Tag: service

Service to a devotee of Krishna saved King Nṛga

King Nṛga was very charitable, yet he had to suffer for a sin which he committed unintentionally. But King Nṛga was finally saved by Krishna because he had once done service to a devotee of Krishna.

King Nṛga’s sin

Once a cow which the king had given in charity to a brahmana by mistake came back to his herd and he gave the same cow to another brahmana as charity.

When the brahmana who had got the cow initially saw this, he became angry and upset. He wanted his cow back but the other brahmana was not willing to give the cow. They both began arguing with each other claiming the cow to be their own. They went to the king to resolve the dispute.

King offered them to take one hundred thousand cows instead of that one cow, but they refused and went away. King’s mistake was unintentional but still he incurred sin for taking the cow of the brahmana which he had already given in charity.

And when he died then he had to suffer for the sin which he committed. He got the body of a lizard.

King Nṛga as lizard rescued by Krishna

But fortunately, he became a lizard in Dwarka and was rescued by Krishna. As soon as Krishna touched his body, he got free from the sins. He got a beautiful golden body like the resident of a heaven.  Later a celestial plane came and took him to the higher abode.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that although he was suffering for his sins, he was able to get the darshan of Krishna because once he had helped a devotee by giving him charity to build the temple of Lord Krishna. He had also helped the devotee to get copies of Bhagavad Gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam. The devotee was happy and satisfied by king’s gesture. He blessed the king saying, “May you have darshan (audience) of the Supreme Lord.”

It was because of that devotee’s mercy that the King as lizard was able to get darshan of the Lord Krishna.

People perform pious activities with a desire to get some benefit. But while doing so, there is a possibility that someone may commit some mistake unintentionally. And for that one has to suffer. But the service to the Supreme Lord Krishna is so glorious that one does not have to worry about committing any mistake intentionally.

Krishna always protects his devotee

Service to Krishna never goes in vain. Even if someone does something little for the Lord, Lord notes it down and reciprocate with the devotee. Not just that Lord takes care of his devotee and protect him from all dangerous situations.

“In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.” Bhagavad Gita 2.40

King Nṛga did service to a devotee of Krishna and got saved by Krishna. Similarly, we will also be protected by Krishna when we remain under his shelter and continue serving him and his devotees.

A genuine devotee of Krishna while doing any service to Krishna, never expects anything in return. He just wants to serve the Lord; his only desire is to please the Lord. Even though the devotee does not desire anything from Krishna, he makes sure his devotee is never deprived of anything.

Three Reflections

• King Nṛga’s mistake was unintentional but still he incurred sin for taking the cow of the brahmana which he had already given in charity.
• King Nṛga did service to a devotee of Krishna and got saved by Krishna.
• Even though a devotee does not desire anything from Krishna, he makes sure his devotee is never deprived of anything.

Ask Yourself

• Have I done any service to Krishna or his devotees recently?

Action Item

• Donate something to Krishna on Janmashtami.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.21|Śrī Advaita Ācārya teaches “Our only desire should be to serve Krishna”

In the kingdom of Krishna everyone always carry the desire to serve Krishna. And we also see that Krishna too loves to serve his devotees. 

If we read scriptures and the life of great devotees, we find that they carry only one desire in their heart and their desire is to become servant of Krishna. What to talk about the pure devotees, even the first expansion of the Supreme Lord, Lord Balarama, wants to become a humble servant of Krishna.

Śrī Advaita Ācārya considers himself a servant

In Chaitanya lila, we see that Śrī Advaita Ācārya always considered himself a servant of Lord Chaitanya.

When Lord Chaitanya appeared then Śrī Advaita Ācārya was 60 years old, old enough to be grandfather of Lord Chaitanya. And so, Lord Caitanya would give him respect. But Śrī Advaita Ācārya did not like this.  So, once he enacted a pastime and he started preaching Mayavada philosophy.

When Lord Caitanya heard about this, he became extremely angry, and he started beating Śrī Advaita Ācārya. Śrī Advaita Ācārya wife, Srimati Sita Thakurani started begging Lord Caitanya to stop beating an elderly person else he will die.

