Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

First take First step towards Krishna

Most of the time, we are reluctant to take the very first step towards Krishna because we feel that it is impossible to be Krishna Conscious in this world. We have been so accustomed to sense gratification that we think we cannot live without it.

And if we cannot give up sensual pleasures then how can we become spiritual. So, we become disheartened and unfortunately do not become serious in spiritual life.

But journey always begins with a first step. A huge banyan tree is just a small seed in the beginning. The seed is first sown in the ground. The gardener nurtures it daily by watering it. Slowly the seed sprouts into a sapling then it becomes a plant and finally becomes a gigantic tree.

One of the biggest challenges we face in life is impatience. We want to achieve everything immediately. But we should understand that unless and until we strive for a goal, we will never get it. We have to take the plunge. We have to take the first step.

Mṛgāri, the cruel hunter, thought it impossible to practice devotion to Krishna. But sage Narada encouraged him, and he took the first step towards Krishna. Slowly his heart got cleansed of all impurities.

Before becoming a devotee, he enjoyed killing animals but after he began practicing devotion to the Lord, he was not even harming an ant.

Practice devotion with Patience

Srila Rupa Goswami in Nectar of Instructions say that a devotee should practice devotion with enthusiasm and determination but should also have patience.

If currently our heart is inflicted with lust, anger and greed then immediately it won’t go away. But we should be determined to free our heart from these impurities.

Following four regulative principles of no meat eating, no intoxication, no gambling and no illicit sex is a must if we want to advance in spiritual life.

So, we should make a plan how to give it up eventually. We cannot keep on indulging in these activities and develop love for Krishna.

Practicing four regulative principles become easy if we regularly chant the names of Krishna and read literatures like Bhagavat Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. These spiritual activities will purify our heart, and we will automatically lose taste for prohibitive activities.

So, today let us take a vow to take the first step in our devotional life. Let us begin by dedicating a fixed amount of time for remembering the Lord. And the best way to remember God is by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

An expert gardener waters the plant daily. Similarly, if we want to grow in our devotional life then we should chant the holy names of the Lord daily.

We should begin by daily chanting at least one round of Hare Krishna Mahamantra. And the goal should be to eventually chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily.

Krishna promises that if we take first step towards him then he will take thousands of steps towards us. We just have to take the initiative. Are we ready for it?

Three Reflections

• One of the biggest challenges we face in life is impatience.
• Srila Rupa Goswami in Nectar of Instructions says that a devotee should practice devotion with enthusiasm and determination but should also have patience.
• We should daily chant at least one round of Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

Ask Yourself?

• Am I daily chanting at least one round of Hare Krishna Mahamantra and by when I am going to start chanting 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

Action Items

• Without fail daily chant one round of Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
• Discuss with your spiritual guide and make a plan to eventually chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

How a devotee of Krishna tries his best to make this world a better place to live

A devotee of Krishna always medidate upon how to make this world a better place to live, so that everyone can become happy.

Unlike ordinary souls, he is not bogged down by a problem. With right attutude, he is able to find solution to all the problems.

Let’s try to understand.

The big stone story and the lesson we learn

Once, a king wanted to test the attitude of his citizens during a crisis. One night he placed a big stone in the middle of the road, and he hid himself.  As the day began people began their chores. The moment they saw the big stone which was causing disturbance they started cursing the stone and the person who had placed the stone in the middle of the road. 

The entire day passed, and no one took the trouble to remove it. Finally, one sane man took the initiative and removed the stone.  

Most of us are like passersby who often curse the problem and go ahead but never take the trouble to solve the problem. We curse the system, society, our family, our destiny and in fact everyone and everything for any problem which we face in this world. But we do nothing to change our own perspective or we do nothing to effect a change.  Be the change what you want to see in others.

People whom we eulogize today never simply sat on a problem and cursed their destiny. In fact through their grit and determination they have shown us as what should be our attitude when we are in difficulties. Srila prabhupada, one of the most celebrated Vaisnava saints of the modern time, is one such example.

Prabhupada’s determination was like Bhisma‘s determination

Srila Prabhupada had been given a monumental task of preaching Krishna consciousness to the western world by his spiritual master, Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. The mission seemed impossible. He had no money, he did not get help from any quarters and lots of obstacles glared. But he never fretted or regretted.  

