Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

The cool rays of the sun, the excitement of the birds and the playful wind makes morning hours very soothing, comforting and relaxing.  Scriptures explain that morning is in the mode of goodness, afternoon is in the mode of passion and evening is in the mode of ignorance.  And the scriptures further say that morning is the best time to practice devotional life. During this time there are very less external distractions and the mind is calm and relaxed. So, one can peacefully and attentively chant the holy names of the Lord. It is true that one can chant the holy name of the Lord at any time in the day and if done with sincerity it would always have the same benefit.  But since almost all of us are sadhana bhaktas (practitioners) and not siddha bhaktas (realized souls) so we are required to practice our devotional life in a way wherein we can completely focus our mind on chanting. And the serene atmosphere of the morning hours helps in being more focussed during chanting which then effectively purifies our minds and senses of all impurities and takes us towards Krishna.  This is why Srila Prabhupada made morning devotional programs compulsory in all the Iskcon temples of the world.

Krishna explicitly advises in Gita that a devotee needs to be hard working. In Gita 6.1 Krishna says that a person who does his prescribed duties as required is actually in the renounced order of life and not the one who doesn’t do any work. And our work should not be whimsical. We should perform only those activities which satisfy the Lord because Krishna has said that work done as sacrifice to Vishnu should only be performed (Bhagavad Gita 3.9). So, a devotee of Krishna always tries his best to be productive at each and every moment of his life and he works in such a way which pleases Krishna and brings him closer to Krishna.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no duty.” B.G. 6.1

Lord Rama’s associates weren’t happy to see Vibhishana when he came to seek shelter of Lord Rama. They thought that Vibhishana being the brother of Ravana, an enemy of Lord Rama, cannot be trusted. But to everyone’s utter surprise they found that Lord Rama happily welcomed Vibhishana and he did not even doubt the motive of Vibhishana. Lord Rama went on to declare that even if Ravana comes to his door then he would happily embrace him. This is why Lord Rama is called very merciful. Being the Supreme Lord, all the living entities are his parts and parcels and in spite of us rejecting him or even going against him, he is always ready to forgive and forget all our previous mistakes and tonnes of sins which we have committed. He does not carry any grudges against us and nor is he vengeful. He always wants to see us happy and tries his best to do what is best for our spiritual life. Our tinniest of endeavour attracts him. During the construction of Rama Setu, all the monkey warriors were doing phenomenal job but there was a little squirrel who was also trying his best to serve the Lord. But due to his insignificant body size he was only able to move a small speck of stone. But Lord Rama appreciated the effort of the squirrel and praised his work.

Desires are endless, the moment one gets fulfilled, immediately the other pops up. In school I wanted the best bicycle. In college the best bike. Now the best car. In future something else will fascinate me. Many a times our desires are not for our basic needs, but it is because of social pressure or a longing to prove our worth to others. My car should be bigger than that of my neighbors, my Smartphone should be completely different than that of my friends, my television set should make people go crazy and so on. Advertisements of today are also tailor made to titillate our ego. Ads like “Neighbors envy owners pride” or “Designed for envy” try to entice people to go on reckless shopping spree.

Bhagavad Gita 2.70: A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.

Today is Vasant Panchami, the first day of spring. Spring is considered to be the best of all the seasons. Different varieties of colorful flowers of various shapes and sizes swarm the earth in this season. The multicolored surrounding exudes sweet fragrance calling people to enjoy the beauty of God’s beautiful creation. The day becomes more beautiful when devotees offer gorgeous garlands prepared by these flowers to Radha and Krishna and bathe them with flower petals and colorful leaves.  The sweetness of the ambience rises at its peak when everyone melodiously sings to glorify the Lord. This is the best way to celebrate Vasant Panchami. The divine couple, our original and eternal Supreme Father and Mother, is most beautiful and loving and when we express our gratitude towards them by giving them the best of this world then they became extremely happy and we too as his parts and parcels feel complete satisfaction and deep bliss.