But Śrī Advaita Ācārya was enjoying it. He wanted to convey to the whole world that see although Lord Caitanya considers me an acharya and gives me respect but actually Lord Caitanya is the real acharya and we all should serve him.

Śrī Advaita Ācārya thinks, “Lord Caitanya considers Me His spiritual master, yet I feel Myself to be only His servant.” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta,Ai-līlā, 6.52

Śrī Advaita Ācārya is an incarnation of Mahā-Viṣṇu and Sadasiva. He came here to propagate pure devotion to Krishna and to teach us that our only goal of life should be to always serve Krishna.

Cultivating desire to serve Krishna

Even in Vrindavan we see that mood is of servitorship. Everyone wants to serve Krishna – Nanda Maharaja, Mother Yashoda, gopis, gopas, cows, peacocks, river Yamuna, in fact everyone serves Krishna.  

The gopis would always consider themselves as Krishna’s maidservants.

“O Uddhava! It is indeed regrettable that Kṛṣṇa resides in Mathurā. Does He remember His father’s household affairs and His friends, the cowherd boys? O great soul! Does He ever talk about us, His maidservants? When will He lay on our heads His aguru-scented hand?” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) 10.47.21

In this this world we see that everyone wants to become masters but in the kingdom of Krishnan everyone wants to serve Krishna. There no one wants to enjoy with Krishna but everyone wants to give joy to Krishna. And while doing so they experiences unlimited bliss.

Today is the appearance day of Śrī Advaita Ācārya. Let us pray at his lotus feet to purify our heart and give us benediction so that we also cultivate the desire to always serve Krishna’s lotus feet.

Note: This article is based on the Srimad Bhagavatam class given by HG Acharya Ratna Prabhu @Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata on 16th Feb 2024 on the auspicious occassion of Śrī Advaita Ācārya appearance day.

Sri Jagannath Puri Dham Kartik Yatra 2023 Day 6: How we get maximum benefit from Dham Yatra?

On the 6^th and the final day of Kartik Yatra, HG Sanat Kumar Prabhu explained how one can get benefit from Dham Yatra. He discussed how we should take darshan of the Dham and darshan in the Dham. He gave the class in the morning in Gambhira. HG Sanat Kumar Prabhu is a very senior devotee of Iskcon Chowpatty, Mumbai.

At the beginning of Kartik Yatra Maharaj spoke about the bhav (emotion) or consciousness which devotees should be having during the yatra. And that bhav should not be only during the yatra but we should carry it back to our homes, to the places of our work then we will get the complete benefit of Dham yatra.

Below article is based on the class given by HG Sanat Kumar Prabhu at Gambhira on 6^th day of Kartik Yatra in Sri Jagannath Puri Dham on 21st Nov 2023.

Srila Prabhupada showed the way

First, we should be grateful to Srila Prabhupada for his contribution in spreading Krishna Consciousness all over the world. He taught us how to do deity worship, what mantra to chant, how to chant, wrote commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam and other Vedic literatures so that we can read it, taught us the importance of Vaishnav seva, tulsi seva and visiting holy places like Jagannath Puri.

In fact, whatever bhakti we are practicing today is only because of the causeless grace of Srila Prabhupada.

Now if we want to express our gratitude to Srila Prabhupada then we should help Srila Prabhupada in making more people devotees of Krishna.  Because this is what Prabhupada wanted, and this was his life’s mission.

Now when we are staying in Dham then we should learn from the acharyas how they approached Dham and lived in Dham.

How Akrura approaches Vrindavan?

For example, when Akrura was entering Vrindavan for the first time then we can see how reverentially he approached Vrindavan. As soon as Akrura sees the footprints of Krishna and Balarama, he immediately gets down from his chariot and starts rolling on the dust of Vrindavan which had those footprints. With tears in his eyes, he starts offering prayers to Krishna and Balarama.