Prabhupada had firm faith in the orders of his spiritual master. He took up the challenge with a positive spirit. His determination was like Bhisma’s determination and his attitude was always positive.

His firm faith in Krishna and his hard work paid rich dividends. Prabhupada was successfully able to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world. During his lifetime he opened 108 temples, wrote more than 80 books which included the translation of several volumes of spiritual literatures.

He was not just a preacher who used flowery languages to impress the audience. He did not just quote Sanskrit verses to get applause from the audience. Prabhupada practically showed the world how to practice genuine devotion to Krishna by his own personal example. 

His life inspired thousands of people all over the world to take up Krishna consciousness and is still inspiring millions of people.

Try to make this world Krishna Conscious

Krishna sees the endeavour which we are putting in. But endeavour should be in the right direction. This will please Krishna. Prabhupada is teaching us that a devotee of Krishna should put in his best efforts to make this world a better place to live. This will benefit us and the whole society.

Today we see chaos everywhere. People’s hearts are full of hatred. This is why there is so much violence and suffering. But scriptures teach us that instead of complaining or fretting, we should do something to make this world a better place.

Following the footsteps of Prabhupada, we should try to make this world Krishna Conscious. This will please Krishna and his pure devotees like Prabhupada.

Three Reflections

• People whom we eulogize today never sat on a problem and cursed their destiny.
• Srila Prabhupada was given a monumental task of preaching Krishna consciousness to the western world by his spiritual master.
• Instead of complaining or fretting, we should do something to make this world a better place.

Ask Yourself?

• What do I do when I face a problem? Do I cry or try to solve it?

Action Item?

• Identify one problem of your life and from now onwards start working hard to solve it.
• But remember not to forget Krishna while doing so!

Krishna can deliver us from all the sufferings. Are we ready for it?

Suffering is inevitable in this world, but merciful Krishna is ready to deliver us from all the sufferings. We just have to be ready to accept his grace.

Sin causes suffering. So, if we are suffering now, it implies that we committed sins in past either in this life or in past lives.  We have taken many births and so we do not know how many sins we have committed.

Now if we are going to be subjected for suffering for each sin then we can easily understand how difficult our future will be. In fact, living entities are forced to take animal body because of the kind of sin he/she committed.

But the Lord, our father, does not want us to suffer. So, while concluding the teachings of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, the Supreme Lord, says to Arjuna and through Arjuna to all of us that we should give up everything and take his shelter. And he further says that if we do so then he is going to free us from all the sins.

Krishna said this about 5000 years ago but unfortunately, we the suffering souls did not show much inclination to take Krishna’s shelter. So, Krishna came again about 500 years ago as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to tell us the necessity of giving up sinful life and taking shelter of Krishna. By his personal example, he taught us how to take became devotees of Krishna.

Chanting is the medicine for all the sufferings

Mahaprabhu propagated chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra because this great chant will deliver us from all miseries. Extolling the glories of the mahamantra, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that this mantra has the potency to cleanse our heart of all impurities and liberate us from the repeated cycles of birth and death. 

As we have been committing sins life after life, so the sins are so deep rooted in our heart that it appears that it is almost impossible to give it up. We are so much habituated by sinful life, that we keep committing sins even though we know that sins are dragging us to hellish life.

For such fallen souls Lord Chaitanya has come. He has given us great hope that if we chant the names of Krishna sincerely and attentively then our heart will get cleansed of all impurities which forces us to commit sins.  The holy name of Krishna i.e. the Hare Krishna Mahamantra can deliver us from all the sufferings. This is the best medicine for all the fallen souls like you and me.

Examples of Mahaprabhu’s mercy

If we study the life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then we find that he delivered so many sinful people by helping them to connect to Krishna and to himself too because he is none other than Krishna with the mood of Srimati Radharani. People were mesmerised seeing him chant and dance.

In fact, anyone who saw him got purified. There was a Muslim tailor who once saw Mahaprabhu singing, dancing and chanting.  Mahaprabhu showed his mercy upon him by showing him his original form. The tailor became maddened with joy seeing the beautiful form of the Lord and became his devotee.

