Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Thousands of devotees participate in 54th Kolkata Rath Yatra festival of Iskcon

Hundreds and thousands of devotees enthusiastically came out on the streets of Kolkata to welcome Lord Jagannath during 54^th Kolkata Rath Yatra festival organized by Iskcon. The Rath Yatra procession began at around 2 pm but devotees in large numbers were there many hours before to take a glimpse of Jagannath who was happily sitting on a beautiful and huge chariot. 

Lord Baladeva and sister Subhadra too were there on their chariots. Lord Baladeva was in front, sister Subhadra in the middle and Lord Jagannath at the last. Prabhupada’s deity was on the chariot of Lord Baladeva.

The program started with Pahundi, when Lord Jagannath was taken from the altar to the chariot along with his brother and sister. After the Lord ascended the chariot, his arati was performed and for the pleasure of the Lord there were traditional musical and dance performances in front of the chariot.

Meanwhile arrangements were made for all who had come for the Rath Yatra festival to take delicious prasadam.

Colourful Rath Yatra Procession

As soon as the procession started from Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple at Minto Park, devotees thronged near the chariot to pull the rope of the chariot. Rath Yatra procession was huge. In the beginning of the procession devotees were doing ecstatic kirtan.

There were ladies who were carrying arati plates, some were carrying flags, some devotees during the entire procession were performing folk and traditional dance, there were children dressed as Radh, Krishna, gopas, gopis. There were kirtan parties in front of the chariot of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.

Everyone was chanting Jai Jagannath and were singing the Hare Krishna Kirtan. And while singing devotees were joyfully dancing too.  There were devotees cleaning the road with brooms.  The roads were decorated with colourful rangolis.

While the procession was going on thousands of people were standing on the street to welcome the Lord. As soon as they saw the Lords on the chariot, their faces lit up. They immediately offered their respects to the Lord; some even bowed down on the road to pay their obeisances.

After doing so, they immediately rushed towards the chariot to pull the ropes. People working in the offices wearing their ID cards too came out to pull the ropes.

While they were eagerly pulling the chariot, they were also helping and encouraging others to pull the chariot. At one place when one old lady was facing difficulty in pulling the chariot, then people came forward to help her. There were small children too who got to pull the rope of the chariot.

Some thought that it won’t be possible for them to walk with the Lord for hours till the Lord reaches Gundicha temple. They thought that they will take darshan of the Lord and after pulling the chariot will immediately leave. But as they started marching with the Lord Jagannath, they forgot their fear and fatigue and remained till the end of the Rath Yatra.

Some were not well so had decided not to come but when they saw the procession live on You Tube and heard from their friends that how they are celebrating the festival they immediately took a cab and joined the Rath Yatra procession.

Old men and women who had difficulty in walking were seen welcoming the Lord from their balconies.

At different places arati of Jagannath, Baladeva and Shubhadra was performed. And after arati, bhoga was offered to the Lord. Prasadam of the Lord like different varieties of sweets and fruits were abundantly distributed.

Also, at different places people were freely offering water, fruit juices, lassi to those who were in the Rath Yatra procession. They were quite eager to serve the devotees.

The weather too was good. Neither it was too hot nor it rained.

Jagannath is everyone’s Lord

In the Rath Yatra festival, everyone was there – men and women, young and old, rich and poor, Hindus and non-Hindus, Indians and non-Indians.

And it is natural too; Lord Jagannath is everyone’s Lord. He is not just the Lord of the Hindus, but he is the Lord of all the people of the world. He is not an Indian Lord, but he is the Lord of the entire Universe.

Lord Jagannath resides in everyone’s heart and everyone belongs to him. Some know about it and unfortunately some do not know about it. But by the grace of Jagannath’s devotees like Srila Prabhupada, today people all over the world are understanding this truth and so thousands of people all over the world forgetting their material identities are happily getting connected to Jagannath.

9-day Rath Yatra festival

The Ratra festival finally reached Brigade Ground Parade around 7 pm. Here a makeshift Gundicha temple has been built. The Lord will remain here till the day of Ulta Rath Yatra which is on 5^th July.

Huge pandal has been set up here. During this period there will be different programs, cultural events, talks by senior sannyasis, daily Bhagavatam class, arati in the morning, afternoon and evening, kirtan, dance performances and so on.

