Posts

Image
Anartha Nivritti stage is about responsible guilt rather than selfish shame.   As sadhakas of Krishna consciousness as we start the sadhu sanga and bhajan kriya, we start acknowledging the bad sanskaras on our chitta and develop desire to purify them in order to please Krishna. However, sometimes while making the attempts to acknowledge and purify the bad sanskaras on our chitta we tend to become depressed . During the stage of Anartha Nivritti, when a sadhaka is struggling to get rid of 6 enemies-kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya, he may often get caught up being too self absorbed and reduce his enthusiasm in services due to feeling low about himself. .Humility is not about thinking less about ourself but thinking of ourself less. Whatever bad we have in our chitta is just a result of grip in the modes of material nature and as soon as we are released from the grip , those impurities no longer stay with us. Mam eva ye prapadyante , mayam etam taranti te. Krishna

Transcedental Hierarchy vs Material Hierarchy

Image
Transcedental Hierarchy vs Material Hierarchy In the transcendental realms of Vaikunta and Goloka, everything is chinmaya and full of spiritual potencies. The body of Sri Krishna who is considered as supreme object of everyone's attention in spiritual world has body parts such that each body part can do the function of other body part if need arises but still there is variegatedness. Hierarchies and control happen through love rather than impositional stands. Supreme Lord also takes the lower position than his own devotees by becoming their son, servant , small brother, nephew and offer them respect accordingly. Hierarchies in material realm however are quite different in nature than the spiritual hierarchies. In the material realm, everyone wants to be the separate enjoyer and the controller and wants to use everyone else as a resource for his personal agendas. Therefore, when a materialistic person takes the role of a leader, he tries to manipulate his juniors

Preaching only by the qualified

Image
Art of Inspiring a person to take to the process of Krishna consciousness is often termed as preaching in Gaudiya Vaishanava lineage. However, it is a spiritual art as compared to other arts like painting, dancing, knitting, surgery etc. To learn as well as teach material art takes years of practice and certifications, before one can be appointed in govt institutions as an official teacher. Then, mastering the spiritual art which is much more profound and deep would also take lot of time and efforts before one can learn it perfectly and teach it. In Govt institutions in India, it is mandatory to hold a PhD degree to teach in any higher educational institutions. Such level of expertise is expected from the teacher. Therefore, to preach Krishna consciousness properly it is important that the preacher must be thoroughly trained about the Vichar, Vyavhar and Vyavastha based on Krishna conscious vedic culture. If this protocol is not followed and preaching is being carried out

Dealing with Bullying Gurus

Image
Dealing with bullying Gurus We all rightfully look to our devotee community to be a safe place, a retreat into relationships that support, encourage, and challenge us. The family of Krishna comes to worship together and live life together as we work for the mission of the Prabhupad—to spread the message of Lord Chaitanya and welcome conditioned souls. We find grace, forgiveness, and hope. However, not all of us experience such a utopia. What happens when we are betrayed by the very devotee community whom we trust? We become deeply wounded, jaded, and confused. This is true when in any family abuse goes unchecked. Perpetrators in the devotee community hide behind spirituality and can blindside us. These perpetrators can even be preachers and managers in the community. They are actually representatives of Hiranyakashipu, trying to inflict pain upon innocent devotees like Prahalad. How do we deal with these spiritual bullies? I have identified four bu

Don't steal away the credit

Image
Don't steal away the credit. It is customary for many saints in India to start their discourse by offering prayers to their Guru and considering their abilities to do something good as an empowerment from the Guru. However, sometimes this ritual of offering prayers to Guru looses its substance and preachers start personally feeding on the praises, respect and favors of the disciples, followers etc. This is alas a very sorry situation not only for the followers but also for the preacher. What he considers as a part of his seva to Guru and sadhana becomes a part of his sense gratification and degradation. It was a part of tradition in the traditional Gurukulas that Brahmacharies would go and beg alms and whatever they get , they would deposit it to their Guru and lived happily on whatever Guru gave to them. They never personally cooked anything for themselves and put efforts to maintain themselves independently. Similarly, a sadhaka even when he preaches he does the gyan

Tomara Charana, Loilu Sharana

Image
Tomara charana, Loilu sarana Tomara charana, Loilu sarana means complete dissolution of ego and identifying oneself as the servant of Krishna alone and no other identity and being completely desireless and see the service of Charan as his only occupation. Now this service of charan is different from a person taking sharan of various ministers and persons in high post and then trying to dominate over other persons by dint of their relationship with ministers and taking undue advantage of people at his level or lower levels. In taking sharana of supreme Ishwar, this doesn’t happens like this. Because, he is personally present in each of his part and parcel and offending any of his part and parcels is directly affecting the relationship with Krishna. There is a verse in Bhagwatam quoted by Kapila Muni—- Some people do lot of worship of me in temple but outside the temple they deceive and kill their own brothers, then I am not pleased with them. Actually, these mi

Tomara Kinkora Ami

Image
Tomara Kinkora Ami Relationship between master and servant is of very intimate nature in context of bhartiya culture. Servant is kept under complete care of svami and swami takes care of his sevaak as his own body part. There are code of ethics and nitis about how to deal with servants. Isavasyam idddam sarvam . Everything is property of Krishna and therefore when something is given as our property, it is a gift from Krishna. Actually relationship with Krishna is of very intimate nature. There are also verses in Bhagwatam telling that those who are protected by Krishna can’t be offended even by ferocious animals, diseases as well as powerful dacoits what to say of others. Such is the strong shield and security one receives on identifying himself as Kinkora ami. Servants are never humiliated for their low status by a dharmic swamis and if by chance swami humilitates a servant due to his low status, he becomes implicated in karma by higher powers. Krishna is the creato