Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
This is the concluding part of 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 14 points.
1. Glorify the all-glorious to become glorious.
2. Without Krishna we are living dead.
3. Krishna is not the object of mind and intelligence.
4. Be touched by Krishna and become enlivened.
5. Sleeping tongue will wake up by tasting Krishna.
6. With Krishna everything becomes lively.
7. Life without Krishna is ghost's life.
8. With Krishna there is no boredom.
9. Don't be rejected by the Lord.
10. We are ruled by the scriptures.
11. Go to Krishna with full heart.
12. Krishna's devotees never perishes.
13. Give Krishna to our children.
14. Don't be in Rat-race.
[Yesterday we heard half the story of Sunand Vidyadhar. Some of the devotees were not happy that the story was stopped half way. Our sincere apologies. Due to the length of the offering we had to stop half-way. We shall hear the remaining part of the story now.]
Story till yesterday: On hearing the death of the washerman's donkey Sunand Vidyadhar, without knowing who he actually is, everyone in the market place shaved their head. One of the parliamentarian who went the market also shaved off his head. When he came to the parliament, all the parliamentarians shaved off their head thinking that Sunand Vidyadhar must be a famous person. Seeing the entire parliament full of shaved heads, the king also shaved off his head thinking that he may be ignorant of a great person like Sunand Vidyadhar.
14. Don't be in Rat-race (contd): This way, the king also shaved off. The whole bunch shaved off and they started shouting, "Sunand Vidhyadhar ki jai! Sunand Vidyadhar ki jai!!" and nobody knew what is happening. Then the king went home and his queen asked, "What is the matter today, everybody is shaved off?" King said, "You don't know? Sunand Vidhyadhar died." She asked, "Who is Sunand Vidyadhar?" King scratched his head, "I don't know. The whole parliament is shaved off, I also shaved off." In the end, the king called the parliamentarian. The parliamentarian also blinked and said, "I don't know who is Sunand Vidyadhar. I went to the Ganges and there was a bunch of people shouting and crying. I thought that I will also shave off." Eventually queen called the washerman and asked him, "What's the matter? Who is Sunand Vidyadhar?" He said, "He is my donkey" (laughter).
This is how Prabhupada said, "Whatever you do, at least you enquire what you are doing." Otherwise like a mad person we run after some living entity just because he produces ashes. In our human existence we have fortunately got the higher intelligence. So with the higher intelligence we should always inspect our behavior. Particularly in the spiritual field. Because spiritual field is the field wherein nobody can instruct us in the right direction. And we are prone to be misguided very easily. We must find a pure devotee like Prabhupada. He is not here at the moment but he is very much alive in his books. Even now if you get in touch with his scriptures you will be completely saved. This is the safe corner. Otherwise we only cheat each other. Instead of falling prey to these things, we have to clear our life and come to one conclusion that "Come what may, I should go through these scriptures." Particularly Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, they are the most important. As soon as you come to this, your faith increases day by day.
15. Perfect your Lives by Sincere Devotional Service: You know the sloka that Prabhupada used to recite every time:
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
Almost all abhadra, inauspicious things go away from our life as soon as we take to devotional service. We had been to Australia and we saw a very nice devotee. He is a Russian devotee. I asked him how he came to Krishna consciousness. He said, "I was in Russia. My trade was butcher's trade, cutting the flesh whole day. In order to go to my shop I had to go through metro and bus. One day I was passing through metro. I saw Bhagavad-gita advertisement there. And then there was booth selling Bhagavad-gita. So I bought Bhagavad-gita and I was just going in the bus reading few pages here and there. On every page Prabhupada tells that you chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. I started chanting and then I read in some page that I should be a vegetarian. I thought that I am a butcher no doubt. I will sell meat but I will become vegetarian." This is how inauspicious things immediately vanish by Prabhupada's writings, naṣṭa-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu.
Then he said, "I was going to the shop, but then eventually decided not to open the shop at all. Why I should unnecessarily incur sinful reactions?" So, he went back to Moscow to join the temple. In the temple he heard that if you want to spiritually progress very fast, then you must go to India. He didn't have money to go to India. He accepted a job in a railway train and went all the way to Vladivostok, 8 days journey. He traveled in the train working there. He didn't know any other language than Russian. So he thought that any steamer goes to India from Vladivostok. He caught hold of the steamer which was going to Sydney (laughter). And he got a job there. He didn't bother about where it is going. He thought that he is going to Bombay. Sydney harbor came and so nice buildings, and he thought, "Bombay is beautiful" (laughter). He got down there and he went to the temple and after 1 month he learnt that he is not in Bombay but he is in Australia (laughter). Since then he is staying in Brisbane. Very nice devotee, very sincere devotee. This is how by only chanting the names and reading Prabhupada's books, our life is changed completely. But one thing is required, i.e., constant hammering is required. Otherwise once reading will not help. We do that, "Oh, I have read, what is to be read again?". No, no. We have to read again and again and again and again. And chanting is a must. If you chant and children see you with japa mala in your hand, they will remember that. Because they take snaps. These impressions they take. This boy (Maharaj points to a boy) is so very young, but if mother chants, he will take that snap. These snaps will be eternally there. Because whenever he is in difficulty, he will think, "Oh my mother, was always chanting when she was in difficulty." And eventually he will also do it. This is how, please give the best snaps to these children. So that they will remember. They are going to take snaps anyway. Whatever way you behave, they are going to take snaps. So please give them the best snaps and somehow or other perfect your lives.
We must have only one pointed attention to Krishna - vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca, if you are not attracted to one, then your many branched buddhi will drag you anywhere and everywhere. You require may be millions of lives to come to this one point. It is not accident that we are sitting here. It takes so many lives to come to this point.
We sincerely thank Maharaj from the bottom of our heart for giving us this nectarean discourse to perfect our lives. We pray at his lotus feet that in this life time by his mercy we may become attached to unflinching service unto Krishna.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Kalacakra Krsna das.
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