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Archive for the 'Monday Morning Greetings' Category

Monday Morning Greetings 2024 #3 – The Spiritual Practice of Śrī Caitanya

January 15th, 2024

This is how Śrī Caitanya practiced and taught His direct disciples the process of attaining love of Godhead as described in Second Chapter of the Madhya-līla of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmta:

 

“By personally tasting the mellows of love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught His direct disciples. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a wealthy capitalist possessing the touchstone of love of God. Not considering whether one is a proper or improper recipient, He gives His treasure to anyone and everyone. Thus He is the most munificent.” (Cc Madhya-līla 2.81)

 

In the verses preceding this one, what that tasting of the mellows of love of Godhead looks like is described. There Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja depicts Śrī Radha’s extreme feelings of separation from Śrī Krishna as transcendental madness, which hardly seems to be something one coming to the practice of Krishna consciousness can practically embrace. Can this really be the process that Śrī Caitanya gave to everyone and anyone? Concerning another seemingly remarkable claim about the practice of bhakti, I once asked a Vaiṣṇava scholar in Vrindavan how to possibly make sense of the last and eleventh verse of the Upadeśāmta: “If one simply bathes once within those holy waters, one’s pure love of Krishna is fully aroused.” I loved his answer: “Yes, that is true, but it is the last verse. You must first go through the other ten verses to get there, beginning with verse one where it says one must conquer all the pushing’s of the senses, body, and mind.” In the same way, the description of Śrī Caitanya tasting the mellows of love of Godhead refers mostly to His time in Puri at the end of His life (antya-līla) where He practiced nirjana-bhajan (solitary spiritual practice) to perfect His inner spiritual hankerings. Before practicing that stage, however, we are meant first emulate how He practiced devotion in His life to qualify for that stage.

 

Surrendering to a spiritual master

Śrī Krishna is the object of His devotee’s adoration. He came as Śrī Caitanya because He wanted to experience the adoration or devotion that rests only in His devotee’s heart. Therefore, only after surrendering to His teacher and invoking His grace did devotion fully awaken in Śrī Caitanya. The first principle of devotion Śrī Caitanya therefore taught by His example was guru-pādāśraya, taking shelter of a spiritual master.

 

Performance of sakīrtana

Of all nine practices of devotion, chanting the holy name is the most powerful way to attract the Lord’s mercy and advance on the path of bhakti, especially when done congregationally and accompanied by appropriate musical instruments. Consequently, when Śrī Caitanya awakened devotion after taking initiation, His main devotional practice was participating in all-night kirtans at the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura.

 

Showing compassion

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote that the essence of all religion is to show compassion to the living entities by giving them the holy name. Before settling in Puri to practice nirjana-bhajan, he traveled for six years throughout southern India enlightening others and giving them the holy name. He thus taught that one cannot chant the holy name purely unless one cultivates compassion, thinking of others before oneself.

 

Seek sādhu-saga

Sādhu-saga—the association with those advanced in spiritual life, with a similar mood of devotion, and with whom we can develop an affectionate relation—is the foundation of the path of bhakti. Śrī Caitanya took advantage of the association of the eminently qualified Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, who he met in southern India to have extensive discussions on the deepest aspects of Krishna consciousness. Later, when He retired to Puri, He asked the same Rāmānanda Rāya, along with Svarūpa Dāmodara, a similarly exalted Vaiṣṇava, to be His confidants. From them, to perfect His bhajan, He would hear the appropriate devotional songs and stories about Śrī Krishna to awaken the type of devotion He was aspiring to achieve. Śrī Caitanya thus showed that at every stage of our spiritual life we must seek the association of advanced devotees.

 

Study the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily

Śrī Caitanya studied the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily in the Ṭoṭā-gopīnātha temple from Gadādhara Paṇḍita, who taught Him through such study how to prepare oneself in the requisite knowledge and devotional sentiment to understand, awaken, and nourish one’s relationship with Śrī Krishna, in this case the mood of Śrī Radha. He especially liked to hear Śrī Gadādhara narrate and comment on the pastime of Dhruva Mahārāja, to learn determination on the path of bhakti, and the pastime of Śrī Prahlāda, to be inspired in unbroken devotion. Śrī Caitanya thus demonstrated the utmost importance in studying the complete Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to awaken and nourish a relationship with Krishna.

 

Nirjana-bhajan

Nirjana-bhajan means to retire to a solitary place and to relish the mellows of love of Godhead that one aspires to attain by chanting the holy name and remembering those pastimes in every spare moment. Śrī Caitanya taught by His example that having been established in one’s relationship with Krishna, the foundation of such bhajan is to absorb oneself in the holy names of one’s beloved lord, which further and further reveal in the heart of the devotee the Lord’s form, qualities, and pastimes. Focus on the holy name, however, depends on the depth of our relationship with Krishna in the form of the holy name. To increase that sambandha (relationship) with the holy name, He listened to the songs and pastimes of the person whose names He was chanting, and worshiped the form of the person of the name He was chanting, in this case Śrī Jagannath.

