Tag: Krishna

Damodar lila – Controlling the controller with the ropes of love

• Damodar Lila:When Yashoda punishes Krishna, the Supreme Lord
• 11 reasons why Kartik month is the holiest month
• Damodarastakam

Heart like Butter

Important lessons to learn from Ramayana

With just his tail, Hanuman effortlessly burned the entire city of Lanka. But he too wasn’t successful in burning the lust and ego of Ravana, the powerful king of Lanka. 

In fact, Ravana’s real well-wishers such as his brother Vibhishana and his chaste wife Mandodari had tried their best to counsel him several times against kidnapping Sita, wife of Lord Rama.

Ravana did not just refuse to listen to them but he even humiliated them.  Upon being reminded by Vibhishana that kidnapping someone else’s wife is an immoral act and he would suffer the consequences for this nefarious deed Ravana became mad with anger at his brother and threatened to kill him.

He finally forced Vibhishana to leave his kingdom.  Ravana thought he would succeed in killing Rama and would then forcibly enjoy with Sita.

Hanuman was just one of the soldiers of Lord Rama and had almost decimated the entire Lanka. Any sensible person would have easily gauged the strength of his opponent seeing the power of just one of the soldiers of his opponent.

But lust and ego had created such a thick covering over Ravana’s intelligence that he was not able to see his imminent disaster. 

Just like Ravana we too want to enjoy the property of the Lord claiming to be ours.  And when reminded that everything moving and non -moving in this world belongs to Lord we refuse to accept it and we start making plans to defeat the plans of the Lord.

The material energy of the Lord keeps on demonstrating as how helpless we are in front of her. We see devastation everywhere in the form of flood, famine, earthquake, tsunami, war, deadly diseases and death.

But like Ravana we refuse to learn from it and always think that with my efforts and prowess we will be able to subjugate the material world and will enjoy it by becoming the controller.

Lord Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and for him to kill Ravana wasn’t difficult. He is the creator and maintainer of all and when required he destroys everything.  But just like a father who always hopes that one day his disobedient son would get reformed and will finally return home, similarly Lord Rama the Supreme father was hoping that may be Ravana would give up his demoniac mentality and would come back to him.

And this is why he waited and through Hanuman and Angad sent him messages that he should act righteously else his end is certain.

Since the dawn of creation we have seen that the purpose of the Lord’s appearance has never been just to annihilate the miscreants, this he can do very easily as he is the most powerful Personality in the entire creation.

But most importantly Lord comes here to invite us back to the spiritual kingdom, our original home.  And he is ever ready to take us back forgiving and forgetting our past misdeeds. 

When Vibhishana left Lanka and came to take shelter of Lord Rama then Lord Rama’s generals like Sugriva and others were against Lord giving shelter to the brother of his enemy.

But Lord Rama happily welcomed Vibhishana and said that even if Ravana comes to him then he would accept him without any hesitation. This shows the magnanimity of the Supreme Lord. 

In fact in all his incarnations as Lord Krishna, as Lord Rama or as Lord Chaitanya he has exhibited this quality.  When he appeared as Lord Krishna he said that “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I will deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do no fear”. (Bhagavad Gita 18.66).

He invited all to his abode and said that those who come to his kingdom will never take birth again in this material world.

Bhagavad Gita 15.6

When he appeared as Lord Chaitanya then he freely distributed his mercy to all, he even delivered ruffians like Jagai and Madhai by transforming their hearts.

Lord Chaitanya was so concerned about the well-being of all that he would ask Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakura to go to everyone’s house and beg people to chant the names of Krishna so that people could be delivered from the miseries of material existence.

Lord appears in this world to remind us about the spiritual abode wherein life is eternal and bliss is unlimited. He also sends his dear devotee to educate us that we can never be happy if we try to enjoy separately from Lord. 

Ravana refused Rama’s invitation and met with annihilation.  

History clearly shows that no one till now has ever succeeded even remotely in living happily by going against the laws of Lord – Ravana, Duryodhana, Hiranyakasipu are few such examples.

We too have choice, we can be either on the side of the Lord or we can go against the will of the Lord.  

If we go against the Lord then suffering is inevitable but if we are on the side of the Lord then victory, glory and happiness are guaranteed. 

The concluding verse of Bhagavad Gita 18.78 says that wherever there is the Supreme Lord, Krishna, there will also be certainly opulence, victory, extraordinary power and morality.

(Published in Dandavats)

How to please Goddess Durga during Durga Puja

Candidasa was a devoted worshipper of Goddess Durga while his brother was a pure Vaisnava who would worship Shaligram. Candidasa was rich but his brother was poor.

Candidasa had a very big and beautiful garden, he used to offer the flowers from the garden to Durga Devi. His brother too desired to offer these beautiful flowers to his Shaligram.

Once he mentally offered a beautiful and colourful flower of the garden to his Shaligram. And it so happened that on that day Candidasa offered the same flower to Goddess Durga.

Goddess Durga Appears in front of Candidasa

As soon as the flower was offered Durga Devi appeared in front of Candidasa and said, “I am extremely pleased with you Candidasa. What benediction you want?”

Candidas was surprised, “I worship you daily but why are you so pleased with me today.”

“It is because you have offered me the flower which has been offered to Shaligram i.e. Lord’s maha prasadam.   By seeing that prasadam flower I became pleased, so I appeared before you.”

Candidasa immediately inquired, “Is it that you get pleased when one worships the Supreme Lord Krishna?”

Goddess Durga in a compassionate voice said, “Yes, the Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes and He is the original source of all creation. I get extremely pleased when anyone worships the Supreme Lord Krishna. So if you want to please me worship the Supreme Lord, Krishna.”

Candidasa understood the ultimate truth and he became a great devotee of Krishna and this pleased Goddess Durga, the consort of Lord Shiva.

Candidasa later composed many songs in which he described the transcendental feelings of separation of Srimati Radharani and Krishna.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would love to hear the composition of Candidasa.

Who is Goddess Durga?

In the spiritual world, there are three potencies – samvit, sandhini and hladini.

• Samvit potency helps the residents of the spiritual world to recognize their relationship with Krishna.
• Sandhini potency ensures variegatedness in the spiritual world.
• Hladini potency provides ultimate pleasure to Krishna. Srimati Radharani is the hladini potency, she is the source of all the pleasures.

The hladini potency transforms into the personality of Goddess Durga in this material world.

Here she has the responsibility of reforming those souls who have rebelled against the laws of the spiritual land and have come to this mortal material world.

This world which we call wonderful and delight to live in is compared to a prison. Here life is uncertain, misery is inevitable, relationship is temporary and death a certainty.

As prisoners are given a uniform, similarly we have been given a uniform – uniform of a human body, animal body, plant body etc.

And as long as we have this ephemeral body made of flesh, bones, mucus, blood etc. and we are in this material world we are under the jurisdiction of Durga devi.

She on behalf of the Supreme Lord takes complete charge of this material world, she acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord just as shadow follows the substance.

Characteristics of Goddess Durga

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura explains, “The world, in which Brahmā takes his stand and hymns the Lord of Goloka, is Devī-dhāma consisting of the fourteen worlds and Durgā is its presiding deity. She is ten-armed, representing the tenfold fruitive activities. She rides on the lion, representing her heroic prowess. She tramples down Mahiṣasura, representing the subduer of vices. She is the mother of two sons, Karttikeya and Gaṇesa, representing beauty and success. She is placed between Lakshmi and Sarasvati, representing mundane opulence and mundane knowledge.  She is armed with the twenty weapons, representing the various pious activities enjoined by the Vedas for suppression of vices. She holds the snake, representing the beauty of destructive time.” (Brahma Samhita 5.44 purport)

Prisoners of Choice

The unwillingness to live amicably with the family and friends of the spiritual world make us unfit to be part of the spiritual world.

Once imprisoned in this mortal material world, we forget our original constitutional position and start considering ourselves as one of the material products.

So, we suffer terribly under the influence of the material modes owing to this unholy contact. The vicious cycle of birth, old age, disease and death perpetuates our miseries.

In fact the more we identify ourselves with this material world and the material body, and the more we endeavour to enjoy in this ephemeral world the more we suffer.

The Supreme Lord never wants any of His children to get illusioned by the external energy and suffer in this world.

The Supreme Lord is compelled to sentence the spiritual beings to the material prison house so that he learns his lessons and get reformed.

A doting father sometimes has to put his disobedient child under the care of a strict teacher so that his child gets disciplined. Even the external energy who is a devotee of the Lord does not like to inflict suffering upon us.

Why Durga Devi punishes the living entities?

It’s a thankless task for the external energy but she happily assists the Supreme Lord so that the rebellious souls get reformed.  The actual disease which is the cause of all the sufferings for all the living beings in this world is because of being illusioned by the external energy of the Lord.

Carrying her trident she looks for the rebellious souls

Like a loving mother, Goddess Durga continuously gives a clarion call to all the forgetful souls to return back to the kingdom of Krishna.

But the stubborn souls who desire to enjoy independent of the supreme Lord and loves to disobey the laws of Krishna needs to be punished.

And Durga carrying her trident looks for such rebellious souls to punish them.

She never punishes those living entities who lives as per the guidelines of Vedic scriptures and sincerely worships Lord Krishna.

What does the trident which Durga Devi carries represent?

The trident which she always carries with her represents the threefold material miseries:

• adhytamika: miseries due to our body and mind
• adibautika: miseries due to other living entities
• adidaivika: miseries due to natural calamities

Without any exception everyone of us at every moment suffer due to one, two or all the three of these miseries. 

One of the most celebrated incidents related to Goddess Durga is her killing the demon Mahisasura with her trident.

Mahisasura also symbolically represents our demoniac mentality and Durga through the sharp edges of her trident strikes hard to vanquish our evil mentality.

The purpose is not to punish us but to make us understand that the more we go away from Krishna’s spiritual care the more we suffer in this world.

She always tries to tell us, “This isn’t your home. Go back to your original home. Krishna is waiting for you.”

Her chastisement forces a soul to eventually think,

‘Although I explored all means to enjoy but why suffering always follows me like a shadow. Why am I forced to be in a womb for nine months in an upside-down position in complete darkness? Why I get diseased? Why I am growing old? Why every moment someone is dying? Although I don’t want to die but why I am not allowed to live here forever.”

Once awakened the living entity immediately wants to get out of this horrendous world and immediately wants to be part of the spiritual world.

Best way to please Goddess Durga

Durga being the energy of the Supreme Lord can never be conquered or fooled. She is extremely powerful and when she strikes with her trident then nothing can save us.

Durga Devi can give us material benediction but with it comes tons of sufferings.

The only way to escape from Durga’s powerful trident is by promising her that we don’t want earthly pleasures but we seriously want spiritual happiness.

And as soon as we start endeavoring for it by practicing loving devotional service to Krishna, Goddess Durga is delighted, she immediately withdraws her trident and showers her love upon us.

She doesn’t want to imprison us in this world forever. And those who are imprisoned she wants to release them as soon as possible.

She tests our dedication to the Supreme Lord, she checks if our heart has been thoroughly purified of all material diseases such as lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego.

And when she finds that our heart has developed deep love for Krishna then she immediately releases us from this prison house.

Durga Devi becomes happy when she sees us chanting Krishna’s holy names

It is explained that in this age of Kali Yuga, the Supreme Lord incarnates with all His powers and all His opulence in the sound vibration of the Holy Name, “Kali kale Naam rupe Krishna Avatar.”

So the best way to practice devotional life is by chanting the holy names of Krishna like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

We should chant this mantra with love, with devotion and with determination. Goddess Durga, the guardian of this world, will assess our dedication and our intention regularly.

