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Vrindaban Met a young devotee

January 9th, 2001

Vrindaban

Met a young devotee just out of high school who was originally coming for my tour, but came with a friend who convinced him to come early. It was a mistake. He has already decided to return to the West after two days in Vrindaban. I didn?t try to convince him to stay as his mind was already back home and his parents?who didn?t want him here in the first place?already booked his return flight. If only he had come to Vrindaban as planned he could have had a different experience. He might not have even wanted to leave.

I gave some encouragement and advice:

?There is a fruit to your short and abruptly ended tour in the form of an important lesson. Spiritual activities should be done more carefully under guidance, especially in areas where one is inexperienced and the intelligence is not yet fixed.?

His difficulties also show how much perception is dependent on consciousness?especially in relationship to spiritual phenomena like the holy dhama. Bhaktivinoda Thakur therefore compares the dhama to a beautiful ocean covered by a thin layer of oil, as Yogamaya shelters the charm of the holy dhama from materialists by a thin veil of material energy. The holy dhama?s glories are thus revealed to one who approaches it with a suitable consciousness under the proper guidance.

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