Not long ago, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. With over $209B in assets, it still collapsed. Where is your wealth? What is your wealth really? Who or what can protect your wealth?
Not long ago, Silicon Valley Bank, a large American bank, with over Two Hundred and Nine Billion Dollars in assets experienced a meltdown situation, where depositors tried to withdraw forty two billion dollars in one day. This is called a “run on the bank” and resulted in the bank collapsing.
Why did the depositors of the bank scramble to withdraw their money so quickly? Banks take your money, and then they try to invest it, keeping some of your money in cash, but most of it locked away in various types of investments, making them (usually) handsome returns. The amount of money they keep as cash, divided by the amount of money they invest, is called a “liquidity ratio”. And that liquidity ratio is strictly regulated. Despite this regulation, clearly, sometimes, the bank may just not have enough money to pay out!
The external reason of why Silicon Valley Bank crashed is because they had their money invested in bonds, which were dropping in value as interest rates rose. So, the bank was selling their bonds at a loss, and they were short by a couple billion dollars. The news got out and it was mayhem after.
Now, to put all that into perspective you know how much US$209B is? That is more than the total wealth of 103 different countries… Belarus, Jordan, Serbia, Slovenia, 103 of them. And it is more than the collective wealth of the world’s 44 poorest countries.
Think about it. Silicon Valley Bank had more wealth than 44 countries put together!
Ultimately the bank was bailed out by the US Government and purchased by another bank, but otherwise depositors would have lost a lot of money.
In this particular case, the US taxpayers were left holding the bill for the collapsed bank.
In general, people assume that such things, like banks, governments, police, armies, weapons, communities, families, wealth, and our own bodies and minds can be actually relied upon. But all of them are fallible soldiers, liable to fail at any moment without notice.
If a bank with that much wealth can collapse from one day to the next, what to speak of your wealth? Surely you don’t have US$209B to your name at a bank?
Neither will your wealth, nor your family, nor your community, society, country, your own personal strength or intelligence save you!
देहापत्यकलत्रादिष्वात्मसैन्येष्वसत्स्वपि । तेषां प्रमत्तो निधनं पश्यन्नपि न पश्यति ॥ ४ ॥
dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ paśyann api na paśyati
Persons devoid of ātma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.
Further, on a related note, Srila Prabhupada writes this…
Such persons complacently believe that their nations, communities or families can protect them, unaware that all such fallible soldiers will be destroyed in due course of time.
In other words, nothing that we have anywhere in this world is safe.
So how to protect what is ours?
There is only one way.
In general, only that which we give away, we get to keep.
Give away money? You will get it back in your future lifetimes. Give love? You will receive much love. What you have today is a sum total of what you have given away in the past.
What do I mean by that? That the credit for giving something away is what we take with us. As in the case of Alexander the great, he left his wealth behind upon death, but the results of his activities – all his conquests – the karmic reactions for so many killed, hurt, etc., that he took with him to suffer afterwards. For every death, he had to suffer a death, for every maiming, he had to be maimed himself, for every bit of gold stolen from others, he had to be robbed himself, and so on.
What is your real wealth, anyways?
यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं तत: ।
yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ
upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain
What is it that will satisfy you so much that you will think there is no greater gain? It cannot be money or any other possession, because with money, no matter how much someone has, they are never fully satisfied by it. It cannot be posessions, because the satisfaction one gets from one’s possessions is a continuous downward trend. It cannot be sensual experiences, because when one has some sensual pleasure, they only hanker for more.
There must be something more, something on a completely different dimension!
What is that greatest wealth?
It is the wealth of the soul, which is spiritual in nature. Not material.
The example that comes to mind is that of the six Goswamis of Vrindavan. When Rupa Goswami retired, his wealth equalled a boat full of gold coins. The Goswamis were exalted in every respect, born in rich, aristocratic families, hobnobbing with the rich and famous, and yet, it is said about them…
tyaktva turnam asesha-mandala-pati-srenim sada tuccha-vat
who kicked off all association of aristocracy as insignificant
So there you go, any wealth in any bank or locker or any kind of wealth we rely upon in the material world, whether it be our family, society, community, country, or any institution… we will have to leave it all behind, insurmountable time will take it all away.