 

So that’s the practice of Śrī Caitanya—surrender to a qualified guru, chant the holy name, preach Krishna consciousness, take sādhu-saga, study the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and when one’s heart becomes purified and one has awakened their relationship with Krishna, sit down in a holy place and dedicate twenty-four hours a day to chanting, hearing, and remembering one’s beloved Lord. Sounds a lot like what Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2024 #2 – A Guide for Beginners (and Their Guides)

January 8th, 2024

Many people have told me that they appreciate the definition of faith that I frequently cite: “faith is trust by experience”.[1] Experience engenders faith because faith is what we trust as our goal, and that goal is generally based on a good experience. Therefore, the greatest tragedy is to have misplaced faith, such as trust in intoxication based on an initial experience of getting high, for example, and then becoming addicted and ruining one’s life. The greatest blessing, in contrast, is having faith in a worthy objective, such as attaining mature devotion to God based on an initial religious experience and becoming fulfilled in life. For that reason, I have adopted as one of my services guiding pilgrims visiting Vrindavan, for I believe it is, more than any other place, where one can easily have a transcendent experience and awaken the faith to develop love for Śrī Krishna. Being here since 1976, I have witnessed hundreds of people coming in a humble mood, under the proper guide and getting that experience and faith. I have also witnessed pilgrims visiting Vrindavan completely missing that experience, or even having a negative experience, because they are not ready to humbly follow a guide, or their tour was not properly organized. For this week’s post I will concentrate on a few basic principles that in my experience are essential for introducing new people to Vrindavan.

 

Only take qualified pilgrims

 

A pilgrim doesn’t necessarily have to have faith, which is generally the precursor for any spiritual experience such as a pilgrimage, but they at least must be open enough to the path of bhakti to be guided by a spiritual tour leader. Such minimum humility is the door to experience Vrindavan, or any devotional practice for that matter. The “failed” tours that I observed were when the pilgrims had not sufficiently been informed beforehand what was expected of them and thus had not fully bought into the pilgrimage’s objective or leadership, and never got beyond what they externally saw in India, which can at times be disconcerting. Pilgrimage is a group activity that, like all congregational practices, requires a shared experience by all members for the collective group to have the fullest experience. Even a few people that are dissatisfied can ruin it for the whole group and make the life of the tour leader difficult. Conclusion: Don’t sell a pilgrimage. Be totally transparent about your objectives and let those who really have interest convince you that they are ready and eager for what you are giving.

 

Intensely focus on serving the needs and reasonable desires of the pilgrims

 

This is not a contradiction with my previous statement about pilgrims humbly accepting the leadership of the tour. The leader must be very sensitive to the pilgrims’ needs. I have seen those humble and open to guidance have a bad experience because the tour was ill managed, and the schedule was impractical and too demanding.

 

The duration of a pilgrim’s stay should only be commensurate with their level of faith

 

Just as an eastward wind is helpful and pleasant when navigating a sailboat if you are going in the same direction, and that exact same breeze becomes unpleasant when you turn the opposite way, in the same way there is a spiritual energy in Vrindavan moving one towards God that is so helpful when going in the direction of service, but so unpleasant when moving in the opposite direction towards ego. I have composed this analogy inspired by my own experience living in Vrindavan and my observation of those staying here longer without being fully engaged in service. Therefore, one who is new to Vrindavan should stay only as long as they can maintain a very humble mood of service. The successful pilgrimage leader knows how long he can keep his people enthusiastically engaged in Vrindavan, often deciding beforehand to stay only a couple of days, focusing their tour on other less intense holy places. Those leaders who command more respect from their group can demand more from them, and of course those pilgrims new to Vrindavan, but with faith, can also stay longer provided they are enthused to remain fully engaged in service under the guidance of a senior Vaiṣṇava.

 

A mature pilgrimage guide should be expert in guiding new people to experiences in Vrindavan, especially at the beginning of the tour, that invoke a positive mood of appreciation

 

When new people first come to Vrindavan they can be overwhelmed by the urbanization of the town where their ashram is generally located. As our first experience in a place is generally the eyes by which we see everything else there, I usually initially take pilgrims to the flower gardens of Vrindavan nearby where the external bucolic scene and humble Brijabasis match more with their expectations of what Vrindavan should be. That positive and often profound experience can help open them up to the beauty and devotion of Vrindavan in other places that they may visit later that are more challenging to their cultural expectations.

 

Conclusion:

 

When retreat groups visit me in Vrindavan, I explain to them that just as a dog can hear high pitches that we are not able to perceive because we lack the proper apparatus to do so, similarly there is something here in Vrindavan—the beauty of the spiritual world—that they are not able to perceive now because they lack the faculties to do so. I assure them, however, that if they follow their guide and absorb themselves in potent devotional activities, then before they leave they will realize that Vrindavan is the most beautiful place in the world. When I see the same people before they go, I am rarely disappointed. They have seen and felt the unique transcendent beauty of Vrindavan, and by that experience have received the greatest treasure, faith in the worthiest goal!

