Lecture Transcripts
If we remember all guru vaishnavas who sacrifice themselves to their guru vaishnavas service, while at the same time they are merciful to us and to other people, by their mercy, by their compassion, by their affection, we can also progress. If we remember this, then we will always progress in our spiritual life because they brought us their mercy. So we must keep this mercy in our hearts. Always remember them. Be grateful to them. Worship them. Remember their advice. This is important. In spiritual life, in devotional life, there is no need to do any kind of politics or any kind of logic arrangements. There is no need. This never helps. Their blessings are pure and natural. There isn’t any kind of adulteration. When they preach and when they show compassion to us they always think the best for us. So we must always be grateful to them. Always we are indebted to them, because in this material world, really, they are practicing and preaching and want to do all this. Really they are great. They are great.
They control themselves. They control their emotions and at the same time they are free from all attachment and surrender to guru vaishnavas and to Krishna and renounce all their belongings. They do service for Krishna, guru, vaishnava and others. They come and they offer their service to them without any other desire. So really they are great. So we should keep them in our heart and we should listen to their advice and we should always associate with them. This is very necessary in our life. Whoever wants to free from this ocean of birth and death and go to the spiritual master, to the spiritual planet to serve the Supreme Lord and be freed from these material things, must have to accept this and remember them.
Always Keep The Vaishnavas In Your Heart
Joḍendriya tāhe kāl – these jada indriyas, material senses, are kālah. Kālah is like death. The senses want to kill you. They never allow you to be steady or to stay peaceful.
Jīve phele viṣaya-sāgore – the senses take the soul and put it in this viṣaya-sāgore, ocean of poison. What is poison? If you take it, you will lose your consciousness and be like the dead. Viṣaya-sāgore – when poisoned, you cannot understand anything.
Tā'ra madhye jihwā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati – among all the senses, the tongue (jihwā) is very powerful. It wants to taste many things, and enjoy material objects. If you don´t eat, then all the senses become quiet. When you eat, they become active. Sudurmati – it´s very complicated and exhausting, to always want this and that. It takes the soul to hell. So what to do? Without eating you cannot survive, and without senses you cannot do anything. What is the solution?
Kṛṣṇa baro doyāmoy – Krishna is merciful. Koribāre jihwā jay – control the tongue.
Swa-prasād-anna dilo bhāi – He gives His remnants, because this Maya is His Maya, His energy. Only by His mercy is one able to come out.
Sei annāmṛta pāo – only eat His prasādam, and then He will save you.
Preme ḍāko caitanya-nitāi – with love, prema, and faith, śraddhā, call Chaitanya and Nityananda Prabhu. Do sankirtan. Use your energy to perform sankirtan, not to go to Māya. This is the main problem in this condition, this Māya. Then you will be free from this material world.
Mahaprabhu said, “ki bhojane, ki śayane, kibā jāgaraṇe. ki bhojane, ki śayane, kibā jāgaraṇe ahar-niśa cinta kṛṣṇa, balaha vadane." “Whether eating, sleeping or waking—day and night—chant and remember the Holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” (Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 28.28, 23.78) When we take prasādam, bhojana, and when we go to sleep, śayana, we should pray to Krishna. “Oh Krishna, You are sleep, kālah. Now, I surrender to You completely – and if I die, no problem.” Some people sleep and never wake up again.Therefore, we pray before we go to sleep. Up until sleep comes, we chant His name, and then Māya will not come.
Ki bhojane, ki śayane – śayana means sleeping time. Before going to sleep meditate on Krishna and chant Harinām. In Krishna´s world, samsāra, He´s the sun, the moon, day and night. When you wake up, kibā jāgaraṇe, offer dandavāt, open your eyes, and think, “Today, I can have good association, and will not do any sinful activities.” Sometimes this karma will make us do bad activities, and create bad habits. So, offer dandavāts to Krishna, Guru and Vaisnavas, chant Harinām and rise. Always think about Krishna, speak His name aloud, and do your activities with confidence.