In the pandal, there are various attractive stalls for youths and children. Khicdi prasadam will be distributed free to all. There will be prasadam counters from where devotees can buy and enjoy Jagannath’s delicious prasadam.

54^th Kolkata Rath Yatra organized by Iskcon is a 9-day festival, and it is expected that daily thousands of devotees will visit the pandal to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Shubdra Devi.

If you are in Kolkata, then do visit the Gundicha temple at Brigade ground. If not in Kolkata, then wherever you are do visit the temple of Lord Jagannath and make your life divine.

Three Reflections

• Thousands of devotees joyfully participated in 54^th Kolkata Rath Yatra of Iskcon.
• During Rath Yatra, everyone came out on the street to pull the chariot of the Lord – men, women, young, old, Hindus, non-Hindus, Indians, non – Indians – because Jagannath is everyone’s Lord.
• We should forget our material identities and get connect to Jagannath and make our life divine.

Ask Yourself

• Am I planning to visit Gundicha temple to take darshan of the Lord?

Action Item

• If not, then plan to visit the Gundicha temple and seek blessings of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Shundra Devi.
• Chant few rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra in front of Jagannath.

Dear Lord Jagannath, please bind my heart to your lotus feet

Dear Lord Jagannath, on this auspicious day of Rath Yatra festival, please inundate the world by your mercy. O Lord of the Universe, please come and see how we are suffering here without you.

Our heart which is now flooded with nasty desires weeps again and again. Lust, anger and greed has captured my heart, and I feel incapable of freeing myself from its captivity. So, please come and free my heart of these impurities and permanently reside here.

Never leave me, never allow me to leave you.

Today to show unlimited mercy you will be riding on a mammoth chariot along with your elder brother Lord Baladeva and younger sister Subhadra to see the condition of your eternal part and parcel who left you. We thought that without you, we will be happy. But now we know that life without you is like body without a soul.

But in spite of our obstinance to not be with you, you never leave us. You are always there for us in the temple as a deity. And once in every year you come out of your sanctum sanctorum to sanctify the world and purify the heart of the impure. Your Rath Yatra festival is a great gift to the world.

Scriptures say that just by seeing you on the chariot and welcoming you with joy makes us qualified to attain your spiritual abode.

You always reside in Jagannath Puri Dham, and the residents of Puri Dham are fortunate because they always have the opportunity to see you.

54^th Kolkata Rath Yatra festival by Iskcon

But by the grace of your great devotee, Srila Prabhupada, today people all over the world are able to take your darshan and are also able to celebrate Rath Yatra festival. As a child living in Kolkata, Prabhupada would always be eager to go to Puri to seek your blessings.

He was so fond of you that as a child he would celebrate Rath Yatra at his home. And when he established Iskcon, he installed your deity and started Rath Yatra festival in Kolkata. Today in Kolkata, Iskcon is celebrating 54^th Rath Yatra festival.  And devotees not only from Kolkata but from many parts of India are here to participate in this great festival of chariot.

Flood my heart with the desire to always serve you

Unfortunate souls like me will also try to be part of this great festival. My dear Lord Jagannath, today give me an opportunity to see your wonderful face and take your darshan to my hearts content.

Give me an opportunity to pull the transcendental ropes which is fortunate than me because it is always tied to the chariot on which you sit like an emperor of the entire universe.

Dear Lord Jagannath, please bind my heart to your lotus feet with the ropes so hard that I never leave you even when I try to leave you.

You are the Lord of the Universe, there are millions of devotees not only on earth but in the entire universe including great demigods like Shiva, Brahma, Indra, Chandra who worship you. In front of them I am insignificant both materially and spiritually.  

But I know you are a gracious Lord, you are a merciful God, so you won’t deny your mercy to me. My only prayer at your lotus feet is to purify my heart of all material desires and flood my heart with only one desire – the desire to always see you, serve you, worship you, glorify you and always participate in your Rath Yatra festival life after life.

Three Reflections

• Once in every year Lord Jagannath along with his elder brother Lord Baladeva and younger sister Subhadra Devi come out of their sanctum sanctorum during the Rath Yatra festival.
• If we welcome Lord Jagannath riding on the chariot during the Rath Yatra festival, then next life we will go back to the spiritual world.
• Let us pray to our very Dear Lord Jagannath to free our heart of all material desires and bind our heart to his lotus feet.

Ask Yourself

• Today did I pray to Lord Jagannath to fill my heart with spiritual desires so that I always serve him?

Action Item

• Pray to Lord Jagannath and participate in Rath Yatra festival. If not possible to participate then celebrate the festival at home.

We suffer when we rebel against the will of Krishna

Scriptures say that we suffer when we rebel against the will of Krishna.We think that by going against Krishna, we will get what we want to get, but just the opposite happens.

And when we begin suffering, we begin blaming God. There are times, when we are not ready to accept, we are suffering.

Not just that, sometimes, we also choose to suffer.

For example, a non-smoker knows smoking is bad, even on the cigarette pack it’s written that smoking is injurious to health. But still, one smokes. Why? Because they want to tell the world that who are you tell me what to do and what not to do.

Although a person sees that smoking is the cause of mouth cancer, lung cancer, respiratory diseases but still he chooses to not listen to good advice.

The holy books like Gita say that it is because of our false ego, we do things which we are not supposed to do. Due to our arrogance, we deliberately act against the will of the Lord and suffer.

What God wants is already there in Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam. But we close our eyes and ears when the words of God is spoken to us.

In fact, the rebellious souls in spite of directly hearing from God go against the will of God.

Two Examples

For example, Krishna went to the Kauravas as a peace messenger asking them not to indulge in irreligious activities. But foolish Duryodhana mocked him and even attempted to arrest him.  Krishna also did his best to convince Karna to abandon the path of downfall but Karna said that Duryodhana has given me honour and respect so I cannot leave him.

It’s like a person saying that he cannot leave the side of a terrorist because once the terrorist had given him few morsels of bread when he was hungry. Karna was not just siding with Duryodhana, but many times were part of his evil plans too.

If we look back, we will see that anyone who has gone against the laws of God ultimately had to bite dust just like Duryodhana and Karna. And those who always did what God asked him to do always emerged victorious like the Pandavas.

When Krishna appears, miseries disappear

In our life also, we will see that if we are trying to live as per the regulations of the scriptures, we lead a happy life. Externally whatever is required for living in this world the Lord provides, and our heart always remain content and happy.

But if we do not do so, we suffer.

Just think for a moment. If Duryodhana and Karna had accepted Krishna’s proposal then there would have been no bloodshed, and they would have attained the mercy of Krishna and would have returned back to Krishna in the spiritual world for an eternal blissful life.

Let us not be like Duryodhana and Karna.

We are suffering – sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, sometimes emotionally – because we go against the will of God.  Suffering comes only when we rebel against the will of Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Let us accept this harsh reality and try to amend our mistake.

We can start leading God centered life by living as per the guidelines given in scriptures like Bhagavad Gita. If we do so miseries will vanish.

Just like as we switch on the light darkness goes away similarly as Krishna appears in our life suffering goes away.

kṛṣṇa — sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

“Kṛṣṇa is compared to sunshine, and māyā is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the darkness of illusion (the influence of the external energy) will immediately vanish.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta , CC Madhya 22.31

Three Reflections

• Due to our arrogance, we deliberately act against the will of the Lord.
• We are suffering – sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, sometimes emotionally – because we have gone against the will of the Lord.
• Just like as we switch on the light darkness goes away similarly as Krishna appears in our life suffering goes away.

Ask Yourself?

• Do I accept that I am suffering?

Action Item

• Krishna says that do not harm any living entities. So, take a vow to leave eating non vegetarian food.

Why Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura re-established the movement started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Today is the day to remember Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great vaisnava acharya, who re-established the movement started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He appeared around 200 years ago in1838.  Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally sent him to this world to teach us the glory of practicing devotion to Krishna.

Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, that whenever there is decline of religion, he appears to re-establish it. And many times, Krishna sends his chosen devotees also to show people the path which will take us back to him.

Krishna as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared 500 years ago, to propagate the chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra and to teach the necessity of taking shelter of Krishna. But after Mahaprabhu disappeared, slowly his teachings too began disappearing. Not just that there were unscrupulous people who began misinterpreting his teachings.