So, as we enter Dham, we should first offer our obeisances and let the dust of the Dham touch our body. It will purify us. We should then offer our prayers and consider ourselves unqualified to enter Dham. Akrura prayed that I am unqualified but still by the mercy of Krishna I am getting entry into Vrindavan.

We should also consider ourselves most fallen and be grateful to Lord Jagannath for allowing us to enter into Jagannath Puri Dham.

But when we start thinking that we are doers then we do not think that we are fallen. We then develop ego and when we have ego then we are bereft of the mercy of the Lord.

To become qualified to enter Dham is to think that we are not qualified at all to be in Dham. If we have carry this consciosuness then we can get benefit from Dham visit.

Uddhava wants to become a blade of grass in Vrindavan

Another example is of Udhhava. When Uddhava comes to Vrindavan then gopis took him to all the places where Lord Krishna had performed pastimes. They showed him Govardhan hill where Krishna lifted the mountain, they showed him Shyam Kund and Radha Kund, they showed the place where he performed Damodar lila, the places where he would play with the gopas. The way the gopis were describing the pastimes of Krishna at different places, Uddhava understood that these gopis are the greatest devotees of Krishna. Their love for Krishna is Supreme.

Uddhava then begins glorifying the gopis. He considers himself to be unqualified to be in Vrindavan. He starts seeking mercy of the gopis. And he prays to become a blade of grass in Vrindavan so that when the gopis walk, the dust of their lotus feet falls upon him.

“The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands, sons and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to be one of the bushes, creepers or herbs in Vṛndāvana, because the gopīs trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.61

Lord Brahma’s humility

In Vrindavan, Brahmaji also offers prayers to Krishna. People have misconception that Brahma is topmost, but Brahmaji is praying to Krishna that he is fallen, he considers himself unqualified and he seeks mercy of Krishna. Because of his humility, Lord Brahma is able to understand the glories of vraja.

In Satya Yuga, Lord Brahma, installed Lord Jagannath and established the worship of Jagannath in Puri. In Kali Yuga, he comes as Haridas Thakura and he considers himself so fallen that he does not enter the Jagannath temple.

He prays to Lord Chaitanya to give him a place so that even his shadow does not fall upon the pujaris of Lord Jagannath. Haridas Thakura never ever mentioned that it was I who established the temple of Lord Jagannath in Satya Yuga. But he considers himself most unqualified.

He thinks that during Satya Yuga, the Supreme Lord had given me a different service which I did. And now in Kali Yuga Lord wants me to perform different service so let me do so. He accepted this the mercy of Lord with a humble heart.

Any Service in Dham is Glorious

During Yatra, we put aside everything and focus on intensifying our sadhana. During yatra, whatever service we get we should do it. Any service if done for the Lord with humble heart is glorious.

We should not think that some service is better than others. For example, generally we may think that giving classes, leading kirtan, doing management is glorious but other services are not so great.

If we see the life of great Vaishnavas, they did whatever service they were given with great devotion.

For example, Shyamananda Pandit, would sweep a kunja in vraj daily with a broom for hours. He did it with great devotion. So, if we are getting the service of cleaning the Dham, we should do it happily.

Whatever service, we get we should do it with body, mind and words. If we do so then we can get the benefit of being in Dham. The six goswamis of Vrindavan were always engaged in serving the Dham. They did not waste even a single moment of their life.

Srila Rupa Goswami would either do kirtan, chant or write holy books. He teaches us how to live in a Krishna Conscious way.

So, without wasting time, we should be engaged in serving the Lord. 

Developing qualities to please the Lord

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura says that we should develop qualities which will please the Lord. Once after taking darshan of the Lord, SBSST asked the devotees, “Did you take darshan of the Lord?” The devotees said, “Yes.” Then SBSST again asked, “Did Lord Jagannath took your darshan?”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was trying to say that we should develop qualities and should be engaged in serving the Lord in such a way that the Lord is pleased to see us.

While taking darshan of the Lord, we should think that we are unqualified, but we are able to see the Lord because of the mercy of guru and Vaishnavas.

