Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Why Indra started enjoying the life of a hog?

Purushottam Nitai Das February 7, 2013
This material world in which we live is too strong to deal with. As a soul we have a unique ability to adapt ourselves to any situation, however unpleasant it might be. Once Indra, the king of heaven, committed some grievous mistake and as a result he was cursed by sage Narada to take birth on earthly planet as a hog. So, Indra became a hog and started living on earth. In due course of time he grew, got married and became the proud father of dozens of piglets. He even became the leader of the hog clan. Seeing his friends and family gave him deep pleasure.

As time passed by the duration of the curse on Indra came to an end, but to the utter amazement of the denizens of heavenly planet Indra was not returning back. Since the throne of the heavenly kingdom could not be empty for a long time so the situation became too serious. Finally Narada personally decided to come and take Indra back. Indra was enjoying his hoggish life – playing with his wife and piglets, joking with his friends and enjoying the stool. Narada felt too bad for the king of the heaven, he immediately approached Indra and reminded him of his heavenly designation. Indra wasn’t impressed.  He argued with Narada, “I am happy here with my friends and family members. My wife, my cute piglets all are dependent on me. If I leave then who will care for them.”

Narada was shocked to hear that Indra was ready to forego the heavenly comfort and was contended to live as a hog. Out of compassion he severed his head and dragged him out of the wretched life which Indra thought was blissful.

This illusory material energy is too powerful; it forces us to believe that the life which we are leading is permanent and more enjoyable than anything else. This is why we do not take the words of the scriptures seriously when it asks us to abandon our materialistic life and focus on spiritual salvation. Let us not follow the footsteps of Indra and try relishing hoggish pleasure instead we should heed the advice of sages and scriptures and make a determined endeavour towards our spiritual destination.

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Tolerating the intolerant impulses

Purushottam Nitai Das February 7, 2013
It is too easy to be nice with someone who is good to us. But how difficult it is to deal with those who are nasty to us? Tolerance is celebrated as a divine quality and intolerance is touted as the weapon of the demoniac. We long to develop the quality of ‘tolerance’ but we easily succumb to intolerance when confronted with unpleasant situations and circumstances. After venting out our inner angst we realize our mistake but sadly it is too late by that time. But why do we lack ‘tolerance’? Theoretically we do understand the gravity and necessity of ‘tolerance’ but practically it is too difficult to adopt it in our life. If we throw a stone in a small pool of water then the entire water body gets disturbed whereas if a stone is thrown in a huge ocean then it hardly makes any impact there. The ocean has depth whereas the small pudding of water is shallow, and so the difference in the impact.

Our reaction to any provoking situation is determined by the spiritual depth which we have cultivated through our sadhana. We immediately get provoked because our heart is shallow and so it does not have the ability to withstand any unpleasant situation. But if we have nurtured our spiritual life prudently then we can easily endure any provoking situation without being disturbed. If we want to progress in our life then tolerance is of immense importance. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his siksastakamprayers has stated that one should be more tolerant than a tree and more humble than a blade of grass. In that state, Lord Chaitanya says one can chant the holy name of Krishna constantly and with deep love.

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Does success bring misery?

Purushottam Nitai Das February 3, 2013
Yes, if our success thrives on others miseries. Our success is mostly comparative in nature.  A student gauges his success by seeing if he has scored more than his peers or not, we get dissatisfied with our jobs when we find that our colleagues are earning more than us. Thus caught up in the quagmire of comparison we hardly feel inner satisfaction and serenity.

We see that Duryodhana had everything in his life. Being the son of the king of Hastinapur his all demands were immediately met with. He soaked in the sights and sounds of material world. But still he never felt contented because he had developed immense hatred for the Pandavas. During the childhood, he tried to poison and kill Bhima. He conspired along with his cunning uncle Sakuni and greedy father Duryodhana to drive Pandavas out of Hastinapur and gave them Khandavaprastha. Khandavaprastha was nothing but jungle and forest; however the Pandavas under the direction of Krishna worked very hard to convert that barren land into Indraprastha. Seeing Pandavas ruling the flourishing kingdom of Indraprastha, Duryodhana’s hatred multiplied manifold. He again conspired with Sakuni and cheated Pandavas in the game of dice and forced them into 13 years of exile. During Pandavas exile Duryodhana usurped the kingdom of Indraprasta also. But in spite of all these he was always in misery. He remained in constant anxiety and always feared for his future.