What you will keep eternally is this:
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते । स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥ ४० ॥
nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt
In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.
2019 Summer Sankirtan Adventures. Krishna is Adventure. When you go out on Sankirtan, your life becomes an adventure too! Sankirtan is life. Live it!
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 05 October 2019
Dear Devotees,
Hare Krishna!
Please kindly accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Even though it appears that summer may be coming to a close, at least as far as my Sankirtan Life is concerned, the summer of Sankirtan continues on, thanks to blessings from the spiritual master and the devotees!
Being out on Sankirtan is the most adventurous thing one can do. When we are out on Sankirtan, we literally put our lives in the hands of Sri Krishna. We beg for His mercy, we remember Him intensely, we make ourselves vulnerable as beggars, and we just go out on a limb to serve the disciplic succession. It is truly a privilege and pleasure to serve in this way.
Sankirtan is also the surest way – second only to marriage 🙂 to remind oneself about one’s false pride in action, and to see what a sad and sorry state the present world in, and just how much everyone just suffering.
Like all genuine pleasures, it takes time to begin to appreciate, and it takes time to practice and hone, it takes time to appreciate every single experience, but once one is in that circle of mercy, truly in that circle of mercy, then one hankers to be back in that flow, that zone of intense Krishna consciousness.
Nowhere does one witness the magic of Krishna consciousness more than being out on Sankirtan. Miracles happen at every moment, and the most unlikely experiences occur, and each experience is hand-picked by Krishna for one’s own betterment.
If you want to see Krishna’s hand in your life, then go out on Sankirtan! If you want to lose attachment to material pleasure, then go out on Sankirtan,. If you want to be humbled, then go out on Sankirtan. If you want to feel pride for Krishna, then go out on Sankirtan. Little or a Lot, PLEASE, do go out on Sankirtan!
Summary:
10 Aug 2019 – Old City Hall
14-17 Aug – Vaishnava Sanga (3 outings in Shawinigan, Quebec)
23 Aug – Sri Krishna Janmastami (2 outings in the temple)
31 Aug – Trinity Bellwoods Park
31 Aug – Sri Radha Shyamsunder Janmashtami
4 Sep – Downtown Individual Outing (after a LONG time!)
8 Sep – Cabbagetown festival
17-30 Sep – Business Trip Sankirtan in Toronto, New York, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.
———-
Total 11 Outings
Vaisesika Prabhu and His wave of Sankirtan mercy
Vaisesika Prabhu distributes books on the street
Whenever great Sankirtan warriors descend, in their presence and in their footsteps we experience tremendous empowerment. Old City Hall was another magical experience, with the devotees performing Harinam right in front of Old City Hall, and so many devotees greeting the souls milling about. We also got an opportunity to bathe in the nectar shower that was his Vyasa Puja in ISV.
Michael, Dennis, and Wes all gave me their contact information, in fact that’s the only reason I still remember them – they gave me their contact information! Especially Dennis was coming “home” to Canada via Russia, China, and London, England. He felt at home with Krishna too, saying “Hey you’re a Krishna guy, I’ve seen your guys all around”. Wes was back to Toronto after a long stretch in Australia.
Right after that outing, in the temple, I met Karishma and Raghav who were visiting the temple for the first time. They both also took books, gave donations, chanted Hare Krishna and heard all about Radha Kshir Chor Gopinath! And yes, they did share their contact info.
If I can only follow up effectively with everyone I meet (remember these are the cream of the crop, they stopped, gave their time, attention, money, took a book, and left a contact!), ISKCON Toronto will surely be forced to expand into the church across the street! 🙂
Vaishnava Sanga magic
On Harinam in Shawinigan during Vaishnava Sanga
Right after Vaisesika Prabhu left, we got a solid dose of inspiration from the great souls gathered in St. Mathieu Du Parc in Quebec. I got to serve in the kitchen on 2 days, it was blissful service, cooking for all these delightful Vaishnavas! But what’s more, I got to go out on the famous Shawinigan Harinams, not once, not twice, but thrice!
