Inconceivable, but not Incoherent

The inadequacy of Mayavada
The completeness of Achintya-Bhed-Abheda

(Srila Prabhupada makes a point!)

Hare Krishna!

My analytical mind engages me in philosophical wrangling time and again. Unanswered, or unsatisfactorily answered, philosophical questions constantly nag me, and my mind becomes hyperactive in search of answers. As is quite unsurprising, I had the most difficult time with the questions regarding Mayavada – the last snare of Maya. Lord Chaitanya has warned us against listening to Mayavada philosophy. It is poison. It is spiritual suicide.

My difficulties were not that the Mayavada philosophy might be true, because it seems quite obvious to me that it is false. Saying that everyone or everything is God is another way of saying that there is no God. Further, clearly everything is not “One” since my thoughts and my neighbour’s thoughts are different. If both us were same, then everything about us would be the same, including thoughts, actions, likes, dislikes, and so on… Therefore, it was quite clear to me that a philosophy suggesting such a “One”ness is quite inadequate to explain things that happen all around me and no sane man will think twice about it.

But my difficulties arose when I found that somehow this seemingly inadequate philosophy is all over the place! It is almost ingrained in the society and in the scholarly and so-called spiritual literature. I was quite disturbed. How can such a philosophy gain acceptance? And if it has, what is the underlying philosophy? Is it a coherent philosophy? How does it explain everything using the clearly inadequate concept of the absolute undifferentiated un-variegated “One”ness?

Though the philosophical wrangling still goes on in my mind about Mayavada, the mental agitation has more or less vanished. That was because of the mercy of H. G. RadheShyam Prabhu (Temple President, ISKCON Pune). In a brief standing meeting he told me the reason for the mental agitation. “Because we are not immersed in Shaastra”, he told me. “Have you read all Srila Prabhupada Books with purports? Once you do that, all your questions will be answered.” From that day, I have never felt agitated because of philosophical doubts. H. G. RadheShyam Prabhu has filled me with the confidence that Srila Prabhupada’s books have the answers to all questions.

That taken care of, over a period of time I have understood that the Mayavada philosophy is indeed quite incoherent and full of internal inconsistencies. Its essential concept of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One”ness is violated time and again as it tries to explain the obvious variety in the creation. Either the indivisibility is violated, or the complete purity and supremacy is violated. And when the philosophy is confronted with questions whose answers violate the essential concept of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One”ness, it takes shelter of its classic “brahma satya, jagat mithya (only Brahman is Truth, this world is false) cover up. But how did the part of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme Brahman become covered up by ignorance? How can the indivisible be divided into parts? And how can the completely pure supreme become covered up by ignorance? The answer – “Oh.. brahma satya, jagat mithya… its false, don’t worry about it…” So, what is false? Either the concept of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One”ness is false, or the explanation that they give about “”part” of Brahman gets covered by “ignorance”” is false. This is a classic inconsistency in the Mayavada philosophy for which the only answer we can expect from it is “brahma satya, jagat mithya”. Sounds philosophical, but its not philosophy. Its word jugglery.

(Lord Chaitanya transforms the Mayavadis of Varanasi into Vaishnavas!)