The Pandavas never had any grudge towards Duryodhana. In fact Pandavas never ever tried to harm Duryodhana in spite of Duryodhana’s malicious campaign against them.  Duryodhana’s greed, envy, hatred and jealously not only ruined his life but it sowed the seed of Mahabharata war in which millions of worthy kings and soldiers perished. How envy is dangerous can be easily understood by contemplating on Duryodhana’s plight.

Real success is achieved when our heart is cleansed of hatred and envy. The panacea for making the world a better place is by cultivating selfless love. In Bhagavad – Gita 16.3, Krishna vividly talks about the godly qualities which a person should strive for and one of them He mentions is adrohah: freedom from envy.  So let us nurture our heart and allow the flowers of love to blossom within our heart whose fragrance will spread joy and happiness far and wide. Then we will not have envy for others but instead we will feel happy when we see others happy and we will feel pain when we see others in pain. That would be the true perfection of our live.

 

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Dhruva’s determiantion

Purushottam Nitai Das February 2, 2013
Determination is what separates a man from an animal. Animals act as per their instincts without bothering much about the consequences whilst the humans have the ability to contemplate on the outcome before any action. As humans we constantly endeavour to better our life. However due to lack of determination our attempts does not bring the desired result. Success is guaranteed if we sincerely try to achieve a goal following the directives of the revealed Vedic literatures

The Vedic literatures narrate the story of a 5 year old prince, Dhruva, who sought shelter of Krishna when adversities gazed him. Rebuked, neglected and insulted by his stepmother, Dhruva was heart – broken. The harsh words of his stepmother pierced his heart and he cried bitterly. His own mother’s pacifying words could not reduce his sufferings, the glitz and glamour of the palace did not attract him. During this precarious situation he decided to take refuge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Narada, the great sage, was very much pleased with the little child’s intelligence and so he immediately decided to show him the right path. Dhruva under the guidance of sage Narada performed devotional service with full enthusiasm, determination and concentration for six complete months. Lord Vishnu, seeing the sincerity of the little boy immediately came to shower His affection and mercy upon him. Lord Vishnu awarded him the polestar which came to be known as Dhruvaloka, ensured that he will be the emperor of the whole world for 36 thousand years and at the end will return back to the spiritual abode. Dhruva achieved complete perfection by his sheer determination.

So, if we too want to achieve God’s mercy then like Dhruva we need to have determination and also complete faith in the mercy of the Lord. Lord never betrays His devotees; he just tests our sincerity and seriousness.

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Mid – air crisis

Purushottam Nitai Das January 23, 2013
The below story of an anonymous writer about a little child helps us to understand as how being sheltered helps us to overcome any crisis:
An airplane lost its balance in the mid – air. Passengers were terrified, they were screaming. It appeared that the plane may crash at any time. The pilots eventually regained the control but only after hard struggle. However throughout the ordeal one little girl was very calm and composed. She was peacefully glancing over the pictures from an album. Amazed by her behavior, one of the co-passengers inquired, “Weren’t you afraid”? The girl answered – “No”. “But why”, he shockingly asked. She answered confidently, “My father is the pilot of this plane and I know that he will save me from all the dangers”.
Our life too loses balance quite often and we struggle hard to streamline it. But if there is a trustworthy person steering our life then, we too, like the little girl will be fearless. Vedic literatures explain that we are all individual souls and Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is our Supreme father. So, if we take shelter of Krishna then we can remain peaceful amidst great calamities.

