CONTENTS:
1. WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF KRISHNA;
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA APPRECIATION;
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF KRISHNA
We all are children of Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead; He is our father. Unfortunately, we became mad, we lost our memory, we lost our father’s home and we are wandering in the streets like raving madman trying to get some food here, trying to get some shelter there and undergoing so many insults while doing that. What is going to be the greatest welfare activity rendered to us if someone wants to render it? It would be to remind us that Krishna is our father and we have to go back to him. Srila Prabhupada pointed out that this is what we are doing. We are simply reminding everybody that he is a son of Krishna or she is a daughter of Krishna. We are reminding everybody about their lost relationship with their Supreme father. By doing that we are actually rendering the greatest service to everyone. Krishna is the root and when we water the root then everybody becomes satisfied.
When we speak of service, we actually mean service to Krishna and Krishna’s devotees. The materialistic attitude is to Lord over because we all think in the material nature that we all are Lords and Masters. Why? Because material nature is inferior and we all are coming from Krishna’s superior energy. This material nature apara means inferior and beyond this inferior material nature there is a superior nature. The living entities the jivas are coming from that superior energy of Krishna. They are exploiting the material nature. The living entities in the material nature have only one business to exploit this inferior energy of Krishna. Everyone in this material nature is simply trying to exploit and what is the outcome of that endeavor for exploitation? The more we try to exploit the more we suffer. It has been very nicely pointed out in a book called Prema-vivarta by Jagadananda Pandita an associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vancha kare nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare. As soon as a living entity looks away from Krishna he tries to enjoy this material nature because that’s the natural outcome. As soon as the living entity looks away from Krishna where does he look at? After all everything is Krishna so looking away from Krishna means looking at Krishna’s inferior energy the material nature? As soon as he comes into contact with the inferior material nature then he immediately develops a tendency to Lord over and exploit because that is the natural tendency of the superior over the inferior. He immediately wants to enjoy and exploit this material nature. What does the material nature do at that time? The material nature Maya who is standing nearby actually side by side, Krishna’s internal potency and immediately next to that is Krishna’s external potency and in between there is a thin line separating the external from the internal and that is the marginal potency the jivas. As soon as the jiva looks at Krishna’s inferior material energy he develops a tendency to lord over and immediately Maya grabs him and tightly embraces him. In most cases madness is caused by one becoming haunted by ghosts. When one becomes haunted by a ghost he loses his memory, he loses his sanity. A living entity bewildered by Maya develops a similar condition therefore Srila Prabhupada gave the example of Birla’s son becoming mad. When he becomes mad then he loses his memory. he forgets who he is. He does not have any awareness of who he is, where he comes from, and what he is meant to do. A living entity in this way becomes entrapped by the material nature. The cause of this entrapment is first looking away from Krishna and the consequent outcome of developing a tendency to lord over. It’s natural and inherit you can’t actually avoid it. As long as we are looking towards the material nature we won’t be able to help the tendency to lord over. Now what is the remedy? How can we rectify that diseased condition?
Krishna is imparting the knowledge
Therefore, the remedy is to become aware of Krishna. Krishna is the greatest and when we become properly exposed to Krishna with proper understanding then we recognize our position being inferior. Krishna is superior and we are inferior and then naturally we develop a tendency to serve Krishna. It is the natural tendency of the inferior to serve the superior. That is how Krishna Consciousness gives us a very practical and a very scientific process. We do not have to artificially do anything; we simply have to become aware of Krishna. Therefore Srila Prabhupada named this institution the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This is an institution a society where everyone is getting an opportunity to become Krishna conscious, conscious of Krishna and when you become conscious of Krishna then we naturally develop our service attitude which is the beginning of real spiritual life. There are other processes yoga, meditation and so and so forth but those processes are not practical they are only an intermediary step to come to the platform of devotional service. A yogi when he attains perfection of his yoga samadi then what happens? In samadi he actually gets to perceive the Supersoul. A minute spirit soul perceives the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead naturally recognizes greatness then what happens automatically he surrenders unto Him and that surrender is the beginning of that devotional service.
Surrender unto Me
This surrender is the ultimate outcome of yoga siddhi. In this way after one attains the perfection of yoga he gets an opportunity to become a devotee. Similarly, we use another expression which is almost the same that is Saranagati which means surrender and we know that the foundation of devotional service is Saranagati. Sri Krishna Caitanya Prabhu jive doya kori swa-parsada swiya dhama saha avatari atyanta durtlabha prema koribare dana sikaya sranagati bhakatera prana. Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu in order to bestow His mercy upon the conditioned souls He descended with His associates and His abode. In order to bestow and award this very rare love of Krishna, He is teaching the process of surrender which is the life and soul of devotional service. So that is the process Surrender to Krishna. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna is also saying the same thing sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja giving up your nonsense and just surrender unto Me. saranagati the same meaning surrender unto Me. When one surrenders unto Krishna then only devotional service begins. Service must be rendered toward a superior. There is another higher consideration, apparently service is rendered to the Supreme being but when you go deeper then we learn there is another criterion for service and what is that criteria?