On the other hand, Lord Chaitanya's philosophy of “achintya bhed-abheda” suffers from no inconsistencies. The philosophy is that of “simultaneous, inconceivable oneness and difference” between the Lord and His energies. The absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One” is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Everything animate and inanimate emanates from Him and therefore it’s His energy. In this sense, everything is God. Everything is One. But, that’s not all. The energies of the Lord are simultaneously also ‘not the Lord’. This is not a contradiction. Srila Prabhupada gives so many analogies. The classic ones are a) that the sun and the sunlight are simultaneously one and different, and b) that the cow and her milk is simultaneously one and different. The cow’s milk is a separated energy of the cow. The simultaneous oneness and difference is even more evident when we consider that the qualities of the part-and-parcel living entities are same as that of the Lord. Those qualities are the sat-chit-anand qualities. And most strikingly, the living entities have their own minute free will as well! The Lord has supremely free will, and the living entities have minute free will. So this is sameness. But each living entity can use the free will freely independent of another living entity’s free will. This is a clear example of difference. Simultaneous sameness and difference. Not very difficult to understand actually, once Srila Prabhupada explains it in an easily understandable way. So, how did the “parts” of the Supreme Lord come about if He is indivisible? Well, they didn’t come about at a particular point in time. They were always separated energies of the Lord. Only that the nature of this energy is spiritual and not material as in the example of the cow’s milk. The Lord has two kinds of separated energies, spiritual and material. The living entities are part of His spiritual energies. Therefore, just like the Lord, being spiritual living entities, they are also indivisible! But the living entities are eternally separated energies, they did not break away from the Supreme Lord at some point in time. Similarly, the material energy is also His separated energy, eternally separated from Him, though He is the source of both the spiritual and the material energies. Lord Krishna clearly mentions this in the Bhagavad Gita that though He is the source of all that be, He is still aloof. The living entity, since it has its own minute free will, can choose to enjoy independently of Krishna, and therefore can come under the influence of illusion, thinking itself to be the master. However, the Lord Himself can never come under the influence of illusion since He is source and controller of the illusory energy as well. Thus, though the Lord and the living entities are same in so many ways (free will, indivisible, etc.), there is still so much difference (energetic vs. energy, controller vs. controlled, source vs. emanations from the source). Simultaneous inconceivable sameness and difference!

Phew! These are the inconceivable potencies of the Supreme Lord Krishna. But, note that the explanation is not incoherent. Thus, any philosopher can clearly see that the Mayavada philosophy is full of internal inconsistencies while the “achintya bhed-abheda” philosophy quite easily handles all possible questions about the soul, God, and the relationship between the two. It also easily explains the variety we see all around and it also appreciates the common underlying principle of all existence, Krishna – the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The “achintya bhed-abheda” can also easily reconcile apparently contradictory scriptural statements, some of which advocate “One”ness and some of which advocate “difference”.

Though initial faith is required for following any of the paths, which intelligent person will follow a philosophy which is obviously incoherent? Then why is Mayavada so popular? Srila Prabhupada explains that the main reason is envy for the Lord. That’s the main reason the living entity was covered by the illusion of thinking itself as the master, and since it wants to hold on to that conception, after all attempts of trying to lord over material nature fail, the living entity takes to this Mayavada philosophy which Srila Prabhupada calls the last snare of Maya.

As far as intelligent people are concerned, and especially devotees, one must develop the firm conviction that Lord Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada are the only shelter. Its only because of their mercy that we could quite easily see through the façade of the Mayavada philosophy of blatant atheism. Without their mercy, there would have been no hope for us to stand against the so-called scholars who propagate atheism in the name of philosophy. Such miscreants have played a havoc in the society and Srila Prabhupada’s movement is the only shelter for the misguided souls of this age.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Gaur Pournima : Lecture by RadheShyam Prabhu!

Hare Krishna!

His Grace RadheShyam Prabhu is the Temple President of Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari (ISKCON) Temple, Pune. On the occasion of Gaur Pournima, he gave a very wonderful lecture after the Abhishek Ceremony of Their Lordships Sri Sri Gaur Nitai!. Here is a humble attempt to reproduce a few things he said. He spoke in Hindi, but I'll write in English.

Before starting, let me offer my most humble obeisances to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!!

Radheshyam Prabhu started by saying that when people see the Hare Krishnas dancing and singing on the streets, they feel that these people are having a nice party. Well, while that is true, RadheSham Prabhu emphasized that its very important to understand the "siddhanta" or the philosophy behind this Hari Naam Sankirtan. He also said that we can understand our great good fortune that we have been given this opportunity to associate with Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON by understanding more about Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

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From here on, I'll paraphrase what RadheShyam Prabhu said.

Lord Krishna's eternal abode is Goloka Vrindavan. Apart from Goloka Vrindavan, there are innumerable other Vaikuntha planets where the Lord presides in His Vishnu form. We will never find in the Shastras that Lord Vishnu's mother is running after Him with a stick in hand :) Thats because in Vaikunthas, the Lord is in His majestic form. However, what the Lord enjoys most is being bound by the love of His loving devotees. This is easy to understand because even in mundane relationships, one does not like to accept subordination to anyone except to one who loves you.