“Saying “I have seen! I have seen!” and dancing in ecstatic love as though mad, he became a first-class Vaiṣṇava.” CC Ādi 17.232

What to talk of human beings, the merciful Lord even delivered animals. Once a dog accompanied Srila Sivananda Sen when he was going to see Lord Chaitanya in Jagannath Puri.  The fortunate dog got to see Mahaprabhu and the dog got delivered and attained Vaikuntah.  

“Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If even a doggish non devotee somehow takes shelter of such devotees, he enjoys the aroma of the lotus flower.” CC Ādi 10.1

In this fallen age of Kaliyuga we are all fallen. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is none other than Krishna has come here to deliver us from sinful life which is the cause of all the sufferings and take us back to the spiritual world.  Indeed, he is the friend of the fallen souls. Are we ready to become his friend?

Three Reflections

• If we are suffering now, it implies that we committed sins in past either in this life or in past lives.
• A tailor became maddened with joy seeing the beautiful form of Lord Chaitanya and became his devotee.
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is none other than Krishna has come here to deliver us from sinful life.

Ask Yourself?

• Do I believe in the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?

Action Item

• To know the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu read “The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Youth” given in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Air India Dreamliner crash reminds us how life is uncertain in this world

Life is so uncertain. Anything can happen at any moment.  Yesterday we heard the tragic news of Air India Dreamliner crashing in Ahmedabad in which 250 people died. The plane crashed into BJ Medical Collegehostel killing some of the students who were having lunch in hostel mess.

The passengers in the plane would have never imagined that they are boarding a plane which will ultimately end their life. Neither do the students who were having their meal in the hostel. 

It is such a tragic incident. The only thing what you and I can do is to say prayers to the departed souls. We can chant one round of Hare Krishna Mahamantra for them and their family members.

Although its moment of anger and anguish, it’s also a time for introspection.

The government and the aviation industry will try to find the root cause of the crash and will try to work on it so that such incidents do not happen in future. And we should hope that they be successful in their endeavour.

But simultaneously, we should also try to ask ourselves that why do tragedies happen again and again in this material world. Why people have to die?

Anyone who is born in this world has to die. No one knows how death is going to come. And dying is a painful experience.

Any solution to death?

So, is there any solution to death?  Can we have a death free life?

Scriptures say, “Yes.”  In this material world where we are living death is a certainty but if we go to the spiritual world then we will become free from death. This is what Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 8.15. 

In this material world people die and are again reborn. But those who die actually do not die, because as souls we are eternal. The body die but we continue to live.

So, those who died in the plane crash will get a new body based on their karma and will continue to live.   Even though the soul continues to get new body in this world but the process of dying and getting new body is extremely painful.

This is why scriptures, and the reverent sages say that we should do our best to free ourselves from the repeated cycle of birth and death. And for this we should pray to the Lord.

punarapi jananaṃ punarapi maraṇaṃ
punarapi jananī jaṭhare śayanam
iha saṃsāre bahu dustāre
kṛpayā’pāre pāhi murāre 

So, let us use this human life to get a life which is free from the misery of death. This becomes possible when Krishna will award us a spiritual body and take us back to the spiritual world. In Krishna’s abode, no one dies, no one gets any disease. It is free from all the sufferings and there the devotees enjoy continuously with Krishna.  

We will get such a supreme destination when we will engage our life in practicing devotion to Krishna and not waste our life in material sense gratification of eating, sleeping, mating and defending.

Pray for the departed souls

Once when Prabhupada saw that young boys and girls dancing to loud music, drinking liquor, eating non vegetarian food then Prabhupada had tears in his eyes. His disciples who were with him were confused because they thought that these people are enjoying. But Prabhupada said that they are suffering, and they do not know that they are suffering.

Human life provides us an opportunity to practice devotion to Krishna but if like animals we are obsessed with eating food and enjoying with opposite sex then what is the use of this human life.

We should carefully plan our life so that every moment we move one step closer to Krishna. Let us pray to Krishna to give us determination to practice devotion to him.

Prayers are powerful. So let us pray for the departed souls in the plane crash so that in their next life they get an opportunity to practice devotion to Krishna so that they can return back to the spiritual kingdom.

