Surrendering to God, adopting HIM as the only means to liberation from this material cycle & bondage and following the prescribed methods to realize HIM is the cornerstone of Vaishnava philosophy. There have been many instances and varying methods of total surrender unto the Lotus Feet of the Lord.
Long ago, there lived an ass and a dog, which belonged to a washerman of Varanasi. One day, the washerman returned home at night after a laborious day. Being very tired, he forgot to give dinner to the dog. A few hours later, a thief entered the washerman's house and started looting the house.
Srila Prabhupad has also given punching statement " The transcedental message of the Absolute is not understandable by those who are materialy absorbed".
We have seen practically that as soon as we chant Hare Krishna, we give up all the lower tendencies and start leading a pure way of life. The nature of mind and importance of chanting can be illustrated through the following story.
We put tilak and wear dhoti and kurta and after initiation we get names and we tend to think we are advanced in devotional service. This is only illusion. The initiation is the beginning process of Krishna consciousness and then we have to purify our existence to advance in devotional service.
Human life is full of miseries. Srimad Bhagavatam suggests an easy way to overcome the unavoidable miseries. In third canto seventh chapter thirteenth verse sage Maitreya is replying to Vidura's inquiry.
These are the activities of sense gratification carried on by us. This goes on automatically according to our own efforts backed by destiny. This may result in either enjoyment or suffering, sometimes a very comfortable situation and sometimes not a comfortable situation.
Once there lived a crow that was the favourite of three boys. Every day, they fed him with the remnants of their food. When the crow used to eat the remnants, the boys would praise him and admire his beauty.
In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.1.31 the practical examples of how different people were thinking of Krishna is given . In that verse Naradji explains that, the gopis by their lusty desires, Kamsa by his fear, Shishupla and other kings by envy, the Yadus by their familial relationship with Krsna
Having followed religious-formalities for a long time, a burning problem struck in me after initiation, as to whether I should continue to perform my age old South Indian traditional customs of doing religious rituals to my forefathers, parents or not.
Those who have been trained for abstinence in material pleasures are called dhira, or men undisturbed by the senses. Only these dhiras can accept the orders of sannyasa, and they can gradually rise to the status of the paramahamsa,
It is explained in Kathopnishad, "nityo nityaanaam, cetanaas cetanaanaam eko bahunaam yo vidadhati kamaan". The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one amongst many, many souls who are all subordinate to Him.
So our duty, persons who are Krishna Consciousness, engaged in Krishna consciousness, they should always know that everything is to be done by Krishna. We cannot do anything without Krishna's sanction. But still, we have to do our own duty.
Here the word "sharanam" is very significant- meaning surrender. All the acharyas have explained the meaning of surrender and its various aspects (In the Nectar of Devotion it is explained in detail). The person to whom we should surrender is very important.
Initially, Arjuna considering himself as the doer of action desired not to fight. His desire came through his false ego. The previous verse (18.16) says one who thinks himself the only doer is not intelligent.
The only purpose of life is to go back home, back to Godhead and this can be achieved if we have the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the only object of worship.
Who would leave the United State of America to go back to India unless he is mad. Mad after Guru, Krishna, Sadhu and the Sankirtan Yajna. Your insanity and your love for Guru has inspired me to write this little note to say how I appreciate the wonderful selfless service that you are doing for your Guru.
When I was in the US last year, one of my devotee friend who had his family setup here in India, kept telling me that life is very bad in India and he is really struggling very much to perform devotional service. I told him that it is not so, it is only our mind that is giving all these justifications
Childhood days are crucial part of one's life and incidents which happen during that phase make a great impact in the life of an individual. Children depend on the parents and elders at home and tend to believe that whatever they do is correct. They also start imitating their parents.
Kunti Maharani too has very nicely explained to us the importance of remaining attached to Sri Krishna in Srimad Bhagavatham Canto 1 Chapter 8, wherein she offers a series of prayers to Lord Krishna when He is about to return to Dwaraka after the Kurukshetra war.
H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj would quote a very well-known example of the above two qualities while being in Krsna Consciousness. He would say that when devotees go on Harinam, they chant the holy names of the Lord repeatedly.
Many of us have fear lurking in our mind that if we don't worship demigods they may punish us. That means we don't have full faith in the statements of Krishna. The residents of Vrindavana headed by Nanda Maharaj decided to worship Indra.
In this world, it is easier to live alone in one sense - there won't be any unnecessary misgivings or expectations. But as soon as two or more persons get together, there is immediately expectation among each other as to what the other person should do for us.
Most of the living entities have the natural tendency to be in a group. We always find a feeling of emotional security, love, comfort and recognition when we are part of a group. That is why we always try to create and take shelter of society, friendship and families, through which we seek pleasure, happiness and protection.
Today as I was going through the diaries of my spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj, I came across so many interesting couplets which Maharaj has noted down and they are very very simple to understand but at the same time impregnated with unlimited meanings.
While translating the word atma-nivedanam, Srila Prabhupada has specified it as serving Him with body, mind and words. Krishna is the source of our strength to perform activities using this body, for our mind to think and function properly and for ability to speak using our mouth.
As I have been relishing the sublime pastimes of Srila Prabhupada through the biographies and memories written about him by his disciples, so many amazing instructions are being revealed through those narrations.
Divorce is an expression of extreme apathy, impatience, intolerance, disrespect, lack of love and selfishness. The misunderstood couple do not understand the basic fact that their children go through great emotional and mental sufferings.
When we perform devotional service, we often tend to 'feel good' about what we have done, even though we would have done the most insignificant seva. This 'feeling good' often times spills over into 'feeling proud' of our own deeds.
In Srimad Bhagavatam there are wonderful examples of relationship between spiritual master and disciple. One such powerful example is that of Mother Devahuti and her son Kapila muni who is none other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead.