matra sparsas tu kaunteya !

The climate is chilly, more like icy, I should say. Here in the Middle East, winter is at its best. The rain tops it up with chilly winds - more like hell. I remember Srila Prabhupad's comments about St. Moritz in Switzerland - he called the place St. Hellish ! Because it was so cold. Srila Prabhupada said that hellish planets are very cold. I am getting a taste of it these days. We haven't seen the sun for three days now. Makes one realize the Brahma samhita verse "yacchaksuresa savita sakala grahaanaam, raja samasta sura-murtir asesa teja" - Sun is really the chief of all sura-murtis.

The climate also gives us a chance to practice the Bhagavad Gita verse :
matra sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna sukha dukha da
agama payino nityas
tam titiksasva bharata
Titiksa or tolerance is very important for devotees - we have to tolerate many things, whether we like it or not ! Think about all the things that we are tolerating for a so-called "better life". So, we need to tolerate some things for a little spiritual advancement as well.

Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi dukha doshanudarshanam

Whenever there is some bodily trouble, it tends to affect the whole self, at least it is that way for me. Of course, I do realise that its the result of high bodily consciousness. I read with great astonishment how Srila Prabhupada was totally unconcerned about his bodily discomforts during the last days of his manifest lila on this planet. So, I say, "kabe habe bolo, sei dina amar" (when will that day be mine !) Its a nice prayer by Thakur Bhakti Vinode.

Whenever I fall sick, (which is quite often ! ) devotees encourage me that I am getting rid of karmic reactions. Well, that may be, but it sure is no fun falling sick. But here is a nice prayer Gokula Gaurangi Devi Dasi gave me to chant :

achyutaananda govinda vishno naaraayana hare
rogan may naashaya asheshan aashu dhanvantari hare

"O Achyutananda, Govinda, Vishnu, Narayana, Hari, Dhanvantari! "
Please destroy all my diseases quickly and completely. "

Of course, we must realize that the material body is bound to become diseased because thats the arrangement of prakrti. But, a fit body definitely helps in discharging devotional service for a neophyte like me, so I am going to pray to Lord Dhanwantari to please give me better health !

Happy (?) New Year !!!

On January 1st, I received many calls, messages and emails - all wishing me a happy new year. Its a nice wish people tend to make at the beginning of every year. They tell each other, "I wish you a very happy new year". Its equally nice for the speaker and hearer.

Now, here is the catch ! Everyone "wishes" for a "happy" "new" year. Its a wish, it means, the happiness in not within our control, nor is there anything new about the year that comes ! Now, the whole statement takes a new turn. Everyone wishes to be happy, but we understand from scriptures that this material world is "padam padam yad vipadam". There is danger at every step. So, beware ! Everyone is stressed and anxious about the future and this leads to a constant state of unrest in the mind. "asantasya kutha sukham" ! For one who has no peace, where is the question of happiness ? Get the point !!!

As Srila Prabhupada would say, "better to chant Hare Krishna, thats all".

So, HARE KRISHNA !

A year gone by....

So, going by the Gregorian calender, we are finishing a year today and starting a new one tomorrow. People are busy getting ready for all night parties to bring in the "new year". People also make resolutions for the new year and never keep them !

Looking from the vedic perspective, it isn't much. Each day gone by is basically one day closer to the end of our existence in the present body, that's all. Its nothing to get excited about. In the never stopping cycle of time, what significance can a year have ! Supreme Lord Krishna is the only master of Kala or eternal time. The present age, Kali yuga itself is 432,000 years and the catur-yuga cycle is 4,320,000 years ! One day of Brahma, the secondary creator, is 1000 yuga cycles long ! Brahma lives for 100 years based on the 1000 yuga cycle a day calculation. So, time is relative . What seems a long time for us is just normal for Lord Brahma. And this Brahma's lifetime is but a blink of the eye for the Supreme Lord !

So, new year or old year, let us resolve to chant better and become better devotees. We don't want another "new" material body, do we ?

Unlimited !!!

We all know that Krishna has unlimited potencies. And, we jivas, what do we posses in unlimited quantity ? We have unlimited wants. So, we have unlimited wants and the Lord has unlimited potencies, so it makes sense to surrender to Him, so that He can remove the unlimited wants and give us unlimited bliss instead !!! What to you think ?

akaamah sarva-kaamo vaa
moksha-kaama udaara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena
yajeta purusham param

"Whether one is without desire [the condition of the devotees], or is desirous of all fruitive results, or is after liberation, one should with all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete perfection, culminating in Krishna Consciousness." [Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.10]

The festival season...

Its the festival season the world over. Its also the season for buy, buy, and buy more !!! The festival season has become an excuse for the consumer to indulge in his favorite pastime of buying things, not always necessary for him, but somehow made to feel that he cannot do without. Of course, we can blame the marketing industry for 'educating' us about what we need and why we cannot live without them. At the end of the day, its us who make the decision.

Once the season goes past as it always does, we realize that the things we did during the holiday season does not remain with us, the happiness was fleeting at best. More often than not, there will be some incident, something that came in the way of that fleeting feeling even. The fact remains that no amount of buying can make us happy.