And we should also become serious in our spiritual endeavour because life is uncertain and we do not know how much time is there for us to live in this world.

So, never give up chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra which pleases Krishna and connects us to Krishna.

Three Reflections:

1. Air India Dreamliner crash reminds us how life is uncertain in this world.
2. Even though soul continues to get a new body but the process of dying is painful.
3. When we return to Krishna’s kingdom in spiritual body, we will be free from death.

Ask Yourself?

• Am I am preparing properly to return back to the kingdom of Krishna?

Action Item

• Chant one round of Hare Krishna Mahamantra for the departed souls in the plane crash.

If you welcome Jagannath during Rath Yatra, then next life you will be in the spiritual world

Scriptures say that if we participate in Jagannath Rath Yatra festival and welcome the Lord riding on the majestic chariot then in next life we will go back to the spiritual world.

Lord provides us a great opportunity to free ourselves from this uncertain pain giving material world and return back to the eternal spiritual world.

Lord Krishna who is the creator of both the spiritual and material universe lives happily in his spiritual world with his associates.  Lord’s associates love the Lord unconditionally.  Seeing his devotees love for him, the Lord too tries his best to reciprocate with their love. 

In this way, the Lord and his devotees, enjoy great pleasure in the spiritual world. But in spite of never-ending happiness in his eternal abode, the Lord misses someone there. He misses us.

Krishna, the Supreme Father of all living entities, wants everyone to be with him in his kingodm. But some of us decided to live away from him thinking that away from him we will be happier, just like a child thinks that he will be carefree and independent to enjoy on his terms when he is away from home.

Krishna never fails to show his mercy

But after living here for unlimited lifetimes, we know how much happy we are here! Fear and anxiety have become our constant companion. And while struggling for living in this world, we have almost forgotten our relationship with our Supreme father, Krishna. 

Although we do not remember him, but he never forgets us nor leaves us. He says in Bhagavad Gita 15.15, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo, “I am seated in everyone’s heart.”

He not just resides in our heart but from time to time even appears in this world for our sake. Krishna comes to tell us not to suffer in this world which is full of miseries but instead return back to his kingdom which is eternal and full of bliss.

He does not like to see us suffer, so, in Bhagavad Gita 18.66 he says, “Just come to me and I will free you from all the sins and sufferings.”  We can see how much love he has for us. But in spite of Krishna’s open invitation, many of us still show reluctance to accept it. However, the Lord does not fail to show his mercy upon such stubborn souls too.

Welcome Lord Jagannath during Rath Yatra

So, the Supreme Lord Krishna as Lord Jagannath decides to go out in the streets searching for those who are not willing to come to him. On the day of rath yatra, he comes out of his temple on a majestic chariot to shower his mercy upon all.  If you closely look at the face of Jagannath, you will see that he has a big smile. It is because he is happy to see us all because we all are his part and parcel. Sitting on the chariot, he extends his beautiful arm to embrace us and to invite us to his eternal kingdom where we can live with him happily forever.  

And if we enthusiastically welcome the Lord during the rath yatra festival, pull the rope of the chariot and joyfully chant “Jai Jagannath” and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra then our life will become successful.  Srila Prabhupada says, “..rathe ca vāmanaṁ dṛṣṭvā punar janma na vidyate . . . if you kindly see these Jagannātha deities riding on these carts and in procession..in your next life you’ll go…, back to home, back to Godhead.” Lecture Festival Ratha-yatra and Press Conference – San Francisco, July 04, 1970.

Three Reflections

1. While struggling for living in this world, we have almost forgotten our relationship with our Supreme father, Krishna. 
2. Krishna says, “Just come to me and I will free you from all the sins and sufferings.” Bhagavad Gita 18.66
3. If we welcome Jagannath during Rath Yatra, then next life we will be in the spiritual world.

Ask Yourself?

• Am I ready to go to the spiritual world?

Action Items

• If yes, then this year do participate in the Rath Yatra festival and welcome the Lord who sits majestically on the chariot.

Snana Yatra celebration is to remind us that Lord Jagannath wants us to deal with him personally

Lord Jagannath who is Krishna wants us to deal with him personally, this is why he appears in this world and performs so many pastimes. Snana Yatra celebration is one such festival – the festival of loving reciprocation between the Lord and his devotees.

