Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Should a devotee give up his duty?

When Arjuna wanted to run away from the battlefield of Kurushetra, Krishna told him not to do so.

When Arjuna wanted to leave everything and go and beg, Krishna told him not to give up his prescribed duties.

When Arjuna overwhelmed with emotion was trembling and was not able to lift his Gandiva weapon Krishna wasn’t pleased. Why? Because Krishna wanted Arjuna to do his duty with all seriousness and sincerity.

Like Arjuna many times those of us who are practicing (or at least trying to practice) Krishna Consciousness try to run away from the field of action and justify it by saying that the action will entangle us in this material world. But how can we be sure that our non-action will not entangle us in this material world?

Scriptures never asks us to give up our prescribed duties which is not against the religious principles. If we study the lives of great devotees we would find that they were extremely hardworking and expert in their professional fields. Whether one is a monk or a householder, men or women one has to work. Materialists also work hard and devotees also work hard. The difference is that materialist work to gratify their senses, their aim is name, fame, money, power and positions. But a devotee works hard to satisfy the senses of Krishna, whatever he achieves he offers it to Krishna. A devotee tries to put in his best efforts and does not bother about success or failure. He knows that his sincere efforts will please Krishna and not its outcome. Whereas for materialists if the endeavor does not bring desired result he becomes miserable and he gets more entangled in this world.

Bhaktivinod Thakura was a high court judge and he was so expert in his work that when he wanted to take retirement then the government pleaded him not to do so. In fact when the authorities found that it is becoming difficult for him to go to office because his house was far from the court they constructed a railway line from his home to office because they did not want to lose such an expert professional.  And while doing his duty he practiced and preached the teachings of Lord Chaitanya. He has set a standard which we all should try to follow.

But many times I have observed that in the garb of devotional life we become less enthusiastic in our occupational duties and family responsibility. This creates a negative impression not just about us but about the entire Krishna Conscious movement. And since this is not what Krishna wants us to do so eventually it starts affecting our devotional life too.

So as a devotee it is imperative that while practicing our devotion, while diligently following the principles of devotional life we should also sincerely execute our responsibilities in this world. This will help us to become stable in our devotional life and will also help in building a happy and productive Krishna Conscious society. 

 

Let The Lord Not Leave Us Again

Is there anyone of us who want to suffer? How many of us want to be insulted by others? How many of us want to fail in our life? How many of us want to be separated from our loved ones? How many of us want to get diseased? But almost all of us go through these phases in our life and most of the time we find we are so helpless to do anything, we silently weep. Suppose our boss in the office shouts at us we feel humiliated but we can’t do anything else we may lose our job. And some people develop thick skin to such an extent that in spite of insults and sufferings they continue with their lives behaving as if nothing has happened.

Just like cats, dogs and donkeys do not bother for self-respect and continue serving their hostile masters for few morsels of food. We two legged being too do the same thing for our survival. We may think that this is an exaggeration but it is not so. Just look around or google and we can find many such instances of people being humiliated at home, at workplaces and even in public sometimes. In fact scriptures tell us that soul even gets used to suffer in hell. Many of us may not be realizing that we are suffering because we have got so used to suffering. Just like a hog, who gets so used to eat stool that even if someone tells that it is abominable he will just ignore the message.

Animals are always helpless they cannot do anything. But human beings have got the opportunity to change their destiny.  We souls are not meant for suffering. We are not meant for humiliation. We are not meant to suffer the cycle of birth and death. We are meant to enjoy eternally just like the Supreme Lord enjoys eternally. As long as our desires are separate from the Lord as long as we try to enjoy with our senses we will suffer. Let us not get fooled by the false promises of enjoyment of this temporary world. Let us stop serving the pseudo masters of this world who exploits us and instill fear in our heart. 

Let us seek shelter of the original master of the entire creation who is the supreme protector who promises to burn all our sins because of which we suffer. Let his glance enlighten our hearts with transcendental knowledge. Let his sharp arrows pierce our hearts to vanquish all our desires, which binds us to this mortal world. Let us bind our hearts to his lotus feet and cross over the turbulent ocean of material existence.  Let his abode become our permanent abode where we can serve him, love him and live with him forever. Let our sweet Lord not leave us again. We without him are like flower without fragrance, river without water and life like a barren island.

Published in ISKCON NEWS

We may have to leave at any moment

Once a visitor came to a sadhu’s ashram. He saw the sadhu was living in a very simple house. He looked around and found there was nothing worthy in his house –  no bed, no wardrobe, no chair, no table, no refrigerator. The visitor was surprised.  He immediately inquired, “Sir, where are your belongings.” The sadhu asked, “Where are yours?”

The visitor reasoned, “I am just a visitor here and will be here for a short period of time.” The sadhu said, “So, am I.”  While travelling we try to carry minimum luggage so that we travel without much hassle. We carry only essential items. In this world too we are a traveler, we cannot live here permanently although we may wish. But almost all of us believe that we will live here forever and so we keep on hoarding things.  Krishna tells us that to attain peace in this world we should give up all desires for sense gratification and give up all sense of proprietorship. B.G. 2.71.

But we think, “The more we have the more happy we will become.” And so we work hard, to earn more so that we accumulate more. The more desire we have more miserable we become, we also cannot fulfill all our desires. And since we are a cosmic traveler we are asked to vacate the place as soon as our visa expires. All our plea to extend our visa in front of the agents of death fall on deaf ears.  Death can come at any moment. It can come while I am writing this piece or it can come while you are reading this article.  Most of the time it comes without intimation. Using our worldly positions we cannot defy the order of the agents of death, through our wealth we cannot bribe them.

When we have to leave we have to leave and we may be asked to leave at any moment. Stephen Hawking, the renowned scientist, had solutions to many of the mysteries of the world but he too had to wind up all his research work and leave with the agents of death when they came calling. Sridevi, a very popular movie actress, was getting ready for a dinner date with her husband in Dubai. She went to take bath and her husband was eagerly waiting for her to get ready. Little did she or her husband know that there was also an uninvited guest who was waiting to take her with him.

Govinda Dasa Kaviraja, a poet and a devotee of the Lord reminds us that how everything in this world is temporary – e dhana, yaubana, putra, parijana/ ithe ki äche paratiti re/ kamala-dala-jala, jivana talamala/ bhajahu hari-pada niti re.  “What assurance of real happiness is there in all of one’s wealth, youthfulness, sons, and family members? This life is tottering like a drop of water on a lotus petal; therefore you should always serve and worship the divine feet of Lord Hari.”

When we love God we serve all

“Maya Times” – The fake news agency

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Make Every Day a Holy Day

Another memorable day in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 2

It is only because of the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that I got an opportunity to spend another memorable day in Mayapur.  One of the most attractive features of the stay in Mayapur is the morning Mangala arati. If you ever get an opportunity, then do attend the arati at 4:30 am in Mayapur Iskcon temple.

I got up at around 3:30 am, took bath, wore dhoti, kurta, tilak and rushed to the Mayapur Iskcon temple.

Sri Sri Radha Madhav gives his divine darshan

At sharp 4:30 a.m. the conch shell blew first at the panca tattva hall and then at Sri Sri Radha Madhava hall.  The gigantic curtains were slid and Srimati Radharani in her whitish complexion and Sri Madhav in his blackish complexion surrounded by asta sakhis – 8 principal gopis – appeared in front of us. They were colourfully dressed and decorated with flowers and ornaments.

Sri Sri Radha Madhav with their big eyes were looking at us and seeing the temple hall which was filled with thousands of devotees. The Supreme Lord had a broad smile on his lips. Devotees were happy to see the Lord. Everyone paid obeisances to Sri Sri Radha Madhav. The pujari began the arati and one devotee started singing Sri Sri Gurvastakam prayer and other devotees repeated after him in rhythm.  

Arati Begins

Pujari was very carefully worshipping the Lord. He first offered incense and then ghee lamp to the deities. After that the deities were bathed with scented water and then dried using a cloth. After this fresh colourful flowers were offered and at the last using a chamar the Lord was fanned. Peacock fan was not used because it was winter time.

Men and women, rich and poor, young and old, Indians and non Indians, so called upper caste and lower caste, Hindus and non Hindus all had congregated. They had forgotten their material designations and were together singing happily and loudly the prayers and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra from the core of their heart. Singing was to glorify the Lord and please the Lord. And since the Lord was happy to see all chanting, singing and dancing so the devotees were also experiencing happiness.

Narasimha Arati, Tulasi Arati, Siksastakam Prayers

Once the arati was completed the curtains of the altar of Sri Sri Radha Madhava were closed and simultaneously the curtain of the altar of Lord Narasimhadeva opened. The pujari worshipped Lord Narasimhadeva and devotees sang Narsimha arati.

After Narsimha arati there was tulasi arati followed by Sistastakam prayers which was followed by few announcements from the temple management.

Experience the spiritual ecstasy

Although I have tried to share my experience of attending Mangala Arati in Mayapur but unless you personally experience it, you won’t be able to appreciate much what I am saying.

It is said that the taste of the pudding lies in tasting it, so come to Mayapur, spend a day in Mayapur and bathe in the divine ecstasy early in the morning during Mangala Arati. You will never forget that divine experience in Mayapur, it will be memorable day.

Chanting with the devotees

After the announcement, mats were quickly spread in the temple hall and devotees sat together to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.  Srila Prabhupada always advised to practice devotion in association. While chanting I observed that just by seeing the seriousness and enthusiasm of fellow devotees we too try to chant sincerely.

Srila Prabhupada has many times highlighted the importance of devotee association.

“By association with devotees, dirty things within the heart of a materialistic man are gradually washed away by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As silver becomes shiny by being polished, the heart of a materialistic person is cleansed of lusty desires by the good association of devotees. Actually the living being has no connection with this material enjoyment nor with lusty desires. He is simply imagining or dreaming while asleep. But by the association of pure devotees, he is awakened, and immediately the spirit soul is situated in his own glory by understanding his constitutional position as the eternal servant of the Lord.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.20)

Rajapur Jagannath temple and drama

We also had a plan to visit the famous Lord Jagannath temple in Rajapur. This temple is very dear to me as I got married there. It is always a great privilege to take darshan of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi here because in front of them me and my wife took our marriage vows and it is because of their blessings are our marriage is successfully continuing.

This temple is also associated with many pastimes. Devotees performed 3 dramas here. I too participated, I was given the role of Lord Jagannath. It was a spontaneous drama, we prepared just 10 minutes before performing.  

One drama was about Lord Jagannath coming out of the altar, climbing the tree to eat jackfruit. Another was when Lord Baladeva slaps a person who was trying to steal ornaments of Lord Jagannath.

A true story of a girl

The third drama was about a non-Hindu girl who disrespectfully throws away Jagannath’s prasad. Later in the night she is punished by Baladeva and Subhadra. The girl is paralysed.  The father of the girl comes in the morning carrying a basket of fruits to offer to Jagannath and wanted to take the prasad to give to her daughter.

Devotees say that still the girl comes with her family members to take darshan of the Lord and she now respectfully takes prasad.

Drama was the best way to explain the pastime to the new devotees.

Visiting Yogapitha and Gurukul

We then left for Yogapitha, the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya. There we took darshan of Lord Chaitanya along with his consorts. After taking darshan we returned to Mayapur temple for breakfast prasadam. We then went to Gurukul to see how young children from different parts of the world stay together in a traditional environment to learn Vedic scriptures.  

We saw how kids spend each day in a Krishna conscious way in Mayapur gurukul, it was a memorable experience for all of us. In fact, a separate article could be written on the Gurukul experience, I will try to write something about that experience.

In the evening in the temple there was Krishna Conscious party on the eve of New Year which went upto 12. I too participated but not till midnight because I did not want to miss the morning Mangala Arati at 4:30 a.m. next day.

An unforgettable & memorable day in Mayapur

How grateful we should be to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who performed so many wonderful pastimes in Mayapur. And how much indebted we should be to Srila Prabhupada, a great devotee of Lord Chaitanya, who built such a wonderful temple in Mayapur for conditioned souls like you and me. 

I can say for sure that if one stays in Mayapur even for a day then he will spontaneously develop love for Krishna and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This is the reason that if once you go to Mayapur you will like to go there again and again – the beautiful deities, heart touching kirtan and delicious prasadam will keep on calling you.  

For all of us, it was a memorable day in Mayapur. Do visit Mayapur at least for a day and you will cherish that experience throughout your life!

Also read:

Memorable stay in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 1

Memorable stay in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 1

I always feel privileged to be in Mayapur and stay here. In this holy place Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of Krishna appeared around 500 years ago.

Mayapur is also the headquarter of Iskcon – International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Glories of Mayapur dham is unlimited. If one just stays in Mayapur and following the instructions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu practices devotional life then one will not just get freedom from all sufferings but will also get an opportunity to return to the spiritual world, the kingdom of God, Goloka Vrindavan.

So, whenever I get an opportunity, I come to Mayapur and stay there.

Visiting Mayapur to celebrate New Year

This year, me and my wife decided to spend 30th and 31st Dec in Mayapur because we thought that this is the best way to welcome 2018. It isn’t a new year according to Vaisnava calendar but nevertheless Srila Prabhupada taught us that every occasion can be celebrated in a Krishna Conscious way.

We decided to join a group of devotees who were going to Mayapur. We started from Kolkata at around 6:45 a.m.  Devotees were trvelling by bus. I do not like to travel by bus because I have motion sickness.  But it is always better to travel with the devotees, so I reluctantly agreed.

Praying to the Lord and after taking a stemetil tablet, I boarded the bus. But after some time, I was feeling sick but fortunately the bus stopped for breakfast and I quickly got down to breathe fresh air.  

Malpua story

For breakfast, everyone was served hot noodles. Devotees were enjoying it but because I was feeling uneasy, I could not relish it. Once during annual Kartik Yatra of Iskcon Chowpatty, devotees were served malpua.

Many devotees relished malpua and after finishing it they again stood in the queue for second helping of malpua. After finishing the second helping, they again went for third helping and so on.  As much as they could eat, they ate it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

But there were unlucky devotees too because they could not enjoy malpua. They had problem digesting malpua which is made using lots of ghee, milk and is soaked in sugar syrup. Some could not eat because of diabetes. Some wanted but could not enjoy it because their stomach was in bad mood that day.

In the evening class that day, HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj was jokingly explaining that it is all because of our karma. Some devotees with good karma may relish malpua and want more. But some because of their bad karma cannot digest even a small morsel of it although they like it.

I was thinking that because of my bad karma I am not able to enjoy the noodles.

Krishna Conscious fun activities

Anyway, after breakfast, we again boarded the bus. As a precautionary measure, I took another stemetil.

It was time for Krishna Conscious fun activity in the bus. We had planned for quiz and DUMB charade.

I had prepared few quiz questions. HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu asked me to conduct the quiz. All the devotees who were travelling were newly introduced to Krishna Consciousness, but they knew answers to almost all the questions.

Although the questions were simple but everyone need to be complimented for their knowledge about the Vedic scriptures. Questions were about Krishna’s pastimes and were also from Mahabharata and Ramayana.

I have never played DUMB Charade, so HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu organized it. Later HG Sri Nitai Prabhu sang a very melodious Hare Krishna kirtan which everyone enjoyed.

Reached Mayapur, the spiritual capital of world

During the journey I was constantly inquiring when are we going to reach Mayapur because of obvious reasons. And finally, we reached Mayapur at around 12:15 p.m.  By the time we collected our room keys and prasadam coupon it was almost 1 p.m. Unfortunately darshan was closed, so we decided to have lunch prasadam.

We took prasadam in Gada Bhavan. Taking prasadam in Gada Bhavan is always a unique experience because of its ambience. You will feel that you are eating in a Vedic monastery. Prasadam as usual was tasty.

Darshan and evening programs

After eating prasadam we took rest till 4 p.m. We had a class by HG Acharya Ratan Prabhu, co – director of ISKCON Kolkata at 4:30. But before the class, we all rushed to take darshan of Sri Sri Radha Madhav and Panca Tattva. We felt blessed to see the beautiful deities. We also took darshan of Lord Narasimhadeva and Srila Prabhupada.

After taking darshan of the deities, we went to attend the class of HG Acharya Ratan Prabhu. Devotees were planning to present one drama in the evening. I was asked to be part of one such drama. I got the role of a narrator. Devotees nicely performed drama; everyone liked it. We then took dinner prasadam at Gada kitchen and returned to our respective rooms.  We were staying in Ishodyan Bhavan in Mayapur.

By the time I reached my room it was 10 pm. The entire day was completely packed, I did not get time to complete my 16 rounds of chanting. Few rounds were remaining which I completed.

Preparing for next day morning Mangala Arati

Also, it was important to take rest early because we did not want to miss the morning Mangala Arati in the Iskcon temple which starts at 4:30 am.

Many new devotees had come with us, and everyone wanted to attend morning Mangala arati. One of them was my colleague. He was also too eager to attend Mangala Arati in the morning. I was eager too.

Before going to bed, I prayed to Sri Sri Radha Madhav and Panca Tattva to bless me so that I can give up lethargy in the morning and go to temple to attend Mangala Arati.

A Krishna conscious day in Mayapur

The first day stay in Mayapur was memorable, we relished each and every moment. Entire day we remained engaged in Krishna Conscious activities. This is the beauty of visiting a holy place.

Even though we may not be pure devotees but seeing so many sincere devotees around us, we too get inspired to become serious in our spiritual life. We try to forget all our material worries and try our best to remain absorbed in Krishna.

Also Read:

Another memorable day in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 2

Only a disciplined disciple develops love for Krishna