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Let us cultivate spiritual emotions

Purushottam Nitai Das January 21, 2013
Dhritrashtra had lots of material emotions. He used to cry tears for it. He wished to remain the king of Hastinapur and also wanted his son Duryodhana to succeed him. He was so much possessed with his material emotions that he committed several and severe blunders. The end result for him was unfortunately very gruesome – he not only lost his kingdom but also his 100 sons were killed. We too are possessed with material emotions. Materially we want to achieve the best of this world – big house, fancy cars, latest gadgets and almost everything especially those which adorn our friends and relatives’ house. We are aware of the horrendous reality that none of these things will accompany us forever but still we are enamored by it. In fact people are ready to do anything to achieve name, fame and money. Lance Armstrong, a famous athlete recently admitted of taking drugs to enhance his performance to ensure all the accolades comes to him.

Historically and logically it is proven that material emotions plunder our life. So it is imperative for us to transform our material emotions into spiritual emotions. To develop spiritual emotion is so easy, so simple and so practical. We neither have to leave our jobs nor we have to spend lots of time and money. We just need to dovetail all our activities in the service of the Lord. Whatever actions we perform we can offer it to Krishna and while doing anything we can remember Krishna. And by doing this we will develop a desire for Krishna (Bhagavad – Gita 12.9). Once we develop desire for Krishna then we can effortlessly transform and transcend our material emotions. 

 

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In a deplorable state, he roamed in the streets of Mumbai

Purushottam Nitai Das January 17, 2013

He was roaming in the streets of Mumbai in a deplorable state. His body was covered with faeces and he was just donning a tattered t-shirt and nothing else. Jagdish Mali was once a renowned film photographer who is credited with immortalizing the famous Indian movie star, Rekha. During his hey days, several movie aspirants would make a beeline in front of his studio. But today he was all alone, in a decrepit state. Aghast by seeing his plight some of the people tried contacting his daughter. But sadly she too decided not to respond. (“Man who immortalised Rekha rescued from streets”, Times of India)

Our deep longing for material glory entangle us in this material world. Due to our intense desire for name, fame and money we develop strong lust and eagerness to achieve it. However, when we discover that our attempts for enjoyment are being thwarted or in spite of achieving it we do not feel any satisfaction then we develop great hatred and anger. This strengthens our illusion and we again run behind it just like a thirsty man runs towards a mirage in the desert. In this endeavor we completely forget our real spiritual identity thus forgetting God and His message. Due to our forgetfulness of God we lose our intelligence and thus we get further entrapped into illusion. Our life becomes miserable, without right intelligence we transform ourselves into a lump of flesh. Our pitiable situation although generates sympathy but it does not do any good to us. This is why in Bhagavad – Gita, Lord Krishna has warned us, “From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.” Bhagavad – Gita 2.63.

So in our life’s journey we should pause for a moment and ask ourselves, “Are we treading on the right path? Is the goal which we are pursuing will connect us to God and bring ultimate happiness or will it further entangle us in this material world?”

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Fearlessness is indeed possible!

Purushottam Nitai Das January 14, 2013
A thief may dress smartly but within his heart he is extremely fearful. He is always afraid of unseen danger and the chance of being caught. But a law abiding citizen lives a carefree life.

In this world misery afflicts those who mess up with the laws of nature. But those who live as per the injunctions of the revealed scriptures are always happy and hearty. The revealed scriptures such as Bhagavad – Gita, Srimad – Bhagavatam etc. should be our manual for life.  If we purchase any equipment then we get a manual with it which contains guidelines to operate the gadget. However instead of following the guidelines if we start using the machine whimsically then it is bound to give problems. Similarly if we go against the teachings of the scriptures and behave recklessly then we are bound to suffer. Those who understand this and prefer leading a spiritual life lead a very cheerful life.  But those who decry the scriptures often get bewildered by the material world. Uncertainty of the future makes him restive, frustration wanes his enthusiasm and he feels unloved and uncared.