Today Lord Jagannath is going to be bathed with many pots of sacred water in Jagannath Puri and also at all the places where Lord Jagannath is worshipped. Jagannath is Krishna or Krishna is Jagannath. He is the Lord of the universe. So, how can he become sick? If you and I become sick, then it is understandable because we have material bodies which continues to decay daily. Our physical body is fragile and prone to many diseases.

But the Lord’s body is not physical. But still, he gets sick. Just like Lord does not require food for survival but still he gets hungry and becomes angry when there is some delay in giving him food. 

If we see all the pastimes of Krishna in Vrindavana or in Dwarka we will see that there is continuous exchange of love between Krishna and his devotees. Whether Krishna is playing with his cowherd friends, taking cows for grazing to Govardhan, stealing butter from the house of the gopis, breaking the pot containing butter, dancing with the gopis – all these pastimes are celebration of reciprocation of love between the Lord and his devotees.

Krishna with his devotees enjoy each other’s company. And when they all are together, there is song, dance, drama, games, pulling each other’s leg, teasing each other, laughter, anger, joy and delicious food. Every moment is a moment of celebration.

Krishna is personal and he wants personal relationship with us too. So, he comes to this world to teach us how to develop personal relationship with him.

Jagannath needs personal attention & care

Jagannath, the Supreme Lord, does not feel hot or cold but still he needs a bath with cold water during the summer time, just like we need to bath with cool water during this period.  So, we have Snana Yatra for Jagannath.

Since he is bathed with many pots of water, so he gets sick, he develops fever. Why? Because he gives us an opportunity to personally take his care. So, for 15 days he remains in a separate room, we can say sick room, and devotees give him medicinal herbs and healthy food.

Since he is sick, so he is not healthy enough to give darshan to his devotees.

How much separation we feel from Jagannath?

So, for 15 days devotees won’t see the Lord on the altar. This is the time to check our heart that during this period whether we are feeling separation from the Lord or not. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, used to visit temple daily to take darshan of Lord Jagannath when he was in Puri. 

During this period when he was not able to see the Lord then he would develop deep separation from Jagannath. He could not bear the separation and would leave Puri and go to Alarnatha.

We feel separation from someone whom we love. So, we have to check our heart if we will be missing the Lord for these 15 days or not. And also, how much eagerly we are waiting to see the Lord on the altar.

It is the period to check how much love we have for the Lord.

Lord wants personal attention, so let us introspect whether we are giving personal attention to him or not.  

We eat food and Lord also wants us to give him food. So, whatever we are eating are we first offering to Lord with love before eating it?  Are we nicely taking care of Lord daily by cleaning him and his altar daily, performing arati daily, doing kirtan for him daily.

If not, then let us do it because this is what Jagannath wants that we should deal with him personally. By doing so we will gradually develop love for the Lord.

And that should be the purpose of our life – to fill our heart with love of Lord.

Three Reflections

1. During this hot weather, Jagannath wants us to bathe him with cold water.
2. Lord gets sick to give us an opportunity to serve him personally.
3. Do we feel separation from the Lord when we do not see the Lord?

Ask Yourself?

• Are we personally taking care of the Lord?

Action Items.

• Daily prepare veg food without onion and garlic and first offer it to Krishna or Jagannath.  Perform arati of the Lord daily.

Do we have faith like Prahlada in the mercy of the Lord?

Prahlada was put into so many difficulties by his father, but he had faith in the mercy of the Lord. The five-year-old boy was convinced that Lord is always going to protect him if he remains under the shelter of the Lord.

When Hiranyakashipu, the demon king, got the boon of almost being immortal in the world then little did he realize that his authority will be challenged by a five-year-old boy who will be his own son.

Prahlada gave good advice to his father but Hiranyakashipu whose heart was filled with hatred for Lord Vishnu did not like the advice. Prahlada did not dislike his father, but he wanted to show him the reality. Sometimes when a doctor administers a bitter pill to the patient then it is not that the doctor dislikes the patient. He just wants to cure the patient.

