Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

How to serve Lord Krishna even when you do not like to serve him?

Scriptures and pure devotees of Lord Krishna teaches us to always serve Krishna but in spite of that we are reluctant to serve him. Why is it so? Why we do not want to serve Krishna but always want to serve our senses?

These questions were beautifully answered by HG Jivananda Prabhu, a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada, in his Srimad Bhagavatam Class which he gave at Iskcon Newtown Kolkata temple on 16^th Dec 2023.

Below write up is completely based on the Srimad Bhagavatam 10.74.3 class which Prabhuji gave on 16^th Dec.

Krishna comes to teach us real purpose of life

When Krishna comes, he comes with his entourage. Most of them come before he arrives, some comes after. So, why does Krishna come? To take us back to the spiritual world. He wants us to go home. If he does not come then how we will figure out who we are, what is the purpose of life?

Some people have different purpose in this world – to become scientist, doctors, engineers, artists. Why? Because in this world we want to prove our worth.

In this world, we want to eat, sleep, mate and then defend ourselves from everything. I have to protect my mate, my business. Not only from people but even from animals like rats and insignificant ants.

So, where is the time to figure out my real purpose? We need help. Some who think about the purpose just speculate. They think after world is like that or like this.

So, Lord Krishna has to come to make us understand real purpose of life.

He comes when irreligion starts overtaking religion. When Krishna came religion was lost. So, he came to re-establish it. Why did he do? He did it for us. He came to save devotees and annihilate demons.

But while he is here, he has other things also to do. He likes to enjoy with his friends, with Radharani, with gopis, with Arjuna.

Why Krishna does prescribed duties when he is here in this world?

All prescribed duties come from Krishna. So, why he does the prescribed duties? He does it to tell us that we have to do our prescribed duties.

Krishna is the Supreme Lord. And he is also a dramatic actor. When Krishna was in this world then the kings of the earth were telling Krishna to do certain things and Krishna did it. He is acting like an ordinary human being to teach us how to do the prescribed duties.

Can we say that Krishna is the Supreme Lord and is acting as a naughty child? No. Krishna is the Supreme Lord, but he is a naughty child too.  Krishna wants to enjoy butter. He wants to have fun with Balaram, gopas, gopis and even monkeys. He performs Damodar lila.

Is Krishna’s form as Damodar temporary or just his acting? No. Damodar is Krishna’s form and is real. Whenever he acts, he is real. When sages ask him to act in one way then he does.

In this world, in movies one may act as a romantic hero or a superhero but in real life he may be a drug addict.  He is not real person. But when Krishna does something, he is real. Everything what Krishna does is real. Reality comes from Krishna. When he performs these activities, he demonstrates prescribed duties. And teaches us the importance of prescribed duties.

Why it is important to serve Krishna even when we do not like to do it?

In this world, we have to follow instructions. But many times, we do it reluctantly, we do not do it joyfully.  

But when we perform devotional service then it should be done joyfully. We should think that I am doing it to please guru, Krishna, assembled devotees and all living entities. I am not doing it for my own gratification. When we do something for guru and Krishna even if we do not like to do it then it gives pleasure.

For example, soldiers are given order to do something because they are part of nation. No soldier has personal mission. There mission is to serve the nation.

Our life’s mission

Similarly, we all have same mission – to please guru and Krishna. I may not really want to do it but this is part of mission, so I will do it.  If it was not part of the mission, I won’t be cutting sabji, cleaning floor because I do not want to do it. I am doing these to serve Gaur Nitai.

Sometimes our leader may need us to do something we may not want to do. We may not like it, but I should think that I will do it because I love guru, Krishna and fellow devotees.

I remember, I was given position of travelling sankirtana leader which I did not want to do it at first. But I did it and it was very rewarding. I thought that this was part of Lord Chaitanya’s mission, so I should do it.

In the beginning we may unwillingly do service but in due course we will start liking the service.  It wont give gratification if we do it for ourselves. We have been doing it for our gratification life after life.

How long we have been in this material world that we do not even know. We left spiritual world to come to this material world and here we are subjected to time.

Sweet Anxiety

Times fly when we are having fun. And when we are not having fun then time seems to go slow. We identify with this body, so we identify with this world. When we really get involved with guru and Krishna then we forget time.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Siksastakam, Text 7, says,

yugayitam nimeshena
chakshusha pravrishayitam
shunyayitam jagat sarvam
govinda-virahena me

“O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.”

When you really love someone then with him 12 years will be one moment.

When we add ingredient of love, it changes time.

When we think for our own gratification then it is always filled with anxiety. But when we are giving love, we think we should be giving more, we did not do it enough.

Wanting your beloved to be happy is a sweet anxiety.

Our eternal position & eternal duty

How can Krishna do such a good job of convincing so many people? How many times we see leaders doing a good job of convincing you? Have you witnessed it? No. But Krishna convinces ordinary people. Why? Because he does not have false ego.

He does not have to prove you that he is God. He does not think that you are not thinking me as God. He may walk with ordinary people, and no one knows he is God. Krishna never forgets who he is, but we forget who he is.

We should never forget our eternal position. If we remember this then it will solve all our problems, solve all relationship issues. We see everyone as part and parcel of Krishna. We see that even non devotees are part and parcel of Krishna.

And if you give proper respect to non-devotees and treat them part and parcel of Krishna, then it touches them, and they take to Krishna Consciousness. Gradually they too engage in the service of Krishna.

So, it is important to understand that our eternal position is that we are parts and parcel of Krishna and eternal duty is to always serve Krishna.

Sri Jagannath Puri Dham Kartik Yatra 2023 Day 6: How we get maximum benefit from Dham Yatra?

On the 6^th and the final day of Kartik Yatra, HG Sanat Kumar Prabhu explained how one can get benefit from Dham Yatra. He discussed how we should take darshan of the Dham and darshan in the Dham. He gave the class in the morning in Gambhira. HG Sanat Kumar Prabhu is a very senior devotee of Iskcon Chowpatty, Mumbai.

At the beginning of Kartik Yatra Maharaj spoke about the bhav (emotion) or consciousness which devotees should be having during the yatra. And that bhav should not be only during the yatra but we should carry it back to our homes, to the places of our work then we will get the complete benefit of Dham yatra.

Below article is based on the class given by HG Sanat Kumar Prabhu at Gambhira on 6^th day of Kartik Yatra in Sri Jagannath Puri Dham on 21st Nov 2023.

Srila Prabhupada showed the way

First, we should be grateful to Srila Prabhupada for his contribution in spreading Krishna Consciousness all over the world. He taught us how to do deity worship, what mantra to chant, how to chant, wrote commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam and other Vedic literatures so that we can read it, taught us the importance of Vaishnav seva, tulsi seva and visiting holy places like Jagannath Puri.

In fact, whatever bhakti we are practicing today is only because of the causeless grace of Srila Prabhupada.

Now if we want to express our gratitude to Srila Prabhupada then we should help Srila Prabhupada in making more people devotees of Krishna.  Because this is what Prabhupada wanted, and this was his life’s mission.

Now when we are staying in Dham then we should learn from the acharyas how they approached Dham and lived in Dham.

How Akrura approaches Vrindavan?

For example, when Akrura was entering Vrindavan for the first time then we can see how reverentially he approached Vrindavan. As soon as Akrura sees the footprints of Krishna and Balarama, he immediately gets down from his chariot and starts rolling on the dust of Vrindavan which had those footprints. With tears in his eyes, he starts offering prayers to Krishna and Balarama.

So, as we enter Dham, we should first offer our obeisances and let the dust of the Dham touch our body. It will purify us. We should then offer our prayers and consider ourselves unqualified to enter Dham. Akrura prayed that I am unqualified but still by the mercy of Krishna I am getting entry into Vrindavan.

We should also consider ourselves most fallen and be grateful to Lord Jagannath for allowing us to enter into Jagannath Puri Dham.

But when we start thinking that we are doers then we do not think that we are fallen. We then develop ego and when we have ego then we are bereft of the mercy of the Lord.

To become qualified to enter Dham is to think that we are not qualified at all to be in Dham. If we have carry this consciosuness then we can get benefit from Dham visit.

Uddhava wants to become a blade of grass in Vrindavan

Another example is of Udhhava. When Uddhava comes to Vrindavan then gopis took him to all the places where Lord Krishna had performed pastimes. They showed him Govardhan hill where Krishna lifted the mountain, they showed him Shyam Kund and Radha Kund, they showed the place where he performed Damodar lila, the places where he would play with the gopas. The way the gopis were describing the pastimes of Krishna at different places, Uddhava understood that these gopis are the greatest devotees of Krishna. Their love for Krishna is Supreme.

Uddhava then begins glorifying the gopis. He considers himself to be unqualified to be in Vrindavan. He starts seeking mercy of the gopis. And he prays to become a blade of grass in Vrindavan so that when the gopis walk, the dust of their lotus feet falls upon him.

“The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands, sons and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to be one of the bushes, creepers or herbs in Vṛndāvana, because the gopīs trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.61

Lord Brahma’s humility

In Vrindavan, Brahmaji also offers prayers to Krishna. People have misconception that Brahma is topmost, but Brahmaji is praying to Krishna that he is fallen, he considers himself unqualified and he seeks mercy of Krishna. Because of his humility, Lord Brahma is able to understand the glories of vraja.

In Satya Yuga, Lord Brahma, installed Lord Jagannath and established the worship of Jagannath in Puri. In Kali Yuga, he comes as Haridas Thakura and he considers himself so fallen that he does not enter the Jagannath temple.

He prays to Lord Chaitanya to give him a place so that even his shadow does not fall upon the pujaris of Lord Jagannath. Haridas Thakura never ever mentioned that it was I who established the temple of Lord Jagannath in Satya Yuga. But he considers himself most unqualified.

He thinks that during Satya Yuga, the Supreme Lord had given me a different service which I did. And now in Kali Yuga Lord wants me to perform different service so let me do so. He accepted this the mercy of Lord with a humble heart.

Any Service in Dham is Glorious

During Yatra, we put aside everything and focus on intensifying our sadhana. During yatra, whatever service we get we should do it. Any service if done for the Lord with humble heart is glorious.

We should not think that some service is better than others. For example, generally we may think that giving classes, leading kirtan, doing management is glorious but other services are not so great.

If we see the life of great Vaishnavas, they did whatever service they were given with great devotion.

For example, Shyamananda Pandit, would sweep a kunja in vraj daily with a broom for hours. He did it with great devotion. So, if we are getting the service of cleaning the Dham, we should do it happily.

Whatever service, we get we should do it with body, mind and words. If we do so then we can get the benefit of being in Dham. The six goswamis of Vrindavan were always engaged in serving the Dham. They did not waste even a single moment of their life.

Srila Rupa Goswami would either do kirtan, chant or write holy books. He teaches us how to live in a Krishna Conscious way.

So, without wasting time, we should be engaged in serving the Lord. 

Developing qualities to please the Lord

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura says that we should develop qualities which will please the Lord. Once after taking darshan of the Lord, SBSST asked the devotees, “Did you take darshan of the Lord?” The devotees said, “Yes.” Then SBSST again asked, “Did Lord Jagannath took your darshan?”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was trying to say that we should develop qualities and should be engaged in serving the Lord in such a way that the Lord is pleased to see us.

While taking darshan of the Lord, we should think that we are unqualified, but we are able to see the Lord because of the mercy of guru and Vaishnavas.

Conclusion: Carry the memories of Dham

This is the mood, bhav or consciousness we should be having when we are in Dham. And the same mood we should carry back home after yatra. Wherever we took darshan of the Lord, heard katha, did kirtan, ate prasadam we should remember it daily. If we do so, then we will get maximum benefit of visiting Dham or holy places.

Sri Jagannath Puri Dham Kartik Yatra 2023 Day 5: Krishna the reservoir of all pleasure

On the 5^th day of Kartik Yatra, HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj beautifully explained that Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure. But unfortunately, unaware of this truth people keep on looking for pleasure at wrong places and keeps on suffering.

Maharaj also spoke how Lord Chaitanya transformed Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and how Lord Chaitanya by his personal example taught us how we should be grateful to our guru and all the Vaishnavas who have helped us in our spiritual life.

At the end of the class Maharaj said that we should be always eager and enthusiastic to serve Krishna. Even if we are not feeling enthusiastic to serve Krishna still, we should do it. Maharaj quoted the famous statement of Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada had said, “Even if you do not feel enthusiastic, act enthusiastically and eventually you will become enthusiastic.” We should also develop the same mood and do our best as per the instructions of guru, sadhu and sastra.

Below article is based on the class given by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj on the 5^th day of Kartik Yatra at Jagannath Puri Dham. This article covers one of the topics, Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure, which Maharaj spoke in the class.

Suffering is a reminder

In this material world suffering is inevitable. Whoever we are from Lord Brahma to tiny ant, we are temporary and insignificant. Suffering is a reminder to us that what we are actually looking, we are not getting. In this world, everyone thinks that he is better, and others are just crazy. This is the reason for confusion and conflict.

Srila Prabhupada says that everyone in this world is crazy because everyone thinks that they are someone which they are not.

Everyone thinks they are body and think on bodily platform. But body is temporary, and it ultimately dies. But with death everything does not come to an end. Because we again get another body. Death is the start of another life. We create our new body and our future based on the karma we do in the present life.

In 1965, when Srila Prabhupada was in the United States, he was homeless, he was wandering, he was wearing saffron sheet, had nothing with him and 99.9% people thought that he was crazy. But craziness is not based on popular votes, but it is based on ultimate truth.

Srila Prabhupada was dedicating his life to make people understand the highest truth, he was doing his best to give happiness to the suffering humanity.

Srila Prabhupada revolutionized the concept of God

Srila Prabhupada revolutionized the concept of God. Generally, people think that God is the creator, he is almighty, extremely powerful, source of everything. But Srila Prabhupada said that Supreme Lord is the reservoir of all pleasure which we are constantly seeking.

And that Supreme Lord is Krishna. All the Vedic scriptures, great acharyas conclude that Krishna is the Supreme Lord – kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.28

How everyone is searching for Krishna?

In this world everyone is searching for pleasure. So, it means that everyone is searching for Krishna, the reservoir of all the pleasures.

Krishna is the creator and maintainer of this world; he is our father and mother, and he says that this world is full of misery – duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, Bhagavad Gita 8.15

We should believe Krishna.

In Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.58 it is mentioned that there is danger at every step in this world – padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ

But Krishna assures that if we take his shelter then we will not suffer. This is why Krishna appears in this world to tell us that he is always there for us.

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself.” Bhagavad Gita 4.7

Krishna cares for us. This is why as Paramatma he always resides with us near the soul. He is our best well-wishing friend. Once a western journalist asked Srila Prabhupada that why have you come here. Srila Prabhupada said, “To remind you what you have forgotten.”

People have forgotten to take shelter of Krishna and so people are suffering. Whatever happens in this world, positive or negative, comprehensible or incomprehensible, we should always take shelter of Krishna.

Krishna is so merciful that he has appeared in his holy name.

kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kṛṣṇa-avatāra
nāma haite haya sarva-jagat-nistāra

“In this Age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Lord directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered.”  Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 17.22

How can we experience pleasure?

Taking shelter of Krishna becomes easy when we associate with like minded devotees.

Life’s goal is to ultimately seek pleasure from the reservoir of all pleasure, Krishna.

Now, if Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure, then we should give all pleasure to Krishna. To the extent we are living to please Krishna – saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam – to that extent we will be pleased.

In fact, in Krishna’s pleasure, we experience highest pleasure. To the extent we surrender to Krishna to that extent we experience pleasure.

Krishna appears in this world not just to give liberation from suffering but to give love of God. He is giving us entry to Goloka Vrindavan.

Lord Chaitanya is mahā-vadānyāya. He is giving love of Krishna. He is Krishna but giving more mercy than himself i.e. Krishna.

What is Sanatana dharma?

When Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita, he was teaching philosophy. But as Lord Chaitanya, he came and took the role of his own devotee to teach us how to do devotion.

Lord Chaitanya opened storehouse of love for everyone. He did not consider who is fit or unfit, whether its auspicious time or inauspicious time, he gave everyone the opportunity to practice devotion to Krishna, to please Krishna.

When Srila Prabhupada met his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, at that time India was under British rule. Also, there were so many ideologies at that time. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that the only problem plaguing India and the world is because people have forgotten Krishna.

It is true that dharma is to deal with the problem in a practical way, but Sanatana dharma is to please Krishna, to love Krishna.

Krishna, the reservoir of pleasure, bestows unlimited pleasure

Without the association of those who love Krishna and those who are sincerely trying to love Krishna it is impossible to develop love for Krishna.

A vaisnava is one who no matter how advanced he is, he is always grateful to the gift which he has got with the help of other devotees. He is always grateful to his guru and to everyone who helped him in his spiritual life. We see Lord Chaitanya would always give credit to his mother, to his guru and to all the devotees.

Without the blessings of Vaishnav we won’t be able to seek mercy of the Lord. Lord Chaitanya, who is the Supreme Lord, would seek permission from devotees before going for South India yatra. The Supreme Lord always likes to personally reciprocate with the devotee’s love.

In Jagannath Puri when Lord Chaitanya was performing sankirtana with the devotees, then all the devotees would see that Lord Chaitanya was looking at him.

Just like when Krishna would eat prasadam with the gopas then all the gopas would see Krishna eating prasadam with them.  They would experience that Krishna’s unlimited love is exclusively for them and this would give them great pleasure.

Following the footsteps of the associates of the Lord, when we will also completely surrender to Krishna and start serving him whole heartedly, we will also experience that unlimited pleasure which we are always looking for.

Sri Jagannath Puri Dham Kartik Yatra 2023 Day 4: How dham helps to remember Krishna at the time of death?

On the 4^th day of Kartik Yatra, HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu explained how dham (holy place) helps to remember Krishna at the time of death. The class was very inspiring. He gave the class at Tota Gopinath Temple which is one of the famous temples in Sri Jagannath Puri.

On the 4th day, we visited Srila Haridas Thakur Samadhi, Tota Gopinath temple, Chatak Parvat, Mahodadhi (The Great Ocean) in the morning. Devotees also took ocean bath.

In the evening there was no class of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj. There was presentation by HG Yadubara Prabhu and by the devotees of Bhakti Vedanta Hospital about the Barsana Eye Camp. It was also the 80^th appearance day of HG Yadubara Prabhu. HG Mandakini Mataji, spoke in glorification of HG Yadubar Prabhu.  HH Candramauli Swami Maharaja also gave class on Gaur Lila in the evening.

Below article is based on the class given by HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu at Tota Gopinath Temple.

Krishna’s assurance

Last goal of human life is to leave body remembering Krishna.

etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ
sva-dharma-pariniṣṭhayā
janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām
ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ

“The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.6

In Bhagavad Gita 8.5 Krishna says:

anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ

“And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.”

So, Krishna is assuring that if we remember him at the time of death then we are surely going back to him. This is the promise of Krishna. But we will be able to remember Krishna when we have practiced remembering Krishna throughout our life.

It is said that “Life is preparation and death is final examination.” So, how we have lived determines our final destiny. We can fool everyone, but we cannot fool Krishna. Krishna as Paramātmā within our heart knows everything about us.

What does Krishna see?

Also, Krishna just sees our efforts, he is not bothered about the result.

It is said, “Man sees result, but God sees effort. Man sees the lips God sees the heart. Man sees the content God sees the intent.”

Where there is love there is no difficulty in remembering. For example, when a young boy falls in love with a girl, he always remembers her everywhere – while sleeping, while walking, while eating, at home, outside home.

Similarly, if we have love for Krishna then there won’t be difficulty in remembering Krishna. But we do not have strength to get love of Krishna. As in Damodar pastime we see when mother Yashoda tries to bind Krishna then rope is also two fingers short. Similarly, to bind Krishna to our heart we always fall short of two fingers.

One finger is our effort, and the 2^nd finger is Krishna’s mercy.

The only thing which is there in our hand is our endeavour. If we show our effort, our intent then Krishna will be pleased. Just like the story of a sparrow who wanted to dry the ocean because the ocean had stolen her eggs.

She did not have the capability to dry the ocean, but her efforts attracted Garuda and the gigantic bird threatened the ocean that she will dry him. Ocean became fearful and returned the eggs.

If we put in our endeavour, then Krishna’s mercy will come.

What happens when we chant the names of Krishna?

Surrender to Krishna has six elements. One of them is accepting whatever is favourable for our devotional life and rejecting whatever is unfavourable although we may be liking it.

Srila bhaktivinod Thakura writes in his bhajan about the favourable (anukul) things. He says, “Wherever Gauranga Mahaprabhu in any yuga in any form has performed his pastimes, I will try my best to see those places.”

Visiting holy places or dhams is not like going on a picnic. We should see the holy places through the eyes of the scriptures, understand the pastime, smell the dust of the holy places, take bath in holy rivers and chant the names of Krishna.

Once a person following mayavad philosophy told me what is there in name. she said, “A rose will smell the same in any name.” I asked her, “Which is your favourite person?” She said, “My father.” I asked her father’s name. I then told her to close her eyes. After she closed her eyes, I spoke her father’s name. Then I asked her, “What are you seeing?” She said, “I am seeing my father.” “Anything more,” I asked. She said, “Yes, I can remember my father’s qualities. I am remembering how merciful he was, how charitable he was.”

This is exactly what happens when we chant the names of the Supreme Lord. We begin remembering the wonderful qualities of the Lord. The more we understand and appreciate the qualities of the Lord, we begin getting attached to the form of the Lord.

In this material world, people’s name and qualities may not match. For example, a beggar may have name Lakshmipati or a blind man’s name can be nayansukh. But this is not the case with the Supreme Lord. His name and qualities always match.

How devotees remember Krishna at the time of death?

Previously, people would go to dham and take darshan of the deities. They would smell flowers, take bath, take prasad, would role on the dust of the dham. By doing this the lila which occurred in the dham gets embellished in the heart. Remembrance becomes thick.

After this smaran i.e. remembrance of rupa, guna, lila becomes easy. Then thousands of years of bondage vanishes, pastimes of the Lord start glittering in the heart like the sun. No other thoughts come in the heart. If at all the tirthas or dhams we have done kirtan and mananam (remembrance) properly then it becomes like an album in the mind.

And when in old age when there will be difficulty in going to holy places then at that time when someone will just utter the name of the dham then immediately we will remember all the pastimes associated with that dham.

We also remember what all things we did in the dham. We will remember the deity darshan, how we rolled in the dust, the prasadam we took, the holy bath, katha, kirtan, the devotees we met, in fact everything.

In this way, we will always remember Krishna at every moment of our life and also at the time when we will be leaving our body. And if we remember Krishna at the time of death then surely, we will return back to the kingdom of Krishna. Our life will then be successful.

So, we should try to visit dham whenever possible in the association of the devotees. And make best use of the time when we are in dham.

Sri Jagannath Puri Dham Kartik Yatra 2023 Day 3: HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj explains how Krishna took the form of Lord Jagannath

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj explained in detail how Lord Krishna took the form of Lord Jagannath on the third day of Kartik Yatra at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham

In the class Maharaj was giving a message that to enter into the spiritual world we should be free from envy because envy has no place in spiritual world.

Below is what HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj said how Krishna took the form of Lord Jagannath.

Queens of Dwarka are confused

Once the queens of Dwarka were discussing amongst themselves that we are doing everything to make Krishna happy. And in fact, Krishna is also doing everything to make us happy. He has expanded into 16,108 forms for us.

But still Krishna cries and calls the names of gopis and Radha in the middle of the night. One of the queens said, “Not just night but even during the daytime Krishna goes in trance and calls the names of gopis and Radha.”

Who are these gopis? Who is Radha? And what was the pastime in Vrindavan? The queens wanted to know. So, they approached Rohini.

How Rohini is special to Krishna?

Rohini has a special place in Krishna’s pastimes. When Rohini was pregnant, Vasudeva sent her to the house of Nanda and Yashoda. When Rohini met Yashoda, it was like meeting of Yamuna and Ganga at Prayag. Rohini and Yashoda were always together.

Rohini was there when Krishna and Balarama were performing their childhood pastimes in Vrindavan.

After Akrura came to take Krishna to Mathura, Nanda and some of the cowherd men and cowherd boys came with Krishna to Mathura. But Krishna sent them back to Vrindavan. Only Rohini remained.

So, only Rohini was living with Krishna and Balaram in Dwarka. And she had personally seen all the wonderful pastimes of Krishna with the gopis, gopas, with mother Yashoda and with Radharani.

Rohini says to the queens that they will not understand Vrindavan pastime

So, the queens approached Rohini to find out about the loving pastimes of Vrindavan. But Rohini said to the queens that you all will not be able to understand that pastime.

It is because your nature is aishwarya bhav.  You all love Krishna with awe and reverence. You love Krishna’s majesty, his opulence.

But the residents of Vrindavan exclusively possess madhurya bhav. They do not have any concept about Krishna’s majesty. Krishna openly confesses that he is bound by the love of vrajvasis.

We do not see any other incarnation of the Supreme Lord like Lord Rama, Lord Varaha, Lord Kurma dancing. But Krishna dances with the gopis. Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan are very intimate. And those are very dear to Krishna and also to Balaram.

Rohini’s begins narrating Krishna’s Vrindavan pastime

Rohini said that if I share those pastimes then both the brothers will come here immediately, and I won’t be able to handle their emotions. It can also happen that Krishna will become desperate to go to Vrindavan.

But the queens were eager to hear the pastime. So, the arrangement was made that when Rohini will be narrating the pastime then someone will guard the door.

And the person will immediately inform Rohini as soon as Krishna and Balarama come and Rohini will stop immediately. Subhadra volunteered to guard the door.

Rohini began to describe the pastimes of Vrindavan. The queens of Dwarka were struck with wonder.

Envy: Foundation of material existence

A simple quality which defines a devotee is that a devotee has no envy.

Srila Prabhupada explains foundation of material existence is envy. When one tries to be proprietor, controller and enjoyer then that is an expression of envy towards God. God is the actual proprietor, controller and enjoyer.

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ

sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.” Bhagavad Gita 5.29

When one recognizes this and lives in this spirit then one never suffers. Ahankara is the basis of material suffering.

Devotee always wants to see Krishna happy

But a viasnava recognizes Krishna’s greatness and wants to be an eternal servant of Krishna. When we find joy in Krishna’s greatness, his love, his knowledge, his glories then we become happy and satisfied.

In Brihad-bhagavatamrita, we see that each devotee is glorifying other devotees thinking that the other devotee is giving greatest joy to Krishna.

In Vrindavan too the mood is to give greatest joy to Krishna. In Vrindavan even the dust is conscious. And the dust too tries to serve Krishna and the devotees. We see gopis left everything to give pleasure to Krishna.

In fact, to cure Krishna’s headache gopis were willing to give dust of their feet and were willing to suffer in hell forever just to give a moment of joy to Krishna.

Similarly, when mother Rohini was narrating the pastimes of Krishna then the queens were feeling happy that gopis were giving so much happiness to Krishna and Krishna was also giving happiness to the gopis. The queens were not envious of the gopis.

Krishna says that wherever devotees are chanting my names and glories I am present there. 

Krishna develops mahabhav and takes the form of Jagannath

So, Krishna came to know that his pastimes are being discussed in Dwarka. So, he immediately rushed to the place along with Balaram. Subhadra was so absorbed in hearing the pastime that she did not see Krishna and Balarama.

Krishna stood towards the left of Subhadra and Balarama towards her right. But the pastimes were so wonderful that Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra went in great ecstasy. They developed mahabhav. Their eyes dilated, hands and legs entered into their bodies.

Krishna’s body is not like ours. His body is purely spiritual. So, what is inside came out.

Krishna’s feeling of separation from Radharani was expressed on his body and that is Jagannath.

At that time Narada Muni arrived and he saw that wonderful and unique form of the Lord. He requested Krishna to show this wonderful form to all his devotees.

And Lord Krishna agreed and said that I will be present in this form in Jagannath Puri as Jagannath along with my brother Balaram and sister Subhadra.

Conclusion – Try to be seen by Krishna

Through this beautiful pastime of how Krishna took the form of Lord Jagannath, Maharaj also taught us many important lessons. One of the take home point is that we should be free from envy, if we want to particiapte in the pastime of Krishna in the spiritual world.

Maharaj said that we should serve Lord Jagannath so nicely that he should be pleased to see us. He is the seer and we are the seen. Life’s purpose is to serve Krishna, please Krishna so that Krishna is pleased to see us.

And when Krishna will be pleased, he will give us realization.

Sri Jagannath Puri Dham Kartik Yatra 2023 Day 2: HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj glorifies Srila Prabhupada on his disappearance day

Disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada was celebrated on the 2nd day of Kartik Yatra and HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj glorified Srila Prabhupada by discussing about his extraordinary contribution in spreading Krishna Consciousness all over the world.  

Disappearance day celebration began from morning.  At 8 am there were wonderful bhajans. One of the bhajans was, “Yadi Prabhupada na hoito” which has been written by HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj.

After bhajans there was a video class of Srila Prabhupada. Immediately after the class, there was offering by various senior devotees to Srila Prabhupada.

In the afternoon, puspanjali was offered to Srila Prabhupada followed by guru puja.

In the evening again there was offering to Srila Prabhupada by his disciples. There was also a presentation on TOVP in which devotees were encouraged to help build this wonderful project.  HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj also spoke and inspired devotees to contribute in TOVP project.

Maharaj spoke about important events which occurred in the life of Srila Prabhupada.

I am highlighting here 3 important points which Maharaj said on the occassion of disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada during the Kartik Yatra.  

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur introduces teachings of Lord Chaitanya to western world in 1896

Prabhupada appeared in this world in 1896 and this was the year when for the first time the western world was introduced to the teachings of Lord Chaitanya by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote a book entitled “Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – His Life and Precepts.”  The book was written in English language so that the western world can come to know about the life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and also his teachings.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur sent this book to McGill University in Montreal, Canada and to the Royal Asiatic Society in London.

This cannot mere be a coincidence that the year when Srila Prabhupada was born, the great acharya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, writes a book in English about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for the western audience.

And later his son, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, instructs Srila Prabhupada to preach the message of Lord Chaitanya to the western world.

Everything happened by Lord Chaitanya’s plan. Lord Chaitanya had already said that my holy names will be chanted all over the world.

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

“In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.” (Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya 4.126)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur Prediction

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur also had a desire that people from all over the world come to Mayapur to chant the glories of Lord Chaitanya. It was not just his desire but in fact he had also predicted that a day will come when people from different countries will come to Mayapur and will chant the names of Krishna and Chaitanya.

“Very soon the chanting of ‘Harinama sankirtana will be spread all over the world. Oh, when will that day come when people from America, England, France, Germany, Russia will take up karatals and mrdangas and chant Hare Krishna in their towns? When will that day come when the fair-skinned foreigners will come to Sri Mayapur-dhama and join with the Bengali Vaisnavas to chant, Jaya Sacinandana, Jaya Sacinandana. When will that day be?” Sajjana-tosani

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur was sure that this is going to happen because he knew that a great personality is being sent by Lord Chaitanya to accomplish this mission. Srila Prabhupada was that great personality who was personally sent by Lord Chaitanya to spread his names and glories in every nook and corner of the world.

First & Last instruction to Srila Prabhupada by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

When for the first time Srila Prabhupada as young Abhay Charan met his guru, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, in 1922, the first word spoken to him by his guru was, “You are an educated intelligent young man. So, why don’t you spread the teachings of Lord Chaitanya in English language to the western world.”

And the last instruction which Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave to Srila Prabhupada was the same – Spread the teachings of Lord Chaitanya in English language to the western world. This instruction was written by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur in Jagannath Puri just two weeks before he departed from this world.

Srila Prabhupada dedicated his entire life in fulfilling the order of his spiritual master. Without caring for his own life, he made it his life’s mission statement. And in spite of so many difficulties, he carried on with the instruction of his spiritual master.

It was because of Srila Prabhupada’s determination that today we are having this opportunity to practice Krishna Consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada wanted everyone to participate in the construction of Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP):

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj said, “One of the primary dreams of Srila Prabhupada was building Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP). Why? Because it’s a birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, birthplace of sankirtana movement. In Navadwip, Pancha Tattva came together to open storehouse of love of Krishna without considering who is fit or who is unfit.” 

Maharaj further said, “TOVP was dream of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and Srila Prabhupada.  Their dream was that people of whole world understands Lord Chaitanya. TOVP is to attract people to come to the pilgrimage, to get educated and inspired by the life of Lord Chaitanya.”

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj said that Srila Prabhupada has given everybody the responsibility of building this wonderful temple. Maharaj inspired devotees to help in TOVP project by giving the example of HG Jananivāsa Prabhu.

Maharaj said that HG Jananivāsa Prabhu had never left Mayapur for several decades because as a head pujari of Mayapur he was so absorbed in worshipping Sri Sri Radha Madhav.

But to inspire devotees to help in building TOVP, now HG Jananivāsa Prabhu is travelling all over the world. So, we can understand how important this project is for all the devotees. 

Maharaj while concluding his speech said, “On this auspicious day, I humbly request you to fulfill the dream of Srila Prabhupada.“

Program concludes with a Vaisnav bhajan of separation

At the end Maharaj soulfully sang,the vaisnav song, “Je Anilo Prema Dhana.” Devotees were absorbed in singing this beautiful song which has been composed by Srila Narottama Das Thakura.

It was followed by Damodarastakam and lamp offering to the deities.

It was a great way to celebrate the disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada during the Kartik Yatra as Sri Jagannath Puri Dham. Srila Prabhupada has transformed our lives, so we should always remember him and thank him for what he has give to us.

Sri Jagannath Puri Dham Kartik Yatra 2023 Day 1 Class of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj

On the first day of Kartik Yatra, HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj’s important message was “Never leave the shelter of Krishna.”  Maharaj spoke that we should tolerate all the difficulties and inconveniences in life and always be Krishna Conscious.

He further said that we should take maximum spiritual benefit from this Kartik Yatra at Jagannath Puri. Maharaj spoke for around 3 hours. More than 10000 devotees were in rapt attention listening to Maharaj.  

3 important lessons from Maharaj’s first day Kartik Yatra lecture which touched my heart are:

1. Spiritual life does not mean things will go as per our plan

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj in the class said, “Only a neophyte devotee thinks that when he starts practicing bhakti then things will go as per his plan.”  

This statement of Maharaj is so true. When we come to bhakti then we start naively believing that everything will occur as per our wishes. But it’s not going to happen. I have personally experienced it and I think all the devotees might have experienced the same. 

We may plan many things about our smooth life, but this world is very complicated, people ae unpredictable, so, things may not go as per our plan. What to speak as per our plan but it may go diametrically opposite too. This is how this material world functions.

So, we should not be much surprised when things are not going as per our way. Material world is meant to frustrate us.

We think that since I have started practicing bhakti, so Krishna is going to act as per our desires. But Krishna knows what is good for us and what is required for our purification. So, he will act accordingly.

2. Mature devotee never leaves the shelter of Krishna in spite of difficulties, obstacles, heartbreaks.

Maharaj said that a mature devotee never leaves the shelter of Krishna. It does not matter whether a devotee is facing difficulties in life or whether everything is going smoothly.

In all situations and circumstances a devotee who is mature remains under the shelter of Krishna. This is what we see in the life of pure devotees.

For example, Srila Prabhupada had to face so many challenges, but he was least concerned about it. His only focus was to spread the message of Krishna all over the globe.

We see that Maharaj has also faced many obstacles and difficulties in his life but with same enthusiasm he keeps on sharing the message of Krishna to thousands of devotees all over the world.

So, Maharaj gave a very important message that our spiritual life should be unconditional.

Sometimes when things are not going in our favour, we become heart broken. We begin blaming Krishna that why he is giving us so many troubles? Or is he actually bothered about our life or not? We start thinking that Krishna is not reciprocating with us.

But we do not know how Krishna is helping us during the difficult phases of our life. We have been in this material world for unlimited number of years and have committed many sins. Whatever, we are suffering is because of our sins.

We had to suffer a lot more, but Krishna is mercifully minimising our suffering and giving us a token punishment for our purification.

For eternal bliss there may be temporary pain

We may be obsessed with certain things, or we may want some people in our life but Krishna being the Supreme Lord knows what is best for us. So, to save us from future dangerous situations Krishna may not be giving us certain things. Or he might be taking away certain people from our life.

When we are going through such phases in life then we may not understand that how Krishna is being merciful by giving us pain but may be after few years when we look back then we can really be thankful to Krishna for taking away some people from our life or not giving something which we desperately wanted. For eternal bliss we will have to go through some little temporary pain. 

Krisha is our best well – wisher. He is our best friend. He knows what is good for us and what is not good for us. So, we should have faith in Krishna and allow Krishna to purify us. This is what surrender means.

We should loudly say to Krishna, “In all situations and circumstances I will not leave your lotus feet. I am yours forever.  Please accept me and take me out from this miserable material life which is full of unpredictable sufferings.”

Also, Maharaj was saying that even if we are unhappy and we are taking shelter of Krishna then that unhappiness is actually not unhappiness because Krishna is there with us always.

3. After billions of births & deaths we have got an opportunity to associate with the devotees and come for yatra

Maharaj said that that we have taken birth billions and billions of times and have died billions and billions of times in this material world. And after that we have got this human form of life.

And in this human form of life, we have got an opportunity to get the association of the devotees and come to this holy place of Jagannath Puri. So, HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj was saying that we should consider how fortunate we are and how valuable this opportunity is during this Kartik Yatra at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham!

We should be grateful to what we are getting by the mercy of devotees and by the mercy of acharyas like Srila Prabhupada. It is because of Srila Prabhupada that today we know what is the actual purpose of or life. We should not waste this great human birth else again we will have to transmigrate through different species of life.

Maharaj emphasised that since there are thousands of devotees in the Kartik yatra so there will be inconveniences. But we should ignore it and focus on the purpose for which we have come to Jagannath Puri dham.

he purpose of Kartik Yatra is to take the association of the devotees and sincerely absorb in chanting the names and glories of the Lord.  This is the best way to purify our hearts of all the anarthas.

And if we do so sincerely during this yatra then when we return back to our homes, we will be a transformed person. Our hearts will be purer and we will continue to sincerely and happy practice Krishna Consciousness.

Praying for Maharaj’s mercy

I pray at the lotus feet of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj to give me his shelter so that I can follow his instructions sincerely and be more absorbed in chanting the names of Krishna and also, I should consider myself fortunate to be in the association of so many wonderful devotees of Krishna during this Kartik Yatra at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham.

Why Lord Jagannath ate the laddu which was too hard to eat?

Once a devotee offered laddu to Lord Jagannath in the bhoga which was too hard to be eaten but the Supreme Lord ate that offering. There is a beautiful story behind this wonderful pastime. This pastime shows how Lord Jagannath lovingly deals with his devotees.

Devotee decides to cook a special laddu for Jagannath

Once a devotee desired to prepare laddu for Lord Jagannath using jaggery. This was the first time he was preparing such item. He thought everyday Lord is eating the same bhoga items, so, something different should be offered to the Lord. So, he prepared the laddu. And the laddu was offered to the Supreme Lord along with other bhoga items.

On that day during offering time, the king of Jagannath Puri came to take darshan of the Lord. So, after the darshan, the pujaris wanted to offer some prasad to the king. Now the king was busy that day so he thought let me take some light item with me. He saw the laddu and decided to take it with him.

Meanwhile the devotee who had prepared the laddu was looking for it. He thought that this is the first time I have prepared it and offered to the Lord, so, I want to taste it and see how it has come out. It will help me to improve the preparation. But the king had already taken that food item with him.

After taking darshan of the Lord, the king got busy with his other engagements. After completing his work, he sat down to take his meal. While eating his food, he remembered the laddu which he had taken from the temple. So, he requested that laddu be served to him. The laddu was served to the king.

King’s tooth creaks when he tries to eat laddu

But to the surprise of the king, the laddu was extremely hard. Not just that on the same morning the king had severe pain in one of his teeth.  And the king by mistake had bitten the laddu with the same tooth. And because of it, his tooth came out. The king was in pain. He became extremely angry.

He immediately ordered that the person who has prepared this laddu should be put behind bars. King was furious because he thought that how can such a hard laddu be served to the Lord. As per the king’s order, the devotee cook who had prepared the laddu was put behind bars. The devotee was surprised that what was his crime. Later he came to know the reason behind his incarnation.

Jagannath appears in King’s dream

On the same night when the devotee cook was put behind bars the king saw a dream. In the dream, Lord Jagannath appeared, and he was chastising the king. The Lord said that how dare he put his devotee behind bars.

The Lord ordered the king to release the cook immediately. Not just that, Lord Jagannath also said that the king should seek forgiveness from the cook. The cook should be taken on a palanquin to his home and the king should sing the glories of the cook in front of others. The king did not have any problem in following the order of Lord Jagannath.

But the king had a question. He asked the lord, “My dear Lord, I tried eating the laddu but it was too hard. My tooth came out. So, how you are appreciating his offering and how you were able to eat his laddu?”

Lord Jagannath explains how he ate the laddu

The Lord smiled and said, “As soon as I saw the laddu I could understand that it is too difficult for me to eat it. So, I started thinking that which incarnation of mine can eat this laddu. Then I thought only my incarnation as Lord Narasimhadeva with his strong teeth can eat such a hard laddu. So, I ate the laddu as Lord Narasimhadeva. Since my devotee had prepared this laddu with such love, so how I could refuse it.”

The king within his heart understood that how Lord accepts the offering which is prepared with love.

But Lord Jagannath did not stop here. He further said to the king, “My desire is that from today onwards this particular laddu is prepared daily and served. And I as Narasimhadeva will eat it.”

The king happily agreed.

He came out of the dream and immediately ordered that the devotee cook be released. the king also sought forgiveness from the cook and he sent him back home on a palanquin. He glorified the cook in front of others. And also as per the order of Lord Jagannath, the king requested the devotee cook to prepare the laddu daily.

The cook was so happy to hear that in spite of the shortcomings, Lord Jagannath mercifully accepted his offering.

He agreed to prepare the laddu daily. And from that day onwards the laddu was served to the Lord daily. This special laddu came to be known as Narasimha laddu.

Lord only wants our love and nothing else

These pastimes of the Lord shows that the Lord is not hungry for the food items which we offer to him. But he actually sees with what intention we are offering things to him. How much love is there in it. Jagannath is the Lord of the universe; he does not need the food we offer to satisfy his hunger, but he needs our love. That is what he is hungry for.  

Krishna makes it very clear in Bhagavad Gita 9.26 when he says, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”

We are also hungry for the love of Lord but unfortunately, we do not realize this. And so, we suffer in this world. We try to satisfy ourselves through material means. But things of this world can never give us any satisfaction and any happiness.  We will become happy and satisfied only when we offer our love to the Supreme Lord Jagannath.

The devotee prepared laddu with love and Lord Jagannath ate it as Lord Narasimhadeva. Similarly, if we offer anything to Lord with love then the Lord will surely accept it.  And then our life will become perfect. We will be happy and satisfied.

Note: This pastime is based on the class given by HG Baladev Prabhu, a senior monk of Iskcon Chowpatty. He spoke this pastime during the first day of Kartik Yatra 2023 at Bhakti Vaibhav Puri Maharaj Matha at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham.

Welcoming Lord Rama to reside in our heart this Diwali

If on the auspicious day of Diwali, we welcome Lord Rama to reside in our heart forever then we will attain complete perfection. Miseries will disappear from our life. And we will always be in peace and bliss.

Diwali is the day when we light diyas at our home to remove darkness and spread light. This festival is celebrated because on this day Lord Rama returned back to Ayodhya after 14 years.

When Lord Rama had to leave Ayodhya because of Kaikeyi, entire city plunged into gloom. Everyone in Ayodhya became sad. They could not imagine their lives without Rama.  

It is said that many were so much disturbed that they even stopped lighting even a single diya at their homes. Their life became dark and also their houses.

Entire 14 years they kept waiting when Lord Rama will return.

In spite of having everything, everyone was suffering in Ayodhya

It was not that Ayodhya started suffering any economic crisis when Rama was not there. Or Bharat was an incompetent ruler.  

Under the able leadership of Bharat, none of the citizens were facing any difficulties. There was economic prosperity, security and no scarcity of food, clothing and shelter. But still they were not happy. Why? Because Ayodhya was without Lord Rama. And without him how can one be happy.

The saddest person was Bharat. Although he was the king, but he did not want to be in that position. If we study the life of Bharat given in Valmiki Ramayana, we will find that for 14 years he lived a very austere life.

Bharat’s sacrifice

He never lived in the palace. Instead, he lived in a cottage at the outskirts of Ayodhya called Nandigram. Daily, he ate barley soaked in cow urine. He wore tree bark. And he never sat on the throne. Instead of him, Lord Rama’s paduka (sandal) sat on the throne.

Bharat was very clear what he wanted in his life. He was clear that his life is for Lord Rama, and he did not have any slightest doubt about it.

Although, he had all the opportunity and authority to enjoy all the opulence, but he voluntarily chose not to do so. Because he knew that nothing material can satisfy his heart. Heart only experiences happiness when it is filled with the love of the Lord.

Why we won’t be happy in spite of material riches?

In our life too, we may get material prosperity or whatever material desires we may be having can get fulfilled. But unless we have Lord Rama in our life, our life will be bereft of happiness.  The word Rama means one who gives pleasure to all.

We think that material pleasure is all in all. But if we study scriptures, we will find that the pleasure which devotion to Lord gives is priceless and is not comparable with anything of this world.

This is why we see many great devotees who had all the riches happily gave up all their material prosperity and lived a simple life completely absorbed in singing and chanting the names of the Supreme Lord.

Sabari’s unlimited joy

What opulence did Sabari had? Materially she was penniless. But she was told by her guru that one day she will get an opportunity to have darshan of Lord Rama. Not just darshan but she will get an opportunity to serve Lord Rama. Just hearing that she will in future will be serving Lord Rama gave great joy to her heart.

From that day onwards, she always lived remembering Lord Rama and she patiently waited for Lord Rama. She had complete faith in the words of her guru. And also, she had complete faith in the mercy of the Lord.

And Lord Rama who knows the heart of all fulfilled the desire of Sabari giving her unlimited transcendental joy. She attained complete perfection after getting an opportunity to serve the Lord.

Lord Rama wanted to know Bharat’s desire

The Supreme Lord as Paramatma resides always in our heart. And he reciprocates with us as per our desires. He is always there for us. But if he sees that we are not much interested in him then he does not interfere with our desire to not have him. But as soon as he sees that our heart longs for him, he immediately comes to us.

After killing Ravana and his demon associates, Lord Rama with Mother Sita and brother Lakshman was to return to Ayodhya because 14 years was coming to an end. He had promised to Bharat that the moment 14 years is over, he will be there in Ayodhya.

However, before returning to Ayodhya, he wanted to check if Bharat wants to continue as the king of Ayodhya or if he actually wants to hand over the rein to him. To know this, he sent Hanumanji.

Hanumanji was not supposed to ask Bharat whether he wants to continue as the king or not. He just had to just see the expression of Bharat when he was to deliver the news that Lord Rama is going to come back to Ayodhya.

But as soon as Bharat heard that his dear Rama was to come to Ayodhya, tears of love and joy started coming from his eyes. He immediately embraced Hanuman and thanked him in choked voice for informing him that his dear Rama is coming back to Ayodhya.

This Diwali, like Bharat let us welcome Lord Rama in our life forever

When Lord Rama was completely sure that Bharat wants him back in Ayodhya, he immediately returned back to Ayodhya. Bharat was delighted to see the Lord. All the citizens of Ayodhya were dancing in joy seeing their beloved Lord Rama back in Ayodhya.

Their life came back. The day when Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya was celebrated as Diwali or festival of lights. On this day everyone lit their house with lamps.

Each and every nook and corner of Ayodhya was beautifully decorated and unlimited number of diyas were lit to welcome Lord Rama. Seeing the eagerness of the devotees to have him back in Ayodhya, Lord Rama felt happy.

And seeing the Lord happy, everyone felt happy and satisfied. This is spiritual life. The devotees are eager to please the Lord and the Lord is always eager to reciprocate with the desire of the devotees.

This Diwali let us too open our heart to Lord Rama and welcome him. Let us shun all our desire for material enjoyment. Let our heart have only one desire. And like Bharat that desire should be to have Lord Rama in our life forever.

Why to make a Krishna Conscious New Year Resolution this year?

Have you ever tried making Krishna Conscious New Year Resolution? If not, then this year give it a try.

We all make New Year resolutions. In the beginning of every year, we promise to ourselves to consistently engage in those activities which will positively impact our life. We determine to work for good health, lots of wealth, beautiful spouse, luxurious house and so on. We want all these stuffs so that we can thoroughly enjoy our life.

Now, if we jog our memory a little, then we will find that last year too we had same resolutions, and also the previous year, and couple of year back too. In fact, every year we almost make the same promise to ourselves and desire the same stuffs, hoping that it will bring joy to our lives.

Hoping for happiness in this material world

Our quest for enjoying our life is not just continuing year after year but life after life. Throughout life we struggle to bring joy to our life. But surprisingly the happiness which we desperately seek for always elude us.

And even if we succeed in accomplishing some material goals, we find that the pleasure which we get from it is temporary and flickering. And such success is always accompanied with the fear of losing it at any moment. So, where is the happiness?

Now in spite of trying so hard, if we are not able to get something then it means two things – either the way we are trying is wrong or the object which we are pursuing is not worthy enough to give us what we are looking for.

Looking for happiness is not wrong. Scriptures say that we are pleasure seekers – ānanda-mayo ‘bhyāsāt. But the problem is that the things which we think will give us pleasure actually do not have the capability to give us pleasure.

For example, if someone chews a bamboo stick and hope to experience the sweetness of sugarcane juice then can it be possible? Definitely not.

Similarly, hoping for happiness in this world is akin to chewing a bamboo stick.  No matter how hard we chew, nectar won’t flow from it.  In fact, the opposite happens, the teeth breaks. Similarly, the more we are mad for material pleasures, the more insane we become.

A foolish person keeps on trying to derive some nectar in this world. They hope that in future they will succeed in attaining it.

What happens when a donkey dreams to marry a beautiful girl?

Once in a house lived a donkey and a bull. Their master was a heartless person. He would take lots of work from the bull. One day the bull thought that let me pretend that I am sick so that I can take rest today.

So, in the morning when the master came the bull did not get up. The man tried a lot, but the bull acted as if he is in pain. The person thought that I have lots of work, but this bull is now sick, so what to do.

His eyes went to the donkey. He thought that let me take donkey for work today. And the master saw that the donkey was happy to work. The donkey worked whole day and by the time he returned back, he was extremely tired.

The master gave him some dry grass, he ate it and slept. The next day when the master came, bull acted again as if he is sick. Master looked at the donkey. Donkey was ready to go for work. Again, he worked throughout the day and came late evening extremely tired and exhausted. Now, it became a daily routine.

Donkey reveals his heart

Once the bull asked donkey why are you torturing yourself? There is no need to work so hard. Learn from me and act as if you are sick. The donkey protested, “You do not know the actual reason, why I am working hard, so you are speaking nonsense.”

“What is the reason?” the bull inquired.

The donkey said, “Once I heard our master chastising his daughter and saying that “I am going to get you married to this donkey, one day.” So, in order to impress the master, I am working so hard. And I know that if I remain dedicated to my work then one day, I will get to marry his beautiful daughter.” 

Soon the master came and the donkey although tired, limping, frothing from the mouth went to work hard with a hope that he will one day marry the beautiful daughter of his cruel master. This hope motivated him to work harder.  

Why are we not experiencing eternal joy?

The same hope you and I also carry in our heart. All the materialists of the world have the same hope. Everyone thinks that a day will come when they will be able to fulfil their dream and become happy forever.

But an intelligent and thoughtful person understands the futility of such hope.  They understand that whatever little pleasures which this world offers never satiates the heart. On the contrary, it becomes the cause of great distress.

Srimad Bhagavatam says, “Material desire is undoubtedly the cause of the greatest unhappiness, and freedom from such desire is the cause of the greatest happiness.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 11.8.44

So, does it mean that we are forever forbidden to experience eternal joy in our life? Not at all. In fact, to be happy is our eternal fundamental right. The only reason we are not attaining it because we are looking to get it from the wrong source.

Since, we are souls, we are spiritual and not material. So, we should seek spiritual pleasures. Krishna is the source of all transcendental ecstasy, ānanda-dughaṁ, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.29.3.

What happens when we bring Krishna in our life?

Understanding this reality, we should pursue Krishna in our life.  In Nectar of Instruction, Verse 7, Srila Rupa Goswami says, “The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Kṛṣṇa are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy.”

This sweetness, we too can experience if we add Krishna in our life. Just as by watering the root of a tree its branches, twig, leaves, flowers automatically get nourished. Similarly, by engaging in the service of Krishna, we will automatically feel joyful because Krishna is the source of our origin. He is the root, we his parts and parcels.

Also, Krishna’s presence can save us from different kinds of disturbances which keeps causing great fear in our heart. Just like in a forest, fire starts automatically from anywhere, similarly many times miseries enter in our lives at any time without any invitation.

But Krishna’s shower of mercy can give us relief from all sufferings. As deer tremble in fear of lions, material miseries fear in front of Krishna and quickly flees away.  We all aspire for a life free from suffering and full of happiness. Krishna offers such a life. He promises this in Bhagavad Gita.

“O scion of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode.” Bhagavad Gita 18.62

Experience the change by making Krishna Conscious Resolution this New Year

In the beginning of New Year, we have always made non Krishna Conscious resolutions. And have failed to get what our heart actually looks for. So, this year let us do something different, let us make Krishna Conscious New Year Resolution. Let us take a vow to bring Krishna in our life. Let us make him the centre of our life.

And instead of pursuing material pleasures, this year let us engage our mind, body and words in a way which gives pleasure to Krishna. It is said that the taste of the pudding lies in tasting it. So, let us try to taste the pleasure which scriptures promises we get when we become Krishna Conscious.

Let us offer this New Year to Krishna and experience how it changes our life for good.

To be Krishna Conscious whole year, make a resolution to do the following things:

• Chant at least two rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
• Daily read Bhagavad Gita of Srila Prabhupada for at least 30 minutes.
• Visit nearby Iskcon temple at least once a week preferably in the morning so that you can attend morning arati and Srimad Bhagavatam Class in the temple. If not possible in the morning then visit in the evening and attend Gaur Arati. Or whatever time suits you and is practically possible but please do visit the temple and take darshan of the deities.
• Also, join a weekly program conducted by devotees in your area.

These activities won’t take much time and whatever little time it takes is worth giving. And also do not forget to go to temple early in the morning on 1st Jan.

These Krishna Conscious activities will bring auspiciousness in life and make entire year a blissful year. So, this year please do make a Krishna Conscious resolution.