Thus, in Goloka Vrindavan, the Supreme Lord enjoys Himself by accepting subordination to His loving devotees in the Saakhya (friendship), Vaatsalya (parent-child) and the Maadhurya (conjugal love) relationships. Such relationships are fully exhibited _only_ by Krishna! and not by any of the Vishnu forms.

However, Krishna saw that even in Goloka Vrindavan, His devotees were getting immense pleasure just by serving Him. He saw that, the pleasure enjoyed by the devotees, and especially by Srimati RadhaRani, in serving Him was way more than the pleasure enjoyed by Him in being served. So, Krishna decided to try and understand the mod of His supreme devotee -- Srimati RadhaRani. Therefore, to experience that pleasure, Lord Krishna decided to incarnate as Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu!

There were three reasons why Lord Chaitanya came to this earth. They are explained below.

1. To understand RadhaRani's Love for Krishna!

When Krishna told RadhaRani about His plans to come to earth, She wanted to protect Him! She told Krishna that if you take on my mood, you will cry, laugh, jump, shout, and so on like a madman without caring for what others are saying. In order to protect Krishna, RadhaRani offered Her golden complexion to Krishna, and so Lord ShyaamSunder became Lord Gauranga! There is no difference between Lord Gauranga and Lord Krishna.. only the colour :)

2. To taste His own beauty!

Tukaram Maharaj writes -- "Hey Vitthala! What do you know about your own beauty!" :) Just like a lotus flower contains some nectar, and that nectar is enjoyed by the honeybee. The beauty of the lotus and the sweetness of the nectar is only known to the honeybee, not to the lotus. Similarly, Krishna wanted to know His own beauty. That what is it about Me that attracts My devotees to Me? :)

3. To understand how just by thinking about Him, His devotees experience ecstacy!

When RadhaRani used to hear the sound made by the bamboos, she used to fall unconscious thinking that this sound is the sound of Kishna's flute. When the Gopis would see the Tamaal tree, they would think this is Krishna! (The colour of the Tamaal Tree resembles that of Krishna). If the Gopis would see a bull, they would just take shelter of a Tamaal tree and just by thinking of Krishna, they would feel protected! Krishna wanted to undrstand this phenomenon.

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After this, RadheShyam Prabhu told the basic teachings of Lord Chaitanya. He also explained that how it is very difficult to understand the pastimes of Lord Krishna. When someone sees a boy and girl together, immediately bad thoughts come to ones mind. But the same gopis of Krishna Lila came as male associates of Lord Chaitanya! In this way, understanding the relationship between pure devotees and Krishna has become easier. Such is the causeless mercy of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu!

RadheShyam Prabhu ended by suggesting that people can buy Chaitanya Charitamrita and read Lord Chaitanya's Pastimes :)

Hare Krishna! Gaur Pournima Maha Mahotsava Ki Jai!!

Your servant, Abhijit.

HG RadheShyam Prabhu’s JAPA Reform Speeches

HG RSP’s JAPA Reform Speech

His Grace RadheShyam Prabhu is Temple President of Sri Sri Radha KunjaBihari Temple, ISKCON, Pune.

These were noted down by a very very wonderful and sincere devotee -- Sandeep Chandrakar Prabhu.

RadheShyam Prabhu Ki Jai!

Sandeep Chandrakar Prabhu Ki Jai!

12/7/2006

One cannot capture the holy name by one's own endeavor and attentive chanting. Nor, one can control mind & senses by ones strenous efforts.

We should humbly surrender unto lotus feet of the Lord. So, one should endeavor to get the mercy of Spiritual Master in order to make great advancement. In Spiritual Life. In order to get that mercy, one should be sincere in following his intructions as service unto him and for one's purification of heart.

And, one should be very grateful to him for saving us from material life.

12/8/2006

One should not try to see Krishna, rather one should act in such a way that Krishna will want to see you. If one is not feeling taste in chanting the holy name of the Lord, one should take a second look at one's "attitude". Are we serving the Lord and His devotees lovingly or grudgingly?

One should endeavor to do "loving devotional service" to the Lord and His devotees; then, one will find the taste for chanting the Holy Name of Lord increasing."