Everyone wants to become God

Hiranyakashipu thought he is God. His madness did not end here, he believed that he can kill Lord Vishnu. Any sane man i.e. any devotee of the Lord will laugh at this proposition. Its like a rat dreaming of killing a lion.

Prahlada had compassion for his father. He begged him to give up his stubbornness and accept that he is not God, he cannot be God, and he will always remain subordinate to God.

One of the biggest diseases in this world is the desire to become God and act like God.

The materialists try to enjoy like God, the yogis meditate to get the power like God and the Mayavadis want to merge into God so that they can become God.

And everyone for sure always fail in their endeavour. Hiranyakashipu too failed.

But one question we may have is that how a five-year-old boy can challenge the mighty king whom he even demigods feared? It was because Prahlada was completely convinced about his true identity that he is a soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. And his understanding wasn’t theoretical.

He realized the Lord within his heart too. This is why when children of his age were busy playing, he was experiencing joy in chanting and singing the names of the Lord. 

Hearing about the Lord deepens the faith in the mercy of the Lord

The soul being pleasure seeking always looks for pleasure. And the topmost pleasure comes in chanting the names of the Lord.

Prahlada gained this understanding by the grace of sage Narada who recited Bhagavatam when he was in the womb of his mother, Kayadu. The soul is always active whether inside the womb or outside the womb.

The name, form and glory of the Lord which fortunate Prahlada heard from Narada penetrated his heart, and he understood his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord.

Sravanam i.e. hearing from the devotees of the Lord is of great importance. Hearing enlightens us by removing our ignorance and connect us to the Supreme Lord.

Parikshit Maharaja attained perfection by hearing Srimad Bhagavatam from Sukhadeva Goswami.  Srila Prabhupada was also eager to hear. When in Vrindavan he had an option to go and see the deity of Śeṣaśāyī Viṣṇu or listen from his guru, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, then Prabhupada chose to hear Krishna katha.

Little Prahlada developed deep faith in the mercy and protection of the Lord by hearing about the Lord. And the Lord did not disappoint him. Lord Vishnu always protected him and appeared as Lord Narasimhadev to eliminate Hiranyakashipu who was trying to torture and kill him.

Three Reflections

1. One of the biggest diseases in this world is the desire to become God and act like God.
2. The topmost pleasure comes in chanting and hearing the names of the Lord.
3. Prahlada developed deep faith in the mercy and protection of the Lord by continuously hearing about the Lord.

Ask Yourself

• Do I have faith in the mercy of the Lord?

Action Items

• List down three instances when you found yourself helpless but when you prayed to Lord then you were miraculously protected by the Lord.

Lord Rama appears to teach us how to live happily here

Why does Lord Rama appear in this world? Is to kill Ravana? Rama is the creator and destroyer of this universe so killing Ravana was not a big deal for him.

They why he comes? He comes for you and me. The Supreme Lord Rama appears to teach us how to live happily here.

If we begin living as per the standards set by Rama, then we can easily live a misery free life. Let’s reflect on few such examples.

Though the Supreme Lord, he was always subservient to his guru and rsis. He faithfully followed any instruction given by sage Viśvāmitra and Vasista. Despite his father asking him to give up his claim for the throne of Ayodhya and live in forest for 14 years, he never disrespected or disobeyed him.  

Not just that he did not harbour any malice towards Kaikeyi, who had compelled Daśaratha to act in such a cruel way. Even his own son Bharata was not willing to forgive her, but Rama asked his younger brother to give up all hatred for his mother.

How wonderful our life will become if we too like Rama learn the art of freeing our heart of all the hatred!

Rama & Sita’s love in separation

After becoming the king, Rama treated everyone equally including the animals.

To show the world, how a king and the queen should be above all suspicion, Rama and Sita agreed to live separately.  Today some people question Rama’s act. This is because of lack of scriptural understanding. Rama and Sita can never be separated.

To the mundane eyes they both suffered the agony of separation. But scriptures say this “love in separation” is much superior to “love in union.”  Srila Prabhupada explains, “The separation of Lord Rāmacandra from Sītā is spiritually understood as vipralambha, which is an activity of the hlādinī potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead belonging to the śṛṅgāra-rasa, the mellow of conjugal love in the spiritual world.”  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.10.11 purport

Never give up duty in any circumstances

Lord Rama also taught us to never give up our duties even if the circumstances are unpleasant.  His appearance was a great reassurance for all the devotees because he always protected them.

