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Thanks! and a little story
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Subject: Thanks! and a little story
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From: Lars M
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Date: Sat Jun 17 15:29:32 1995
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Message-Id: id521
Dear Lars M
>Of course Sri Krsna gives me knowledge as I progress in
>the spiritual life, I can feel it.
Yes, Krishna is in our hearts and He will help us:
isvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is
directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine,
made of the material energy." (Bhagavad-gita 18.61)
sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtirjnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
"I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and
forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of
Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas." (Bhagavad-gita 15.15)
So He will help us to remember Him if that's what we want and He will also help us
to forget Him if we insteand want to enjoy independently from Him. There is really
nothing separate from Krishna. Think anything has existence independently from
Krishna is maya. That is material life, thinking, "I can be happy independently
from Krishna."
> but I'm still not even close to be
>worthy as the one who gives instructions in spiritual life
It's very simple. We just have to repeat the instructions Prabhupada has given us
in his books. The philosophy is very attractive. Thoughtful people will like it...
But we have to follow it ourselves, that's the main thing. Someone who smokes
can't tell someone else to give up smoking... It doesn't work very well. If we are
following the principles, chanting at least 16 rounds a day on beads and always
reading Srila Prabhupada's books then certainly when we talk to people about
Krishna He will help us to say the right thing...
>eventhough I've
>read/heard that chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare
>Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare in a careless way also should
>be beneficial. (I belive that I've read it in the Krsna-book [don't know
>the english title of that book])
It's called "Krishna Book!"
>Another ting is that most of the poeple I
>know will probably get angry or they might laugh when they hear that they
>should sing The Great Mantra and I don't consider them different from the
>rest of the population. I know that this is THEIR problem but maya can
>sometimes be so decietfull that I can't fight it without further instructions.
Yes. It's certainly a problem. Mostly people have no idea what Krishna
consciousness is. They have heard some stories (often they are not very good
stories) so they are often not so favorable. But when people really find out about
the philosophy, about the prasadam, about how nice chanting is it's different. So
you can start with small things. Cook prasadam, offer it to Krishna and when your
friends come around just feed them prasadam! It is amazingly effective! This way
they can make advancement in spiritual life just by eating delicious food...
Then after they have been eating prasadam for a little while you can tell them
about vegetarianism... Then a little meditation... In this way you can gradually
tell them about Krishna.
You will be surprised that many people are actually interested.. Krishna is there
in everyone's heart, so everyone is attracted by Krishna, that's why Krishna is
called the "all attractive" person. So you just have to take it gently. The love
for Krishna is there in everyone's heart.
>
>
>When Krsna through Bhimasena had defeated the king of Kasi He rescued some
>kings that Kasiraja held captived. In the meantime these kings had become
>true worshippers of Govinda and for that, the Lord Sri Krsna granted them
>a blessing.(as far as I can remember) The kings only wish was always to
>remember the Lord no matter what their current lifeform was, they didn't
>even think of liberation they knew that to serve Sri Krsna is a bigger
>goal than just the liberation. (I hope that you've got the meaning. To
>serve Krsna in a proper way is to get liberated but to wish for liberation
>without serving Krsna depends very much of the mercy that Sri Bhagavan
>will offer)
>Referring to my second letter I was talking about humility and also what I
>expect that will not happen....If the Lord will help me to become one of
>his devotees I will be thankfull but the only thing I want from Him is that
>I will remember him in my next lives.
Yes. That is the real devotional platform. A devotee doesn't mind where he is, as
long as he can remember Krishna, as long as he can serve Krishna. He doesn't mind
even going to hell to preach because he can chant Hare Krishna there, he can
preach to the people about Krishna there.
"My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but
they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities
and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of
silence. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do
not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I
know that without Krishna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus
feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to the shelter of
Your lotus feet. (Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nrsinhadeva in Srimad Bhagavatam
7.9.44)
>
>
>
>Of course I will be washed down the drain-hole but sometimes I feel my life
>is like a person who walks on a very thin wire, sometimes he tips to one
>side and sometimes to the other in order to keep the balance.
Spiritual life is like a razors-edge. One has to be very attentive to follow the
rules and regulations and remain in spiritual consciousness.. A small slip can
make a big mess in ones devotional life. There is no "balance". You can't
sometimes be a materialist and sometimes be a devotee...
Of course there are materialistic devotees. Many Indians are like that. They have
absolute faith in Krishna, but still they want material things. The demigods are
like that. They are devotees but they still have material desires so they are
promoted to the heavenly planets and get positions as demigods to enjoy greater
material pleasure instead of going back home, back to Godhead... But the pure
devotees are not interested for their own sense gratification, they only want to
please Krishna.
>Sometimes
>he tips to the materialistic side and sometimes he tips to spiritual
>side in order to keep HIS balance... but this is no balance at all I've
>learned that years ago. What you say I should do is I MUST JUMP to the
>spiritual side and then I'll get the peace I need but the way I see it is
>that there's a terribly long way to fall even if a soft landing is
>guarranteed, but in the end a jump that I got to take, it's just a
There is no loss whatsoever in spiritual life and there is no gain whatsoever in
material life. So better to take to spiritual life...
nehabhikrama-naso 'sti
pratyavayo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trayate mahato bhayat
"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."
(Bhagavad-gita 2.40)
PURPORT
by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Activity in Krsna consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Krsna
without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental quality
of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that
small beginning be lost at any stage. Any work begun on the material plane has to
be completed, otherwise the whole attempt becomes a failure. But any work begun in
Krsna consciousness has a permanent effect, even though not finished. The
performer of such work is therefore not at a loss even if his work in Krsna
consciousness is incomplete. One percent done in Krsna consciousness bears
permanent results, so that the next beginning is from the point of two percent,
whereas in material activity without a hundred percent success there is no
profit.
Ajamila performed his duty in some percentage of Krsna consciousness, but the
result he enjoyed at the end was a hundred percent, by the grace of the Lord.
There is a nice verse in this connection in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.17):
tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam harer
bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vabhadram abhud amusya kim
ko vartha apto 'bhajatam sva-dharmatah
"If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Krsna
consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work, what loss
is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his material
activities perfectly?'' Or, as the Christians say, "What profiteth a man if he
gain the whole world yet suffers the loss of his eternal soul?"
Material activities and their results end with the body. But work in
Krsna consciousness carries a person again to Krsna consciousness, even after the
loss of the body. At least one is sure to have a chance in the next life of being
born again as a human being, either in the family of a great cultured brahmana or
in a rich aristocratic family that will give one a further chance for elevation.
That is the unique quality of work done in Krsna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be Happy!
>question of beeing prepared. To the materialistic side the way to fall is
>shorter than on the spiritual side but you cannot be sure wether you get
>a hard landing or a soft landing perhaps the risk is too great to get a
>hard landing and that is why I've been on the wire for so long time.
Either way you have to work, work for Krishna or work for maya. But work for
Krishna is our real business... Work for maya is a waste of time and energy..
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Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada!