Bring the two elements in you together by taking shelter of Yoga

Excerpt From the lecture by HH Sacinananda Maharaj

Victory on the inner Battlefield 7

My dear devotees, Lord will also do something to save you. You just have to learn to turn to Him. We will hear now how a person in great inner conflict turned to the Lord and how the Lord saved him from his inner conflict.

First of all - What is inner conflict? What does it mean when you are a divided soul? What does it mean to be in this stage of spirituality that you cannot act full heartedly. When you cannot act properly on the spiritual platform you have the inability to act. You just don't know what to do.
I was doing an experiment with 20 devotees during the Summer camp. Few times I mentioned about my two neighbors - dogs - who were also crying in front of our dog.I mentioned we have to help these dogs they are dying. There are some animals who give them great pain.I remember we stood with 15-20 devotees before these crying dogs who really searched for our shelter and help. Mother had run away- didnt care for her children. Now we have to take care. But know one felt in the heart the impulse to help them although they had heard many lectures about compassion. Today two devotees found in their heart the impulse to help and bathed them- so that the dogs can be healthy and free from these terrible animals.Aren't we often like the devotees who did'nt do anything. We know we should act but we just cannot.

This is a symptom of the Divided self.

1. We know we should we act but we cannot act
2. ignorance and illusion
3. Depression and Indecision
4. Isolation.

If you want to become a full hearted devotee on the spiritual platform you must know how to act properly , need to become free from ignorance and illusion, you must have feelings of love to overcome your depression and Indecision. Finally you must be able to overcome your isolation from God. Whenever you cannot act on the spiritual platform, depressed, isolated you know you are on the material platform.

Now Krishna personally is dedicated to save His devotees from these 4 symptoms and we will see how. But first I would like to introduce the person who he helped- Arjuna- the hero of our session today.

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On the day of the battle requests his charioteer to take the chariot in the middle of the battle. Maybe Arjuna wanted to see the strength of the enemy. Then he could decide details on strategy. But as he is in the middle of the battlefield, he breaks down. On the other side he sees - he sees his brothers the kauravas, his teachers, etc. He developed all the symptoms of a nervous breakdown. Limbs of the body quivering, my mouth is drying up, my whole body is trembling, hair is standing on end , skin is burning like fore, bow has slipped from his hand, unable to stand here any longer, mind is reeling, I ill go into forest, I will meditate
Keshava I also want to fight- these are rascals they will destroyed the whole kingdom, I am getting crazy, Please help.

It was much worse than what we heard. He had a breakdown- he was the strongest person of his time. He became divided by the minute- one side said- I shall run to the Himalayas and the other side- maybe I should fight. "should I stay or should I go"

Have you ever been in two boats with one foot in one and the other in the other?
I was once with one foot on one piece of ice and the other on the other- finally I fell into the icy cold water and fell sick because the pieces were drifting in opposite directions. It is not healthy for you to have these two sides in you fighting or drifting apart. But for Krishna this was no problem. In the midst of the dilemma he looked at Arjuna and started to smile. No problem. Because He thought, my devotee will soon be in Yoga with Me. He will with my plan then he will be united inside. The whole BG is just instruction manual about yoga- it means to bring yourself together. Each chapter is called something yoga.

Why are we sometimes so divided - like a devotee and a non devotee at the same time? why do we have sometimes difficulties in our spiritual life? We are not practicing yoga with Krishna- we are not in yoga with Krishna. Conflict or the divided self can bring you closer to practice yoga..

Let me now go quickly how Krishna solved Arjuna's first problem-

inability to act properly through Karma Yoga.
Krishna said -- karman yeva adhikaratas te........
Arjuna you have a right to perfomr your dharma but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Do what is right appropriate for your situation even if it i little faulty. Dont be attached to the outcome. This works even for you. The moment you find out what is your dharma- do what is proper- do not be concerned if people like you or do not like you, do not think abt the outcome0- successful or not successful. If you learn to find your dharma and do your activities according to your dharma- the whole universe will run into a gallop to help you.

Arjuna had another problem- I am overcome by illusion- Krishna destroyed it by telling him how he is an eternal soul Arjuna, Many births you and me have taken- I can remember my birth and appearances but you have forgotten- he gave him a new insight. If you want to change a person- you have to give them a way to act properly  and give them a new insight. And you have to save his depression and indecision. How do you cure depression and indecision.