He was mere 16 years old when Viśvāmitra came to Ayodhya and asked Daśaratha to send Rama with him to protect the sacrificial arena from the Rākṣasas.  Daśaratha in tears said, “Rama is so young and has no experience of fighting a war.”  

But Viśvāmitra was aware that Rama is not any other human being who needs to be trained to fight a war. He is the Supreme Lord, creator, maintainer and destroyer of the universe.

So, how much difficult for him will be to destroy the miscreants like Maricha, Subahu and other Rākṣasas who were associates of so-called mighty Ravana and were causing great trouble to Viśvāmitra and other sages. And we all know how swiftly Rama eliminated these Rākṣasas.  Later he even destroyed Ravana bringing joy to the devotees.  

Rama’s impeccable examples are for us to follow with determination. Lord Rama appears and performs many pastimes to teach us how to live happily here. Our heart will experience joy once we bring Rama in our life and start living as per the examples he has set. Rama will shower his mercy upon us and under his love and care, we will be safe and secure.

Three Reflections

1. Rama was not attached to becoming a king, similarly we should not be attached to any power or positions.
2. Rama forgives Kaikeyi teaching us that we should be ready to forgive even those who have harmed us.
3. Rama & Sita are eternal couple, they can never be separated.

Ask Yourselves?

• Do I still carry anger in my heart against a person (or persons) who has(or have) harmed us?

Action Item

• Say a prayer to Lord Rama and take a vow to forgive that person who has heart you.

Holy name of Lord more powerful than the Lord

Holy name of the Lord is very powerful, in fact sometimes it is said that the holy name of the Lord is more powerful than the Lord. 

If we reflect upon the pastimes of the Lord, we will see how Lord shows that his holy name is extremely powerful.

Name of Rama more powerful than Lord Rama

During the construction of Ram Setu, monkeys were writing the names of Rama on the stones and boulders and were throwing it in the ocean to build the bridge. The mighty stones did not sink but would float in the water.

The monkeys were constantly chanting the names of Lord Rama and writing it also on the stone. The construction of Rama Setu had become a Sankirtan festival. Rama was happy to see everyone happy.

Now once Lord Rama himself took a stone and threw it in the ocean. But surprisingly, the stone sank in the ocean. When Hanuman saw this, he smiled. He said to Lord Rama, “Who can save someone whom you have abandoned but who can sink someone who has taken shelter of your holy name. Under the shelter of your holy name, the fortunate soul will never drown into the turbulent ocean of material existence.”

Hearing this Lord Rama smiled. There is a beautiful song which says the name of Rama is greater than Lord Rama – ram se bada ram ka naam.

Draupadi helplessly calls the name Krishna

When Draupadi was being disrobed in the Kuru assembly in Hastinapur then no one came forward to save her honour. In that assembly there was undefeatable Bhisma, guru Drona, Vidura, five mighty Pandavas who were also husband of Draupadi.

But still Dushasana dragged her in the assembly and was trying to strip her naked. With tears in her eyes, she was begging everyone for mercy, but everyone looked away. Then she tried to save herself by holding her sari tight using all her might. But she was failing to protect herself from mighty Dushasana.

In utter helplessness, she raised both her arms and called the name of Krishna. Krishna who was in Dwarka at that time was about to take his meal. But as soon as he heard Draupadi calling his name, he immediately left everything and came to her rescue.

Krishna supplied her unlimited saris. Dushasana failed in his attempt to disrobe Draupadi. Draupadi’s honour is saved and her glory increases.

The name Narayana saves Ajamila

Ajamila had committed so many sins in his life that at the end of his life Yamadutas came to drag him to hell. Seeing the fearsome faces of the Yamadutas, Ajamila called the name of his son whom he loved the most. His son’s name was Narayana.

In great despair, Ajamila called the name Narayana helplessly.

When Vishnudutas, the messenger of Vishnu, heard the name Narayana, they immediately rushed there to protect Ajamila from the Yamadutas. Just by calling the name Narayana, Ajamila was saved from going to hell.