These pseudo devotees donning the dress of a vaisnava began indulging in irreligious activities like smoking, drinking, keeping illicit relationship with women, eating fish and other non-vegetarian food.  These so-called followers called sahajiyas did great harm to the movement of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Because of them many people became averse to practicing devotion to Krishna.

After Mahaprabhu’s disappearance, his birthplace was also lost, and it was natural too. If people start going against the wishes of Mahaprabhu, then why will he reveal himself to others.

But being the Lord who resides in our heart, he always thinks how to give best to us. So, he decided to send his dear devotee, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura to this world.

Mission of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

His mission was to expose the pseudo devotees and re-establish the original teachings of Mahaprabhu. And the great acharya achieved all this with flying colours.

He worked tirelessly to revive Krishna Consciousness movement started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Today, we see people all over the world chanting the names of Krishna. This became possible only because of this great acharya. He was an erudite scholar, prolific writer and a great preacher.

During his lifetime he wrote around 100 books, many vaisnava songs and preached far and wide. He even began preaching to the western world. He wrote a book, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts, and sent it to the western universities in 1896.

It is quite telling that the same year Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of Iskcon also appeared, who established Krishna Consciousness movement in the western world. Prabhupada revered Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and always glorified him.

Rediscovering birthplace of Mahaprabhu

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also rediscovered the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Maharapbhu gave him divine vision to see his birthplace. When Mahaprabhu’s birthplace was rediscovered then thousands of genuine vaisnavas thronged to Mayapur to touch the dust where once Lord Chaitanya walked and danced and sang.

Seeking his blessings

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wasn’t a sannyasis, he was grihasta, having a wife and almost a dozen children. But while taking responsibility of his family and doing his work of a high court judge dutifully, he took out time to practice and propagate Krishna Consciousness.  

He achieved for what he came to this world. The great acharya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, successfully re-established the movement which was started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 500 years back.

Today is his disappearance day. The pure devotees of the Lord may physically depart but they are always with us through their teachings and through the contribution they make in helping us to advance in our devotion to Krishna.

Let us pray to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura to give us intelligence to distinguish between genuine devotion and pseudo devotion and give us determination to practice devotion to Krishna with great dedication.

Three Reflections

• After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu disappeared, his teachings too disappeared and his birthplace too.
• Pseudo devotees called sahajiyas began misinterpreting his teachings and began indulging in irreligious activities.
• Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote many books and preached vigorously and finally successful re-established the original teachings and movement of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He also found the birthplace of Mahaprabhu which in Mayapur.

Ask Yourself

• Do I know who Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is?

Action Item

• Hear/Read the lecture on Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura given by Srila Prabhupada –  Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Appearance Day Lecture

Surrender to Krishna to be happy forever

If we surrender to Krishna, then all our miseries will immediately end and we will be happy forever. This is confirmed by Krishna himself in Bhagavad Gita 18.66, “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”

In spite of Krishna’s assurance, we refuse to completely surrender to Krishna. Why is it so? Either we do not have complete faith in Krishna’s words, or we are so ignorant that we fail to understand the message of Krishna.

Words of Krishna, the Supreme Lord, should be taken seriously. Krishna is not an ordinary person like us. He is the Supreme Lord. He is the creator and maintainer of the entire world. Scriptures confirm this.

Brahma Samhita 5.1 says, “Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.”

If Krishna is saying something, then it should be taken seriously. So, if Krishna is asking us to surrender then we should not just believe in his words but should also act on it.

Srila Prabhupada explains that we once belonged to the spiritual world where we enjoyed our life with Krishna. But sadly, we decided to come to this material world because we wanted to enjoy an independent life. Away from Krishna, we are undergoing many sufferings. We have forgotten our spiritual homes, our spiritual families and most importantly the love of Krishna.

How to surrender to Krishna

Our condition is like a child who decides to abandon his father and mother and runs away from the house. The adamant child thinks that an independent life will give him great joy. He does not realize that he is voluntarily inviting unlimited miseries.

Just like an orphan child we are struggling in this material world which is not our real home.

We have forgotten the love and warmth of our spiritual homes. Although a child may abandon his parents, but the mother and father always want him to return home. They are always ready to forgive and forget all the mistakes of their child.