Jaya Gopal what do you do against depression and indecision?
Answers from audience -Prasadam , Chant Hare Krishna - does it work? Think about this.I say to myself that I will not be like this anymore - associate with devotees, pray like anything

Saving his depression and indecision
There is one cure against depression found out by the American scientists- they wanted to find out who are the happy people and they found it - it was those people who help others-Why? because when you have feelings of love in your heart depression runs away. You must somehow develop love in your heart to cure depression. It is said in psychology- that if you want to cure depression and all this- you must have altered feelings of love- and Krishna evoked these feelings in Arjuna. The best is when you serve Krishna with love, your sadness and depression will go. Altered feelings of love are necessary to change indecision also. When we are in Jagannath Puri a year ago, Lord Jagannath would come out of the temple at 7am cool morning. It was 11 o clock- very hot sun, humid and the wet air was boiling the skin. People started to fall down on the ground. People sprayed cold water to revive the people. It was really dramatic, the tar started to melt. I was asking the police when is Lord Jagannath coming- the police chief said " why do you ask, He comes at His won time" Finally Lord Jagannath appeared -on His throne- I saw one devotee praying in the hot sun- another devotee came like this to cool him down- but the praying devotee continued to pray even if it was very hot. Finally he did the essential point of Bhakti yoga - totally upset he took the fan from the otehr devotee- he went to Lord Jagannath with so much love with the fan. I was standing next to the devotee- as then the Lord might see me. If you are far away from the devotee Krishna does not look at you. I saw a stream of mercy coming from Jagannath to the devotee who was fanned by him. Krishna trains Arjuna in this loving service of devotion and in this way he alters his love and brings him out of his depression.

Feeling Isolated
Most of us suffer from this divided self as Arjuna is also showing by feeling isloated- we feel we cant do it- we have no help. Krishna helps also with isolation- He promises His devotee a constant stream of support. tesam satata yuktam bhajatam priti purvakam......yena mam upayanti te. Those who are constantly serving Me with love, I give them full support and understanding by which they can come to Me. The result of Krishna's help in the BG is empowerment. Arjuna at the end of BG was asked by Krishna - what will you do now?
And he exploded with enthusiasm. My dear Krishna infallible one- my illusion  is gone, free from illusion- I have regained my memory by Your mercy- Altered feelings- I am now firm and free from doubt. He feel there is support for him.I have no doubt anymore, I can make it. You are there for Me. And Finally I am prepared to act according to Your instructions. Yoga bring the soul together. When you are in pieces and you can't act determinedly and properly with blissful art in your spiritual life- you need some more Yoga.

What is yoga and how it helps you to come together - is best explained by the English word Yoke- comes form the Sanskrit word Yoga.
 Two Ox are brought together by a piece of wood that holds them together.English dictionary says - overarchingly powerful element that creates union between two entities. So Yoga is a powerful process which creates unity between You and the Powerful Lord. Only in this union with God - feeling His closeness will you be able to be stregthened sufficently to say no to your lower self. Bhakti Yoga creates the union of love. when it comes into your heart then you can cure your divided self.

In the BG is an instruction manual on this yoga. It works. I request you at the end of my seminar to become students of the BG  with one new element to your studies- try to apply what you study- especially one powerful yoga practice from the BG it is from the 15th chapter of Purushottam yoga - it gives you 7 powerful practices that you can learn  in a relatively shrt time- in the asscoation of KRishna because He talks about this.


7 powerful practices from BG chapter 15
nirman moha jita sanga dosha adhyatma........

Sit before your mind and watch it.

1. The next time pride comes up practice freedom from false pride- understanding it is Krishna's Lila's not my ability
2. Next time you fall into illusion- meditate about how you are an eternal soul and part of Krishna.
3. The third point- make it a point to not have association with materialistic people . Some of you may be a businessman or a rock and roll star - it is impractical for you to not associate with material people. BVT says to avoid false association  doesn't mean you do not drive in the same boat with materialists.To practice not having false association means no heart to heart exchange then you start become influenced. 
4. 4th practice- understand the eternal - Today I talked with Bir Krishna Maharaj- very wonderful enlightenment Maharaj gave to me and I explained to him that sometimes I am a little impatient to see the slow advancement of devotees. He said - I also have this- but now I understand that development of KC may take many lifetimes- it is a development for the eternal soul over many stations. And when he spoke I remembered - I agree this is how I often preach- I remember my own spiritual master - with SP on his morning walk there was this one cat that would come and hang there, SP would play with it and remove it but it will hang there. One day a car had driven over teh cat and killed it. The devotees had become attached to the cat because it came everyday for one month waiting for SP and hanging on his Lotus Feet. Finally they decided to ask if there was a special reln going in. One devotee asked SP in private : Who was that cat? And SP said he is a disciple from a previous life- he did not make it, but now I have given him some extra help- that is why the disciple was so happy when hanging over the Lotus feet of the SP. The cat was saved. KC is an eternal process. We should understand this and then hen we see from this perspective that one little problem has happened is not so big in the face of eternity.
5. Those who are interested to practice Purushottam Yoga it is in Bg 15.5. But the last point in this yoga is to surrender unto the Supreme Person and anyone who does this practice will attain the eternal kingdom of God.

Take shelter in Yoga which will bring the two elements in you together and then you will become really determined.
SP said if I had 18 disciples who were together and determined I could do so much. Krishna waits for you to come together. He waits for all of us and by practicing this wonderful process of Krishna Consciousness together it will happen.

When we share our joy of devotion with each other the greatest blessings come.

http://audio.iskcondesiretree.info/05_-_ISKCON_Chowpatty/09_-_2012/01_-_Jan_2012/12-01-08_SB_10-05-17_-_Get_Happiness_To_Give_Happiness_-_Radhanath_Swami_ISKCON_Chowpatty.mp4

When we share our joy of devotion with each other the greatest blessings come.

SG is giving the description of Rohini. In this world whoever we are there is always the light and dark parts of life. If we expecting everything to go our way- we can never be happy- there is tragedy, crises , failures for whoever we are.

Adhyatmika, Adhi daivika, Adhidevika
own mind- distress, anxiety, diseases

The real source of ll suffering when the soul identifies with the temporary body and things of this body.

Bible says to live in this world but not of this world.
SP's heart grieved to see his own brothers and sisters - thinking all there is to life is the uncertainties of this world. Wake up understand who you are , what is your relationship- understand that happiness cannot ever be touched by any situation of this world. This balance of compassion on a human level for whatever type of suffering people have and the connection to the eternal infinite divine source of life the soul- we can celebrate the beauty and the fortune of Krishna and the opportunity that everyone in the world has for that- at the same time feeling the suffering of others and wanting to help them physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Rohini apparently transgressed etiquette by dressing beautifully. We must understand that the purpose of rules, regulations, etiquette is to please God- means to please the Lord's devotees and be compassionate to all living beings.

One time a Sanyasi a Swami came to the temple for Maharaj ws a pujari. Young new devotees were very excited- they bowed them in the room- he got angry this is an offense - do not bow to anyone in the temple of Krishna except Krishna.

Purpose of rules is to transform our character - they should make us humble and respectful
if those same methods make us hard hearted eositic nd judgemental - we have missed the purpose What please Krishna.

rohini was pleasing Krishna immensely- she was dressed very beautifully against the expected social custom- but Nanda and Yashoda had given it to her with love and joy and by accepting it she would give them joy.- She is the mother of Balarama the original Guru and all Gurus- she was serving everyone- despite the miseries of material life that she was experiencing her heart was permeated with happiness as there was something beautiful to celebrate- Krishna's mercy.

If we are miserable and despondent what we can do for anyone0- I am miserable because you are miserable let us suffer together- this love we suffer together birth after birth.

Life is more than that - if we there is darkness in the world there is one thing that can give light in darkness which is light- when Devotees actually find inner joy. inner peace , inner love of Krishna of the beauty of the soul- and see that potential in others then even in the greatest suffering, with compassion we are happy - its not that people are suffering and we go dancing and say too bad we are happy- that is not how it is- you feel for them and you want to give them the joy that is beyond the circumstances and pain and joy of the world

SP how can we repay you?
Just accept what I have given you and give it to others- when we accept what he has given to us it is a meaningful life which is beyond the suffering of the world. The more we give the joy we have recd then it increases - the joy is watering the root- when we learn to love Krishna then we learn to love every living being.

Rath yatra- Krishna is manifesting the mood of in giving we receive.

Rath Yatra Vrindavan vasis are meditating on bringing Krishna back to Vrindavan home where there is the deepest intimate love.Pull ropes to bring Krishna to Vrindavan - the result- if you are bringing Krishna to vrindavan where are you going - to Vrindavan back home back to godhead- automatically we go back to vrindavan when we bring Krishna back without any motivation we got BTG. If we please Krsna then ultimately we become pleased.

This bhakti or DS to Me, it will give blissful eternal life to anybody who simply accepts it. Doesn't matter male, female, red, white, yellow, high sates low caste no caste, literate, illiterate,rich or poor, we simply serve with devotion seva, and Krishna is pleased with the quality of our service, by love and devotion, Krishna reveals the treasure within ourselves of eternal blissful life. Rohini was celebrating by serving the guests with great joy - we feel for them from a platform of actually being a soln to the problem by connecting to the eternal joy of Krishna's love- by spreading this bhakti and chanting the Holy Name

When sometimes, is really suffering, loss of loved one- people try to help the person to forget the misery but in Bhakti param drstva nivartate- we want to help people to Xcend the misery to recognize and feel the misery that is there but simultaneously to xcend it- if we dont feel it we become callous and hard hearted towards it esp towards other people, but when we feel it from a xcendent [perspective by giving people infinite hope of who we are what we have and what we could give.


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He forgot to pull up the anchor- our motivation to be the proprietor, the enjoyer and the controller it is our selfish desires, we have to have the intent to pull them up - we have to have the tapasya the austerity in resisting these tendencies within us- then our sadhana will actually give us really good progress towards the destination- CM- the bhakti lata beeja is like a little seed - sadhana is like the watering of the seed the water makes the seed grow but weeds also grow- we have to be very attentive- able to identify the weeds and pull them out- if we do not then the same water will also water the weeds and the weeds are going to smother and choke the seed of devotion if we do not pull them out- selfishness, egoism, fault finding are all weeds- we have to keep watering with hearing and chanting if we do not pull out the weeds we become more hardhearted and mean instead of compassionate and that happens to often and that is actually what sincerity means - SP- would tell just take this KC sincerely without ulterior motives with actually striving to live with the right motivations.

 Human life is meant for tapasya and accept favorable and reject unfavorable- chanting is most favorable - ten offenses stifle the effect of chanting the HN when we are critical egoistic- therefore as we are performing our sadhana we have have to under stand the spirit that Lor CM emphasized gopi bhartur pada kamalayor --- strive to be a humble servant- if we are not humble, gentle, compassionate not pulling up the weeds that will choke those qualities then we are materialistic like any other religionist- if we are not tasting bhakti then we will seek out the taste of fault finding and sens gratification and we lose our taste for sadhana as we are not doing it properly. In SB simply by practicing DS all good qualities come- but we cant separate striving to live by the proper character of a vaishnava that is what DS is also. BSSt wrote if we dont have this humble service attitude we can chant birth after brth and never find love of God, because we allow these weeds to grow and grow and let that anchor us deeper into the body - so yes the first and foremost is the chanting of Gods name, reading SB, serving Vaishnavas, worshipping the Deity and going on pilgrimage- but if we do not do it in the proper char and make offenses ultimately only one this that can liberate  us and tht is Krishna's grace- we follow the re principles to get the grace of Krishna. Krishna doesnt give grace bec of the rituals we perform he gives it because of the intent and sincerity with which we perform our sadhana- if we dont have sincerity we associate with those who do and try to cultivate- however senior we may be safe way to practice is to think i am a brand new devotee- else we think i know i am senior and we become complacent - if we perform our sadhana with humility nothing can stop us.

tvam akincana gocara - Lord's mercy flows towards the humble.

12-03-09 CC Adi Lila 16-01 - Lord's Mercy flow towards the Humble - Radhanath Swami ISKCON Chowpatty

Nectarine mercy flows downstream, just like river flows downstream, Lord Caitanya extends himself to the fallen . India has so many rivers, Europe has the Rhine, Thames, Danube so many songs about them, America has so many rivers- Mississippi, etc. Whatever happens in the world the river keeps flowing.
"The Old Man River must know something , for he keeps flowing along". So much of a greatness of a nnation is known but what happens near the river. Egyptian civilization nuilt near Nile River- so much history along the banks of the Jordan river. Last night, we were uptil quite late looking at the full moon- so many things change in this world- but when you look up you see the same moon that you saw in LCM's time.Somehow or the other human beings havent figured how to change the moon yet even when so many cities have changed.
...............................................Similarly the river
Minor aparadha and serious aparadha
Minor aparadha is when you touch a devotee with your toe or step over a devotee in class- we should not do it, avoid them- it is important to attune your consciousness in being respectful.

Real offenses is when we actually try to hurt some one due to envy or arrogance- that is serious- that Krsna cannot tolerate. If we speak words or perform actions that impede a person's progress in life- due to arrogance or envy that is called the mad elephant offense and the scriptures explain that so much of the suffering that people go through is due to past offense- offense to vaishnavas is considered a mad elephant.

I was in Hrishikesh. Driving down from Dehradun to Hrishikesh there are big signs- they have this Gigantic photo of a gigantic male elephant pushing over a car- just like a child pushing over a mango elephant, car with full people looks like a matchbox.

I was wondering why they have these signs because what are you going to do if a mad elephant attacks. Then I was thinking they can chant the Holy Names while riving.

One time I was there at Gokul dham our farm in Gokul. They said the neighbors farm has fresh water.
At a certain point the neighbor did not allow the Ox cart with the water tank. At a certain point they started going with the ox cart. I asked them why? They said the neighbors farm is now destroyed by a mad elephant.
To keep the elephant out of your rice crop , you have to build very big thick and high walls- bared wires can just be taken out very easily.

They eat huge amounts of food. In days of history, it was a sign of great wealth that you can maintain an elephant because they eat so much. It eats all the rice when you are just ready to harvets the rice. When he is totally overeaten - then he lays on his left side and rolls around and destroys everything. In a matter of a few days they destroyed his entire crop of rice and some years he brings friends.



but because elephants bdies are so heavy they cant go fast downhill. The elephant had to go really slow downhill so they escaped

when I heard this story, I was thinking that is it- that is the philosophy of bhakti- that is the verse is talking about. If we want to overcome this mad elephant offense to the vaishnavas- there is only one way to do it- cannot ourrun it or overcome it -we have to humble ourselves to take a low position then we are protected from makinf offenses and we take a humble position then we can also overcome the offense. Just like Jagaai and Madhai they offended Nityanand aPrabhu - only when the fell at His feet and a genuinely humble and sincere heart they asked for forgiveness - to want to serve- then they were completely forgive. When Madhai asked Nityananda i hurt others also- but you forgave me what about the others - He said just serve them- clean the bathing ghats and whoever came before Madhai he would perform his prostrated obeisances, he would beg forgiveness and with all humility he would serve them- not just a vocal thing- he would build ghats for them, carry their clothes for them ,wash after them - he freed himself of all the apradhas he ever did trnad api sunicena and in that humble position chanting the Holy Names of Krishna. this is the secret of success and there is no other way- sincere serious humility in service- only way to overcome our aparadhas and prevent future aparadhas and its is the only way to call out the Lord's name in a way He takes us serious. Krishna will connect us with Himself in any way we chant His name. But h\He will take us seriously to revela Himself and really help us when we chant with great seriousness- which means humility with a desire to serve   This is what Sri CM Himself demonstrated and this is what each one of His devotees personally demonstrated.

the Lord is like a river and the flow of the nectarean river of His mercy flows to them who feels himself to be low and humble- if you think you are something high- rivers do not flow up- have you seen a river flow upwards naturally. The nectarean mercy goes to those who feel themselevs lowly does not flow up to those who feel themselves great. Queen Kunti - those who are proud of high birth, High education,High wealth and High beauty they cannotcall your name with feeling. akincana Gocara- you are the property of the impoversihed


what is that impoversihed mean?It does not mean you have to be necassarily physically impoverished - it means you feel nothing is mine. after all the Gopis were supremely beautiful- but they were not proud of their beauty - it was only for Krishna's pleasure. Yudhisthira Maharaj was corontaed and became the richest king- but he wasnt proud- he thought all my wealth belong to Krishna. RG, SG, JG were the greatest scholars- but yet they were absolutely humble. When Lord CM called SG for lunch at the tota Gopinath temple- summer time, sun was blazing,noon, sand was scorchin Hot, impossible to walk on the sand. he did not have shoes, chappals and not even the wooden ones that Govinda Prabhu wears - he was barefoot- yet he walked on that sand- his feet were getting blistered and when he go there Lord caitanya had already eaten and was taking rest-servant Govinda gave Mahaprasad to SG. then Lord CM met SG - He asked how did you come? I came by the beach? Lord CM- why did you not come from the road from the Jagannath Temple. Sg did not say anything. Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami is constantly reminding us about this principle of humility the culture of a Vaishnava - non-envious and humble. He is telling us what is in the mind of SG- he knows because he is there. SG was thining that I am so fallen and sinful - that if I go by the main road- pujaris aserving Jagaanath are always going in and out of the temple- if they touch me and ten go an serve the Deity- then it will be an offense- I cannot commit such an offense and neither implicate them in the offense.How many of us are so refined and sutle in our execution of humililty. Hari Bhakti Vilas many technilities and dos and donts- the purpose is to refine our consiounsess to become so sensitive to what is pleasing to the Lord- not to be callous, negligent, whimsical- these are detrimental platform to bhakti - to be here and now in that consciousness of what is the pleasing to the Lord - all the mudras, the entire archana process is to tune is in to what is pleasing to Krishna.

Raghava Pandit-Lord CM was praising him in Panihati because he always wanted to bring the best of the best for is deity of madan gopal. Better coconut growing ata  distant place- he got some , giving them to the Deity - fist give whole coconut so Deity could drink the water --- pujari who was bringing it in the pujari touched the ceiling- Raghava Oandit threw them away - saying it is not offerable as the ceiling is full of dust from the floor.it is not clean for the deity. He discarded those great coconuts

SP says- you may think this person who has a cleanse phobia- always worried about erms- he was just so tuned into making things perfect for Krishna. This was SG feeling - that a pujari of Jagananath may touch me and them touch Jagannath - rather than take this very very extended remote chance- he chose to walk on the blazing sand and his feet were terribly blistered.

But he wouldnt tell Lord CM his reason but Lord CM understood his heart- he is a symbol of humility. It wasnt that Lod CM was impressed by his blistered feet- but it was his heart. People may perfomr tapasya with ego- but the Lord does not accept that. The Lord showered his mercy on SG. SG said I dont know who I am, who is God, why material existence is the way it is- still people call me a pandit a scholar, please tell me who am I , what is my goal Lord CM said stop speaking like that your humility is breaking my heart. Yoru character, knowledge and qualities- you are fit of my Guru- but for the sake of strictness you are speaking like this- he is all good character but thinking himself most fallen- nectarean river of Lord CM's mercy is flowing, unrestrictedly and profoundly and inundating his heart - the river will not reach the heart that feel its high.

This si spiritual geology. NDT - SP quotes him - pativata pavan hetu -- when we listen to this verse - how it should syrike it our heart- he is praying to CM- sri krsna caitanya prabhu doya karo moy- My dear Lord you are most merciful- patitva pavana- especially inclinde to those who are most fallen., you can examine the entire creation and will not find anyone more fallen than me- therefore the first claim in mine.

they mean it. It is not that they are depressed unlike what the people of the world think. You go to a psychologist and quote these things and they will start injecting you with anti depressants. They will start counselling you. This is umility of a spiitual nature- this humility does not make you depressed - it makes you empowered- because it access the inundation of the river of the Lord's mercy. Material inferiority complex is when you have a big ego and it is not getting fulfilled and it makes you depressed and you feel inferior. But humility is means without ego- without false ego- TOTAL difference- vaishnava humility does not mean to be depressed when our ego is smashed - it means to be elated because of our ego is being liberatedthat our real ego is emerging over the false ego. That is humility - where we are connecting with the infinite grace of God to connect with us. That grace flows downstream- the sea level is a lowest place and thats where the river finds its destination- similarly the Lord;s mercy will find its destination when our heart is in a humble state. Sri CM is all about this. SBB thought he was a great scholar but Sri CM very experly humbled him that he knew nothing and teh river of that mercy inundated his life and situated him in PDS> Devananad Pandit was a great scholar- association with Vakreshwar pandit he realized he knew nothing. Pratap Rudra- was king of orissa- his army, his palace, his donations did not impress the Lord- what impressed the Lord is him becoming a humble sweeper and h came before God as a common mendicant devotee. What role did he take- he came to massage the Lord';s feet and he had already massaged the feet of the devotees and he was reciting on RR and SBB advise he was reciting Gopi Gita- CM asked him to continue reciting- then he came to tava kathamritam ........you are the munifect. Lord CM you have come to give me so much nectar - who are you - just a few hrs ago he did not want to meet Lord CM- he was dancing in ecstacy and fell in Pratap Rudra's arms- then He looked at him with disgust and said I have been touched by a materialist.

when LOrd CM asks who are you - cant tell a lie to the Absolute truth and get away with it he has to tell the truth- cannot say Kig Pratap Rudra and cannot lie and say he is somebody else.- he spoke with his heart of hearts- wasnt thinking I am Pratap Rudra.- I ma a servant of the servant of the servant and my only aspiration is to remain the servant of the servant of Your servants. that is actually what his heart wants. The river of teh Lord' nectarine mercy inundated his heart- he was in teh highest position but considering himself low. SP was the highets paramhamsa in the world on the Jala duta- he said you have given me the name Bhaktivedanta - but no bhakti ornot vednata only You can give me bhakti or devotion.

Loneliness: We are longing to Feel God's Love

Longing for Love of God – Radhanath Swami

People are starving for God’s love.  They are lonely. But they have created a whole system to run away and hide their minds with all kinds of material, relative, superficial and useless activities.  Why is television so popular?  Not because the programs are so good, but because the people are so bored, they cannot tolerate their thoughts.  They do not want to face them. Therefore, they have to find some source of forgetting them.
In the old days, people used to do athletics, sports and all kinds of other social events.  Today, they take a sleeping pill and just snore off forgetting everything. And if that does not work, they drink some alcohol or take some intoxication to enhance the effect.  They work so hard to create the devices to forget the loneliness within their own hearts.
Learn to love God.  Love of God is what our soul is hankering for.  It is the only thing that will make us feel the joy in our life.  Nothing else will work. The soul is part of God; it longs to unite with God. Nothing else can replace that relationship.  How to build that relationship? Associate with saintly people.  Chant the holy name. Hear from the holy books. Worship the Lord with faith and devotion, and work to forget the loneliness.
By Radhanath Swami

Overcoming Loneliness: Develop eagerness to Love God

Eagerness to love GOD by Radhanath Swami

October 5, 2011 By SM Team 49 Comments

One of the ISKCON saints by the name H H Bhakti Tirth Swami (a dear friend of Radhanath Swami) cites a story which explains how much we should be eager to love GOD in order to achieve that treasure. It is about a guru and a disciple. Some of you might have heard it but it is worth reading it to imbibe it in our life. Srila Prabhupada says repetition is sometimes necessary to make us understand a philosophical point in this dark age of Kali. So that i can imbibe it in my life, i am posting it here.
A disciple earnestly tried to follow all the necessary requirements of a good disciple, but somehow or other, he did not seem to develop any realization. From time to time, he would intensely inquire from his guru and complain about his situation. He wanted to know when he would be able to attain self-realization and how he would reach this goal. However, the spiritual master did not seem to acknowledge his bewilderment. He practically did not even respond.
One day, the disciple and the guru took a walk by the river. The spiritual master walked the disciple into the river and then with full force he suddenly pushed the disciple’s head into the water, practically drowning the boy. The disciple must have felt completely shocked and disturbed, especially since the guru is supposed to be the major source of solace and love for the disciple. However, his guru suddenly submerged his head in water in a seemingly strange attempt to drown him. As the disciple’s life air gradually decreased, he only thought of ways to pull his head above the surface of the water for a breath of air.
Just before the disciple gave up the body, the spiritual master finally released his head from under the water. In a very grave but caring tone, the guru explained, “When I held your head under the water, you solely thought of ways to obtain air. Your entire consciousness focused only on this one purpose and every aspect of your dwindling existence strove for survival or liberation. When you develop this same kind of pinpointed intensity for the development of love of God, irrespective of other distractions, only then will you attain self-realization. When you have such intense desperation and desire for God’s love and mercy, then you will reach this ultimate goal.”
Radhanath Swami,  another ISKCON saint in the same line continues that everyone is actually looking for love. And love can be only sustained when the object of our love is all-encompassing, all-beautiful, all-compassionate, and all-loving. And there happens to be only one person like that. The Supreme Personality of GodHead. Everyone is craving for some meaning in their life. But people take shelter of television, theaters, clubs and the like just to forget the miseries of life. They neither have the courage to face them nor to fight them. There were nice recreational activities in the olden days but nowadays people pop up sleeping pills or take to alcohol or drugs just so that they can pass their times. All this to remove their loneliness from their hearts. But failure always accompany such people. Failure to overcome their loneliness.