These Shawinigan Harinamas are directly from the spiritual world (like every other Harinama, but I experienced the magic most here. First of all, its not a bunch of shy newbies, but veterans of the art of Harinam, senior devotees, disciples of Srila Prabhupada, advanced souls like Bhaktimarga Swami, Mahatma Prabhu, Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu, Lakshminath Prabhu, Guru Prasad Prabhu, and many more elevated souls! And accompanied by such young veterans of the art of Harinam as Krishna Dulal Prabhu and Prana Gauranga Prabhu! It was a pleasure to take the little town of Shawinigan by the storm of Sri Harinam Sankirtan.
Right before, we had stopped at ISKCON Montreal and stocked up on those elusive French books on Krishna consciousness. With a nice box full of books, we set out, only to almost run out on day 1! 🙂
ISKCON Montreal
Here we witness the power of the Holy Name. One can’t speak French or Quebecois to save one’s life, except for a hearty Bonjour (surely said with the wrong accent)! So how these books get distributed, and how donations come in is just a complete mystery to me. Well, not only me, but many many devotees took books, our own Vrajalalana Mataji, and Mathieu Prabhu from Ottawa, and many others, they just congregated on the books and within a very short time almost all the books were gone!
Quebec, Canada
A few years ago, I had met the wife of the owner of a restaurant, she was from Mauritius. Now this time I met her husband and his employees, who all took books and made donations! Now the circle is complete, the whole family has Srila Prabhupada’s books. I am convinced that Krishna has a GRAND plan for this family – I mean he sent a whole Harinam Party after them, not once, not twice, but SO MANY times! 🙂 And His pure devotee’s books! He has accepted donations from them, and allowed them to serve the devotees with drinking water (in that hot weather, it is the most precious thing)… I can’t wait to see what Krishna unfolds in due course of time!
Also followed up with another contact I met a couple of years ago – her family attended one of the events at the Vaishnava Sanga!
I met a couple visiting Quebec from Brazil!
Many many souls took books, not only French, but also English. Very successful in reaffirming the magic of Sri Harinam to me!
A lady who accepted books 3 years ago in Shawinigan texted me excitedly “Hi Krishna das do you have Mahabharat in French?”. So I’m asking around.
Here are a few I remember from the other Sankirtan outings…
On Sri Krishna Janmashtami, I was almost exclusively at the book table, eagerly approaching visiting guests with our books, some took, some didn’t but so what, “next”! Our two little Sankirtan warriors, Govinda and Vitthal Bhakta wanted to distribute books too. And they did. Not only did they distribute books, but also collected handsome donations for Krishna. I was distressed to see these little children treated badly by a couple of guests who treated them as if they were some sort of street urchins begging for themselves! But they are small enough not to notice the insults, and happily and enthusiastically carried on. However, this drives home to me how careful we need to be to protect these little innocent devotees from nastiness (unlike some other Sankirtan warriors who did not get that kind of protection as children or vulnerable adults), so their Sankirtan outings need to be carefully planned and arranged so that they have happy childhood experiences of Sankirtan.
Get Spiritual Books
At the Janmashtami celebration of Sri Radha Shyamsunder close to Toronto, there was this one lady who wanted to begin the Bhagavatam but couldn’t commit to the full set. So she took the personal copy of teh first Canto copy Mother Sucaru! Mother Sucaru was in the midst of reading that particular copy, but she graciously allowed the distribution of her own copy… I had thought that the devotees could replenish, but apparently that big First Canto is not being printed at the moment! She reminded me of Srila Prabhupada who gave his personal copy away for distribution!
Devotees at a Book Table
Two sisters from Wales visited our booth, and said “cool, our Mum is a yoga teacher” and “she probably has tha’one and tha’one”, until suddenly one of them said “tha’one, tha’one I’d like to read”, and took a couple of books, made a donation. They also chanted Hare Krishna “no problem, we’ve chanted before”.
Abhishek was a gas station attendant, a bright young man from Nepal. This was at a gas station close to ISKCON Berkeley – New Jagannath Puri Dham. He didn’t know about this amazing temple! He told me he was reading Paramahamsa Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a yogi”. He said he’d read the Bhagavad Gita As It Is before, promised to read again, accepted a couple of books, and said “sometimes we follow this path, sometimes that path”. And then he acknowledged “without guru we cannot make spiritual advancement, so a group of us are looking for a genuine guru”. He gave me all the contact information and responded with a “Hare Krishna. Thank you very much”
David chanced upon us – on a bike with his toddler son, in Trinity Bellwoods, and was gracious enough to ask very intelligent questions, get a Bhagavad Gita and make a generous donation. He didn’t want to go further in terms of giving me contact details etc., but at least he has the Gita!
