Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
We are continuing with the transcription of the beautiful lecture that our beloved spiritual master HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj gave in Boston, Australia on 23rd May 1997. In the previous offerings we saw 13 points. Now we shall continue to hear more nectar from Maharaj.
14.Don't be in Rat-race:Then there is an example from Ramayan.
jis sāgarako lāṅgha sake nā, binā pulake rāma
kuda gae hanumān usīko, leke hari kā nām
vo dil vale dub jāyeṅge, jinmeṅ nahiṅ hai nām
vo patthara bhi tar jāyeṅge jin par, likhā hari kā nām
This unflinching faith is gift of Srila Prabhupada. Otherwise what happens we are attracted to so many things. As Prabhupada said, like rat race we are running, without even thinking to whom we are going. Why for we are going? He was giving the example that one rat runs and he doesn't know where he is going. And there was a line of rats and they were also running very fast. And if you stop them and ask, "where are you going?", they say - "i don't know, let me go." (laughter) At least you should know where are you going. But they say, "No. No we are very busy, let me go." They only know that they have to go. This is very bad tendency. Srila Prabhupada used to quote a very nice story. He said that there was one dhobi, washer-man who used to take a bundle of clothes to the river and daily wash and iron. That was his business. So there was no motorized vehicles. And he wanted to take the bundle of clothes to the Ganges daily and then he had to wash them. So he kept a donkey and the donkey was very dear to him as it was his Mercedes car. (laughter) So that donkey was like a family person. So he gave the donkey a name - Sunand Vidyadhar. (laughter) Big name, he gave for the donkey. So he used to call him, "Sunand Vidyadhar, Come on. Take this bundle and go to Ganges." And the donkey used to come and take the bundle to Ganges. This is how, very nicely the donkey served the washer-man for 20 years and he was as good as a family member you know.
So for the whole day he will be working and in the evening, he will release him in the bank of Ganges, so that he can eat some grass. So he was very happy. But at the end of twenty years, somehow or the other he died. When he died, this washer-man became very morose as if some family member died. He thought, "What to do now? I must do something for Sunand Vidyadhar." He knew that people go to Ganges and shave off and offer some pindas in Ganges. So he said, "I must go to Ganges and shave off." He went to the Ganges, shaved off and offered pindas and cried, "Sunand Vidyadhar, Sunand Vidyadhar". His friend came and asked, "Whats the matter today? Why have you shaved off?" The friend said, "Is it? I will also shave off." Then they both started crying, "Sunand Vidyadhar, Sunand Vidyadhar". So there is a vegetable market - In India we have vegetable market on the banks of Ganges. So many people came there to buy the vegetables. They saw these two people shaved off and crying, and asked - "What is the matter?" The friends replied, "You don't know? Sunand Vidyadhar died." "Oh is it, then we will also shave off." Those people thought that Sunand Vidyadhar is some important person, whom they didn't know. (laughter) So now 20 people shaved off and crying. So other people who came and saw these bunch of people shaved off and crying, they all shaved off and would sit with them and cry, "Sunand Vidyadhar, Sunand Vidyadhar". Nobody knew who he is.
Then a Parliamentarian came buy the vegetables. He saw the bunch of people crying and asked what it is. And when he heard Sunand Vidyadhar died, he thought may be that he is ignorant and didn't know Sunand Vidyadhar, may be he is a great person. So what he did, "I will also shave off." So he started crying. He went to Parliament and all other parliamentarians asked, "who died?" He replied, "Oh you didn't know? Sunand Vidyadhar died!". So the ministers also thought that they were ignorant, may be he is a great person, so they also shaved and cried. And the king came and saw all parliamentarians shaved off. So he asked what is the matter? They replied, "Sunand Vidyadhar died." The king thought, "May be Sunand Vidyadhar is a prominent personality. Why to show my ignorance? Let me also shave off."
Krishna willing we shall continue to hear the remaining part of the story from Maharaj in the subsequent offering.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Kalacakra Krsna das.
Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.