Conclusion: Carry the memories of Dham

This is the mood, bhav or consciousness we should be having when we are in Dham. And the same mood we should carry back home after yatra. Wherever we took darshan of the Lord, heard katha, did kirtan, ate prasadam we should remember it daily. If we do so, then we will get maximum benefit of visiting Dham or holy places.

Serving Krishna without worrying about success or failure

Serving Krishna should be the primary focus of our life, but that service should be done with right consciousness and without worrying about success or failure. Whatever activities we do in our life, we should do it for the pleasure of Krishna.

For example, I like to write. Whether people like my writing or not, whether my article gets published or not, I want to make a habit of writing daily for Krishna. But it is easy said than done. Because there are days when I do not write. It is not because of lack of ideas. After reading spiritual literatures like Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita there are so many topics on which I can write.

But still there are days when I do not write at all. And guess what, at the end of the day before going to bed, I feel terribly frustrated.

So, I often question myself that if want to write then why I do no write daily. Is it because of lack of time? Sometimes it could be. But even if time is a luxury still, I do not forget to eat my food or take a bath.

And by Krishna’s mercy and devotees’ mercy, two Krishna Conscious activity I do daily – chanting 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra and Mangala arati.

The day I decided that I will chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily I have continued doing it whether I like it or not. Also, once in Mayapur I decided to do Mangala arati daily and by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy I have been doing it daily since last few years.

Mangala arati daily

I remember, once when I was in Mayapur attending Mangala arati at 4:30 am, I felt so nice, so blissful. I thought how nice it would be if I can attend morning arati daily in Mayapur at 4:30 am. But I knew that it won’t be possible because I do not stay in Mayapur.

Also, in whichever city, I may be, my work will not allow me to come to any Iskcon temple at 4:30 am. I thought what devotees do during Mangala arati. They sing prayers and worship the Lord with different items. I can do this at home too. I will get the same experience.

So, from that day I decided to do Mangala arati daily. I am not sure that how much devotion and love I have for Krishna. But I experience that after chanting & Mangala arati I feel satisfied. There are three stages of doing bhakti – out of fear, out of duty, out of love. I am mostly at the stage of fear and sometime at the stage of duty.

Not writing daily for Krishna

Now coming back to the point of writing daily. Once I decided that I will be serving Krishna by writing for him daily. So, I know I should write but still there is some force withing me which is not allowing me to understand the importance of writing Krishna Conscious article daily at least for 2 hours.

Intellectually I know that after writing for couple of hours I will feel happy. But during the process of writing, I do not experience that happiness. And so, when I begin writing my mind takes me in different directions. Sometimes I do not find motivation to open even my laptop and start writing. Sometimes although I start but after few minutes, I lose interest. So, I start browsing internet or watch some videos. After couple of hours, I realize that I wasted my time. Frustration and regret follow. Sometimes I wonder how wonderful it would have been if I would have enjoyed writing for the pleasure of Krishna.

I have read and heard about many successful persons that they hardly bothered about the end result They just enjoyed the process and the result followed.

A Story: You cannot become a painter

I read a story of a great painter. I do not recollect his name. Once a person came to the great painter and told him that he also wants to be a painter.

The acclaimed painter said, “Great. Carry on. What you want from me?”

The aspiring painter said, “But I am not sure if I will ever become a painter or not. So, can you see my painting and tell if I have the capability to become a great painter or not?”

The great painter said, “sure, bring your painting tomorrow morning.”

The aspirant came next morning with his painting. The great painter asked him to leave his painting and come in the evening.

The aspiring painter came in the evening to know the answer. He was nervous.

When the great painter saw him, he said, “I am sorry I was busy whole day, did not get time to see your painting. By the way, what did you do whole day?”

The man, still nervous, said, “I was waiting for the evening. I wanted to know your opinion.” 

The painter said, “You can take away your painting. You do not have the quality of becoming a painter.”

The man with his head down took his painting and left.

Someone asked the painter, “You did not even see his painting and said that he cannot become a painter.”

The great painter said, “He wants to paint for others not for himself. He wants others approval for his craft. He does not like painting. He wants others to like his painting. If you like to paint just paint, why bother what others are saying or thinking.”