Similarly, Krishna, the Supreme Father, is also eager to get re-united with us. He wants us to come back to Him. He makes many arrangements to facilitate our return to the spiritual world.  Around 5000 years back Krishna appeared in this world for us, to inspire us, so that we return back to him.  Once we are with him miseries will not touch us. 

Surrender means to do things which always pleases Krishna. Srila Prabhupada following the footsteps of great vaisnav acharyas taught us how to practice devotion to Krishna and how to surrender to Krishna.  

He explains the meaning of surrender, “Surrender means one should simply accept favorable service to Kṛṣṇa and reject anything which is unfavorable, and then next is avaśya rakṣibe kṛṣṇa viśvasa-pālana: “And to be firmly convinced that ‘Kṛṣṇa will give me all protection.’ ” Lecture on SB 6.3.16-17 — Gorakhpur, February 10, 1971

So, with this understanding let us try our best to surrender to Krishna and enjoy a happy life forever.

Three Reflections

• Away from Krishna, we are sufferings.
• Surrender means to do things which always pleases Krishna.
• Be convinced that Krishna will give me all protection.

Ask Yourself

• Do I always do things which are favourable to Krishna?

Action Item

• Today do not watch anything on internet or TV which is not related to Krishna.

Pleasures of this world fail to give pleasure to the soul

You and I are spirit souls, so our foremost duty is to give utmost pleasure to the soul. If we fail to do so, we will experience dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

Look around you and you will see everyone trying their best to be happy. We too crave for joy, pleasure and happiness in our life. But most often we find that in spite of achieving all what we had desired to achieve we still remain unhappy.

Let us try to see why it happens.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha i.e. eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. We being parts and parcel of the Lord we also are eternal, blissful and full of knowledge.

Our soul craves happiness. But the happiness which the soul longs for is spiritual, which is possible only when we get and remain connected to the Supreme lord. But unfortunately, we think that the pleasures of this world can satisfy our soul.

So, through material positions and possessions we try to derive happiness. We try to accumulate many things here. We struggle hard for name, fame and money thinking that it will open gateway to happiness. But many people possess these, and we may also have got these but still our soul is not satisfied. Inner fulfillment and inner joy always elude us.

Why is it so? Suppose that if we take a fish out of water and put it in a golden jar then will the fish be happy? Definitely ‘Not’. Fish is happy only in water and not out of water.

Similarly, we are spiritual beings, and we will get happiness from spiritual things and not material things.

Soul is an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord

Soul becomes happy when it is strongly connected to the Supreme Lord. If not, then nothing of this entire material universe can give joy to the soul.

For example, we see that in Ayodhya everyone was so happy when Lord Rama appeared. All the residents of Ayodhya were automatically attracted to the Supreme Lord. But when Lord Rama left Ayodhya then everyone felt deep pain in their heart.

It was not that during the time of Lord Rama’s exile to the forest there was material poverty in Ayodhya. People had all material comforts because Bharat was managing the kingdom expertly. But still their heart was burning in separation. 

But as soon as Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya everyone’s heart was filled with joy.

Pure devotees of the Lord understand this fact and through their example they teach us how we should not be mad for things of this world. Instead, we should always strive to serve the Lord.

Because this is the eternal purpose of life, and this gives unlimited joy. For example, we see that Bharat could have become the king of Ayodhya and would have remained so. But Bharat refused to become the king.

The only desire which he had was the desire to serve Lord Rama. We see Lakshman was constantly serving Rama and Hanuman was doing the same.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Lod, appeared in this world to reveal us our true identity. He says, “jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’” which means “It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.108-109.

So, if we are looking for eternal joy and satisfaction then we should always be serving the Supreme Lord Krishna or Lord Rama or Lord Chaitanya. This is what our soul looks for and longs for.

Three Reflections

• As spirit souls, our foremost duty is to give utmost pleasure to the soul.
• Material pleasures cannot satisfy the soul.
• Soul longs for spiritual pleasures, which is possible only when we connect to Krishna.

Ask Yourself?

• Why people having name, fame and money go into depression?

Action Item?

• Try a spiritual activity like chanting the names of Krishna or reading Krishna book and see how you feel.

Have we ever tried to fulfil the desire of Krishna, the Supreme Lord

We try daily to satisfy our desires, but have we ever tried to fulfil the desire of Krishna?