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In this holiday season ISKCON does something wonderful. Its the Prabhupada book marathon season ! Devotees around the world engage in distributing Srila Prabhupada's books during this month with extra enthusiasm. As the holiday season is a time for people to "buy", the book distributors give them an opportunity to buy and gift something of enduring value - like a Bhagavad Gita. Anybody purchasing such a literature will receive the gift of their lifetime ! Its wonderful for both the distributor and the buyer.

Srila Prabhupada transcendental book marathon ki jai !!!

The right verse for 07/07/07

On 7/7/07, on my way to work, I had a brush with destiny, so to say. I was driving to the office and was passing through a narrow, crowded street. A vehicle was parallel-parked literally on the middle of the already narrow passage and I had to maneuver my car around it to go ahead. There was a man standing by this vehicle, also on the middle of the road. I passed the man and the vehicle and heard a sound - glass breaking. I braked immediately and noticed that my side view mirror is gone. I assumed that I had brushed the vehicle parked on the road. I picked up my broken mirror and walked towards the other vehicle, only to find the man standing there, his hand bleeding. His hand had hit the mirror and the glass had cut his hand. I immediately apologised to him and offered to take him to the hospital. By this time, a small crowd built up around us immediately and within seconds, a police patrol vehicle came. There were making their regular rounds, I guess. The policemen came out, questioned me, questioned the other gentleman and was speaking on their radio. Within a couple of minutes, a second police car came and the first police car left. By then, I had to make a phone call as I was to attend a meeting.By now, it was obvious to me that I will not make it. When I started speaking on the phone, the police guy got upset and told me to get inside the squad car and sit there. By then, the ambulance also came. They checked the man and took him with them. In the meantime, a third police car came. Apparently, this was the car from the investigation department. I went through the whole thing again, giving my statement and explaining exactly what happened. They told me to follow them in my car to the department which I dutifully did. In there, the police man (he was very nice and cordial by the way) told me that they will have to make me wait there till they get the clearance from the hospital that the man is alright. It took almost 3 hours of waiting and I was finally allowed to go. All the while, from the time I heard the thud, till the time I got home, I was silently chanting and not very perturbed. Even though, at first I was shocked and high strung, within a few minutes, I was thanking Guru and Krishna for saving me and that other man from something potentially far more dangerous. After I went home, I explained to my wife all what happened and she also told me that the Lord had saved us from some grave danger by just showing only a hint of it. In the evening, I opened the folio, went to the bookmark where I had left off reading Srimad Bhagavatam and came across this verse !!!! Read on..... ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ The following verse is spoken by Vamanadeva to King Bali. yadrcchayopapannena santusto vartate sukham näsantustas tribhir lokair ajitätmopasäditaih TRANSLATION One should be satisfied with whatever he achieves by his previous destiny, for discontent can never bring happiness. A person who is not self-controlled will not be happy even with possessing the three worlds. PURPORT If happiness is the ultimate goal of life, one must be satisfied with the position in which he is placed by providence. This instruction is also given by Prahläda Mahäräja: sukham aindriyakam daityä deha-yogena dehinäm sarvatra labhyate daiväd yathä duhkham ayatnatah "My dear friends born of demoniac families, the happiness perceived with reference to the sense objects by contact with the body can be obtained in any form of life, according to one's past fruitive activities. Such happiness is automatically obtained without endeavor, just as we obtain distress." (SB 7.6.3) This philosophy is perfect in regard to obtaining happiness. Real happiness is described in Bhagavad-gitä (6.21): sukham ätyantikam yat tad buddhi-grähyam atindriyam vetti yatra na caiväyam sthitas calati tattvatah "In the spiritually joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth." One has to perceive happiness by the super-senses. The super-senses are not the senses of the material elements. Every one of us is a spiritual being (aham brahmäsmi), and every one of us is an individual person. Our senses are now covered by material elements, and because of ignorance we consider the material senses that cover us to be our real senses. The real senses, however, are within the material covering. Dehino'smin yathä dehe: [Bg. 2.13] within the covering of the material elements are the spiritual senses. Sarvopädhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] when the spiritual senses are uncovered, by these senses we can be happy. Satisfaction of the spiritual senses is thus described: hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate. When the senses are engaged in devotional service to Hrsikesa, then the senses are completely satisfied. Without this superior knowledge of sense gratification, one may try to satisfy his material senses, but happiness will never be possible. One may increase his ambition for sense gratification and even achieve what he desires for the gratification of his senses, but because this is on the material platform, he will never achieve satisfaction and contentment. According to brahminical culture, one should be content with whatever he obtains without special endeavor and should cultivate spiritual consciousness. Then he will be happy. The purpose of the Krsna consciousness movement is to spread this understanding. People who do not have scientific spiritual knowledge mistakenly think that the members of the Krsna consciousness movement are escapists trying to avoid material activities. In fact, however, we are engaged in real activities for obtaining the ultimate happiness in life. If one is not trained to satisfy the spiritual senses and continues in material sense gratification, he will never obtain happiness that is eternal and blissful. Srimad-Bhägavatam (5.5.1) therefore recommends: tapo divyam putrakä yena sattvam suddhyed yasmäd brahma-saukhyam tv anantam One must practice austerity so that his existential position will be purified and he will achieve unlimited blissful life. SB 8.19.25

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Absolutely spot on for me ! What do you think ??