 

 


[1] I first heard this definition of faith in an interview with the prominent Christian apologist Alvin Plantinga.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2024 #1 – The Miracle of Composition and Happy 8th Birthday Monday Morning Greetings

January 1st, 2024

The Miracle of Composition and Happy 8th Birthday Monday Morning Greetings[1]

 

This January 1st marks eight years since I started Monday Morning Greetings here in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur. That’s over four hundred original posts. What I usually do every year to commemorate the beginning of Monday Morning Greetings is to share my realizations about writing gleaned from the previous years’ experience of writing them.

 

Every week I write something that it is published and appreciated—not an easy task. The challenge for one on the spiritual path who has a service to accomplish something in his guru’s mission is how to be always humbler than their accomplishments. The answer in a sense seems simple: give credit where credit is due—God. As I continue writing these weekly posts, I have more and more experience of how often both the realizations on what to write and how to effectively express it manifest beyond my own agency or effort. Sure, like most writers I often struggle with the composition in this way, but it is specifically at those times, when I seem the most lost, that suddenly the solution arises. When this happens again and again over eight years, I have no other answer than it’s God. It is this experience of the miracle of composition, when the result is so far beyond my own effort, that helps me be humbler than what I achieved.

 

No answer but God? Perhaps we can propose other possible explanations, but from my personal experience the most reasonable conclusion is that the “miracle of composition” is transcendent. While I am sitting there late in the week stuck in my writing, neither being able to clearly express my week’s realization—and often not even being able to conceptualize it clearly—but suddenly and repeatedly the post inevitably flows to completion, I have no doubt that I am only the instrument and God is the agent. This miracle of composition over eight years, therefore, is a great source of faith.

 

I have often defined faith as trust by experience. Now whenever I am hopelessly stuck in my writing, I push forward with confidence watching the hand of God in the miracle of composition as a faith building experience.

 

I am neither saying here that I have no agency nor ability in what I write, nor that God has written the composition, but that within the limits of the instruments He is using, which is my karmic abilities, He is making the best of that tool to produce something beyond my ability and to observe this phenomenon of “the miracle of composition” is the privilege of any humble theistic composer.

 

I have coined the term “the miracle of composition”, but I am not the first one to describe this phenomenon. Just look at what Rāmānanda Rāya, the great Vaiṣṇava poet and dramatist, told Pradyumna Miśra:

 

“There is one other thing Rāmānanda Rāya said to me: ‘Do not consider me the speaker in these talks about Krishna. Whatever I speak is personally spoken by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Like a string instrument I vibrate whatever He causes me to speak.’ In this way, the Lord speaks through my mouth to preach the cult of Krishna consciousness. Within the world, who will understand this pastime of the Lord’s?” (Cc. Antya-līlā 5.72-74)

 

Thank you for sharing with me the 8th birthday of Monday Morning Greetings and hopefully another miracle of composition. I was again lost, but hopefully something of worth came.

 

My wishes to all for a New Year filled with devotion!

 

 


[1] Once a year on our Happy Birthday Monday Morning Greetings post I offer, if the reader so inclined, to write me and share any post during the year that you especially liked. Feedback from my readers helps me to understand my audience and informs me what to write.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #52 – Is Sankirtan Better Than Kirtan?

December 25th, 2023

Is Sankirtan Better Than Kirtan?

Yes. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī compares the two and says sankirtan, congregational chanting, as compared to kirtan, glorifying Krishna by oneself, gives special feelings of bliss.[1] When I originally read this in Śrī Bhakti-sandarbha a question naturally arose: “Why?” Recently, a second questions arose when reflecting on Jīva Gosvāmī’s comparison, “If devotees seem to become more easily absorbed in sankirtan than japa, then why is a certain amount of sankirtan prescribed at initiation instead of japa? Wouldn’t that be better for most struggling sādhakas? In this post I will try to answer these questions.

 

Why is sankirtan better than kirtan?

  1. Music enhances emotion: The superiority of any yogic process is the facility it gives one to connect or become absorbed in the object of one’s meditation. In bhakti-yoga, one’s connection with one’s object of meditation, which is the holy names of Śrī Krishna, is an emotional connection, which is our devotion to Krishna. As raga (melody) and tāla (rhythm) are connected to deep parts in the psyche that increase one’s emotion, couching the holy names in proper music (sankirtan) naturally enhances our devotion.[2]
  2. Shared bliss is greater than individual bliss: A proper community, like those joined together in sankirtan, is a place where shared interest is higher than individual interest and thus a place that helps remove the egocentric or limited concept of “I” or the false ego. As it is this ego that covers us from our loving connection with God, then naturally sankirtan or community kirtan, which facilitates removing the ego, helps give the sincere participant in such kirtan “special feelings of bliss”.[3]
  3. Group petition is more powerful than individual petition: Bhakti is the path of grace. We attract grace by entreaty or the humble petition for mercy. Group petition is more powerful than individual petition and thus the congregational chanting of the holy name powerfully attracts grace for a sincere participant.[4]

 

Why japa?