12/11/2006

"In order to chant the holy name, one has to understand 2 things:
1. chanting is continuous struggle to get the mercy of Guru & Krishna
2. I am distinct from this body, a spirit soul. I am not going to die and Krishna is also not going to die. And love between Krishna & us will remain forever.

With these 2 understanding, one has to always put strenuous effort to be in "Offenseless zone of chanting" and keep on praying to Krishna

daily to give mercy to chant holy name with feelings & love for Him. One can't capture the holy name, even if one chants attentively and does not miss any word in hearing. Krishna says he is not attained by "Mechanical means of chanting".

The root cause for the continued struggle in chanting the holy name is "10th offense". We have to know that there is no happiness in this material world, if one engages in sense-gratification ; one goes towards horrible condition in this life. One's mind & senses becomes completely uncontrolled and the soul acts helplessly at the dictaction of senses.

In order to go to Vaikuntha; one has to have a Spiritual Body. Eg. just like if one entering into fire must have a fiery body. So, one has to pray to Lord Krishna and Naam Prabhu daily in very simple, humble mood "To please give me strength, intelligence and mercy to control mind & senses and be able to chant your holy Name in devotion. I am totally helpless on my own to control mind & senses. Please give me mercy so that, I can utilize them in your service". Lord immediately reciprocates this kind of prayer offered by his sincere devotee.

One has to go on cultivating this "helpless dependance consciousness" on Guru & Krishna. Caution is one should also put 100% effort in following intructions of Guru & Krishna. At the same time, one must sincerely regret past sinful acts in very humble mood before Guru & Krishna. Combination of these 3 elements in our life, will help us to make rapid progress in the path of "pure devotion unto Guru & Krishna".

12/13/2006

"Practically everyday, during japa time; our mind runs away. So, we have to chant the holy name favourable calling out to Krishna please give me your mercy. Our japa should not be like a express runaway (i.e chanting fast and not hearing properly ). If we do this; then, we are asking Lord Krishna to run away from us. This is not good.

And, Lord Krishna does not care with what kind of our background rich or poor, educated or non-educated, beautiful or ugrly, intelligent or foolish.

He is free from material conceptions. His only concern is with the heart of His devotees and He perfectly, meticulously reciprocates with the heart of His devotees. So, before japa, during japa and after japa; we should be in prayerful mood unto Lord Krishna, saying "to please help me to chant holy name properly, so that I may come to You as Your eternal servant".

"The mood of studying SP Books should be that "it is for the benefit for all living entities, as it establishes the relationship between

Supreme Lord and ordinary living entities of this world". So, SP has specifically written for me and let me accept the teachings faithfully. Such a person makes lot of advancement.

12/14/2006

Chanting is prayer to Radha & Krishna to engage in their service. Because of chanting, we get inspiration to engage in so many services throughout the day. Also, Lord Krishna relishes our endeavor & sincerety to advance in Spiritual life. So, we should try to understand that Lord Krishna & Radharani are personally present, when we chant His holy name and He is every ready to help us " to come to Him". We should value that "I am associating with Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna ; He is the controller, origin of everything and He is making Himself so easily available to us. He knows our mentality, past life and sub-conscious mind also.

In this way, one will make leaps & bounds of spiritual progress. So, we should depend on Him & daily pray to Him sincerely to give us ability "to chant the holy name in proper attitude & devotion".

"One has to chant the holy name loudly & distinctly, endeavoring to hear each pronunciation in prayerful mood. A little extra, conscious endeavor in our part will help us to overcome the gushing thought process of the rambling mind."

12/15/2006

"Death is awaiting us like a truck behind man running on the highway. This body is going to deteriorate after some time and may be, we will get diseases in old age. So, just like a sparrow builds her nest and they build their family. But, they are not aware that after some time ; this tree will become old and it will be cut-down by the people. At the time of death; we also have to quit this body.

Similarly, we should not be too anxious to make this material world a happy and merry-making place. Rather, we should try our best to make home at Spiritual world, Vaikuntha. So, please chant the holy name with heart & soul, calling out to Krishna "please help me so that I can come to you in this life, please allow me to understand you and develop love for you and please engage me in your service".

Whoever chants the Holy name in this attitude and as service to his Guru; will make lot of spiritual progress. All his good or bad reactions will be removed by Lord Krishna Himself. Hari Naam Prabhu ki Jai!"