Krishna the gas station attendant at a Shell said “Hare Krishna” and pointed to his name badge. He didn’t know about the ISKCON of Silicon Valley, so I wrote down the address for him. He passed the book back to me saying “and your contact information also, in case I have questions”.
Syed, from Lahore, Pakistan had been chased out of a cushy job in Dubai after it was discovered that he was the wrong kind of Muslim – a Shia instead of a Sunni. He’s arrived just 5 months ago, and we could tell he was feeling the cold – with his car warmed up like an oven and togged up with a hoodie with the hood on inside that baking hot car today with 18C weather outside. We had a good philosophical conversation about how God is fair to all and no one sect has a monopoly on God. He had said he liked to cook, found it amazing that I liked to cook too, and accepted a Higher Taste, saying “I like vegetarian food”.
J, a colleague in California, has steadily accepted (and read) Srila Prabhupada’s books over the last couple of years. I started with Prasadam, and cookbooks, and now she has Devamrita Swami’s Hiding in Unnatural Happiness and the Bhagavad Gita As It is.
Bhagavad Gita As It Is
Wonderful Serendipitous meeeting with Book Distribution General Vijaya Prabhu – on our way to Los Angeles we stopped at Ahimsa Cafe for some Prasada. This is a restaurant run by Tukaram Prabhu and his wife, in Long Beach California. I was reluctant, but the family was eager… and as I parked the car and walked over, what do I see but Vijaya Prabhu relishing Prasada! I got some undeserved mercy from a very humble Vaishnava who was out distributing the Bhagavad Gita at the Long Beach College. I pray that I may be able to follow in his footsteps, and 10, 20, 30, more years from now always continue to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books, Srila Gurudeva’s books, my spiritual mentors’ books.
Vijaya Dasa Master Book Distributor & Inspirational Speaker
In Los Angeles lives a saint, His Holiness Amala Bhakta Swami. About 87 years of age, he doesn’t travel anymore, but is the prime example of “tirtham kurvanti tirthani”, for him, a picture of Sri Krishna is not just a picture, but directly Krishna. He took us around a tour of his Ashram, asking us “why would I need to go anyplace else”? He said his focus was on chanting and praying and purifying himself, and that he would preach in New Dvaraka but not leave those auspicious premises. He was extremely encouraging with my book distribution efforts. He told us about some of his early experiences, how he transitioned from a Hollywood actor to a Sadhu gradually, but with firm determination. Meeting him was a great highlight of my life, and when I distribute books, I do so in the hope of pleasing great souls such as him. He is one of the few, in addition to my spiritual master, who have taken the effort to actually correct me, caution me, warn me and guide me in the right direction. To these souls I remain grateful.
Amala Bhakta Swami, a modern-day saint
I’ve been writing this in bits and pieces for many days, actually over 3 weeks, but I fear that it is already too long and may tax you, dear devotee more, so even though I have a lot of amazing stories, they will have to wait for some other day.
My Sankirtan outings goal for 2019 is 108, and write about them all, and I now have 37 to go. Please bless me that I may humbly perform this service. I am very greedy for your blessings. In fact, I am 100% convinced that I can only go out on Harinam Sankirtan because of your blessings, because otherwise I am just a useless fool.
Praying to be always out on Harinam Sankirtan, or at least be in Harinam Sankirtan consciousness 24X7, this is my humble desire, though I must admit that unfortunate as I am, I still maintain all sorts of material attachments.
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
dasadas.com
Chaitanya Das, 05 October 2019,
Hare Krishna Prabhuji. Dandavat Pranam. Please accept my humble obeisances.
Thank you so much for sharing, hope one day i should also be able to do it, seeking your blessings Prabhuji.
your servant,
Chaitanya Das.
Rasika Krishna Das, 6 October 2019
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
Jaya!! All glories to your Sankirtan outings.
your servant,
Rasika Krishna Das
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 08 October 2019
Dear Chaitanya Prabhu,
Hare Krishna!
Thank you for your kind encouragement.
