Our first step in our thousand-mile spiritual journey

Every living being especially humans have two natures (1) spiritual nature (2) material nature. Spiritual nature and material nature are completely independent of each other yet co-exist. Material nature is time sensitive and is created from material elements. The human body for example is a combination of these time sensitive elements. A person’s character, way of speaking, dressing, walking, and general beliefs is primarily influenced by the society he or she lives. This society in turn is formed over time by human beings. There is a symbiotic relationship between man and his surroundings and both influence each other constantly. Therefore, we have to intellectually appreciate the difference between the true self and the externally influenced self. Typically, we merge the two.

The externally influenced self is constantly changing and we should learn to see ourselves separate from it. Whereas the internal true self which does not change is our real self or identity. This non-changing self is spiritual and the changing self is material. When we slow down our life and step back from our externally influenced changing self, we will realize the existence of a non-changing self. In order to step back from the changing self, we need to practice the art of careful dissociation from the changing external agents such as our physical body/mind, family, children, wealth, career and in that moment of dissociation meditate on the non-changing identity of our self.

This is our first step in our thousand-mile spiritual journey!

Hare Krishna

2016 Sadhu Sanga Retreat

Last weekend I was in North Carolina, in the picturesque setting of Whispering Hills, Boone County. It was a memorable time as we engaged in constantly glorifying the Lord from morning to night in sankirtan. Although physically tiring, spiritually enlivening. I was told around 1500 devotees assembled for the retreat. I took some videos using my iphone.

 







Hare Krishna

Increasing one's faith

Yena tena prakarena Krishna nivashiyet, somehow or other become Krishna conscious. This principle in many ways was the guiding principle for Srila Prabhupada's Hare Krishna movement. This principle was given some 500 years ago by Srila Rupa Goswami - that somehow we must find ways to induce our consciousness of God or Krishna.

If we look at this phrase deeper, we will learn that it requires faith upon Krishna or God to be conscious of Him. To the degree one has faith, to that degree, one will be conscious of Krishna at all times. This is the basic idea. So who ever is giving Krishna upadesh (instructions), the sole purpose is simply to induce or strengthen one's faith upon God or Krishna (according to time and circumstance). When faith in God grows nicely, all problems will be solved.

Hare Krishna

Narasimha Bhagavan ki jay!

Today is the most auspicious appearance of Lord Narasimha Bhagavan who mercifully came just to protect His five year old devotee Prahalada. On this day, I fervently pray at His divine Lotus feet of the Lord to remove all obstacles that is in my heart causing me to be distant from the Lord. Haribol!

oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya
namas tejas-tejase āvir-āvirbhava
vajra-nakha vajra-daṁṣṭra karmāśayān randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa om svāhā;
abhayam abhayam ātmani bhūyiṣṭhā oṁ kṣraum.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possess nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demon like desires for fruitive (selfish) activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world. - SB 5.18.8

Hare Krishna

Duality of truth and falsehood

We read so many things on the internet, on TV, the news etc. Some are true, some are false. That which is false, we can outright reject it. The problem is the admixture information that is a cocktail of truth mixed with falsehood. Of course, any admixture automatically should be considered completely false provided we are able to verify its veracity. In reality, it is very difficult to verify falsified truths and it is these falsehoods in the garb of truths spread through mainstream media and the internet that is causing sectarianism in the world today. We have sectarianism in the name of religion, politics, country, sports, race, culture, caste etc etc.

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that when we rise above the mundane truths and falsehoods and its admixtures (that arise from our desire to seek it or hate it), only, can we understand God. So it is important we do not spend too much time trying to support or reject fallible soldiers of today who promise a hopeful future. In the ordinary daily sense of things, we do the needful not getting too worked up about trying to make our world perfect but instead focus our energy internally trying to always remain in consciousness of Krishna or God under all circumstances. As we seek Krishna, we shall find Him.

Hare Krishna

Instrument of previous acharyas

The author of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work. That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. We should never think of ourselves as great preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to the previous ācāryas, and simply by following in their footsteps we may be able to do something for the benefit of suffering humanity.

- Introduction Nectar of Devotion by Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krishna

Srila Prabhupada's mercy

We were on an airplane from Mexico City to Caracas and Prabhupada started taking his puffed rice, puffed rice and peanuts. He ate for about 10 minutes or so, and then he just looked and said, "OK." So I moved the puffed rice over and I gave half to Paramahamsa, the other half I had in front of me. After a few minutes, there was this stewardess, she was walking down the aisle and she stops right in front of us and she reached over, put her hand in my plate and grabbed a handful of puffed rice and threw it in her mouth. She says, "Oh, this is wonderful. What is it?" I said, "Puffed rice." She said, "Why are you eating this?" I said, "We have our own diet and we're vegetarian." She said, "Oh, is there anything else I can get you?" I looked at Prabhupada and he looked at me, he said, "Hot milk." She said, "Fine." So after about 10 minutes she comes back with three plates. She left and I turned to Prabhupada, I said, "Prabhupada, that's amazing, isn't it?" Prabhupada said, "No, women, they have a natural propensity to serve." Of course, I was thinking it was amazing that she took Prabhupada's mahaprasadam right off of my plate. Somehow or other, she got what all of us were mad after was Prabhupada's remnants. So when I travel, it's always one of my favorite stories.

One day I was giving class and I told this story, and after class a devotee boy came up to me and he said, "That's an amazing story. Can I tell you a sankirtan story?" I said, "Yes." He said, "We would go out to the villages far from all the cities in Brazil in different places. You have to go by four-wheel drive. One day we were in the rain forest really far away from everywhere, and we found this village and we did our Harinam. Then we began going door to door to distribute books. Then I went to this one house and I knocked on the door and a woman answered and tried to distribute books. As soon as she saw me, I was in dhoti and kurta, and she invited me in. I went in, and I started seeing that there were pictures of Krishna on the wall and she had an altar, she had Deities," and he was so surprised. Then he said, "You're a devotee," and she said, "Yes, yes. It's so wonderful to see a devotee here." And he said, "How did you become a devotee?" She said, "Well, the first time I met devotees was I met Prabhupada on an airplane. I was a stewardess." So this was the woman, it was 10 years later from that time after she took the mahaprasadam. Then she met devotees again and got a book and that was it. That was the beginning of her spiritual life. Just seeing what Prabhupada has done, it's mind-boggling to understand how Prabhupada has made devotees, and it just goes on and on.

 -Srutakirti das (Srila Prabhupada secretary)
-From "Following Srila Prabhupada - Rememberances" ISKCON Cinema