  1. Ultimately there is no hierarchy in the main devotional practices: The main rule on the path of bhakti is to remember Krishna and never forget Him. There are different ways to do that. What is better for one depends on one’s taste. In that sense, although we may say that one practice is better than another, there is no absolute hierarchy in devotional practice.
  2. Chanting alone is a more efficient way to access the holy name: The goal of devotion is to chant always, which is much more easily accomplished when not dependent others. How much could one fill his day or week with the holy name if required to do it with others that have a certain level of devotion and musical ability?
  3. Chanting alone deals more with control of the mind: Japa meditation is classic yogic meditation, which traditionally gives one a special facility to help control and strengthen the mind, which is essential in developing the ability to rise to the higher levels of meditation required for fully remembering Śrī Krishna’s pastimes.
  4. There is a special flavor to being alone with Krishna: As glorifying Krishna with others has a special flavor, being alone with Krishna in terms of japa affords one a special opportunity to individually and intimately express one’s own heart and develop one’s personal relationship with Him. So yes, the shared experience that one can have in kirtan gives special feelings of bliss, but so does the experience in a slightly different way of being with Krishna alone during japa in the form of His holy name.

 

So, is sankirtan better than japa? Yes, there are some unique aspects to sankirtan that help us become absorbed in the holy name that give special feelings of devotion, but we are meant to chant always, to learn to control the mind and to focus on developing a personal relationship with Krishna. For that the chanting of japa is more conducive. Our goal is to always think of Krishna and never forget Him. Our ācāryas have recommended several essential practices to help us accomplish this and they are all important. Sincere devotees may gravitate to a particular form of devotion and certain practices may be emphasized, but they do not minimize or neglect any of them recommended and followed by our ācāryas, as they all have in their own way the potency to enhance devotion and move us towards our goal, krishna-prema.

 

 


[1] This statement that compared to kirtan, sankirtan gives special feelings of bliss, is found in Śrī Bhakti-sandarbha in the section where Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī elaborates on each of the nine main practices of devotional service and describes the practice of kirtan.

[2] The relationship between music and the psyche in relation to kirtan is described in the following article, which I feel is the best I’ve read, that describes the dynamics how kirtan influences the psyche: Sat Hari Singh Khalsa, “Kirtan: The Sacred Music of the Sikhs,” Journal of Vaishnava Studies, Volume 17, No. 2 (Spring 2009), 169–184.

[3] The idea of the power of shared bliss comes from rasa theory that states for an audience to experience rasa from an appropriately composed drama the audience must hear it as if in one mind and such an experience is transcendentally uplifting. In Greek dramaturgy this is called catharsis.

[4] The power of group petition is described in the story of the birth of Krishna when Lord Brahma goes to the milk ocean accompanied by the demigods to petition Krishna’s descent. The commentators explain that he went with the other demigods because of the power of group petition.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #51 – Who Can Hear the Rasa-līlā?

December 18th, 2023

When I go to Vrindavan every couple of weeks, I teach Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta in the morning in my room. We are up to the Second Chapter of the Madhya-līlā, “The Ecstatic Manifestations of Śrī Caitanya”, where Śrīla Krishna das Kavirāja summarizes Śrī Caitanya’s aspirations to imbibe the mood of Śrī Radha. As Śrīla Prabhupāda and his guru issued strong cautions about prematurely hearing such elevated subjects, an important question naturally arises as to who can hear these subjects, and if so, how should they be presented? Sivaram Swami, in his new book, Part Two of his commentary on Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, answers this question in a thorough analysis of Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s instruction to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, where he states that the qualification is faith.

 

“Anyone who faithfully hears [śraddhāanvitaḥ anuśṛṇuyāt] or describes the Lord’s playful affairs with the young gopīs of Vṛndāvana will attain the Lord’s pure devotional service. Thus he will quickly become sober and conquer lust, the disease of the heart.” (Bhag. 10.33.39)

 

I can’t do justice within limits of a weekly post to properly summarize Sivaram Swami’s detailed and well thought out analysis of exactly what such “faith” means, but I can, in a cursory way, explain how I understand and explain what faithfully hearing means when I teach those subjects in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. It goes something like this:

 

One of the main objectives of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is to qualify its reader to be able to properly understand Śrī Krishna’s pastimes, especially His playful affairs with the young gopīs, so they will inspire us in devotion and elevate our desires beyond the mundane. Otherwise, we will hear them as ordinary and degrade our consciousness. Obviously understanding those pastimes, or understanding anything, does not entail just hearing them, but having the faculties of intelligence and heart to comprehend them properly. For example, from the intellectual platform we may hear something, but lack the context or frame of reference to comprehend it, or we may read something, but from the heart prejudge it based on our previous experience and miss the intended meaning. Similarly, faithful hearing of the rasa-līlā, denoting that we accept and see it for what it is—the highest selfless devotion and joy—means having the ability to appropriately, intellectually, and emotionally to recognize that.

 

In that regard, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is progressively composed to achieve exactly this objective. Before we reach its tenth canto, where the rasa-līlā is described, we are first equipped with the proper intellectual and emotional state of mind to appropriately understand it in the previous nine cantos. In other words, by such study we will be educated to hear the romantic affairs of Śrī Krishna as transcendental and not fantasy and be purified in heart so that the pastimes inspire us as the height of selfless devotion and not something mundane. This type of hearing, where we can experience the rasa-līlā as real and pure, is exactly what the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam refers to as faithful hearing and can help one rise, even when still on the material platform, to the level of pure devotion where the taste to satisfy lust is eradicated.

 

One more point: The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has a consistent theme from the beginning: it progressively describes pure devotion in all its forms. When by such study one develops a certain level of devotion, one seeks and becomes inspired by all impetuses for devotion, whether it’s the holy name, the devotees of God, the holy dhāma, the stories of Krishna, and so on. In this consciousness, when hearing about Radha and Krishna, one’s devotion will first naturally be incited before one’s lust can be aroused.

 

So, who is qualified to hear the rasa-līlā? Simply one who has the intellectual and emotional bandwidth to be devotionally inspired by it and not confused or sensually provoked. Choosing to study and hear it is therefore first a matter of personal integrity. Experienced devotees therefore neither limit these subjects nor present them carelessly, but rather treat them with reverence and study and share them selectively and appropriately.[1]

 

 

 


[1] There is a liberal and conservative approach to hearing the rasa-līlā. For example, in Bhag 10.4 Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Therefore when those who are after sex life in this material world hear about Krishna’s pastimes with the gopīs, they will relish transcendental pleasure, although it appears materialistic.” He also spoke conservatively about prematurely hearing these subjects. I thought about how to reconcile the two, but it would take another post to do it justice. What I can briefly say is the above quote from Śrīla Prabhupāda seems to be a paraphrase of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s commentary on this verse (Bhag 10.4). In the same purport Śrīla Prabhupāda paraphrases 10.33.39 and adds that faithful hearing means to submissively hear for spiritual authorities, so there he was more representing his guru mahārāja, who appeared six generations after Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī and was responding to a general degradation in India, which was then under British rule, and the abuse of Gauḍīya philosophy to promote sahajiyism and even sex cults, which diminished its reputation.

 

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #50 – A Beggar’s Journey

December 11th, 2023

I have very little responsibility imposed upon me, like a job, a family, or any management commitment. I thus sometimes joke that I am unemployed, but isn’t that age appropriate for me? When we get older shouldn’t we be free from work and family obligations so that we can chant God’s names? That’s mostly what I try to do—focus attentively on the holy name—but naturally, realizations come when chanting on how to deepen one’s meditation. Two came today. I wrote them down afterwards:

 

Realization One

 

I spent Puruṣottama Mas (month) and Kārtika Mas focusing on my spiritual practices, specifically on chanting the holy names. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says “mādhava-tithi bhakti-jananī,” that the observance of the days of Lord Hari, like Ekādaśī and special holidays, give birth to devotion, so what to speak of the power of observing special months of Lord Hari in terms of giving birth to devotion. I felt that. My chanting, my taste for the holy name, substantially improved by observing these two special months. Just like in childbirth something suddenly appears that wasn’t there before, similarly a greater taste for the holy name manifested by strictly adhering to these special observances. It was quite mystical and that led to my first realization from these months. It goes something like this:

 

The distance between the step we’re on in devotion and our next step in devotion always seem impossible to broach by our qualification, at least it appears that way. That distance therefore can only be covered by mercy, which can only be petitioned by begging. I thus beg for the mercy of the holy name. Practicing devotion in that humble way is our main sādhana at every step of devotion.

 

The beggar’s journey: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. I look at my next step. I’m humbled. Way beyond me. Some confidence arises. Attainment is possible by the mercy of Krishna. I beg for the mercy of the holy name.

 

Realization Two

 

I was walking to the Govardhan Retreat Center for the morning kirtan by the side of Śrī Girirāja. Somehow I thought of the crowd and some negative thoughts came, not really critical but also not sufficiently respectful. I was surprised. I continued to watch my mind. How judgmental! We have conceptions of good or bad based on our modes. That’s not Vaiṣṇava. A real Vaiṣṇava does not ultimately judge another Vaiṣṇava by who they are now and not even by their past, but by their future, knowing the power of devotion and the pure destination of those who are gathered to sincerely chant the holy name.

 

A beggar’s journey: Krishna, Krishna. Only those who offer all respects to others by rising above being petty and judgmental can attain the full mercy of the holy name. In that humble mood, I beg for the mercy of the holy name!

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #49 – “Where There is No Circumference, the Center is Everywhere” and Other Kārtika Realizations

December 4th, 2023

Kārtika ended yesterday. Some realizations from the month:

 

How to reconcile that on the highest levels of love of God (prema), the greatest suffering is also the highest ecstasy.

 

During Kārtika I taught chapter two of the Madhya-līlā of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta: “The Ecstatic Manifestations of Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu” and the seventh chapter of Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta: “Pūrṇa” (complete devotional perfection). One of the main themes of both chapters was that the emotions of intense suffering that the gopīs feel in their relationship with Krishna is counterintuitively the greatest ecstasy. Here’s a description of such love from Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta:

 

“But this anguish of separation is praised as greater than the happiness of enjoying with those one loves. Separation is so pleasing to the mind that it cannot be described. It always transforms at last into an abundance of pleasure. Only experts in tasting these moods can understand how this happens.” (7.126)

 

In both classes questions were asked about how to reconcile this apparent contradiction between the gopīs’ ecstasy being the greatest joy and the greatest suffering at the same time. The answer rests in the fact that the highest joy is love of God and thus the gopīs’ apparently painful emotions in deep separation from Krishna only increase their love and therefore their ecstasy. Still having trouble reconciling the two? I did also, until I thought of an analogy illustrating how painful emotions and joyful emotions can exist at the same time:

 

Just as in viewing a well written tragedy (drama) one deeply experiences the feelings of tragedy while at the same time enjoying the drama, in the same way the gopīs can experience the pain of separation and while at the same time enjoy the devotional ecstasy it engenders.

 

 

Destiny is the language of God.

 

In the story “The Passing Away of Bhīṣmadeva”, Bhīṣma answers his grandson Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry as to why he greatly suffered although he was so righteous by explaining to him the benevolent purpose behind the law of karma. Destiny is benevolent because it is directed towards each individual by the will of God to teach a specific lesson in one’s spiritual evolution provided one responds to it appropriately according to sacred wisdom texts under the guidance of those who have realized them. From that I came up with the above phrase, “destiny is the language of God,” in the sense that God is specifically talking to us by how He moves the world around us, and thus an important part of our spiritual development is understanding what essential lesson He is in fact teaching us, especially in the most trying of times. The worst mistake one can make in such instances is playing the role of a victim, because by excessively externalizing the cause of our suffering we lose sight of what God is telling us in terms of changing something in ourselves internally. In Kārtika I tried to use the clarity of consciousness resulting from a deeper sādhana this month to understand what God was telling me by how He was moving the world around me so that I could move forward with stronger faith in whatever direction that takes me.

 

 

Where there is no circumference, the center is everywhere.

 

This is an anonymous quote from the Liber XXIV, a medieval text consisting of twenty-four “sentences”, “aphorisms”, or “definitions” of God.[1] I can’t remember where I first heard this particular aphorism, but I kept on referring to it when in my teachings we would come upon a philosophical point or story expressing  that we are not separated from God by a physical distance but by the quality our consciousness or a faith. I found this realization very helpful in not seeing the spiritual world just as some place we need to travel to, but as a place we could access anywhere by deepening our spiritual life.

 

I bow my head to Kārtika, the most favorable of all months, which enthuses the heart with auspiciousness!

 


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_24_Philosophers

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #48 – What Made Prabhupāda Prabhupāda?

November 27th, 2023

It was the late seventies, early eighties—I can’t remember the exact date, but it was soon after Śrīla Prabhupāda left this world. I was given the service of inviting some of the senior Vaiṣṇavas in Vrindavan who knew Śrīla Prabhupāda to his disappearance festival. I first approached Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja, as Śrīla Prabhupāda lived in his ashram after taking sannyāsa. He was at first somewhat reluctant to speak, but I prodded him by asking him to describe the qualities he saw in Śrīla Prabhupāda when he lived at his ashram as a humble mendicant that indicated who he would become later as a world ācārya. He thought about my inquiry deeply and then began to explain two qualities that he saw in Śrīla Prabhupāda: his boldness and his ability to relate to others.[1]

 

Recently, when reflecting on that exchange, I began to ponder what I thought was the prime quality in Śrīla Prabhupāda that perhaps indicated what made him Prabhupāda, the person who succeeded above all others to bring the holy name of Krishna around the world. I thought of his many attributes and came up with one—his depth of realization.

 

When I thought about this quality, I had in mind Śrīla Prabhupāda’s definition of realization that struck me when I first read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

 

“[…] he must realize the subject so nicely that he can present the matter for the particular circumstance in a suitable manner. The original purpose of the text must be maintained. No obscure meaning should be screwed out of it, yet it should be presented in an interesting manner for the understanding of the audience. This is called realization.” (Bhag. 1.4.1)

 

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission in the west was challenging. He had to explain to those who came mostly from a drug infused and sex crazed hippie culture the very high theological conception of Śrī Śrī Radha and Krishna, in addition to a supportive culture of dharma and discipline. To effectively communicate those teachings in a suitable manner to such an audience without compromising the principles and conceptions of those teachings indeed required a very deep realization of the subject. Otherwise, how was Śrīla Prabhupāda able to make such a tradition and philosophy so alluring to those who recently came from a culture so antithetical to the Vaiṣṇava way of life? Śrīla Prabhupāda’s unique ability in this regard was highlighted for me in my early days of Krishna-consciousness in an unexpected way.

 

Eleven days after Śrīla Prabhupāda left this world, his commemoration festival was held. To honor the Indian system of spiritual hierarchy, the most senior Vaiṣṇava in attendance was given the distinction of presiding over the assembly. He was from a very high class brāhmaṇa family, a life-long celibate, the third person to receive tridaṇḍi sannyāsa from Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta, and one of the most renown preachers in the Gauḍīya Maṭha. He was especially lauded for going to the west years before Śrīla Prabhupāda to bring back to India two German converts to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. Obviously, Śrīla Prabhupāda far surpassed him and that that seemed to bother him was reflected in his inaugural talk: “I could have done what Swamiji had done, but I didn’t have the mentality to preach to the hippies.” I could see that many were upset by his remarks, as they appeared to be minimizing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s greatest accomplishment. Initially I was also upset, but then I saw that he was in fact complimenting Śrīla Prabhupāda even though he didn’t mean to, for what was that mentality to preach to the hippies—it was the deepest realization of Krishna consciousness that allowed Śrīla Prabhupāda to effectively communicate the teachings of Śrī Caitanya to those with little frame of reference to assimilate it.

 

I thus think that, among his many qualities, his depth of realization and consequent ability to communicate was especially significant in making Śrīla Prabhupāda who he was. What do you think made Prabhupāda Prabhupāda?

 

 


[1] He described Śrīla Prabhupāda’s boldness by describing two drama’s he wrote: One was a spoof on the very popular Ramakrishna Mission in Hindi called the Murga [Chicken] Mission because although a Hindu mission, they weren’t vegetarians, and the other a satire on the Gauḍīya Maṭha after it splintered where the main character was called Bhojane Vilāsa [the pastime of material enjoyment] Mahārāja. I don’t remember the title. Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja also described to me a very heavy letter that Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote to the President of India. When he described to me Śrīla Prabhupāda’s ability to relate he described to me how when a senior person came Śrīla Prabhupāda was the most respectful, when a peer came he was most collegial, and when a junior came he was very affectionate.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #47 – The Power of Gratitude

November 20th, 2023

The Power of Gratitude [1]

 

Gratitude is the basis of experiencing love.

 

As a spoiled child never experiences his parents’ love no matter how much they give him, a proud and entitled person will never fully appreciate the kindness and love of others.

 

Gratitude is the basis of relationships.

 

I have observed how sometimes an ungrateful spouse neglects a good relationship by failing to appreciate the kindness of their partner, even though lavished with generosity and care, only to later regret sabotaging what they had when the relationship broke by their own doing.

 

On the other hand, I have observed very grateful people seeing the good in their substantial connections, despite other’s weaknesses, feeling very secure and loved in this world.

 

Gratitude is therefore the basis of all good relationships in this world.

 

Gratitude grounds you in present.

 

I was walking here in Colombia to visit a bakery opened by one of our friends who I met on his pilgrimage to India two years ago. Although it was only fifteen minutes from our ashram I got lost, and it took me an inordinate amount of time to get there. When I begun my return to Shyam Ashram, I therefore felt tired and bored and strongly hankered to already be back home. As I was in the midst of preparing to write something about gratitude and was contemplating how gratitude grounds one in the present, I consciously started to base myself in the moment by appreciating nature around me, and the fact that I could turn inside my mind to dwell on this subject. I was amazed. My consciousness in gratitude immediately shifted from the future and my anxiety to the present, where my satisfaction laid. My walk then became unexpectedly pleasant.

 

“Now” is rarely the problem. Our problem is hankering (what I want in the future) and lamenting (what I lost in the past), but not gratitude (what I have and appreciate now).

 

In other words, for the humble and thoughtful, gratitude grounds one in the present, where humility and joy rests.

 

Gratitude forms your character.

 

Voltaire said, “That which you appreciate gradually comes to you.” One in a state of not only recognizes the good in others, but also develops those qualities. It is no wonder, therefore, that the word “appreciate” can mean both “to value something” and “the increase of value in something”. For example, when appreciating a teacher or an elder their knowledge substantially increases or appreciates in oneself.

Unfortunately, one who is envious and ungrateful — and the two are connected — misses many opportunities to appreciate and develop good character and wisdom.

 

 

Gratitude awakens the bliss of service.

 

Gratitude naturally awakens the service mind, for when we appreciate someone we develop a desire to serve them. As service and devotion is the basis of happiness, gratitude is also the basis of joy.

 

In a talk I heard by Vaiśeṣika dāsa, he added a very powerful insight that I think is relevant to this discussion. He described that the one switch that one can immediately flip to powerfully alter our anxiety and frustration is the conscious shift in identity to “I am a servant”. He then referenced Dale Carnegie in his book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, who offered the supporting advice that a most powerful way to free one from anxiety in any situation is to immediately find someone to serve.

 

How important for a healthy psyche to awaken the service mind by the power of gratitude.

 

Gratitude as a state of perfection.

 

My close friend Guṇagrāhī Mahārāja left this world in Vṛndāvana chanting the holy name of Krishna, a sign in our tradition of attaining perfection. A week before he left this world he went into a non-communicative internal or semi-conscious state. The last words out of his mouth before he seemingly went unconscious was a response to an audio message sent to him from Kaustubha, a person he personally brought to Krishna consciousness. Mahārāja was overwhelmed with appreciation when hearing the kind thoughts from someone he loved dearly. In response, in his last audible breath, patting his heart to softly to express affection, he mustered up the strength for a final heartfelt whisper: “Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.”