Why not let today be the day? Today you can give a book by Srila Prabhupada or Srila Gurudeva to one of your family members, friends, or colleagues. And if no one is around, then give to yourself, meaning, read to yourself 🙂 The power emanated by vibrating the contents of a pure devotee’s writings changes the world for the better. Please try it.
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
dasadas.com
Chaitanya Das, 08 October 2019
Hare Krishna Prabhu. Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you so much Prabhu, will do. Will read Srila Prabhupada’s books everyday and distribute whenever i can. Hare Krishna.
your servant,
Chaitanya Das
Tapas Chakraborty, 09 October 2019
Hare Krishna
Thanks for sharing the enormity of your involvement in spreading the Krishna conscious movement and experience which will benefit us immensely in our determination to progress with higher enthusiasm. We firmly believe setting targets will enable the resolve to reach greater heights of spiritual and transcendental knowledge.
With warm Regards
Tapas
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What is it with those who claim to have the one and only true eternal religion? And why do they spew hatred? Would you like to understand the origin of the western religious traditions?
Many Western Religions, that is religious traditions that originated in the Middle East, such as Islam and Christianity, claim to be the “One and Only Original True Religion”. I have had people tell me I’m going to hell because I’m not following their particular denomination.
You know, it is really sad to see one type of Muslim denouncing another type of Muslim (for example Shias and Sunnis), or one type of Christian denouncing another type of Christian… Is that not the fundamental anti-thesis of the life of Lord Jesus Christ? Did Prophet Mohammad teach hatred?
But when I converse with them about their own religious tradition, they descend into unreasonable hatred towards others very quickly without actually expressing any understanding about God Himself. I cannot accept that such a soul has any proper understanding of religion which means to re-connect.
So, when I do meet such a person, I follow this advice, and try to get away as soon as possible. What is the use of discussing politics when I want to discuss God?
Of course, there are the pious souls who follow a religious tradition just so they can use God as an order-supplier. For such souls, I strive to encourage them to go deeper into their own understanding of their own faith, so they can reach the essence of their tradition, at minimum, in this lifetime.
God is One without a second, and has absolutely no competition. I would accept your acceptance of your tradition as genuine if you actually know something about God and you actually love God, and by corollary, every single living entity. I could accept your acceptanc of your faith if you know yourself and if you are yourself, meaning, without external material designation.
Every genuine religion tradition has come into being because the great teacher, messenger of God, had something of value to share, and they had to share it in the particular time, place, and circumstances that they were in. Giving undue importance to the details originating from the specific time, place, and circumstance and losing the essence of the teaching is the pastime of fools.
So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement is, the starting point is, the spirit soul. And automatically, unless… In the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord said the sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: [Bg. 18.66] “You give up the so-called man-made duties or occupation or dharma. You just surrender unto Me.” So actually this is dharma, or religion, to surrender to God. God is one. He is neither Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian. God is one. If there is another God, then there is competition. God cannot be two. God is one. Eko brahma dvitīya nasti. That is the Vedic injunction. So God is one. So either you become Hindu or Muslim, the God is one. This is to be understood. So the science of God, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You try to understand scientifically what is meant by God, what is meant by religion. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s preaching. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. He begins His teaching on this principle, that every living being is eternal servant of God. That’s all. And this is religion. Religion does not mean stamping in different way. Religion means to know God the great and we are subordinate, maintained by God. This is religion. If anyone knows these two things only—God is great, and we are subordinate; our duty is to abide by the orders of God—that is religion. So unity can be established on the spiritual platform.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Recently, I came across this interesting article on the website of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on the Origin of Western Religion – it is worth a read!
Meditation? Don’t have the time? But do you realize you’re meditating all the time? What are you meditating on?
I am often out on the street, trying to engage souls in conversation about spirituality. Most ignore me, and I get, it, who wants to talk to a stranger in today’s paranoid times? Some even get angry with me, and make me stronger by trying to abuse me. But after years of practice, I don’t take this all personally.
As a messenger of God, my goal is to simply poll every soul I can to see if they are ready. One of my teachers, Vaisesika Dasa, taught me how to try my best to leave everyone with a good impression. So even though I have all sorts of stingers and retorts up my sleeve, I strive to practice humility instead.
But some souls do engage positively, some do take the message, they chant the mantra, or take a book, many even give me a heartfelt donation to help continue the work. It is another thing that we don’t need the money – I am a successful professional in the corporate world, I can afford to give out all those books, all my time and energy, for free… but we do take a donation to help the other soul begin / continue their service to the spiritual cause.
One of the most common responses I get to “Hey, have you ever tried meditation”, is “No time to meditate”, or “I’m too busy for that”, or “I have tried, but I just can’t meditate”. But what most fail to realize is that everyone meditates.
Everyone meditates all the time!
The question is, what do we meditate on? Some of us meditate on the past, some meditate on some imagined future, pleasant or otherwise. Some of us meditate on objects, and some of us on certain sensory experiences.
But meditation on these is pointless and does not give us much benefit. Any benefit, for example, from meditating on conquering the world is temporary because one’s present life is temporary. Meditation on sensory experiences is also futile because such meditation gives no satisfaction, but increases hankering. Meditating on objects is unsatisfying too.
In fact, this is what the Bhagavad Gita says about meditation on the non-spiritual…
While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.
From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.
And, unfortunately, everyone who does not specifically, intentionally meditate on something non-material, something spiritual, ends up feeling increasingly dissatisfied, having to resort to wanton sense gratification, intoxication, and different forms of violence. And this is a cycle, which is how we see most souls in older bodies continually grumpy, continually snarky, perennially dissatisfied.
The mind is like a depression on the ground where there is a lot of water – the ditch collects water, and the mind collects thoughts, feelings, and the intents to act. Every single impression is stored somewhere in the mind. And by mind, I don’t mean the “brain” but something more subtle, that is manifested as those synapses and neurons and so on (more on this some other time).
But there is a mediation that takes us out of that negative cycle, that connects us to a source of sublime pleasure that is non-material, pleasure that ever-increases, pleasure that time, distance or anyone else can take away. Purely spiritual, and ever-increasing, this pleasure is endlessly deep, and endlessly delicious, with no sense of boredom and no lack of variety.
When I go out on the street, it is that pleasure that I wish to share with others, some are ready, some are not, and for everyone who is ready, it is a journey.
Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.
In School, we studied this poem. It struck me then, and it strikes me now, and has ended up being among my all-time favourites…
I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert… near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Ozymandias, by Percy Shelley
This is the fate of anyone trying to leave behind a material legacy. Time spares none, and no material result is more permanent than a sand-castle at the beach. Not any amount of money, not any building, not any organization.
Time is an impersonal expansion of God, and is thus insurmountable by anyone except the pure lover of God. Such a pure hearted soul, even if externally in the material realm, lives in the eternal ever-present, with no past, no future, simply the eternal ever-present. Such a person experiences no hankering, sorrow, no anxiety, and no despair whatsoever.
However, in the material realm, for those in material consciousness, time is insurmountable. All talk of transcending time is just childish babbling. Time, in the material realm can never be transcended.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pāṇḍavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.
Time is understood as an impersonal expansion of God.
No matter how powerful someone may be in the material realm, they cannot stand the test of time. In the material world, as I heard a wonderful devotee named Govind Dasa say recently, “even incarnations of God are forgotten with time, what to speak of us”. Time is the greatest of all subduers.
Bg. 10.30 प्रह्लादश्चास्मि दैत्यानां कालः कलयतामहम् । मृगाणां च मृगेन्द्रोऽहं वैनतेयश्च पक्षिणाम् ॥ १०.३० ॥ prahlādaś cāsmi daityānāṁ kālaḥ kalayatām aham mṛgāṇāṁ ca mṛgendro ’haṁ vainateyaś ca pakṣiṇām Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa.
And this is why we cannot understand time. We can only understand that which is inferior to us. In order to solve a problem, one has to be higher than that problem, whether it be with physical force, or mental ability.
Some intricate mathematical or philosophical concepts are beyond the grasp of untrained or incapable minds. Taxes are beyond the control of most humans. Death is beyond the control all living entities. And time, time is beyond all of us.
Is there anything at all that stands the test of time?
Bg. 14.2 इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः । सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च ॥ १४.२ ॥ By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own. Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation or disturbed at the time of dissolution.