Now, what we do when we go in front of Krishna? Do we ask him his desire, or do we tell him our desire? Most of us have a long list of desires and we expect the Lord to fulfil our desires. If he fulfils it, we think that it was his duty to do so and if our desires are not fulfilled then we become upset with the Lord. 

Most of us have this daily ritual. Now let us ask ourselves that how many times have we ever asked the Lord about his desire? Or do we even care about his desire?  For us God is just our caretaker.  We want him to take care of each and every aspect of our life.

But pure devotees of Lord have no personal desire. Their only desire is to fulfil all the desires of the Lord in all situations and in all circumstances. Krishna also shares his feelings only with those who have unflinching and unmotivated love for him.

Madhavendra Puri is one such great devotee with whom Krishna shared his personal desire.

Krishna steals sweet rice for Madhavendra Puri

First, he asked Madhavendra Puri to install his deity on top of Govardhan hill. And later he asked him to bring sandalwood pulp from Jagannath Puri and apply on him to give him soothing experience. Madhavendra Puri immediately left to full the order of the Lord.

On the way when he came to Remuna he saw pots of sweet rice being offered to Gopinath.

Seeing the delicious preparation, a thought came to his mind – If I could taste it then I can prepare it for my Gopal in Govardhan. But soon he felt terrible. How can I even think about tasting sweet rice which is being offered to Gopinath?

After the arati, he left the temple and began to chant the names of Krishna. Meanwhile in the same night the temple priest had a unique dream. In his dream Gopinath appeared and told him that he has stolen a pot of sweet rice for his devotee Madhavendra Puri, and he should take it and give it to him.

Pujari did what he was ordered and from that day onwards the deity came to be known as ksira `chor Gopinath – Gopniath who stole ksira (sweet rice) for his devotee.

By fulfilling Krishna’s desires, we become happy

When a pure devotee of Krishna works tirelessly to serve the Lord then Lord also reciprocates with that love.   Later Madhavendra Puri got sandalwood in Jagannath Puri and by the order of Gopal he applied sandalwood pulp to Gopinath because Gopal and Gopinath are non-different. 

Pure devotees like Madhavendra Puri appear in this world to teach us the conditioned souls that real satisfaction and happiness is in always serving the Lord and not our own senses.

Krishna tells the characteristics of his pure devotees in Gita, “Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” Bhagavad Gita 9.14

So, instead of focussing on our desires, if we try to always fulfil the desire of Krishna then we will always be in bliss.  Now let us ask ourselves – are we endeavouring to satisfy Krishna’s desires or are still obsessed with our personal desires?

Three Reflections

• Most of us have a long list of desires and we expect the Lord to fulfil our desires.
• Krishna shares his feelings only with those who have selfless love for him.
• Real satisfaction & happiness is in always serving Krishna’s desires and not our own desires.

Ask Yourself

• What I pray when I am in front of Krishna?

Action Item

• In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that his devotees should offer at least something to him with love – fruits, flowers, water.
• So, try to offer something daily to Krishna.
• But do not offer tea, coffee, food with onion garlic and of course non-veg to the Lord.

Our choices decide our destiny, so always choose Krishna

The moment-to-moment choices we make in life decide our destiny. What we are getting now is what we have chosen in the past.

Every problem always has two solutions.  One of the solutions solves our problem permanently and the other gives the impression that the problem has been solved. For example, when Vidura was rebuked and humiliated by Duryodhana just before the onset of Mahabharata war then Vidura had the choice to retaliate back.

But Vidura chooses not to react angrily. Instead of confronting the arrogant Duryodhana and immoral Dhritarashtra, Vidura left the palace and his ministerial position in search for higher truth. He went on a pilgrimage. He visited several holy places and met several holy men including Uddhava and sage Maitreya.

Another example is of Vibhishana. When he was humiliated by proud and lusty Ravana then Vibhishana immediately took refuge of Lord Rama.

On the other hand, we see that when Karna faced unpleasant situations in his life then his reaction was appalling. He began blaming everyone for his miseries and he choose to side with evil Duryodhana. Karna initially thought that by aligning with Duryodhana, his sufferings will get mitigated but actually his sufferings aggravated.