LOVE
When you love somebody, we serve that person. A mother loves her baby and she stays up through the night, she doesn’t eat anything just takes care of her baby, for the sake of her baby she is prepared to undergo so many difficulties. Why? Because of her love for her baby. In this way the material nature the tendency is not of exploitation but obviously it is our selfish motivation that we render some service. An example to illustrate this point is like an employee serves his employer. Why? Is it out of love? No it is because of money, he gets a salary so he is serving but actually that is not service but rather some selfish exploitation again. Employer is trying to exploit the employee and employee is also trying to exploit the employer. Srila Prabhupada said the only somewhat selfless service we see in this material nature is the mother’s attitude towards her child but then again Srila Prabhupada pointed out that although it appears to be some selfless it is a matter of extended selfishness. Selfishness extends beyond our own selfish identity to those who are related to us. Those who are related to this body they are our relatives and out of that relationship we do some service. The mother would serve her baby but not anybody else’s baby. In this way material nature is actually natural exploitation. Everyone here is trying to exploit everybody else. Krishna Consciousness revolutionizes the concept from the world of exploitation we are transported to the world of service and that is what the spiritual nature is. Material nature is the world of exploitation and the spiritual nature is the world of service there everyone is serving. Why? Out of their love for Krishna, expressing their love for Krishna out of their love for Krishna they are compelled to serve Krishna out of their love and that is what devotional service actually is.
Srila Prabhupada came here to teach us how to spiritualize our material existence. We all are in the material nature but there is a very thin line between material and spiritual. When we put ourselves in the center that is material and when you put Krishna in the center that is spiritual. When we put ourselves in the center, we become selfish and our tendency is to exploit for the sake of our sense gratification trying to exploit the material nature to enjoy through our senses whereas the spiritual world is Krishna is the center. We may be here is this material nature but here if Krishna becomes the sole center of all our activities then this nature becomes spiritual. Krishna Consciousness is a process of transforming the material nature into spiritual and transporting this to the spiritual sky through this alteration of our attitude whether we are going to put Krishna in the center or whether we going to put ourselves in the center. That is the ultimate consideration if we put ourselves in the center, we will lead a self-centered life of exploitation which leads to suffering. However, when we put Krishna in the center then we will become transported to the spiritual sky. This nature becomes transformed to spiritual reality and that is the world of service and there our attitude is what can I do for Krishna? What can I do for Krishna’s devotees who are serving Krishna? How can I assist those devotees who are serving wonderfully? The more this attitude develops the more we make spiritual advancement. Often devotees ask how I will understand if I am making spiritual progress. The simple answer to that is how much service attitude you have developed.
Is the service attitude developing or diminishing?
If the service attitude develops that is a sure sign of spiritual advancement. It is not that when we become an advanced devotee, we become a superman. No. When you become an advanced devotee, we become the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna. This is the world of service. Krishna consciousness is a movement of creating that service opportunity for everyone and thus become transported to the spiritual sky. Sometimes while practicing Krishna Consciousness we do become affected by Maya. We think like now I am a big devotee and everybody should serve me and that is a very dangerous situation and this is Maya’s test. Maya will always test us. When you try to become a servant Maya will give us the opportunities to become masters but we have to understand that under all circumstances we are nothing but the servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna. The higher we go the bigger of a servant we become. This can also be graphically exemplified. The structure of the material nature is like a pyramid the lowest one is at the bottom and the highest one is sitting on top of everyone. He is riding on the shoulders of his subordinates. The spiritual structure is diametrically opposed to that, it is also like a pyramid but an inverse pyramid there the highest one is shouldering the burden of everyone and who is the highest and the greatest? Krishna and what is He doing? He is catering to everyone’s demand. He needs milk, he needs water, and he needs air. So Krishna is constantly supplying or making all the arrangements to provide for all that we need. In this way Krishna is maintain us. If we become a representative of Krishna if we truly become an advanced devotee in our spiritual life then what do we have to do? We have to shoulder the burden of others those who are engaged in service to Krishna. In that way we become the servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA APPRECIATION
Srila Prabhupada named this institution the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This is an institution a society where everyone is getting an opportunity to become Krishna conscious, conscious of Krishna and when you become conscious of Krishna then we naturally develop our service attitude which is the beginning of real spiritual life. Srila Prabhupada came here to teach us how to spiritualize our material existence
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- When you become an advanced devotee, we become the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna. This is the world of service;
- Our attitude should be service is an opportunity and it is coming our way to render some service to Krishna. Its Krishna’s mercy so when it comes, we must grab it there is no consideration for more dignified or degraded service. Every service is from the absolute platform. So please deeply consider when some service comes your way how you are going to respond;
The content of this E-magazine was based on a lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami at Bhaktivedanta Manor entitled “The spirit of service.”
(Compilation and editing by Hemavati Radhika dasi)