She even tested Haridasa Thakura’s devotion to Krishna.

Haridasa Thakura passed the test with flying colours because he used to be completely absorbed in chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. In fact he had taken a vow to chant the mantra 3 lakh times a day.

If we too want to please mother Durga then we have to become serious in our devotion to Krishna.

Durga Puja is not about playing movie songs and dancing on those songs. It is not about eating delicious foods and having fun.

The best way to celebrate Durga Puja is to understand who goddess Durga is and how she could be pleased.

And the best way to please her is to follow the footsteps of Candidasa.

How are you planning to please Goddess Durga? Let me know in the comments below!

This article has been published on Dandavats and also in BTG (Back to Godhead) magazine of ISKCON.

 

Don’t forget to like & share this post!

How to derive maximum pleasure from our senses

Our senses which are mostly uncontrolled are compared to deadly serpents. Just as a bite of a snake kills a person similarly the wild senses many a times drive a person crazy to the extent that the person destroys himself. So scriptures ask us to take steps to subdue our senses.  But controlling senses isn’t that simple. Even great personalities in the past have been brutally defeated by their senses.

Let us take the example of sage Viswamitra. In dense jungle, in summer, in winter, in rain without food and water he was performing penance for thousands of years.  Menaka, the gorgeous heavenly lady, was asked by Indra, the king of heaven, to break the severe penance of the determined sage who had totally withdrawn himself from all worldly activities. And she accomplished her mission effortlessly.

She used a weapon which was extremely lethal and rarely has anyone survived its attack.  In that dark forest the cry of the ferocious animals did not frighten the brave sage.  But as soon as the sound of Menaka’s tinkling anklet entered his ears, his eyes which till now was absorbed in meditation lustily & frantically began looking for her and within no time his thousands of years of effort went in vain.

This incident teaches us that how powerful our senses are, how our senses can make us insane at any moment and how just by withdrawing the senses from sense objects may not help us to control the senses.

Sacred literatures tell us that the best way to control our senses is by engaging it in devotional activities. Once our senses get higher spiritual taste it won’t then hanker for lower material sensory pleasures which ultimately open floodgates of misery. 

King Ambarish, a great devotee of Lord Krishna, by his own example taught us how each senses can be used in Krishna’s service.  “He fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, engaged his words in describing the abode of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the temple of the Lord, his ears in hearing the pastimes of the Lord, his eyes in seeing the form of the Lord, his body in touching the body of the devotee, his nostrils in smelling the flavor of the flowers offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, his tongue in tasting the tulasi leaves offered to Him…” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.4.18-20).

Initially our senses will resist our efforts to engage it in spiritual activities as it will not experience much pleasure in it. It is said that for a person suffering from jaundice the taste of sugarcane juice is bitter. But if he continues taking it as a medicine, he gets cured and in the healthy state he starts enjoying the juice. Similarly, now we are spiritually sick but if we continue taking the medicine of devotional activities our poisonous senses will eventually get purified. And in a spiritually healthy state our senses will not make us miserable but will relish being in service of Krishna and giving us unlimited pleasure.

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj teaches an invaluable lesson to a cook

Once HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj was passing through the deity kitchen in the temple. One lady who was doing some service in the deity kitchen saw Maharaj and she immediately came out and offered him her obeisances. Maharaj said that you are fortunate that you have got an opportunity to cook for the deities. The lady appeared little morose and said, “I am not directly cooking for the deities but I am just an assistance to other ladies who are cooking.”

Maharaj immediately said, “It means you are more fortunate,” and he left.

The lady was confused. She could not comprehend as why maharaj said so because those who directly serve the Lord are always considered more fortunate than others who are not directly serving the Lord.  Many thoughts were coming to her mind. She thought may be maharaj spoke in that way so that she does not feel inferior to others. Instead of speculating she decided to consult a senior devotee.

When the senior devotee came to know about the entire incident, he told her that maharaj has taught her one of the most important principles of Krishna consciousness. In the spiritual world the highest position is of a servant and not of a master.  In the spiritual world no one wants to come in the limelight, but everyone wants to assist others in their service of Krishna.  Everyone feels extremely happy when they see other devotees getting mercy of Krishna. He explained that in the kingdom of God there is no fight for name and fame, power and positions.  So you are blessed that you are assisting other devotees in their service to Krishna. Krishna will be so pleased with you.

In one of the lectures of Bhagavad Gita, Srila Prabhupada says, “You have to learn how to become servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. The more you become in the lower position—servant, servant, servant, servant, servant, hundreds times servant, servant—then more you are advanced.” Lecture on BG 2.2 — London, August 3, 1973

So if we have to attain Krishna’s love then we should not try to become servant of Krishna but try to become servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna.  As long as we are in material consciousness it would be difficult to even think of becoming servant of any other devotee but if we try to study the life of great devotees of Krishna we find that they all relished their devotional life by serving devotees.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, “I am not a brahmaṇa, I am not a kṣhatriya, I am not a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am I a brahmacari, a householder, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis.”  CC Madhya 13.80

Colourful Celebration of Krishna Utsav

Lord Krishna appeared almost a week back, but the celebration is still going on.  In Vrindavan after the appearance of Krishna every day, in fact every moment, there was festivity.  Following the footsteps of brajvasis devotees of Jalvayu Towers, New Town, Kolkata decided to celebrate Krishnautsav on 1^st September. D N Roychoudhary Prabhuji and Madhurima Mataji took the initiative to organize the entire program.  And since Radhastami, the appearance day of Srimati Radharani, is going to be celebrated on 6^th Sept. so the celebration was not just only for Krishna but was also for Srimati Radharani, the eternal consort of Krishna.

Most of the monks of the temple had gone to Mumbai for a week-long brahmachari camp and they came back to Kolkata on 1^st Sept only. It is almost 36 hours train journey from Mumbai to Kolkata and we know how tiring generally the train journeys are.  But still HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu and HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu made themselves available for the program which began at 5:30 pm. Devotees also travelled from Iskcon Habibpur which is around 100 kms from Kolkata just to do ecstatic kirtan for the pleasure of the Lord.

Abhishek of Lord Krishna & Srimati Radharani

The program began with abhishek i.e. the bathing ceremony of the Lord which was led by HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu.  HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu is one of the senior priests at Iskcon Kolkata temple. He brought the beautiful deities of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani from the temple.

Prabhuji is humble at heart and extremely soft spoken and has great love for the deities. He came and made all the arrangements for the abhishek.  Scented oil, til paste and sandalwood oil were applied on the deities and then different sacred items like milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar candy water, coconut water and lots of Ganges water was poured over the Lord.  

While the abhishek was going on devotees reverentially sang the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and were joined by all the assembled guests.  After the abhishek the deities were taken to a separate room for dressing.

Meanwhile HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu spoke why Lord Krishna appears on the earth and he also described the attributes which are exclusively present in Lord Krishna only. We the living entities may have these traits present in small quantities. For e.g Lord Krishna is the proprietor of the entire universe and we may also be the proprietor of our small house for a short period of time.

Lord is extremely beautiful and his beauty never diminishes. We may also have some beauty but it is not forever. With the age the beauty goes away. Class was interactive and all enjoyed it.

By the end of the class the dressing of the Lord was also complete.  Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani had donned attractive garments. Wearing ornaments and colourful flower garlands they looked extremely beautiful.  After the deities were brought in the hall and they took the centre stage the much-awaited kids program began.

It started with fancy dress show.  Kids who were even less than one year old too participated in it.  Dressed as Krishna and Radha and cowherd friends of Krishna they put up their best performance. In fact, one of the kids showed his talent in the pram itself and all had to come near to him to see his charming face. All confidently performed amidst the large gathering.

Fancy dress was followed by dance drama. The theme of the drama was ‘Advent of Lord Krishna.’ Children had been practicing for last few weeks meticulously under the guidance of my wife Kanchan Madhavi. And their hard work paid dividends.  

They had dressed themselves as Lord Krishna, Gopis, brajvasis, Kamsa, Kamsa’s soldier, Arjuna. And on the stage through their performance they lived those characters. The drama accompanied with dance performance won everyone’s heart.  Kids program brought lots of colour to the program.

Lord Krishna & Srimati Radharani majestically sitting on the altar were enjoying each and every moment.  

D N Roychoudhary Prabhuji and Madhurima Mataji who had been working hard tirelessly for last few days to make the event successful were presented a gift by HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu. All the kids who participated too got gifts.

It was now the time for arati of the Lord which was followed by another celebration which everyone enjoys a lot – Pushpa Abhishek. 

The multi coloured flower petals were showered on the Lord in abundance.  All those who happily and patiently enjoyed the program had the opportunity to bathe Lord Krishna & Srimati Radharani not with water but with flowers.

As the puspa abhishek was going on devotees were doing kirtan. No one could resist themselves and all danced for the pleasure of the Lord. And along with it the offered flowers were sprinkled on the devotees and everyone enjoyed playing holy with flowers. 

After flower abhishek it was time for all to relish delicious Krishna prasadam.

Festivals can only be successfully celebrated if each and every one comes together and cooperates with each other. It makes the celebration more colourful. We are very fortunate that all the devotees of Jalvayu Towers, Greenfield and Alka Abasan who are part of our weekly Bhagavad Gita program came together to organize the program and enthusiastically participated in it. 

In Vrindavan every moment there is celebration because all the devotees putting aside their personal motives and self-interest just work hard and come together to serve Krishna.  Seeing the selflessness of his devotees and unity among them pleases Krishna the most. And when Krishna is pleased the life of each devotee becomes successful.

So, following the footsteps of brajvasis we should too try to serve Krishna and Radharani selflessly. It will make Krishna happy and Krishna will then inundate our heart with unlimited happiness.

1st Janmashtami celebrated at Iskcon New Town Kolkata with religious fervour

• 

Hundreds of devotees thronged to Iskcon New Town, Kolkata on 24^th August to celebrate Janmashtami, the appearance day of Lord Krishna. Although it rained almost continuously and heavily throughout the day, but it did not dampen the spirits of the lovers of Krishna. The sky was covered with thick dark clouds and it appeared as if the rain God, Indra, was too eager to do abhishek of Lord Krishna on this auspicious day.  

Devotees since early morning were busy preparing for the celebration in a grand way. The program at the temple began at 4:30 am with Mangal Arati and continued till midnight.  Throughout the day people were coming to the temple to take blessings of the Lord.  Everyone who came got a cupful of prasadam.  Many were fasting since morning without water.

One devotee told me that he was so busy in his service that in the evening he remembered that today he is fasting and have not taken even a drop of water since midnight.  It is verify said that service to Krishna is so pleasing and absorbing that devotees forget even their material needs.

The temple hall was beautifully decorated. In the centre of the temple was the deity of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani.  The altar was decorated with green leaves and colourful flowers.  Krishna and Srimati Radharani wearing attractive dress and ornaments sat majestically on a throne. It looked as if they both are enjoying their pastimes in the forest groves of Vrindavan. Towards the left of the main altar was the picture of Sri Sri Radha Govinda with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi. And towards the left of the altar was a huge and beautiful picture of Srila Prabhupada.

Throughout the day devotees recited beautiful verses from Srimad Bhagavatam and discussed about Krishna’s innumerable pastimes. Devotees continuously sang melodious Hare Krishna kirtan and Vaishnav bhajans written by great Vaishnav acharyas.

In the evening there were cultural programs. Traditional dance, drama and specially kids’ programs were liked by all. For the kids there was fancy dress competition, drawing competition and dance performance.  For the fancy dress most of the kids had dressed as Krishna and Radharani and on the stage they looked adorable.

While the other programs were going on devotees led by HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu were making arrangements for the bathing ceremony (abhishek) of the Lord. Very meticulously all the ingredients required for the ceremony was prepared and put in earthen pots. A nice altar was prepared where abhsihek had to be performed.  The Lord was then invited to come to the abhishek altar and be seated there. Just before the abhishek, devotees dressed Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani in bathing garments.  

The bathing ceremony of the Lord began at around 10 pm and the temple hall got filled with devotees.  Amidst the loud but melodious chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra different sacred items were poured from the conch shells on the deities of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani.  Scented oil, til paste and sandalwood paste was applied on the body of the Lord. Milk, Curd, ghee, honey, sugar candy water, sandalwood paste, coconut water, fruit juices and lots of Ganges water was poured over the Lord.

The ceremony continued for an hour. After the abhishek the Lord was dressed in beautiful garments, ornaments and garlands and placed on the main central altar. Different food items were offered to the Lord.  While the Lord was being dressed devotees in the temple discussed beautiful pastimes of Lord Krishna from Srimad Bhagavatam.

Exactly at 12 midnight the altar was opened. Lord Krishna had appeared. A grand arati of the Lord was performed. Devotees reverentially participated in it and together sang – Yasomati nandana, braja baro nagara/gokula ranjana kana.

After the arati everyone rushed to the prasadam hall to break their fast and enjoy delicious Krishna prasadam comprising of sabudana sweet, cumin rice, paneer sabji, fried potatoes, fruits and sweet lemon juice.

How to give up bad habits and develop new habits?

Desire for material gain ultimately goes in vain

We all want inner peace, feel satisfied and want to be happy.  And the best way to achieve this,we think, is by satisfying all our material desires.  We tell to ourselves, “Once I accomplish my goal or goals I would be the happiest person.”

The problem is that even if we succeed in fulfilling some of our material desires we find that it does not give the expected happiness which we had thought of.  And soon some other desires pops up in our hearts and we start putting in our best efforts to fulfill it hoping that achieving it will fill our hearts with immense joy and satisfaction.  But upon achieving it too happiness and peace eludes us. And again we start working on our new material desires. The cycle continues.  In fact the desire for material gain ultimately goes in vain.

The other challenge is that it is not always possible to getwhat we want in this world. And if the desires remain unfulfilled then it generates anger and our mind becomes agitated. We constantly feel miserable.

So the books of wisdom such as Bhagavad Gita teaches us that happiness does not lie in endeavoring hard to satiate our material desires but in controlling them with intelligence and patience. Bhagavad Gita (5.23) teaches us that the forces of speech, the forces of belly, the forces of sexual desires should be controlled. In fact the urges of senses and mind which have the potential to make us and keep us agitated should be nipped in the bud.

Just like a fish if taken out from water and put in a golden jar suffers terribly and ultimately die. Similarly our soul cries in pain if we try to satisfy it by feeding it dollops of worldly pleasures.

Having material opulence does not guarantee happy heart.  Ravana had kingdom made of gold, Hiranyakasipu had every luxury which we can think of but their hearts remained always devoid of peace and bliss.  If we try to extinguish fire by pouring gallons of petrol over it the fire will become more dangerous. Similarly the more the material desires we cultivate the more our hearts will be agitated.

We are parts and parcels of Krishna and so we can be satisfied and be happy only when we dovetail all our desires towards the service of Krishna.  As of now we have willfully severed our relationship with Krishna so the material world keeps us agitated with the waves of worldly desires.   

But if we start tolerating material desires and start cultivating spiritual desires by following the guidelines of sacred books our mind will become peaceful, heart will be satisfied and we would achieve perfection.

“Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self – realized, self –disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.” Bhagavad Gita 5.26.

Spiritual desires keeps us blissful in this world and guarantee Supreme destination in next life.