Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
The following is the concluding part of the transcription of the nectarean, fiery Bhagavatam class given by our beloved spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj in Sri Sri Radha-Neel Madhav Dham, Rajkot on 29th January 2007 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.9.31. In the previous offerings, we heard from Maharaj that
a. We should be pure both internally and externally. Then only we can approach the Supreme Pure Lord, through prayers.
b. All inebrieties vanish when we realise that we are servants of Krishna.
c. Our senses, mind, and whatever sense objects we perceive through them are all temporary.
d. By his causeless mercy, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada has provided these scriptures and has woken us up.
e. Mere waking up is of no use if we fail to obey the instructions of the acarya.
f. We should continue with our seva and also study Srila Prabhupada's books daily for 2 hours.
g. Material body is an illusion and we are wrongly considering it as reality.
h. Alertness is the quality of Krishna that we have to be alert and careful in all our activities.
i. Day by day the seriousness of the spiritual matters and purification must increase.
j. We try our best and leave the rest to Him. Full dependence on Him is required.
k. We should not waste time in mental concoctions. Instead, we should use it in meditating on Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam.
l. Whatever you are doing, do it nicely. The Vaishnavas are not shirkers. They are sincere workers.
m. The more we lose our things unexpectedly, the more wakeful situation must be there. By these incidents, our awareness of the spiritual progress must increase and not decrease.
n. We should immerse ourselves in the study of scriptures and not move around like a mad person wasting time.
o. By our sincere behaviour, the faith of masses will increase.
p. Seniority must be known by how much shastras we know, how much we have put into practice.
Now let us continue to hear more nectar from Maharaj.
"What is the reason for following the dictates of the mind? Because we don't try to understand a single sentence written by Prabhupada. Here our senses are still in collaboration with the matter. They are driving us mad. This should not be allowed. Unless we stop this, the spiritual progress will be nil. As I told you, the older your are in the devotional process and if you don't show the seriousness, the younger devotees will not take this process. They will just hesitate to do that. They will never do that. Please try to remember these things and try to always somehow or the other be careful. This collaboration word is very nice in the purport. Don't collobarate your senses with matter. Even now you are collaborating matter with your senses. And the result is a loss. Krishna is standing before you in the form of His Name and darshan and even now you are prone to enjoy these things. We have completely ignored these facts. We look to others. 'He is not coming for mangala-arati. Why should I come for mangala-arati?'. If he is going to the dungeon, are you also going to dungeon with him? Don't look to others. Try to increase your awareness in the shastras, in the activities. It is very difficult like a sharp razor. Unless you are very careful, it will cut your leg. This path is very easy. You have fortunately got it. So please make the best use of it.
Day by day this awareness should increase. But even now, our senses are collaborating with matter. Prabhupada's words are very powerful. 'If srikhand is available, I will not touch dhal.' That is collaboration with srikhand. (Maharaj laughs). Even now you are collaborating with idlis and sambar and because you are collaborating with idli, Krishna comes in front of you and still you are not able to see Him. Krishna went personally to explain the matters to Duryodhan, Karna and Shakuni. They couldn't see Him. They wanted to arrest Him. Day by day our awareness should increase. How much time we have wasted under different conditions ? Don't do it. Otherwise the same collaboration will destro you, not only in this life-time, again and again, punah punah carvita carvanaanam. Again and again we are chewing the cud. This should not be there. We have to stop the collaboration of the senses with matter. We should always be alert. It is not that yesterday we had Rathayatra and we came late at 2am and so we cannot get up today for mangal-arati. No. That is not allowed in devotee's life. Yesterday 2 'o clock is gone. Today you have to be here. Never say, "I slept so late. I have so much responsibilities on my head. I will not get up." This is suicidal. Please try to organise your life in such a way, that always spiritual matters will come first. Those who are free in this world, they are fortunate. Otherwise who will get money in this world as well as the time? Very few living entities will get. Krishna is favouring you by doing these things. So living entities like us should increase the awareness of Krishna. Who stops us from understanding these sentences?
Srila Prabhupada says in the purport (of verse 1.9.31) - "Therefore, just on the arrival of Lord Krishna, all material contamination was completely removed." And in our life, we think that the arrival of Krishna is there. We mumble also. We chant also sometimes. But our mind is not there. Seriousness is completely absent. The older devotees must show the purity of the mind. Purity of the mind means, except Krishna we don't talk anything else. Except Krishna we don't think about anything else.'shrnvan grnan samsmarayan ca cintayan' - Hearing, accepting, remembering and thinking about Krishna. We only do these things. 'namaani roopani ca mangalaani te' - This is all auspicious. This is the way. aadhishta cetaah - Our mind is completely absorbed in these things. And nothing stops us except our laziness and carelessness. Laziness and carelessness means we are collaborating our senses with the matter. The mind is collaboration with matter and that's why we are wasting our time. See how Prabhupada is very correct. He is giving your own situation. If you don't think about these things and don't improve, who is at fault? As I told you other day, the result is horrible. As it is general public doesn't have faith in this process. Because this process means you have to stop sense of gratification and so they don't have faith. Little faith they have. That faith must increase by looking at older devotees. So older devotees, instead of being lethargic, they should be fiery with these things. Day by day it should increase and not decrease. That's why, all the managerial activities should be handed to the younger persons and we should make ourselves free to go through these things. It requires time. It is a time-consuming process. Just one purport we are thinking. A few words we are meditating on and even then time is not sufficient. We always feel these things.
Please it is a fortunate situation that you have all come here from different parts. Please take this message. That without any outside condition, our spiritual condition will always progress. The spiritual matters, do not depend upon material conditions. Because we have full understood that material conditions are nashavaram - temporary and destructive. This is completely ingrained in our mind. We don't accept the material things as truth. But we accept Krishna as the Absolute Truth. So we must run after Him. Unless you have this mental frame, you cannot pray. Bhishmadev prays after this verse. So prayers are very important. No doubt. But the verses prior to the prayers are also very important. And again, Krishna answers after the prayers. Those verses are also very important. But you concentrate on prayers and then move on to the important parts. So dig into your own heels and wish you all the very best! Jai Srila Prabhupada ki Jai !"
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai ! Jai Srila Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj Gurudev ki Jai !
Thank you very much,
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev,
Sudarshana devi dasi.
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