Taking shelter of God dispelled all the miseries from the lives of Vibhishana and Vidura.  But Karna always lived in constant anxiety and fear and ultimately met with an inglorious death because he turned away from God and took the shelter of Duryodhana.

Vidura, Vibhishana and Karna – all three had the option to choose. What then followed in their lives was the outcome of their personal choices. Life always presents us with various opportunities. Our reaction to the situation determines our destiny.

Always choose Krishna & get glorious destination

We can choose to be Krishna conscious, or we can choose to go against the wishes of Krishna. We are independent to choose our path, and based on that choice our destiny is determined.

Now, if we turn the pages of history, we will find that anyone who has gone against the scriptures have always suffered. But whoever has taken the shelter of the Supreme Lord never suffered. Initially it may look that the pious souls are suffering but ultimately, they always emerge victorious in their life. 

For example, Pandavas faced lots of hardships, but they never blamed anyone for their suffering and most importantly they never left the shelter of Krishna. And we see that Krishna was always there to protect them. 

In their so-called hardships too, Krishna was showering his merry upon them, so they never really suffered.  How can there be any suffering when Krishna who is the source of pleasures is present in anyone’s life! And at the end Krishna used the Pandavas to free the world from irreligious Kauravas who were led by Duryodhana and Karna. 

Surrender to Krishna always give glorious result.  Krishna personally takes care of those who takes his shelter and make their life glorious.  This is confirmed by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita 4.11, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante/tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham – As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly.

So before taking any decision in our life we should introspect and see where we are heading towards – are we getting closer to Krishna or are we moving away from him. Our choices will decide our destiny, will shape our future.

Three Reflections

• During difficult time Vidura & Vibhishana chose to take shelter of the Lord and attained glorious destination.
• Karna chose to take shelter of Duryodhana and attained inglorious destination.
• Our reaction to the situation determines our destiny.

Ask Yourself

• What choice I make when I face difficulties?

Action Item

• When you are feeling disturbed then try to pray to Krishna for help, read scriptures and chant the names of Krishna. Always choose Krishna in any situation.

Krishna helps those who help themselves

If we look at the life of great devotees, we will see that Krishna always helps them. Why? Because they are always engaged in practical devotional service of Krishna.

Krishna does not like lazy devotees. His devotees know this, so they work tremendously hard. You will never see sincere devotees wasting their time watching movies, browsing the internet or busy gossiping.

Two Examples

In the Mahabharat war we see Arjuna fighting vigorously although Krishna was in front driving his chariot. He could have easily become lackadaisical thinking that the Supreme Lord is here so what is the use of me fighting hard.

When he had taken a vow to kill Jayadratha who was instrumental in killing his son Abhimanya duplicitously then since morning till evening, he was trying hard to achieve his goal. At the end of the day, Krishna was pleased with Arjuna’s efforts and finally he intervened and helped him to kill Jayadratha.

We see how Prabhupada was trying his best to spread Krishna Conscious movement throughout the world. He would get up in the middle of the night to write books for hours when everyone was sleeping. Despite failing health, he would travel from one part of the world to another trying to open temples and to preach the message of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.

We can confidently say that Prabhupada attained great success in his mission. Today millions of people all over the world have become devotees of Krishna, it became possible only because of Prabhupada.  

These great devotees teach us how we should not be lazy in our life. In whatever circumstances we are in we should practice devotional life and try our best to serve the Supreme Lord.

 “Whether one is without desire [the condition of the devotees], or is desirous of all fruitive results, or is after liberation, one should with all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete perfection, culminating in Krishna consciousness”. Srimad – Bhagavatam 2.3.10.

Our genuine efforts will please the Lord

Practicing devotional life does not mean that we have to do things perfectly. We just need to put in our best efforts. Lord Rama was pleased with the efforts of the tiny squirrel who was helping the monkey warriors during the construction of the bridge.

Lord will be pleased too if our efforts are genuine. While practicing devotion to Krishna with determination, we should also do practical service for him – like going out for distributing books like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, inviting people to temple during festivals, organizing programs at home for family members and neighbours.

We can prepare prasadam and distribute to people. Temple needs devotees for various services, we can go to temple and help the devotees there. If going to temple every day is not possible then we should do it at least once a week as per our convenience.

