting as per Supreme Worshipable Personality, The All Loving Krishna’s will, mind will always be happy. But to do that we need to understand His teachings. And that is possible through a bonafide spiritual master and his representatives. So we should look for that person whom we can give our heart to faithfully and follow their instructions. And even if mind is not cooperating, but because heart is set on pleasing someone, mind becomes subordinate to such love. So even when mind is upset, we know whom to approach and hear from. And we know if they are pleased, our life is going perfect. So look for some advanced souls locally who are fully engaged ecstatically in serving Srila Prabhupada. At least we can pray for guidance daily.
For this reason, Srila Gurudeva & Srimati Gurumata (and various other great souls) open themselves to others. In this case there are online lectures where everyone can hear and interact asking questions daily. There is facility to write emails and personally serve them and inquire from them.
You can also sense this surrender in lives of all leading Srila Prabhupada disciples, for Srila Prabhupada.
Hope this helps.
your servant
Shridhar das
Bhakta Sunil, 1 August 2019
Amazing answers,
Prabhu additional nectar on this topic is at
Lecture by His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari on 28 April 2017 in Riga, Latvia,
In my view it is only due to our lack of knowledge about Krishna which makes it difficult for us to delineate ourselves totally from material world. You should continue to study the Bhagavad Gita and also the invaluable literature of Srila Prabhupad . You will gain knowledge about everything necessary to achieve the desired goal.
Hare Krishna
Sincerely,
Arun
Tapas Chakraborty, 1 August 2019
Hare Krishna
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
It is indeed an in-depth and elaborate explanation in dealing with the complexities linked to the control of mind. Some takeaways which I will attempt to follow with heart and soul.
– Disciplined approach to daily life with regular chanting and reading books
– Focus on understanding the Bhagavad-Gita with repetitive follow up
– Try for holy company(Association of Devotees)
– Engage only for true knowledge
– Detachments from materialistic objects
– Complete surrender to Lord Krishna for his guidance
– Regular touch with holy brothers by asking questions whenever in doubt.
Thank you
Hare Krishna
your servant
Tapas Chakraborty
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Surrender- gets a bad rap. Why do the spiritualists talk so much about Surrender?
The word surrender, in a dictionary, states… “cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority”. No wonder the word gets a bad rap? Who wants to cease resistance to an enemy or an opponent?
No one wants to capitulate, to give up, to submit oneself to the whims of an enemy!
So when the ancient spiritual texts say “surrender”, anyone with some intelligence rebels against the concept. What do you mean surrender? Naah! Nope, this spiritual stuff is not for me.
So then, reading something like the above, atheists, either staunch ones or newly minted ones, or even recovering ones, sometimes say, “NO THANKS!”.
Even though surrender means defeat in the material sense, still surrender to God is the Ultimate victory! Why so? Boy, those spiritual types must be bonkers, no?
Let’s consider the example of a person who has somehow or other landed in the midst of an ocean – no matter how great of a swimmer they may be, they have no chance of swimming home. A watery death is certain if no help arrives in time. This material world is regarded as an ocean of birth and death. No one who is born here gets out of here alive, is that not true?
In addition to birth and death, there is always old age and disease, to make it more of a bummer. Now add to it miseries caused by other living entities, all the way from little mosquitoes, viruses, to cruel criminals and despots in the guise of certain powerful personalies… Add to this the miseries caused by factors outside our control- earthquakes, floods, famine, and so on… and finally miseries caused by our own mind and body! No one has a chance against these miseries.
Generally speaking, the more powerful a personality is, the less they want to surrender, but here is a most powerful personality, Lord Jesus Christ, who said “Not my will, but Thine, be done”. Jesus Christ is pretty powerful. In fact, his power has transcended most others who strive so hard to be powerful.
Why did Jesus Christ surrender?
Because God is not our enemy! God is not our opponent!
A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
Just like the lifeboat or the coastguard or sea rescue, God and His representatives the great spiritual masters, are coming to help us back to shore, back to our home. Surrender simply means accepting help from someone more competent.
I have a Most Powerful Friend. He is my Best Well-Wisher. He wants me to be in a better place, while I am still here in this world of birth, death, old age, and disease, and forever beyond.
What is it about leaving our comfort zone? What does it entail? Why is it so rewarding?
Brajanath Das, 21 February 2018
Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Srila Gurudeva,
I heard …
Krishna will take special care of those especially who comes out of their comfort zone to serve Him.
Please enlighten me
your servant, Brajanath Das
Filip Misic, 27 February 2018
Hare Krishna Brajanath Das,
When one goes out of his comfort zone to serve Krishna, Krishna is very pleased. Why? Because he sees that we are sincere and want to serve him the best we can. Not only is Krishna very pleased with that, but the devotee himself advances in Krishna Consciousness and experiences bliss and gets situated in transcendence.
Krishna says: “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.” [BG 4.11] So Krishna resiprocates according to our devotion because he is more pleased with us the more sincerely we serve Him.
I hope this helps you. This is simply my understanding. I am grateful to you for asking this question, because when I write I also get purified. I am sure some devotees can ellaborate on this further.
Seeking to be your servant, Filip
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Freedom through Genuine Spiritual Progress 