https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqDuTMAHhlA&list=UUUZTWReIbBYqOFL9TyKFblg
How to receive grace?
Only the full moon shines on the blue lotus then it opens - then it manifests the most intoxicating sweet fragrance that fills the atmosphere. Our hearts are like the blue lotus - tightly shut.No matter how many donations you give, how many fasts you do, you sleep on the floor, sleep in the cave,, how many rounds you chant, no matter how many times you offer puja, how many mantras you memorize - it will remain tightly shut. When Sri Radha's grace shines upon us like the rays of the full moon it naturally opens , it blossoms and when our heart blossoms with prema with ecstatic love- we are anandam buddhi vardhanam- that happiness we feel spread everywhere to everyone . That is grace. samsiddhir hari tosanam. When Krsna is pleased with us, then Sri Radha manifests that grace from within and without. Through the grace the Lotus of our heart blossoms. Ultimately we are chanting according to the instructions of SP and the great acaryas- studying SB , worshiping the Deities and we are doing so much seva service, because this is the treasure the gift, that God has given us and when we do it sincerely, honestly, attentively and earnestly and take it very seriously then they will be pleased upon us. Then that grace- trnad api sunicena..... we just chant Holy Name with this spirit - humility,tolerance, eagerness to respect others and a service attitude based on that spirit- and sri radha's grace will be with us.
Rasa Lila
So the Rasa Lila is described.Krsna had desire to exchange love and satisfy the desires of His most blessed, intimate devotees- The gopis- Bank of river Yamuna is river of liquid prema- yamuna devi- is an intimate eternal associate of Krsna from Goloka descends to assist in His pastimes with the devotees.
The love of Krsna's heart manifested into His breath and as He blew or played His flute , that breath came to the flute - that flute is an eternal expansion of Himself- a loving servant that facilitate the love between him and His devotees
When Krsna blew into the flute - the love in His heart manifested as the sweetest music that this creation has ever heard. It was not the kind of music we listen to with our ears- it was Krsna's ecstatic love for the souls of the Gopis. The special feature of this love that manifests in the form of music- as it entered into each Gopis ears and their hearts - it uniquely, personally manifested itself especially for that Gopi. There were no two Gopis who heard the same song. Krsna in their hearts in the form of this sweet song was present, calling them to be with Him.
43:52 Each one of them knew that the way they left they may never be welcome to come back again but if that is what it means to please Krsna let it be. As they were moving to the forest, their hearts were beating with inconceivable anticipation to serve Krsna and when they came to bamsi vat on the Yamuna bank to meet Krsna He smiled upon them. That smile was everything. Krsna could manifest His love through a glance,smile, song of the flute and the love He was manifesting through that smile - it was like a tsunami of ecstasy that was drowning the Gopis.
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Srila Prabhupada said in spiritual life there is perfect, more perfect and most perfect and there are unlimited degrees of most perfect.
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When we offer our love to Krsna it naturally extends to every living being including our loved ones. At the deepest level , so Krsna accepted defeat from the gopis and they began to dance. Our great acaryas tell us that this is a pure spiritual relationship- not a tinge of material desire attachment or lust. Its the deepest love of the soul. Suka G, Sri CM. Ramanaujacarya. RG, RDG, the greatest renunciate in the history of the world have proclaimed that the purest love of the Gopis is the highest renunciation of this world. We would never hear Suka G or Sri CM or RG, RDG they never talk about affairs between men and women - they are constantly thinking about love of the Gopis for Krsna Because it is transcendent to this world and that is why we cannot understand this Gopis love for Krsna unless we are touched by the grace of Sri Radha. It takes a very humble heart, a lifetime of seva and deep selfless humble chanting of the Holy Names to be able to actually connect with this. Krsna's love is so perfect, every Gopi and there were many many gopis were thinking Krsna is only with me.
Of all the beautiful qualified Gopis that are here- acc to Sri CC and the scriptures- the gopis everything about them is for the pleasure for Krsna- incredible beauty- not because they are born with karma of good beauty - everything about they cooked, looked, sang an expression of their love for Krsna-because they loved Krsna so purely, deeply, selflessly they were so beautiful. The scriptures tell us even the most beautiful ladies of this earth planet, their beauty is insignificant compared to the beauty of those in the heavenly planets.
