Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev.
In recent granthraj offering, "Lessons from the Twenty-four Gurus - Part 20", H.G.Kalcakra prabhuji while discussing about the qualities of ocean had described duratyayah (unsurpassable) as that 'which cannot be exceeded' The point Prabhuji mentioned about the unsurpassable dedication of Srila Prabhupada in following the instructions of his spiritual master and how one becomes successful in spiritual life, simply by following the instructions of his spiritual master, is worth meditating.
In one of the lecture by Srila Prabhupada mentions how during one of the morning walks along the beach, he watched the surfers fell off their boards and struggled to swim back out against the waves for another ride. He quoted that even though a fish may be very tiny, she can go against the waves, but a huge elephant is useless in water. The powerful elephant, being in a foreign situation, becomes helpless. But the little fish, because it has taken shelter of the ocean, can swim against the biggest wave. Srila Prabhupada concluded that if we take shelter of Krishna, everything will be easy.
The question we need to introspect ourselves honestly is as to where are we in following the instructions of our spiritual master. Are we faithful to him? After reading and hearing so many things, if there is no change in our behavior, then it is simply because we don't want to change. Though we cannot surrender to Lord Krishna at least by following few instruction of our spiritual master there is chance to prove our self disciple. We have pride that we are vegetarians and that we are not killing animals, but we don't know how much himsa we are doing through our mind, speech and actions when we think or talk or do ill for others.
In Bhagavad Gita verse 4.39 Lord Krishna says,
śraddhāvāḻ labhate jñānaṁ tat-paraḥ saṁyatendriyaḥ
jñānaṁ labdhvā parāṁ śāntim acireṇādhigacchati
A faithful man who is absorbed in transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.
Srila Prabhupada in his wonderful purport to the above verse says that - "One is called a faithful man who thinks that, simply by acting in Krsna consciousness, he can attain the highest perfection. This faith is attained by the discharge of devotional service, and by chanting "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare," which cleanses one's heart of all material dirt."
More importantly when one who is faithful to his spiritual master can easily attain perfection in the knowledge of Krsna consciousness without delay. When we follow the instructions of spiritual master, then everything else will fall in place. As Srila Prabhupada mentions in purport to verse 2.8.21, "A devotee should see to the right discharge of devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master and should not stick only to the formalities. Under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master, one should see how much service is being executed, and not simply in the matter of rituals. A devotee should not hanker after anything, but he should be satisfied with things that may automatically come to him by the will of the Lord."
We are all in the middle of vast unsurpassable ocean of material miseries and we can easily get drowned in the ocean even if there is slight agitation. Be it material life or spiritual life, we might come across so many ups and downs as the life here is definitely not a bed of roses. Krishna Himself has told that this is duhkaalaayam ashaasvatam - temporary and full of miseries. So when such challenges come how should we deal them ? We should remember that somehow by the causeless mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, we have have boarded the boat of bhakti in this life time and the captain of the boat is our beloved spiritual master. So simply by holding on to the boat of bhakti and following the instructions of our spiritual master meticulously we would be able to safely cross over the ocean and reach the shore. On the other hand if we act whimsically, against the instructions of our spiritual master we are sure to be doomed.
Our heart-felt thanks to HG Swayam sphuraty Krishna Prabhuji who has been sending SMS daily for the past one month to all of us in Abu Dhabi and thus helping us to remember the instructions of HDG Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj. Following are few of the instructions that Prabhuji had shared with us.
1. If we neglect chanting, chanting will neglect us.
2. At the time of death there is nothing - Bhagavat-Gita, Bhagavatam, Chanting will only be there.
3. Respect Bhagavatam every thing else will fall into place.
4. Apply Bhagavatam to your duties and every one will be pleased.
We sincerely pray at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna and Srila Prabhupada to bestow their mercy upon us so that we faithfully dedicate some service for the pleasure of our spiritual master.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev,
Tushta Krishna das and Suniti devi dasi
Sharjah.
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