The Open Secret for Spiritual Success - Part 5

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

This is in continuation of the previous offering - "The Open Secret for Spiritual Success" wherein we were meditating on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 2.1.12. We saw

1. All shastras and acaryas freely distribute to us the open secret for spiritual success - harer nāmānukīrtanam - constant chanting of Holy Names.
2. By offending a devotee either intentionally or unintentionally, we will lose taste in chanting the names constantly.
3. By hearing Krishna's pure and transcendental glories, devotees also become pure and transcendental and immune to all materialistic fruitive activities.
4. Not minding the criticism or disrespect we receive from others, we should focus our mind fully on the mercy bestowed by Sri Guru and Srila Prabhupada. 

So far we were seeing how spiritual success is guaranteed by constant chanting of Holy Name and how the obstacles for the same are the offeence we commit at the lotus feet of Holy Name. Now we shall see further.

Sukadev Goswami knew that Parikshit Maharaj had only 7 days left in life. So to encourage him to do intense devotional service in those 7 days, he says that even one moment of full remembrance of Krishna is far far better than thousands of years of life without Krishna consciousness. In this regard Sukadev Goswami says in verse 2.1.13

khaṭvāṅgo nāma rājarṣir jñātveyattām ihāyuṣaḥ
muhūrtāt sarvam utsṛjya gatavān abhayaṁ harim

The saintly King Khaṭvāṅga, after being informed that the duration of his life would be only a moment more, at once freed himself from all material activities and took shelter of the supreme safety, the Personality of Godhead.

In our childhood we would have experienced that when teachers encourage us, then by their encouragement and blessings, we would be enthused to perform well even in difficult subjects. When they give the example of our seniors who had performed well in the past years, that will boost our confidence to take the efforts to study and face the exams. Likewise Sukadev Goswami is giving the example of King Khatvanga to Parikshit Maharaj.

In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 9.9.42 Sukadev Goswami says,

yo devair arthito daityān avadhīd yudhi durjayaḥ
muhūrtam āyur jñātvaitya sva-puraṁ sandadhe manaḥ

King Khaṭvāṅga was unconquerable in any fight. Requested by the demigods to join them in fighting the demons, he won victory, and the demigods, being very pleased, wanted to give him a benediction. The King inquired from them about the duration of his life and was informed that he had only one moment more. Thus he immediately left his palace and went to his own residence, where he engaged his mind fully on the lotus feet of the Lord.

Now our idle mind might take a wrong lesson that, "we need not spend whole life in Krishna consciousness - but just one moment of full consciousness is enough. So let us do that in the end of our life." His Divine Grace very nicely says in the purport to the above verse - "The example of Mahārāja Khaṭvāṅga in performing devotional service is brilliant. Mahārāja Khaṭvāṅga engaged himself for only a moment in devotional service to the Lord, but he was promoted back to Godhead. Therefore, if one practices devotional service from the beginning of his life, surely he will return home, back to Godhead, without a doubt (asaṁśaya)."

Usually when someone offers to give us a benediction, we would go with a big wish-list. But Khatvanga Maharaj was not like that. When demigods offered to give him benediction, he could ask the right question at the right time - regarding his own life-span and then he did the needful to go back home, back to Godhead.. So herein again we find the open secret for spiritual success is guaranteed by Srila Prabhupada

Krishna willing we shall continue to meditate more on this topic in the subsequent offering.

Hare Krishna.
Thank you very much
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Sudarshana devi dasi.