Compared to the ladies of vaikuntha - they are infinitely more beautiful than the ladies in the heavenly planet- more than that queens of dwarka- more than them whose beauty is insignificant compared to the gopis of vrindavan- inconceivable, unimaginable its all an expansion of their love their heart. Each gopi knows how beautiful , qualified every other Gopi is . And they are thinking Krsna is only with Me, smiling with Me, left everyone, every Gopi is thinking like that- reality is - everyone of them was right- it was true Krsna was intimately only with them, while He was with everyone else. Krsna wanted to teach all of us several lessons.
Lessons 58:06
The gopis they actually had no pride in their hearts.They were completely transcendentally liberated -but there was a type of spiritual pride that they had and Krsna wanted to teach us a Lesson. Howveer elevated you are- exalted in our spiritual relaizatioon- if we become proud and think I am better than others then Krsna withdraws Himself from us- it does not please Him. Srila Prabhupada explains what is the consciousness of a Maha Bhagavata - a really self realized liberated lover of God. A Mahabhagvata is thinking - I am liuberated, advanced and love Krsna and you do not. A Maha Bhagavata is thinking (acc to a Mahabhagavata) it takes one to know one - everyone is serving Krsna better than me. Thats why for a MahaBhagavata to be in this world and be a preacher and everything they have to adjust their consciousness, because their natural thinking is like this. The question is are we doing all the things we are doing as an adjustment or are we thinking everyone loves Krsna better than me and everyone loves Krsna better than me. That is total humility- the gopis are on that stage - but by the power of Krsna's love they began to think that Krsna wants to teach us - we should never think we are better than others. If we have been given a special gift- we can think I have recd a very special gift , good fortune that others may not have been given. That does not make me better than them but it makes me more fortunate than them and I must share that good fortune with them because I am their servant.Thats the way a devotee si supposed to eb to every living being- servant of the servant.
So Krsna left the Gopis and all the gopis another reason is He wanted to increase the love for the Gopis - they were in the highest stage of spiritual happiness when they were dancing with Krsna but it intensified so many times more when he disappeared - now they were totally absorbed in yearning for Krsna what a samadhi stage they were in - chanting Krsna's name, imitating His pastimes- asking the moon,deers, insects,trees and the flowers - did you see Nanda nandana - which way did Shyam Sundar Go? Where is Gopinath? They were not thinking of anything else and they were together performing Krsna's pastimes- the only way they could survive was by being totally absorbing Him. They were feeling his presence so deeply in remembering His smile, All of His glance, His words, His pastimes with His gopa friends, parents, killing of demons, pastimes with them- remembering all this and exploding with love- Where is Krsna- I want to see Him, I want to serve Him, I want to pelasee Him, that was their lvoe and ultimately they realized that Krsna left them all for SMt Radharani, of all the devotees the Vrajbasis have the sweetest love- gopis, sakhis, Sria Radha.
And the Gopis with such deep appreciation they glorified Sri Radha that Her love and worship is above and beyond everything else- we left everything for Krsna and He left us for Radha- they were following the footsteps of Sri Radha and Gopinath. Then they came to a place where sri Radharani was sitting and crying for Krsna bec even she was thinking Krsna left everyone for Me, so Krsna left even Her. That is one way of understanding but highest way of understanding is this-Krsna wanted to show the world- the ultimate supreme revelation of love is the love of Radha for Krsna....the AT is one but it manifests as two R and K to exchange the Supreme Love- and to manifest lvoe- the lvoe between Them expands into the hearts of all living beings- Their love for each other is the focus, the center of all material and spiritual existences.
So now they are all so deeply- in their separation with Krsna they were totally united with one heart to please Krsna- such sympathy , affection and love for each other in their search for Krsna. They were searching in the dark recesses of the forest of Vrindavan. Ultimately they came to the bank of the Yamuna - and when the love for each other and combine love for Krsna in separation their sympathy for each other , the condn they were in in separation from Krsna - they all held hands and loudly performed kirtan of Krsna's Holy Names.They chanted together with all their hearts- Harinaam Sankirtana. Krsna appeared. This is the gift of Sri CM - param vijayate sri Krsna Sankirtanam- The greatest benediction on all creation is the chanting fo the Holy Names, golokeara prema dhana harinaam sankirtan- this kirtan of Krsna's names is descending from Goloka.
Sri CM is Krsna with the love of Sri Radha. Teaching us how we can again be in the presence of Krsna and He is giving us Sankirtana coming from CM- this process is bringing us right into the culmination of the Rasa Lila with the Gopis are together chanting Krsna's names to invoke Krsna's presence- thats what was happening at Srivas Anagan when Sri CM and His associates were chanting. We read in the CC and Sri CB- the kirtans at Srivas angan were non diff than Rasa Lila in Vridnavan . United chanting Krsna's name together- no more powerful means of invoking our love of Krsna and awakening our understanding of Krsna's love and feeling His love at every moment. Krsna manifested to the Gopis - He told the Gopis- even in an entire lifetime of Brahma- I cannot repay you for your love for me. these are simple Gopis- leave their little houses, come to the forest and dance with Krsna, externally it did not seem like they did much, they did not build temples, they did not do years of austerities in caves, they just loved Krsna and wanted to please Him in such a simple way and Krsna is so grateful- from His heart He is speaking- I am the Proprietor of everything in spiritual and material worlds- with everything I have and all the powers I have, I have no way to repay you for your love for Me.He is speaking to each and every one of them.
Krsna is so moved, He is conquered by the love of His devotees- that is the nature of His love- by His own sweet will He is conquered by the love of His devotees- so He requests the Gopis to just eb happy with the love you have in itself because that has more value- Your love for me has more value than everything I have - just be happy with that love and in their love they feel Krsna's love- this is Rasa Lila and they danced in the night- People like dance, romance, Devotees understand the real dance and romance is to give our hearts to Krsna- without selfishness, without egosim, with seva, service. We show our love for Krsna by how we cooperate with each other even if it is difficult. Kali Yuga is difficult but with the challenge comes the opportunity to love- if we are not willing to take the challenge we are not qualified for that love.It is difficult to cooperate- husbands and wives but to come to a higher platform- for Krsna's pleasure we will cooperate and I will respect you and I will be good to you even though....God Brothers , God Sisters, God Cousins cooperation, respect, amanina mana dena these are challenges and we have many challenges in this world- of weather, other people, health - how to keep thinking of Krsna, keep feeling grateful, how to keep trying to please Him and be united in doing so. The greater challenge- the greater advancement we make when we actually resolve it on the Higher principle of how to please Krsna.That is the path of Bhakti. Krsna danced with the gopis and he wanted to fulfill their desires and they wanted to fulfill His desires- so Krsna orchestrated in such a way they danced all night long. But Krsna extended that night to an entire night of Brahma - long time, beyond any conception of material history- billions of years. They danced all night long and part of their dance- went into yamuna river- played among the Lotus flowers- decorated each other with flowers, the gopis made a nice bed of flowers for Radha Krsna to rest- Vrindavan- land of love and tonight as we are speaking in the aprakata Lila- eternal lila of Vrindavan, Sri Radha and Gopis are performing Their Rasa Lila on banks of Yamuna and here in Chowpatty beach, 7 KM Munshi Marg- Mumbai 400007 in this temple Sri Sri RG have manifested in Their eternal original all merciful forms- They are performing their Rasa Lila- Krsna is playing His flute and according to our lvoe we can hear it- How many of you cna hear it - so we should be very humbled, crying together- this is how we should be chanting the HNs tonight- as we chant we should be one heart crying out Radharani , Hari and Krsna's names for Their pleasure-offering our hearts, bodies, minds and lives for Their pleasure through our chanting.
And crying Krsna if it pleases You steal my heart, so I can hear your flute, steal everyone's heart so everyone can hear your flute- let the whole world hear your flute , feel your love. why do we yearn to go to Vrindavan bec that is where we can do a service to RG that is most pleasing to Them and by SP mercy he is giving us the chance to do that right here- this is vrindavan. Thank you very much.