12/19/2006

"Krishna likes to hear His glorification and devotees chanting His holy name. It is so easy to please Krishna, just by chanting His holy name. I do not know what's Krishna's mind; when one chant's His holy name. But, we can understand from the simple example that a materialist person like to hear his names called lovingly by his dear relatives. Similarly, Krishna likes to hear His name, form & qualities sung in full love by His devotees. It is great mercy upon us that "It is so easy to please Krishna just by chanting His holy name".

12/21/2006

Please write gratitude journal for 15 minutes daily. Mention atleast 1-1 point of how Guru & his students are helping you in becoming KC. One becomes qualified to render menial services unto Guru ; when one actually has deep-down gratitude in one's heart for Guru's sacrifices, love, care, personal mercies and for all devotees who have helped & are helping us badly in times of need.

12/22/2006

From Jape Reform Notebook of HH Satsvarupa Goswami Maharaj

"One should regret deeply that I have not appreciated Supreme Lord Krishna. And, one should pray to holy name to know one’s actual position and Lord Krishna's position. Then, one should chant the holy name as attentively as possible to know more about Lord Krishna, praying Him to allow one to love Him more and to engage in His services".

1/2/2007

From HH Satsvarupa Goswami Maharaj's Japa Reform Notebook

"One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a helpless state of consciousness, understanding fully that only by the mercy of Guru & Krishna; one will succeed in chanting Holy Name properly. Lord Caitanya knew the fallen condition of this age and he expressed their condition in one sloka of the "Sikshastakam Prayer".

Although,Lord has invested all his transcendental energies in the holy name. I am so fallen that I do not have taste for chanting of holy names of the Lord, nor do I have taste to associate with devotees in proper mood. Rather, I am rather a "Maha maha aparadhi" unto Hari Naam Prabhu and unto lotus feet of Guru, Vaisnavas & Lord Krishna. So, please bestow your causeless mercy on me to be able to actually chant holy name.

In this way, one should daily desperately beg & cry for Guru & Lord Krishna's mercy."

1/17/2007

"We may be chanting 16 rounds & following 4 regulative principles for many years. But, Lord Krishna is not very much pleased by that. If one is thinking that one is chanting good rounds; then, one is in fool's paradise. For us, chanting is always a constant struggle. Just like, a 1st standard student feels tough for his school examination. And, a 10th standard student also feels equally challenging to do well in his exam. Similarly, Lord Krishna will keep on testing us, till we become His pure devotee.

For pure devotee, there is no struggle in chanting, serving & loving Lord Krishna. In lives of such great personalities, I find that they always think themselves to be faulty. They consider consider themselves very fallen at heart. They think, they are not able to properly offer everything to Lord Krishna. That's why they are constantly immersed in serving & pleasing Lord Krishna 24 hours a day. And, Lord Krishna sheds tears upon seeing the surrender and love of His pure devotees.

I am practicing since 1994, but I still find my heart with lot of dirty things and it has not changed since then. I am maintaining my status quoi. If I think that my god brother, Gauranga Prabhu joined in February 1994 and I joined ISKCON in January and consider myself to be his equal. Then, there is no room for my improvement. But if I see, he so many good qualities, which I do not have; then, there is room for my improvement. I see new devotees joining so much advanced than me.

Similarly, we are not pure devotees at present. We should stop thinking ourselves to great devotees, thinking to have become perfect by following regulative principles for few years. That will not please Lord Krishna. That's why there is "System of Counselor and filling up of Sadhana Card" to show your exact position in KC. We are at ground zero position and pure devotees are at the sky. So, this Sadhana Card, Seva Card is the ladder. It will exactly show you at which level you are. So, we are not pure devotee and therefore, do not become complacent.

Counselors are there to show your deficiencies and help you to overcome that. They are watching you all the time. This world is full of duality and illusions. You will be bewildered in applying principles of KC. Just humbly ask them, "how can I improve in my KC; they will exactly give you the medicine. And be prepared to quickly apply that. Then, you will see how much advancement you will make". But, be prepared to have the courage to ask your counselor and apply his guidance with happy heart.

There are so many ISKCON Temple around the world. In many Temple, beginners do not have guidance on how to reach to pure devotion platform. Either, they think it to be too tough or they imagine they have already reached there. But, here there is wonderful facility of experienced counselors for all of you. And, for counselors also there is facility to reach to Uttama Bhakti stage.

So, we have to protest at our heart against our complacency, at our thinking to be a great devotee, at our thinking that I am chanting good japa, at our thinking that I am doing so much for Lord Krishna and at our show-bottle nature. No, you are doing just minimum for Lord Krishna. If you are not able to still chant, then you have to cry to Lord Krishna to give His mercy. And for improving yourself, you have to struggle to become purified anarthas hiding in your heart, which you are meticulously hiding from Lord Krishna & His devotees. You have to 1st acknowledge that I have this difficulty & that anartha before the Lord & His devotees in very humble mood. Submit to the Lord and His devotees and seek solution and struggle to become purified.

You have to be prepared to unlimitedly keep on struggling & endeavoring to improve services, love & devotion to Guru and Lord Krishna. This process is not static. It is dynamic and never ending process. Always think, "although I may be wearing dress of a devotee, putting on tilak, wearing kanthi mala"; I have still not become a devotee at heart. Devotee means an unalloyed pure devotee, who have no other desire except to serve and please Lord Krishna & His pure representative. Always measure, how much we are developing 26 qualities of a Vaishnava and what precaution we are taking to avoid 10 offenses meticulously. If you are not doing these things, then just stop imagining yourself to be a great devotee and feel complacent that I have made such a progress in KC.

Just taking prasadam, chanting some mala, doing some services mechanically does not make you a pure devotee. We have to struggle moment by moment to be very grateful to Guru, Lord Krishna and all Vaishnavas. We have to consider ourselves very fallen at heart every single moment. Then, we will become a true devotee and become an effective instrument at hands of Guru & Lord Krishna. Hari Naam Prabhu ki Jai!"

1/18/2007

From HH Satsvarupa Das Goswami Maharaj’s Japa Reform Notebook:

"We should not let mind drawn away on some thought processes. We should bring it & again & again to the hearing of the holy name of the Lord. Inattentive chanting means, we are asking Lord Krishna to go away from us. When we pronounce, Hare Krishna Mahamantra; Lord Krishna immediately appears and dances on our tongue. He wants us to remain focused on Him.

But, our lax approach toward chanting of holy name does not please Him. Rather, we should struggle hard to somehow or other focus on attentive chanting of the holy name ( with consciousness that it will please our Guru Maharaj ). Important point is that, we

keep on struggling for qualitative chanting with prayerful mood unto Guru & Krishna.

Guru & Lord Krishna wants us to understand that we are completely dependant on their mercy "to be a successful chanter". Lord Krishna will not allow us to chant successfully (He will not control our mind) unless we helplessly cry to Him and in helpless mood, surrender unto

His pure representative. Struggle will continue until our false ego, " I can chant the holy name with my endeavors" is completely removed.

When heart is loaded with gratitude for Guru and Lord Krishna; then, Lord Krishna allows us to peacefully chant the holy name."

1/19/2007

From HH Satsvarupa Das Goswami Maharaj’s Japa Reform Notebook:

"If we are sleeping during chanting; then, we should take it seriously. This may become a lifetime bad-habit; which will become very difficult to overcome. Practical method will be to take sufficient rest during nighttime ( at least 6 hours for beginners ). And, then struggle hard to be in

offense less zone of chanting ( i.e. endeavoring to avoid 10 offense ). And, keep praying to Guru & Lord Krishna for mercy to be able to chant properly before, during & after chanting of the holy name".

1/22/2007

"A tree has fruits, flowers, leaves and a big shadow to give soothing shelter. It gives shelter to birds, snakes, human beings who are passing by the road. It does not discriminate and never says no to anybody. Sometimes, a bird makes hole in the tree. And, the tree does not protest. And, human beings sometimes cut the tree and the tree does not protest. So, similarly in order to attract the mercy of the Lord, we should cultivate qualities of "trinad api sunicena" ie humility & tolerance. If required, a Vaisnava is one who is willing to be cut down to pieces for the pleasure of the Lord.

Holy name's mercy showers on those persons who are actively trying to cultivate humility and tolerance in their life."

