Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

How many of us remember our days in our mother’s womb? Although we spent 9 months there but we remember nothing. How many of us can recollect each and every moment of our life which we have spent till now? Of course we can remember in bits and pieces but not in entirety. In fact if we retrospect our life’s spent moments then it will pass in a flash. What does it convey? That the moment which is very precious to us now will lose its relevance in future and we will forget it. Not that we forget many incidents of this life but the Vedic books tells us that we have forgotten many lives which we have lived here in different forms and in different species. This is why when Arjuna, at the onset of the Mahabharata war, bemoans that his relatives will die then Krishna reminds him that as soul all living beings are eternal and so they will never die. When a soul loses its current bodily dress made of flesh then according to his karma he gets a new dress made of flesh. This repeated cycle of birth and death (soul getting new bodies) continues as long as we are in this world and here we have to work very hard for survival.

Krishna, the all good benevolent God does not like to see us in this precarious situation so he comes in this world with a solution which can eliminate all our sufferings for ever. One of the reasons for Krishna’s appearance is that he comes to annihilate the miscreants but most importantly he appears in this mortal world to disseminate the information about the secret of eternal happiness. He being the supreme controller, it is not very difficult for him to extricate the world from unworthy beings and he may accomplish it without descending in this world. But just like a caring father who can chat with his child who is in a hostel on skype where he can hear and see him but he still loves to go and meet his child and tries his best to make life comfortable for him, similarly Krishna comes in this world to meet us, his children, and invite us back to the spiritual world which is free from all sufferings – there is no death, no disease, no mental and physical suffering.

The ephemeral pleasure of this mortal world never satiates our heart. Moreover since our body deteriorates daily so our capacity to enjoy this world also diminishes day by day. This is why Krishna tells us not to be so obsessed with the worldly happiness and distress but to focus on permanent salvation. And for this, we can make the spiritual world our eternal home where happiness is everlasting. Krishna in Gita says that those who become part of his spiritual kingdom never come back to this material world, “Those who reach it never return to this material world” (Bhagavad Gita 15.6). This is the promise of Krishna, whom the Vedic books declare as the Supreme God – Krishna tu bhagavan svayam (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28)

So why let go this wonderful opportunity. We should in fact utilize each and every moment of our life to purify our existence so that we gain the eligibility to become part of Krishna’s abode. On Krishna’s auspicious appearance day we can make a vow to bring Krishna in our life. And the best way to do is to start chanting sincerely the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. We should not waste our time waiting for the right opportunity to start practicing devotional life because in this world there won’t be any perfect moment, we will always find ourselves busy in something or deprived of something. For e.g. a teenager has lots of time, lots of energy but hardly any money. A youth has money, energy but no time. And an old person has time and money but no energy. We will never find a favourable time to do the right thing. A boatman does not always wait for the wind to blow in a particular direction; instead he channelizes the energy of the wind to reach his desired destination. Similarly we can use any opportunity to spiritualize our life. Krishna’s invitation to return to his kingdom needs our immediate attention. In fact if we have a strong desire to spend rest of our life with Krishna then he promises that he will give us the know-how by which we can attain him – To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me (Bhagavad Gita 10.10)

Hope of better tomorrow drives people to deposit their money in schemes which claim to multiply our money manifold in short span of time but it also forewarns that our investment is “subject to market risk” and we should be ready even for the losses. But the financial advisors asks us to not look at the dark side, many success stories are put forth in front of us and we finally are convinced that we should not get bogged down with negative sentiments. Of course one of the most important reasons why we invest in stocks is because we cannot resist the temptation of multiplying our fortune quickly. And we finally take the plunge thus intertwining our life’s happy and sad moments with the Sensitive Index’s (Sensex) graph, which by nature sometime goes up and sometimes comes down.

Dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification) and moksha (liberation) are the four goals of family life. So for a householder financial stability is a necessity. Head of the family has to make sure that his family members have all the basic necessities of life. So investing money for better return isn’t wrong. However if one gets possessed by the desire for quick exponential profit then one is entering into a danger zone. Just like a gambler who after tasting few successes continues playing till the day when lady luck stops smiling on him, similarly greedy investors continue taking risk till he becomes bankrupt and ruined. A person invested in stocks and soon his money multiplied by 25 times, his Rs 3 lakh became Rs 75 lakh. His family members requested him to soon encash all the profit but with a desire for more he continued investing but sadly the stock suddenly crashed wiping out his entire gain.

Gita advises us to shun greed because it is gateway to hell (Bhagavad Gita 16.21) and asks us to embrace simplicity, a godly quality. It is also verily said that Lord has provided sufficient for our need but not for our greed. We have heard the story of a person who got a goose who gave a golden egg daily. The person was initially happy to have one golden egg a day but soon greed overpowered him and to get all the golden eggs in one shot he cut open the stomach of the bird. He did not find any gold mine there, even the innocent bird died ruining his chance of having a golden egg daily.

So while planning for our financial goal we should keep greed and impatience aside, we should choose means which is just, legitimate and is not too risky. We should not unnecessarily put our life in anxiety by parking our money in volatile markets. Instead we can choose such stocks and schemes after consulting genuine advisors where though profit may not be exponential but has strong base and have good track records of performance spanning several years. There are also schemes, such as government schemes, with almost negligible risk where profit is moderate, we can choose those too. Also we should not be recklessly spending money but should try to simplify our life so that we can save more for the future. It is also better to give up the mindset of amassing too much. In fact money should not be only used for our own aggrandizement but it should also be used to serve the Lord and share it with others in the form of charity (Gita 18.5).

Most importantly, life is not about just making money because even if we succeed in accumulating lots of wealth, we will be leaving everything behind here when we embark on a new destination at the end of our life. This is why sages and seers have advised us to plan our life in a way so that not just our present is pleasurable but our future life is also secure and happy. We can accomplish such a life if we do all our work by keeping Krishna in the centre – In all activities just depend upon Me and work always under My protection. In such devotional service, be fully conscious of Me (Bhagavad Gita 18.57).

So let us not jeopardise our life by linking it to the ups and downs of the sensitive index (Sensex). For a better & bright tomorrow we should live life as per the guidelines given by Krishna in Gita.

Srimad Bhagavatam (S.B) 3.25.21 explains, “The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.”

A sadhu is a dedicated devotee of the Lord, he spends all his time and energy in continuously chanting Lord’s holy names, extolling his activities and sharing his message to all without any discrimination and without compromising with the principles. He speaks about God fearlessly, tolerates insults without any complain and is ready to take any difficulties to make the world God conscious. The ruffians caned Haridas Thakura at 22 marketplaces, Lord Nityananda was violently attacked by Jagai and Madhai but they not just continued preaching them about God but also prayed to the Supreme Lord to forgive them for their nefarious acts. A sadhu does not hate anyone because he knows that all living entities are parts and parcels of the Lord. “The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” (Bhagavad Gita 5.18)

A sadhu engages everyone in the service of the Lord. He never says to people, “serve me” but instead asks everyone to “serve Krishna”. Being very compassionate towards all living beings, he is not satisfied by his own liberation but works hard to liberate all.

SB 3.25.22 explains, “.. a sādhu engages in staunch devotional service to the Lord without deviation. For the sake of the Lord he renounces all other connections, such as family relationships and friendly acquaintances within the world.” Without any ulterior motives, any material attachments, any desire for name, fame, money he distributes love of God to all. “O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want your causeless devotional service birth after birth.” Siksastakam 4.

A sadhu never identifies himself with any material designation; he just desires to serve the Lord. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu succinctly sums up the characteristics of a sadhu, He says, “I am not a bahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, brahmacari or whatever. I am simply the servant of the servant of Krishna.” “Teachings of Lord Kapila, Ch 11, ‘The Symptoms of a Sadhu.’”

Saturday (25th April, 2015) was any other day and being a weekend people were either relaxing in their homes or had frequented to malls, restaurants, theatres and other places of enjoyment. Little did they know that within few minutes their lives will change for worse? A strong earthquake just before noon ruined people’s lives in Nepal and India. Panic striken people ran frantically for their lives – crying and screaming. Buildings were falling apart like pack of cards devouring people in scores. Many got buried under the debris, many escaped but were seriously injured and many succeeded in escaping unhurt physically but emotionally were devastated. People are still afraid to go inside their homes for fear of aftershocks. They spent their nights in the open under make shift tents struggling for food and water. Their sufferings got compounded when along with quake they also had to brave heavy rain and cold weather in the night. The disaster was massive in Nepal killing around 4000 people as per the current available reports, the numbers are surely going to swell. In India around 72 people lost their lives as per the available reports.

While praying for the departed souls and for those who are injured and who lost their near and dear ones, it is also time to ask a pertinent question -Is life so uncertain that within a moment pleasure can turn into pain, happiness into sorrow and life into death? Death comes always uninvited and in different forms – as natural calamities, as disease, as old age, as accidents, as plane crash and in so many different ways. So, when people find death knocking at their doors they panic and asks him to come later but the pleas are never entertained and the person is forcibly dragged out of their body. The inescapability of death is widely known, all of us have to die a day, but none of us are ready to accept this truth. While seeing others making their final journey to the graveyard we assume that it will never happen to us and so we continue with our day to day life thinking and believing that we are here to live for eternity and we continue with our mission for material possessions and positions.

The devastating earthquake did not differentiate among the palatial bungalows, the humble houses and the iconic buildings – all were razed to dust. In life too death does not differentiate between rich and poor, men and women, young and old and famous and ordinary people. Death takes away everything from us. We are not allowed to take even a farthing of this world. This is why the books of wisdom constantly remind us not to waste our time and life running after the material mirage. The temporary pleasures of this world are never going to solve the most important problem of our life – the problem of birth and death. Vedas inform us that as souls we are eternal, we never die (Bhagavad Gita 2.20). At the time of death we just change our body and based on our accumulated karma we are given a new body. And the new body can be of any species – of animals, plants, reptiles, insects, cockroaches and also of humans. In the non-human form of life we are bound to suffer terribly. As humans too we are subjected to trials and tribulations of life. The three forms of sufferings which constantly punish us are:

• Adhibhautika klesha: Miseries caused by people who are inimical to us. They can be our foes or even our family members and relatives.
• Adhidaivika klesha: Miseries caused due to natural calamities like earthquake, tsunami, floods, heavy rain, famine etc.
• Adhyatmika klesha: Miseries caused by our own mind, senses and body. Mind and senses can ruin our life if they are not properly controlled.

However the silver lining is that as humans we have been gifted with the ability and opportunity to not just get rid of all types of sufferings but also have the chance to put an end to the cycle of birth and death forever. And the process to do this has been explained in Vedic books. In Gita 8.15 & 8.16 Krishna says that this world is full of sufferings so he asks us to return back to him to the spiritual abode from where we will never return again to this mortal world.

This mammoth natural calamity which underlined the uncertainty of life should be a wake up call for us. We have no other choice but to become serious and sincere in our practice of devotion to Krishna so that when death knocks at our door we don’t panic but in fact use it as an opportunity to enter to the spiritual world where life is eternal and every moment is full of bliss and not of uncertainty and fear.

(http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17037)

Then the whole society was mired in materialism. Confused about their goal of life almost all of them had either engrossed themselves in materialistic life forgetting religious principles or were using religion as a means to further their materialistic motives. That the purpose of life is to develop love of God they had almost forgotten. But soon the scene changed with the advent of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. People started giving up their materialistic desires and were just driven with a desire to develop pure love of God.

Life is preparation and death is final examination and we all have to compulsorily give that exam. All of us are aware about the inevitable death but many of us do not know the ultimate goal of human life and how to attain that goal. To remove the ignorance of all spiritually illiterate examinees he gave us the list of questions for which we should be bothered: Who am I?  Who is God? What is my relationship with God? What is my ultimate destination? He informed us that we are deathless spirit souls, parts and parcel of Supreme God, Krishna, currently confined in a temporary material body and the only purpose of our life is to revive our relationship with Krishna and return back to his abode where there is no death and no suffering.

He not just educated us about the final destination but he freely distributed to all the elixir of Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare – which is the best medicine for entire humanity in this age of Kali Yuga, the age of downfall. “…..although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha – mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51. Scripture explains that people in Kali yuga are slow – minded, dull – witted, do not have inclination for spiritual life and so they suffer a lot. To salvage such forlorn souls Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who according to the Vedic literatures is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, came. “The Supreme Personality, Janardana, who is the object of the yogis’ meditation, who saves the devotees from various sufferings & who is the master of all yogic practices, who is always full of divine transcendental ecstasy & bliss, will advent in His own divine form of Sri Caitanya”-Padma_Purana.

In spite of being the Supreme God, he played the role of a devotee teaching all with his personal example to chant with reverence, with deep love and without any ulterior motive.

Lord Caitanya, the supreme examiner, the supreme saviour, came here to jog our conscience reminding us that being humans we should live like humans and should not lead a whimsical life like an animal who just bother about sleep, sex, security and sustenance.  Providing solutions to all our problems he gave us a simple solution for salvation i.e. to chant the names of Krishna with sincerity and assured us of a ticket to return back to the spiritual world. Why to chant? Because chanting cleanses the heart of all material impurities and liberates us from the vicious cycle of birth and death. Just like a father who holds the finger of his child teaching him how to walk he too chanted, sang and danced with the devotees showcasing how to practically perform devotion. He told all to chant sincerely, sing melodiously, dance rhythmically and take prasad (sanctified vegetarian food) profusely.

For material success one needs to put in hard labour. And hard work accompanied with uncertainty always breeds insecurity. However the process of devotion taught to us by Lord Caitanya is so simple, so sublime, so sweet and so joyful that while treading the path of devotion there is no negative emotion. When we chant the holy names of Krishna on beads then each bead becomes a stepping stone to reach Krishna. In fact it is the rarest and an extremely extraordinary and unparalleled gift given to us by Lord Caitanya.

Let us abide by his guidelines and get out of this world to be with him. In that spiritual world we will not be bound by our mortal covering. There death does not exist and bliss never ceases to exist.

Today is Gaura Purnima, appearance day of Lord Caitanya.