 

I noted that the feelings and words left in Mahārāja after almost fifty years of dedicated service and years of purification from a painful disease were “Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.” I heard his voice as the pure consciousness of the soul.

 

Gratitude as a state of being.

 

Yes, certainly one can count their blessings, but what about all the suffering and frustration we face in this world? How can we be thankful for that? A person who understands the nature of God, or reality, lives always in a state of gratitude because they understand that whatever comes to one is for one. [2] Rumi stated it best:

 

“When God is digging a hole to throw you in, he is actually digging a ditch to quench your thirst.”

 

The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is full of stories, too long to recount here, where great saints live in a state of gratitude. They see the blessings of God even in the most trying of circumstances. Here is one of many examples:

 

When Vidura was insulted and banished from the kingdom by his evil nephew Duryodhana, he both recognized the cruelness of his nephew, but also saw God’s hand. He was thus grateful that he was being directed at this later stage in life to leave the intrigue of the palace and go on pilgrimage for his own purification.[3]

 

To feel grateful in every situation is not a feat of psychological gymnastics. A person of dharma who responds to each trial in life with humility gains a concrete gift of realization from each challenge worth the price of the difficulty faced and feels grateful even in the face of death. I bow down to the power of gratitude.

 

 


[1] This is reprint from April 15, 2019. I was busy here in Govardhana with Govardhana-pūjā and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance and meeting the many devotees who congregate here at this time, so unfortunately I had no time for writing this week.

[2] I like the phrase describing karma as “not to me, but for me”. It comes from a discussion about karma I had with Lakṣmī Nṛsiṁha dāsa.

[3] Some other great examples are the instructions of Bhīṣmadeva (Bhag. 1.9) and Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s reaction to being cursed (Bhag. 1.19.4).

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #46 – Devotion and the Dumbphone

November 13th, 2023

I pass a man who is walking around Govardhan, smartphone to his ear, chatting away. Unfortunately, I have seen this more and more. A thought comes to mind:

 

“If he completes the whole Govardhan parikrama while talking on the phone, how much spiritual advancement benefit does he get? Afterall, he would have completed a powerful practice of devotional service.”

 

In other words, how much benefit do we get by completing our parikrama, or any devotional activity, without any devotional focus while doing so? Very little, for sure, in comparison to absorbing ourselves in the prescribed activity, which is the whole purpose of a devotional activity. This is outlined clearly in the Padma Purāṇa, where it describes that always thinking of Krishna without forgetting Him is the most basic of all regulative principles, and by following that injunction all other rules and regulations automatically fall into line.

 

This most basic of basic of all regulative principles offers a word of caution to devotional practitioners: As vaidhī (rule based) bhakti is driven by our faith in śāstra and the promise it gives of spiritual benefit by adhering to a prescribed devotional practice, one can easily lose sight of this most basic of all regulative principle and thus fall under the misconception that the advantage of a prescribed devotional activity comes only from completing it, rather than the opportunity it affords to remember Śrī Krishna.

 

I am not being dismissive of the practice of following our devotional commitments strictly. It is important to, one way or another, complete one’s devotional prescription, for before the level of spontaneous devotional service, unless we are ruled by the prescriptions of śāstra, we will be prone to instinctively follow our whims and not remember Krishna at all. And even those on the highest platform of devotion, whose bhakti was solely inspired by their love of Krishna, are still in general, inspired to regulate their devotional practices to deepen their focus and meditation on Krishna.[1]

 

A thought just came while chanting after my morning writing session. It wasn’t directly related to the subject at hand, but I immediately understood its relevance to today’s discussion. I have made a vow for this month of Kārttika to complete a certain number of names of Krishna while chanting japa.[2] Yesterday I fell short of the daily quota I set to reach my goal by the end of the month, and therefore would have to make up that chanting some other day. I began to feel a little pressure, but then I thought of today’s discussion. What’s really the difference between chanting 3,000,000 names and 2,975,000 for the month?[3] So what if I fall short of my goal by a dozen or so rounds as long as I continue to remain concentrated? I was surprised by my answer. It’s a substantial difference. When Śrī Guru and Śrī Krishna see the effort we make for their pleasure to meet our vows, they are pleased with our tapasya and that certainly attracts their mercy, but, by all means, don’t walk around Govardhan chatting on a smartphone, or finish your rounds with dumbphone in hand, as the benefit from your practice will surely be minimal!

 

 

 


[1] I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jiva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who were engaged in chanting the holy names of the Lord and bowing down in a scheduled measurement. [emphasis mine] In this way they utilized their valuable lives, and in executing these devotional activities they conquered overeating and sleeping and were always meek and humble, enchanted by remembering the transcendental qualities of the Lord.

[2] There are sixteen names of God in each Hare Krishna mahā-mantra and thus one round of 108 mantras is 1,728 names of God. Sixteen rounds thus equal 27,648 and sixty-four rounds equal 110,592 names.

[3] This is a hypothetical example. I am not revealing my vow.

 

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