1/23/2007

From HH Satsvarupa Das Goswami Maharaj’s Japa Reform Notebook:

"Actual worship of the Spiritual Master ( SM )means chanting 16 mala attentively and following 4 regulative principles. In any situation, we must strictly follow these 2 main principles of KC. Then, only we can know that; we are showing proper respect & regard for our SM.

When he is fully pleased by our hard endeavors to act & live for his explicit pleasure ; then, by his mercy we become actually qualified to chant the holy name nicely "

1/24/2007

"Chanting of the holy name is deceptively simple. It just contains Hare, Krishna and Rama. But, when Hare Krishna Mahamantra is formed, it contains Lord Krishna's form, qualities, name, pastimes and the whole spiritual world. It is the compact, Supreme and causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So, it produces great results when one chants with this great faith. Also, one should think, "Holy name is non-different from Lord Krishna and I am directly associating with Supreme Lord Krishna".

Even mlecchas, yavanas, sudras and low qualified persons become completely purified. They became great personalities, worshippable by the whole world and are worshipped by even great demigods and Lord Brahma. Eg. Mrgari, the hunter, Valmiki and Narada Muni. Just like,

a CD contains all lectures of Srila Prabhupada. Although it is made of silicon elements, taken from sands. But, when these sands become CD; it can contain so many lectures of Srila Prabhupada.

So, although chanting of the holy name seems deceptively simple. It is not so. It is a great boon. we should take it with great sincerity, praying to Lord for giving great faith in His holy name and chant attentively with great faith. Hari Naam Prabhu Ki Jai!"

1/29/2007

"In order to derive full benefit from chanting of the holy name. One has to have proper understanding who is the Supreme Lord? One should have proper conception about the holy name and it should be performed in proper consciousness.

Proper consciousness is that of service-attitude unto Guru, who has ordered us to chant the holy name. So, whole process hinges around how much respect & regard; we have for our Guru in our heart. Combination of proper service-attitude and motivation during chanting will bring rapid spiritual advancement"

2/13/2007

Verse1... In a liberated stage, when one walks on this planet, one does not feel pulls, pains & paings of material desires and material existence. Just like when one takes medicine even unknowingly, it has effect on the body. We do not know how it acts on the body and after some time, one gets cured of the disease. Similarly, chanting of "Hare Krishna Mahamantra" removes material desires from the heart. Only this is the potent medicine for this age.

"Apuryamanam achalam pratishtham,..samudramapi pravisanti tat dvat"...A self realized person remains unaffected by thousands of material desires, just like an ocean remain full despite being constantly filled by thousands of rivers.

So, we have to chant the holy name with motivation to remove material coverings from the heart and to get maddened in love for Supreme Lord Krishna.

2/14/2007

"We have to have firm faith in the Lord's inconceivable plans and arrangements. When, we have such faith in the Lord, then we do not worry about many worries & problems coming in our life. We have to know each one of us have individual good and bad karmas. If we have worries in our mind, then mind gets absorbed in thinking about those worries. Like , somebody is thinking

about going to foreign, somebody is worried about marriage, somebody's money is lost and somebody's is thinking "why this is happening to me?". We have to clearly understand that whatever is happening around us is "for our purification".

Mind will not be peaceful and we will not be able to chant the holy name properly. We have to give up "Karta mentality, ie I am the doer". No, you have to give charge of your life to Lord Krishna. Just like a child is not bothered whether summer is coming, winter is coming.

Or he is getting food or not. Mother takes care of all needs of the child. Not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Lord. Lord is the Supreme Controller. He has individual plans for us for our purification. Just like, a mataji weaves a woolen cloth. If we see the cloth upside down, it will be like so many mis-shapes and round & round threads.

But, outside is perfectly woven designs. Similarly, we may see so many ups & downs in our life and we may not understand "why it is happening?". But, from Supreme Lord's point of view it is perfect arrangement for our purification. All things are happening to give ultimate injection of "the holy name". And by your behavior, you are running away from the "Injection of the holy name".

So we have to pray to Lord Krishna that, "Please take charge of my life and please control my raging mind. And, please let my mind focus on chanting the holy name". Hari Naam Prabhu ki Jai!"