We should give up lethargy and smartly utilize each moment of our life to get closer to Krishna. And when Krishna will see our sincere efforts then he will be pleased, and he will sure help us excel in our devotional endeavour. Krishna always helps his sincere devotees. Srila Prabhupada says, “If anyone follows the principles with great determination, the Lord will surely help, for God helps those who help themselves.”  Bhagavad – Gita 6.24 Purport

Three Reflections

• You will never see sincere devotees wasting their time watching movies, browsing the internet or busy gossiping.
• Practicing devotional life does not mean that we have to do things perfectly. We just need to put in our best efforts. 
• “If anyone follows the principles with great determination, the Lord will surely help, for God helps those who help themselves.”  Srila Prabhupada

Ask Yourself?

• Am I lazy or hard working?

Action Item

• Choose a service which you like the most – like book distribution, preaching, prasadam distribution etc- and dedicate at least 2 hours per week to do that service for Krishna.

Our determination to defeat lust, anger & greed will attract Krishna’s attention

Defeat the three formidable enemy – lust, anger and greed – if you want to be happy in life and advance in Krishna Consciousness. Bhagavad Gita compares them to gateway to hell.

There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul. Bhagavad Gita 16.21

While practicing devotion to Krishna, we struggle because of it. They easily overpower us. Most of the time as soon as we are afflicted by thoughts of lust or anger or greed, we succumb to it. We have been surrendering to these nasty thoughts countless number of times life after life, so, now we think it is impossible to not give in to it.

If we observe our life, we will see that many times it is not the external problems which makes us miserable but our inner thoughts which are full of impurities (anarthas) which makes us sad.

For a happy life we have to cleanse our heart from all the impurities especially that of lust, anger and greed. And the best way to do is by chanting the names of Krishna. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that “Chanting cleanses the heart of all the impurities.”  So, if we consistently chant the names of Krishna then our heart will get cleansed giving us relief from all the sufferings.

But when we begin chanting the names of Krishna, we continue to be disturbed by our mind and senses. Lust, anger and greed do not go away easily. Sometimes it looks that it is impossible to free ourselves from these nasty thoughts. But we have to endeavour with determination.

Our determination should be life that of a sparrow who had dared to dry the ocean.

When little sparrow tried to dry the ocean

Once the ocean stole the eggs of a sparrow. The little bird was heartbroken. She wanted her eggs back. The sparrow pleaded the ocean to give back the eggs, but the mighty ocean ignored her.

She begged ocean many times, but the ocean did not even bother to listen her. But she was determined to get her eggs back.  She lost her patience. Finally, she warned the ocean, “Return my eggs else I will dry you”. Hearing this ocean started laughing. But the sparrow was resolute in her purpose.

With her tiny little beak, she took few drops of water from the ocean and threw it on the surface. She did it again and again. Everyone was amused; the ocean could not control his laughter. But nothing deterred the sparrow. She continued with her endeavour without thinking about success or failure.

News spread everywhere about the resolve of an insignificant creature to dry the gigantic ocean. Finally, her efforts attracted the attention of Garuda, the king of the birds and the carrier of Lord Vishnu. 

Garuda threatened the ocean and said, “Return her eggs immediately or else I will completely dry you now.” Seeing the huge size of Garuda, ocean became frightened and within no time retuned back the eggs of the bird.

Krishna will surely intervene if we are determined

So, if like the sparrow we take a resolve to defeat the thoughts of lust, anger and greed then it will attract the attention of Krisna. Krishna who is Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of all the senses, will intervene and will easily purify our impure senses.

Our heart will get free from impurities of lust, anger and greed bringing us relief. And also, Krishna’s love will manifest in our heart bringing us great joy.

So, let us be determined not to give up chanting the names of Krishna and also be determined not to give in to lust, anger and greed.

Three Reflections

• Defeat the three formidable enemy – lust, anger and greed – if you want to be happy in life.
• Little sparrow’s efforts attracted the attention of Garuda, the king of the birds and the carrier of Lord Vishnu.
• Our determination will attract Krishna’s attention, and he will cleanse our heart of the impurities of lust, anger and greed.

Ask Yourself

• Am I being troubled by lust, anger and greed?

Action Item

• Have you completed your chanting today? If not, then put everything aside and chant the names of Krishna.