Kṛṣnera samsāra kara – everything is Krishna´s samsāra- wife, husband, children, job, this air, water, sun, moon…everything is Krishna´s. If we develop this consciousness, then there is no problem. Always think about Krishna, and then we can easily attain Him. It is not difficult.
Glories of Maha Prasad
A short excerpt of a lecture given in Seattle, Washington in September, 2013.
Humans first grow up by hearing. We have to hear everything first from our mother, father or family. Then when the brain grows up, we study a, b, c, d, and we use calculators with sounds that help us practice. From there, we put together words and then sentences. Then comes grammar, then subjects. After 15 or 20 years we study about medical science, geography, science, history, or literature. Then we become a professor or a doctor or something. What we hear, we receive that same knowledge. What we don't hear, we never receive that knowledge.
If we compare seeing to hearing, our eyes are not first at receiving knowledge. The ear is first. The first is sravanam, which means to hear. For example, if somebody comes, we see them, and then asks, "Who are you?" They are looking at me, and they may say, "You are looking at me. How come you're asking about who I am?” But by seeing we will not understand anything about the person. Then we must ask, "What is your identity?” After they will speak, "This is my name, or I came from such and such place, or this is my job." Then we can understand. But first we have to hear. If we don’t hear, we will not understand and say, "Oh this is some person, who they are, I don’t know." So the first sense to receive knowledge is our ear. To receive knowledge, for our memory or to understand, our first necessity is to hear. Therefore on our devotional path the first thing is hearing, sravanam.
For humans, if they hear in a different or wrong way, they will also deal with matters in the wrong way. Someone may come and say, "I am your friend, we are close, or I came in this way”, just to cheat us. Humans have these qualities. What they speak, think, or do, nobody will be able to understand. Even if they live together with family and friends, nobody outside will know what they are thinking or doing. So brilliant and scientific is this intelligence, and senses that have been given to us humans. Actually God has given us all these things so that we can understand Him, ourselves and this creation. When we understand, we get peace, happiness and satisfaction.
The Importance of Hearing
This material energy is created and maintained by the Lord. He also has His own government. Every energy is overseen by one of the demigods. Just like the heating sun, raining clouds, air, earth, ocean, what we call our universal property or material property. All materials are controlled by this system of the Lord. Even physics and mathematics say that all the atoms, electrons and neutrons are following a particular course and are moving in order. They are regulated! They don’t go everywhere, or do anything they want. So there is some superior order, and all are moving in concert. At the same time the atoms are moving individually, and the universe is also moving. This is the supreme Lord’s creation. All creatures are following this principal. But humans, although the Lord has given us all this knowledge, science and intelligence, if we don't follow this, then we are committing suicide. Those who don’t have this knowledge, they are all committing suicide. Some are killing themselves, and some are taking drugs, which is partial suicide, gradual suicide. Or in old age they think... better I die. So this is the sad result for them. Those who know this science, who have realization and practice it, will not be disturbed when old age comes, they will feel happy. Then when they die they will go to the spiritual planets by chanting:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Chant Hare Krishna and go there. No need to suffer. Devotees don’t suffer for losing beauty, strength, property or anything. So this is the purpose of life, to understand everything, realize everything and practice. Practice is important, because our life is continuing from time immemorial. This human body is not easy to get. We pass through many lives, and finally we get this human body. At the same time our past karma is there, and this body is a gift of our past karma. So we are obliged to maintain ourselves, to do our activities, and we should at the same time realize this by our knowledge, by our intelligence, and by our subtle consciousness. We do our activities here, but remain unattached. We should not merge with the materialistic way of life. Our freedom and independence should be maintained. How? In Bhagavad-gita it is said:
"One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the supreme God, is not affected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water." Bg 5.10
Lord Krishna has given this technique for using our intelligence. He tells that, a lotus flower is created within the water, exists in the water, but never mixes with the water. In the same way we are in this material energy, or material condition, and have family, society, and work, we do our activities, love and respect everyone, but should not be attached with anyone. This is the necessity to maintain our free and independent consciousness. We need to love everyone.There is no need to make enemies with anyone, nor a need to hate anyone or anything.