After acquiring perfect transcendental knowledge, one acquires qualitative equality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, becoming free from the repetition of birth and death.
We learn from the Sastras that because of our past deeds in the spiritual world we, as spirit souls, have obtained this material body and have been put into the material world. Do the Sastras say when and how the conditioned souls accepted the material body?
your eternal servant
Sanjeev
Ashutosh Pandey, 13th September 2011
Hare Krsna!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
We have been captured in this material world since time immemorial….even if someone tells you your exact date of entry into this material world…. how is it going to help you?? What benefit will you get from this information?? Is it going to bring back your forgotten relationship with Krsna without following what others devotees are following??
More intelligent approach is that now you have realised or say know, you are entangled into this material world because of your own sins against Lord Krsna, better accept fault, get surrendered, approach a bonafide guru, follow the instructions and devote this life to serve the Vaishnavas……you have already taken millions and millions of birth for sense gratification..just devote one life for Krsna….
Even though to quench your inquisitiveness: Shastras are meant for God realisation and hence they mention those characters from whose life one can learn a lot to progress in spirituality. Even if one talks about the day he entered into this material world, the time is not going to be same for every one.
Hope this answers your question
your servant,
Ashutosh
Uddhava Presta Das, 13th September 2011
Hare Krsna
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga
An apt answer….
your servant,
uddhava presta das
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 13th September 2011
Hare Krishna Sanjeev Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Prabhu, your question is valid, and it is a nice question also. Ashutosh Prabhu is right that it is not useful to know when exactly.
However, in the spirit of understanding things as they are as per Guru and Shastra, here are a few points to add to Ashutosh Prabhu’s explanation.
Srila Gurudeva has written on this topic also, please read here – switch to the Q&A section – I am not quoting because it is lengthy:
1. In the spiritual world, time is eternal also, but not like in the material world, in spiritual world, there is no concept of “passing away” – this is mentioned in Brahma Samhita also, Tirtharaja Prabhu had posted on another thread…
“…where there is eternal existence of transcendental time, who is ever present and without past or future and hence is not subject to the quality of passing away even for the duration of half a moment….”
2. In the material world, there is a start and finish to everything, and being materially conditioned, we cannot imagine timelessness. So we want to know, when, where, etc. It is out of scope for us, unless we are spiritually advanced. Mundane example is that it is like an ant trying to imagine the extent of our roads and railways and airways and shipping routes.
3. We have been coming and going higher and lower, on different planets, different universes, different bodies, since time immemorial… in other words, practically we have been here so long that it is more than 1000, 10,000, million, billion years. For example, it is said that every living entity starts off as Brahma in a particular universe… one day of Lord Brahma lasts 4.32 billion of our years. Lord Brahma lives for 100 of such years. It is just totally inconceivable for us, right?
4. We have been on and off in 8.4 different million species over and over again.
5. In this lifetime, we have the mercy of Guru and Krishna and have received the seed of Bhakti which has been planted in our heart.
brahmānda bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-krsna-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
“”According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.” CC Madhya 19.151
I hope this helps. Please let us know if there are any questions, this is a nice topic and should be understood thoroughly. Just the endeavour to understand helps us to advance spiritually, whether we actually understand or not.
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
Sanjeev, 13th September 2011
Hare Krsna,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Praphupada.
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga.
Many Thanks for the very intuituive answers from Mahabhagavat Das Prabhu and Ashutosh Prabhu. This forum is so spiritually enlivening.
May Krsna bless this forum. Hari Bol.
Adding a thread to this question, if the living entity by the process of bhakti yoga gets a second chance to go back to Godhead, will the living entity have learnt his lessons or is there any chance for him to again rebel against the authority of the Supreme Lord and will want to try to enjoy outside his relationship with the Lord once more – meaning coming back to the material world? Will this not then mean that there is no guarantee that the living entity will stay eternally in the spiritual world – it will all depend on his actions there also?
Please forgive my ignorance.
your eternal servant
Sanjeev
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 13th September 2011
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you for the appreciation. Actually you are making it so nice with your sincere desire to learn and share. Our mission is to know Krishna and make Him known, and this is best done if as many as possible individuals learn properly from bona fide sources and then go out there and teach in words and deeds.