Radhanath Swami explains says that the only way out is to love GOD. If we were to give our beloved a rose and he/she did not respond properly (say due to some circumstances) we will feel depressed but GOD is not like that. He can understand every feeling of ours and that too of everyone simultaneously and He responds accordingly. Who could be a better lover who reciprocates at every step? We are essentially part and parcel of GOD. We need to love GOD. Or we are like the fish out of the water.  The soul wants to be with GOD. As of now our relationship is dormant. How to revive it?  Radhanath Swami suggests that we should associate with saintly people who have love for GOD. Chant the holy names of the Lord. Hear realized souls speaking from holy books. This way we will be eager to love GOD as much as we want air inside water.

What is responsibility?

Excerpt from the lecture:
1997-052 What Is Responsibility SB-02 08 21 Mumbai - 13-03-97 IDesireTree
Actual love, is the natural energy of the soul expressing itself unconditionally for the pleasure and happiness of the Lord and the Lord's devotees. That is love. Human life is meant to realize that love. sa vai pumsam... to love Lord Krishna unconditionally and serve him accordingly is the Supreme occupation for all humanity and it is only that type of unmotivated uninterrupted service to the Lord can we find true satisfaction.
That is the responsibility and purpose of life
Material people try to find more and more for themselves but ultimately what is the result- SP explained how terrible that Maya cheats such souls at the last phase of their lives. Napoleon was the greatest conqueror , world was trembling before him. He and his armies were marching terrorizing everyone. when he was dying he had lost everything, mouth was dry with the thirst and he was saying " Please give me some water". such a powerful man, entered the Vatican ordered him to make him the King of France. So powerful, but last days he had nothing, he did not have water and they gave him a cup- he drank it- it was the urine of the horse- frustrated suffering and died, that is material existence.

Hitler world was trembling before him . all the big countries were coming together to discuss what to do about him. At the end of life - he was hiding under the hole in the ground like a rat and committed suicide he lost everything

these are the greatest most powerful egoistic persons.


KC - to learn what is real happiness, not to control nations but your own mind and senses. Hiranyakaspiu was miserable bec he could not conquer mind and senses.

How to conquer the mind and senses? Krishna says by serving Him with constant practice and detachment Krishna Himself  By His mercy if he sees we are sincere and humble in your attempt to serve under the direction of his authorized devotee- Krishna himself will help you control the mind and senses. He is Hrishikesh- master of the mind and senses. He lifted the Govardhan Hill effortlessly to protect His devotees. Similarly He can lift us from the onslaughts of our material desires these unwanted anarthas pollutions of lust, envy, pride and illusion- agents of Maya that are conquering everyone individually and collectively on a mass scale internationally.The forces that induce such lower tendencies that induce such raging fire - but Krishna is all powerful. at Davanala JKund when there was fire around all His devotees, simply in one moment he swallowed the Fire. How to please Krishna- CM has given the instruction worship Krishna and chant the holy Names.
kaunteya pratijanihi - Krishna will always protect His devotee. SP is speaking so intimately not only the profound highest truths abut also his direct realizations. This material existence is like an ocean and we are like a little boat in the ocean and we are completely dependent on the mercy of the ocean. If there is a storm, fog, wind, cloud, there is every possibility of being drowned no one can control the whims of the oceans however materially equipped. this material existence is filled with unlimited waves in the form of temptations obstacles, waves of success failure, wave of good health and disease, of honor and dishonor. The dualities keep us under tight control.

In this ocean we are always aspiring for what we do not have and lamenting for what we lose. No peace. How tpo cross over this ocean? We are actually in a very helpless dependent condition. We may be doing very nice in our spiritual life.

If you are not chanting 16 rounds, at any moment you will fall victim to Maya. SP put great emphasis.
4 reg principles, keep association of devotees, hear SB and BG. When SP was on Jaladuta - he had direct experience of being in a tiny oat in the middle of the ocean- very difficult situation. Middle of Atlantic Ocean when a storm comes what do you do- you cannot decide lets stop here for sometime, or lets go home- nowhere to turn to- all there is is something darkness and waves, winds, you cannot see where you are who you are. what is your condition, you are helpless and hopeless. In that condition SP had two heart attacks, sea sickness