Dear Srila Prabhupada...an offering

Dear Srila Prabhupada

Please accept my most humble obeisance.
All glories unto your lotus feet.
All glories to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna

Today is the most auspicious day for individuals who seek a spiritual way of life. This not only includes sincere followers of Srimad Bhagavatam or Bhagavad Gita but also individuals who think beyond this material creation. Indeed, today is your holy appearance day where you advented in the year 1896 for dispelling darkness and initiating the Sankirtan movement at a worldwide level.

The glories of your Divine Grace cannot be summed up in a letter or few paragraphs; in fact, I think it is beyond the confines of words and modern day communication. It is beyond this material creation. Your glories span the entire cosmos just as the million headed Anantha Sesa glorifies the Lord everyday differently. Personally, I have no material or spiritual qualification to glorify you as I am yet to realize your greatness in truth. I am not sure I will ever have the qualification to glorify you in any form or substance. However, it is my pleasure and privilege that I have been given the rarest opportunity to come in contact with your books via Bhagavad Gita (primarily) and that you give me the intelligence to understand its importance. Honestly, I am still bedazzled by your rendition of the Bhagavad Gita so much so that I am still practicing Krishna Consciousness even after years of struggle. How you have captured the depth and at the same time the clarity in a simplistic tone has attracted my heart and want to surrender to the Supreme Absolute Truth. It is clear from the pages of the Gita, as I remember reading it in 1998 that here is a special someone who is writing about a special someone and I happen to open a treasure house of spiritual knowledge. I sincerely thank you for opening up the doors to eternity. It is now, up to me, to tread its path sincerely, and diligently. I pray at your lotus feet that you catch me by my fingers and lead me the way for I have too my material desires that surely will distract me from the path.

I hold your appearance day as the best day of the year because I feel that you are the most compassionate and loving person and remembering such a loving person brings joy to my heart. Even in your chastisement of devotees, I only see your love for the fallen souls. I am attracted towards your compassion and love. In fact, I am one of the beneficiaries of your compassion and love. It is a normal practice that we offer something to the people we adore or love on special days such as “appearance” days. Unfortunately, I am a miser in that regard for I do not have much to offer. In the past year, I have had many ups and downs in life and in all of it somehow I have been managing to stay above water level spiritually speaking. I personally take it that it is your causeless mercy that I am able to stay afloat. I also take it that Krishna is the Supreme Controller who is the Master Orchestrator of all that was, to be and will become.

Srila Prabhupada, you are many things for many people. For me, you will always be the person who showed your love to me without expecting anything in return. You simply wanted my welfare. Indeed you were my true “ever well wisher”. Thank you for making those words true in my life by taking care of me by giving the appropriate guidance and spiritual solace through your books. Thank you for taking the tireless task of spending sleepless nights writing the Srimad Bhagavatam and other books simply for the welfare of modern man. Your sacrifice has helped me re-model my life and help me become a better person. I wish, hope and pray to the Supreme Absolute Truth that I be a small instrument (as you see fit) in your mission.

Otherwise, I have no other desire. Please engage me as your servant of your servant. Please help me to cultivate the appropriate qualities necessary to be your befitting student and instrument of will.

Thank you for your undeserving love.

Always desiring to be your menial servant now and forever.

Hare Krishna

The only way

1. The only purpose of human form of life is purification
2. The only way to get purified is when Krishna is pleased with us
3. The only way to please Krishna is to please Guru (Yasya prasadad Bhagavat ........)
4. The only way to please Guru is to follow his instruction.
5. The only way by which we get determination to follow Guru's instructions is to follow his first and foremost instruction " Wake up early in the morning and chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra".

This is the only process recommended in the 14 planetary system to perfect our lives.

-H.H.Radhanath Swami

Hare Krishna

Soul generated by Love

Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

Although as aspiring Vaishnava, we do not aspire for greatness but to remain meek and humble in service! But I thought the quote struck a chord for me!

Hare Krishna

Bhaktivedanta Hospice

I sincerely pray to Krishna that the these souls go back home back to Godhead. Dying can be a painful process and care is necessary so these souls leave their bodies in a comfortable way. My respects to all the doctors, nurses and volunteers who are doing a grave job of taking care of dying patients. Only faith in Krishna can give us strength and support during those difficult moments. I pray to Krishna to give me the strength when my time comes or when I see my friends and relatives pass away!

Hare Krishna

2 minutes of wisdom with Radhanath Swami

Why is Srila Prabhupada special?

Why is Srila Prabhupada special, at least to me?

Prabhupada is famous for his literary works, his trips around the world and the worldwide movement he initiated and is running. If we look at history and its myriad great personalities, there are many who are famous for their literature and famous for trips around the world. In the spiritual lineage there are many spiritual masters giving Krishna in different capacities. So why then is Prabhupada so special?

To me, Srila Prabhupada is the epitome of compassion. As the Founder Acharya of a worldwide movement, he may have accomplished many things; however the singular point that differentiates Prabhupada from others is his immense compassion to the fallen souls of this world. I have not seen or come across any with such compassion to somehow help others in need.

It is true that he decided to come to the west because of his spiritual master. However, Srila Prabhupada endeavored so hard despite repeated failures because he was motivated by compassion. He could have come to the west and left having tried to fulfill his spiritual master’s words but he chose to continue seeing the plight of the modern world. In his ripe old age, he travelled, wrote books, opened centers and managed neophyte disciples just so people benefit and not suffer forever. This desire that everyone should be happy free from suffering makes Srila Prabhupada who he is. It is this compassion that sets him apart and puts him in a high pedestal than other teachers of Vedanta.

I have not seen anyone or heard of anyone who genuinely shed tears for the fallen souls of this world without any expectations. This one statement sums it all up Srila Prabhupada writes in his book that if at least one person becomes a pure devotee of the Lord, he would have considered his mission successful. For this one devotee, Prabhupada crossed oceans risking his life and endured lot of hardships…such was his compassion!

To such a magnanimous and compassionate soul, I offer my respectful obeisance.

Hare Krishna.

don't get worked up about material life?

Don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order. There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same is with life where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One thing about nurturing the spark - don't take (material) life seriously. (material) life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up?

It’s ok, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, enjoy with your friends, fall in love, little fights with your loved ones. We are people, not programmed devices.

Don’t be serious, be sincere

- Chetan Bhagat (author)