What a wonderful lesson!

If you love it, do it

So, if one wants to write for Krishna, one should just write.

If one wants to make a YouTube video for Krishna then just make it.

If one wants to sing for Krishna then sing for Krishna.

If one wants to cook for Krishna then cook for Krishna.

If one wants to do any service for Krishna then just do it. Why bother about others opinion?

Whatever we love to do, we should do it. Because if we do not do it, we will be frustrated.

This is the best way of serving Krishna.

From the life of Srila Prabhupada, we see that he wanted to preach the message of Krishna all over the world and he did it. Initially he faced so many obstacles, criticism, failures, discouragement but nothing could stop him. Why? Because he loved what he was doing. He loved Krishna and he wanted everyone to love Krishna. He enjoyed serving Krishna. So, he tried his best to engage everyone in serving Krishna. It is so simple. If we love doing something, we just do it.

Yes, it is true that while doing any activity there will be challenges and failures. If we study the life of great devotees of Krishna, we will find they too faced challenges.

Challenges while serving Krishna

I am not sure about your challenges but if I observe my life, I find that my biggest challenge is my escapist mentality. Because of wrong conditioning I run away from hard work.

Writing is a tedious task because it also involves lots of reading. Sometimes one gets stuck while writing. Thoughts stop flowing. It’s called writer’s block. Even famous writers go through it.  But when one is able to smash this writer’s block then one is able to write an incredible story.

Whatever we write, everyone is not going to like it.  It’s a fact and we should live with it. So, we should not be bothered what others say about our work. Our Krishna Conscious article is our offering to Krishna. Even if no one likes what we have written but if we have put in our best efforts to write a good article for Krishna then the Supreme Lord will surely accept it. To please Krishna is the purpose of all our efforts.

Dealing with failure while serving Krishna

What kinds of failure, we may encounter?

• Very few people will read my article on my website.
• My article may not get published in Iskcon’s “Back To Godhead” magazine.
• If I write a book then it may not become a best seller.

These are external failures. External success and external failures are not in our hand. Only endeavour is in our hands.

In Bhagavad Gita 8.7, Krishna to Arjuna, “Think about me and fight.”

“Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Kṛṣṇa and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.” Bhagavad Gita 8.7

Krishna does not say, “Think about me and become victorious.” The Supreme Lord is asking Arjuna to focus on his duty not on his result. Many times, external failure does not matter because what may appear as failure may not be a failure.

Victory in Defeat

For example, soldiers while fighting die on the battlefield. So, one may say that death is defeat, a failure. But in true sense that soldier in spite of dying for the country has achieved great victory.  In Ramayana Jatayu died while saving Mother Sita. Although he was defeated by Ravana but Lord Rama was very much pleased by Jatayu.

The Supreme Lord gave him the designation of a father and personally performed his last rites. So, if we are doing our service nicely with dedication and determination for Krishna then we will always be victorious. So called external success or failure does not matter much.

It is between me and Krishna

And why to bother too much about external success? Whatever service we do, it is for Krishna, then why to bring any third person there.

For example, when we chant the names of Krishna then we do it for the pleasure of Krishna and not for the pleasure of others. Many times, when I chant at home no one is around. No one is seeing me chanting. Chanting is just between me and Krishna. We chant because this is a vow we have taken in front of our spiritual master, in front of Krishna. Many great devotees chant because they love chanting the names of Krishna. None of us get any reward for chanting. No one comes and glorifies us that we are great chanter. 

So, why should I expect others to glorify me for my writing. Or for any other Krishna conscious service.

It is easy said than done. But if we develop this mindset of doing Krishna Conscious service for the pleasure of Krishna then we will never be frustrated in any Krishna Conscious activity. Also, if we have taken up service then we should it whether we like it or not.

I have experienced that if in the day all the time is utilized in the service of Krishna, in office work and I do not do any sense gratification then at the end of the day I feel lots of joy within. And that happiness cannot be expressed in words.

That is the beauty of serving Krishna without worrying about success or failure.