Dealing alone with the material world is like an infant trying to swim across the ocean. Srila Prabhupada explains, bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syat : fear is caused by our absorption in the illusory energy.  However if an expert boatman picks up the child and puts him in his boat then the child’s misery vanishes. Krishna, the expert boatmen has sent the boat for us in the form of the scriptures. We just need to take shelter of this boat. We can safely and fearlessly cross over through all trials and tribulations of material existence.

As Srila Prabhupada explains that Abhayam, fearlessness, is possible only in Krishna consciousness.

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How a girl was able to die peacefully

Purushottam Nitai Das January 12, 2013
A survey conducted by Sunday Times of India (March 6, 2011) threw up a surprise.  Contrary to the perception that young people in India are becoming disinclined towards spirituality the survey shows that younger people are more & more becoming interested in spirituality.

A person may be a billionaire, own palatial bungalows & fleet of cars, and may have all the comforts of this world but still he may feel hollow from within.

Suppose that we take a fish out of water & place it in a beautiful golden aquarium which has no water then will it make the fish happy?  Will the fish be satisfied & satiated just by being in a gold plated aquarium?  The answer is ‘NO’.  A fish can be happy only in water. 

Similarly irrespective of our material positions and possessions, we will feel deprived of inner fulfillment unless and until we re-connect ourselves to our true spiritual identity. We need to understand that we are not this body but we are souls presently in a human body. As a soul we are sac-cid-ananda i.e. eternal, blissful & full of knowledge. The nature of the soul is to be in constant association of the Lord.  So, when we endeavor to connect to the Lord we feel a sense of inner satisfaction & bliss from within. 

In an article published in the Reader’s Digest (‘Searching for the Divine’, Jan 2002) Prof Andrew a neurologist explains that at peak moments of prayer & meditation a person goes to a state of complete relaxation and deep satisfaction and experiences a higher reality.

The following story of a Polish girl illustrates how spirituality can help a person to tolerate a great pain.

The girl was 16 when she discovered that she has cancer & the cancer had already spread all over her body.  The girl was undergoing through tremendous physical pain but fortunately she had discovered a medicine which would help her to bear the unbearable pain.  She would find solace & comfort in singing the Hare Krishna kirtan (song).   Slowly her condition deteriorated further & it became impossible for her to even speak.  Then she requested her brother to sing the kirtan for her.  Her brother who was studying in a college used to phone her and sing the kirtan for her everyday from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. It continued for 2 months.  And one fateful night the girl left this world while her brother was singing the kirtan for her.  Her brother was not aware of this fact.  He came to know about her sister’s death only when his mother picked up the phone and informed him that his sister is no more.   Her death was peaceful. (Reference: travelingmonk.com, I-never-Cry, Volume 11, Chapter 10, Oct 11, 2010). 

The girl was able to withstand the tremendous physical pain because she was able to connect herself with the Supreme Lord which enabled her to experience a higher taste and a higher level of satisfaction which was beyond the body, mind & senses

Spirituality not only purifies our consciousness but also helps us to understand our real self.  So, we should re-spiritualize our lives & develop a harmonious relationship with the Lord then Krishna’s holy names become the soothing balm and His words of wisdom helps us to transcend any pain.

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Why did we abandon Him?

Purushottam Nitai Das January 8, 2013
Seeing Krishna entering Dwarka, the citizens immediately rushed towards Him. In absence of Krishna they were extremely fearful and were eagerly waiting for Him. There fear vanished when they saw Krishna. Out of love they brought several gifts for the Lord and the Lord happily accepted it.

In this world everyone lives in anxiety and in constant fear. The cause of fear is uncertainty. Material nature with which we are associating is very powerful & uncertain, we cannot confront it alone. We need shelter of Krishna to cross over.  But unfortunately we have disassociated ourselves from Krishna.

An orphan lies uncared and unprotected, so he wails pitiably. An orphan cannot be blamed for his precarious condition because he did not abandon his father but his father abandoned him. But how unfortunate we are that we have abandoned our father, Krishna, and have become orphan? Let us ponder over it and ask ourselves that why did we abandon Krishna? Why not re-spiritualize our life and return back to our original home, which we left out of foolishness?

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