On Friday 31 Oct 2008, Srila Sankarshan Das Adhikari wrote:
“Once having tasted the miseries of this material world and then having regained your original position in the spiritual world you will not make the same mistake twice. Once burned, twice shy. You will not come here again. So now take your human form of life seriously and finish up your business once and for all.”
Then again on 2 Aug 2009, he wrote:
“All of us here in this material world were originally with Krishna in the spiritual world serving Him as His devotees. By misuse of our minute independence we fell down into the cycle of birth and death. Just as it is sometimes said, “Once burned, twice shy,” if we realize our mistake and go back to Godhead, we will not make the same mistake twice. Of course, since we have free will eternally we could fall a second time. But who would stick their hand in the fire a second time after already being burned once?”
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
Vishal, 13th September 2011
Hare Krsna,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Praphupada.
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga.
Very philosophical answer. The quotes from Srila Gurudeva are indeed very deep thinking. No doubt this forum is helping, I am sure, everybody to learn a lot.
I read a quote from Srila Praphupada (Hawaii, 1969) where he said that in this age of Kali, it is more important to create devotees than to construct temples. So your comments are very valid Praphu – we should learn from bona fide sources before being able to teach others as recommended by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprahu.
Hari Bol
Your eternal servant
Sanjeev
Bhaktarupa Das, 14th September 2011
Dear Mahabhagavat prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeissances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you very much for reminding Srila Gurudeva’s wonderful thought for the day. Infact this reminded me of Srila Gurudeva’s another amazing Thought for the Day titled – “Time Went Backwards” published on Friday 2 January 2009.
Today on 31 December 2008 I arrived in Santiago, Chile at 12:55pm flying in from Auckland, New Zealand. The most amazing thing about this journey was that I left Auckland at 5:25pm on 31 December 2008, which is 5 1/2 hours after I arrived in Santiago. I arrived in Santiago before I left Auckland. In other words time went backwards. If I told this to someone who is not familiar with what happens when one crosses the international date line, he would think that I had lost my marbles, that I was crazy. Crossing the international dateline always does uncanny things to one’s calendar no matter which way he crosses it.
There is another crossing point known as the Viraja River, which is the crossing point between the spiritual and material worlds. It acts in ways that are even more amazing and inconceivable than the international date line. On one side of the Viraja, the material side, is the realm of past, present, and future. And on the other side of the Viraja, the spiritual side, there exists the realm of timelessness, described as follows by Srila Prabhupada:
“In the transcendental realm there is no creation and no destruction, and thus the duration of life is eternal unlimitedly. In other words, everything in the transcendental world is everlasting, full of knowledge and bliss without deterioration. Since there is no deterioration, there is no past, present and future in the estimation of time. It is clearly stated in this verse that the influence of time is conspicuous by its absence.”
This means that even though we fell from the spiritual world into the material world (due to our envy of the Lord) because there is no time in the spiritual world there is no time that we fell into this material world. And when we become purified by the process of Krishna consciousness and reawaken our original love for the Supreme Lord there will be no time when we returned. We will always have been there.
Just as time goes backwards when one crosses the international date line from Auckland to Santiago, time also goes backwards when the jiva crosses the Viraja on his return trip back to home, back to Godhead. Time will go back to that moment when he fell from the spiritual sky. In other words, he will never have fallen. This is why it is sometimes said that no one falls from the spiritual world even though countless numbers of jivas have fallen into this material existence due to misuse of their minute independence by desiring to take the position of being the center of existence.
Some may argue that time cannot go backwards. But if the Lord has true supremacy over everything within existence, He must have the power to fast forward, rewind, or freeze time. And he can do it differently for each individual person. It’s not that everybody has to be on the same program. This is why some souls exist in the timeless spiritual realm as nitya-siddhas, eternally liberated souls, and some souls exist in the material realm of past, present, and future as nitya-baddhas, eternally conditioned souls.
unquote.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
I had these type of questions in my heart unanswered for a long time. But when I started subscribing to Srila Gurudeva’s emails, all these questions were answered convincingly without me even having to ask them.
Hare Krishna,
your servant,
Bhaktarupa das
Rahul Mangla, 14th September 2011
Hare Krishna,
What a wonderful explaination by Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari Maharaj. I suppose this should clear all doubts.
Hari Bol,
Rahul
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