i was humbled...

Today was like any other day at least that’s what I thought. I got up, chanted a few rounds, cooked and off to work! Little did I know Krishna had a lesson to teach? My gas-tank reader showed 10% gas and so I thought I could make it to work without a problem. My wife might have figured what I am going to write because I did this before too. I never learn. I have to drive approximately 40 miles one way to get to work. I am in the 39th mile and have to take a couple of turns from the main road. I am the first car in a signal and as I am slowing my car towards the signal, my car without my permission comes to a standstill and….dead!

I could not believe this was happening as it was freezing out (20 deg Fahrenheit) and after a 2 sec pause I figured what was happening. I ran out of gas and am right at front of the line in a signal. But I was lucky the car had some momentum so I could tow it to the left a little, away from the traffic. I still had to go a distance, up a small hill, a stop sign, through a college campus and then finally to my office parking lot. I figured no matter how hard I try which I did I had to face reality, I am stuck in the middle of the road and had to walk close to a mile to a gas station. I always pitied stranded cars and always wondered why people stop in the middle of a highway or road?...don’t they not use reliable vehicles? Well…I got my answer today, reliable or not reliable; there is one thing every good, bad, ugly cars require, it is ….GAS!! Isn’t this why Bush is in Iraq? Anyways, that is a different conversation.

With all these thoughts running in my mind, I immediately got down out of the car not knowing what to do. The bad thing is my car got stranded right in the middle of a 4 way intersection and I was worried if I had to stay there physically to redirect traffic. All this in 20 degree weather? To be honest…I was flustered a bit as I did not know the traffic and legal protocols in leaving my car behind while I walked to the gas station (in freezing weather by the way). I turned the danger lights on and got out of the car, turned around and who do I see? I guess this is what it means, when we surrender to Krishna, He will back us up no matter what. I could not believe my eyes but the next car behind me was my friend and co-worker. She saw me coming out of the car with the danger lights on and she stopped her car ready to offer me help. I asked her what to do and she helped me. We went to the gas station, bought a gas can, filled the can with 1 gallon gas and after some difficulty refilled my tank. In all of this, I had to stand out for 5 -10 mins and my fingers froze in spite of my gloves. I thanked Krishna for the timely help and I thanked my friend and went to a meeting 10 mins late.

If you guys are wondering why I had to drive 40 miles before I filled my tank….because I could save 15cents…that’s why! Anyways, I learned my lesson and from now on I will scout for a gas station that pays 15 cents less and not drive 40 miles for it! Just kidding…I will pay whatever it takes and not run out of gas.

The point of it all is I felt humbled by God-Krishna. We are so proud of our accomplishments and modern technological advancements. No matter how advanced (technology wise) a vehicle may be, it still needs petroleum that comes from earth that is created by Krishna. If it runs on battery, it still needs electricity which is also a product of nature. No matter what we do, without the help of Mother Nature, we will be doomed to the stone-age. Yet we are so proud without giving due credit and payments to the right place. Krishna has shown me that without him…not a blade of grass moves.

On a more personal level, my friend backing me showed me how tolerant and humble I should be towards non-devotees. Normally, I try to be tolerant and compassionate but since I am on the material platform, that tolerance and compassion runs out as it is not spiritual. What I am trying to say is I don’t see everyone and everything as part of Krishna and hence judge people some times. Though I try hard, I still judge because I feel I am doing something “better” and they are not. The person who helped me is a non-devotee and yet she helped me without judging me and without her help, things would have been very difficult for me. If I think I am better than everyone just because I am chanting some rounds like a parrot, then I am no better than a burdened ass (not knowing the essence of spiritual life). I am still on the plane of duality (I am better and you are lower). Krishna wants us to come under His spiritual energy which is on the absolute plane and till I come to that plane I will be going up and down the modes of nature. The only way I can get out of the modes of nature is by following this;

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo 'si me

Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend. -
BG Chapter 18 text 65

Big Service and Sincere Service

Do we have to do something "big" to please Srila Prabhupada? Prabhupada himself always tried to do big things to please his spiritual master and wanted us to do significant service also. He coaxed and pushed us to do big things in Krsna's service, and was pleased when any of his disciples made solid achievements. But most of all Srila Prabhupada wanted us to be pure devotees. When asked what pleased him most, Prabhupada replied, "If you love Krsna." To chant the holy name of Krsna in complete purity even once is the perfection of life. And commenting on Isvara Puri's gratefulness to Lord Caitanya for developing pure love of God, Srila Prabhupada wrote:

"The spiritual master is not actually happy if the disciple brings him money, but when he sees that a disciple is following the regulative principles and advancing in spiritual life, he is very glad and feels obliged to such an advanced disciple." (Cc Adi 7.91)

Srila Prabhupada was pleased with his big-achiever disciples, but he was also pleased whenever a devotee cooked a nice offering for Krsna, chanted Hare Krsna nicely, or brought up children carefully in Krsna consciousness. The conclusion is that although Prabhupada wanted his disciples to do big things in Krsna's service -- without which this movement could not have spread as it did -- he was also satisfied with sincere service rendered in any capacity. Not everyone can perform spectacular service, but anyone can perform sincere service.

Of course, this should not be taken as an excuse to serve with less than full capacity. Srila Prabhupada was expert in bringing out the best in everyone and getting devotees to do things which they had never imagined they could. He pushed us beyond what we thought were our limits and thus proved that devotional service is unlimited. Jaya Srila Prabhupada!


- From the "Jaya Srila Prabhupada!" by HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami

the building never sleeps...

I dropped off my wife early this morning around 5.15am at her college and she passed a comment looking at the building. She said "this building never sleeps", something similar to the slogan "the city never sleeps". This phrase stuck in my head for some reason. What my wife meant was that people were constantly using this building and hence always active.

But what actually is active, is it the external body or the internal soul that makes matter active? Krishna says to Arjuna in chapter 3 text 5 of the Bhagavad Gita,

na hi kascit ksanam api
jatu tisthaty akarma-krt
karyate hy avasah karma
sarvah prakrti-jair gunaih

All men are
forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.

Srila Prabhupada’s purport
It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Krsna consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy. In contact with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed duties enjoined in the sastras

So it is actually the soul that attracts our minds and not inert matter. We run behind this illusion of matter thinking it will satisfy our mind and senses but in reality we are actually desiring the association of the soul since we seek life and not dead matter and the Supreme Soul is Lord Krishna who is patiently waiting for us to engage us in His loving devotional service in Goloka.

My wife made me do this!

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.

nama om vishnu-padaya
krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
shrimate Radhanath
svamin iti namine

nama om vishnu-padaya
krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
shrimate Bhaktivedanta-
svamin iti namine

shri-krishna-caitanya
prabhu nityananda
shri-advaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

My wife made me do this! Though i never intended to start a blog of any sort, blogging has become all too easy now days. I like to write and thought why shouldn't i blog. So to all the Krishna bloggers out there, please bless this infant blogger in my attempt to write something about Krishna Consciousness.

Talk about impuslive decision making, i made this decision to blog in 2 mins and posted in 5.

Hare Krishna to one and all!