Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeiasnaces. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
This is in conclusion of series of discussions we had about the impartiality of the Supreme Lord towards all living entities in this material world. Due to our ignorance, we consider the Lord to be partial. These general doubts we nurture in our hearts are vanquished by Sri Sukadev Goswami and Sri Narada Muni in the first Chapter of the Seventh Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Their arguments to prove the impartial and merciful nature of Krishna. The points discussed in previous offerings on this subject and can be briefed as follows,
1. Krishna is transcendental to material qualities.
2. The prominent mode becomes victorious.
3. Everyone enjoys the fruits of his qualitative activities (karma).
4. Krishna responds according to one's receptiveness.
5. Time's influence is impartial.
6. Krishna is not under the time factor and therefore impartial.
7. Krishna is not only impartial but very merciful as well.
8. Krishna is unaffected by dualities like blasphemy or prayers.
9. Krishna reciprocates irrespective of the way we approach.
10. Constant remembrance of Krishna purifies our motives.
Seeing how impartial Krishna is, how very merciful and how He reciprocates with love and kindness irrespective of our own motives, we will see in this concluding part, how we should ideally be situated in our devotion towards Krishna, how we can achieve undeviated attention for Krishna and how to continue this unflinching attention to ultimately join Him in Golok to eternally serve Him with love and faith.
11. Performing favorable devotional service: This is the best way to save ourselves. From all the above arguments to prove the non-dual position of Krishna towards everyone, it should not be concluded that we can be inimical to Krishna and be envious of Him. The shastras say, 'ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasya varjanam'. We should reject unfavourable activities and accept only favourable devotion of the Lord. If we are inimical to the Lord, we will surely be punished for at least one birth until we are purified to go back to Godhead. Srila Prabhupada quotes Madhvācārya,
karmaṇā manasā vācā yo dviṣyād viṣṇum avyayam
majjanti pitaras tasya narake śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
One should not blaspheme Lord Vishnu through one's mind, words or actions, for a blasphemer will go to hellish life along with his forefathers.
This is a very powerful statement, we are condemning our forefathers as well to hellish life when we decide to be inimical to the Lord. We must not compare ourselves to Sishupala and Dantavakra, because they are actually exalted personalities, eternal associates of the Lord who have accompanied the Lord to assist Him by nourishing His wonderful pastimes when the Lord descends to this material world. Ideally, we must be always fully absorbed in the thoughts of Krishna twenty four hours a day favorably, in one of the favorable rasas - dāsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa or mādhurya-rasa. If we can remember Him in this way, without deviation, He is easy to obtain as Krishna Himself tells in Bhagavad Gita verse 8.14 - "For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Prtha, because of his constant engagement in devotional service."
The following are some of practical tips which H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj gives us to be continuously engaged in Krishna consciousness twenty four hours a day in spite of our very hectic material schedule.
a. Be busy in Krishna's service: If we are always with Krishna then maya cannot touch us. So it should be our endeavor that we should not be free any time. As soon as the mind is vacant it is workshop, and it is devil's workshop. It will create havoc. Your life will be completely destroyed if you keep your mind vacant. That prescribed duty should be transformed into the worship of the Lord. Then only there is some chance of our continuous association with Krishna. And if it is continued association then naturally the maya cannot attack you. Many times those activities become the impediment for our continuous association with Krishna. We should perform prescribed duties and we should worship the Lord by our own karma, by our own activities.
b. Be honest: We must be very honest in the dealings. This is the first symptom of a devotee to perform the activities. If we are honest and if we remember Krishna then while performing our duties also we can be elevated.
c. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā: At the moment our devotion is to the material things. That devotion should be cleverly transformed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that requires association, very nice association of the devotees. If you neglect any day to associate or hear Srimad Bhagavatam class then you are completely gone. Unless you attend the classes, unless you render the service to the pure devotees, it is impossible to have bhakti in our existence.
d. Fill your mind with Krishna-katha: Always your mind must be full with Krishna katha, the topics of Krishna and then maya cannot really come near you. When the field is dry, the weeds grow and the rice plants which we wanted to grow, it doesn't grow. Exactly this is the same condition of our mind. Till the mind is full of Krishna katha the bhakti creeper grows and as soon as the mind is dry, there is no Krishna katha then bhakti creeper stops growing and the weeds in the form of different desires they grow. And then they take us in their directions. So our mind should be full of Krishna katha so that bhakti creeper grows and other desires they don't grow. They don't have any capacity to grow with Krishna's topics. We have to hear about Krishna, the Supreme Person and if you can hear about Krishna, then what is the result? Bhakti, devotional service sprouts out. You know utpadyate is a very nice word. If you put the seed into the land and water it, slowly the plant comes out, sprouts out and then it becomes a nice plant and then maybe a tree and this is how the devotional creeper grows on increasing till we attain Goloka Vrindavan. And this is the way, the watering of that plant is devotional service and that devotional service should be always regarding the Supreme Person and if it is so, then definitely in your life you will have devotional service towards the Lord. And once you are engaged in the devotional service, then what is the effect of the devotional service is explained in the last part of the Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.7.7 - śoka means lamentation, moha means illusion and bhayā means fear. These three words are the symptoms of our material disease. Once we are sufficiently woken up from these material diseases, no one can harm us, no situation can trouble us.
e. Be Satisfied with whatever Krishna gives: Dhruva Maharaj when he went to forest, he was only young boy you know, and then he thought that this eating comes in between my devotional service and me, so he stopped eating. Then he thought that drinking water also comes in the way, so he stopped drinking water. And he thought then breathing is coming in my way, so he stopped breathing. (Maharaj laughs). This is the way. We become completely satisfied. Whether there is food or not we are satisfied. Whether there is water or not we are satisfied. Only we are dissatisfied if we cannot chant Lord's names. That is our great dissatisfaction. If we are with the Lord then a, b, c, d or whatever it is we are completely satisfied. This should be our nature.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord and our spiritual masters, Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev that we develop this unflinching faith and love that will make us eligible to serve Them eternally, wherever we are.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev,
Uma Prathap
Abu Dhabi.
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