Ajamila understood the danger of leading a sinful life. After his life was spared, he gave up everything and began practicing devotion to Lord and subsequently he perfected his life.

Since by chanting the holy names of the Lord devotees get shelter of the Lord, so devotees say that holy name of the Lord is more powerful than the Lord.

Although we may not have access to the Lord, but we always have access to holy name of the Lord. So, let us always chant the holy name of the Lord.

Three Reflections:

1. The stones begins floating in the ocean when Rama is written on it.
2. Draupadi calls the name Krishna and Krishna immediately comes to save her.
3. Ajamila just says Narayana and Vishnudutas comes and saves him.

Ask Yourself?

• Do I have faith in the holy name of the Lord?

Action Item

• Read “Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender” from Srimad Bhagavatam. The Lord comes to save Gajendra, the elephant, when he calls the name of the Lord.

Observing Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi with right Consciousness

Today is Nirjala Ekadashi, it is also called Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi. This is said to be the most important Ekadashi because as per the scriptures, if anyone has not been able to observe any of the ekadashis of the year then by observing this ekadashi one can get the benefit of observing all the ekadashi of the year.

Although this is said to be the most important reason but if we delve deep into it, we will find that this ekadashi is giving us a very important spiritual message.

Let us see how.

The word nirjala means “without water”. In other ekadashis, devotees take non grain prasadam and water is not prohibited. But in this ekadashi, no water, no food. But why so?

It is because it is expected that on this day, we should give up our attachment to the most basic necessity of life – not just food but also water.

Food and water are required for sustaining our physical body but spiritually we are souls and as souls we are not afflicted by hunger and thirst.

It is when we accept this material body and get attached to it then the physical demands of the body start troubling us. 

Most important message of Nirjala Ekadashi

The most important message we get in Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi is that we are not this body, but we are spirit souls.

And if we remain absorbed in chanting and hearing about the Lord then we will not be troubled by bodily demands of hunger and thirst and under the shelter of Krishna’s holy name we will be happy and satisfied.

So, we should spend every moment of the day in chanting the names of Krishna, reading Srimad Bhagavatam, hearing lectures of Srila Prabhupada, our spiritual master, senior devotees, visiting temple, taking darshan of the Lord, participating in arati and kirtan in the temple.

Also, on this day, we should keep ourselves away from mobile, internet, TV, newspaper, mundane discussions – like discussion on politics, sports or something like this. And it should also not happen that we switch on AC and sleep for hours and just try to complete nirjala ekadashi without chanting and reading scriptures.

If someone is not able to observe nirjala ekadashi because of serious health issues, then they should do the same thing which the devotees who are observing nirjala ekadashi are doing – sravanam & kirtanam, hearing and chanting the names of the Lord.

Lord accepts humble devotees

Now whatever we do the most important thing is to do with right consciousness. Sometimes while observing nirjala ekadashi some may develop ego that I am practicing austerity and start looking down upon those who are not observing it or are not able to observe because of health issues.

Lord only accepts humble devotees and not the one who carries pride in their heart. We know that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not accept a brahmana who used to live only by drinking milk. But later when the same brahmana had humility in his heart then Mahaprabhu accepted him.

So, with a humble heart let us observe Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi. On this auspicious day, let us rise above bodily consciousness and keep ourselves completely occupied spiritually.

Seeking Lord’s mercy to observe nirjala ekadashi successfully

If we are able to do so, then we will find that hunger and thirst will not trouble us much. And when we are able to complete nirjala ekadashi successfully then next day after breaking fast we will feel deep inner satisfaction and happiness.

So, let us pray at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Govinda, Sri Jagannath, Baladeva, Subhadra Maharani, Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga and Srila Prabhupada to shower their mercy upon us so that we can successfully observe Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi and spend the entire day in sravanam and kirtanam.

Three Reflections

1. Observing Nirjala ekadashi gives benefit of all the ekadashi.
2. Today we have to rise above bodily consciousness and give up attachment to food and water.
3. We should spend entire day in chanting the names of Krishna and reading about Krishna from scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrta.

Ask yourself?

• Why I am observing nirjala ekadashi?

Action Item?

• Today, with a humble heart remember Krishna by continuously chanting the beautiful Hare Krishna Mahamantra.